Sonic Continuity Timeline theory by LogiTeeka

One of the many reoccurring topics I see on forums are fan-theories surrounding the many Sonic continuities. But what if I told you that almost every continuity in the Sonic franchise were part of one continuous timeline that branches off into many alternate timelines? And I may have some evidence to back it up.

Anyway, I have my own map on this how this whole timeline/multiverse fiasco works. The descriptions highlighted in italic are my theories and observations on possible connections between each universe and some explanations.


Universe #1 (SegaSonic, A.K.A. "Another Time, Another Place"): A world closely resembling the official games. In this universe, Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik is a war-mongering, mad scientist and a corrupt industrialist with plans to take over the world, but his plans are constantly foiled by a fast, blue anthropomorphic hedgehog named Sonic and his friends. Inspired by the research of his grandfather's diary, Dr. Eggman seeks various ways to help him conquer the world; whether it's harnessing the power of mystical gemstones or aliens, summoning an ancient water god of destruction, obtaining a top-secret mutant created in a space colony laboratory, gaining control of various entities that can travel through time, ect.

In this reality, Earth is still Earth; hinting that the Xorda invasion never occurred in this timeline. However, the map shown in “Shadow the Hedgehog” depicts the continents looking quite different from our normal Earth. The locations in SA1 and SA2 and continents featured in “Sonic Unleashed” (plus Soleanna in “Sonic 06”) are also vaguely similar to the continents and cultures of our Earth, hinting that this is possibly a future and/or alternate Earth. Supporting this theory is Monopole, the futuristic metropolis seen in the "Sonic Riders" series; other evidence includes surviving pieces of literature like the "Arabian Nights" and "King Arthur" books, as well as brief nods to certain celebrities such as Albert Einstein, Aristotle, and Martin Wilhelm Kutta. If so, organizations like the Guardian Units of the Nations (G.U.N.) and the United Federation are future descendants of the U.S. Military and United Nations respectively.

According to "Sonic Rivals", should the Master Emerald be wiped from existence (like Dr. Nega turning it into a card), it would effect all the Master Emeralds across the multiverse. But since the Master Emerald doesn't exist in some of these universes (or at least, not yet), it leaves the possibility of this happening debatable.

Due to constant cameos from other Sega/Sonic Team franchises (not counting the "Sega All-Star" series), it's possible that "NIGHTS", "Samba De Amigo", "Billy Hatcher", "Monkey Ball", "Chu Chu Rocket", "Space Channel 5", "Fantasy Zone", "Shinobi", "Crazy Taxi", "Hang-On", "Phantasy Star", and "Crusader of Centy" might also share the same multiverse.

-Silver's Timeline: An apocalyptic future brought fourth by a supernatural being known as Iblis, where Angel Island crashed into the ocean below, becoming Onyx Island. When the events of "Sonic '06" were erased, this dystopian future continued to exist due to an inerdimensional fire elemental called the Ifrit (summoned by Dr. Nega). This too was fixed.

According to Silver in the 3DS version of "Sonic Colors", this future was altered once again, and was now "a paradise"; which could easily be the...

-Sol Dimension: The homeworld of Blaze the Cat, Marine the Raccoon, and the Coconut Crew. In this world, the entire planet is covered in ocean (the only specks of land being island chains) and is fraught with robot pirates built by Dr. Nega (an alternate version/descendant of Dr. Eggman). It harbors it's own collection of Emeralds known as "Sol Emeralds", as well as a powerful object to help stabilize them (the Jeweled Scepter).

The Sol Dimension is said to be an alternate universe. But I have reasons to believe that it could potentially be another possible future. For example, both Silver and Blaze's enemy in their respective worlds is Dr. Nega; and in “Sonic Rivals”, Silver claims that Dr. Nega is a descendant of the original Dr. Eggman. And in “Sonic 06”, both Silver and Blaze are shown living together in that same world. And later in "Sonic Generations", Blaze is described as hailing from the Sol Dimension, but she has memories of living with Silver in Crisis City (though how she remembers this is a mystery). If so, the Sol Emeralds could be the Chaos Emeralds after absorbing the essence of Solaris in "Sonic '06", hence the name "Sol Emeralds"; and the Jeweled Scepter possibly the remains of the Master Emerald. And since "Sonic Rivals" established the Emeralds' ability to exist throughout time-and-space, they continued to remain that way, despite the altered timeline. This is further proven in the Archieverse, when its version of the Sol Dimension was protected from the effects of the Super Genesis Wave by the Jewled Scepter.

Universe #2 (Archie): In this universe, Earth was invaded by the Xorda and it gradually became "Mobius Prime". In this universe, Overlanders (sub-humans) and Mobians (mutant descendants of animals) generally oppose each other; thus starting the Great War, which eventually lead to the downfall of the Kingdom of Acorn (the most prominent Mobian civilization) and the rise of Warlord Julian's (Dr. Robotnik) empire. Those who managed to survive the coup formed groups of Freedom Fighters and allied themselves with small pockets of hidden human colonies which managed to survive the Xorda invasion; such as G.U.N. and the United Federation.

Despite having the title of "Mobius Prime", I don't view the "Archiverse" as the true source which every universe stems from. Instead, I view "Mobius Prime" as the primary Mobius which every other American continuity derives from (except AoStH; which is entirely fictional). As evidenced in the comics, "Mobius Prime" has its own multiverse of variant universes; all of which are connected via the Cosmic Interstate. Due to this, I suspect every alternate continuity sharing any similarities to the "Archiverse" to be an offshot of "Mobius Prime's" timeline.

In issue #50, various Sega/Sonic Team characters are shown (via flashback) fighting in the Great War: with Ristar, Astal, and Deku from "Fighters Megamix" fighting alongside Bean the Dynamite Duck and Bark the Polar Bear against the oncoming Overlander army; consisting of various human characters from the "Virtua Fighters" series. Bin and Pin from "Dynamite Dux" are also mentioned to exist, having been members of the Battle Bird Armada. If so, these respective series might also share the same multiverse as the SegaSonic timeline.

This branch of the multiverse is collectively connected via the Cosmic Interstate; an inerdimensional highway patrolled by the Zone Cops, Mobians from the No-Zone that protect each reality by incarcerating any universe-hopping criminals or potentially dangerous beings. Should anything happen to "Mobius Prime's" reality, the entire Cosmic Interstate will be affected. And due to recent events, this section of the multiverse was destroyed and reset by the Super Genesis Wave; most likely destroying these continuities in the process:

-SubUniverse #1 (Moebius): An alternate universe existing in parallel axis to Mobius Prime, thus everything and everyone in it has the opposite attributes of their Prime counterparts.

In one episode of "Sonic Underground", the siblings encounter the corrupt versions of themselves in an alternate universe. And since the Underground universe is an alternate variation of the Prime timeline (due to its many similarities), this implies that each alternate timeline has its own antiverse. For all we know, each universe could have their own equivalents of Moebius or Anti-Mobius.

-SubUniverse #2 (SatAM): A seemingly identical universe to that of Mobius Prime, but with some slight differences. In this timeline, the wizard Naugus chose Robotnik to be his subordinate, instead of Kodos, in his scheme to overthrow the kingdom by harnessing power from the Void. Robotnik eventually betrayed Naugus and sealed him within the inter-dimensional zone. Due to these different circumstances, Sir Charles never resigned his position as Chief Scientist after his first test with the roboticizer failed, and King Acorn managed to escape Robotnik's eventual takeover. Bunnie was also childhood friends with the Freedom Fighters' long before the coup occurred and Rosie was roboticized shortly afterwards.

It is implied during the 1st season that King Acorn had managed to escape Robotnik's grasp and was living life on the lamb; aiding the Freedom Fighters whenever he could. His most recent contribution: transmitting sensitive documents of Robotropolis' layout to his daughter in Ironlock Prison. But the events of this episode are totally incompatible with his fate of being banished into the Void. However, this contradiction could easily be...

-SubUniverse #2.1 (SatAM, Season 2): The direct result of Sonic and Sally's time-traveling adventure to try and prevent Robotnik's coup. It didn't go exactly as planned, resulting in Robotnik succeeding in capturing King Acorn and banishing him to the Void to join Naugus. But in the confusion, Rosie had managed to escape unroboticized and was still present at Knothole Village. In the end, Sonic and Sally used the mysterious Power Stones to bring Robotnik's Doomsday Project to a climatic end, and his nephew Snively took his place, leaving the doctor's fate unknown.

By placing the 2nd season of the show after the time-traveling episode, it's possible to categorize many of the show's changes as a direct result of the paradox caused by Sonic and Sally's attempt to alter the past. For without King Acorn's aid, Sally would have to fill her father's shoes and play a greater role on the team. Antoine would also be more afraid of their current condition, acting more paranoid and cowardly; which might explain his name-change to "Depardieu" (possibly his mother's maiden name). And because of the injury caused by the time-traveling Sonic, Robotnik would be more furious and desperate to eradicate the hedgehog, to the point where his plans started taking more risks while becoming incompetent as the war wore on. This obsession might've also resulted in Cluck not being invented.

-SubUniverse #3 (Underground): Very similar to the Archie universe, except for an alternate past. In this universe; the Great War never happened, Sonic's family is of royal blood, and was born during Robotnik's takeover of Mobotropolis. His royal mother, Queen Aleena, was told by the mystical Oracle of Delphius to separate her children so that Robotnik could never get his hands on them. A prophecy was foretold that she would reunite with them in due time, and form the "Council of Four" to bring an end to Robotnik's rein of terror.

It was never stated during the show that Queen Aleena ruled Mobotropolis; meaning that she could've governed another kingdom (Mobodoon perhaps?) while the Acorn family still ruled Mobotropolis in this universe (as evidenced by the statue of King Acorn seen during the first episode). If so, Sally Acorn and the rest of the Freedom Fighters should exist in this world as well (albeit offscreen). Though judging by Sonia's negative reaction to Archie Sonic dating Sally during their crossover, the couple might not be dating each other in this universe. In addition, Miles "Tails" Prowler might go by an entirely different name (judging by Manic's reaction to the nickname "Tails") and "Sanctuary" could be an alternate name for Knothole Village in this universe (on account of it reusing the same backdrop as Knothole in the show).

It is unknown if Queen Aleena was an alternate version of Bernadette Hedgehog (Sonic's mother from the Archie timeline) or an entirely different hedgehog. But since there already exists a royal family of hedgehogs in Mercia, it's possible that Aleena's bloodline could've been one and the same. If so, Jules might've married Aleena in this timeline instead of Bernadette, resulting in the birth of the royal siblings; and Aleena could easily be the unseen mother of Robert O'Hedge in the Archie timeline.

According to the Professor of the Mobius University during one episode, the last war fought before Robotnik rose to power happened over a thousand years ago, implying that the Great War never happened in this universe. If so, Robotnik must've had a different motivation to take control of the kingdom; which could explain why he spared the richer class from being roboticized and forced them into taxation.

-SubUniverse #4 (The OVA): In this universe, Earth suffered from a major cataclysm and evolved into another world. This time though, instead of Mobius, the planet is called “Planet Freedom”. “Planet Freedom” is broken up into two layers: the Land of the Sky (a series of airborne continents connected together, suspended above the planet's surface) and the Land of Darkness (the planet's bleak, original surface). The Land of the Sky contains this universe's equivalents of South Island and Central City, and is home to both Mobians and Humans (Overlanders?); while the Land of Darkness is shrouded in shadow, filled with ruins of modern-day cities and serves as the base of this universe's equivalent of Robotropolis. Should the landmasses which hold the Land of the Sky together become undone, the planet's rotation will hurl the continents into space, destroying them.

Since the OVA was never launched in Japan, this aforementioned ancient cataclysm was never fully addressed. However, in the Archie comics, "Planet Freedom" is shown to be one of the many possible outcomes when Chaos Knuckles attempted to change the past by preventing an asteroid collision which lead to the creation of Angel Island. Therefore, it's possible that “Planet Freedom" was created by either the Xorda Invasion or the Days of Fury. Further connections include Knuckles' hat (a gift from his grandfather Hawking), Robotropolis, and Robotnik's usage of Swatbots (specifically the Shadowbot variety).

-SubUniverse #5 (Genesis Reality): A world eerily similar to the SegaSonic universe. Created by Dr. Eggman's reality-warping device known as the Genesis Wave, this world (according to him) was closest to the source as he could get. The first wave (nicknamed "Operation: Clean Sweep") didn't last long, thanks to the efforts of this reality's Sonic and Freedom Fighters, but with the help of Dr. Wily, the device was shortly reactivated, disrupting Mobius Prime's reality permanently.

In this new universe, certain individuals from the original Mobius Prime no longer exist, and the planet appears to have no name. Events from certain games have already transpired (with varying results), and the backstories for the game cast closely matches the source-material. The Freedom Fighters also have different origins; with Antoine being a foreign exchange student, Bunnie being the first subject to undergo roboticization (and possibly Cream's cousin), and Rotor being the child of an abusive father. NICOLE is also a failed attempt at a computer A.I., and Naugus, unlike his previous incarnation, may possibly be the sole survivor of an ancient race of trolls which predated the ancient Echidna civilization.

Since Sally, Antoine, Rotor, and Snively (as well as Bunnie and Julie-Su) appeared during the first Genesis Wave, it's possible that they too existed in the SegaSonic universe in some way, shape, or form. But due to the recent removal of certain characters in the reboot, it's possible that certain characters and events were wiped from existence in this new reality; thus creating a paradox in the timeline. For example, without the Xorda, the events leading to the creation of Mobius Prime no longer happened; thus making the new reality a closer off-shot of the SegaSonic timeline. The Freedom Fighters' new designs could also be the result of having different parents.

Universe #3 (Boom): In this world, there was once an ancient order of civilizations known collectively as "the Ancients" which sought peaceful trade of the world's valuable resources. One of these assets was a collection of eight colorful gemstones of incredible power, known as Chaos Crystals, that could help power machines. But one member, a scientist named Lyric, was poisoned by their radiation during a test experiment and was forced to wear a bio-mech suit to sustain his life. His weakened condition made him power-hungry and he sought revenge against the order by threatening to destroy all life on the planet with his army of robots. But the Ancients managed to seal him within a tomb in attempt to stop his coup. A millennium later, a team of ragtime teens (consisting of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy) unwittingly released Lyric from his long cryogenic slumber; while the local bully, Dr. Eggman, uncovered his robotic forces.

There appear to be two alternate versions of this reality: one in which Lyric was imprisoned and later awakened by Sonic and the gang ("Rise of Lyric"), and another where Lyric frees himself after being imprisoned by the Ancients ("Shattered Crystal"). Since time-travel was involved, Sonic's involvement in the past could've resulted in the creation of two timelines.

While the Ancients are never given much detail regarding their identity, it's possible that the ancient order consisted primarily of Echidnas (judging by all the ruined statues resembling them). It's also heavily implied that the ancient order fell at some point (hence the name "Bygone Island") and the world was forced to recover on its own; which would explain the desolate settlements and rustic-level technology. The constant barrage of meteor showers could also indicate a disaster of some sort. But if certain characters (namely Perci) are indeed proven to be Echindnas, that would imply that the Echindnas either survived the wrath of Chaos, or the events of said war never occurred in this timeline. This would also explain Knuckles' different lifestyle and why he has no apparent duty in guarding the Master Emerald. But the confirmed existence of Angel Island in this universe raises a few questions regarding this theory.

At first glance, the Chaos Emeralds don't appear to exist in this timeline; having been replaced by the natural-looking Chaos Crystals. However, it was confirmed that the Emeralds are, in fact, still present in the series. Judging by their name and similar appearance, it's possible that the Chaos Crystals were the original organic forms of the Chaos Emeralds before they were carved into the round gemstones we're all familiar with. And since there are a grand total of eight, the Master Emerald might also count as one of them. The energy-field generated by them is also still present, as evidenced by the abundance of Golden Rings and Shadow's ability to tap into his Chaos powers.

If both these theories are to be taken in account, we can assume that the Knuckles Clan joined the Ancients and handed over their prized possessions by peaceful accordance. The advanced technology used by Lyric might've also been a product contributed by the Nocturnus Clan, and the robots under his command a possible variant of the Gizoid. This may also affect Shadow's shrouded backstory in this universe, considering his creator's obsession with ancient cultures.

According to the comics, there also exist alternate versions of Snively, Scratch & Grounder, Sleet & Dingo, and Decoe & Bocoe in this universe; working in Eggman's employment. It is unkown if this applies to other notable characters.

Universe #4 (Fleetway): Once again, we have an alternate Earth that suffered heavily from an ancient cataclysm. This time, however, it split into two separate worlds and each half was thrown into another dimension: Earth (basically our Earth) and Mobius (a world reconstructed by a race of space-faring dinosaurs). This Mobius is also the convergence point for many various pocket dimensions and zones; including Shanazar (a magical planet existing at sub-molecular level which this Mobius later merged with), Drakon (homeworld of the Drakon Empire; the alien race responsible for the creation of the Chaos Emeralds), the Nameless Zone (Tails' inner-dimensional homeland), and the Special Zone (a reality-shifting, pocket dimension that harbors an endless supply of Chaos Emeralds and also contains several planets similar to Mobius itself).

In this universe, Mobius is once again populated by both animals and some humans (possibly this universe's equivalent of Overlanders). Some of its inhabitants were brought to Mobius from Earth by accident by the Ring of Eternity, a mystical sentient device that can transport anyone anywhere across time and space. One of these immigrants from Earth was a benevolent scientist named Dr. Ovi Kintobor, who would later befriend a brown hedgehog and experiment on the Chaos Emeralds, which ended up mutating them into this universe's equivalents of Dr. Robotnik and Sonic respectively. After stoping many of Robotnik's attempts to destroy the planet, Sonic and his team of Freedom Fighters were sent forwards through time by six months, which gave plenty of time for Robotnik to conquer the planet and become its ruler.

The cause for the ancient cataclysm was never explained in the comics, but it could've been the result of an long-forgotten Time of Awakening; a constant battle between the earth spirits, Dark Gaia and Light Gaia, which reoccurs over several eons. It's possible that several chunks of the planet were lost during the struggle and were flung into parallel dimensions; leading to the creation of Mobius, Shanazar, Meridia, the Nameless Zone and other similar worlds.

Tekno, Ebony, Pajamas, Johnny, Porker, Shortfuse, and Metamorphia appeared as background extras in Archie Sonic #134; hinting that they too have doppelgängers that exist in the Archie universe.

While the existence of its own multiverse has been confirmed, the series has never fully explored it yet. However, there may be a few possibilities:

-SubUniverse (Sonic Adventures): A world baring a close resemblance to the Fleetway universe, including a mutant Kintobor/Robotnik and a quest involving the missing grey emerald. But where the Fleetway series establishes Knuckles, a resurrected Tikal, and Dr. Zachary as the last Echidnas; Sirène's "Sonic Adventures" shows that there are entire colonies of (surviving?) Echidnas throughout Mobius. In addition, the events leading up to Sonic and Knuckles' encounter are also different.

Due to the shared “Kintobor origin” story with other children's books published in the U.K. (namely Virgin, Penguin, and Ladybird), they too might share the same multiverse.


Universe #5 (Sonic X): Similar to the Fleetway Mobius, this world was once a part of Earth until an ancient cataclysm split the planet in half, and each half was thrown into another dimension. Depending on the time of planetary orbit and magnetic interference, both worlds will connect across space-time; allowing easy access to either planet. And like the Dr. Kintobor of the Fleetway universe, this universe's Dr. Robotnik (going by the alias "Eggman") was a former resident of Earth before being transported to this planet. But like "Planet Freedom", most of its history remains unknown.

In this universe, Sonic and his friends were transported from their unnamed interdimensional planet to Earth via Chaos Control. Eggman attempted to conquer the planet as well, but Sonic and his crew kept him at bay, forcing him to take drastic measures. They were later sent back to their home dimension once their presence on Earth was discovered to be a threat to reality, but their adventures continued onward. Certain events from the games already happened in this universe (like Tails' first encounter with Sonic, as well as the events of SA1, SA2, and "Battle"), but to what extent is unknown. For example, the events of "Sonic CD" never happened, as evidenced by this Eggman's reaction to seeing Metal Sonic in the comics; and both "Sonic Heroes" and "Shadow the Hedgehog" never occurred due to recent events involving the Metarexx.

While this version of Eggman is a visitor from Earth, it's never explained how he got to Sonic's world in the first place. Since his grandfather happened to own an ancient Giziod (which would later be named "Emerl") and his prized creation, Shadow, bares an uncanny resemblance to the Mobian race; it's possible that he and the crew aboard the ARK were aware of the parallel world's existence and experimented with Chaos energy to access it.

During the Metarexx saga, Eggman, Shadow, and Rouge encounter a human resistance fighting against the Metarexx. Since their colony of Cascade is located within Sonic's dimension, it is unknown how these human colonists got there. If they originated from Sonic's homeworld, they could easily be this world's equivalent of Overlanders; especially considering the Overlanders' attempts to colonize space in the Archie comics.

Anyway, those are my personal theories on this subject. I might've left out a few details and such, but this is from what I was able to gather from the respective continuities. If I left out a specific series (like the Shogakukann manga or the Troll/Golden Book series), I don't have enough background information to cover them or their placement in the overall map.

And in case you're wondering, I purposely left out AoStH on account of principle. Since the series has practically no similarities with the other continuities, including one episode implying it all to be fictional, it's safe to assume the entire series is imaginary. Like they could just be exaggerated stories and tall-tales invented by the Freedom Fighters to lampoon Robotnik (which would explain the world's surrealism and silly nature). However, several elements from the cartoon have appeared in other continuities, suggesting that some of these stories might've been based on actual people or events.