| Mephiles the Dark | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Series |
Sonic the Hedgehog |
|
Debut |
Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) |
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Console of origin |
Xbox 360 |
|
Species |
Spirit/demon |
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Gender |
Male |
Mephiles the Dark (闇のメフィレス Yami no Mefiresu) is one of two primary antagonists in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). He is the conscience, mind and will of the sun god Solaris. Mephiles was born during the Solaris Project when the experimentations on Solaris caused him to split into Mephiles and Iblis. Shortly after his birth, Mephiles was sealed inside the Scepter of Darkness by Shadow the Hedgehog, who had traveled back in time to learn about the Solaris Project. Ten years later, Mephiles was freed during a skirmish between Shadow, Rouge and Dr. Eggman where he was resurrected through Shadow's shade.
After his release, Mephiles orchestrated a plan that spanned over two hundred years to release Iblis from Princess Elise to rejoin with it. Along the way, Mephiles attempted fruitlessly to convince Shadow to join him, having taken a particular interest him. By manipulating several individuals across time, Mephiles was ultimately successful in his plan when he personally killed Sonic the Hedgehog. Mephiles then remerged with Iblis, remaking Solaris, and prepared to bring the end of time, but was defeated by Sonic, Shadow and Silver. Mephiles was then completely erased from the timeline when Elise and Sonic traveled back in time to before the Solaris Project and brought an end to Solaris.
Description[]
Mephiles has three forms. His original form, which is also his base, is an amorphous mass of darkness. In his second form, Mephiles appeared almost identical to Shadow the Hedgehog, aside from having green eyes with slit pupils, no mouth (though his muzzle moves when he speaks, as if he does have a mouth), and the fact that everything that is red on Shadow is a pale powder blue on Mephiles. His third and most common form was a crystalline, anthropomorphic hedgehog with no visible mouth, nose, or feet. His eyes also change color in this form, gaining a red sclera and lighter green irises.
History[]
Mephiles was accidentally created during the Solaris Project, under the supervision of the Duke of Soleanna. In one of the Project's experiments, Solaris was split into two separate entities: Iblis, its raw power, and Mephiles, its cunning mind. As Mephiles was trying to escape the facility, he was sealed in the Scepter of Darkness by Shadow the Hedgehog, who had traveled through time by ten years before the events of the game.
In the intervening years, Doctor Eggman somehow acquired the Scepter of Darkness. In the present day, the Scepter was shattered during a struggle between Eggman, Shadow, and Rouge the Bat, and Mephiles was released. Mephiles absorbed Shadow's shadow, and transformed into a copy of Shadow; in doing so, he absorbed Shadow's powers as well. Realizing that Shadow did not know who Mephiles was (as Shadow had not yet traveled back in time to face Mephiles in the past), Mephiles transported Shadow and Rouge into the future.
Mephiles then sought to find the Chaos Emeralds in order to bring pain and despair to Princess Elise and release the "Flames of Disaster" (a.k.a. Iblis), who had been sealed inside Elise's soul until she cried. Mephiles intended to fuse with Iblis, reuniting them into a single entity, Solaris, their original persona.
To accomplish this, he traveled to the future and told Silver the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat that Sonic the Hedgehog was the cause of Iblis being released, which led to the destruction of their world. Therefore, Sonic was referred to as the "Iblis Trigger" by Silver and Blaze. He sent the two back in time, making them believe that killing Sonic in the present would save their future.
Along the way, as all three storylines progress, the three main characters discover how Mephiles was somehow involved in the incident which created the "Flames of Disaster", wielded by Princess Elise. Mephiles has a very pivotal role in all of the story-lines, throughout the course of the game. He has the most direct role in Shadow's story. He also has a major role in Silver's story, as he manipulates Silver and Blaze into attempting to kill Sonic so that he can finally fuse with Iblis. While he himself has a very minor role in Sonic's story, where he is only seen when Sonic, Knuckles the Echidna, and Miles "Tails" Prower are eavesdropping on his conversation with Silver and Blaze that ends with them time-traveling back to present-day Soleanna, his actions are still very much prevalent to Sonic's story, especially with his encounters with Silver.
When encountering Shadow again, Mephiles attempted to break Shadow's will to fight and join him (much like Black Doom had previously tried) by revealing that in the current future, the world and an unwilling E-123 Omega would turn against Shadow and imprison him in suspended animation (while keeping his hatred for Shadow a secret). Thus, he attempted to convince Shadow to join him, saying they would both get revenge on the world. However, Shadow proved immune to Mephiles' tactics, saying that he would determine his own destiny, leading to a battle between the two of them. Though Shadow took the upper-hand, Mephiles knocked him into a wall with an energy blast and incapacitated him when he lowers his guard, but Omega intervened and drove Mephiles off. Later, Omega met Mephiles again, who revealed to Omega that he was one that would imprison Shadow in the future, prompting the robot to shoot him with two mini-guns. Though stunned, Mephiles laughs and escapes from Omega before Shadow and Rouge arrive. As Shadow (along with Silver after Shadow foiled his second assassination attempt on Sonic) had traveled back into the past at that point, he learned of Mephiles' true nature (and Silver learned that Mephiles had lied about Sonic being the Iblis Trigger).
Shadow, Omega, and Rouge later meet Mephiles in a desert temple, though they are too late to stop him from getting the Chaos Emerald there. Again, Mephiles offers Shadow a chance to join him, but Shadow, knowing Mephiles' true intentions, flat-out refused the offer. Mephiles was fought again and lost. After his seeming defeat, however, Mephiles proved immune to being imprisoned in a new Scepter of Darkness that Shadow tried to use on him, saying that it wouldn't work on him anymore (he implies that the reason he was immune was due to his time traveling by ten years ago). Mephiles then uses two Chaos Emeralds to create an army of clones of himself. He then boasts to Shadow that he can't defeat him, and asks why he is even bothering to protect a world that will eventually turn against him. Shadow replies, "If the whole world decides to become my enemy, then I will fight like I always have!", then removes his Inhibitor Rings and destroys the entire army.
In the Last Story, Mephiles, having either escaped or simply survived the fight with Shadow, finds the purple Chaos Emerald. At this point, he (rather than progressing to the next scene) travels to the future to deceive Silver (this is not specified, but it would explain how he had the purple Chaos Emerald and the knowledge of Sonic at this point). Eventually, after Silver failed his mission, he uses it to warp to Sonic and Elise's location shortly after they escape Eggman's exploding Egg Carrier. He blinds them with the Emerald's powers, and projects an energy spear (dubbed the "Dark Chaos Lance") that impales Sonic from behind, killing him instantly. Elise cries over his death and, as a result, releases Iblis, allowing Mephiles to fuse with him and transform into Solaris (who is soon destroyed in the final battle against Shadow, Silver and a revived Sonic in their Super States).
It is also revealed in the Last Story that Mephiles' lie to Silver and Blaze about Sonic being the Iblis Trigger was partially true: Sonic is indeed the Iblis Trigger, but his death would not stop Iblis's resurrection; rather, his death would be the very event that would release Iblis from Elise's soul. The key to Iblis's freedom was an event that would cause Elise to become so consumed with despair and guilt that she would cry, as she had formed a very close friendship with Sonic.
Personality[]
nlike most of the villains in the Sonic series, who are driven by a lust for power or revenge, Mephiles (according to Shadow) only seems to crave destruction. He is portrayed as a cold, manipulative, cruel, sadistic, and ruthless villain with no sense of compassion. He would do anything to accomplish his goals, even if it means taking innocent lives. Mephiles happens to take great pleasure and delight in hurting others and has been shown to have a very warped and twisted sense of humor, making him a very sadistic and psychotic individual. For example, he made it his sole mission to cause pain to Elise throughout the entire course of the game, and even broke out into a maniacal laughter after ending Sonic's life. This is also seen when he taunts Omega by telling him he would be reprogrammed to capture Shadow. Mephiles is also highly intelligent, capable of using and manipulating people to further his evil plans. This is shown when he preyed upon Silver's frustration and desire to save the world, by deceiving him into thinking that Sonic was responsible for the devastation of his future, knowing that killing Sonic would have done the exact opposite of what Silver was trying to achieve.
Mephiles also has nihilistic tendencies, as evidenced in his final fight against Shadow, where he asks why Shadow even bothers fighting at all, and why Shadow even bothers defending humanity when they will inevitably persecute him later. However, it seems that he has some manners, as he bowed to Shadow after taking his form, though this was most likely done as a mocking gesture.
Mephiles also seems to have a habit of waving his hands when he speaks, as he has been seen doing so in nearly all of his appearances. He ranges from holding his hands up high while making a declaration, to holding them out to the sides slightly or even in front of himself while making himself appear as an ally to Silver and Blaze. Mephiles also showed limited interest in people, taking particular interest in Shadow, Omega, Silver and Sonic, the latter only because he needed to kill him. Mephiles is shown to hold a particular hate for Shadow since it was he who sealed him in the Scepter of Darkness. This being said, Mephiles did not acknowledge Rouge, Blaze or Elise, whom he would have been aware of, while the rest of the game's cast did not know of him just as much as he did them.
Powers and Abilities[]
As noted above, he can take various forms by absorbing an individual's shadow, which resulted in his gaining his common form. Subtle differences are applied, however, such as a far darker shade of various colors, a pale complexion, and bestial green eyes. Besides actually taking on a form with someone's shadow, he also can grow stronger by absorbing shadows, especially if it comes from the same type of shadow as the being whose shadow he absorbed earlier outside of time. This is especially evident with his second encounter, where he managed to effortlessly escape imprisonment from another Scepter of Darkness due to his present self having gone back in time absorbing Shadow's shadow while the latter was sealing away Mephiles' past self.
Mephiles can manipulate and move through time with an ability similar to Chaos Control. Whether or not this was due to taking Shadow's form through his shadow or he had this power all along is debatable; however, being one half of the time god Solaris, the latter seems more probable. In addition, he has enough control over his abilities of time manipulation to separate pursuing enemies, as evidenced by how he managed to escape Omega and Shadow after their first fight in the future. His primary offensive technique is a massive sphere of black energy that is spawned from his hands that home in on their targets. He can also use the energy spheres to move himself and others through time. Since Mephiles absorbed Shadow's shadow, he also has the ability to actually be his shadow, as seen in the first boss fight against him. Furthermore, he can alter his physical form to sink into the ground and merge with the shadow of another. He can also manipulate shadows to create "clones" of himself, although they are warped and imperfect without the power of the Chaos Emeralds. He can also merge the clones together to make large shadow monsters. With two Emeralds, he can create an army of perfect clones. As seen in the "Showdown with Mephiles" cutscene, Mephiles can also blast opponents away by firing shockwaves of energy at them. Mephiles' final attack used before fusing with Iblis to become Solaris was a beam of energy (dubbed the "Dark Chaos Lance" by fans) that he extends from his right hand to kill Sonic.
Mephiles appears to be immortal, surviving every fight he takes part in, and whenever he is beaten he seems to just shift into his base form. Whether or not he is capable of feeling pain is unknown; although he reacts to taking damage during his boss battles with Shadow, he merely stood and allowed himself to be shot multiple times when confronting Omega at Wave Ocean. Indeed, when defeated by Shadow a second time, he also declared himself to be immortal, and invincible.
Since he is the mind and will of Solaris, Mephiles also happens to be very intelligent. This is shown in his ability as a skilled manipulator, being able to easily manipulate Silver and Blaze into nearly getting his desired result. He is also shown to have adept knowledge on using modern technology, as evidence by knowing exactly which files in Dr. Eggman's computer to use when trying to persuade Silver to assassinate Sonic. This is most likely due to his apparently endless lifespan and time travel power allowing him to study the world around him for as long as he needs to.
Mephiles has also demonstrated the curious ability to, with one Chaos Emerald in his possession, warp the other six Emeralds to his location instantly, which he did after the Flames of Disaster were released from Elise and before reuniting with Iblis. Presumably, he utilized the Chaos Emeralds' magnetic properties to pull this off.
Mephiles also was capable of creating and commanding various monsters, as evidenced by the various monsters that appeared. Unlike Iblis, however, he cannot create them when he was sealed up.