|
Information in this article may not be canonical to the storyline of the games or any other Sonic continuity. |
Maria Robotnik (マリア・ãƒãƒœãƒˆãƒ‹ãƒƒã‚¯ Maria Robotonikku?) is a character that appears in Sonic X. She was a young human, and the granddaughter of Professor Gerald Robotnik and the cousin of Dr. Eggman. She was the closest companion of Shadow the Hedgehog during his time onboard the Space Colony ARK. When G.U.N. later shut down the ARK, Maria was killed while trying to assist Shadow in his escape from the colony.
Appearance[]
Maria was a young slim human girl with wavy shoulder-length blonde hair, blue eyes and peach skin. For attire, she wore a blue crop top with short puffy sleeves and light blue trim, a pale blue long-sleeved dress, a blue hairband and white low-heeled shoes.
Occasionally, Maria wore a pink hairband, a pale pink Juliet-sleeved dress with a white collar and a pink duel-flap tie, and pink flats with gray soles.
History[]
Anime[]
Past[]
Not much is known about Maria, other than that she was born on the Space Colony ARK. From birth, she suffered from an illness that made her body weak. As such, she could not leave the ARK and go visit Earth. Even so, Maria remained optimistic that she would recover.[2]
During Maria's time, her grandfather, Gerald Robotnik worked on a government project called Project Shadow. His research led to the creation of an immortal creature dubbed the "ultimate creature".[3] His name was Shadow the Hedgehog and Maria became close friends with him.[2][4] Living together with Shadow onboard the ARK, Maria wanted to visit Earth with Shadow and make new friends.[2]
Maria also took notice of Shadow's own interest in Earth and would hear his hopes of finding the meaning behind his existence on that planet.[4]
Maria, Gerald, and Shadow escaping from G.U.N. soldiers, from "Shadow World".
Eventually, Maria's peaceful existence was shattered when G.U.N. attacked the ARK in order to shut down Project Shadow and take possession of Shadow.[2][4] During the violent raid, Maria and Shadow escaped the G.U.N. soldiers pursuing them and made it to the ARK's escape pods. There, Shadow was sealed inside one of the pods.[4] However, Maria was separated from Shadow, and she was spotted by a G.U.N. soldier, Mr. Schmitz.
In an attempt to escape Schmitz, Maria ran back to the escape pods, where she prepared to deploy Shadow's escape pod. Schmitz caught up to her and warned her not to pull a lever.[5] Maria ignored his warnings, prompting a desperate Schmitz to shoot her.[6] Mortally wounded, Maria, with her last strength, begged Shadow to help bring happiness to the entire human race for her sake. Afterwards, Shadow's capsule was jettisoned into space and Maria succumbed to her wound.[7][8]
Legacy[]
Maria's death was a jarring event that affected Gerald and Shadow deeply. Upon learning of her death, Gerald went mad with grief and decided to take revenge on the entire human race by destroying the Earth with the Space Colony ARK. Shadow was likewise traumatized by Maria's death. In order to ensure his doomsday plan's success, Gerald brainwashed Shadow, twisting his memory of Maria's last request so that Shadow would be motivated to seek revenge against the human race.[7]
Shadow remembering Maria through Chris, from "Shadow World".
Maria's last request for Shadow to protect the world and its individuals had a big impact on the hedgehog's future motivations, which Shadow made the promise to keep, despite his loathing of humans. When Shadow was reawakened nearly fifty years later, he sought to avenge Maria's death due to Gerald manipulating his memories.[7] During his crusade, he met Christopher Thorndyke, who he compared to Maria.[9] It was later thanks to Chris' persuasion that Shadow remembered Maria's dying wish, prompting him to aid Sonic the Hedgehog and his allies in stopping the very plan he had set into motion, seemingly sacrificing his life in the process.[7]
After being revived during the Metarex wars, Shadow forgot about Maria due to amnesia (although he may have later regained at least some of his memories of her). It is implied that Molly strongly resembled Maria, which is why Shadow took a liking Molly and grieved when she died facing the Metarex. Rouge would remember Maria and also compared her to Molly.
Personality[]
Maria was a peaceful and optimistic young girl. Despite her condition, she was not dissuaded from living her life and looked forward to the future in the hopes that she would recover and experience what the world had to offer. Having never been to Earth herself, Maria was very curious about what the planet was like and wished to go visit it and make friends.[2]
Maria was also a non-vindictive, very kind individual who always thought about others before herself. This is proven by the fact that after she was shot and was dying, she did not hold any ill will towards the people living on Earth, and in her dying breath, she requested that Shadow give them a chance to live happy lives.[7]
Despite her youth and frailness, Maria was also brave and determined. Noticeably, she refused to heed a G.U.N. soldier's threat when she tried to save Shadow. Even on her deathbed, Maria remained undeterred and only wished for Shadow to fulfill his purpose. She was also utterly selfless as she sacrificed her life for Shadow's sake, having faith he would carry on her dreams for her.[6][7]
Relationships[]
Shadow the Hedgehog[]
Maria and Shadow watching the Earth together, from "Showdown in Space".
Maria was close friends with Shadow the Hedgehog, a creature created as the end result of Project Shadow. The two of them were raised alongside each other onboard the Space Colony ARK and they formed a very close bond, with Maria considering Shadow a younger brother of sorts. Maria also shared the same dream with him which was to visit Earth, making them kindred spirits in a sense, and they often gazed down at the earth from the ARK together. She trusted Shadow to carry on her wish for the world, and Shadow went to great lengths to keep his promise.
Gerald Robotnik[]
Maria and Gerald in a photograph, from "Project: Shadow".
Maria and her grandfather Gerald were very close, and Gerald dedicated much of his research to curing her of her illness. When Maria died, Gerald went insane, as Maria meant everything to him. As revenge for Maria's death, he re-programmed the Eclipse Cannon to cause the ARK to crash into Earth if it was ever used.
Friends/allies[]
- Shadow the Hedgehog (best friend)
- Gerald Robotnik †(grandfather)
Neutral[]
- Guardian Units of the Nations
- Mr. Schmitz (killer)
Quotes[]
- "Listen, Shadow. I want you to promise me... please. Whatever happens, remember I'll always be your friend, Shadow. We always talked about going to visit the planet one day, but it looks like you'll have to go there without me. Sayonara... Shadow the Hedgehog."
- —Maria's last words in Shadow's altered memories of the ARK disaster, "Shadow World".
- "Are you going to stare out that window all day, Shadow?"
- —Maria talking to Shadow in a flashback, "Shadow World".
- "I want to get better as soon as possible so that I can go down to that planet. And I want to make many friends that are like you, Shadow."
- —Maria telling Shadow about her plans for the future, "Showdown in Space" (Japanese version only)
Trivia[]
- Christopher Thorndyke and Molly both remind Shadow of Maria because of their similar selfless natures and the kind, loving look in their eyes.
- Molly in particular seemed to remind Shadow of Maria because of her similar sacrifice and hope for the future.
- Maria's name is the password of the computers on Space Colony ARK.
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 File:Sonicx-ep37-eye2.jpg
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Yoshimura, Kiyoko (21 December 2003). "Showdown in Space (Japanese version)". Sonic X. Season 2. Episode 38.
- ↑ Masaki, Hiro (30 October 2004). "Project: Shadow". Sonic X. Season 2. Episode 33.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Masaki, Hiro (20 November 2004). "Shadow World". Sonic X. Season 2. Episode 36.
- ↑ Yoshimura, Kiyoko (27 November 2004). "Robotnik's Revenge". Sonic X. Season 2. Episode 37.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Yoshimura, Kiyoko (14 December 2003). "Robotnik's Revenge (Japanese version)". Sonic X. Season 2. Episode 37.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Yoshimura, Kiyoko (4 December 2004). "Showdown in Space". Sonic X. Season 2. Episode 38.
- ↑ Masaki, Hiro (7 December 2003). "Shadow World". Sonic X. Season 2. Episode 36.
- ↑ Houjou, Chinatsu (13 November 2004). "Sonic's Big Break". Sonic X. Season 2. Episode 35.
