- This article is about the video game character. For other uses, see Metal Sonic (disambiguation).
In other media[]
Books and comics[]
Sonic the Comic[]
In the Sonic the Comic series and its spin-offs published by Fleetway Editions, "Metal Sonic" was relegated to the character's title, and Sonic's robot double was redubbed with the name of "Metallix" (hence, he was "Metallix, the Metal Sonic").
Metallix first appeared in the magazine's adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog CD, in which it was destroyed by Sonic. However, it was later revealed that this first Metallix was merely one of a vast brotherhood of identical robots, known collectively as the Brotherhood of Metallix. Ruled by a giant red-and-gold Emperor Metallix, the Brotherhood captured the Omni-Viewer, allowing them to travel back in time, and erase Doctor Robotnik from history. Since it had been Robotnik's assistant, Grimer, who built the Metallix robots and Robotnik had contributed only a self-destruct mechanism, the Brotherhood was able to conquer Mobius, leaving Sonic in the unenviable position of having to travel back in time and ensure that Robotnik existed. With the timeline restored, Sonic was forced to ally with Robotnik to defeat the Brotherhood of Metallix once and for all.
Archie Comics[]
Metal Sonic, from Sonic the Hedgehog #256.
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, various Metal Sonic models have appeared. The first Metal Sonic was created by Dr. Ivo Robotnik and raced Sonic as part of one of Robotnik's traps, but was destroyed at the end of the race. This model would return a couple of times to antagonize Sonic and his allies, before getting reformed. He later returned with the new name "Shard the Metal Sonic" to aid the heroes of the Kingdom of Acorn.
A new series of Metal Sonics was later re-created from scratch by Dr. Eggman which would become fierce foes that Sonic and his allies would confront regularly. One of them, in particular, traveled to the Sol Zone but was destroyed there during a battle with Blaze the Cat, the princess of the Sol Zone, Marine the Raccoon and Shadow the Hedgehog. After its defeat, it was rebuilt as Captain Metal, a robotic pirate, and rival of Captain Whisker.
Following the Super Genesis Wave, a new Metal Sonic would be introduced in the new continuity with a history that more closely mirrors that of the game universe.
IDW Publishing[]
Animation[]
Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie[]
Hyper Metal Sonic, from Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie.
Metal Sonic starred in Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie as Sonic's main rival, though under the name Hyper Metal Sonic. In this movie, they had a mind link and were able to hear each other's thoughts. He mainly communicated in bleeps and other such robot-like noises and was depicted as being more powerful than Sonic in this incarnation, besting him whenever they fought. Near the end of the movie, Metal Sonic was influenced by Sonic's thoughts and sacrificed himself to save the President and Old Man Owl.
The personality of this Metal Sonic is slightly different than his game counterpart. He seems to be rather sane and acts on his own compared to his role as servant to either Dr. Eggman or himself, like in Sonic Heroes. Nearing the end, he falls into a volcanic precipice after an epic battle with Sonic. Sonic attempts to save him, but Metal tells him, "There is only one Sonic." He is then melted in the magma, and this implies that Metal, though programmed for evil, was fully sentient and autonomous.
Sonic Boom[]
Metal Sonic, from "It Wasn't Me, It Was the One-Armed Hedgehog".
In the Sonic Boom franchise, Metal Sonic is a creation and servant of Dr. Eggman. While one of Eggman's more powerful and capable robots, he is only used on special occasions, and spent the rest of his time stored in a secure location.
In Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, Metal Sonic served Dr. Eggman as his main enforcer in his orchestration of the release of Lyric the Last Ancient. However, when Eggman ordered Metal Sonic to take care of Lyric once he proved too dangerous, Lyric took control of the robot. Metal Sonic was then sent to retrieve one of the Chaos Crystals but was defeated by Team Sonic.
Films[]
Paramount[]
Metal Sonic, from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (film).
In the Sonic the Hedgehog film series produced by Paramount Pictures and its spin-offs, Metal Sonic is a robotic doppelganger of Sonic the Hedgehog much like in the games.
Transformations[]
Metal Sonic Kai[]
Metal Sonic Kai, from Knuckles' Chaotix.
By harnessing the energy of a Dark Ring, Metal Sonic can transform into Metal Sonic Kai. In this state, he is much larger and his body turns red. While most of his abilities are unknown, it is known that he is able to perform a much stronger version of the Plasma Pulse Attack from his chest.
Giga Metal[]
By using the Phantom Ruby, Metal Sonic is able to become Giga Metal. In this form, he transforms into a huge, mechanical monster of enormous size. As Giga Metal, he possesses greater strength and is capable of deploying time bombs and emitting a large laser from his mouth. Other than that, Metal Sonic's speed is slightly reduced in this state, even though he can still catch up with Sonic. His weak point, however, is the Phantom Ruby stored in his chest; should the ruby be removed from its compartment, Metal Sonic will return to his original form, taking severe damage in the process.
Neo Metal Sonic[]
Neo Metal Sonic, from Sonic Forces: Speed Battle.
Metal Sonic assumed the form of Neo Metal Sonic for the majority of Sonic Heroes while he copied the four teams' data. Many of Neo Metal Sonic's abilities remain unknown, he is known to be able to shapeshift and has the ability to shoot lightning bolts from his hands and fly.
Metal Madness[]
Using the data from Team Sonic, Team Rose, Team Dark, Team Chaotix and Chaos, and as well as parts of Eggman's other machines, Neo Metal Sonic can transform himself into a super powerful version of himself called Metal Madness. In this form, Metal Sonic possesses a flamethrower, missile launchers, a whip-like tail with spikes, and claws that can shoot spikes and crystals. In this state, he is so powerful that even with the seven Chaos Emeralds, the chances of defeating him were slim.
Metal Overlord[]
After completing his transformation as Metal Madness, Metal Sonic became Metal Overlord. In this form, he sprouts wings, thus gaining the power of flight. He also gains the ability to use Chaos Control. In this form, Metal Sonic becomes so powerful that it requires three Super State users to face him and even they cannot harm him directly. His attacks are strong enough to stun Super transformation users, but still not enough to penetrate their invulnerability.
Super Neo Metal Sonic[]
Super Neo Metal Sonic, from Sonic the Hedgehog #9.
In a stand-off against Sonic the Hedgehog and Knuckles the Echidna inside his newly-built fortification around the Master Emerald's shrine on Angel Island, Neo Metal Sonic assumed the new form of Super Neo Metal Sonic by absorbing the power of the Master Emerald before challenging the two heroes. In this form, he gain the powers of super speed, enhanced strength and can fire golden bolts of energy.
Master Overlord[]
After Metal Sonic copied the bio-data of Sonic the Hedgehog and Shadow the Hedgehog, he absorbed the energy from the Master Emerald and transformed into this form. In this form, Metal gains the abilities of super strength, super speed and being able to fire massive crystal projectiles.
Color Powers[]
By harnessing different variants of Hyper-go-on from Wisps, Metal Sonic can use specific Color Powers to transform into a certain form, such as a drill, a laser, or even an asteroid, each one possessing its own unique abilities. So far, Metal Sonic has been able to transform into the Cyan Laser, Yellow Drill, and Indigo Asteroid. However, these transformations require a steady supply of Hyper-go-on to be maintained.
In case the Wisp will not cooperate with him, Metal Sonic can have a Wisp Capsule installed into him that lets him forcefully extract Hyper-go-on from Wisps until they turn into Nega-Wisps.[5]
Quotes[]
- "........Whoever clears all of the stages first wins."
- —Metal Sonic before a battle, Sonic Pinball Party
- "Burn. To. Death."
- —Metal Sonic (as Metal Madness) while attacking with his flamethrower, Sonic Heroes
- "This victory shall soon turn into despair!"
- —Metal Sonic (as Metal Madness) after battling Team Chaotix, Sonic Heroes
- "How appropriate to have a robot overlord rule a robot kingdom!"
- —Metal Sonic (as Metal Madness) after battling Team Dark, Sonic Heroes
- "Long time no see, Sonic, my loathsome copy..."
- —Metal Sonic (as Metal Overlord) greeting Sonic, Sonic Heroes
- "Sonic... I was created for the sole purpose of destroying you. But I could never seem to defeat you! That is why I transformed my own body with my own hands."
- —Metal Sonic (as Metal Overlord) explaining his transformation, Sonic Heroes
- "But that was the past! Now you're nothing but a speck of dust to me!"
- —Metal Sonic's (as Metal Overlord) response to Super Sonic's taunts, Sonic Heroes
- "GUOOOOO! WHY?! I HAD IT ALL! I AM THE ULTIMATE OVERLORD, METAL SONIC! I AM THE REAL SONIC!"
- —Metal Sonic (as Metal Overlord) after being defeated, Sonic Heroes
- "It's no use... but why can't I defeat you?"
- —Metal Sonic (as Neo Metal Sonic) after his defeat, Sonic Heroes
- "FACE ME IF YOU WISH TO HAVE THE CHAOS EMERALD."
- —Metal Sonic before his first battle, Sonic Generations (console/PC)
- "You can't hope to defeat me! Accept your fate, you fake hedgehog! I am now the true Sonic! The true Ultimate Life Form!"
- —Metal Sonic (as Metal Overlord), Shadow Generations
- "I am the King of all Creation! Nobody can defeat me! Not you! Not Sonic! Not ANYONE!"
- —Metal Sonic (as Metal Overlord), Shadow Generations
- "I cannot be stopped! I WILL NOT be stopped!"
- —Metal Sonic (as Metal Overlord), Shadow Generations
- "As if I could be challenged by an imposter like YOU!!!"
- —Metal Sonic (as Metal Overlord), Shadow Generations
Merchandise[]
10" action figure of Metal Sonic, by Jazwares.
There wasn't a lot of merchandise of Metal Sonic in the first years of his existence; only as various SegaSonic the Hedgehog merchandise in Japan, a figurine by Tomy, and a soft toy available in a set that promoted Sonic the Fighters in Japan. It wouldn't be until the late 2000's and onwards where merchandise of Metal Sonic would start to become more common Jazwares produced several pieces of merchandise of Metal Sonic, including a 10" action figure, and a vinyl figure that was initially available at Comic-Con 2009.[6] First 4 Figures produced a statue and figurine of Metal Sonic in his original design. In the 2010's, Great Eastern Entertainment and Tomy produced merchandise of Metal Sonic in his modern design. Various T-shirts were also available.
Theme songs[]
- "What I'm Made Of..." - Crush 40, played during the battle against Metal Overlord in Sonic Heroes.
- "Never Let It Go (Death Egg's Eye)", Sonic the Fighters
- "Metal Sonic" - Howard Drossin, from the Virtual Sonic album.
- "Look-a-like" - Riu Konaka, from Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie
- Metallic Madness - The Japanese music of this Round during present time is played during Metal Sonic's All-Star Move, Maximum Overdrive.
- "Stardust Speedway Bad Future" - Initially the stage music for the Stardust Speedway Bad Future round, the Japanese version became his boss theme in Sonic Generations, and is used in the final race against Metal in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II at the end of Death Egg Mk II Zone act 1. Sonic Mania features a composition based on the Japanese tune as well. The US version also got two remixes, one unlockable from Sonic Generations and one as his boss theme for Sonic Forces.
- "Versus Metal Sonic" - Played during the battles against Metal Sonic at White Park Zone and Sky Fortress Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II. A remix of this is also heard when Metal Sonic uses his All-Star move in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.
- In Sonic Forces, Metal Sonic' theme is called "Battle with Metal Sonic [US ver. Remix]". This theme is played during the fight against Metal Sonic's Phantom Copy. The theme is a remix of the original background music used in the US bad future version of Stardust Speedway from Sonic the Hedgehog CD.
- In Team Sonic Racing, Metal Sonic's theme is "Team Ultimate: Metal Sonic", a remix of "Battle with Metal Sonic [US ver. Remix]" that plays during his Team Ultimate.
- In Sonic at the Olympic Games (2020), Metal Sonic's theme is a remix of "Battle with Metal Sonic [US ver. Remix]" that plays during his boss fight.
- "Rival Rush - vs. Metal Sonic" - Played during races against Metal Sonic in Sonic Colors: Ultimate.
Outfits[]
Trivia[]
- In promotional art for Sonic the Hedgehog CD, Metal Sonic's irises were red, but in the game, they are grey (or yellow during his V. Maximum Overdrive Attack).
- Metal Sonic has a mouth on the American cover of Sonic the Hedgehog CD.
- The help file included with the Windows 95 version of Sonic the Hedgehog CD claims that some early material refers to Metal Sonic as "Mecha Sonic". This is considered a mistake.
- In the early Western release of Sonic & Knuckles, Mecha Sonic Mk. II was also named "Metal Sonic".[7] In the Japanese version, this robot was instead called "Mecha Sonic", and this was later used for the western version many years later.[8]
- In the Nintendo DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, Metal Sonic's winning animation mistakenly shows him with green eyes instead of red.
Metal Sonic battling Sonic, from Sonic X-treme.
- Metal Sonic was planned to appear as a boss in the cancelled Sega Saturn game, Sonic X-treme. Like the game's other bosses, his appearance in this game was unusually large in order to make him easier to hit. Due to this game's cancellation, Metal Sonic didn't get a Sega Saturn appearance until Sonic R. Metal Sonic is the only boss in Sonic X-treme whose 3D model was found in the Sega Saturn SDK.
- Metal Sonic rarely speaks. His voice is only heard during Sonic Heroes while in any of his transformations (Neo Metal Sonic, Metal Madness and Metal Overlord, as well as when he is disguised as Eggman).
- Interestingly, he also shares Sonic's voice actor from this time, Ryan Drummond.
- He is the only Sega character who appears in Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, but not in the Wii release of Sonic Colors.
- Metal Sonic has more alternate forms than any other antagonist in the Sonic the Hedgehog series.
- In the Sonic Riders series, Metal Sonic is the only playable robot that is not limited to one type of Extreme Gear.
- In the game Spiral Knights, players who purchased a copy of Sonic the Hedgehog CD on Steam before 31 January 2012 received a Metal Sonic costume for their knight. This costume was also available to purchase in-game.
- There is evidence to support that Metal Sonic was at one point going to appear in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) and even be playable, but at some point was scrapped. Said evidence can be found in unused text found in the game's files.
- In Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, Metal Sonic is one of four characters to drive an ATV; the other three are Beat, Knuckles, and Joe Musashi.
- Oddly enough, Metal Sonic can drown when he is played in Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut, despite being a robot and therefore not requiring air. This may be due to how in this title, he is based on Sonic in all but his model.
- In Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, if one player plays as Shadow and the other as Metal Sonic, his shoes will produce the light from his jet-boosters whenever Shadow runs/jumps.
- According to a Twitter post by Shiro Maekawa, Metal Sonic was among the characters originally planned to playable in Sonic Heroes, and was going to be part of a team consisting of him, Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel.[9] This implies he was not originally going to be the main antagonist.
- In a similar fashion, unused text from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)'s main menu shows that Metal Sonic was planned to have been playable, even though he does not appear in the story at all. It's possible he might have been a bonus character similar to his appearance in Sonic Adventure DX or as DLC that was planned, but scrapped.[10]
- Metal Sonic is one of the four Eggman robots who betrayed their creator, the other three being Gamma, Gemerl, and Omega.
- Out of all of them, Metal Sonic is the only one who hadn't turned good.
- According to Kazuyuki Hoshino, Metal Sonic idles in his spare time.[11]
- In the first Sonic film, Crazy Carl's nickname for Sonic is "Blue Devil", shares the same name as the vehicle that is driven by Metal Sonic in Sonic Drift 2.
References[]
- ↑ Hesse, Tyson; GGDG (19 August 2021). "Sonic Colors: Rise of the Wisps - Part 1". Sonic Colors: Rise of the Wisps. Season 1. Episode 1. YouTube.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sonic Channel (Japanese). Characters: Metal Sonic. Sega. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved on 3 July 2015.
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog CD (Mega-CD) Japanese instruction booklet, pg. 7.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Devra Newberger Speregen (2016). Sonic: The Ultimate Character Guide. Scholastic. pp. 26–27. ISBN 978-1338033243.
- ↑ Hesse, Tyson; GGDG (26 August 2021). "Sonic Colors: Rise of the Wisps - Part 2". Sonic Colors: Rise of the Wisps. Season 1. Episode 2. YouTube.
- ↑ McWhertor, Michael (15 June 2009). Metal Sonic Vinyl Spin Dashes To Comic-Con. Kotaku. Archived from the original on 19 June 2009. Retrieved on 24 August 2010.
- ↑ "Play as Knuckles and tackle Robotnik and Metal Sonic with bare-fisted attacks, high-speed glides and wall-climbing power!" - Sonic & Knuckles back of the U.S. box.
- ↑ Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode I. Sega. Archived from the original on 30 May 2013. Retrieved on 26 January 2015. "As Knuckles finished his showdown with Mecha Sonic, the real hedgehog chases Eggman through space, ultimately destroying his doomsday plans - with it, the Death Egg saga comes to a close."
- ↑ SonicJPNews on Twitter. Twitter (27 April 2018). Retrieved on 9 June 2021.
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). File: xenon/archives/text.arc/xenon/text/english/msg_mainmenu.e.mst
- ↑ More Burning Questions About The Sonic The Hedgehog Franchise Answered. Game Informer (10 June 2017). Retrieved on 26 February 2022.
