- You may be searching for the dark Raven wizard, Mathias Poe.
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Mathias was a member of the Brotherhood of Guardians, the father of Hawking and grandfather of Tobor, making him the oldest living Guardian by the time of Knuckles tenure as Guardian. Mathias served with the Brotherhood of Guardians most of his life, growing a strong hatred of the Dark Legion. As he got older however, Mathias left Haven and shed his corporeal form, establishing a closer link with the Chaos Force. He became quite popular among his bretheren, especially Locke. Mathias sacrificed his life in 3236 during the Brotherhood's attack on the Grand Conservatory, though evolved to an even high plane and joined the other deceased Brotherhood members.
History[]
Guardian[]
Little is known about Mathias' tenure as Guardian, though apparently he was the first Guardian to build on Harlan's research and perfect astral projection. Curiously, when it came to Fire Ant mentors, Mathias was taught by Deo Volente rather than Bona Fortuna, who mentored his father and son. Additionally, he assisted with his son Hawking in dealing with the threat posed by the Dingoes. When Hawking was showing his video diaries of his days as Guardian to Knuckles, one of them showed him working along side Mathias. Mathias assisted Hawking in finding a means to prevent the destruction of Echidnaopolis, after the Dingoes threatened to destroy it with nuclear weapons. (KtE: #5, CSE)
Evolution, Return and Disappearance[]
As the years went by, Mathias became wise and eventually succeeded in ascending beyond his physical form, though he lost functionality of his eyes. This proved to be little impediment, as he was shown to be quite capable of moving around without sight. Mathias eventually retired from his duties in Haven, and traveled to another dimension to spend the rest of his life in quiet meditation. (SSS: #14)
Mathias was at peace with his surroundings, though his time there was brought to an end when suddenly a disturbance rippled across his dimension's plane of existence. Instinctively, Mathias knew only one being who would dare breach the fabric of existence, and he observed from his dimension that Dimitri was preparing his forces for an offensive against the Brotherhood and Echidnaopolis. (SSS: #14)
Mathias promptly returned to Haven, and upon reuniting with his bretheren, marshalled the Brotherhood for a preemptive strike against the Legion, after explaining he sensed Dimitri would unleash his dark forces upon the innocent unless action was taken. The Brotherhood unanimously agreed, and they teleported away. (SSS: #14)
Mathias traced the Legion to their most recent stronghold, and was shocked to find the Legion based at the Grand Conservatory, though Locke knew there was no better hiding place (as it was where the Echidnas had stored their renounced technology). The Brotherhood then launched an attack, with Spectre dealing with the sentries, and Mathias, after putting an end to a sudden burst of in-fighting and urging them to stay united, lead a meld of their powers with devastating effect, destroying Legion's weapon trucks and engulfing the base in flames. (SSS: #14)
Dimitri, while on the command centre of the Dark Legion Battle Cruiser, knew the Guardians were poised to interfere, was left with no choice but to unleash the Legion's ultimate weapon; the Quantum Beam, which caused the entire population of the Floating Island to be shifted to a pocket zone. All the members of the Brotherhood, including Mathias, were caught up by the Quantum Beam's effects. (SSS: #14)
Upon the Brotherhood's return, Locke was first to notice Mathias was no longer among them, but Spectre, possessing a higher sensitivity for the Chaos Force, quickly learned of Mathias's fate (along with Hawking's and Tobor's) and informed his comrades he had joined his descendants in "the next evolution". (StH: #107)
Background Information[]
- Mathias is the only Guardian known to be alive during Knuckles' lifetime that he has not met in person.
- It is presumed that the Guardian in the video recording is Mathias, as an "M" can be seen on his dreadlock ring. Although the letter's page of KtE #17 said it was Tobor, that same issue showed Tobor only became a Guardian after Echidnaopolis was in the pocket zone. Furthermore, writer Ken Penders has said he believed his intention was for the Guardian to be Mathias. (1)
- The exact amount of time Mathias spent in another dimension is unknown, as the concept of time had become irrelevant to him, though it was at least years as Locke recalled it had been so long since he was last in Haven.
- Strangely, Mathias was not seen amongst the other deceased Brotherhood members who spoke at the deceased Knuckles during his funeral in StH #121. It is possible Mathias had evolved to an even higher plane of existence like Athair, or he simply was not present at the time. In a non-canon Q&A session with writer Ian Flynn, "Harlan" stated "We are concerned that Brother Mathias was displaced by the effects of the Quantum Beam the Dark Legion used on the island. The nature of its energies and its interaction with the Chaos Force is unclear to us. Hopefully Brother Mathais is well and will find his way back to us." (2) Although not canon, this may indicate writer Ian Flynn does not consider Mathias "dead" as the rest of the Brotherhood, but merely displaced.
- Mathias' death would later be confirmed with the the release of The Complete Sonic Comic Encyclopedia.
Appearance[]
Mathias was a brown-furred Echidna who in his later years sported a gray beard, long eyebrows, and a curious object or mark on his forehead. His eye color is unknown, given that his presumed younger self was depicted in muted color flashbacks and in adulthood his eyes were sealed shut. Assuming that Mathias was the Guardian who was seen working with Hawking to save the populace of Angel Island, he previously wore much more simplistic attire. This included gloves, boots, a belt with a pouch on it, and a couple of decorative rings on his dreadlocks, one of which bore his initial.
In later life, Mathias came to favor a long purple cloak lined with gold, which usually concealed his shoes; underneath it he wore a dark gray tunic and a gold medallion. On his hands Mathias wore the spiked gloves of the Guardians, though his were notable for being a gold color matching his cloak. He also carried a plain wooden staff that he would use to channel his Chaos powers.