Shard the Metal Sonic

"Yeah. Accept no imitations."

— Shard the Metal Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog #240

Shard the Metal Sonic (Call Sign Jack in the Secret Freedom Fighters), originally known as Metal Sonic 1.0, and sometimes as Mecha Sonic, is a character that appears in Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog series, exclusively existing in the pre-Super Genesis Wave timeline. He was the first Metal Sonic ever created and was one of the deadliest robotic models created by Dr. Ivo Robotnik. He is based off his organic counterpart and Robotnik's most hated enemy, Sonic the Hedgehog, and was one of the first robots in the Metal Sonic Series. Metal Sonic was pitted against Sonic and friends on numerous occasions, until he was seemingly destroyed when he chose to sacrifice himself to save Sonic and Tails. He was at some later point recovered, rebuilt, and - having gained a social conscience and sense of morality - recruited as a member of the Secret Freedom Fighters.

Personality and traits

As his old self, Metal Sonic/Shard had a rather emotionless personality, acting as another of Robotnik's obedient robots, though he did express contempt for his enemies. However, after his defeat at the hands of Knuckles and the Chaotix, and having been forced to rebuild himself, his personality drastically improved, as did his abilities and appearance. He showed overt signs of emotions while battling Sonic, mocking and insulting his organic counterpart, and shortly before his apparent death, revealed that he could surpass his programming and act as a complete individual. As part of his developed personality, he became arrogant and extremely self-confident in his abilities.

Because of this, he is fairly easy going, though he is also not above playfully (or cruelly) taunting or mocking others. A notable example of Shard's cockiness was when he teased Silver during their mission to Soumerca whilst simultaneously showing off his abilities. As indicated during the same mission, however, Shard seems somewhat protective of Larry Lynx. It's possible that his ability to surpass his original programming stems from his Power Gem core. Despite being modeled after a hedgehog, Shard hates being buried, most likely as a result of his near destruction at mercy of a tidal wave of lava. He also has Sonic's knack for finding unexpected solutions to problems. Since his rebuilding, he also seems to have developed a sense of his mortality, and appears to long for the sorts of family connections that his organic counterpart enjoys. Perhaps in this spirit, he began spending a good deal of time with Nicole, whom he seems to have developed some feelings for as a result.

Despite his ego in battle, Shard is actually rather insecure, weighed down by both his past misdeeds and the negative image created for robots by Eggman's villainy. He is eager to change this impression, and is willing to sacrifice himself for the very people that he believes would fear him if they knew of his existence. Furthermore, while he apparently wishes to help his fellow artificial beings, he is willing to destroy any who are incapable of moving beyond their destructive programming. He also wishes to make amends for the evils he has committed, and provide help to his former foes in their battle against evil.

Relationships

Friends/allies

• Freedom Fighters
  • Knothole Freedom Fighters
    • Antoine D'Coolette
    • Nicole (close friend)
  • Secret Freedom Fighters (teammates)
    • Elias Acorn
    • Harvey Who
    • Larry Lynx (best friend)
    • Leeta Wolf
    • Lyco Wolf
    • Silver the Hedgehog
  • Team Fighters
    • Amy Rose
    • Miles "Tails" Prower
    • Sonic the Hedgehog (organic counterpart)
    • T-Pup
• Sir Charles Hedgehog

Neutral

• Freedom Fighters
  • Chaotix
    • Bomb
    • Charmy Bee
    • Espio the Chameleon
    • Heavy
    • Knuckles the Echidna
    • Mighty the Armadillo
    • Vector the Crocodile

Enemies

• Dr. Ivo Robotnik (creator)
• Eggman Empire
  • Badnik Horde
    • Egg SWAT
    • Krudzu Hybrid Hydra
    • Metal Series
      • Metal Knuckles
      • Mecha Sally
      • Metal Sonic v.3.0 (rival)
  • Cubot
  • Dr. Eggman
  • Orbot
• Geoffrey St. John
• Ixis Naugus