Sonic the Hedgehog 4‘s potential villain follows a franchise trend that started in the second film. Since the first Sonic film, the franchise has continued to expand. The first movie was simpler, establishing the rivalry between the blue hedgehog and Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik. Sonic 2 added more characters from the video games, including Tails and Knuckles, and major plot devices, like the Chaos Emeralds.

Sonic 3 was the ultimate film for fans, as it featured the trio coming together to defeat Shadow the Hedgehog. Shadow is a character many were anticipating, and the third movie delivered on his introduction. Still, there are plenty of other characters from the games that haven’t been introduced yet, and the third film teased a few more are on the way.

In Sonic 3‘s post-credit scene, Sonic battles a group of Metal Sonic robots before being saved by Amy Rose and her Piko Piko Hammer. While it’s not confirmed if Metal Sonic will be the primary villain for Sonic 4, it would continue a trend of villains who have many similarities to the speedy protagonist.

Metal Sonic Would Be The Franchise’s Third Straight “Evil Sonic” Style Villain

Metal Sonic Is The Villain Most Similar To The Main Hero

In the video games, Metal Sonic is almost a carbon copy of Sonic without his charming personality. He’s a creation of Dr. Robotnik’s, who is obsessed with proving his superiority, but usually falls short. In the movie universe, it’s unclear who created him or his army of robots, but that is something that will need to be answered in the next film.

Regardless, Metal Sonic’s introduction follows a trend that was established in the second film where the main villain is similar to Sonic. While Knuckles has different powers than Sonic, his appearance does resemble his cartoony counterpart, and his villainous arc stops after he teams up with Sonic and Tails to defeat Dr. Robotnik.

Shadow is even more similar to Sonic, but with a few more abilities, like teleportation and weaponry. He’s an anti-hero, and essentially the anтιтhesis of Sonic before having a change of heart. Shadow’s team-up with Sonic as the two achieve super status through the Chaos Emeralds also established another trend of the antagonist and main hero eventually joining forces.

The one way Metal Sonic may differ is that he likely won’t fight with team Sonic. While he has rebelled against Dr. Robotnik in the games, it’s often for his own nefarious purposes, rather than trying to save anyone. Metal Sonic could be Sonic’s most dangerous foe yet, and it will be exciting to see how Sonic 4 uses him.