Silver the Hedgehog/Pre-SGW

"My name is Silver the Hedgehog, and I must find this "Sonic". Your future depends on it."

- Silver's introduction

Silver the Hedgehog was a hedgehog gifted with psychic abilities from a post-apocalyptic alternate future in the year 3437 P.X.E., two hundred years away from the Mobius Prime's timeline. Silver was driven by a mission to learn the identity of a supposed traitor amongst the Knothole Freedom Fighters whose actions ruined the future, and hoped to find this person in the past in order to save both that period and his own. To this end, Silver has traversed both time and space, journeying into the past of Mobius Prime as well as other worlds including Light Mobius and Dark Mobius, effecting minor changes in his own time, but ultimately unable to undo its devastation. After numerous failures to fix the future, he was stranded in 3237 to solve the problem once and for all. With his solo efforts proving fruitless, Silver then joined Director Harvey Who's Secret Freedom Fighters under the call sign "Agent Ace" in exchange for help in his research. After learning the cuplrit's correct identity, Silver's objective changed with the intent of rescuing Sally Acorn to clear up a misunderstanding.

Time Squire
Silver grew up in a future version of Mobius Prime plagued by a variety of issues, where he was raised by Mammoth Mogul. Mogul treated Silver as his ward, training him for future duties as a Knight of Kronos. He told Silver of a "traitor" who had emerged from the ranks of the original Knothole Freedom Fighters, whose actions were a primary cause of their future's condition. Silver thus set out to identify the traitor and find a way to bring peace to his troubled future. At the same time, Silver also was tutored by Edmund, the last Guardian of Onyx Island. (CSE)

Hedgehog Havoc
Silver was first known to have appeared on Mobius Prime, 'walking' over the waters of Never Lake in the Kingdom of Mercia before Rob o' the Hedge and his wife Mari-An, telling them he needed to find Sonic the Hedgehog as the future depended on it. With Rob as his guide, the two traveled to Freedom HQ via Silver's Super Warp Ring, where they learned from Sally and Alicia that Sonic was on Moebius, a world Silver admitted he knew about. Silver then transported himself and Rob there, and the two hedgehogs found themselves in the middle of a melee with Sonic, Scourge, Amy Rose, Rosy the Rascal, Metal Sonic v3.0 and Shadow. (StH: #194, #195)

Eventually, Silver got fed up and halted everyone with his psychic powers to find Sonic. Using Metal Sonic's paint scheme, Silver attacked Sonic, only for Rob to intervene. Silver explained his future had been ruined because someone betrayed the Freedom Fighters and he figured only Sonic was likely to have the power to do that. Rob's argument in favor of Sonic's heroism gave Silver reason for doubt, at which point Scourge resumed his attacks against them until Sonic got everyone to gang up on him. Silver was at first knocked aside like all the others once Scourge used Anarchy Beryl to transform into Super Scourge, but recovered in time to save Miles. Silver then held Scourge so they could dogpile him long enough to lose his super form, but his power gave out and Super Scourge threw them off until Sonic tricked him into powering down. Following this, Silver went to Dr. Kintobor's tower with them and told Sonic that he would do more research on the traitor before returning, then departed to his home time. (StH: #195, #196)

Back to the Future
Silver's next trip was to Light Mobius, thirty years after his first encounter with Sonic, saving King Sonic and Queen Sally's family from a missile attack by the Dark Presence's leader, Lien-Da, during the Five Years of Peace celebration. Once at Castle Mobius, Silver explained he believed this was the time when his future would be plunged into chaos, briefly fearing Sally might be the traitor after learning she ordered the Freedom Fighters to disband, but kept this to himself. He was soon gassed unconscious by Misty-Re, a sleeper agent for the Dark Presence posing as a maid, and then taken by Sally to a Panic Room with the children as the terrorist group took over the castle. (SU: #5, #6, #7)

Silver finally revived by the time King Shadow unleashed Tikhaos, (the result of Chaos and Tikal merging together during the Elemental War) and joined in the fight against it, saving Belle and Jacques D'Coolette. He also caught Sonia and Manik Acorn in mid fall after they successfully struck Tikhaos' brain. With the battle over, Silver learned King Sonic had no memory of a traitor in the Freedom Fighters, as a trip through time altered his memories. Having succeeded in saving the time-line for now, Silver then used Chronos Control on a Time Stone to head home. (StH: #215, SU: #7, #8)

Name Games
Back on Onyx Island, Silver continued his research in Edmund's library and found a record of the Freedom Fighters listing one of its founders as "Boomer" Walrus, leading him to believe Rotor Walrus was an imposter. Deciding to not consult his master and take action, the hedgehog then found he was conflicted, not wishing to kill an individual for a crime they had not yet committed, but eventually convinced himself it had to be done to prevent his time's ruination. (StH: #215)

Going to 3237, Silver ambushed Rotor enroute to the Northern Tundra, telekinetically shorting out his nanite battlesuit. They struggled, but Silver was persuaded to help Rotor in his mission due to the many innocent lives at stake. Arriving at Iceborough in the midst of battle, Rotor directed them to the Psionic Emitter where Silver was hooked up to the interface chair, and used his telepathy to free the Walrus Herd of mind control forever while also harming Akhlut's Dark Egg Legion chapter. After learning from Rotor's mother and Sonic that Boomer was just his childhood nickname, an embarrassed Silver returned to his time to discover from Edmund that he had caused some slight changes with his mission, and then reported back to Mammoth Mogul. (StH: #215, #216)

The Dark Unknown
While training with Mogul one day, they detected a strange visitor arrivng from across time and spave. Silver went to investigate the occurrence, warned by Mogul against acting hastily, only to be attacked by a mysterious being on Onyx Island which he subdued with Edmund's help. While they tried to examine the thing, it retaliated and Silver gave chase through a strange portal to find out what was going on. Upon exiting, Silver arrived in a dark and decrepit city that looked worse than his own world and encountered his attacker once again, this time with backup. Outnumbered, the young hedgehog quickly found himself fighting for his life as his attackers overwhelmed him, leading to his rescue by the Dark Freedom Fighters. (SU: #25, #26)

Silver then learned the hard way their leader was not Lara-Su, but an alternate version, and tried to explain his journey to their world and how he knew her. "Jani-Ca" quickly accepted his story and brought him back to their base while explaining to Silver how the Guardian before her became Enerjak and conquered this Mobius, making Prelate warriors out of his victims' Cores while destroying all resistance but her rebels. Silver also learned that Jani-Ca believed his story from her own failed time travel experience, and attempted to sympathize with her as they discussed defeating Enerjak using Sword of Acorns’ magical properties. However, Enerjak revealed his presence to the rebels and destroyed their base while Silver levitated them to safety. (SU: #26)

Hearing from Enerjak that his arrival prompted the attack, Silver demanded the demigod surrender, only for him to summon more Prelates to fight them. Unsure who to help first, Silver went after Enerjak directly, but found Enerjak could easily dispell his powers. As every counterattack failed, Silver broke off from the fight to rally the Freedom Fighters, and gathered the Cores as the Prelates were destroyed so they could not be reused. Though Dagger suggested it was not worth restoring their owners, Silver argued he had not given up on his world, and neither should they when they knew how to fix it. Unawares, Silver was caught off-guard when Enerjak attacked and then trapped while the others' Cores were removed until just Jani-Ca was left. Silver freed himself through intense focus, getting Enerjak's attention with his display of power and took the tyrant head on, intending to finish the fight for good. (SU: #26, #27)

Silver fought fiercely as he engaged the corrupted Guardian, taking it far enough that Enerjak struck him with the island itself. Silver was unprepared for an onslaught from a horde of new Prelates, but with Jani-Ca's help he battled his way through them. Silver then dragged Enerjak across the island before hurling him into the ground, believing with that action that he went too far despite his master's warning. As Enerjak returned in vengeance and bombarded Silver with Chaos energy, the hedgehog recalled his lessons and realized he could not beat Enerjak with his own power, but could outsmart him and turn his attacks back against him. This new strategy worked instantly, as Silver found Enerjak was completely vulnerable to each blast he returned. Infuriated at how Silver had turned the battle around, Enerjak leapt to crush him, only to be stunned by Jani-Ca with the Sword of Acorns, saving Silver as she drained the tyrant's power. At first worried he had been tricked when she became an Enerjak herself, Silver was relieved to see Jani-Ca retained her old personality, desiring to heal her world with this opportunity. Silver then graciously turned down her offer to help his world as he had yet to learn how it got ruined, and departed home, realizating from this experience that he needed to be ready to help other worlds that might be depending on him as well. (SU: #28)

Stuck in the Past
On yet another trip to Onyx Island's library, Silver found a secret study with the diary of Antoine D'Coolette. Believing its incomplete information identified Antoine as the traitor, Silver brought the book back to Mogul. Mogul was concerned that Silver's lead might be false as past memories were becoming more distorted, and warned his apprentice of potentially serious consequences for continued time travel. Silver then accepted the condition that he would have to remain in the past until he succeeded in his mission, and took instructions from his master on how to return to the future before Mogul sent him on his way. (StH: #235)

Arriving back in 3237, Silver began his search for Antoine, observing Rotor comfort NICOLE for a moment, remorseful of his previous accusation. Unaware of the recent tragedies that befell the Freedom Fighters, Silver soon passed by Sonic's home, declaring his suspicions about Antoine when Sonic spoke with him. To that, Sonic attacked Silver and literally dragged him by the spines to Tommy Turtle Memorial Hospital where he found Antoine hospitalized and in a coma after sacrificing himself to save Elias Acorn and his family, shocked that he was wrong again. The two subsequently found a note from Bunnie revealing that she had left to "make things right", and when Silver then began to accuse Bunnie of being the traitor based on the information that she had left without telling anyone, Sonic snapped and furiously told Silver that there was no traitor, that he trusted his friends, and they were all bigger heroes than a "flake" like Silver could ever hope to be, before harshly ordering Silver to go home. When Silver objected that he was stranded and couldn't go home, Sonic told him to just go away.

Stranded and with no more leads to follow, Silver went to Julayla Memorial Park, wondering what to do. By chance, Harvey Who came across the distraught Silver as he bemoaned the coming Ixis Resurgence, curious if the hedgehog was the time-traveler he had heard about. Between the dead ends in his mission and the concern of major time paradoxes from people in the past knowing of him, Silver eagerly accepted the Director's offer to join the Secret Freedom Fighters so he could fight to save both time periods and keep himself from being noticed. (StH: #235)

Ace in the Hole
As a condition of Silver joining the Secret Freedom Fighters, he worked out a deal where Director Who would in return, look over Silver's notes and help identify his traitor. Once the team was fully assembled, Silver then went to help repel Dr. Eggman's invading ground forces and Team Metal. During the battle Silver held Metal Amy in place without being detected, enabling Big to destroy the robot. This helped them to prepare for their real mission: destablizing the rule of the evil wizard Ixis Naugus. Silver had been warned of the wizard by his mentor in the future, who remembered that Naugus had attempted to lead the Ixis Resurgence while ruling as a king. (StH: #235, #240)

With the team's first mission a success, Harvey Who sent Silver, under the codename "Ace", along with Agents "Jack" and "Joker" to track and report the actions of Geoffrey St. John, leading them to Windy Valley in Soumerca, where they placed a tracking device on his Extreme Gear. While investigating the underground crypt of Ixis Vale, Silver was stunned to find mention of "Ixis Mogul", leaving him troubled. When the team tried to capture St. John, Silver brought down part of the tunnel to trap him, but the former agent set off a number of explosives to collapse the tomb on top of them. Silver held back the falling rocks with his telekinesis and saved them though, as Shard dug them free. (SU: #41)

Once they escaped, Silver had to recharge for keeping the earth stable, and his squad returned to Secret HQ where Director Who yelled them for not stopping Geoffrey. Silver then showed the tracker led to the Pit, where Agents "King", "Queen of Hearts" and "Queen of Diamonds" last reported from but did not return, and Silver led his squad to investigate. At the bottom, they regrouped with the others to discuss the situation, concluding they had to question Geoffrey. Silver believed he could appeal to St. John's better senses, knowing what it was like for plans to fall apart despite his best efforts, and then met with Geoffrey at the Lake of Rings to make his claim about St. John's character. After discussing his wife, Geoffrey revealed Naugus' plan to cast a spell on the Council of Acorn, but Silver's pleas to help went unheeded. Now organised, Silver then headed out with his team to stop Naugus. (SU: #43)

Silver and his team, minus Larry, attacked Naugus in his chamber, Silver teaming up with Shard to challenge the wizard. The pair proved formidable, Silver's telekinesis proving a worthy match for Naugus' magic as he manipulated the stone that Naugus conjured against him. Getting overconfident, Silver boasted of his previous success against Enerjak, taunting Naugus that his abilities were nowhere near as impressive. Naugus responded by transforming the air around Silver into fire that spread throughout the chamber, and only Shard's timely intervention saved Silver from a fiery demise. Shard stopped Naugus' spell by destroying Ixis Vale's remains after Silver noted the failure of their attacks on Naugus himself. Geoffrey, who had been battling their teammates, remarked that they should have planned to take out Vale's remains, and received a telekinetic shove and rebuke from Silver. The time traveler assisted his team in escaping by carrying them with his telekinesis, and with their mission accomplished they returned to Secret HQ. Silver then met with Harvey, who commended the Hedgehog and then told him that he had identified Silver's traitor. Having compared Silver's copy of Antoine's journal with the present day one and his own information, Harvey had eliminated all but one of the founding Knothole Freedom Fighters as suspects. Crossing out photos of the others on a poster he had put together, the Owl informed a stunned Silver that he was confident of the traitor's identity, as well as the reason for their betrayal.(SU: #44)

Shortly thereafter, Shard-who had planted a tracking device on the Tornado after helping Team Fighters-informed Silver that the trio was heading for the Northern Tundra. Silver, upon receiving this news, realized that he was running out of time to accomplish his objective. He was unsure if it really would rectify his future, but, as he later put it, it was, at least, a start. He immediately traveled to the Tundra, where he met Team Fighters and the Arctic Freedom Fighters in the midst of their plans to invade the Death Egg Mark 2 and save Sally. Sonic was far from thrilled to see Silver again, still angry over Silver's continued accusations against his teammates, and Guntiver remembered the Hedgehog's previous attempt to kill Rotor. Admitting that he had made plenty of mistakes, Silver assured them that he had things figured out, only to be told to leave by Sonic. Pleading his case, he informed them that he had received outside help, whom he couldn't identify; his remarks prompted Tails to ask "Is the true king involved?" Flustered by Tails' correct guess, Silver was fortunately vouched for by the little fox, and again explained his understanding of the traitor to the Freedom Fighters, and that he had deduced that his time to stop them was running out. Sonic pointed out the irony of a time traveler running out of time, but Silver pointed out the current state of both the Freedom Fighters and the world as evidence of the trouble. Again citing outside aid, he then announced that through his research, he had discovered the identity of the traitor at last: none other than Princess Sally Acorn. Predictably, an infuriated Sonic and Amy attempted to attack the young time-traveler for making such a bold claim, but were restrained by Tails and Augustus. However, Tails did warn Silver that he had better be able to prove his claim. (StH: #246, #247)

Silver continued, admitting his mistake was assuming the actions of the "traitor" were of malicious intent, that the individual in question deliberately took such actions with the full knowledge that it would cause the destruction of the team. However, what Sally did was selfless: allowing herself to be roboticized, while being the start of the Freedom Fighters downfall, still prevented Mobius from suffering a much worse fate, and that any ill acts she had performed since then were not of her own free will. His explanation was backed by Erma Ermine, who realized the plausibility of Silvers distant, disaster-worn future lacking accurate accounts of the past; in fact, the inhabitants of Silver's time may not have known that roboticization even existed. At that point, Sonic walked up to Silver and declared that there truly was no "traitor" after all; it had been his assumption. "History's assumption" Silver replied, stating that he had merely gotten the motive wrong. He then said he was there to help rescue Sally, and Sonic, while still wary, allowed him to join in on the mission (although not without insulting Silver's hairstyle, calling him "fern-head"). Before this, Amy questioned Silver as to how he knew where to find them; Silver, struggling to cover up his accosiation with Shard and keep the Secret Freedom Fighters' secrets, simply said that he was psychic.

With Silver having made his case, he, Team Fighters, and the Arctic Freedom Fighters began their journey into the Death Egg by making their way through an underwater ice tunnel. Silver tried to help them see better by illuminating the tunnel with his powers, but only succeeded in exposing the group to Grandmaster Akhlut and his pod, who immediately began attacking them. Silver created a psychic bubble around himself, Amy, Erma, and Guntiver and made the Death Egg, while the others distracted the orcas. Akhlut, however, recognized Silver's power as the same power that broke the orcas' hold on the walruses and, in vengeful fury, he ordered his pod to fire at the time-traveler. This disrupted Silver's powers and his psycho bubble dissipated. After nearly drowning along with the other non-swimmers, Silver, carried to the surface by Sealia, deflected another blast from Akhlut as the heroes made it to the Death Egg.

With their cover blown, Silver and his allies battled their way through the Death Egg, eventually being met by Sally - now the fearsome Mecha Sally - and a horde of Egg Swats. In the ensuing fight, the catalyst for Silver's ruined future nearly happened as Mecha Sally nearly killed Team Fighters. However, Silver came up from behind and knocked the roboticized princess out. Silver was overjoyed at having finally stopped the "traitor", but his happiness quickly turned to surprise and confusion as a strange white light engulfed him and Team Fighters... (StH: #247)

Appearance
Silver is a very light gray (almost white) with white fur on his chest surrounding his neck with yellow eyes and tan skin. He wears white gloves with cyan circles with lines sticking out of the bottom leading to his golden bracelets accented in cyan. The tops of his boots are of a similar fashion with a red gem set in gold. The rest of his boots are navy blue, white and cyan. He has two large spines at the back of his head, while at the front of his forehead there are five distinct spines flared up and back, the two final ones covering up most of his ears. The glow from his telekinesis is cyan, though it has often been miscolored green.

As part of the Secret Freedom Fighters, he wears a black bodysuit with black gloves and boots; these are accented in cyan bands with gray trimming. This outfit stems from the Sonic Rivals games. Unlike the rest of the team, Silver's outfit doesn't include a visor and facemask.

Personality
Silver has a strong sense of justice and it is this personality trait that motivates him to head back into the past to correct the future to help his people at whatever the cost. However, this eagerness to do good is coupled with a strong naivety; he often jumps to conclusions and readily believes anything he's told. Thus he is prone to manipulation and making poor decisions; he often benefits from having someone to assist and guide him in his actions. Somewhat awkward, he has a tendency of hiding behind bravado. While determined to do the right thing, he lacks ruthlessness and sometimes has trouble figuring out the best way to attain his goals. He's also noticeably shy and somewhat polite. This kindliness often clashes with his sense of justice. Silver's sense of justice goes deeper than just saving the future, though. Regardless of his own goals, he is unable to ignore those in need of help and will put his own missions aside if there's someone in danger. He has a certain arrogance about him as well, often becoming overconfident in his powers and previous successes, which can lead him into compromising situations.

Abilities
Silver's main power is his psychokinesis, which allows him to lift, throw, hold and move objects (and people) easily, often useful in deflecting any projectiles thrown at him. This ability also allows him to manipulate energy blasts; prolonged and/or extreme use however, can cause a strain on him. While he has his limits, he can often affect multiple targets at once, as well as targets much larger than himself. His abilities are particularly effective against machinery, which he can cause to short out, and he can also use them on himself to enable him to not only hover but fly for short periods of time. Silver can also capture objects in an orb of psychokinesis and crush them while inside and not let anything get out, like he did with the missile fired at King Sonic and his family.

In moments of anger or stress, he can call upon a massive amount of power, allowing him to induce and explosive wave and making the material in his hold take a different form like a giant fist. He can also perform limited telepathy, but was initially only able to use it to give someone a headache, induce vertigo, or talk with another telepath inside his head, but the latter leaves him with a migraine. This particular skill can be enhanced while using specialized equipment though. He has also learned to manipulate the energies of artifacts known as the Time Stones, though originally he relied on a Super Warp Ring to travel through time and space.

A trait of Silver's that has come from his extensive travel through time is that he has become "decoupled" from time itself, meaning that he is unaffected whenever his actions alter history. While this is in some ways beneficial, it often results in confusion as he is forced to relearn the history of his future. Like Sonic, Silver is also capable of gaining energy using Power Rings, which is particularly useful in the event that he overexerts himself. (CSE)

Silver is an immensely powerful character, as demonstrated by his bringing Super Scourge to a temporary stop, impressing and then stunning the Demi-God Enerjak, and holding Ixis Naugus at bay. While he could not fully defeat them solo, considering the vast power these super-powered characters possess, it is notable that he took them on while in his standard form. His mentors have also stated that he hasn't yet reached his full potential.

Background information

 * When Silver was first introduced into the comic universe, it was in a similar way to the games universe Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). He went back in time to kill Sonic because he would cause the destruction of his world as the Iblis Trigger. This was later proven false just like the games.
 * This, in a way, also happened in the comics. As Ian Flynn stated that he is "treating [the comic] as if Sonic06 already happened. Since its story effectively makes itself never happen, [he's] saying that it did happen in the book - which is to say it didn't." (1)
 * During his first few appearances, Silver's speech bubbles had a cyan-colored border. This was later dropped.
 * Silver's Secret Freedom Fighter uniform is based of off his race suit from the Sonic Rivals series. He is the only organic Secret Freedom Fighter with no goggles or face mask to obscure his appearance, since unlike the others he is from the future and thus has no connections in the present for enemies to exploit.
 * Silver is notable for being the only character to connect the worlds of Mobius Prime and Light Mobius, having traveled between the two.
 * Some fans have speculated that Silver could possibly be the descendant of Sonic, Shadow, Amy or another famous hedgehog, but this has not been confirmed. Evidence to support this theory for the game universe appeared in Sonic and the Black Knight, where Silver was depicted as Sir Galahad, the son of Sir Lancelot who was played by Shadow the Hedgehog, indicating a possible hint at Silver's heritage.
 * When writer Ian Flynn was asked if he was going to reveal who Silver was descended from, he said "No". He went on to further explain that he is "not touching or even hinting at that in fear of Sega will make it official and make [him] look stupid. That said, [he doesn't] think Sega will ever delve into Silver's back-story. Short of cameo appearances or non-main-series games, [he] think[s] we've seen the last of him. All that said, [he's] sure [Silver] ' ll remain a familiar face. And given how much SegaSonic parallels Dragon Ball Z, [he]'d wager Silver is somehow descended from Shadow and Amy. He also said that people should not ask him "how that'd work", and that he was "just going off the patterns," indicating, that it may not be possible.
 * Sonic Team member Takashi Iizuka confirmed on his Facebook that Silver is not a descendant of Shadow.

Origin

 * Silver first appeared in 2006 in the poorly received Sonic the Hedgehog 2006, a game released to celebrate the Sonic series' 15th anniversary. Fan reception towards Silver is generally mixed, due mostly to the stigma of being introduced in what has been condemned by fans as one of the worst Sonic games of all time. Despite this, the character himself has been mostly accepted.