This article is about the video game character. For other uses, see Mephiles the Dark (disambiguation).

Mephiles the Dark (闇のメフィレス, Yami no Mefiresu^?, lit. "Mephiles of Darkness") is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Mephiles was the manifestation of the mind and will of the sun god Solaris.^[2] He was born during the Solaris Project when the experiments on Solaris split him into Mephiles and Iblis. After his birth, Mephiles was sealed inside the Scepter of Darkness by a time-traveling Shadow the Hedgehog, but was accidentally freed a decade later during a skirmish between Shadow, Rouge the Bat, and Doctor Eggman.

Upon his release, Mephiles orchestrated a time-traveling plan to torment Shadow and release Iblis from Princess Elise, successfully killing Sonic the Hedgehog. He then reunited with Iblis to recreate Solaris, but was defeated by Sonic, Shadow, and Silver the Hedgehog. When Sonic and Elise traveled back in time to prevent the Solaris Project, Mephiles was unwritten from the timeline.

Quick Answers

What is the origin of Mephiles the Dark in the Sonic the Hedgehog series?

In the Sonic the Hedgehog series, Mephiles the Dark emerged from the Solaris Project, where experiments split the sun god Solaris into Mephiles and Iblis. Shadow the Hedgehog sealed him in the Scepter of Darkness using Chaos Control, but he was released a decade later during a conflict involving Shadow, Rouge, and Dr. Eggman. His first appearance was in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).

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What is the connection between Mephiles the Dark and the sun god Solaris?

Mephiles the Dark, a cunning entity, is one half of Solaris, the sun god. Solaris was divided into Mephiles and Iblis during the Solaris Project. After their release, they reunited to reform Solaris. Mephiles orchestrated a centuries-long plan to resurrect Solaris, involving the seven Chaos Emeralds.

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Why does Mephiles the Dark look like Shadow?

In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Mephiles the Dark assumes a form strikingly similar to Shadow the Hedgehog. The resemblance includes green eyes with slit pupils, a pale muzzle, and grayish-green areas replacing Shadow's red. Like Shadow, Mephiles has rings on his wrists and ankles. Despite lacking a mouth, Mephiles' muzzle moves when he speaks, suggesting speech capability.

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What are the powers of Mephiles the Dark?

Mephiles the Dark, an antagonist in Sonic the Hedgehog, possesses powers of manipulation, darkness, and transformation. Born from the Solaris Project, his primary goal is to merge with his split half, Iblis. He can hide in darkness, striking opportunistically, and can transform into a monstrous form using Chaos Emerald energy, enhancing his physical abilities and enabling him to fire lasers. However, he is susceptible to light-based attacks.

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Who is the counterpart of Mephiles in the Solaris Project?

During the Solaris Project, supervised by the Duke of Soleanna, Solaris was split into two entities: Iblis, embodying raw power, and Mephiles the Dark, representing cunning intellect. Shadow the Hedgehog then sealed Mephiles in the Scepter of Darkness.

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Appearance[]

Mephiles is normally seen in one of three forms (excluding his monstrous form, only used in battle). His original form was an amorphous mass of darkness, which emitted an aura and behaved similarly to liquid.

After creating a body based on Shadow the Hedgehog, Mephiles took the form of a miscolored but otherwise nearly identical copy of him. Differences included green eyes with slit pupils, a pale-skinned muzzle with no mouth, gray-blue Limiter Rings, and gray-blue wherever Shadow is colored red.

Mephiles' third and most iconic form was a crystalline evolution of his Shadow body. It still had no mouth, but now has no nose, or even feet, his legs instead ending in crystalline stubs with a purple aura. Despite his crystalline appearance, his quills and ears are still capable of bending and moving. His arms were also disconnected at the elbows, leaving a gap. His eyes changed color, gaining red sclera with faint stitches and lime green irises, while his quills were bushier and ended in white tips.

Although Mephiles lacks a visible mouth, his muzzle still moves and shifts as he speaks. This trait is missing from his appearance in Shadow Generations, where his muzzle always remains still - interestingly, this game is also the first time Mephiles is ever seen blinking, revealing he has eyelids which have the exact color and texture of his crystals, Shadow Generations also changes his design slightly with his crystals glowing a slight purple, and his skin becoming a purplish-black, with his irises being a darker shade of green.

History[]

Past[]

Ten years before the events of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), 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: his raw power, Iblis, and his cunning mind, Mephiles. As Mephiles fled in the shape of a thick darkness, he was pursued by Shadow the Hedgehog, who had traveled back in time to discover Mephiles' origins. Shadow sealed Mephiles inside the Scepter of Darkness given to him by the Duke; in the process, Mephiles vowed to remember Shadow and one day take his revenge.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)[]

Eventually, Dr. Eggman acquired the Scepter of Darkness as part of his plan to harness Solaris. It was stored at his base in White Acropolis, before it was stolen by Rouge the Bat. The Scepter then shattered in a scuffle between Eggman, Rouge, and Shadow in Kingdom Valley, which released Mephiles. His darkness dove into Shadow's shadow and formed a body mimicking his. Mephiles laughed at the irony that he was freed by the same person who sealed him away, before realizing that Shadow did not know him yet (as Shadow had yet to time travel at this point). He then transported himself, Shadow, and Rouge two hundred years into the future, beginning his plan to recreate Solaris and consume all time and space.

In the future, Mephiles obtained the purple Chaos Emerald. He then approached Silver the Hedgehog, who was locked in an eternal struggle trying to destroy the monstrous Iblis. Mephiles tempted Silver with a way to stop Iblis from awakening in the first place, showing him a vision of Sonic the Hedgehog and calling him the "Iblis Trigger" who had summoned Iblis. Silver accepted the mission to kill Sonic to save the future, unaware that this would only accelerate Iblis' appearance. Mephiles then transported himself, Silver, and Blaze the Cat two hundred years into the past, to the game's present time. Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, and Knuckles the Echidna briefly witnessed this meeting from afar, having been sent to the same time period by Dr. Eggman's Solaris prototype machine.

In the present, Mephiles next appeared in Soleanna New City, ordering Silver to pursue Sonic into Radical Train and refusing to answer the hedgehog's questions about the mission, before disappearing again. He must have traveled back into the future at some point, as he baited Shadow into facing him alone in Flame Core. There he revealed that Shadow had been betrayed and imprisoned by the humans who feared his power, and tempted him to join his side to get revenge on humanity. However, Shadow refused and instead attacked Mephiles. The two seemed evenly matched until the arrival of E-123 Omega, who helped turn the tables against Mephiles. He fled back into the present day, his attackers jumping into the portal after him.

Though Mephiles shook their pursuit momentarily, he was eventually accosted by Omega again in Wave Ocean. Enduring high amounts of abuse from the robot's cannons, Mephiles gloated that in the future Omega would be reprogrammed to help the humans capture Shadow. Mephiles then faded away once more, leaving Omega to share the news with Shadow and Rouge.

Mephiles then headed to Dusty Desert to obtain the yellow Chaos Emerald, beginning to prepare for the final step of his plan. Shadow, Omega, and Rouge had correctly assumed as such, cornering him in a sanctum there. The three defeated Mephiles and reduced him to darkness once more, letting Shadow attempt to seal him back in the Scepter of Darkness again. However, Mephiles easily broke free, boasting that he had obtained enough power that he could not be sealed away anymore. He used his and Shadow's Chaos Emeralds to summon an army of clones and again questioned why Shadow would fight for a world that would ultimately despise him, but Shadow reaffirmed his stance, discarding his Limiter Rings to make short work of the army.

In the Last Story, Mephiles appears in Soleanna Forest. Having either escaped or simply survived the fight with Shadow, he grasps the purple Chaos Emerald and resolves to complete his plan where Silver failed. Hunting down Sonic and Princess Elise nearby, he blinds them both with the Emerald's powers, and projects an energy spear that impales Sonic through his back, killing him. Elise cries over his death and, because of this, the Flames of Disaster are released. After Mephiles completes the job himself and laughs triumphantly, he summons all the Chaos Emeralds to reunite with Iblis and assume their complete form as Solaris.

Despite this victory, Solaris is soon defeated in a final battle against Shadow, Silver, and a revived Sonic in their Super States. Afterwards, Sonic and Elise go back in time to extinguish Solaris before the Solaris Project can occur, eliminating it and making it so that Mephiles was never created.

Shadow Generations[]

Main article: Mephiles the Dark (Shadow Generations)

Due to the Time Eater and Black Doom's influence across time and space, Mephiles is drawn from the echoes of time and appears as a boss.^[3] His Boss Gate is hidden in an underground chamber in White Space. Shadow faces him in a sanctum in Dusty Desert, the same location of their final battle in Shadow Episode in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).

Mephiles emerges from the Scepter of Darkness and immediately attempts to kill Shadow. He reveals that not only has he been sentient while not existing but that he plans to defeat Shadow and then restore himself to the timeline, but quickly discovers his foe does not remember their previous encounters at all. After being thoroughly thrashed by Shadow, who deems Mephiles a random threat, Mephiles lashes out once more and proclaims his desire to just exist. However, Shadow defeats him and seals him back within the Scepter of Darkness, declaring that there will never be a future for Mephiles. After Black Doom and the Time Eater's defeats, the timeline returned to normal, so Mephiles was presumably lost to time once more.

Other game appearances[]

Sonic Rivals 2[]

Mephiles appears in Sonic Rivals 2 on a collectible card:

Image	Card Number	Card	Challenge	Unlocked
	123	Mephiles	Get an S Ranking in Knock Out	N/A

Sonic Generations[]

In the console/PC version of Sonic Generations and its remaster Sonic X Shadow Generations, Mephiles made a cameo appearance during the ending credits, where a screenshot of him from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) was shown.

Sonic Dash[]

In Sonic Dash, Mephiles appears as one of the playable characters. In this game, he can be unlocked after obtaining 500 of his Character Cards.

Image	Rarity	Affinity Bonus	Upgrade Profile
			Power-Up	Max Duration
	Legendary	N/A	Dash Boost	7.3s
			x2 Multiplier	15.7s
			Magnet	15.7s
			Shield	14.1s
			Headstart	9s

On 25 October 2024, Mephiles was re-released as "Oni Mephiles", a variant character of Mephiles dressed to resemble an Oni, a figure from Japanese folklore.

Image	Rarity	Affinity Bonus	Upgrade Profile
			Power-Up	Max Duration
	Legendary	N/A	Dash Boost	7.3s
			x2 Multiplier	15.7s
			Magnet	14.1s
			Shield	17.3s
			Headstart	8.2s

Sonic Runners[]

In Sonic Runners, Mephiles was a playable Speed/Future Type character with the following characteristics:

Icon	Type	Controls	Profile	Unlocking Requirement
		Triple jump 37% Score Bonus Game speed cut by 5%	Mephiles is an evil being, born from a fragment of the Solaris, which was sealed inside the Scepter of Darkness. He closely resembles Shadow.	Available on Premium Roulette.

Sonic Forces: Speed Battle[]

In Sonic Forces: Speed Battle, Mephiles first appeared in the version 4.10.0 update as a bot-controlled rival that could be encountered in races during the first half of the "Mephiles the Dark" Event.

Mephiles was soon after added as a playable character to the game's roster during the second half of the "Mephiles the Dark" Event. He has the following gameplay characteristics:

Image	Rarity	Stats	Items
			Projectile	Boost	Trap
	Challenger	Speed: 8/10 Acceleration: 7/10 Strength: 10/10	Swarming Darkness	Dark Embrace	Stalking Shade

On 28 October 2024, Mephiles was re-released as "Oni Mephiles," a variant character of Mephiles dressed to resemble an Oni, a figure from Japanese folklore. This character has the following gameplay characteristics:

Image	Rarity	Stats	Items
			Projectile	Boost	Trap
	Challenger	Speed: 7/10 Acceleration: 7/10 Strength: 9/10	Lightning Storm	Kanabo Boost	Stalking Onibi

Sonic Dash+ / Sonic Prime Dash[]

In Sonic Dash+ and Sonic Prime Dash, Mephiles appears as one of the playable characters. In these games, he can be unlocked by obtaining 500 of his Character Tokens.

Image	Affinity Bonus	Unlock Requirement	Upgrade Profile
			Power-Up	Highest level
		Obtain 500	Dash Boost	9
			x2 Multiplier	11
			Magnet	10
			Shield	12
			Headstart	10

On 14 November 2024, Mephiles was re-released as "Oni Mephiles," a variant character of Mephiles dressed to resemble an Oni, a figure from Japanese folklore.

Image	Affinity Bonus	Unlock Requirement	Upgrade Profile
			Power-Up	Highest level
		Obtain 500	Dash Boost	9
			x2 Multiplier	11
			Magnet	10
			Shield	12
			Headstart	10

Sonic Speed Simulator[]

In Sonic Speed Simulator, several UGCs related to Mephiles can be bought for the Roblox avatar.

Image	Name	Section	Description	Price	Created
	Mephiles Hair	Hair	Accessorize with this Mephiles Hair!	349R$	22 June 2024
	Mephiles Onesie	Pants	Accessorize with this Mephiles Onesie!	379R$	22 June 2024
	Mephiles Shoulder Plushie	Shoulder	Accessorize with this Mephiles Shoulder Plushie!	199R$	22 June 2024
	Mephiles Gloves	Jacket	Accessorize with this Mephiles Gloves!	149R$	22 June 2024

Personality[]

Born from experiments performed on the sun god Solaris, Mephiles can be described as a sentient being of pure darkness who craves nothing but destruction^[4]. He is a heartless and cunning sadist with no sense of compassion or empathy, who will do anything to accomplish his goal of fusing with his split half, Iblis, to assume their complete form and consume all of time.

Despite his destructive agenda, Mephiles always maintains a calm, courteous, and intelligent façade. He speaks with composure that suggests wisdom, underlined by a hint of diabolical contempt for everyone he addresses. He uses dramatic and theatrical body language, often gesturing or posing to reinforce his words. He never loses his temper, even when disappointed by Shadow's refusals to join him or when overpowered in battle. His mockingly affable nature is also shown when he gracefully bows to Shadow after taking his form. The only time he ever loses his composure is when faced with his exclusion from existence in Shadow Generations, where he frantically proclaims that he wants to exist.

Unlike most villains in the series, Mephiles tends to rely on strategy and manipulation over brute force, hiding in the dark and waiting for the right moment to strike. While he has a sense of pride and considerable fighting ability, he has no qualms with fleeing a battle to live another day. He tormented Shadow and Omega with grim prophecies of their futures, hoping to break their spirits. He manipulated Silver into doing the dirty work of killing Sonic for him, only finishing the job himself after realizing Silver was no longer useful to him.

When attempting to sway Shadow to his side, Mephiles calls the humans foolish and asks him to help teach the world a lesson, suggesting he holds disdain for humanity. The Prima Games guide for Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) implies that Solaris, and Mephiles by extension, has psychological wounds from the Solaris Project that drove him to this extreme.^[5] However, Shadow claims that Mephiles has no real desire for revenge and only craves destruction, suggesting that he has no personal grudge against humanity and has merely been driven to insanity.^[4] Ironically, Mephiles' true grudge is against Shadow himself, whom he despises for sealing him in the Scepter of Darkness for ten years.^[2][6]

In the Japanese version of the game, Mephiles occasionally places emphasis on "s" sounds in a manner similar to hissing sounds in English. He also uses the pronoun "boku", implying that he has a youthful demeanor, although it is likely done as a mockery of Shadow, who likewise uses that pronoun. His voice acting is also slightly different between localizations; in English he maintains a subdued yet sinister tone, while his Japanese voice is more gruff and dramatic, bordering on bombastic in certain lines.

After Mephiles' defeat in Sonic '06, his exclusion from the timeline has left him with a desperate desire to return to existence, and has only reinforced his bitter, seething rage and hatred towards Shadow for stripping him of his status and foiling his plans, which is only amplified further when he realises that the black hedgehog no longe recognizes him. At this point, Mephiles has lost his authoritative and manipulative edge, lashing out in anguish like a cornered animal. Do note that in the Japanese version of Shadow Generations, he retains his personality like in Sonic '06 until the moment before he got defeated by Shadow again.

Powers and abilities[]

Mephiles normally has no material form, being a spiritual lifeform.^[2][7] He first manifested as a floating, dark essence that was easily tracked and sealed away by Shadow. By later mimicking Shadow's shadow, he created a physical body with the power of the Ultimate Lifeform.^[2] At first this body was physically weak, moving slowly and carefully, but he grew stronger over time, eventually gaining a crystalline form with high combat capabilities.

Mephiles appears to be immortal, surviving every fight to have the last laugh. Whether he is capable of feeling pain is unknown; while he reacts to being hit in battle, he carelessly allowed himself to be repeatedly shot by Omega in Wave Ocean with little vocalization. Indeed, when defeated by Shadow the second time, he arrogantly declared himself invincible. Similar to Iblis, the only way to truly destroy him was preventing his birth.

Mephiles is a capable user of the Chaos Emeralds, using them to create shockwaves,^[8] grant visions,^[9] project blinding lights,^[10] and even summon other Emeralds directly to his location. Easily his most dangerous ability is that he can freely travel through time via orbs of darkness, a power likely drawn from his connection to the time-controlling Solaris. He may control the locations of those who travel with him, as he once separated Silver and Blaze, and later separated Shadow and Omega. Using these time travel powers, Mephiles manipulated over two centuries of history to achieve his goals.

After assuming his crystalline form, Mephiles reveals his true combat potential. He mainly attacks by casting orbs of darkness, using them as projectiles. He can continue to dwell within other people's shadows, hiding as a flat projection on the ground, though this slows him down considerably.^[11] He can also summon dark minions called shadows, or create weaker identical clones of himself using a Chaos Emerald. By merging with these shadows or clones, he can temporarily assume a giant monstrous form.

One of Mephiles' most powerful and iconic attacks is the crystalline energy blade that he can extend from his hand a great distance. This is the attack he uses to kill Sonic in Last Story, and he later makes heavy use of it when he faces Shadow again via White Space, wielding it like a sword to slash at him from various angles.

During the Time Eater incident, Mephiles seemed a degree stronger than his previous fights with Shadow. He was able to create near-exact clones of himself without having access to the Chaos Emeralds, and he is still equal to Shadow in speed despite him being much faster than their last encounter. He displays new powers too, such as manipulation of Corruption and the ability to swim through it in a stingray-like shape similar to Shadow's Doom Morph. He can also summon and manipulate giant stone columns from Dusty Desert using telekinesis.

Mephiles's monstrous form[]

Main article: Mephiles's monstrous form

Mephiles's monstrous form is a state that Mephiles reached after empowering his darkness with Chaos Emerald energy and fusing with his shadows. Creating a giant body that he controls. In this state, he can fire large lasers in addition to the increment in physical capabilities.

Weaknesses[]

As a being made of darkness, Mephiles is vulnerable to light-based attacks, such as Chaos Spear, which can render him immobile.^[11] His shadow-merging skills are also not infallible, as intense power can force him out of the shadows.^[12] In Shadow Generations, he can also be frozen in time using Chaos Control.

Battle[]

Main article: Mephiles the Dark (Sonic the Hedgehog (2006))

Mephiles is fought twice in the Shadow Episode in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), first in Flame Core (Mephiles Phase 1) and then in Dusty Desert (Mephiles Phase 2). In each battle, he uses his minions to overwhelm the player with numbers and assaults, though he uses them much more aggressively in the second battle. The player has to use the Chaos Boost to make Mephiles vulnerable to attack, during which he will fight using energy balls and illusions.

Relationships[]

Shadow the Hedgehog[]

Shadow is Mephiles' primary enemy. When Shadow came to the time of the Solaris Project and sealed him, Mephiles held fear of Shadow for how easily he stopped him, but also promised, that one day he would kill him as revenge. When Mephiles was released from the Scepter of Darkness and took Shadow's shade to gain a new form, he laughed at the irony but still thanked Shadow for mistakenly releasing him, though he was surprised that he did not know him at that point.^[13] At the time of their meeting in Flame Core however, Mephiles had changed his mind about killing Shadow and instead gained a fixation to turn him over to his side. He tried deceiving him into joining him in exterminating humanity, but Shadow refused and it came to blows between them.

In all their encounters, Mephiles showed great respect for Shadow due to his skills which only fueled his determination to convert him. Even in the final fight, Mephiles tried making Shadow join him. However, after Shadow bluntly rejected Mephiles' invitation, Mephiles decided to forfeit his crusade and expressed his disappointment in him before resuming his old mission to kill him.

Mephiles's hatred of Shadow became even more overt during the Time Eater incident, immediately trying to kill him and being far more openly spiteful of him. He did, however briefly consider sparing Shadow when transforming into his monstrous form, presumably to use him for his own purposes. Because Mephiles was erased from history, Shadow didn't even know who he was, though nevertheless resolved to stop him due to sensing him to be a threat.

E-123 Omega[]

Omega is another adversary to Mephiles after Shadow. They never met until the battle between Mephiles and Shadow. In their first fight, Mephiles thought that Omega was no match for him and saw him a "nuisance" only to get brutally beaten. When the two later fought each other in Wave Ocean, Mephiles mocked and taunted Omega with how he was the one who sealed Shadow in the future. Omega took this insult to heart, to the point that he intensified his attacks while Mephiles faded away laughing. Omega would later take his revenge in the final battle against Mephiles alongside Shadow and Rouge.

Silver the Hedgehog[]

Mephiles held little interest in Silver the Hedgehog as a person and only used him as a tool to further his ends. Using the hedgehog's desire to save his world, Mephiles deceived Silver into going back in time to kill Sonic by telling him it was the only way to ensure Iblis never appeared - in reality, this was the opposite of the truth. He separated Silver from his companion, Blaze, and got Silver to almost kill Sonic on two separate occasions, were it not for Amy and Shadow. Along the way, Mephiles encouraged Silver to continue his mission unquestioningly, refusing to answer any of his inquiries. Once Silver discovered the truth about Mephiles and quit hunting Sonic, Mephiles lost all interest in Silver and chose to kill Sonic himself.

Iblis[]

Mephiles' main mission was to free his other half Iblis from within Princess Elise and destroy time itself. To this end, he carved a path of deception and death, where he manipulates Silver, tried to convince Shadow to join him, and killed Sonic. Once he succeeded, Mephiles laughed in triumph before fusing with him. The extent Mephiles went to fuse with Iblis and the multiple plots he spawned for that singular goal indicates that Mephiles' only interest during his existence was to reunite with Iblis.

Sonic the Hedgehog[]

Mephiles never spoke a word to Sonic, but knew that he was the key to releasing Iblis from within Elise. Conversely, the only time Sonic ever saw him was in his Shadow form in the future. Mephiles manipulated Silver into hunting Sonic to unleash Iblis, though this plan failed. Once Mephiles realized this, he successfully killed Sonic himself with a blind yet brutal ambush, releasing Iblis so they could merge and become Solaris. Unfortunately for Mephiles, Sonic was later restored to life by the Chaos Emeralds and fought alongside Shadow and Silver to defeat Solaris, before going back in time to eliminate him and therefore stop Mephiles from ever being created.

Friends/allies[]

• Iblis
• Shadows

Enemies[]

• Blaze the Cat
• Badniks
• Dr. Eggman
• Princess Elise the Third
• Silver the Hedgehog
• Sonic the Hedgehog (victim)
• Team Dark
  • E-123 Omega
  • Rouge the Bat
  • Shadow the Hedgehog (sworn enemy)

In other media[]

Books and comics[]

Archie Comics[]

Main article: Mephiles (Archie)

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, Mephiles was born during an experiment that split his original being, Solaris, into himself and Iblis. He was later trapped by Shadow the Hedgehog, but was freed and sought to rejoin with Iblis and remake Solaris. He eventually succeed in his plan, but was stopped and erased from existence by Sonic the Hedgehog and Elise. An alternate version of Mephiles also appeared as a prisoner in the Zone Jail.

Etymology[]

Mephiles' name is mainly derived from Mephistopheles, the infamous demon from the legend of Faust. His name could also reference Mephitis, a minor Roman goddess of the noxious gases from swamps and volcanoes.

Another possible origin for Mephiles' name may be from Arabic, similar to Iblis' origins. Mephiles could refer to "Muffles" (مفلس). In Arabic, Muffles means "broken" or "a person with nothing." The term extends not just to material objects, but to non-material items as well, such as good deeds, emotions, hopes, or dreams.

Quotes[]

Merchandise[]

A skateboard deck with a design of Mephiles was made by Finesse, and the same design was used for a fingerboard by Spin Master later on. In 2021, a plush toy of Mephiles was announced by Great Eastern Entertainment. In 2024, Jakks Pacific released Mephiles' first ever action figure in Wave 15 of their 4" scale line.

Trivia[]

• Mephiles is the only character in the Sonic the Hedgehog series who has actually successfully killed Sonic. Despite being the main antagonist of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), he and Sonic never interact with each other throughout both of his appearances besides this altercation.
• In an interview by Game Informer in 2017, Takashi Iizuka stated that there were no plans for Mephiles to appear in any future games, as he was only useful for the narrative of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).^[14] However, Morio Kishimoto later posted in a tweet in 2023 that Mephiles could potentially return in future installments.^[15] He would later be revealed as a boss in Shadow Generations a year after this statement was made.
• According to the leaked script of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), just after Shadow uses Chaos Control to stop time around Mephiles in the "Sealing Mephiles" cutscene, Mephiles was originally planned to say: "I am... the sun. I transcend... time itself. A bridge to... other worlds!"
• Mephiles killing Sonic reveals that his lie about Sonic being the Iblis Trigger was actually partially true. Sonic himself would not awaken Iblis, but his death would cause Elise to cry and awaken Iblis instead. This makes Silver's mission deeply ironic, as killing Sonic would have only expedited Mephiles' plan.
• It is unknown why Mephiles did not simply reunite with Iblis in the future, where Iblis was already roaming free. This discrepancy has caused fans to theorize that Mephiles was unable to join with Iblis in its monster form and required his Flames of Disaster form to do so, though this has never been officially confirmed. Another perceived hole in his plan is why he tricked Silver into hunting Sonic rather than doing it himself (as he does in Last Story), though this is mainly explained by two facts: Mephiles was reborn slow and weak before growing strong enough to kill Sonic, and he first needed Sonic to spend time with Elise and form a strong enough bond that she would cry at his death.
• Mephiles is one of four Sonic characters (along with Fang the Hunter, Knuckles the Dread, and Bean the Dynamite) to have a suffix title that does not refer to his species. "Mephiles the Dark" refers to his association with darkness, as his Japanese name can also be translated as "Mephiles of the Darkness."
• Ian Flynn has previously expressed a theory that Sonic Team intended the Time Eater from Sonic Generations to be a portion of Mephiles that survived the defeat of Solaris and the paradox that prevented his existence.^[16] However, this theory has never been officially addressed, and Mephiles appears as a separate entity from the Time Eater in Shadow Generations with no mention of a connection.
• In the early script for Sonic Forces, Phantom Copies of Mephiles are listed as part of the army at the Eggman Empire Fortress prior to the final battle. This evidently didn't make it into the final game.^[17]
• It is interesting to note that in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, Shadow bears a resemblance to Mephiles after getting coated in snow by wiping out in any skiing or snowboarding event.
• Shadow's Batman outfit depicts his quills with similar grey colors to that of Mephiles' Shadow form.

Notes[]

References[]

Sonic the Hedgehog characters

• Heroes
• Antiheroes
• Villains
• Miscellaneous
• Groups

Sonic the Hedgehog

Miles "Tails" Prower

Knuckles the Echidna

Amy Rose

Vector the Crocodile

Espio the Chameleon

Charmy Bee

Big the Cat

Cream the Rabbit

Cheese

Blaze the Cat

Silver the Hedgehog

Mighty the Armadillo

Ray the Flying Squirrel

Trip the Sungazer

E-102 Gamma

Tikal

Omochao

Vanilla the Rabbit

Chocola

Emerl

Gemerl

Princess Elise

Shahra

Marine the Raccoon

Chip

Caliburn

Sir Lancelot

Sir Gawain

Sir Percival

Yacker

Mother Wisp

Sticks the Badger

Avatar

Barry the Quokka

Ariem

Shadow the Hedgehog

Rouge the Bat

E-123 Omega

Chaos

Chaos Gamma

Commander Abraham Tower

Jet the Hawk

Wave the Swallow

Storm the Albatross

Bean the Dynamite

Bark the Polar Bear

Merlina the Wizard

Shade the Echidna

Dr. Eggman

Metal Sonic

Orbot

Cubot

Silver Sonic

Mecha Sonic

Mecha Sonic Mk. II

Eggrobo

Fang the Hunter

Witchcart

Carrottia

Hocke-Wulf

Bearanger

Great Battle Kukku

Battle Kukku XVI

Dr. Fukurokov

Tails Doll

Metal Knuckles

Pachacamac

E-101 Beta

E-103 Delta

E-104 Epsilon

E-105 Zeta

E-100 ZERO

King Boom Boo

Biolizard

Mecha Knuckles

Black Doom

Doom's Eye

Shadow Android

E-121 Phi

Guard Robo

Eggman Nega

E-10000R

Babylon Guardian

Mephiles the Dark

Iblis

Solaris

SCR-HD

Metal Sonic 3.0

Captain Whisker

Johnny

Mini & Mum

Ifrit

Imperator Ix

Erazor Djinn

Captain Bemoth

Dark Gaia

SA-55

King Arthur

Time Eater

Zavok

Zazz

Zomom

Master Zik

Zeena

Zor

Heavy King

Heavy Gunner

Heavy Shinobi

Heavy Magician

Heavy Rider

Jimmy

Infinite

The End

Mirage Express

Black Dragon

Metal Tails

Metal Trip

Metal Amy

Froggy

Gerald Robotnik

Maria Robotnik

President

Secretary

Breeze

Heavy the Robot

Bomb

Honey the Cat

Birdie

Lumina Flowlight

Void

Illumina

Tabby

Colonel

Kylok

Daikun

Gardon

Norman

Professor Pickle

Su

Uh

King Shahryar

Ali Baba

Sinbad the Sailor

Nimue

Blacksmith

Sir Galahad

Sir Lamorak

Dodon Pa

Fox Bullies

Sage

Giganto

Wyvern

Knight

Supreme

Crane

Dragon

Snake

Tiger

Master King

Elder

Conductor

Conductor's wife

Professor Victoria

Team Sonic

Team Dark

Team Rose

Team Chaotix

Animals

Flicky

Pocky

Ricky

Rocky

Cucky

Picky

Pecky

Badnik

Master Robots

Eggman Empire

Chao

Chaotix Detective Agency

Knuckles Clan

E-Series

E-100 Series

Guardian Units of Nations

Beetle Series

Hawk Series

Hornet Series

Hunter Series

Rhino Series

Artificial Chaos

Pawn Series

Black Arms

Juggler Series

HEXAeco

Battle Kukku Empire

Babylon Rogues

MeteorTech

Coconut Crew

Djinn

Townsperson

Knights of the Round Table

Knights of the Underworld

Nocturnus Clan

Gizoid

Kron

N'rrgal

Voxai

Zoah

Humans

Gaia Temple guardians

Dark Gaia's Minions

Wisp

Deadly Six

Hard Boiled Heavies

Phantom Heavies

Jackal Squad

Eggman Army

Phantom Copy

Resistance

Team Vector

Team Eggman

Ancients

Koco

Elder Koco

Hermit Koco

Guardians

Titans

Master Koco

Metal Fighter