User:MoonJet/Metal Sonic

Metal Sonic (シャドウ・ザ・ヘッジホッグ) is a character appearing in Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. He is robot modelled after the series' title character, created by Doctor Eggman to combat him. He first appears in Sonic CD, and is seen in several more Sonic games, notably Sonic Heroes, where he serves as the game's main antagonist, and is known as Neo Metal Sonic and Metal Overlord in the game. He also has his own playable campaign in Sonic the Hedgehog 4 titled Episode Metal.

Concept and creation
Metal Sonic was designed by Kazuyuki Hoshino for Sonic CD. Director Naoto Ohshima wanted Sonic to have a strong rival in the game, so Hoshino designed Metal Sonic "on the concept that he was Sonic's fateful rival." For Metal Sonic to have the ability to move as fast as Sonic, Hoshino came up with several ideas. He ultimately settled on one based on a jet engine, inspired by drag racers. While Metal Sonic shares a number of similarities with Sonic, he does not completely copy Sonic's appearance, and his design clearly shows that the character is a robot: instead of blue wool, Metal Sonic is covered with blue painted metal; instead of white eyes and green pupils, he had black eyes and red pupils, and instead of white gloves, he sported iron claws. A similar character named Silver Sonic appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, but Hoshino had no involvement in his creation.

Appearances
Metal Sonic first appeared in Sonic CD as a boss for the game's sixth stage Stardust Speedway. The boss fight consisted of Sonic racing him, while dodging any attacks he throws. His next appearance would be in Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble, where he is once again fought as a boss. He then appeared in the spin-off game focusing on Knuckles the Echidna and the Chaotix titled Knuckles' Chaotix, where he assists Doctor Eggman in attempting to obtain six magic rings and conquer a mysterious island.

Metal Sonic would become the main antagonist of Sonic Heroes, where he is fought several times, usually disguised as Doctor Eggman (while Eggman himself is imprisoned by him). He transforms into Metal Overlord, a more powerful form of himself, for the game's final boss battle.

Other games where Metal Sonic is fought as a boss includes Sonic Generations, Sonic Mania, and Sonic Forces. His boss battle in the former two games slightly base themselves on his boss battle in Sonic CD.

His first playable appearance in the mainline series was in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, where he is selectable in the game's multiplayer mode. He is an unlockable playable character in Sonic Adventure DX. He also has his own playable campaign in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II called Episode Metal, which explains his revival after previously being destroyed in Sonic CD. The mode consists of four stages, which are reworked versions of the levels from Episode I.

Metal Sonic is playable in the racing games Sonic Drift 2, Sonic R, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (as DLC), and Team Sonic Racing. Though he is not playable in Sonic Free Riders, he does appear as the main antagonist of the game. He was also the final boss of the fighting game Sonic the Fighters, and later added as a playable character in the 2012 PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 re-release. He appears as one of the five playable characters in Sonic Rivals, and returns for Sonic Rivals 2.

Although Metal Sonic first appeared in Sonic CD, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 featured another robot modelled after Sonic named Silver Sonic, whom Sonic fights just before the final battle with Doctor Eggman. Meanwhile, Sonic & Knuckles features yet another Sonic robot named Mecha Sonic. Unlike Metal Sonic, Mecha Sonic does not make any other appearances in the series, while several Silver Sonics appeared during the Metal Sonic boss fight in Sonic Mania.

Reception
Thomas East at the UK version of Official Nintendo Magazine listed Metal Sonic as the fifth-best Sonic character, saying "When it comes to coolness, Metal Sonic just oozes it. Far better than Sonic in every way, he looks all evil and menacing and needs some more love in games. Maybe even his own game." In a list of best Sonic villains article by Jack Densmore by Screen Rant, Metal Sonic declared as "one of the best video game villains." A Game Rant article by Rhenn Taguiam included him as the eighth strongest Sonic villain, where it is commented "What’s perhaps most terrifying about Metal Sonic is his sheer intelligence as a machine, coupled with his aggressive goal of destroying Sonic no matter what." Sonic's race against Metal Sonic in Sonic CD is considered one of the best boss fights in the series by Kotaku's Ash Parrish.

Metal Sonic was listed as an Echo Fighter that should have been in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate by Christian Garnett at Comic Book Resources. GamesRadar+ writer Tyler Wilde included him in a list of "Robots that don't make any sense," with him asking "First of all, if you wanted to make something as fast as Sonic, why would it also have to look like Sonic? Rodents aren’t exactly known for their speed… couldn’t the robot be Emu or Cheetah shaped?" The character placed number 13 in GameDaily's list of Top 25 Video Game Robots. Ginny Woo from Game Revolution listed him as among the most evil robots in video games, adding "...the most unsettling aspect of Metal Sonic is his homicidal urges. This guy wants nothing more than to put Sonic six feet under, and he’s almost strong enough to do it. Robots like Metal Sonic think that morality is a crutch for the weak. His modus operandi is stealing your girlfriend, and he fires death rays."

Matthew King of Movieweb included him in a list of Sonic characters he wants to see in future Sonic the Hedgehog films, stating "Metal Sonic would be the perfect addition to the Sonic film franchise when dramatically upping the stakes. The real Sonic would face a challenge unlike any he had ever faced before." Chris Voyage of Screen Rant discusses how Metal Sonic could be a better villain than Eggman in the Sonic films, observing "A genuinely forged hatred for both Sonic and Robotnik could compel him to obsessively prove his superiority to the former and later betray the latter. After all, while it's not particularly common, Metal Sonic has been known to act on his own in the past and even betray him on occasion when his AI outgrows the doctor." Daniel Alvarez, writing for The Gamer, wrote an article explaining why Metal Sonic should appear in the films, and states "Besides the fact that the character is visually appealing, the storyline could adapt aspects of Sonic Heroes, where Metal Sonic develops a deep hatred for Sonic and even betrays Eggman. Who wouldn't want to watch that on the big screen?"