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The Eclipse Cannon (エクリプスキャノン,Ekuripusu Kyanon?) is an object that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is the ultimate weapon of mass destruction onboard the Space Colony ARK, created by Gerald Robotnik for the purpose of destroying celestial objects.
The Eclipse Cannon can be seen on the outside of the Space Colony ARK as it forms the "nose" of the research center.
Features and traits
The Eclipse Cannon is a remarkably powerful energy cannon; even with its energy levels at 0.5%, it packs enough power to destroy an entire city.[1] To be activated, the Eclipse Cannon must be fueled by large amounts of energy, such as those on the Chaos Emeralds. Using five Emeralds, the cannon is capable of destroying a large city and producing a large crater in a planet; with six Chaos Emeralds, it can destroy half of the moon; and with all seven Chaos Emeralds, it is capable of destroying planets and piercing stars. However, the Eclipse Cannon requires twenty-four hours to recharge after each shot due to the large energy consumption.
History
Past
The Eclipse Cannon was created by Professor Gerald Robotnik to defend the earth from the Black Arms when the aliens returned to the planet in fifty years.[2] However, after learning that his granddaughter Maria Robotnik was amongst the people who were killed during the military's raid of the ARK, Gerald secretly modified the Eclipse Cannon with the intention of using it to destroy the earth to avenge Maria's death.[3]
Sonic Adventure 2
The Eclipse Cannon destroying half of the moon, from Sonic Adventure 2.
The Eclipse Cannon destroying half of the moon, from Sonic Adventure 2.
The Eclipse Cannon destroying half of the moon, from Sonic Adventure 2.
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In Sonic Adventure 2, and its remake Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, the Eclipse Cannon was first introduced to Dr. Eggman by Shadow to grant his one wish of world conquest. Shadow explained that all seven Chaos Emeralds were needed to fully power the weapon. The two of them, with the government spy Rouge, who was sent there to gather information about Shadow, gathered a total of six Emeralds (one Eggman already had, one Rouge offered to join up, the one that Shadow stole, and three stolen from Prison Island). Eggman then used the Cannon to destroy half of the moon to terrorize earth into submission. However the demonstration proved to have flaws, such as the cannon requiring a full day to recharge due to not possessing all of the Chaos Emeralds. Eggman also made a video conference call with the President, where he supplied the latter with the ultimatum of either surrendering the United Federation or else he will ensure that every single major city in the United Federation, if not the country itself, will be wiped out by the Eclipse Cannon. He also planned on giving the President twenty-four hours to decide whether to submit to Eggman, although Sonic's arrival at the President's limousine a second after this announcement, as well as Sonic bluntly refusing, forced Eggman to withdraw the ultimatum. With the cannon requiring twenty-four hours to charge due to not having all the Emeralds, Sonic and his friends were able to penetrate the ARK and stop the Cannon before it fired again.
Eggman, who was apparently unaware of what happened, installed the last Emerald he took from Tails. A hologram of Eggman's grandfather Gerald Robotnik appeared, which revealed that he secretly downloaded a doomsday device that activated when the seven Chaos Emeralds were brought together as revenge for Maria's death. With the immense energy being moved to the Cannon's Core, the ARK was sent on a collision course to earth. When Knuckles and Sonic bring the Master Emerald to the core, it turns out to be a shrine similar to the one on Angel Island, designed to maximize the emeralds' power. Shadow defeated the Biolizard, and they managed to control the Chaos Emeralds. Despite this, the ARK was still crashing to earth. Eggman revealed that the prototype had used Chaos Control to attach itself to the exterior of the ARK, pulling it towards the planet.
Shadow and Sonic used the Chaos Emeralds to transform into their Super States. They fought and defeated the "Finalhazard," as it fell to earth. Though, in order to stop the ARK from falling, the two used Chaos Control to bring it away from the planet's atmosphere. Due to exhausting his powers by teleporting the space colony, Shadow crashed to earth. Sonic returned to the control room with his ring and told everyone what happened. As they all left the ARK, Sonic looked back and said, "Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog.". At this point, Sonic believed this was Shadow's death.
Shadow the Hedgehog
In Shadow the Hedgehog, after the Space Colony ARKincident, the Eclipse Cannon was apparently repaired by G.U.N. The military also deployed robots to guard the control room, including Gun Beetles and BigFoots. When Shadow was fighting Black Doom, a hologram of Gerald Robotnik revealed to Shadow that the Eclipse Cannon was developed to destroy the Black Comet. Its purpose was later fulfilled after Black Doom was defeated by Super Shadow. Shadow used Chaos Control to teleport the comet into outer space and fired the Eclipse Cannon to destroy the comet once and for all.
The Eclipse Cannon made an appearance in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics. Much like in the games, the Eclipse Cannon was constructed by Gerald Robotnik, and was about fifty years discovered by Dr. Eggman, who planned to use it to threaten the population of Mobius into making him their ruler. However, the Eclipse Cannon was ultimately stopped by Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog and Rouge the Bat.
After the Super Genesis Wave re-wrote reality, the Eclipse Cannon's past became largely indistinguishable from its game counterpart.
Even though the ARK was shut down, G.U.N. soldiers were still guarding the room of the Eclipse Cannon as seen in Shadow the Hedgehog in the fight against Blue Falcon.
The color of the beam fired from the Eclipse Cannon varies in color in the games and other media. In Sonic Adventure 2, the cannon's beam was blue, while in Shadow the Hedgehog, it was green.
When Shadow introduced the Eclipse Cannon in in the Japanese version of Sonic Adventure 2, he identified it as a weapon capable of piercing stars (a trait later mentioned in Shadow the Hedgehog). In the English version though, he identified it as a weapon capable of destroying an entire planet.
Curiously, the cannon's use on the moon is never referenced again in any games or other media. The moon appears unscathed whenever it appear in future games, such as Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog, and it is assumed that the damage the moon took had no effect on its orbit around earth, the tides, etc. At the 2013 Sonic Boom event Q&A, when asked about the moon's unscathed status, Takashi Iizuka explained that the dark side of the moon was blown up and remains so, even when it is unseen in the games.[4]
The Eclipse Cannon destroying the White House with its blast in Shadow the Hedgehog might be a possible reference to the movie Independence Day.
↑Sonic Team (18 November 2005). Shadow the Hedgehog. PlayStation 2. Sega. Area: The Last Way. "Gerald Robotnik: Shadow... it's up to YOU and only YOU can stop them! I developed the Eclipse Cannon... It's the only weapon that can destroy that Black Comet. Shadow, you are the only hope... to save mankind as we know it. The future of this planet depends on... YOU!"
↑Prima Development (20 June 2001). "The Beginning". Sonic Adventure 2: Prima's Official Strategy Guide. Prima Games. pp. 2–3. ISBN 978-0761536147.
