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One of the fundamental things that define a hero is that they perform acts of great bravery. Heroes leap head-first into danger when no one else will, standing firm and saving the day. As far as dictionary definitions go, Sonic the Hedgehog has the boxes ticked and is a great hero.
Sonic the Hedgehog Has saved the world countless times and fought an unbelievable amount of powerful enemies. He comes out on top every single time, and though he's made a few mistakes along the way, he always gets everyone a happy ending by the time the credits roll.
8 Charging into Dr. Eggman's Incredible Interstellar Amusement Park
Sonic Colors takes place entirely on board a grand amusement park built by Doctor Eggman, which connects multiple different planets. Eggman claims that he built it to make good for his past misdeeds, but Sonic and Tails are convinced pretty quickly that something fishy is going on.
Heading straight into a land built entirely by his arch-nemesis is definitely a brave undertaking, especially considering he has no idea what was even up there until he arrived. Thankfully, Sonic had control of the situation, uncovered Eggman's plan, and saved the day like he always does.
7 Fighting Eggman & Heavy King Simultaneously
If players collect all the Chaos Emeralds through their playthrough of Sonic Mania, they will unlock the secret final boss, as is the tradition in most Sonic games. This fight sees Eggman fighting with the Heavy King of the Hard-Boiled Heavies for control of the Phantom Ruby.
Rather than letting them battle it out and take on a weekend winner, Sonic enters his super form and takes them both on at once, not allowing either of them to gain control of the Phantom Ruby. Fighting two huge opponents like that was a dangerous decision, but one that worked out for Sonic in the end.
6 Entering Super Smash Bros
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The ultimate battle of Nintendo characters (and special guests), Super Smash Bros welcomed Sonic to the roster in 2008 for the release of Super Smash Bros Brawl on the Wii. After Mario and Sonic had been pitted as rivals for decades, players could finally pit them against each other in a real fight.
For Sonic to take on the Smash Bros roster is a great feat of bravery. Although the fighters don't kill each other in the fights, Sonic would have to take on heroes and villains even more legendary than himself, without any of his friends to help.
5 Resisting Torture For Six Months
Sonic Forces' plot has been looked down upon by many for being a bit too bleak. Sonic's world is cartoonish and fun, and even though he's faced dark powers before, they've never been quite as gritty as Sonic Forces presented.
One of the most laughable examples of this is when the gang finds where Sonic is being held captive following Eggman's takeover. At this point, it is revealed that Sonic is being tortured. It's an idea that is so deeply in contrast to Sonic's cartoonish and kid-friendly presentation, it's hilarious. That said, being tortured for that long and coming out the other side unaffected shows true courage.
4 Racing Against Metal Sonic
One of the main villains of Sonic CD, Metal Sonic has consistently proved to be one of Sonic's toughest opponents. Not only does Metal Sonic have a robotic strength far beyond that of the real hedgehog, but he's able to match him in speed too.
Naturally, the final showdown with Metal Sonic in Sonic CD is a race, where Sonic must navigate a short obstacle-filled track and get to the safe zone faster the Metal Sonic. The price of losing is death, as Eggman is close behind them with a hugely destructive laser beam. Sonic wins the race and Eggman accidentally annihilates Metal Sonic, not bad for a 15-year-old.
3 Escaping Null Space
One of the wilder sci-fi elements of Sonic Forces is the idea of a Null Space existing. Many sci-fi worlds have some form of this, as it is the space between dimensions, a place where absolutely nothing exists. During the climax of Sonic Forces Sonic and The Rookie are all sent there.
Exactly how they escape it is a little weird, and essentially boils down to "the power of friendship" stuff. Still, being faced with the eternal nothingness of the surrounding space must've been terrifying, and they had no real idea that their plan to escape would work, making it a brave idea.
2 Fighting Eggman In Space
The climax to Sonic 3 & Knuckles sees Eggman try to hold on to the Master Emerald in a last-ditch attempt to get rid of Sonic once and for all. The high-speed chase and fight in Doomsday Zone then occur, where Super Sonic battles Eggman's high above the earth in space.
Up there, Sonic is only being kept alive by his super form, and if he were to run out of rings, losing that form would result in instant death. Not to mention that letting Eggman get away with the Master Emerald would have dire consequences for the rest of the world.
1 Entering The Twilight Cage
In the epic Sonic RPG, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, Sonic faces off against the Nocturnus Clan. This clan is Echidnas, the same race as Knuckles, who were thought to be extinct. However, they appeared in the world and soon stole the Master Emerald, causing Angel Island to crash into Metropolis.
In reality, after becoming too power-hungry and warmongering, an ancient inter-dimensional being ripped them from the Earth and took them into a prison dimension known as the Twilight Cage. Inside are several terrible and powerful races that the gang will have to face off with, and to make things worse, no one knows how the Nocturnus Clan escaped, meaning that return may have been impossible for Sonic.