Genesis Wave/Pre-SGW

The Genesis Wave is a phenomenon created using the energies of a Chaos Emerald to rewrite reality. The technology, centered around the Cosmic Reset Button aboard the Death Egg and later the Wily Egg, was developed by Dr. Eggman, and has been used by him both alone and in alliance with Dr. Wily to alter the world on two occasions and Earth 20XX once. A supercharged variation made possible with the power of all seven Emeralds is called the Super Genesis Wave.

The Waves and the resulting altered worlds they created occurred in both the old and current continuities, with the events proceeding and following them changing depending on the continuity.

First Wave: Clean Sweep
Dr. Eggman first conceived of the Genesis Wave after coming to the realization that Sonic the Hedgehog was apparently the embodiment of the Chaos Force, making him an unpredictable element that would always upset any situation. After completing and launching the Death Egg Mark 2, he unleashed the wave as part of Operation: Clean Sweep. The resulting reality was different in a number of ways from how it had previously been, including a timeline in which Sonic, the Knothole Freedom Fighters-minus Bunnie Rabbot-D'Coolette-and Eggman hadn't met until the "new" present. Bunnie herself was also a prisoner of Eggman in this new reality, and cousin to Cream the Rabbit, whom she was unrelated to in any other world. (StH: #210, #225, #226, FCBD 2012)

Second Wave: Worlds Collide
After the first wave was reversed, the blue Chaos Emerald that Eggman used to power it had mysteriously vanished. In fact, it had somehow ended up on an alternate planet Earth, Where it was soon uncovered in that zones Lanfront Ruins by Dr. Wily, who ended up coming into contact with Eggman after the emeralds power allowed him to interrupt a video conference between the former and his DEL Grandmasters. The two ended up bonding over their mutual peeve of constantly having their evil plans thwarted by a "blue hero", and they decided to work together. (StH: #231, MM: #24)

Meeting up inside a pocket zone, the doctors constructed the Skull Egg Zone and the Wily Egg, the latter containing a second Cosmic Reset Button. Within the zone, they launched the second Genesis Wave, which effected their respective worlds in different ways; while the timeline of Eggman's world was completely reset (into a different state than last time), the timeline of Earth 20XX was merely flashed forward into the future. (StH: #247, FCDS 2013, MM: #24)

Third Wave: Super Genesis Wave
With both of their realities under the influence of the second wave, Doctors Eggman and Wily prepared to initiate a super-powered version of the wave, aptly named the Super Genesis Wave, once they'd collected all seven Chaos Emeralds, to alter the realities further, this time completely reshaping their worlds to their exact vision with no limitations, despite the risk of heavily damaging the fabric of space and time in the process. Sonic and Mega Man where unable to prevent the wave from being unleashed on this already changed world, but they where still able to infiltrate the wave while in their super forms, in which they attempted to reverse the wave with Chaos Control. Super Mega Man was able to successfully restore his world, with everybody native to his world returning to their correct time and place in reality. Super Sonic's attempt at restoring Mobius, on the other hand, was met with interference by Eggman, which resulted in their world being restored but with disastrous consequences... (SU: #54, StH: #251)


 * The specifics of the above events change depending on which continuity the reader is reading from the point of view of. For the original Pre-Super Genesis Wave timeline, the disruption of the Super Genesis Wave completely altered the multiverse, turning it into the current continuity, with Sonic and the heroes briefly retaining their memories of the old world, as well as causing the Shattered World Crisis. From the current continuity's perspective however, the disruption of the wave merely caused the Shattered World Crisis, and the memories of the old world were merely a side-effect of the time space disruption.

Effects
For the most part, the Genesis Wave has been shown to drastically alter reality on whatever world(s) it effects, often leaving the affected inhabitants with amnesia or senses of deja vu. However, the wave does have some limitations as explained by Eggman and Wily: for one thing, it is apparently incapable of outright erasing individuals from existence. As seen with Mega Man's world, it is also capable of manipulating time, as the wave caused Earth 20XX's timeline to jump forward.

A supercharged version of the wave, known as the "Super Genesis Wave", is achievable if the user has all seven Chaos Emeralds. With this wave, it is said that the limitations imposed by the standard wave are no longer in place, allowing the user to completely reshape the world exactly in his or her image. During the Worlds Collide saga, the final phase of Eggman and Wily's plan was to use the powered up wave to completely erase their enemies and transform themselves into deities, giving them full control over their respective universes without opposition.

Despite its power, usage of the Genesis Wave has its dangers: overuse of it can greatly strain the fabric of reality, up to the point of literally "breaking" a universe. The Super Genesis Wave presents an even greater risk, capable of causing apocalyptic damage to the entire multiverse and all of existence itself if used incorrectly, or if it is improperly reversed. In addition, unlike the effects of a normal Genesis Wave, the Super Genesis Wave's effects are irreversible: once the affected world is changed, it presumably stays that way forever.

Background Information

 * The Genesis Wave's name is likely a reference to the Sega Genesis game system, on which the Sonic the Hedgehog games debuted; indeed, it's first usage altered Mobius's reality to make it more like the earliest Sonic the Hedgehog games. However, it still included a few prominent elements from the Sonic the Hedgehog animated series. The effects of the second and Super Genesis Waves resulted in a world based even more on the games, albeit again with some SatAM and comic-exclusive elements included.
 * The Genesis Wave is also synonymous with the infamous Genesis Device from the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The Genesis Device unleashed a terraforming wave that would alter a planet to be hospitable, almost similar to how the Genesis Wave would alter a reality to take a different form.