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Magnificent Bastard Proposal Thread

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Welcome to the Magnificent Bastard proposal thread! This is the thread where new Magnificent Bastard examples are vetted, approved, and written up. If you're looking for the general cleanup thread (for cuts, rewrites, expansions, and the like), please go here

Important: Before suggesting any new examples, please read the Frequently Asked Questions and Common Requests List; if you have any questions, the odds are high they are answered there. Additionally, please check here for the earliest date a work can be discussed (usually two weeks from the U.S. release date) and whether the work has already been reserved by another user.

Here is how the process works:

    Process 

  1. If you have a candidate to propose, you can simply come right in and propose them! If the character's run is brief, such as a single issue of a comic book, then a simple summary of their actions and any potential mitigating features will be enough; for longer-running candidates, an effortpost (EP) might be helpful for organizing the proposal. An EP is not outright required, but please be mindful that if a post becomes too clunky and unorganized, it can be very hard for other people to follow.

  2. After the proposal, there will be a 72-hour discussion and voting period, where people may ask questions and vote on the candidate. The number of upvotes must outnumber the downvotes by at least five for the character to be considered "approved".

  3. Three days after the proposal has been made, if the character has been approved, you may post the writeup (the text to be posted on the trope page itself) on the thread and send it to the drafts page. Your candidate will soon be added to the MB subpage. If the work has a page, you should add your candidate to the relevant YMMV page. Voila! It's that simple!

Outside of this process, we do have a few ground rules:

    Ground Rules 

  1. To keep the thread moving at a reasonable pace, there are some restrictions on when a proposal can be made. There should only be a maximum of four EPs posted both per page and per hour to ensure that nothing gets lost in the shuffle; additionally, each individual troper should only be proposing or writing up characters from a maximum of three works at a time (from initial proposals to end of their voting period). If your proposal would fall outside of either of these guidelines, we'd like to ask you to please wait until they would fit within; feel free to type them up on an outside document, and then when the time comes, you can just copy, paste, and post!

  2. No plagiarism of any kind. This is a very serious matter site-wide, as the website could get in actual legal trouble over this; as a result, this can very quickly lead to mod intervention. This can take many different forms:
    1. Direct plagiarism, i.e. wholesale copying. This is not only the easiest to find, but is also the most likely to warrant quick moderator intervention. To be clear, quoting in some places is perfectly acceptable, but it has to be very clear you're quoting from something else and it cannot be anything longer than a sentence or two - if you're quoting an entire work summary from Wikipedia, no one is going to believe you've actually consumed the work, so even if you cite your source, your candidate will be downvoted anyway.
    2. Self-plagiarism. Even if you can prove that you wrote the same text in both places, the site itself can't contain any of the duplicated text. If you already wrote something once before, it's not too hard to write it a second time.
    3. Using another site's work as a template for a proposal. Just because you don't copy and paste something directly doesn't mean it's any harder to detect if you're basing parts or all of your proposal on text someone else wrote. To be clear, this doesn't violate site rules and won't lead to mod intervention, but just like if you directly plagiarize, no one will believe you've consumed the work if you're clearly basing your proposal on something else. This thread largely operates on the honor system, and tweaking someone else's work to pass it off as your own is one of the fastest ways to lose trust.

  3. Votes must be for specific candidates, meaning no blanket voting (i.e. "yes to everyone I missed").

  4. If you are the first person to downvote a candidate, please provide an explanation of why when you do so. We're here for discussions above all, and a hit-and-run downvote doesn't facilitate anything.

  5. If a work is already reserved by another user, please don't comment on the work or any potential characters worth discussion before the discussion date. We know how exciting it is when a work has a keeper that you're waiting to talk about, but it's not fair to the person who reserved the work who is just as excited to lead the discussion to see the discussion getting spoiled before they get to do it. On the other hand, if the reservation only has one name attached, shoot them a PM - they may be down for a collaboration, which will get you in on the fun as well!

  6. Please keep the thread on-topic. While discussing the trope is fun and we encourage people to enjoy it, questions like "who's your favorite MB" are off-topic and can lead to thumps. That's the kind of question to take to people's PMs if they're willing. Similarly, while we encourage friendliness and familiarity with other users, posts should always have some kind of thread-relevant purpose; for instance, if you want to wish someone a happy birthday, feel free to, but if it's the only thing in the post, it's off-topic and needs something else alongside it. Again, though, while we strive for a friendly atmosphere, this is not Facebook; life updates are fun, but unless they have some kind of impact on your thread participation, please do not bring it here - we have Yack Fest for that.

  7. Please refrain from asking anything along the lines of "How Did We Miss This One?" In almost every case, the answer is simply "No one thought about it before". This Is a Wiki where everyone has different interests, and the fact that people missed a particular candidate, even one that seems like a textbook example of a trope or a character who is particularly iconic in pop culture, means absolutely nothing. The question is disruptive, has a simple and consistent answer, and provides nothing to any discussion.

  8. If you are suspended from other parts of the website, it is still possible to participate!
    1. For users who are suspended from editing the wiki, you still have full access to this thread. You can propose candidates and write them up with no issues whatsoever; while you will have to ask someone else to post the entry to the relevant pages once it is done, all write-ups are considered thread-approved - as in, done by consensus - and thus doing so does not violate any rules regarding meatpuppeting.
    2. If you are suspended from the forums, your participation is limited but not impossible. It is still possible for a forum-suspended user to assist in creating the write-up for a character who has already been approved; as previously mentioned, write-ups are inherently considered a consensus-based edit and thus not tied to any one particular user. However, you can not assist in the proposal of a character; as a proposal is based around the forum rather than the wiki, doing so with a forum suspension qualifies as meatpuppeting.

  9. Please keep all discussions "in-house".
    1. What other wikis use for MB equivalents is irrelevant here.
    2. Please be wary of using other wikis, Fandom or otherwise, as sources of information. They are just as fallible as a site like Wikipedia in regards to accuracy because they can be edited by any user, just as this site can.
    3. Do not attempt to force a communication with an author in an attempt to gather evidence or settle a debate; besides the fact that this is a YMMV trope and thus author intent has variable weight depending on the circumstance, doing so may cross the line into drama exportation, which is prohibited site-wide.

If you would like to use an EP for your candidate, here's the general format. This format does not have to be followed exactly, but these are the main topics that need to be covered:

    Effortpost Template 

What is the work?

This is a brief summary of the work you're going to discuss. We don't need a full plot summary here, just however much we need to understand going into the discussion — it can even be as simple as quoting the summary on the work's page.

Who is the candidate and what have they done?

This is essentially the character's biography — who they are, their story, their goals and methodology, and, preferably (though not required), what happens to the candidate at the end. It does not have to include every single thing they ever do — for some characters, we'd be here all day if that was the case — but it should include the highlights of their journey.

How are they Magnificent?

This is the point where you highlight the character's brilliance. How to they convey their intelligence and charm to the audience? What makes them stand out among the crowd? What are their goals and how do they go about accomplishing them? This part welcomes a lot of creative thinking — not everyone has to be a Machiavellian Diabolical Mastermind to be worth considering here! This is also the time to showcase how the character can think on their feet if it's necessary.

How are they a Bastard? How are they not too bad?

What kinds of moral lines is this character willing to cross for the sake of their goal? Are they willing to let innocents die? Start wars? Commit crimes? The character has to show some kind of unscrupulousness in order to count as a "Bastard". Notably, this character does not necessarily have to be the villain, and an Anti-Hero can cross the line if they're immoral enough, but they have to be immoral somehow.

This is also the section where you then state your case for why they're not too bad. Perhaps their good intentions help mitigate their crimes. Perhaps others are shown to be much worse than them. Perhaps they're prone to Pet the Dog moments or are even fighting on behalf of loved ones. Whatever the case, there are certain lines that an MB can't cross, but as long as their villainy is reasonable for their goal, they can be considered.

Final verdict?

This is where you post your final conclusion on the character in question. You can continue elaborating on your reasons or even just say a simple "yes" or "no"; at this point, we've heard everything we need to hear.

And that's everything you need to know. Welcome to the thread!


Edited by Twiddler on Jan 17th 2024 at 5:40:56 AM

miraculous Goku Black (Apprentice)
Goku Black
#3801: Apr 10th 2023 at 1:52:45 AM

[tup]Ulrich

"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."
MGD107 Since: Feb, 2015
#3802: Apr 10th 2023 at 7:09:48 AM

[tup] to Babayeva, Nadakhan, Morro, Tommy Campbell, Gunnar, Flintlocke, Tony Zaetta, Bhishma, Wynn Duffy, Mr Big, Benny Franks, Ada Wong, Krux and Acronix, John Wick, Winston, Bowery King, Roland Pike, Razar, Bitores Mendez, Mr. Nobody, Lou Miller, Tammy, Nine Ball, Harumi, Toymaker, Lord Osmund Saddler, Katia, Jacqueline, Seltyiel and Ulrich.

Abstain on Viol.

KoshaVinka The Yggdrasil Cretin from Rimestrov Since: Apr, 2022 Relationship Status: You're the prettiest girl this side of the Mississippi
The Yggdrasil Cretin
#3803: Apr 10th 2023 at 12:07:17 PM

If his mental instability doesn't make him come off as pitiable and really never hinders his success, [tup] to Seltyiel

Ravok RIP Toriyama Since: Jun, 2015 Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
RIP Toriyama
#3804: Apr 10th 2023 at 12:32:17 PM

Ok, my last from Justified, a quick but hilarious one:

Who is Charlie Weaver? What makes him a candidate?

An elderly, seemingly harmless man who serves the US Marshals by presiding over the evidence lockers in Harlan County, Charlie has a few stray appearances in the show where he's friendly and helpful to Raylan and co. in digging up buried evidence and helping them solve cases.

Now, a semi-recurring plotline in the show comes about when Winona, Raylan's on-and-off Love Interest, takes advantage of Raylan's credentials and compulsively swipes a shitton of old money from a bank robbery that's been sitting in the evidence lockers and gathering dust. The money stays gone for a time until Raylan works it out with Winona and they manage to sneak the money back into the locker—apparently—undetected.

Winona later disappears after a fight and Raylan, assuming she's fled the state, heads to the evidence lockers where Charlie is as polite as always, and Raylan discovers the fortune of cash is missing once again, Winona apparently having stolen it and fled Kentucky. After a long episode of searching, Raylan finally finds Winona, who reveals she didn't steal the money...Raylan returns to Marshal HQ confused, inquiring with his boss Art as to what could have happened to the money. Art then notes that Charlie sporadically and suddenly called out sick earlier in the week and has yet to return...

At which point the episode ending comes up and amusingly reveals that Charlie caught on to the money in the back of the lockers due to Raylan and Winona, and simply played innocent until the time was right to snatch it for himself. Charlie is last seen crossing the border into Mexico, all smiles in a fancy new car as he talks his way past border patrol and informs them he's off to an early retirement.

Is he magnificent?

Lmao yeah, he's a very minor character but in that time he's shown as a friendly, helpful Cool Old Guy who winds up playing nice, tricking Raylan into falsely assuming someone else has taken the money, and then skips town and flees the country with a bookoodle of old bank robbery money.

Is he a bastard?

It's light but he's ultimately stealing money that was wrongfully acquired in a bank robbery right out of the evidence locker and allows things to play out where Raylan thinks Winona has taken it and left him.

Final Verdict?

Sure

Tonight I dine on monkey soup.
jjjj2 from Arrakis Since: Jul, 2015
#3805: Apr 10th 2023 at 12:41:41 PM

[tup]Charlie.

You can only write so much in your forum signature. It's not fair that I want to write a piece of writing yet it will cut me off in the mid
KoshaVinka The Yggdrasil Cretin from Rimestrov Since: Apr, 2022 Relationship Status: You're the prettiest girl this side of the Mississippi
The Yggdrasil Cretin
therealjackieboy Ultimate Moral Compass from Austin, TX Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
Ultimate Moral Compass
#3807: Apr 10th 2023 at 12:59:51 PM

[tup]Charlie

"No running in the halls!"
G-Editor Since: Mar, 2015 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
DeathsApprentice Jaded Techie Fox from The Grim Since: Aug, 2011 Relationship Status: Is that a kind of food?
Jaded Techie Fox
#3809: Apr 10th 2023 at 1:39:34 PM

Playing a bit of catch up here but [tup] to John Wick, Winston, the Bowery King, Roland, Razar, Mendez, Mr Nobody, Lou, Ocean's duo, Harumi, Toymaker, Saddler, Katia, Jacqueline, Seltyiel, Viol, Ulrich, and Charlie

Trust you? The only person I can trust is myself.
Bullman "Cool. Coolcoolcool." Since: Jun, 2018 Relationship Status: Longing for my OTP
"Cool. Coolcoolcool."
#3810: Apr 10th 2023 at 1:43:59 PM

Yes to Ulrich and Charlie.

Edited by Bullman on Apr 10th 2023 at 3:46:00 AM

Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread
MGD107 Since: Feb, 2015
EmeraldEmperor Lies and Violence! Since: Oct, 2020
Lies and Violence!
#3812: Apr 10th 2023 at 5:10:04 PM

[tup] Seltyiel, Viol, Ulrich, Weaver.

What's the work?

Superman: Red Son is an animated adaptation of the famous comic of the same name, showing what would have happened had Superman crash-landed in Soviet Russia instead of the Kent farm. I've already gone over the adaptation of a certain mad scientist who already counted in the original comic, but now I'm looking at a certain hero that the movie made... uh, significantly worse.

Who is Batman?

An orphan imprisoned as a slave in Stalin's gulags, the boy who would become known as the Batman despised the USSR with all his being. That hatred worsened as his parents were worked to death... right before Superman, then unaware of his country's atrocities, found and liberated the gulag inmates. Over his mother and father's corpses, the boy angrily confronted the Man of Steel: "They say you can hear a leaf fall a thousand miles away. And you never heard our cries?"

Anyway, Superman kills Stalin and takes over himself. As the years go by and he works to ensure peace against capitalist tyranny (through totally legit means like an invasion of Korea or mass lobotomization), however, he gradually forgets this encounter... until a mysterious terrorist begins enacting massive bombing campaigns against the state, attacking public museums and... well, just generally everything. He escapes the police when they respond, climbing up to one helicopter, throwing the pilot out, and using it to shoot missiles at the rest of the police before disappearing into the night.

The Batman proceeds to capture Superman's ally, Wonder Woman, with her own Lasso of Truth, binding her powers and using it to command her to kill herself if Superman harms him. With his prisoner, the Batman lures Superman to the old gulag for a final showdown, lining the facility with red sun lamps gifted to him by Lex. Batman proceeds to absolutely brutalize the Man of Steel before throwing him into a cell, intent on keeping him prisoner to helplessly watch as his dictatorship crumbles from the planned uprising.

...Until Diana, in a sudden burst of strength, rips her way out of the lasso. Its destruction partially drains her of life, but she's still able to knock Batman on his ass and take out the lamps. Batman blows himself up before Superman can lobotomize him into a Soviet slave, defiant to the end against the Kryptonian's tyranny.

Is he magnificent?

Come on, he's Batman. What else do you expect? If I really need to elaborate on this: he masterfully escapes arrest before luring Superman into a perfect trap that only fails because of deus ex machina Wonder Woman powers. But he's Batman. You really don't need any more elaboration from there.

Is he a bastard?

Not really sure why they thought this was a good idea for Batman, but yes. Well-intentioned desire to overthrow Soviet tyranny or not, dude's an unrepentant terrorist who bombs a city—including warning his victims they have ten minutes to evacuate, only to blithely comment as explosions suddenly go off that he really meant ten seconds. I don't think it's too bad, but still. Dick move.

LoreDeluxe Since: May, 2013
#3813: Apr 10th 2023 at 5:19:35 PM

I really don't feel to good on this Batman. He comes across mostly as a broken human being to me.

Think you're tough because you made it through Lord of the Rings? Real men survive The Silmarillion.
EmeraldEmperor Lies and Violence! Since: Oct, 2020
Lies and Violence!
#3814: Apr 10th 2023 at 5:34:26 PM

I understand that interpretation, but I don't think he's so broken that it removes any magnificence—just a standard tragic Batman origin. Aside from the rampant murder, which seems more a result of needless edge these animated movies always add in, he's on the top of his game throughout the film, and—while I suppose it's ymmv—his ultimate suicide seems more "defiance in the face of a tyrant" than any petty, pitiable end for a broken child.

Here's a compilation of most of his scenes if people want to judge for themselves (it skips Supes saying he'll lobotomize him in the final scene, but that's what spurns the blowy up part):

[down]x2 Ah, yeah, that makes more sense. Totally get that, but I think there's enough of a genuinely good goal underlying everything to make up for his more evil moments.

Edited by EmeraldEmperor on Apr 10th 2023 at 8:44:28 AM

43110 (Striking Back) Relationship Status: Reincarnated romance
#3815: Apr 10th 2023 at 5:34:45 PM

Yes to Charlie, can you elaborate there Lore?

LoreDeluxe Since: May, 2013
#3816: Apr 10th 2023 at 5:38:05 PM

I guess he just comes across as a complete lunatic to me. Like the part where he blows up the museum, he tease the minutes to escape and then blows it up followed by saying he meant 10 seconds. He seems to relish killing innocent people a bit too much.

Edited by LoreDeluxe on Apr 10th 2023 at 5:43:58 AM

Think you're tough because you made it through Lord of the Rings? Real men survive The Silmarillion.
molokai198 Since: Oct, 2012
#3817: Apr 10th 2023 at 5:42:23 PM

Ok, trying my hands at this for the first time...

What is the work?

''Let's Rewrite 'The Power of Three''' is a video detailing how the third arc of Warrior Cats, Power of Three, should be rewritten. Being a fan work of Warrior Cats'', it shares the setting of a forest inhabited by four Clans of cats, all of whom worship their ancestors' spirits that live in StarClan, and have a special rank of medicine cat that, in addition to medicine, communicates with StarClan and interprets prophecies and omens from them. It attempts to improve the three main characters' arcs, make the plot of the prophecy surrounding them and the danger it poses to StarClan go somewhere, and improve the villain, going from an ineffectual filler character who fails to drive the main plot forward much at all, to being... this guy.

Who is Sol and what has he done?

Sol was a former kittypet who's backstory involves him joining SkyClan, the fifth Clan that lives separately from the other four. He became a medicine cat, but began to think that StarClan shouldn't be listened to, being just formerly living cats who could make mistakes. Instead, he began to make false prophecies in order to guide SkyClan in the way he wanted, believing he knew better on how to guide them than StarClan. His plot was discovered and he was exiled, but he shows up again in the story proper among the four other Clans. Appearing by the Moonpool (the place where cats go to communicate with StarClan, he calmly explains the nature of places in the world that allow one to commune with the dead, mentioning that one of them, the Moonstone, was destroyed and the connection severed, and ominously hinting this could be done with the Moonpool as well. Taking an interest in protagonists Jayfeather, Hollyleaf and Lionblaze due to them being the subjects of a prophecy that says they have power beyond StarClan, he uses Jayfeather's interest in him to get all three to come to him, as they want to protect their brother. Hollyleaf, who is the Clan deputy and thus the leader's second in command and potential replacement if he was to die or be incapacitated, continues to see him. Sol manipulates her fragile mental state insecurity about her parentage and perhaps not being part of the prophecy after all to convince her that the Clans would be better off ruled by skilled, intelligent cats like her and Sol himself, and she agrees to help him.

Meanwhile, Sol's presence near the Moonpool and ambiguous threats lead to the Clans sending guards to the Moonpool to protect it from him, but this leads to increasing territorial disputes with WindClan getting frustrated by guards from other Clans getting hungry and hunting on WindClan territory around the Moonpool. WindClan declares that they should be the only ones allowed to guard the Moonpool, and Blackstar of ShadowClan suspects WindClan of wanting to be the only Clan with access to StarClan - which Sol exploits, getting Blackstar on his side on the grounds that Sol can guide his Clan in a way that StarClan now can't due to WindClan's interference. He then shows up at a gathering of all the Clans to give his own prophecy - that the sun will vanish and the Moonpool will be destroyed.

He goes about making his prophecy true by sending his followers to go into the tunnels underneath the Moonpool and destabilizing them on the day of an eclipse he knows will happen, with the ultimate plan of collapsing the pool and ruining its abilities. Lionblaze and Jayfeather succeed in stopping the followers just in time... only for Hollyleaf to run into the tunnels themselves, collapsing them and killing herself in the process. Sol ends the arc succeeding in eliminating StarClan's influence as he prophecised.

How are they Magnificent?

Sol is always a completely calm, mysterious presence, unflinchingly walking into areas full of cats that all distrust him like at the Moonpool or the gathering, and giving out dangerous warnings of what he plans to do. Rather than this allowing anyone to stop him, it just creates more chaos and suspicion among the Clans that he is happy to use to his own advantage, like how he uses the WindClan situation to get Blackstar on his side. He puts himself in the position of a prophesying ancestor and then actually follows through on the plan he foretold to everyone, bolstering his credentials as oracle.

How are they a Bastard? How are they not too bad?

He separates the Clans from all contact with their afterlife, which is horrible from the perspective of these very religious cats, so that he can have power and respect over them instead. He is also willing to risk his own followers' lives to accomplish his plan, with Hollyleaf actually dying in the process. However he never uses violence and he genuinely believes he can better the Clans if he were in power.

Final verdict?

While he seems to check every base, I do worry that due to this work's nature as a summary/outline of how things should be rewritten, some of his affect and manipulations may come off as Informed Attribute, with it not being properly shown how he manages to convince those he convinces and pull things off. So unsure, I guess?

Edited by molokai198 on Apr 10th 2023 at 8:43:19 AM

Snoketrope Barb / Temporary Kylo from California Since: Oct, 2020 Relationship Status: Waiting for Prince Charming
Barb / Temporary Kylo
#3818: Apr 10th 2023 at 6:23:17 PM

[tup] to this Batman.

Could I check out his comic counterpart? I remember watching the motion comic a while back. He still places bombs in populated areas from what I recall. He is just honest with you 'you have a few minutes to leave' thing. Not sure if that hurts it or not.

Edited by Snoketrope on Apr 10th 2023 at 6:26:35 AM

The First man
43110 (Striking Back) Relationship Status: Reincarnated romance
#3819: Apr 10th 2023 at 6:38:34 PM

Will get back on voting tomorrow but as on CM, reserving Eva: Beyond stage play.

GeorgieEnkoom Emperor Georgie Artémis Enkoom Evulz II from Somewhere. Since: Feb, 2017 Relationship Status: 700 wives and 300 concubines
Emperor Georgie Artémis Enkoom Evulz II
#3820: Apr 10th 2023 at 6:59:44 PM

Been months since I last proposed someone here. Took me long enough.

What's the work?

Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble (a.k.a. Sonic & Tails 2 in Japan) is a 1994 Game Gear video game developed by Aspect and published by Sega. It is the sequel of Sonic Chaos as its name states, Sonic and Tails have to face three villains out to get the Chaos Emeralds and their power: Dr. Robotnik/Eggman for his usual nefarious plans, Knuckles the Echidna who has been once more duped by Robotnik and Fang the Sniper who has no interest in the Emeralds beyond selling them for a hefty price.

That said, our focus will be not on the official game... But on the 2022 Fan Remake created by Noah N. Copeland, Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble 16-Bit, which on top of massively improved graphics, gameplay (which, given that the original Triple Trouble's share of praise, wasn't easy) and content, also has a bit of an altered story.

Who's Knuckles the Echidna? What has he done?

You see, Knuckles's role in the story is a bit different here. At first sight, not so much, aside from much more fights against him through the zones as he kept antagonizing Sonic and Tails and giving them trouble.

    Spoilers below! 
Up until Tidal Plant Zone Act 2 after Sonic and Tails destroy "Knuckles"' submarine.

The real Knuckles never was duped by Robotnik (and on the contrary, even helped Sonic and Tails from afar at the beginning of the game). The one Sonic and Tails fought all along? Was Sonic's infamous robotic Evil Knockoff, Metal Sonic.

Who's Metal Sonic? What has he done?

You see, as revealed in the beginning of Knuckles' story, he attacked Knuckles on Angel Island to copy his data in order to take his appearance and abilities. With that in mind, he then masqueraded as Knuckles through his many confrontations with Sonic and Tails as well as with the real deal. Regarding the former two, he essentially fooled them into thinking Knuckles had been tricked by Robotnik once again as they battled him. His plan? Simple: defeat Sonic and Tails, steal the Emeralds, then copy and absorb them to increase his power.

Now, by the time of Tidal Plant Zone Act 2, this isn't working, and at the zone's act 3 and later on in the Atomic Destroyer, Metal Sonic is defeated again twice in his true appearance by the two. So what does he pulls off? A well-thought, improvised Plan B.

He first retreats after his latest defeat and lets Sonic and Tails go further through the Atomic Destroyer, up until they reach, battle and defeat Robotnik. And then, when they least expect it? Metal Sonic strikes.

You see, it was revealed way back in the Egg Zeppelin that Robotnik was using a Chaos Emerald he had in his possession, and more accurately the Chaos Emerald's negative energy to create a copy of it, known as a Dark Emerald.

And by the time Sonic and Tails reach the Atomic Destroyer, they have all the six other Chaos Emeralds.

So, after Robotnik's defeat, Metal Sonic takes his Dark Emerald for himself and powers himself up with these, ambushes Sonic and Tails while their guard is down, quickly defeats and subdues them, and creates Dark Emerald copies of all the other Emeralds in their possession, in order to achieve a Super Mode based on RocketMetal. With that Super form, he immediately moves to kill Sonic and Tails, only stopped by the timely intervention of Fang and Knuckles, who hold him in place just long enough for Tails to wake up Sonic, who then uses the original Chaos Emeralds to turn into Super Sonic and engage Metal Sonic in a grueling fight that sees the latter absorb machinery to become even more powerful and reach two forms based on the "Mechasonic Type III" concept art for the cancelled Sonic X-treme game. That said, Super Sonic ultimately emerges victorious after his struggles, with Metal Sonic destroyed as a result.

Is he charming? Intelligent? Thinking on his feet?

Despite his silence, he proves to be a far more brilliant schemer than he lets on. He completely fools Sonic and Tails into thinking he's duped for most of the game, give them plenty of trouble, and even when defeated on the Atomic Destroyer, improvises shortly after, and this Xanatos Speed Chess allows him to handily defeat Sonic and Tails, and it's only thanks to Fang and the real Knuckles's unexpected intervention that the former two can fight back on time.

What about the competition?

He essentially played them all for fools and any defeats he suffered were ultimately setbacks. He managed to climb his way to True Final Boss status through manipulation and improvisation and even Super Sonic struggled to ultimately defeat him.

Is he bastard? Too much of a bastard?

Aiding Robotnik and trying to kill Sonic and Tails lands him there. But what he does is no more than bog-standard villainy.

Any other mitigating factors?

Not really.

Verdict?

Up to you guys.

    Preemptive write-up 

  • Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble 16-Bit: Metal Sonic is far more prominent and competent than he was in the original game. Attacking Knuckles the Echidna and using his abilities to take his appearance and abilities, Metal Sonic then takes his appearance to trick Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower into thinking Knuckles had been duped into fighting them once again. Antagonizing the duo through the game in his efforts to defeat them and gain their Chaos Emeralds, Metal Sonic develops a backup plan after one too many defeats, retreating before waiting for Sonic and Tails to defeat Eggman, before ambushing them while they have all seven Chaos Emeralds and while their guard is down. Using the Chaos Emeralds' negative energy, Metal Sonic achieves a new transformation and nearly kills Sonic and Tails, who only lived thanks to Knuckles and even Fang the Sniper's timely intervention.

Edited by GeorgieEnkoom on Apr 10th 2023 at 4:06:24 PM

J’m’arrête pas tant qu’j’vois pas des lignes sur les moniteurs (Not stoppin 'til I see Flatlines)
43110 (Striking Back) Relationship Status: Reincarnated romance
Ravok RIP Toriyama Since: Jun, 2015 Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
RIP Toriyama
#3822: Apr 10th 2023 at 7:04:10 PM

Yes to Knuckles, good job! I think I'm fine with this Batman

Edited by Ravok on Apr 10th 2023 at 7:04:23 AM

Tonight I dine on monkey soup.
DoodSlayer136 Woagh from Pizza Tower (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
Libraryseraph Showtime! from Canada (Five Year Plan) Relationship Status: Raising My Lily Rank With You
Showtime!
#3824: Apr 10th 2023 at 7:19:40 PM

[tup] to Metal Knuckles

Edited by Libraryseraph on Apr 10th 2023 at 10:20:04 AM

Absolute destiny... apeachalypse?
Echidna from Ontario, Canada Since: Aug, 2021 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking

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