After a grounded start with the first movie, "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" looks a lot more like
the games that inspired it – so much so that if you're behind on your Sonic lore,
you might not know what's going on – especially with that post-credits scene.
This is the ending of "Sonic 2" explained.
"Sonic, meet Knuckles."
Why does Knuckles hate Sonic?
The motivations of the angry red echidna Knuckles actually tie into the opening of the first
"Sonic the Hedgehog" movie.
In these moments we see how Sonic ended up on Earth, in our human world.
Sonic was raised by the owl Longclaw on a mystical island that was peaceful ... for
the most part.
When the owls were invaded by echidnas, Longclaw gives her powerful rings to Sonic and sends
him far away to safety.
In "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" we get more perspective on these events from an echidna.
Following Sonic's departure, a battle ensued that wiped out a majority of the fighting
echidnas.
Knuckles was one of the young survivors, and the events of that day radically changed him,
sending him on a revenge-fueled quest.
Knowing that Sonic was raised by Longclaw, Knuckles makes the hedgehog his sworn enemy
and vows to find him and take him down.
When he learns of the echidna's existence, Robotnik tracks down and manipulates Knuckles
into helping him find one of the world's largest sources of power: the Master Emerald.
The Master Emerald
Knuckles' main motivation in wiping out Sonic is revenge for the owl's slaughter of his
people – but there's also the important element of the Master Emerald.
Knuckles feels it is his destiny to seek out the all-powerful stone, and he plans on using
it as a tool to stop Sonic once and for all.
While the movie gives a brief lore dump, it doesn't get into why the Master Emerald is
so important to this character.
To know that, you'll need to look to the video games.
In the game lore, Knuckles also began as a villain who worked with Robotnik, although
eventually we learn he was tricked by him into teaming up.
As his backstory in the games gets fleshed out, we learn Knuckles is the last living
echidna of his tribe and a sworn protector of the Master Emerald.
In the movie, he dabbles with the possibility of using the Emerald's power for his own selfish
needs.
By the end of the movie, Knuckles has undergone a change and becomes the great protector that
fans know and love.
This reflects the arc the character had in his first handful of game appearances.
"Stand still and die!"
"For a guy named Knuckles, you are really bad at punching."
Robotnik betrays Knuckles
Any adult paying attention could see that Robotnik was destined to betray Knuckles by
the end of the movie.
The evil genius used the echidna's blinding rage to manipulate Knuckles into steering
him right to the Master Emerald.
The moment the precious all-powerful stone is in sight, Robotnik realizes Knuckles is
a threat that must be eliminated.
Robotnik takes the Master Emerald for himself and makes an attempt to get rid of Sonic and
Knuckles for good.
Sonic rescues Knuckles, which leads the echidna to re-evaluate his relationship with the hedgehog
and his fox companion.
This change of heart leads to a team-up that will end up taking down Robotnik for good.
This story arc follows the basics laid down by some of the early "Sonic the Hedgehog"
games.
In "Sonic & Knuckles" on Genesis, Sonic fights Knuckles, only for both of them to find it
was a staged distraction for Robotnik to steal the Master Emerald.
The plot of the movie follows these beats pretty faithfully.
Super Sonic
Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails work together to thwart Dr. Robotnik and his Egg Smasher mech.
As Knuckles punches the robot hard enough to break the emerald out of it, we see the
Master Emerald break into smaller shards.
For a second there, it seems like all hope is lost for Knuckles and his quest to find
and protect the emerald.
But then a miracle happens.
Sonic absorbs shards of the Master Emerald and they power him up, transforming the blue
hedgehog we've come to know into a glowing yellow Super Sonic.
With this enhanced power, Sonic is able to defeat Robotnik and his Egg Smasher for good.
After his purpose is completed, Super Sonic reverts back to normal and the emeralds exit
his body to once more form one whole Master Emerald.
Super Sonic made its debut in the Genesis game "Sonic the Hedgehog 2."
Since then, Super Sonic has appeared in dozens of "Sonic" games, often as an unlockable character.
In the story of the games, he is the evolution of Sonic after he collects all seven Chaos
Emeralds, which is often the main objective of any given "Sonic" game.
Casting a shadow
In the post-credits scene of "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" we see agents of GUN, aka the Guardian
Units of Nations, stumble upon a top secret project from over 50 years ago.
The name is revealed to be "Project Shadow," and we are shown an extremely brief glimpse
of a large tube with a figure inside.
The last shot of the movie is a black figure inside opening his red eyes.
"Yes, that's you."
Fans that grew up on the late Dreamcast and GameCube era of "Sonic" games will recognize
this as Shadow the Hedgehog.
This edgy foil to Sonic is so extreme that he even used a gun in "Shadow the Hedgehog,"
the Sonic spin-off game that was actually released and wasn't just a mid-2000s fever
dream.
Shadow first appeared in "Sonic Adventure 2" and he was a staple character for that
generation of "Sonic," even making his way to become a character on the Cartoon Network
show "Sonic Boom."
This tease suggests Shadow will play a role in the next "Sonic" movie, possibly as the
villain.
This isn't the most shocking move, but it is one fans have been waiting to see for quite
a long time.
Sonic heroes
It makes complete sense for Shadow to join the cinematic universe on the next "Sonic"
adventure, broadening the universe of Sonic on-screen.
The games have long had a large and growing roster of characters, with someone new being
introduced in seemingly every game.
First released for the Dreamcast, 1998's "Sonic Adventure" brought Sonic, Tails and a whole
new roster of foes and friends into 3D for the first time ever.
It also introduced new heroes, like Big the Cat, and helped give new life to older characters,
like Amy Rose, a bouncy female hedgehog who eventually develops a huge crush on Sonic.
With the Shadow tease at the end of this movie, it seems natural that the next Sonic story
could bring more of these game characters into the fold.
Also introduced in "Sonic CD" is Metal Sonic, a robot recreation of the hedgehog engineered
by Robotnik.
This is one of the most iconic enemy designs in the game franchise and it has yet to appear
in the movies.
And what about the scheming Rouge the Bat, another semi-villainous Sonic foil?
Will she cross over into this universe too?
Only time will tell.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Looper videos about your favorite movies and TV shows are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.