- "Flames of Disaster" redirects here. For other uses, see Flames of Disaster (disambiguation).
Iblis (イブリース Iburīsu?), also known as the Flames of Disaster (炎の災厄 Honō no Saiyaku?), is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Iblis was the wrath and power of the sun god Solaris, and an immortal energy-based being of mass destruction.[1][2] He was born during the Solaris Project, when the experiments on Solaris split him into Iblis and Mephiles the Dark. Following his birth, Iblis was sealed inside the soul of Princess Elise by the Duke of Soleanna.
Ten years later, Elise was targeted by Dr. Eggman, who sought the power of Iblis. In an accident, Iblis was unleashed and ravaged the world for two centuries into the future. Fortunately, this future was averted thanks to Silver, Sonic, and Blaze. However, Iblis was also released by Mephiles and reunited as Solaris, only to be defeated by Sonic, Shadow, and Silver, and was subsequently erased from existence.
Quick Answers
What is the origin of Iblis in the Sonic the Hedgehog series?
What is the relationship between Iblis and the sun god Solaris?
How was Iblis born during the Solaris Project?
Who is Mephiles the Dark and what is his connection to Iblis?
What is the significance of Iblis being known as the Flames of Disaster?
Appearance[]
Iblis' base form, from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
Iblis is composed entirely of raging fire. In his original form as the Flames of Disaster, Iblis was a large, swirling swarm of yellow flames. Upon being unleashed in the future as a monster, he instead grew a giant body composed of lava and stone.
Iblis is fought in three different forms. The first form is a vaguely humanoid body with four arms, his torso growing out of the lava flooding Crisis City. He has stone-like armor across his back, shoulders, and head, and two brilliant green eyes. The second form is shaped like a giant, red worm with stone armor on his back and horns on his head, gaining a third green eye on his forehead. The third form initially appears as a giant stone sphere that emits a fiery aura. Once Silver awakens him, Iblis becomes entirely humanoid, with thick red flesh-like armor and two arms and two legs. His head has two horns around the mouth, and keeps the third eye on the forehead. His legs have no feet and instead end in anchor-like crescents that point upwards.
History[]
Past[]
Long before the birth of Iblis, it was prophesied that Solaris would unleash his wrath upon the world with his Flames of Disaster.[1] Ten years before the events of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Iblis was accidentally created by the Solaris Project when a failed experiment split Solaris into two fragments: his raw power, Iblis, and his intelligence, Mephiles. The Flames of Disaster fled into Aquatic Base, but with the help of a time-traveling Silver the Hedgehog, the Duke of Soleanna enacted a ritual to seal the Flames into the soul of his unconscious daughter, Princess Elise. Before passing away, the Duke warned her to never cry, as doing so would unlock the seal and release the Flames once more. This led to Elise's sheltered and emotionally-repressed upbringing, though it is unclear if she was aware that her own soul housed Iblis.
Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)[]
Princess Elise sees a vision of Iblis, in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Dr. Eggman learned of the Solaris Project and sought to complete the experiment in order to gain control of time itself. During the Festival of the Sun, Elise had a premonition and saw Iblis. Eggman repeatedly kidnapped Princess Elise in hopes of unlocking her secrets to the Flames of Disaster, though he was thwarted by Sonic the Hedgehog. However, in one timeline, Dr. Eggman and Princess Elise both perished when the Egg Carrier malfunctioned and crashed. This led to Iblis being unleashed as an immortal fire monster that began to ravage the world into a wasteland of lava, ash, and Iblis Incarnations. This tragedy was retroactively called the Day of Disaster. As a result of the destruction, humanity sought a culprit and blamed Shadow the Hedgehog, imprisoning him.
Two hundred years in the future, Silver the Hedgehog was born in the apocalyptic world caused by Iblis. He eventually began fighting back alongside Blaze the Cat, though they discovered that even if they successfully defeated Iblis, it would simply reconstitute itself over time. After bitterly destroying Iblis once again, Silver and Blaze met the time-traveling Mephiles. He offered to help Silver stop Iblis from ever appearing by sending him back in time to kill the "Iblis Trigger", the individual supposedly responsible for Iblis' awakening — in reality, he sent Silver to kill Sonic the Hedgehog, which would release the Flames of Disaster for his own plans.
While seeking Chaos Emeralds to activate Dual Chaos Control and return to their original time, the group of Sonic, Shadow, Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge were attacked by Iblis' worm form within Flame Core. He fought fiercely, but they defeated him and used the Chaos Emerald to escape back home.
Iblis regenerating himself, from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
Silver eventually time traveled back to the Solaris Project and helped the Duke of Soleanna seal Iblis inside of Elise, in the process learning the true way to stop Iblis. He and Blaze helped Sonic save Elise from the Egg Carrier's crash, before traveling back to his future to seal Iblis away. Iblis fought the pair in his final form in Flame Core, but he was defeated and reduced to flames. Silver attempted to seal Iblis inside his own soul using the ritual he watched the Duke perform, only to discover that he was not a compatible vessel. This forced Blaze to take over and seal Iblis within her soul instead, before fading away to another dimension. This rid the future of Iblis, allowing the skies to clear and the world to begin healing.
However, Mephiles changed this by killing Sonic in the present time, causing Elise to cry and release the Flames of Disaster differently. Mephiles and Iblis then merged back into Solaris and threatened to consume all of time itself, only to be defeated by Super Shadow, Super Silver, and a resurrected Super Sonic. Sonic and Elise then went back in time to blow out the flame of Solaris before the Solaris Project occurred, stopping Iblis and Mephiles from ever being created and thus erasing them from history. This ultimately changed Silver's future so that it was never damaged by Iblis, though it is implied that Blaze may still host Iblis within her soul.[3]
Other game appearances[]
Sonic Rivals 2[]
In Sonic Rivals 2, Iblis appears on a collectible card:
| Image | Card Number | Card | Challenge | Unlocked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
114 | Iblis | Get an S Ranking in Zone 4 Boss | N/A |
Shadow Generations[]
In Shadow Generations, Iblis is shown in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) artworks, as well as being mentioned in the Collection Room during a summary detailing Shadow's role in the events of said game.
Personality[]
As the embodiment of the wrath of Solaris, Iblis is little more than a violent and aggressive beast. Having been separated from the mind and will of Solaris, Mephiles, he has no ambitions of his own beyond wreaking havoc and causing destruction, as he continuously devastated the world of Silver's future with no end goal. However, in his third form, he did show some amount of focus and concentration while battling Silver and Blaze.
Powers and abilities[]
Iblis' fire breath in his first form, from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
Iblis possesses the raw power and strength of Solaris. Fitting his appearance, Iblis' attacks are lava-based. His main attack, which was available to all forms, was releasing molten fireballs from his body at enemies. By forming a specific hand sign, Iblis can summon a huge meteor and launch it at the enemy. Another similar power Iblis has is pyrokinesis (the manipulation of fire). With this, he could breathe large streams of fire and shoot waves of flames one after another. He could as well craft hordes of flaming monsters from his own flames.
Even with his enormous size, Iblis can still make immense leaps, from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
Thanks to his enormous size, Iblis has great strength and durability, being strong enough to lift large buildings and smash stalactites at the size of himself. In his third form, Iblis could even break parts of Silver and Blaze's foothold by simply slamming it with his hands. Even in his original energy form, he was able to resist Silver's psychokinesis with brute force.
Iblis possesses shape shifting powers; he can change his form at will, ranging from a swirling ball of fire to a giant, monstrous creature of destruction. He can use these different forms to adapt to the environment when fighting. Like his other half Mephiles, Iblis possesses the power of immortality and can resurrect himself after being defeated.
Weakness[]
Iblis in his purest and most vulnerable state, from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
While Iblis' anatomy varies greatly between his forms, he always has a green eye on his forehead which is highly sensitive to damage. Also, when Iblis is defeated, he is reduced to his energy form before he can regenerate. While still indestructible, Iblis is almost helpless in this state and susceptible to being sealed.
Relationships[]
Friends/allies[]
Enemies[]
- Silver the Hedgehog
- Blaze the Cat
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Miles "Tails" Prower
- Knuckles the Echidna
- Shadow the Hedgehog
- Rouge the Bat
- Princess Elise
- Duke of Soleanna
Battle[]
Silver fighting Iblis, from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
Iblis serves as a boss in the Sonic Episode, Silver Episode and Shadow Episode storylines. Sonic and Shadow fight Iblis' second form in Flame Core where they have to attack him close up across pool of magma, and Silver fights his first and third form in Crisis City and Flame Core respectively where he has to attack him using projectiles.
In other media[]
Books and comics[]
Archie Comics[]
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, Iblis appears in similar fashion to his game counterpart. Like in the game, Iblis was erased from history. He was listed in an entry in Sonic the Hedgehog: The Complete Sonic Comic Encyclopedia.
Films[]
Paramount[]
In the TV series Knuckles, Iblis is depicted through puppetry in a low-budget rock opera in the episode "The Flames of Disaster." The rock opera recounts an event in Knuckles' past, where he battled Iblis in order to obtain the power of the Flames of Disaster.
Etymology[]
Iblis (Arabic إبليس), is a figure in Islam, which in general is the name of a creature, commonly known in relation to the creation of Adam and the command to prostrate himself before him in the Islam. Iblis leads the community of evil jinns (الجن) that has the ability to cast evil suggestions into the hearts of men, women, and other Jinn. A Jinn is also a creature of fire.
Trivia[]
- Iblis is the one of the two bosses in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) that is fought with all three main characters. The other is Solaris, though he is fought with their super transformations.
- In his third form, Iblis has stumps where his feet should be, similar to Mephiles, perhaps signifying their relationship.
- Before the Day of Disaster, Iblis is called the Flames of Disaster. He is only called Iblis by those in the future, such as Silver. This may suggest that Iblis was given this name in the future, though Mephiles also addresses him by this name when they reunite in the present, so it is unclear.
- A quandary in the story of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) is why Mephiles did not simply join with Iblis in the future to become Solaris, instead plotting to do so in the present time. This has led to fan theories that Mephiles was only capable of joining with Iblis in his Flames of Disaster form released by Elise's crying, or that Elise's death caused Iblis to emerge in an incompatible form.
- According to Ian Flynn, Iblis might still be bound to Blaze's soul.
- As he summons the Ifrit Golem in Sonic and the Secret Rings, Erazor Djinn invokes Iblis' name as part of the incantation. Since Iblis is made of fire and often called as Abu Al-Harith (the father of the plowmen) in Islam, this is likely a reference to both the religion and the game.
- The Ifrit from Sonic Rivals 2 is similar to Iblis. They are both fiery creatures named after powerful demons from Islamic Knowledge, and they both threaten Silver's future. Even the Ifrit's design is similar in appearance to that of Iblis.
- Although most of the artworks published in Sonic the Hedgehog: Official Game Guide are identical to those released to the public, Iblis's third form has some artwork differences.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sonic Team (14 November 2006). Sonic the Hedgehog (in English). PlayStation 3. Sega. Cutscene: Running through the plains. "Elise: Yes. The name of the sun god our country honors is Solaris... It is told that Solaris's rage would destroy the world. His wrath comes in the form of the Flames of Disaster. 10 years ago, we almost faced the full force of his fury... I was a child then, so I don't remember it very well. I lost my father then... And now that man is trying to cause the same disaster again... What can I do?"
- ↑ Sonic Team (14 November 2006). Sonic the Hedgehog (in Japanese). PlayStation 3. Sega. Cutscene: The ruined world of the future. "Silver (translated): These flames. They burn away at the world, destroying everything in it. An immortal energy life form that revives no matter how many times it is defeated. The Flames of Disaster, Iblis."
- ↑ Flynn, Ian (12 February 2024). STUCK in the tube?! | BumbleKast for February 12th, 2024 - Ian Flynn Q&A Podcast.
