However, Metal Sonic has always been a fairly one-note villain motivation-wise. Initially, Metal Sonic’s primary drive is to overcome Sonic. This eventually develops into a larger loathing of life at large, prompting it to transform into a more global-level threat. Metal Sonic doesn’t get much of a distinct personality otherwise, serving as a stoic foe for the more peppy and talkative Sonic.

While the Metal Sonic that appears in the film has a distinct-looking design for an army of nameless enemies, it’s hard to imagine how an unfeeling threat like that could make for a compelling antagonist. After Shadow’s tragic motivation in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, having an emotionless instrument as the villain would be a letdown. This requires a fix for Metal Sonic.

Metal Sonic Needs To Become The Monster His Game Version Did

If Metal Sonic is going to be the big bad of Sonic the Hedgehog 4, then he needs to be more than just Sonic’s physical counter. Metal Sonic needs a motivation or a personality to be entertaining. While Dr. Robotnik was a fairly basic villain who wanted to take over the world and get revenge on Sonic, Jim Carrey’s performance made the villain entertaining to watch.

Metal Sonic, at least as portrayed in the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 post-credits scene, is a voiceless threat that attacks the hero with a vicious efficiency. There’s a lack of personality that makes it worrying to imagine the character as a central villain. If Metal Sonic turns out to be the primary antagonist of Sonic the Hedgehog 4, Metal Sonic needs a unique voice.

One way to do this would be to look at Sonic Heroes. The game focused on Metal Sonic developing a new ambition and deciding to go all out to prove he’s stronger than Sonic. This includes absorbing the Chaos power of various heroes and transforming into his тιтanic monstrous state, Metal Overlord.

If Metal Sonic is going to be driven by his game’s motivation of overcoming Sonic, then this kind of transformation could add some spectacle to a fairly basic villain motivation. This kind of threat could then require multiple heroes and villains to work together, playing into the overall themes of the series about the importance of family and friendship bonds.

Sonic 4 Would Benefit From More Than One Villain

One way that Sonic the Hedgehog 4 could use Metal Sonic without being over-reliant on the potentially one-note or dry villain is to make him (and the scores of other Metal Sonic copies seen in Sonic the Hedgehog 3‘s post-credits scene) the agents of another villain.

This could be someone like a returning Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, a legacy villain like Sage, or a new creation. This could benefit the film in major ways when it comes to Metal Sonic. This could potentially relegate Metal Sonic to a more minor role as a physical threat, leaving room for another character to have more complex motivations or personality.

On the other hand, this could allow Metal Sonic to develop his hatred for Sonic despite his programming meant to keep him cool and calculating. This, in turn, could lead Metal Sonic to rebel, giving the character a natural arc for a movie as it elevates him into the dangerous form the robot eventually gains when it becomes Metal Overlord.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4‘s best solution when it comes to Metal Sonic, whether it’s using the machine as a minor threat or as the big bad, would be to include another villain. This way, Metal Sonic can either showcase personality in rebelling or can be relegated to a cool visual while Sonic the Hedgehog 4 focuses on other characters.