Infinite

Infinite (インフィニット, Infinitto), formerly known as the "Ultimate Mercenary" (究極傭兵, Kyūkyoku Yōhei), is both a fictional character and antagonist from the Sonic the Hedgehog series created by Yuji Naka. He is an anthropomorphic jackal, and the former captain of the Jackal Squad mercenary group. During a raid, Infinite was hired by Dr. Eggman to become the leader of the Eggman Army, only for him and his squad to fall at the hands of Shadow the Hedgehog while protecting one of Eggman's facilities. Ashamed of his loss, Infinite decided to obtain the power of the Phantom Ruby not only as a means of becoming stronger, but also to abandon his "weak" past self.

With his newfound power, Infinite aided Eggman by helping him expand the Eggman Empire to its largest size to date after defeating Sonic the Hedgehog. Near the end of the war with the Resistance though, Infinite would engage Sonic and the Avatar on multiple occasions until he was defeated during the decisive battle for the planet.

"That day, I gave up my own unsightly face. And I let go of the old me, the one that was so weak, so that I could become stronger. And then, at last... I obtained the power. The power to make all yield to my will. I... was... REBORN!"
 * —Infinite.

Appearance & Biography

 * Voice Actor: Liam O'Brien (English), Takashi Kondō (Japanese), Not Known (Albanian), Not Known (Arabic), Not Known (Basque), Not Known (Brazilian), Not Known (Cantonese), Not Known (Catalan), Not Known (Chinese), Not Known (Dutch), Not Known (Finnish), Patrick Borg (French), Not Known (Galician), Mario Hassert (German), Not Known (Greek), Not Known (Hebrew), Not Known (Hong Kong), Not Known (Hungarian), Not Known (Indonesian), Not Known (Isralian), Andrea Bolognini (Italian), Not Known (Korean), Not Known (Mandarin), Not Known (Norwegian), Not Known (Polish), Not Known (Portuguese), Not Known (Romanian), Not Known (Russian), Not Known (Serbian), Jordi Salas (Spanish), Not Known (Swedish), Not Known (Tagalog), Not Known (Thai), Not Known (Valencian), Not Known (Brazilian Portuguese), Not Known (European Spanish), Not Known (European Portuguese), Not Known (Latin American Spanish), Not Known (Latin Spanish)

Appearance
Infinite is an anthropomorphic jackal with black fur. He has white long and stiff dreadlocks, a white collar of some kind, and white stripes on his back that resemble a ribcage. He also has a bushy tail with a white tip, and wears black gloves with silver streaks on the back, covering his sharp fingers. He also has pointed, metal black hi-tops, with his personal infinity symbol engraved on red soles. His right eye is colored blue, though he has a scar across it, and his left eye is yellow. He also has a medium-long white muzzle with cheek tuffs, a black nose, and noticeable fangs.

After abandoning his old identity, Infinite began wearing a silver-colored mask with large ears with white and black circular patterns on the inside, with the right ear being black with white circular patterns and the left being white with black circular patterns. While his left eye is visible through a red visor, his right eye is covered by a black lightning bolt-shaped piece, similar to an eyepatch, that is connected to his mask's right ear, which glows red when he uses his power.

Infinite possesses the finalized version of the Phantom Ruby prototype that is fused to his chest. When Infinite channels the power of the gemstone, he can surround himself in a red aura, with red, glitch-like pixel particles scattered throughout his body.


 * Hair Color: Black, White
 * Fur Color: White
 * Eye Color: Blue (right eye), Yellow (left eye)
 * Age: 40s-60s
 * Birthday: Not Known
 * Height: 185 cm (6' 1")
 * Weight: 128 kg (282 lbs.)

Personality
Before fusing with the Phantom Ruby prototype, Infinite was a violent, heartless, and vicious gun-for-hire whose main interest as a mercenary was to earn bounties. Openly encouraging his subordinates to go for the kill, he had no qualms about taking a life. Beneath this facade, however, he harbored darker, almost nihilistic desires for anarchy: when he struck the Phantom Ruby, it caused it to reveal his deepest desires in the form of a desolate, war-torn world. Implied to greatly dislike stagnation and the current world, he admittedly joined the Eggman Empire because he had grown tired and bored of the world, and desired to change it, evidently for the worse, just to provide some amusement.

Even before acquiring the Phantom Ruby prototype, Infinite was an arrogant individual. He took pride in his title as the "ultimate mercenary" and believed himself to be a powerful foe, seeing as he denied being weak after getting beaten up by Shadow the Hedgehog. He was evidently also nearly fearless; before his encounter with Shadow, he had apparently never experienced fear himself. Even when being on the receiving end of Dr. Eggman's fury, he found the doctor to be little more than an annoyance. It was first after standing face-to-face with Shadow, a being who was able to trump his speed and strength, that Infinite found himself so shocked that he was trembling in fear. Prior to becoming Infinite, he also had at least some degree of care for his subordinates in the Jackal Squad, as he angrily confronted Shadow over the destruction of the Jackal Squad before fighting him. Prior to gaining the prototype, Infinite was also very loud, boisterous and rough, and used very gruff and informal speech owing to his mercenary background.

After casting his old self aside, Infinite picked up a persona that greatly amplified his dark traits, becoming a much darker and more lethal figure as a result. He also gained a far colder, subdued, menacing, and outwardly composed demeanor, with his speech being more eloquent, formal, and theatrical.

After obtaining unrivaled power in the form of the Phantom Ruby prototype, Infinite believed himself to be unbeatable, causing his confidence and arrogance to grow to astronomical heights. Though his confidence was not without validity, his hubris proved to be so great that he would at times leave his enemies behind rather than kill them, believing fully that they were no threat to him. He would also often express a strong sense of superiority when speaking, all while showing no respect for others except himself, although people like Shadow would note that he had a "big mouth". Even in battle, Infinite would remain extremely collected, aloof, calm, stoic, and confident with a cynical, nonchalant, and sarcastic demeanor; when he faced Sonic the Hedgehog for the first time, he barely spared his enemy a thought even as they engaged in direct combat. Fittingly, Infinite would also mock those who found strength in others. He is, however, able to acknowledge attributes to his opponents he deemed commendable, as he acknowledged before attacking Omega that the latter was "spirited" and during his rematch with Sonic, he begrudgingly acknowledged that Sonic had improved since their last time.

Following his change of identity, Infinite became endlessly cruel, extremely sadistic, and horrifyingly ruthless. He took great pleasure in causing pain and torment for others. He also relished in how the world's population was afraid of him and had a twisted need to see others fear him, expressing that feelings like fear, anxiety, and doubt were "delicious" to him. He even willingly let the Avatar run unharmed from their battle, just so he could relish in their terrified screams. He also proved to have a dry, yet dark sense of humor.

Unlike Dr. Eggman, who would reveal his plans and motives while gloating to his enemies, Infinite chose never to reveal anything vital about himself when confronting his enemies, making him mysterious and enigmatic; when Sonic tried getting information about his power from him in Mystic Jungle, Infinite ignored all of Sonic's attempts to provoke a response from him and instead tried to eliminate him.

After gaining the Phantom Ruby's power, Infinite grew very unconcerned with the opposition, seeing military organizations like the Resistance as little more than "rabble" or insects to be crushed by him. As such, he implies during his encounter with Silver that he was perfectly happy to allow rebellions against him solely for the sake of crushing them regardless of whether said rebellions initially served his immediate agenda. Similarly, he also expressed that, due to his defeating their savior Sonic earlier, the Resistance should not have bothered fighting against him at all. On some level, however, Infinite desired a challenge, as he would wonder if the world had any real challenges left for him after crushing Operation Big Wave. Regardless, Infinite desired above all else to make sure everyone yielded to him, as he noted that "all will submit" when plotting to help Eggman dominate the world. To this end, he was willing to burn the whole world to the ground with his power.

Infinite's most notable character trait, however, was his inferiority complex, especially regarding any perceived weakness he might have. This was most especially apparent when he fought Shadow and was easily beaten by him. After Shadow bluntly told him he was worthless and told him to not show his "pathetic face" to him ever again, Infinite proceeded to rage about how he was not weak before ultimately subjecting himself to being fused with the Phantom Ruby prototype, and completely discarding any trace of his old identity, to the point where he refused to show his own face. Indeed, when reencountering Shadow after the procedure, he acknowledged from Shadow's lack of memory of him that this meant his old self had been "too pathetic to remember." Other indications of this trait were shown where he expressed disgust at Eggman calling a retreat, viewing it as a tacit admission to weakness. Even after his defeat, Infinite tries to insist that he can fight on, even as he is pulled from the battlefield. This inferiority complex is implied to have developed into a mad obsession with strength. When Shadow runs through a Phantom Ruby-made Green Hill, Infinite's thoughts are echoed through a false Omega, constantly repeating that he was not weak, almost like a paranoid reassurance, showing Infinite as a perhaps insecure individual.

Owing to his obsession with strength, Infinite also demonstrated a Darwinian view of life, which is especially evident with his fight against the Avatar at Metropolis, where he declared that the weak ultimately exist solely to be vanquished by the strong, and later his admission that he underestimated how desperately the feeble will cling to life when the Avatar managed to hold their own against him.

Oddly, despite valuing the Jackal Squad enough to attempt to attack Shadow as revenge for the latter wiping the unit out, he indicated during his final battle with both Sonic and the Avatar that friendships are a "fleeting illusion", and that one can only rely with certainty on themselves. Whether this implied that he blamed his valuing the Jackal Squad for losing to Shadow is unclear. In addition, both Sonic and Amy noted that Infinite's existence was ultimately sad and lonely.

Friends/Allies

 * Jackal Squad
 * Dr. Eggman
 * Orbot
 * Cubot
 * Replicas

Enemies

 * Amy Rose the Hedgehog
 * Team Sonic
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Classic Sonic
 * Avatar
 * Amy Rose
 * Team Sol
 * Blaze the Cat
 * Marine the Raccoon
 * Silver the Hedgehog
 * Team Chaotix
 * Vector the Crocodile
 * Espio the Chameleon
 * Charmy the Bee
 * Team Dark
 * Shadow the Hedgehog
 * Rouge the Bat
 * E-123 Omega

Abilities and Powers
Before obtaining the finalized Phantom Ruby prototype, Infinite was apparently a strong fighter in his own right, his skills having earned him the title as the "ultimate mercenary". However, he was nowhere near as powerful as the likes of Shadow the Hedgehog. After being fused with the Phantom Ruby prototype, however, Infinite gained powers superior to those of the Master Emerald's (which is the most powerful relic in the world). In his own words, Infinite had acquired "unrivaled" power and the "ultimate strength" through his gemstone. Infinite's newfound strength proved so great that he was able to effortlessly defeat figures like E-123 Omega and Silver the Hedgehog, and ultimately best even Sonic the Hedgehog twice. He was even able to single-handedly overwhelm the entire Resistance army during Operation Big Wave. His power was such that not even the Miles Electric was able to give an accurate reading of his capabilities.

On his own, Infinite was shown to be fairly fast and agile in his movements, being capable of high-speed leaps and lunges across several meters, although his speed was easily outclassed by Shadow's Chaos Control abilities. He has also demonstrated above-average durability by taking a sound thrashing from Shadow and then getting back up. He was also skilled at swordplay.

After Infinite's fusion with the finalized Phantom Ruby prototype, he acquired the ability to generate, destroy, and manipulate virtual realities, which he could turn into virtual reality projections to interact with reality. Said virtual realities are illusions, which Infinite creates by exercising control of one's visual and depth perception by feeding the brain false information. He was able to use his projections to enable his virtual realities to interact with the real world in order to bestow powers on himself. Having no limitations to the illusions he could create, Infinite had, within the influence of his Phantom Ruby, unlimited abilities.

Within his Ruby's virtual realities, Infinite was able to make himself faster and stronger than even Sonic. His speed was so great that he was able to outpace Sonic while he was boosting. Similarly, his strength became potent enough to knock away someone of Sonic's size with enough force to crack a concrete arch upon impact. He also used his Ruby to give himself the power of flight and levitation, deadly energy beam emission, energy ball projection, self-replication, size enhancement, shock wave manipulation, gravity distortion, object materialization, and teleportation. He was even able to manifest giant monsters in his likeness, trap beings in virtual realities, create a whole sun that moved according to his will, and mimic the special techniques of others, such as Metal Sonic's exclusive V. Maximum Overdrive Attack. In battle though, Infinite primarily used his Phantom Ruby to generate crimson cubes that he could skillfully and willingly move around. If an opponent got struck by these cubes, they would be sent into a virtual reality where they were assailed by objects manifested by his Ruby's power. He could generate a large number of these cubes and arrange them into a variety of different shapes and forms.

Infinite could also use his Ruby's power to create Replicas that cause his victims to falsely perceive the presence of other characters. These copies are described by Shadow as having "mass and form, but no heart or soul". These copies, so long as Infinite desired, could also carry the memories, powers, and personalities of the originals. Accordingly, Infinite could create an unlimited number of them. He could also alter them to make them stronger than the originals, such as making a Metal Sonic replica bigger and granting him the ability to use electrified versions of his energy cubes as well as to materialize objects to use as a shield.

Using the Phantom Ruby's power, Infinite was also capable of limited spatial manipulation, allowing him to create Null Spaces, which are seemingly inescapable voids in space-time where absolutely nothing exists. When opening portals into Null Spaces, Infinite could reinforce such portals to expand and suck everything nearby into them.

Skill

 * Virtual reality manipulation
 * Spatial manipulation
 * Enhanced agility
 * Enhanced durability
 * Swordsmanship

Weaknesses
While Infinite's illusions are formidable, they can be neutralized by someone who has a Phantom Ruby prototype as well. Likewise, his Phantom Ruby prototype's illusions only work if the target is within the Ruby's field of effect. Also, his Phantom Ruby prototype requires a tremendous amount of energy to function. Should its energy supply be cut off, the Phantom Ruby prototype would be rendered inert.

Another weakness of Infinite's is his extreme sense of confidence and constant need to satisfy his sadism. When Infinite destroyed the Avatar's squad, he willingly let them run away unharmed as he enjoyed the sounds of their screams. Later, when he had Sonic at his mercy a second time, rather than finishing him there and then, he just left, seeing Sonic as something he need not bother himself with. Both these actions proved to be Infinite's downfall when Sonic and the Avatar later ended up beating him together.

Weapons
During his time as the leader of the Jackal Squad, Infinite possessed a red sword. This sword was evidently very sharp, being able to cut through robots with ease.

Past
Infinite was once the captain of the Jackal Squad, a band of mercenary thieves raiding others for a profit. In time, he gained a public reputation as the "ultimate mercenary".

One day, the ultimate mercenary led his squad on a raid of Dr. Eggman's base in the Arsenal Pyramid while the scientist was studying the Phantom Ruby in an attempt to steal his devices for a hefty bounty. Using the Phantom Ruby, Eggman created an army of Egg Pawn replicas to fend off the Jackal Squad. Slipping past the Egg Pawns, the ultimate mercenary ordered his squad to handle the robots while he moved in to kill Eggman with his sword. However, the ultimate mercenary accidentally struck the Phantom Ruby instead, causing it to show him an illusion of what he desired the most: a desolate, destroyed world. Using this to push the ultimate mercenary aside, Eggman, who also saw the vision, took a liking to him and offered to make him the leader of his Eggman Army so they could accomplish their goals together. Realizing he had grown bored of the world as it was, the ultimate mercenary took Eggman's offer in spite of his squad's protest.

Some time later, the ultimate mercenary and the Jackal Squad got assigned by Eggman to guard his facility in Mystic Jungle. When Shadow the Hedgehog came to raid and destroy the facility however, the Jackal Squad got annihilated by the black hedgehog. Berated by Eggman for his squad's incompetence at protecting the facility, the ultimate mercenary caught up to Shadow and tried to ambush him as payback for what he did to his squad and to live up to his title. However, the ultimate mercenary was caught off-guard by Shadow's Chaos Control-abilities and ended up being soundly subdued by the brooding hedgehog. As he took his leave, Shadow called the captain "worthless". As he recovered, the ultimate mercenary realized, much to his horror, that he was afraid. The jackal then proceeded to throw a tantrum over how weak he was.

Bitter about his defeat, the ultimate mercenary cast aside his old identity, going as far as to wear a mask to hide his face, in order to become stronger. He then obtained Eggman's finalized Phantom Ruby prototype, which granted him virtually limitless power. Following a number of experiments in the innermost area of the Eggman Empire Fortress, Eggman managed to fuse the ultimate mercenary with the Phantom Ruby prototype, creating the weapon he needed to defeat Sonic and conquer the world with. the mercenary renamed himself "Infinite" and became Eggman's right-hand man in his conquest.

Shortly after obtaining his powers, Infinite was dispatched by Eggman to deal with E-123 Omega, who had proceeded to slaughter a whole lot of Eggman's henchmen on his way through Eggman's base. Confronting Omega, Infinite effortlessly defeated the robot with his new abilities. Shadow soon after showed up at the facility to find Omega, and Infinite welcomed Shadow to their awaited reunion. When Shadow revealed that he did not remember Infinite however, Infinite proceeded undaunted to tell Shadow his backstory and what he had been up to since their first meeting a couple of months back. Once he was done, Infinite attempted to crush Shadow by trapping him in a virtual reality. Although Shadow broke free, Infinite was nonetheless impressed by the power he now possessed. After then hinting at his agenda to defeat Sonic, the facility he and Shadow were in began to collapse. Infinite, however, made his escape while cackling wildly.

Theme songs

 * "Infinite" - Tyler Smyth and Andy Bane

Notes & Trivia

 * Infinite's real name from before becoming Infinite is unknown. Fans have called him "Zero" based on his concept name or "Jackal" because of his species.
 * Infinite is the second Sonic video game character to be depicted with heterochromia, with the first being the Commander.
 * Infinite has a brief cameo in the "Come Join the Eggman Empire" propaganda video nearing the end, where he emerges from behind the Egg Pawns when the narrator claims that the possibilities for those under his Empire are "infinite", acting as a subtle pun as well as a foreshadowing.
 * Infinite is the most frequently fought boss in Sonic Forces, fought a total of three times over the course of the game.
 * Infinite is the second villain which disparagingly refers to Sonic as a rat with Sonic correcting him regarding his actual species. The first is Erazor Djinn.
 * Concept artwork for the stage Null Space implied that Infinite would have been encountered in the level to some capacity.
 * Infinite's Phantom Ruby-induced aura varied in design depending on the medium. In the E3 2017 trailer and the comic prequels, his aura was depicted as being flame-like. In the Xbox One/PS4 versions of Sonic Forces, his aura glowed red and formed a purple haze with various glitch effects. In the Switch version of the same game, he instead merely has a red outline.