Why Classic & Modern Metal Sonic Look Different 

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"Why does Metal Sonic have a different design? It's not like he can grow up." Upgrades, people. Upgrades.

that actually makes perfect sense

Metal is one of the best Sonic villains ever. I wish he was better utilized, though.

Nah metal sonic boxing Mario killed me for no reason at all💀

It's the only explanation anyone could really make about him. I always assumed that after each beat up Metal gets, Eggman replaces some of his parts to make him look stronger and better, like Sonic

This is literally what I believed everyone just assumed out of logic. I appreciate you clearing it out for the newcomers and casuals

I honestly can't believe people didn't even think of that. It's so obvious! He's the most consistently used Battle Robot to take Sonic on. Why WOULDN'T Eggman keep him updated?

Metal Sonic first appeared in CD and since then he is one of the most Iconic characters of the series.

What half of the sonic community is known for: complaining over the littlest things in till they get what they want

Oml why cant sonic fans just accept that redesigns happen and there doesnt have to be an official explaination for it. Its a game character. This is no shade to you, SonicHub, but some fans really cant continue life without a perfect explaination for literally everything and thats wild to me.

Did... people forget that eggman can make upgrades... please tell me people didn't forget that Metal Sonic can be upgraded and changed since he's a robot...

I definitely think that Metal Sonic is a best Sonic villain in my opinion.

A swear Sonic fans will complain for everything now

I totally agree with this. I also don't see whats wrong with a design change now and then, I think its good to have a change once in a while. Also an unrelated note, id love to see Metal Sonic and Sonic work together in a game to defeat some super powerful enemy, maybe we could then actually see a Super Metal Sonic (not to be confused with Super Mecha Sonic).

If you have to cut something but it doesnt seem to be working, you arent going to keep cutting with the same thing, you'll make it sharper, it just makes sense to upgrade metal sonic if he doesnt get the job done as is

He’s supposed to be Sonic’s equal no matter the context or timeline

I like to believe that he did it while upgrading himself to NEO Metal Sonic.

I played adventure soo much . I thought metal would have a campaign in the game bad sadly he didn't

I think it's because Metal Sonic got upgraded to use that mysteryous stone in Sonic 4 episode metal

I thought it was obvious, sonic isn’t the same person he was, he has gotten so much stronger that he can beat some foes that needed classic super sonic to beat, the old metal sonic would keep up with him unless he got an upgrade

this was the headcanon I had for it as well. It makes complete sense

I thought the complaint was that Classic Metal Sonic looked different from *CD Boxart* Metal Sonic, not *modern* Metal Sonic.

Yeah, I’d say that’s a pretty sound theory. Although the cut scenes don’t match this, I like to think the first time metal sonic got upgraded to match his modern counterpart was in sonic four episode two. Yes, throughout their entire game, they use the modern metal sonic design, but since he’s found destroyed on little planet has his modern form, incontinuity, he hast to be his classic self at that point. So once he flies back to earth and gets rebuilt, I like to think that’s one egg man gives him the height increase to match his modern counterpart. However, that’s less of a theory and instead what I would do.

Tbh,idk why people are complaining when this is honestly just basics in engineering. "Classic" metal sonic is the mk1 version of metal sonic in sonic CD,when he was first sent to fight sonic. "Modern" metal sonic is more of a mk2/3,upgraded to match sonic's feats and keep up with him as he got older. Along with learning from how he lost the first time. Robots don't naturally grow like we do,but they still can via tinkering and upgrading to fix what doesn't work or improve what does.

Hi

Sonic 4 is staring this guy down right now

It’s valid, plus has evidence. now thats a good theory

Sonic would demolish metal if eggman didn’t redesign him

If you wanna believe his ability to naturally copy abilities, you can say that his body naturally adjusted to fit the new characters since we do know that certain robots can naturally shift their bodies into other shapes

I always saw it the same way. I would say Metal Sonic and “Classic” Metal Sonic are the same robot just different modifications and it makes sense because sonic did get older meaning that Eggman would have to replicate Sonic’s aging onto Metal Sonic. It was either that or I’d tell myself that they might’ve been two different Metal Sonic’s because of the amount of times you beat him/destroy him in game.

Valid theory, you’re hired

I think people are complaining that he looks nothing like the original classic metal sonic (the 3d models from the promo art for CDs)

Metal Sonic's first appearance was in Sonic CD, he had a much more pointy and somewhat intimidating design, they didn't like the newer classic Metal Sonic design because it just looked like a shrunken down Metal Sonic, and that superstars resued it

Counter theory metal sonic was made to have the qualities of sonic, if sonic is short, metal will be short, if sonic is tall, metal will be tall. It’s simply Eggmans way of putting an EXACT copy of sonic against himself.

I’m a big Sonic fan, but never in my life have I really cared about why any of their designs look different, it always gets quickly answered by a simple “things change with time,” and a “not everything happens all at once.”

Metal Sonic throwing hands with boxing gloves is genuinely terrifying

Yeah, it actually makes sense because if eggman stuck with classic metal sonic, he would be even weaker because he would be the size of a child basically

I always thought that when I noticed that if you look under Metal's "belly" it has like a half sphere and I thought Eggman gave him that and longer lims and fix the head. But it's just as simple as that just a rebuild

Summarize: Because Classic Eggman based Metal Sonic on classic's younger design that's why. Same goes with Modern Eggman, he needed to upgrade him for Sonic's new look.

One of the traits about Metal Sonic that I like is that after years of being beaten by Sonic, Metal starts to go insane just like Eggman, which shows in Sonic Heroes where Metal's program made him rebel against Eggman and try to take over the world and during the battle against Metal Overlord he's convinced that he is the original Sonic and that Sonic himself the duplicate.

Eggman keeping metal up to par with sonic makes perfect sense since metal is his favorite robot.

i mean, yeah, Eggman constantly making updates and improvements to Metal as time goes by makes perfect sense.

That is, BEFORE the retcon of Classic and Modern Sonic being from different dimensions. In which case, it still makes sense why Metal also has Modern and Classic incarnations.

I figured this was common knowledge, or at least a common assumption.

People weren’t already thinking this? They’re called upgrades, when Sonic grows up, he gets stronger so Eggman also has to make Metal Sonic adapt to the older Sonic, it’s simple logic people

Something that breaks this theory completely is that metal sonic in sonic 4, “the metal sonic that lost the race in sonic cd” looks the same as modern metal sonic, meaning that he always apparently looked like the modern version. Even those games like adventure and heroes showing more classic designed version of the character.

I agree I also believe that was the bugging of the creation neo metal sonic

It's actually really funny how big of a deal those fans make it out to be

There's a scene in Sonic 4 episode 2 where Metal gets revived from the Stardust Speedway fight and then goes to Not-Metropolis Zone to get an upgrade. In my headcanon, that's when he gets his Modern redesign

This makes total sense, this explains why the modern metal sonic has diferent abilities.

The other possibility is that the original Metal Sonic battled in CD, Sonic 4, Mania, etc (the one on Little Planet), and the Modern Metal Sonic from Sonic Adventure and onwards (outside of the titles released in the classic era) are 2 different models of Metal Sonic, 2 different bodies but with the same base AI program.

It's so funny how people can't understand you could upgrade robots lol

Right, let's ignore Sonic 4 being the first time in canon where this happens...

I'm just imagining Eggman sending Metal Sonic to fight Sonic, only to realize Sonic had a growth spurt and now towers over Metal. And after that embarrassment he just made Metal taller from that point on.

Sonic is a living being. He grows. If Eggman wants a robot that is meant to parallel Sonic, obviously both software AND hardware updates are required...

The real reason as seen in sonic heroes is that metal upgrades himself regularly to keep up with sonic who keeps growing more powerful as time passes

Metal with boxing gloves.... perfect

...or Metal Sonic just grew as well. Canonically, he has the ability to shapeshift.

Also adds to the idea that metal sonic always comes back cuz his original body is still around.

Makes sense, because of heroes we also know that Metal can and will upgrade himself too!

Short answer: upgrades, people! Upgrades!

The idea of 2 metal sonics classic and modern are just too damn funny to me

I like to think that Eggman likes to update Metal Sonic every so often

That is actually really logical because this from what is known about Sonic the older he gets the faster he is

To cut to the chase, he got upgraded, simple

That adventure Metal sonic is for sure the one from heroes, that’s who I always assumed modern metal was

This shouldn’t even be a complaint considering we all know Eggman MAKES UPGRADES!

It's weird people don't think of that. Like, it's not hard to believe Eggman would make the robot look more like Sonic when it's supposed to look like Sonic to begin with.

My theory classic metal Sonic stop working due to being so old so he builded an new metal Sonic just like modern Sonic

As sonic grew up he got faster, so metal sonic needed a bigger body to hold a slightly bigger, yet faster jet engine! That’s my little idea at least.

Every time metal sonic loses he changes

He gets upgraded by Eggman in Sonic 4

People forget that either upgrades is a word or how smart eggman is

pretty sure they made him taller in adventure cause he grew up, its basically a time skip in an anime, thats why when tails see's him he says "long time no see".

I feel like Eggman would totally adapt Metal Sonic to match with regular Sonic’s moves, like learning from his defeats so he can come back even stronger the next time. And so as Sonic grew up, Metal grew up alongside him.

There is a in game explanation, Metal debut in the modern era was in Sonic héroes were is the main Villain as Neo Metal Sonic. Eggman explicitly said he rebel after his last upgrade he give to him, but Neo Metal is not said upgrade, the real upgrade is the form at what he revert after being defeated, he gain the capacity of self upgrade and evolve, the Neo forms are Metal own actions result. Besides the current IDW, comics have a few issues with Eggman repairing him personally. And there is the reason he don't appears in forces, he was undergoing a controlled upgrade to Neo Metal.

In the universe, Sonic is a tinier hedgehog, therefore in Robotnik’s attempts to copy him with metal sonic, he made him as small.

I think eggman seen sonic slowy grow more older and powerful, he decided to remake metal sonic everytime sonic gets to a certain age to compete with him.

The thing is, in CD, Metal Sonic looked basically the same as the Metal Sonic we have now, it's only in Generations and Superstars where this weird looking "Classic" Metal showed up

Makes sense. Gotta upgrade Metal Sonic to keep up with Sonic.

If anything it makes more sense for metal sonic to look more like classic Sonic rather than modern since metal was made when Sonic was younger

Metal sonic classic verison in superstars looks like he became a mini version of himself which is cute ngl🦔

Metal Sonic blew up after losing the race on stardust speedway so obviously when the doc rebuilt him Sonic was older

In old sonic offical animations metla sonic had a classic form. It was a animation for when sonic and metal both first met i think.. i think thats why he has a classic form

One reason. He was made to be a robot sonic. The reason is that as sonic got older, taller and faster metal sonic had actual limitations due to design so he would be upgraded to match sonic

There basically the same thing, just a little darker and taller.

Sonic 4 Episode I and II showing how Metal Sonic got heavily altered by the machinery that Eggman lead it to implying that it was the reason he kinda changed (probably only in the lore since in-game nothing changes)

This actually holds water, since the relationship Eggman has with Metal in the Archie Comics was very much like an overbearing father

I have a little theory, the events of Sonic CD made the timeline split into two, the classic timeline and the modern timeline, which is why Classic and Modern look so different despite being the same age

Yeah, in true game theory, Sonic just genuinely grew lankier and his fur got darker due to sun tan of how much he was outside in his Classic days, and Metal Sonic first appeared in Sonic CD, got defeated, and then Eggman realised that he not only had to fix metal, but had to increase the size of metal's upper limbs.

It's just so it fits the different skeleton that all the robots in multiplayer have

I always figured “modern metal sonic” followed after his upgrades / transformation into Neo Metal in sonic heroes. I’m not sure if it’s ever explained how it got the upgrades for that form, like being able to copy data about the heroes, and combine them with chaos power and transform into an ultimate metal being composed of all the data and chaos power. We see it “de transform” upon completing the final bosses of heroes, and while it appears to have regained a close to classic form, it’s more than likely that the modern variant still has these copying features, perhaps similar to the Emerl series robots. Edit: it is possible that adventure 1 eludes to the upgrades, as you point out. But considering metal in Adventure 1 DX is a secret playable sonic skin (after getting all ranks/difficulties of every level finished either as sonic or all characters, I don’t quite remember)

Has nobody ever thought that before? Go figure that Robotnik would constantly upgrade and retool his best line of attack against his arch-nemesis-

Sonic 4 showed us that tweaking in the metal episode, so yes

I thought it was because as sonic defeated metal eggman decided to make him diffrent each time but better. Allowing him to "grow up" and eventually look modern

I thought that was a given. It makes sense that eggman would upgrade metal when it loses

Idk about all that. I could have sworn classic Sonic from generations wasn’t modern Sonic’s past self but the younger version of an alternate reality.

I want to think that after Sonic cd when Metal Sonic got smoked at Stardust Speedway, Eggman had to both full on repair and upgrade Metal Sonic to his current design

My theory is when sonic grew older metal sonic had trouble copying his attacks since metal sonic had a different body shape so eggman decided to change it so that metal sonic could copy his moves