Metal Sonic

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Metal Sonic
Metal Sonic's card from Sonic Rivals.
Game series	Sonic the Hedgehog
First game	Sonic CD
Creator(s)	Kazuyuki Hoshino
Voice actor(s) (English)	Ryan Drummond (2003)
Voice actor(s) (Japanese)	Junichi Kanemaru (2003-)
In-Universe Information
Species	Robot (physically based on Sonic)

Metal Sonic (メタル ・ソニック , Metaru Sonikku^?) is the "robotic counterpart" of video game character Sonic the Hedgehog. Being a robot, Metal Sonic has no gender; however, Metal is usually referred to as being male, since he is a robot based on a male character. As well as resembling Sonic, he can also perform Sonic's 'homing attack'. Metal is the second most popular choice among fans for making return appearances, beaten only by Shadow the Hedgehog.^[1]

[edit] Game history

The first appearance of Metal Sonic was in Sonic the Hedgehog CD. In this game, he is under the control of Dr. Eggman and is sent back in time to change the past so that Eggman can rule the future. Later, he kidnaps Amy Rose, who had been following Sonic. In Act III of the Stardust Speedway Zone, Eggman forces Sonic to race Metal Sonic in order to save Amy.

Metal Sonic's second major appearance was in Knuckles' Chaotix, where he attempts to absorb the Chaos Rings' powers to wreak havoc in Newtrogic High but was defeated by the Chaotix before he could. This occasion also featured a massive, red Sonic robot that is speculated to be Metal Sonic, but lacks a transformation sequence to directly indicate as such.

Metal Sonic was the second to last boss in Sonic Triple Trouble, and had a "true" fight instead of the race previously held in Sonic CD. Metal Sonic also had appearances in Sonic Drift 2 and Sonic R as a racer. In the former, he raced in his "Blue Devil" vehicle, and the latter had him using his engines. In Sonic the Fighters, he was the second to last boss where he used the moves of all previously encountered characters within the game. If Sonic is the character, Super Sonic can be secretly unlocked during his fight. Metal Sonic was also going to appear in Sonic X-Treme.

Metal Sonic in his tube in Sonic Adventure.

Metal Sonic then had two cameos in Sonic Adventure. One was in Amy Rose's flashback to the events in Sonic CD, and the other one inside a tube in one of Dr. Eggman's hideouts.

His next appearance was as an unlockable multi player character in Sonic Adventure 2, and subsequently a standard multi player character in the GameCube remake, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. He can project a black shield to protect himself from the attacks of other characters, but has no special attacks of his own. An Action Replay code allows the player to use him in single player stages and Chao Gardens. After that, he had a cameo as an opponent in Sonic Pinball Party's Story Mode. He then appeared as a gift for getting all of the Emblems in the GameCube remake of Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure DX: Directors Cut. The player could then play time trials as Metal Sonic in Sonic's stages. Metal Sonic essentially acted as an alternate skin for Sonic.

Neo Metal Sonic in Sonic Heroes

His next appearance was as the main antagonist in Sonic Heroes, where he transformed himself into Neo Metal Sonic.^[2] [2] Metal Sonic has elf-like shoes, shoulder blades, gauntlets, body armor, a cape (which actually protudes out of the back of his waist, hence, a side-skirt), longer spines on his head, a spiky belt, resembling a punk-rock belt, and white stripes similar to Shadow's design. A common misconception is that Metal Sonic gained his upgrade and shape shifting abilities via the data of Chaos. This is however incorrect, as Metal had shape shifted into Sonic in order to steal Froggy and Chocola,^[3] which had the data of Chaos.

After turning against Doctor Eggman and assuming his guise he copies the physical data (and/or abilities) of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, and Chaos, he then became his ultimate form, Metal Madness, and finally Metal Overlord. After he is defeated by Team Super in his Metal Overlord form, he reverts to his original form. Metal Sonic questions why he can't defeat Sonic and lowers his head. Sonic then tells Metal Sonic that he'll accept any future rematches and races away. Metal Sonic passes out cold and is lifted off the ground by Omega, who exchanges a glance with Shadow.

In Sonic Riders, E-10000R is said to be made using the same engine type that Metal Sonic was built with.

In Sonic Rivals, Metal Sonic is the 5th playable character.^[4] [3] After his encounter with Sonic and Co. in Heroes, Metal had successfully copied the abilities of all involved in the incident. He appears working with Eggman Nega, trying to stop Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow, and Silver from foiling Eggman Nega's plans. It is unknown why Metal Sonic is working with Eggman Nega, but Eggman Nega and Metal Sonic both have some sort of hatred for Eggman, so that could be the main reason.

[edit] Personality

Metal Sonic's original design from Sonic CD

Prior to Sonic Heroes, Metal Sonic just seems to be a mindless servant to Doctor Eggman. However, it is revealed in Heroes that he does have an intellect of his own, and is aggressive, dominative and power hungry. He was once completely obedient to Eggman, but in Heroes he betrayed his creator, and took the task of trying to achieve world domination into his own claws.

Metal Sonic is absolutely determined to defeat his namesake, Sonic the Hedgehog. He may actually believe that he is in fact the true Sonic, and that Sonic is his copy, as suggested by some of his quotes from Heroes; "Long time no see, Sonic, my loathsome copy..." and "I am the real Sonic!". However, in the final battle, he also says "I was created for the sole purpose of destroying you". If Metal Sonic truly believes himself to be the original and that he was created to counter Sonic, then he may be slightly insane.

[edit] Abilities

Metal Sonic's engine enables him to fly, and he always hovers slightly above the ground while moving at higher speeds. As a duplicate of Sonic, Metal Sonic can match or even exceed Sonic's lightning speed. He generally has better acceleration compared to other characters, but this is countered by his poor braking ability. Although he possesses many of Sonic's abilities including the homing attack, he is capable of higher and longer jumps than his rival.

Metal Sonic's offensive capabilities include being able to shield himself from attacks in the form of lightning, or a "Black Shield". He is also able to encase himself in a fireball and accelerate in a move similar to Super Sonic's powered dashes. As seen in Sonic the Fighters Metal Sonic can fire a laser beam out of his torso intake, and fights using his sharp fingers in a stabbing motion.

Another of Metal Sonic's primary tactics is his ability to copy genetic data from his opponents. This usually results in him being able to use his opponent's attacks. He is also shown to be able to shape shift into forms resembling others in a similar fashion to the T-1000 from the 1991 film Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Whether his ability to shape shift was a one time deal remains to be seen.

Metal Sonic has a greater speech ranged compared to other robots built by Eggman, most of whom are mute or speak in monotone. This appears to be a result of his ability to copy Life Data of organic beings, as in Sonic Heroes his voice was created by having the respective voice actors for Sonic (Metals very first Life Data source) record Metal's dialogue in a gruff tone and then applying further digitial effects to these recordings. In most games released before Sonic Heroes however, Metal Sonic's voice is simply electronic noises.

[edit] Other Sonic robots

[edit] Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8 bit)

In the 8-bit Sonic the Hedgehog 2, another Sonic robot appeared. This robot was called Mecha Sonic in the game's Japanese manual, but referred to as Silver Sonic in the American manual. He appears as the Boss of Scrambled Egg Zone, in Act 3. As the Mecha Sonic from MegaDrive Version of Sonic 2, he is capable of doing several attacks like Original Sonic: Dashing from side to side (in a certain height, not by the ground like MegaDrive's One), from one end of the arena to the other, occasionally pausing and landing to probe his organic counterpart with a giant arm that extends from his stomach. He can also spin into a ball, and when he and Sonic spin into each other at the same time, both get knocked back without taking damage. If the player has already collected the other five Chaos Emeralds in the previous stages during the game, Silver Sonic will relinquish the sixth to the player upon his defeat. If the player doesn't have the other five Emeralds, the game will end here.

[edit] Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16 bit)

Sonic robot from Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Another robot often confused with Metal Sonic is the Sonic robot from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, also called Mecha Sonic in Japan. This robot was also very clunky compared to the sleeker and generally more Sonic-like Metal Sonic. He appears in the first half of the Death Egg Zone where Sonic fights him with Dr. Eggman looking on in the background. The player must face him with no rings, and he uses several different attacks in a pattern, including dashing from side to side, Spin Jump, Spin Dash and firing spikes in eight directions. This robot reappeared in Sonic Pocket Adventure as the boss of the Aerobase Zone. It was generally the same as in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, except it had the added ability to dash backwards. The design of this Mecha Sonic was used for Archie comic's "Death Egg saga", where it was referred to as Silver Sonic.

[edit] Sonic the Fighters

In Sonic the Fighters, an odd rocket-like Sonic robot called "Mecha Sonic Model No.29" in-game, also known as "RocketMetal", appeared in the intro cutscene, and also as a hidden character.

[edit] Sonic and Knuckles

Later on in Sonic & Knuckles, a Sonic robot appeared in the Sky Sanctuary Zone and attacked both Sonic and Knuckles. It too was called Mecha Sonic in the Japanese version of Sonic Jam, but isn't referred to at all in American manuals, with many fans in the west still choosing to refer to him as Mecha Sonic since it differentiates him from Metal Sonic. Against Sonic and Tails, he appeared three times in Sky Sanctuary — twice in machines Dr. Eggman had used in Sonic the Hedgehog (Green Hill Zone Act 3) and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Metropolis Zone Act 3) and once in a one-on-one fight. Against Knuckles he fought one-on-one, as in the final fight with Sonic and Tails, but in the second phase of the battle he used the Master Emerald to obtain a Super Form. This Mecha Sonic is sometimes believed to be the Metal Sonic mkII since a Metal Sonic mkIII was to appear in Sonic X-treme on the Sega Saturn. This design was used for the roboticized version of Sonic in Archie comic's "Mecha Madness" arc. It is worth noting that at the beginning of the final battle with Knuckles, this robotic Sonic form attacks Eggman's vehicle as he attempts to kidnap the echidna, solidifying the notion that this may just be another stage in the evolution of the traitorous Metal Sonic. However, this may not be entirely true, considering Knuckles would have taken the full brunt of the attack had he not moved. Mecha Sonic's destroying Egg Robo might've been a mistake since he missed Knuckles. If level select is used to play as Sonic in Knuckle's Sky Sanctuary, Robotnik will be in the place of Egg Robo, meaning Robotnik is destroyed by Mecha Sonic

[edit] Sonic Adventure

Another Sonic robot is seen in Sonic Adventure, inside a tube in one of Dr. Eggman's hideouts, right next to Metal Sonic. It looked like something of a cross between the previous versions (very similar to the Sonic robot from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on Sega Genesis). This robot later appeared in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series as "Silver Sonic 2".

Whether these "Mecha Sonics" are different robots or if they are one and the same that gets rebuilt whenever he is destroyed (like Metal Sonic) is source of debate, as there is no official material that states anything about this. There is also debate on the names, since there has not been a conclusive statement on them.

[edit] "Super" forms

[edit] Super Mecha Sonic

Mecha Sonic turning Super, then in motion.

It was not Metal Sonic but Mecha Sonic who once used the Master Emerald to power up. After a scuffle with Knuckles, this robot used the Master Emerald to attain a Super Form in which he simply had a golden hue. His attacks included spin dashing toward Knuckles' current position, firing three charged balls of energy, and firing a series of rings. His weakness was that he could not retain the power as he had to continuously recharge via the Master Emerald, and could be attacked during the moments he powered down. He was totally destroyed at the end of the battle.

Knuckles' Chaotix Sonic robot.

[edit] Knuckles' Chaotix Robot

A giant red Sonic robot appears at the end of Knuckles' Chaotix. Although generally thought to be an enhanced form of Metal Sonic, its actual status is unknown. Prior to the fight with it, Metal Sonic is seen badly damaged and flying off together with Eggman in a giant ring, and out of nowhere the giant red robot appears. Its equipped with massive limbs, which can separate from the torso, and also a Pulse Cannon, a giant laser built into its torso. Despite its power, it was defeated by Knuckles and company. This robot is referred to by many fans as Mega Metal Sonic or Super Metal Sonic.

This robot is shown on the cover of Sonic the Hedgehog comic #159 with a flag that says "Go team!".

[edit] Metal Madness and Metal Overlord

Metal Madness in Sonic Heroes.

At the climax of Sonic Heroes, Metal Sonic receives a bolt of lightning from the sky which destroys a large section of Eggman's flagship, creating a powerful vortex. The vortex sucks up several of Eggman's robot parts, which Metal Sonic absorbs. He then transforms into something similar to a metallic Perfect Chaos, known as Metal Madness. Metal Madness resembled Metal Sonic slightly, with the same blue coloring. It had two eyes, one on top of the other, its right hand converted into a flamethrower and its left could fire its fingers like missiles. It could also project its spines at enemies. The only spot where Metal Madness could be attacked was a spot on its torso, which changed color. If it was blue, speed could not attack it, if it was yellow, flight could not attack it, and if it was red, power could not attack it. Team Rose, Team Chaotix and Team Dark fought Metal Madness, who then completed his transformation by sprouting a pair of wings, lengthening his claws and flying away into the sky. He had now become Metal Overlord. In addition to his other attacks, he could fire crystals, use Chaos Control to freeze time temporarily, and pick up Egg Fleet battleships to throw. He was quickly followed by Team Super, which consisted of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles in super form. The heroes fought and defeated Metal Overlord, who tumbled down to the flagship.

In the beta version of Sonic Heroes, Metal Madness had a color problem, thus he was a metallic purple/silver color. It is believed by fans that the name "Metal Madness" is a reference to "Metallic Madness", the final level of Sonic CD, the game in which Metal Sonic first appeared.

[edit] Sonic the Comic

In the United Kingdom's official Sonic publication, Sonic the Comic, Metal Sonic was introduced in "The Sonic Terminator", an adaptation of Sonic CD. The robot, renamed "Metallix", lured Sonic to the Miracle Planet, which Robotnik had cyber formed to be used as a power source for the robot, by capturing Amy Rose. Unable to defeat Metallix, Sonic used the Time Stone to travel back in time to prevent the planet's cyber forming and thus erase Metallix from existence.

Writer Nigel Kitching's original name for the character was "Metallico"; Metallix was editor Richard Burton's suggestion.

[edit] Brotherhood of Metallix

A new model of Metallix, based on Mecha Sonic from Sonic and Knuckles, appeared during the comic's adaptation of Sonic and Knuckles, stealing the Master Emerald for Robotnik to use as the power core of his new Death Egg. Metallix drew power from the emerald and incapacitated Knuckles, but Sonic was able to destroy him by using the emerald's power to become Super Sonic. Before Super Sonic ripped him to pieces, the new Metallix revealed that both he and the original Metallix were members of an elite brotherhood.

This brotherhood soon revealed itself when Knuckles was accidentally transported into the Special Zone and encountered Chaotix. Operating out of Robotnik's abandoned Egg Fortress in the Special Zone, the Brotherhood of Metallix — innumerable Metallixes identical to the original, ruled over by a giant red and gold Emperor — had been charged with producing the ultimate badnik version of Sonic, but had developed their own plans and goals. With the help of the turncoat Chaotix member, Nack the Weasel, the Brotherhood of Metallix captured the Omni-Viewer, Chaotix's sentient, space-time transporter. With Knuckles' help, Chaotix were able to retrieve the Omni-Viewer and create a duplicate version in order to travel through time and space. It appeared that the Brotherhood had been destroyed by a neural disruptor cannon, but they had in fact faked their deaths in order to continue their operations unhindered.

[edit] Final battle

In their next move, the Brotherhood captured Grimer, Doctor Robotnik's chief scientist, who had created the Metallix design in the first place. They charged him with building the Alpha Device, a device that began to cyber form the Miracle Planet once again. Sonic's attempt to stop the plan apparently succeeded, but his ally, Porker Lewis, was trapped on the Miracle Planet when it vanished from Mobius orbit in its usual pattern. During that month, the Metallixes reasserted themselves, captured Porker and completed the cyber forming of the planet. A Metallix, disguised as Porker, was left to stand guard as the Metallixes departed into Mobius' past with their copy of the Omni-Viewer, and when they returned, they encountered Sonic and Chaotix, who had come to investigate. But then the terrifying truth became apparent - the Metallixes had changed history, and Mobius had become a city-planet, covered with filthy industry, where surviving Mobians lived underground.

The reason for the change soon became apparent, as Sonic and Chaotix attempted to fix the time line by using the real Omni-Viewer - the Brotherhood of Metallix had traveled back in time to the point of Doctor Robotnik's creation, and removed from the fridge the rotten egg that would transform Ovi Kintobor into Ivo Robotnik. Kintobor never became Robotnik, and the Metallixes, created by Grimer alone, ruled the planet. Retrieving the egg, Sonic and Chaotix returned to Kintobor's lab and replaced it, and then, as Kintobor held it in his hand, Sonic yanked a cable to trip him up, triggering the chain of events that turned him into Doctor Robotnik. Despite the disturbing revelation that he was responsible for creating the greatest evil on Mobius, Sonic returned to the present with Chaotix, where the robots still held control of the Miracle Planet. Forced into an alliance with Doctor Robotnik, Sonic retrieved a device from the villain that deactivated all the Metallixes in a pitched final battle (Sonic later claimed that he found it anticlimactic that the Emperor Metallix and his army were defeated by a simple push of a button).

[edit] Sonic the Hedgehog (Comic)

Clockwise from bottom center: Sonic, normal Metal Sonic, Metal Sonic's third form, Silver Sonic II, Metal Sonic's second form, Silver Sonic, Mecha Sonic and Pseudo-Sonic. Artwork by Patrick "Spaz" Spaziante.

Though it was not his first true appearance in Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comic, a Metal Sonic-like robot appeared in issue #9. He was known as Pseudo-Sonic, and was destroyed by the end of the issue. Pseudo-Sonic also appeared in an episode of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Metal Sonic himself first appeared, albeit under the name Mecha Sonic, in the comic's 25th issue, which featured a Sonic CD adaptation. Here, he raced Sonic, like in the game, as part of Dr. Robotnik's trap, but was destroyed at the end of the issue. Metal Sonic would later return in the series' Knuckles' Chaotix adaptation. Here, he would be transformed into a giant red version of himself by an item known as a Power Gem, before being destroyed by a similarly empowered Knuckles.

Metal Sonic's next appearance would follow the Sonic Adventure adaptation, in a two-part story where he would ambush Sonic and Tails. He had rebuilt himself, using the power gem that had empowered him as a power source, and boasted a new design that included an arm cannon. After kidnapping Tails, Metal Sonic made Sonic race for his friend's life towards the Mt. Mobius volcano. However, ultimately, it was Sonic's concern for Tails that showed Metal Sonic that he was wrong, and ultimately saved the two of them from the erupting volcano, similar to the events depicted in the anime.

A new Metal Sonic created from scratch by Dr. Robotnik has appeared in issues #145-149, as part of a storyline involving a 3-way battle between himself, Shadow, and Sonic. Also featured in the battle was Shadow's robotic ally Isaac. This Metal Sonic would also appear at the beginning of issue #157 at an abandoned laboratory formerly occupied by GUN. He has a brief battle with Shadow, but both combatants are disabled when a weapon Metal Sonic tries to use malfunctions and explodes. He was last seen being carried off by Mecha.

A group of Metal Sonic troopers made their appearance in issues #157-159. They had been created by Rotor and Uncle Chuck as a special defense force to replace Sonic after his disappearance in issue #125. Their appearance was based on Metal Sonic from Sonic Heroes. They ended up going berserk and destroying part of Eggman's base before moving on and ravaging Knothole, injuring Hope Kintobor in the process before being stopped by the combined efforts of Sonic, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Knuckles.

[edit] Animation

Metal Sonic starred in Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie as Sonic's main rival. In the movie, they had a mind link and were able to hear each other's thoughts. Throughout Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie, Metal Sonic was referred to as "Hyper Metal Sonic" (although this is only spoken by Eggman, and thus might just be a title to fill his ego). Although the name implies that Metal Sonic is in Hyper form, this is not the case. All this robot really is in actuality is normal Metal Sonic with a few variations. The jet on his back has the strength of a tornado when used and the spines of Metal Sonic are a bit more streamlined towards the back, whereas Hyper Metal Sonic has his spines pointed upwards. Other than that, the word "Hyper" is the only thing separating the two. Constantly throughout the movie, the other characters would refer to Hyper Metal Sonic simply as "Metal".

Metal Sonic meets his demise at the end of the movie, where Sonic attempts to save him from the lava pit but Knuckles holds him back expecting Metal Sonic to drag him under the lava. Metal Sonic gives himself up stating "There is only one Sonic" and melts. At the very last couple minutes of the movie, Dr. Eggman's CD with Sonic's data on it is also destroyed.

Metal Sonic has never made an appearance in any of the official Sonic cartoons. However, there was a robotic Sonic piloted by a rat in the episode "Pseudo-Sonic" from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. In Sonic X there is a robot army called the 'Metarex' which is a similar name to Metal Sonic's nickname 'Metallix'. It was believed during pre-production that Metal Sonic would appear in Sonic X, which was later confirmed false.

[edit] Trivia

• In a CBBC show called Bamzooki, there once was a zook called Metal Overlord. This is a reference to Metal Sonic's ultimate form from Sonic Heroes, called the same name.
• It is debated whether the song in the background against Metal Overlord is supposed to be Metal Sonic's theme song or Super Sonic's theme song.
• Due to the discreption of E-10000's engine it was debated wheather or not Metal Sonic had been destroyed, however Sonic Rivals proved him to still be alive.

[edit] Voice actors

• In Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, Sonic Adventure DX, and Sonic Rivals, Metal Sonic is voiced with a series of computer-generated sounds (similar in all games), and thus has no voice actor.
• In Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie, Metal Sonic was voiced by Gary Dehan.
• In Sonic Heroes, Metal Sonic was played by the same actor as Sonic in both regions: Ryan Drummond (with some computer distortion effects added to his voice) in English, and Junichi Kanemaru in Japanese.

A potential reason why he did not have a voice actor in Rivals is that Sega may not have wan't to drag him down by giving him a standard robot voice actor from 4Kids, as for a while their has been some disdain among the fans about these voice actors, and some even said they would hate for some characters to et the 4Kids 'treatment' so by giving him computer noises saves him in the eyes of the fans.

[edit] External links

• Absolute Anime

[edit] References

1. ^ http://sonic.sega.jp/event/016/002.html
2. ^ Confirmed in Sonic Rivals [1]; this name was unknown in Heroes.
3. ^ This is seen in the newspaper headline in Team Rose's opening CG. Likewise, Metal had not fully copied Chaos' data until the end of Team Rose's story.
4. ^ http://www.gamespot.com/psp/driving/sonicrivals/screenindex.html?sid=6160074