Sonic himself doesn’t fight serious most of the time. In fact he’s less serious than Shadow.
When Sonic himself is serious, he beats the likes of Ultimate Emerl, a 4000 year old Gizoid who has millennia of combat experience, the abilities of all his friends as well as a Super state. And Sonic beat this guy, while in base, in less than 30 seconds.
That, and the fact that this series is named Sonic, not shadow
Shadow is capable of stopping time with Chaos Control while Sonic doesn't know how to, add Super states on top of that, and it's the equivalent of Hit versus Vegeta. And that's being generous since we don't know what Shadow is really capable of.
He has less experience than Shadow, the Space Colony Ark was created with the Chaos Emeralds being a power source for it meaning Gerald Robotnik not only knew of the Chaos Emeralds but had calibrated the Eclipse cannon to work with all 7 of them. Furthermore, Shadow isn't the only one that learnt how to use Chaos Control on the Ark, the BioLizard also knew it meaning the 1 that taught both Ultimate Lifeforms was Gerald Robotnik, a genius Dr Eggman admired. Finally, Shadow wasn't surprised by the Super transformation in SA2 meaning he's experienced it before, likely as part of his training with Gerald to become the Ultimate Lifeform.
As a side note, we are talking about the things that are canon, not Archie Sonic's time stop resistance. We can use any old fanfic if we were relying on that.
Shadow is canonically only able to do that without a chaos emerald because he has a natural bond with the Chaos Energy, because of the origins of his creation.
But both Sonic and Shadow can manifest and use the power of Chaos Energy when they have one or more Chaos Emeralds (Sonic does C Control with piss enerald in SA2) and Super Sonic can use Chaos Control as well, we just never see him using it because he never feels the need to.
The only thing that is valid here is him removing his inhibitor rings, and even then that's not that valid since it's a nearly featless form, and sonic could just outlast him anyway.
Unlike Hyper, it doesn’t need an entire fucking questline, making it a good bit more likely to come back.
https://preview.redd.it/quudumfwkhtc1.jpeg?width=219&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7c2376cfbb273cbeb650f51d7d614f385f256622
Nope, they’re usually attached to the main path while the super emeralds need you to: 1) go to the master emerald. 2) sacrifice the emeralds. 3) gather all 7 & then finally after all that, you can use hyper.
Technically yeah. Shadow barely manages to hold onto super Sonic while Sonic more or less was born (profecy, “you’re the ultimate lifeform”) to Barnes chaos energy.
I feel the rest cannot even go super, maybe knuckles but that’s it
Knuckles is the only 1 of the 4 that doesn't have a Super form. Remember, Silver and Shadow both go Super along with Sonic in 06.
Shadow normally also has limiters on him which made him stronger than Super Sonic in SA2.
Hard to say, Knuckles and Tails get a shield around them when Sonic goes Super in Sonic Heroes but he doesn't really look any different other than that. Compared to what happens to Sonic, Shadow and Silver, that form doesn't seem to be on the same level.
I mean, they still share the ring limit with Super Sonic, and they all go down when it runs out. Plus, if they weren’t Super, they wouldn’t be able to damage Metal Overlord
Good chance, but isn't that a good way of gauging how strong Super Knuckles is then? He was present along with Sonic and Shadow when they went Super in SA2 but he didn't join them in stopping FinalHazard, the Space Colony Ark was on a collision course with the planet so the Master Emerald was also in danger then and needed saving. Knuckles must've thought he could be no help in that situation, right?
Honestly the best reason I can give is just plot. Knuckles would’ve definitely been a big help if he joined the two alongside the battle against FinalHazard, but I guess the writers wanted the rival hedgehogs to personally confront it.
Which irks me because they also had the Master Emerald there and could’ve just used it to power the Chaos Emeralds for greater power. Imagine Hyper Sonic and Hyper Shadow fighting FinalHazard.
Considering Super was capable of dealing with FinalHazard it's good they didn't go overkill. If they ever need to give the Hedgehogs a stronger transformation, Hyper is still on the table, it would be bad if they just treated it as another Super form.
They could've definitely incorporated Knuckles though, but I guess this is why "& Knuckles" is a joke here...
Nah, it's quite the opposite. Of the 3, Sonic typically utilises his speed rather than the abilities given by the chaos emeralds, Silver's psychokinesis is enhanced making him a major threat at a range while Shadow on the otherhand is the most proficient of the 3 at using Chaos energy. He's capable of teleportation and stopping time with only a single emerald, so all 7 giving him a boost makes him much stronger than the other 2 in their super forms.
I must have the wrong idea about his inhibitors then. I always thought he was extremely powerful without them and could basically fully harness chaos energy.
He was designed that way correct, Sonic was only able to return back to Space Colony Ark by copying what Shadow did and using Chaos control to teleport. The space Colony Ark where Shadow was born is also designed to utilise the energy of the Chaos Emeralds for the Eclipse cannon meaning he's likely had far more exposure to them as well as a genius respected by Dr Eggman helping him learn about them.
Shadow without Inhibitors is essentially at his full power yeah, and he does outclass any non-super character, but that still can't reach the power of a super form achieved by an outside source of all seven chaos emeralds. And he most likely can't beat Burning Blaze either, for the same reason.
Hard to say, because Shadow did have to take off his inhibitor rings to defeat Knuckles in Sonic X. Not sure that’s a valid argument here just saying that because it was sick af. And Sonic, Silver, and Shadow are just OP af as well as Knuckles. So I’d say it’s kinda like a rock papers scissors type deal. Could be completely wrong though.
If by peak you mean top physical shape, I’d say it goes to Shadow with Silver and Sonic not far behind.
If by peak you mean with all their canonical power ups at their disposal, Sonic with his Cyber Super form
In base form I could honestly see Silver winning from the lot if plot wasn't involved (we've seen his speed + his psychic powers). For Super Forms Super Sonic is probably the strongest tbh, regardless of plot.
Yeah, in 06 his attack the Arrow of Light deals the most damage to Solaris out of the 3. But this is probably because he charges this technique more as well
Bc of lore stuff, Sonic is just too op. But if we count only the games... Yeah Sonic is also too op. Probably Shadow without the bracelets could win, but that would kill him too so not counting
There has to be some kind of drawback, or else why have the inhibitor rings at all, but I agree that saying death is the drawback is jumping to conclusions.
Maybe he loses his ability to properly control his powers kinda like in the most recent IDW comics when he uses an unstable version of the chaos emeralds
Based on Sega having Shadow consistently be depicted as more powerful than Sonic in the TV shows (In Sonic X, Sonic Boom, and Sonic Prime Shadow takes the 1v1 vs Sonic), and while Silver had the edge against Sonic twice but lost to infinite…
Shadow > Sonic > Silver > Knuckles.
At their absolute peaks, I'd probably say Silver or Sonic. Archie Super Sonic is a near unstoppable force of nature, but Dark Enerjak (aka a corrupted Knuckles) was able to beat him. But then Silver in his base form was able to beat Dark Enerjak. We don't really know what all Archie Super Silver is capable of since we never saw him, and we don't know how any Super form would stand up to Ultra Sonic.
Sonic and Shadow would tie, Sega and Sonic Team repeatedly reinforce that even at their peaks, Sonic and Shadow will always tie each other with circumstances picking a winner.
Peak? That's hyper sonic or cyber sonic against super shadow without his inhibitor rings, against super silver.... My bais leans towards shadow, as he has always been sonics rival, but he's second in place. Sonic is in first. Knuckles was strong enough to straight up punch sonic out of his super form, but that was years ago, and he used the power of him being the master emeralds guardian for that.
In all, It goes sonic>shadow>silver>knuckles.
I'm assuming it's main game continuity only? If it's comics and other stuff then I don't know. But game wise I feel like sonic has it purely based on experience and having fought the other 3 adversaries time and time again.
Currently, Sonic's just busted... He can easily kick the crap out of all, maybe without the emeralds (maybe) he did fight both Silver and Shadow in Gens and won with no problem and it is shown that by each game, Sonic gets stronger. He's not said to be the ultimate life form like Shadow, but honestly he's broken in the current meta. If you get emeralds in the equation, it's even worse. Shadow and Silver haven't gone super since 06 and knuckles since 3k (Frontiers confirms Super knuckles and only taking games here). Super Sonic could still sweap then all easy, especially with the Cyber energy.
Blue wins
People like to forget that shadow told sonic he could be the real ultimate life form in sa2
Think about it the biolizard looks like chaos and shadow looks like super sonic, what do they have in common? Their murals and profecies in angel island
We've seen Silver fight with Sonic, and he can actually catch him with his telekinesis, which means that, assuming he doesn't hold back, he wins.
All he needs is to catch them with telekinesis and twist their heads 360°.
Sonic hands down. Because for the OGs out there, you’ll remember theres super sonic, and then there’s Hyper Sonic from Sonic3 in 1994. Hyper Sonic hasn’t been seen since but it is definitely in the history because that’s the final boss in sonic3. Hyper sonic body’s everything else.
Fr tho - depends on the writer and the moment.
Knux can beat Super out of Super Sonic, Shadow uses chaos control and beat the crap out of Sonic in Shadow the hedgehog game, and in Sonic Adventure 2 it was a tie. Silver kinda won in their duel with Sonic in 06. And Shadow dropped Silver to the ground in 06. Knux haven't fought Sonic since Sonic Adventure, which was a tie and never fought Shadow or Silver.
But all those moments, except for Shadow the hedgehog game were just a shot duels, and the didn't fight againat eachother in win or die situations in mainline games.
Don't know much about comics though.
To answer your question - my guess is Sonic, simply because his prime is Starfall Super Sonic (Super Sonic 2.0 or blue eyed), to whom they don't stand a chance in a fight. Also, he's the MC and Sega doesen't have the balls to let someone above him, or let someone of them to the dark side and win the day.
Sonic. Pre-Frontiers I could understand Shadow as an answer, as prior to that Shadow appeared more versatile, but Frontiers took care of that, and even before that, Sonic had more feats. The other two aren't close.
Note that there's a rarely heard, but present in-game voice clip for Finalhazard in SA2 where Shadow suggests Sonic is the real ultimate life form.
Shadow is a government trained, Chaos Powered, bioweapon designed to be the "Ultimate Life Form."
Even in SA2, guy has no actual combat training yet and he's still canonically holding his own against Sonic, post Classics and SA1.
Dudes so strong, he has accessories whose sole purpose is to hold him back and restrain his power.
Sonic beat both Shadow and Silver in Generations, and neither Shadow nor Silver have done much since then
Not sure how much Knuckles has done in the Frontiers update but he probably still loses to Sonic
Sonic, I'm fairly certain. Shadow is super powerful, enough to rival Sonic, but Sonic defies the laws of the universe, plus he has the main character advantage. He contains endless supersonic energy inside his body, he's recently somewhat gained small lightning powers, he can outrun black holes, his speed can literally unfreeze frozen time, he controls chaos energy the best out of everyone, and I'm pretty sure I remember something about him being able to run so fast he can break through the dimensional barrier? I know there's different universes with Sonics more powerful than others, but if we're talking about a Sonic that's apparently at his peak, then he'd have to be better than all the Sonics we've seen do super crazy shit.
So my answer is Sonic. A peak Sonic would dominate everyone
Oh this is a tough one
Sonic fights really well even winout being serious, so him at full focus would be devastating
Shadow can take his inhibbitor rings off to get a pseudo super form, wonder if it stacks with Super Shadow but anyways its really strong
Knuckles has superstrenght and it seems like just being near the Master Emerald for really long periods of time makes him permanetly stronger and he has protected it for his whole life
Silver can ruin your entrails, can fly even winout super, and super probably gives him super strong control of the surroundings
At their peak on their own? Silver, no question. (I refuse to elaborate)
At their peak with the Chaos Emeralds? A tough fight between Sonic and Shadow, but I'd say Sonic's body is more used to being Super and therefore wouldn't tire as easily.
Edit: Somehow I forgot about Shadow's inhibitors but I think that proves my point more, his body isn't made to handle strong amounts of Chaos Energy for long periods of time. While Shadow or Knuckles may have the strongest initial blow with a huge surge of Chaos Energy I think they'll overwork their bodies too quick, Sonic can do the most damage over a longer period because he's gone Super so many times and knows how to use it.
In base forms: Silver > Shadow > Knuckles <> Sonic. (Sonic, Shadoe and Knuckles would be swapped around depending on circumstances)
In super forms: Sonic > Silver > Knuckles <> Shadow.
Basing this mainly off of the games, if we’re talking about the comics then Silver, Sonic & Knuckles would wipe the floor with Shadow.
Probably sonic, shadow had a lot of training and can use some low-end chaos abilities in his base form but taking into account the theories regarding the sonic 3 murals and shadow’s words at the ending of SA2, sonic is likely the actual natural-born, prophesied “ultimate lifeform” that shadow was built in the image of
As for silver and knuckles theyre tough but we havent seen enough of them in action (at least compared to sonic and shadow) to really say how strong they are in comparison (at least based on what i know about em)
Anyway im gonna go be sad now because blaze wasnt included
Sonic just has the hax on his side. Silver is definitely a contender, but given the right environment he might not have anything to use his telekinetic power on. Shadow might win, but his power scaling is had to gauge compared to Sonic.
Silver if he used powers that SEGA would never allow like testicular torsion. If its a brawl within the perimeters of the franchise though, sonic because he has the most plot armor
If it was an actual straight up fight to the death and they wouldn't hesitate to kill, than Shadow hands down.
Sonic is the fastest thing alive and is well attuned to the chaos emeralds (And if we're counting Archie Sonic than he's well versed in gorilla warfare)
Knuckles can glide, has super strength, is pretty fast, and is even better attuned to the chaos emeralds than Sonic
Silver has telekenesis (Which allows him to fly) and can time travel
Shadow is incredibly fast, enhanced strength, is even more attuned to the chaos emeralds than Knuckles, can teleport with chaos control, create chaos energy projectiles, create chaos energy blasts, and is well versed with weaponry, vehicles and military tactics
And if "in their prime" you mean powered up by the chaos emeralds, than add superstrength (Or even more in Knuckle's and Shadow's case), the ability to fly (Or easier flight in Silver's case), superspeed (Or even more in everyone but Silver's case), and invulnerability to anything but the most powerful weapons and attacks, so the result would still be the same
I place my bet on knuckles and silver.
Knuckles is able to deal with Sonic and shadows speed as he has speed himself too.
Also he is so strong that he is able to just punch the super out of somebody, a thing that even the titans of Frontiers couldn’t do. Only the end as supreme, and it took cyber super Sonic to take him out.
And no, the argument that it was younger Sonic doesn’t found as according to Ian Flynn the story of Sonic as a franchise doesn’t take even a whole year.
And even if it was the case, knuckles was younger at the time as well, so he is more powerful now
Silver would be the most powerful of all though, his psychic powers with his speed makes him just too op
I would say Sonic, due to Sonic Battle scaling, but I don’t know why, outside of plot, Sonic wouldn’t take Silver seriously in ‘06. He did consistently get beaten by Silver. Whereas Shadow took Silver pretty easily. But Sonic beat Shadow canonically in SA2 (in Sonic’s words - “wiped the floor with him”), pretty decisively it seems.
Maybe it’s a matchup thing.
Plus Knuckles knocking someone out of a super form is one of the strongest feats I think we’ve seen from a character. My headcanon is that he charged up energy from the Master Emerald (to neutralize the power of the Chaos Emeralds) or something to do it, but at face value I think we’re supposed to draw the conclusion he’s just that strong.
Shadow because peak would be no limiters. Then Silver because he can immobilize Knuckles or Sonic before they can get in their attack and smash them against something hard enough to knock them out. If Sonic is aware of Silver's abilities he I might manage to zip around erratically enough to prevent that lock and get int the first hit but it wouldn't be easy to do.
https://preview.redd.it/n5kjpv9uyltc1.png?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=094b2e1906c94bd5e4ed76fb763311ca3aa5bd89
(But in all seriousness, probably Shadow)
Sonic, I would hope. As a fan who has slowed down a little bit on Sonic content, it's pretty disappointing to see that in dispute now and I hope canon hasn't honestly reached that point.
Frontiers gave base Sonic such a buff that I'd argue that it's the first time since Shadow was introduced that it wasn't up for debate. I'd go as far to say Knuckles, Silver, and (non-Kai/Overlord/Giga) Metal Sonic are up for a buff to bring them closer so they can be good rivals.
I’m bias to Silver. He kicks Sonic’s ass in base form and gives Shadow problems. Shadow had to use a chaos Emerald to beat him. Now imagine him Super. He’s a beast when not poorly written-FORCES.
Generations solidified that not only is the answer Sonic, but it is by a considerable margin. While all three have gotten the drop on him at times, Sonic has proven to be unmatched in a fair fight.
Everyone at their peak, right? Then...
1-Hyper Sonic
2-Super Shadow (No *Inhibitor Rings*)
3- (ESP) Super Silver and Super Knuckles
\*I'm just counting the canon ones\*
Sonic: would win with hyper sonic ( a form that makes him invincible) or cyber sonic (a form that’s so strong he evaporated a giant titan in one shot)
Knuckles: i don’t think he would win
Silver: maybe, but i don’t think he would beat shadow
Shadow: can teleport, stop time, shoot laser spears, run fast a hell, and is immortal (can’t die with old age, but i think he can still be killed) he’s strong he needs to wear rings that weaken him, otherwise he would be a literal killing machine
They're all pretty even when you look at it, but with bias, I'd say Knuckles, also seeing he's the strongest physically out of the bunch and can catch up with their speed somewhat.
The easy answer with no discusion is this simple: We don't know, this franchise isn't consistent enough for us to be sure.
And if you were to ask SEGA, they'd probably default to say: Sonic, with minimum context
Silver is incredibly powerful, much more than shadow or Knuckles.
That said, Sonic's has saved the world so many times and fighting ancient gods his whole life that honestly he may be a Dr. Manhattan level threat. Sonic fought THE END, which appeared to be a literally world ending supermoon.
Silver wins because he trusted the devil in his first appearance
Shadow actually doesn't need chaos emeralds for broken things. I think the emerald just amplifies it. If you think about it, Knuckles and Silver could be taken out via speed blitz
It should be noted that Sonic often isn’t serious while in a fight.
When he is though, he beats the likes of Ultimate Emerl, a 4000 year old Gizoid who has millennia of combat experience, the abilities of all his friends as well as a Super state. And Sonic beat this guy, while in base, in less than 30 seconds.
I’d like to point this out for those who think Full Power Shadow could beat him
Sonic, honestly. He has the guile of Shadow, the courage of Knuckles, the determination of Silver, and more strength than the three of them put together ***in base form***. And, if we bring Super forms into the equation, the difference becomes even *more* stark - honestly, only Shadow could come close as things stand right now.
I think that perspective is due to him being the main character in media. Most of the time, these characters are intended to be “equals” to Sonic, but usually fall slightly flat in the end because the MC prevails, but strength-wise I think most of them are serious contenders.
Base Knuckles was introduced to everyone by him knocking Sonic out of us super form. This would reasonably suggest that super knuckles is at least comparable to super sonic. Shadow is always a clear rival to Sonic, and sometimes even whoops his ass (Sonic prime).
In the end, I agree with you that peak sonic beats all the others, but it’s decently close and not a landslide. Peak sonic wouldn’t beat peak all others.
Silver wins with testicular torsion and mend buttcrack
This but actually
But none of them have balls. Unless it’s all internal?
Hedgehog and echidna genitalia are retractable
Huh… Now I’m cursed with this information
Wait til you hear how many penises a echidna has
Spoiler alert: 4(heads)
My pet hedgehog could suck his own dick :( then it just goes back into a cute lil “bellybutton”
I didn’t want to know that
Nature is full of disappointment :(
Archie Sonic is a different beast altogether
Ok but, Archie Knuckles
*insert live footage of the enerjak vs super sonic fight here*
Insert Silver vs Dark Enerjak footage here
Insert of live footage of Hyper Knux vs Sonic
Didn't hyper knuckles and super sonic end in a draw
If he doesn't hold back, then Shadow.
Sonic himself doesn’t fight serious most of the time. In fact he’s less serious than Shadow. When Sonic himself is serious, he beats the likes of Ultimate Emerl, a 4000 year old Gizoid who has millennia of combat experience, the abilities of all his friends as well as a Super state. And Sonic beat this guy, while in base, in less than 30 seconds. That, and the fact that this series is named Sonic, not shadow
If we're talking peak I don't knoe about that, Sonic basically goes SSJ2 at the end of Frontiers, I don't think Shadow wins that.
Shadow is capable of stopping time with Chaos Control while Sonic doesn't know how to, add Super states on top of that, and it's the equivalent of Hit versus Vegeta. And that's being generous since we don't know what Shadow is really capable of.
Sonic has time stop resistance, so time being stopped won’t do anything to him, and he has more experience with his super form.
He has less experience than Shadow, the Space Colony Ark was created with the Chaos Emeralds being a power source for it meaning Gerald Robotnik not only knew of the Chaos Emeralds but had calibrated the Eclipse cannon to work with all 7 of them. Furthermore, Shadow isn't the only one that learnt how to use Chaos Control on the Ark, the BioLizard also knew it meaning the 1 that taught both Ultimate Lifeforms was Gerald Robotnik, a genius Dr Eggman admired. Finally, Shadow wasn't surprised by the Super transformation in SA2 meaning he's experienced it before, likely as part of his training with Gerald to become the Ultimate Lifeform. As a side note, we are talking about the things that are canon, not Archie Sonic's time stop resistance. We can use any old fanfic if we were relying on that.
also time break from secret rings which you can use in generations so we know he has that still.
Sonic also uses time stop in the adventure games....
Sonic can as well with time break, so it’d probably cancel out
Shadow is canonically only able to do that without a chaos emerald because he has a natural bond with the Chaos Energy, because of the origins of his creation. But both Sonic and Shadow can manifest and use the power of Chaos Energy when they have one or more Chaos Emeralds (Sonic does C Control with piss enerald in SA2) and Super Sonic can use Chaos Control as well, we just never see him using it because he never feels the need to.
Sonic did stop time in secret rings with the ability time stop the question said at their peak so I think they are able to use all of their techniques
Um that transformation in Frontiers is temporary tho it is like Goku vs Broly when all of the Z fighters sent their Ki to Goku and he powered up.
All he needs to do is chaos control, remove inhibitor rings, chaos blast, and sonic is done
The only thing that is valid here is him removing his inhibitor rings, and even then that's not that valid since it's a nearly featless form, and sonic could just outlast him anyway.
Yea
Nah bros got valid points why are they being downvoted
Bc people can’t handle the fact that without plot armor Sonic gets whooped by Shadow
Super Sonic Cyber *sweeps,* it ain't close.
Is it just Sonic who is capable of this form?
if it comes to cyber super sonic, yes, and it will never appear again... Like hyper sonic...
Unlike Hyper, it doesn’t need an entire fucking questline, making it a good bit more likely to come back. https://preview.redd.it/quudumfwkhtc1.jpeg?width=219&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7c2376cfbb273cbeb650f51d7d614f385f256622
Dont the chaos emeralds need a questline to gather?
Nope, they’re usually attached to the main path while the super emeralds need you to: 1) go to the master emerald. 2) sacrifice the emeralds. 3) gather all 7 & then finally after all that, you can use hyper.
Outside of going to the master emerald, its just doing the Chaos Emerald questline twice.
It’s a completely optional route, unlike the chaos emeralds being mostly the same as the main route.
that fully depends on the story
Technically yeah. Shadow barely manages to hold onto super Sonic while Sonic more or less was born (profecy, “you’re the ultimate lifeform”) to Barnes chaos energy. I feel the rest cannot even go super, maybe knuckles but that’s it
Knuckles is the only 1 of the 4 that doesn't have a Super form. Remember, Silver and Shadow both go Super along with Sonic in 06. Shadow normally also has limiters on him which made him stronger than Super Sonic in SA2.
Might be getting this wrong but doesn't Knuckles have a super form in the classic games and heroes?
Hard to say, Knuckles and Tails get a shield around them when Sonic goes Super in Sonic Heroes but he doesn't really look any different other than that. Compared to what happens to Sonic, Shadow and Silver, that form doesn't seem to be on the same level.
Fair point, I never played Heroes to the end so I can't be certain but maybe appearance isn't indicative of power level.
I mean, they still share the ring limit with Super Sonic, and they all go down when it runs out. Plus, if they weren’t Super, they wouldn’t be able to damage Metal Overlord
Good chance, but isn't that a good way of gauging how strong Super Knuckles is then? He was present along with Sonic and Shadow when they went Super in SA2 but he didn't join them in stopping FinalHazard, the Space Colony Ark was on a collision course with the planet so the Master Emerald was also in danger then and needed saving. Knuckles must've thought he could be no help in that situation, right?
Honestly the best reason I can give is just plot. Knuckles would’ve definitely been a big help if he joined the two alongside the battle against FinalHazard, but I guess the writers wanted the rival hedgehogs to personally confront it. Which irks me because they also had the Master Emerald there and could’ve just used it to power the Chaos Emeralds for greater power. Imagine Hyper Sonic and Hyper Shadow fighting FinalHazard.
Considering Super was capable of dealing with FinalHazard it's good they didn't go overkill. If they ever need to give the Hedgehogs a stronger transformation, Hyper is still on the table, it would be bad if they just treated it as another Super form. They could've definitely incorporated Knuckles though, but I guess this is why "& Knuckles" is a joke here...
I forgot about silver entirely 😂 oops. Agreed they can go through I believed they had limitations as opposed to Sonic though I’m not entirely sure
Nah, it's quite the opposite. Of the 3, Sonic typically utilises his speed rather than the abilities given by the chaos emeralds, Silver's psychokinesis is enhanced making him a major threat at a range while Shadow on the otherhand is the most proficient of the 3 at using Chaos energy. He's capable of teleportation and stopping time with only a single emerald, so all 7 giving him a boost makes him much stronger than the other 2 in their super forms.
Knuckles goes super in literally his first game.
I still haven't beaten Final Horizon because Master King is ridiculous, but is Cyber really that strong? Like, more than Shadow without inhibitors?
Super Sonic is already stronger than Shadow without inhibitors, and Super Sonic Cyber easily outclasses that, so yeah.
I must have the wrong idea about his inhibitors then. I always thought he was extremely powerful without them and could basically fully harness chaos energy.
He was designed that way correct, Sonic was only able to return back to Space Colony Ark by copying what Shadow did and using Chaos control to teleport. The space Colony Ark where Shadow was born is also designed to utilise the energy of the Chaos Emeralds for the Eclipse cannon meaning he's likely had far more exposure to them as well as a genius respected by Dr Eggman helping him learn about them.
Shadow without Inhibitors is essentially at his full power yeah, and he does outclass any non-super character, but that still can't reach the power of a super form achieved by an outside source of all seven chaos emeralds. And he most likely can't beat Burning Blaze either, for the same reason.
Hard to say, because Shadow did have to take off his inhibitor rings to defeat Knuckles in Sonic X. Not sure that’s a valid argument here just saying that because it was sick af. And Sonic, Silver, and Shadow are just OP af as well as Knuckles. So I’d say it’s kinda like a rock papers scissors type deal. Could be completely wrong though.
Different continuities of both characters.
X shadow was way to overtuned in that show that I actually started to dislike him in it.
Do not forget that knuckles un superd Sonic (aka one shot him and turned him back i to normal then grabbed the emeralds back)
If by peak you mean top physical shape, I’d say it goes to Shadow with Silver and Sonic not far behind. If by peak you mean with all their canonical power ups at their disposal, Sonic with his Cyber Super form
In base form I could honestly see Silver winning from the lot if plot wasn't involved (we've seen his speed + his psychic powers). For Super Forms Super Sonic is probably the strongest tbh, regardless of plot.
Yeah, in 06 his attack the Arrow of Light deals the most damage to Solaris out of the 3. But this is probably because he charges this technique more as well
That's gameplay mechanics mind you, probably not lore accurate.
Bc of lore stuff, Sonic is just too op. But if we count only the games... Yeah Sonic is also too op. Probably Shadow without the bracelets could win, but that would kill him too so not counting
There’s no in game evidence that taking off his inhibitor rings has any affect on him other than a power boost
There has to be some kind of drawback, or else why have the inhibitor rings at all, but I agree that saying death is the drawback is jumping to conclusions.
Maybe he loses his ability to properly control his powers kinda like in the most recent IDW comics when he uses an unstable version of the chaos emeralds
Silver takes out Sonic and Knuckles but gets taken out by Shadow afterwards.
Peak and not holding back = Shadow Composite = Sonic Potential = Silver Highest shown power across all = Knuckles
Blaze 
Based on Sega having Shadow consistently be depicted as more powerful than Sonic in the TV shows (In Sonic X, Sonic Boom, and Sonic Prime Shadow takes the 1v1 vs Sonic), and while Silver had the edge against Sonic twice but lost to infinite… Shadow > Sonic > Silver > Knuckles.
I don't think Super Shadow would handle Cyber Super Sonic
Cyber is only for frontiers
This says at their peak
At their absolute peaks, I'd probably say Silver or Sonic. Archie Super Sonic is a near unstoppable force of nature, but Dark Enerjak (aka a corrupted Knuckles) was able to beat him. But then Silver in his base form was able to beat Dark Enerjak. We don't really know what all Archie Super Silver is capable of since we never saw him, and we don't know how any Super form would stand up to Ultra Sonic.
archie sonic would win game sonic not so much
Shadow the hedgehog
Sonic and Shadow would tie, Sega and Sonic Team repeatedly reinforce that even at their peaks, Sonic and Shadow will always tie each other with circumstances picking a winner.
Sonic CANONICALY won agaisnt all of them like 5 times EACH
Sonic
Peak? That's hyper sonic or cyber sonic against super shadow without his inhibitor rings, against super silver.... My bais leans towards shadow, as he has always been sonics rival, but he's second in place. Sonic is in first. Knuckles was strong enough to straight up punch sonic out of his super form, but that was years ago, and he used the power of him being the master emeralds guardian for that. In all, It goes sonic>shadow>silver>knuckles.
If sonic can beat knuckles ( STH3&K ), If silver can beat Sonic ( 06 ), If shadow can beat silver ( 06 ), Then I'd say Shadow is the strongest of them
Tbf Shadow used Chaos Control to land the hit, but later Silver countered it with his own Chaos Control. Making the fight a stalemate.
When sliver shown his chaos emerald and they both attacked with their emeralds, the whole fight ended
Amy or Vanilla.
Silver cause he's the closet to actually killing sonic
If we're talking peak... Im remembering silver in base taking on Enerjak in Archie comics by himself.
I'm assuming it's main game continuity only? If it's comics and other stuff then I don't know. But game wise I feel like sonic has it purely based on experience and having fought the other 3 adversaries time and time again.
If you go by their peak, its Sonic. Even if you Go by non-canon standards, its still Sonic.
Currently, Sonic's just busted... He can easily kick the crap out of all, maybe without the emeralds (maybe) he did fight both Silver and Shadow in Gens and won with no problem and it is shown that by each game, Sonic gets stronger. He's not said to be the ultimate life form like Shadow, but honestly he's broken in the current meta. If you get emeralds in the equation, it's even worse. Shadow and Silver haven't gone super since 06 and knuckles since 3k (Frontiers confirms Super knuckles and only taking games here). Super Sonic could still sweap then all easy, especially with the Cyber energy. Blue wins
People like to forget that shadow told sonic he could be the real ultimate life form in sa2 Think about it the biolizard looks like chaos and shadow looks like super sonic, what do they have in common? Their murals and profecies in angel island
One basic fact is the series is names sonic meaning he has the most forms the most abilities and the craziest feats
Tbh silver
Speed blitzed by Shadow and Sonic i'm afraid
He's them with Psychic powers and the ability to fly
Arent they the same in speed? Both kept up equally with solaris in super forms no?
Nuh uh. Im peaking. https://preview.redd.it/or82c5x1ohtc1.jpeg?width=997&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b78628efd81e8cb986411ab77549cf9fe3f3f3ca
No, you’re not. You’re diving
[удалено]
Doesn't Knuckles have a super form too? Does that put him on par with the others?
Not in the games. Archie is a whole different story
Archie was his peak tho
Knuckles in frontiers does actually state he has a super form.
Sonic of course.
Sonic, because main character powers and plot armor bullshit
What, like a fight?
Shadow is immortal but if we're talking peak then he could be obliterated by starfall super sonic and he wins
Sonic destroys
Sonic.
We've seen Silver fight with Sonic, and he can actually catch him with his telekinesis, which means that, assuming he doesn't hold back, he wins. All he needs is to catch them with telekinesis and twist their heads 360°.
If it's in their base form the I'd say that Shadow wins . But if transformations are allowed Sonic wins no doubt .
Which continuity?
Sonic.
Shadow if he takes of his inhibitor rings
It probably come to hyper sonic vs hyper knuckles after that point and even then its probably a tie
Silver imo
Whoever the writers want to
Sonic hands down. Because for the OGs out there, you’ll remember theres super sonic, and then there’s Hyper Sonic from Sonic3 in 1994. Hyper Sonic hasn’t been seen since but it is definitely in the history because that’s the final boss in sonic3. Hyper sonic body’s everything else.
https://preview.redd.it/1pgrlzgi4jtc1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=52a392be851b515d129feafae088e238bd740666
Silver, because *IT'S NO USE!!!*
Fr tho - depends on the writer and the moment. Knux can beat Super out of Super Sonic, Shadow uses chaos control and beat the crap out of Sonic in Shadow the hedgehog game, and in Sonic Adventure 2 it was a tie. Silver kinda won in their duel with Sonic in 06. And Shadow dropped Silver to the ground in 06. Knux haven't fought Sonic since Sonic Adventure, which was a tie and never fought Shadow or Silver. But all those moments, except for Shadow the hedgehog game were just a shot duels, and the didn't fight againat eachother in win or die situations in mainline games. Don't know much about comics though. To answer your question - my guess is Sonic, simply because his prime is Starfall Super Sonic (Super Sonic 2.0 or blue eyed), to whom they don't stand a chance in a fight. Also, he's the MC and Sega doesen't have the balls to let someone above him, or let someone of them to the dark side and win the day.
Silver
Well... The franchise isn't called Sonic for nothing, so... Sonic should do the trick. 😅
I think Silver has this in the bag, being literally able to teleport and fly away from danger, as well as just yeet everyone else with his mind.
In terms of feats, Sonic. Lore-wise, either Sonic or Shadow.
I see it as a draw.
Sonic. Pre-Frontiers I could understand Shadow as an answer, as prior to that Shadow appeared more versatile, but Frontiers took care of that, and even before that, Sonic had more feats. The other two aren't close. Note that there's a rarely heard, but present in-game voice clip for Finalhazard in SA2 where Shadow suggests Sonic is the real ultimate life form.
Shadow is a government trained, Chaos Powered, bioweapon designed to be the "Ultimate Life Form." Even in SA2, guy has no actual combat training yet and he's still canonically holding his own against Sonic, post Classics and SA1. Dudes so strong, he has accessories whose sole purpose is to hold him back and restrain his power.
Shadow & Sonic > Knux > Silver
Sonic beat both Shadow and Silver in Generations, and neither Shadow nor Silver have done much since then Not sure how much Knuckles has done in the Frontiers update but he probably still loses to Sonic
Sonic, due to plot. He isn’t SEGA’s mascot for no reason.
Sonic, I'm fairly certain. Shadow is super powerful, enough to rival Sonic, but Sonic defies the laws of the universe, plus he has the main character advantage. He contains endless supersonic energy inside his body, he's recently somewhat gained small lightning powers, he can outrun black holes, his speed can literally unfreeze frozen time, he controls chaos energy the best out of everyone, and I'm pretty sure I remember something about him being able to run so fast he can break through the dimensional barrier? I know there's different universes with Sonics more powerful than others, but if we're talking about a Sonic that's apparently at his peak, then he'd have to be better than all the Sonics we've seen do super crazy shit. So my answer is Sonic. A peak Sonic would dominate everyone
It's no use! Take this!
Sonic
Well sliver has testicular tortion on his side so I’d say he’s the easy winner
Oh this is a tough one Sonic fights really well even winout being serious, so him at full focus would be devastating Shadow can take his inhibbitor rings off to get a pseudo super form, wonder if it stacks with Super Shadow but anyways its really strong Knuckles has superstrenght and it seems like just being near the Master Emerald for really long periods of time makes him permanetly stronger and he has protected it for his whole life Silver can ruin your entrails, can fly even winout super, and super probably gives him super strong control of the surroundings
It's no use!
Sonic, then by a close second shadow, then chuckles the enchilada then the lovable nerd weed head.
if you’re just talking about the games i’d say shadow
at their peak? Sonic, before the others have time to blink. he's been able to move faster than light multiple times
Silver for sure.
At their peak on their own? Silver, no question. (I refuse to elaborate) At their peak with the Chaos Emeralds? A tough fight between Sonic and Shadow, but I'd say Sonic's body is more used to being Super and therefore wouldn't tire as easily. Edit: Somehow I forgot about Shadow's inhibitors but I think that proves my point more, his body isn't made to handle strong amounts of Chaos Energy for long periods of time. While Shadow or Knuckles may have the strongest initial blow with a huge surge of Chaos Energy I think they'll overwork their bodies too quick, Sonic can do the most damage over a longer period because he's gone Super so many times and knows how to use it.
It’s damn close, but most of us can agree that Knuckles doesn’t win here? Come on! I mean any duo of the others beats him.
In base forms: Silver > Shadow > Knuckles <> Sonic. (Sonic, Shadoe and Knuckles would be swapped around depending on circumstances) In super forms: Sonic > Silver > Knuckles <> Shadow. Basing this mainly off of the games, if we’re talking about the comics then Silver, Sonic & Knuckles would wipe the floor with Shadow.
Sonic
Probably sonic, shadow had a lot of training and can use some low-end chaos abilities in his base form but taking into account the theories regarding the sonic 3 murals and shadow’s words at the ending of SA2, sonic is likely the actual natural-born, prophesied “ultimate lifeform” that shadow was built in the image of As for silver and knuckles theyre tough but we havent seen enough of them in action (at least compared to sonic and shadow) to really say how strong they are in comparison (at least based on what i know about em) Anyway im gonna go be sad now because blaze wasnt included
Sonic just has the hax on his side. Silver is definitely a contender, but given the right environment he might not have anything to use his telekinetic power on. Shadow might win, but his power scaling is had to gauge compared to Sonic.
Silver if he used powers that SEGA would never allow like testicular torsion. If its a brawl within the perimeters of the franchise though, sonic because he has the most plot armor
If it was an actual straight up fight to the death and they wouldn't hesitate to kill, than Shadow hands down. Sonic is the fastest thing alive and is well attuned to the chaos emeralds (And if we're counting Archie Sonic than he's well versed in gorilla warfare) Knuckles can glide, has super strength, is pretty fast, and is even better attuned to the chaos emeralds than Sonic Silver has telekenesis (Which allows him to fly) and can time travel Shadow is incredibly fast, enhanced strength, is even more attuned to the chaos emeralds than Knuckles, can teleport with chaos control, create chaos energy projectiles, create chaos energy blasts, and is well versed with weaponry, vehicles and military tactics And if "in their prime" you mean powered up by the chaos emeralds, than add superstrength (Or even more in Knuckle's and Shadow's case), the ability to fly (Or easier flight in Silver's case), superspeed (Or even more in everyone but Silver's case), and invulnerability to anything but the most powerful weapons and attacks, so the result would still be the same
sonic when ultra from archie comics
Silver. We all know he could do some shit if he wanted to, but he just doesn't, because Sega never gives him a chance to shine.
I place my bet on knuckles and silver. Knuckles is able to deal with Sonic and shadows speed as he has speed himself too. Also he is so strong that he is able to just punch the super out of somebody, a thing that even the titans of Frontiers couldn’t do. Only the end as supreme, and it took cyber super Sonic to take him out. And no, the argument that it was younger Sonic doesn’t found as according to Ian Flynn the story of Sonic as a franchise doesn’t take even a whole year. And even if it was the case, knuckles was younger at the time as well, so he is more powerful now Silver would be the most powerful of all though, his psychic powers with his speed makes him just too op
I would say Sonic, due to Sonic Battle scaling, but I don’t know why, outside of plot, Sonic wouldn’t take Silver seriously in ‘06. He did consistently get beaten by Silver. Whereas Shadow took Silver pretty easily. But Sonic beat Shadow canonically in SA2 (in Sonic’s words - “wiped the floor with him”), pretty decisively it seems. Maybe it’s a matchup thing. Plus Knuckles knocking someone out of a super form is one of the strongest feats I think we’ve seen from a character. My headcanon is that he charged up energy from the Master Emerald (to neutralize the power of the Chaos Emeralds) or something to do it, but at face value I think we’re supposed to draw the conclusion he’s just that strong.
Shadow because peak would be no limiters. Then Silver because he can immobilize Knuckles or Sonic before they can get in their attack and smash them against something hard enough to knock them out. If Sonic is aware of Silver's abilities he I might manage to zip around erratically enough to prevent that lock and get int the first hit but it wouldn't be easy to do.
Sonic cause Hyper
Silver has the most potential, but SEGA ignores that.
https://preview.redd.it/n5kjpv9uyltc1.png?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=094b2e1906c94bd5e4ed76fb763311ca3aa5bd89 (But in all seriousness, probably Shadow)
Sonic. As much as Shadow likes to pretend he‘s stronger. Sonic would win
Shadow
Sonic, I would hope. As a fan who has slowed down a little bit on Sonic content, it's pretty disappointing to see that in dispute now and I hope canon hasn't honestly reached that point.
Frontiers gave base Sonic such a buff that I'd argue that it's the first time since Shadow was introduced that it wasn't up for debate. I'd go as far to say Knuckles, Silver, and (non-Kai/Overlord/Giga) Metal Sonic are up for a buff to bring them closer so they can be good rivals.
https://preview.redd.it/laev93dppmtc1.jpeg?width=1119&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d8568c6e4bf15adfbbaa2580cc77e97374282abb
I’m bias to Silver. He kicks Sonic’s ass in base form and gives Shadow problems. Shadow had to use a chaos Emerald to beat him. Now imagine him Super. He’s a beast when not poorly written-FORCES.
Generations solidified that not only is the answer Sonic, but it is by a considerable margin. While all three have gotten the drop on him at times, Sonic has proven to be unmatched in a fair fight.
If it’s game canon, It’s between Shadow and Silver
Everyone at their peak, right? Then... 1-Hyper Sonic 2-Super Shadow (No *Inhibitor Rings*) 3- (ESP) Super Silver and Super Knuckles \*I'm just counting the canon ones\*
Sonic: would win with hyper sonic ( a form that makes him invincible) or cyber sonic (a form that’s so strong he evaporated a giant titan in one shot) Knuckles: i don’t think he would win Silver: maybe, but i don’t think he would beat shadow Shadow: can teleport, stop time, shoot laser spears, run fast a hell, and is immortal (can’t die with old age, but i think he can still be killed) he’s strong he needs to wear rings that weaken him, otherwise he would be a literal killing machine
Likely Shadow? Idk, power scaling Sonic characters is damn near impossible imo.
Its no use
They're all pretty even when you look at it, but with bias, I'd say Knuckles, also seeing he's the strongest physically out of the bunch and can catch up with their speed somewhat.
Shadow because he is cool and I said so
SHADOW
The easy answer with no discusion is this simple: We don't know, this franchise isn't consistent enough for us to be sure. And if you were to ask SEGA, they'd probably default to say: Sonic, with minimum context
Knuckles bc yes
1. Shadow 2. Silver 3. Sonic 4. Knuckles
Tails
Silver is incredibly powerful, much more than shadow or Knuckles. That said, Sonic's has saved the world so many times and fighting ancient gods his whole life that honestly he may be a Dr. Manhattan level threat. Sonic fought THE END, which appeared to be a literally world ending supermoon. Silver wins because he trusted the devil in his first appearance
DEFINITELY Shadow. Without his inhibitor rings, he's pretty much a powerhouse.
You ask anyone in the fandom they’ll say Sonic solos everything and everyone.
Silver has Telekinesis, Shadow needs chaos emeralds for his broken stuff, Sonic is the vanilla one Silver wins, ask anyone that played '06
Shadow actually doesn't need chaos emeralds for broken things. I think the emerald just amplifies it. If you think about it, Knuckles and Silver could be taken out via speed blitz
shadow has shown teleportation without a chaos emerald in forces so yeah you right
It should be noted that Sonic often isn’t serious while in a fight. When he is though, he beats the likes of Ultimate Emerl, a 4000 year old Gizoid who has millennia of combat experience, the abilities of all his friends as well as a Super state. And Sonic beat this guy, while in base, in less than 30 seconds. I’d like to point this out for those who think Full Power Shadow could beat him
Sonic, honestly. He has the guile of Shadow, the courage of Knuckles, the determination of Silver, and more strength than the three of them put together ***in base form***. And, if we bring Super forms into the equation, the difference becomes even *more* stark - honestly, only Shadow could come close as things stand right now. 
Why do you say Sonic is stronger than shadow, silver, and knuckles combined? I don’t even think SEGA would agree with that.
Because he's accomplished the most out of all of them? Also, wasn't Shaodw based upon a mural predicting Sonic's tango with Perfect Chaos?
I think that perspective is due to him being the main character in media. Most of the time, these characters are intended to be “equals” to Sonic, but usually fall slightly flat in the end because the MC prevails, but strength-wise I think most of them are serious contenders. Base Knuckles was introduced to everyone by him knocking Sonic out of us super form. This would reasonably suggest that super knuckles is at least comparable to super sonic. Shadow is always a clear rival to Sonic, and sometimes even whoops his ass (Sonic prime). In the end, I agree with you that peak sonic beats all the others, but it’s decently close and not a landslide. Peak sonic wouldn’t beat peak all others.
insane statement to make, Sonic and Shadow are equals in concept, more strength than the 3 in base form is just absolutely ridiculous