Suit of Swords (Foes)
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Ace of Swords (Eggman Nega)
Cold and calculating, Eggman Nega’s intellect represents the Ace of Swords. Embittered by the actions of his ancestor, he asserts himself as the superior brain and rarely makes the same mistakes as Eggman does, even outwitting and posing as him at certain points. Part of Eggman Nega’s skill lies in an ability to manipulate others, such as successfully tricking Rouge into gathering the Chaos Emeralds for him to summon Ifrit.
The Ace of Swords reversed reveals Eggman Nega’s ferocity. Unlike Eggman’s goal of conquering, Eggman Nega seeks to destroy, threatening to level the Sol Empire with the Power of the Stars. Conversely, he does not handle his plans going south, such as being too focused on a small miscalculation to prevent Super Sonic and Burning Blaze from destroying the Egg Salamander.
The Ace of Swords’ new innovations puts him above the rest even as his hostility tinges his successes.
Upright Keywords: intellect, success, learning from mistakes, manipulation
Reversed Keywords: hostility, destruction, frustration, miscalculation
Two of Swords (Infinite)
Infinite, also known as the Ultimate Mercenary, has let his inferiority complex control him. Defeated handedly by Shadow in the past, he constantly seeks to conquer his fears of domination and oppress others as the Two of Swords, instead. Yet denial is key to Infinite’s existence: in his quest to never be made weak again, he has discarded all that he considers a flaw—including companionship like he once had with the Jackal Squad—despite the different kinds of strength to be found within them.
Once the Two of Swords is reversed, Infinite’s tenuous grasp on sanity turns into delays and sloppiness. Instead of dealing with the Avatar right away, he lets them go to bask in their fear, allowing them to find their own courage and defeat him later. Furthermore, Infinite’s almost-anxious obsession on getting revenge against Shadow manifests in grand speeches and actions that are less effective than just defeating him outright, such as trapping Shadow in a virtual reality he quickly breaks out of.
The Two of Swords’ mental and emotional irregularities lead to ignorance of the truth and avoidance both.
Upright Keywords: difficult decisions, facing fears, denial, avoidance
Reversed Keywords: delays, dismissal, obsession, ineffective action
Three of Swords (Chaos)
Turmoil and grief comprise the God of Destruction and the Three of Swords, Chaos. Befriended by Tikal long ago, the outside conflicts of her tribe drove her father and his people to betray Chaos’ trust and attempt to seize the Emeralds for themselves. This trauma, suppressed for millennia following his sealment, eventually turned into a world-destroying power that threatened all of existence on the planet.
Releasing one’s pain, seen in the Three of Swords reversed, becomes the ultimate fate of Chaos. Once subdued by Super Sonic, he is reminded of the life he once led and those he protected by Tikal’s spirit. The optimism that life will recover despite strife allows Chaos to reconcile with the past and move on to a better place.
The Three of Swords’ sorrow is deep and painful, but may be healed with the right people.
Upright Keywords: turmoil, grief, betrayal, trauma
Reversed Keywords: release of pain, recovery, forgiveness, reconciliation
Four of Swords (Time Eater)
As the Four of Swords, the Time Eater’s temporal abilities form a double-edged sword. Capable of isolating points in time and transporting individuals to them, it presumably could allow people to contemplate their pasts and learn from them. However, ripping space-time apart drains these locations and people of life and throws them into a fearful state: it’s unclear if this is the Time Eater's intention or not.
Overcoming the threat of the Time Eater is achieved when the Four of Swords is reversed. The combined efforts of both Sonics leads to the temporal rifts being healed, thwarting the Eggmen’s plot at every turn. The Time Eater itself, incapable of independent action and strategy, is ultimately destroyed, returning everything and everyone back to their rightful places in the world.
The Four of Swords explores the past and present in unnatural ways, but one can heal and learn from these experiences nonetheless.
Upright Keywords: isolation, contemplation, mental overload, fear
Reversed Keywords: finding strength, combined efforts, healing, restoration
Five of Swords (Dr. Starline)
The megalomaniacal Dr. Starline's life goal as the Five of Swords is victory at all cost. Once an idolizer and apprentice of Eggman, their disagreements in approach led him to abandon his idol’s approval and become a conqueror in his own right. Starline’s methods hold a higher degree of violence than his counterpart: he assaulted and brainwashed two youths to forcibly mold them into his super soldiers, Surge and Kit.
But Starline’s resentment toward Eggman, seen when the Five of Swords is reversed, leads to unnecessary risk. Becoming convinced that Eggman poses no threat to his intellect despite evidence to the contrary, Starline neglects to properly put safeguards in place against Eggman, leading to his ultimate defeat. Furthermore, appeasing his growing ego causes him to leave detailed video logs of his plans, something used against him by a resentful Surge and Kit.
The Five of Swords’ competitive nature leads to risky actions more often than not.
Upright Keywords: victory at all costs, disagreement, abandonment, violence
Reversed Keywords: revenge, risk, ignored warnings, appeasement
Six of Swords (Dark Gaia)
Dark Gaia, an ancient force of nature, is the Six of Swords. He is part of a natural cycle of death and life with Light Gaia, one that keeps the planet stable and in balance. As a spiritual concept instead of a living consciousness, Dark Gaia holds no motives for his actions, instead merely providing the needed destruction that Light Gaia must heal in turn.
Of course, the troubles of Dark Gaia become apparent in the Six of Swords reversed. He is not necessarily a willing participant in this cycle, resisting the purification and change from Light Gaia at any costs. And as Eggman soon finds out, Dark Gaia is not a stable enough entity to reliably control, leading to the doctor’s plans being thrown into chaos once again.
The Six of Swords’ presence is a necessary transition for the world, so long as outsiders don’t try to cause trouble during the process.
Upright Keywords: transition, cycles, stability, spirituality
Reversed Keywords: trouble, resistance to change, volatility, disruption
Seven of Swords (Mephiles the Dark)
One half of the sun god Solaris, Mephiles the Dark embodies the deception inherent to the Seven of Swords. Initially posing as a friend to Silver and Blaze, his deceit quickly becomes apparent when he betrays them to further his own goals. In general, Mephiles is adept at mental manipulation, being able to come up with the needed anguish to release his counterpart from Elise without aid.
Bending and ignoring the truth is key to the Seven of Swords reversed. While Mephiles is correct that Sonic is the Ibliss Trigger, he fails to mention that he only becomes so once assassinated by Mephiles himself. Yet once he's outsmarted and erased from the timeline, Mephiles refuses to accept his intangible existence, blind to the fact that Shadow is much stronger from when he last faced him and chances of victory are slim.
The Seven of Swords combines trickery and lies to achieve his goals, all while ignoring the truth, himself.
Upright Keywords: deception, betrayal, manipulation, schemefulness
Reversed Keywords: ignorance, half-truths, being outsmarted, lying to oneself
Eight of Swords (Surge the Tenrec and Kit the Fennec)
The Eight of Swords, Surge the Tenrec and Kitsunami the Fennec are victims of circumstance. Kidnapped by Starline and brainwashed into doing his bidding, they have functionally become prisoners of their own minds, unable to remember who they were before Starline or any purpose other than conquering over Sonic, Tails, and their friends. This manifests in their extreme—if partially manufactured—personalities: Surge lashes out at everything and everyone, while Kit is cripplingly submissive and dependent on his partner.
The duo manages to find escapism when the Eight of Swords is reversed. Although their hatred of Sonic and Tails and relationship to each other are manufactured, learning this fact from Starline’s video logs allows them to form a genuine bond over revenge and vindication. However, they have not recovered from their traumas; even after surviving Eggperial City's collapse, Surge in particular suffers from hallucinations of Starline in key moments of stress.
The Eight of Swords are prisoners to others and their minds, but find escapism with one another regardless.
Upright Keywords: imprisonment, victimization, under pressure, psychological issues
Reversed Keywords: escapism, empowerment, survival, trauma
Nine of Swords (Biolizard)
Saddled with leagues of life support equipment, the Biolizard’s existence as the Nine of Swords is one of constant suffering. Isolated in a decaying facility for decades, its immortality prevents it from dying yet offers it no measure of life due to the inherent stress that comes with its continued survival. This results in a creature so unhappy that it lashes out at any sign of other living beings, seemingly without any conscious thought.
Total collapse is all that awaits the Biolizard with the Nine of Swords reversed. The escalating nightmare it lives within culminates in becoming the Finalhazard, a fusion with the Space Colony ARK that is eventually defeated by Super Sonic and Shadow. Ironically, the Biolizard’s defeat symbolizes a release from its pain, no longer made to live for the whims of mad scientists and earth-shattering plots.
The Nine of Swords leads a life of stress, but a light awaits at the end of the tunnel of existence.
Upright Keywords: suffering, anguish, isolation, unhappiness
Reversed Keywords: total collapse, nightmares, release, incoming hope
Ten of Swords (THE END)
The Ten of Swords, known simply as THE END, symbolizes an irreversible, termination. Destroyer of countless worlds—including that of the Ancients—it is an eldritch being that appears to victims as that which inflicts the most crisis. THE END’s consciousness is that of a malevolent being who relishes in dramatically berating its prey before sacrificing them to nothingness.
Resisting the inevitability of THE END is found in the Ten of Swords reversed. With the combined efforts of Sonic, his friends, Eggman, and Sage, it is halted in its tracks and ultimately bested. Although stopped for now, it is unclear if THE END is gone for good: due to its nature as an omnipresent being of destruction, it may have survived its disastrous defeat to return once more.
The Ten of Swords causes severe wounds to the world, but changing one’s fate is not impossible.
Upright Keywords: irreversible damage, painful conclusions, crisis, sacrifices
Reversed Keywords: surviving disaster, changing fate, recurrence, relapse
Page of Swords (The Hooligans: Fang the Hunter, Bean the Dynamite, and Bark the Polar Bear)
The Hooligans, consisting of Fang the Hunter, Bean the Dynamite, and Bark the Polar Bear, are a group of mischief-makers always on alert for the latest schemes. As the Page of Swords, it may seem that this trio hardly works cohesively: Fang rarely refers to his two henchmen as anything but “mooks,” and has a short temper for Bean’s zaniness and Bark’s silent attitude. However, they can achieve notable tasks when combining their strengths, such as outwitting Heavy King in order to take back the Chaos Emeralds.
But the cracks in the Hooligans’ cooperation worsen when the Page of Swords is reversed. Fang is selfish and sarcastic at his core, and while he's highly competent despite his big mouth, his greed can get the best of him. When discovering the eighth Chaos Emerald is a sham and actually the Warp Topaz, Fang shows little regard for Bean and Bark’s safety in favor of his new loot, causing the two to quit working for him for good.
The Page of Swords are full of innovative ideas to strike it rich, but the haphazard actions of some may bring down the whole team.
Upright Keywords: planning ahead, mischievousness, thinking on one's feet, combined efforts
Reversed Keywords: selfishness, sarcasm, abrasiveness, leeching off others
Knight of Swords (Erazor Djinn)
Erazor Djinn, Genie of the Lamp and the Knight of Swords, is driven to succeed at all costs. Once bound to grant 1000 wishes by his lamp, he seizes the moment to get revenge and targets the characters of the 1001 Arabian Nights, aiming to eliminate them all. Personality-wise, Erazor Djinn is highly assertive and ambitious, commanding Shahra to do his bidding and setting his sights on destroying Sonic’s world, as well.
The impulsive ruthlessness that Erazor Djinn brings to every action is ultimately his downfall. As the Knight of Swords reversed, his domineering behavior toward Shahra backfires, as she has found a true and healthy connection with Sonic that allows her to defy him. Additionally, Erazor Djinn’s arrogance toward Sonic makes him underestimate him, and in turn makes Sonic more unforgiving in doling out a final punishment for his misdeeds.
The Knight of Swords has ambition beyond measure, but his attitude makes him quite a few enemies along the way.
Upright Keywords: self-driven, seizing the moment, assertiveness, ambition
Reversed Keywords: impulsiveness, ruthlessness, aggressiveness, arrogance
Queen of Swords (The Deadly Six: Zavok, Master Zik, Zazz, Zeena, Zomom, and Zor)
The Queen of Swords is not one but six individuals, namely the Deadly Six: Zavok, Master Zik, Zazz, Zeena, Zomom, and Zor. A quirky bunch of villains initially serving Eggman, they are not shy about voicing their displeasure in the arrangement, and pounce on the opportunity to turn the tables when they perceive Sonic's blunder. Although they are a team, each member is highly self-reliant on their own, able to take on Sonic toe-to-toe in both battles of banter and strength.
As the Queen of Swords reversed reveals, the Deadly Six are cold-hearted and tactical despite appearances. However, they often fight amongst each other in verbal blows—such as when Zavok attempted to get Zeena to do her part—and are dysfunctional in terms of personalities. Zavok in particular displays vindictive tendencies, touting himself as the “one Zeti” that could defeat Sonic and holding some omnicidal goals toward the Lost Hex.
The Queen of Swords may appear humorous on the surface, but their spiteful attitudes soon become evident.
Upright Keywords: direct communication, perceptiveness, self-reliance, quick-wittedness
Reversed Keywords: cold-heartedness, good tactics, dysfunction, vindictiveness
King of Swords (Black Doom)
The methodical leader of the Black Arms, Black Doom, is the King of Swords. As Shadow’s “father,” Black Doom’s arrival onto the planet jumpstarts Shadow’s journey to learn the truth of his past—and Black Doom is intelligent enough to twist these details into what best suits his purposes. Black Doom’s very presence commands authority, with his militia bowing to his power and command completely.
Of course, Black Doom’s misdeeds are most visible when the King of Swords is reversed. The Black Arms are a parasitic race, taking over and brutally enslaving any planet they come across as to force them into "livestock" for the Black Comet. Even at his most oppressed—such as his reappearance during the Time Eater incident—Black Doom’s omnicidal goals remain, only now in a smarter way to accomplish them.
The King of Swords commands attention, but his goals are most unkind to all that oppose him.
Upright Keywords: methodicalness, intelligence, authority, militarism
Reversed Keywords: misdeeds, abuse of power, inhumanity, oppression