Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has generated an insane amount of hype amongst fans and newcomers to the franchise alike. The film series is clearly starting to reach towards the slightly more obscure references to the beloved games, and new fans might need a reintroduction to see what hardcore fans are so excited about.
The first Sonic the Hedgehog movie was a landmark title for the long-suffering genre of video game movies, but much about the film changed details from its source material. The new film is bringing fan-favorite characters, reinventing old ones, and looking a lot more like the big screen adaptation fans were hoping for.
Movie-only fans first glimpsed the Master Emerald in the first full trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Jim Carrey's outstanding new look and performance as Dr. Robotnik was introduced with a line to his film-exclusive assistant Agent Stone. The mad doctor explains that he discovered a source of ultimate power while he was away from his homeworld. The trailer briefly depicts Eggman making his way into a massive structure and carefully acquiring the massive green stone. Later imagery shows off some fascinating design work in the mysterious room that once held the Master Emerald. Though that item is never referred to by name in any of the trailers thus far, big fans knew exactly which of the franchise's many glowing gems Eggman now has his hands on.
The Master Emerald, like much of Sonic the Hedgehog 2's new introductions, was first introduced in 1994's Sonic the Hedgehog 3. That game, and its attached expansion Sonic & Knuckles, seem to be the basic blueprint from which the new film is being adapted. That game's opening cutscene depicts an event very much like the scene briefly shown off and described by Eggman in the film's trailer.
Eggman's Death Egg, a space-faring superweapon which served as the final boss of the second game, crashes towards the ground at terminal velocity. It is intercepted before hitting the planet's surface by a floating landmass which is later identified as Angel Island. From this mysterious island, Eggman discovers a massive stone and steals it from its guardian, Knuckles the Echidna. Eggman sets to work using the Master Emerald for his own dark goals and swiftly tricks Knuckles into joining him by convincing him that Sonic intends to steal the emerald. This basic outline seems to be central to the plot of the new film, and it has been retold a couple of times since its origin in 1994.
The Master Emerald has played a huge part in a number of Sonic games and shows. Later games reveal that Knuckles' people have been in charge of defending the Master Emerald for countless generations. The Knuckles Clan underwent a decades-long war with a rival group of echidna who wanted the emerald's immense power for their own. The battle was tremendous, many were killed both in battle and as collateral damage. A native of the area, a creature called a Chao, was affected by the magical power of the Master Emerald and became a powerful beast known as Chaos.
In the struggle, Chaos became enraged and lashed out with power so immense, it threatened to destroy the world. Thankfully, Tikal, the daughter of an echidna chief who held a spiritual bond with the emerald, cried out in prayer to the stone and sealed away Chaos and the Master Emerald. The resulting burst of energy lifted Angel Island into the air and kept it floating there. Many years later, Knuckles, the last of his clan, innately discovered his duty to his people and took up the task of guarding the Master Emerald.
That backstory made up a substantial part of the narrative of 1999's Sonic Adventure, wherein a freed Chaos was the primary antagonist. The Master Emerald has played a significant part in a couple of other games as well. It's often integral to Knuckles' plot, such as in 2002's Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. In that game, Knuckles competes with an accomplished jewel thief named Rouge the Bat for pieces of the Master Emerald after Eggman accidentally breaks it. It plays a much smaller role in most of the other games, as it has been largely overshadowed by the Chaos Emeralds. The Master Emerald has a complex relationship with the Chaos Emeralds. Those gems were originally pitched with a "stabilizer," which later became the Master Emerald, but over the years, the two concepts are largely separated.
Though most of the backstory will likely be truncated, if not absent altogether, the Master Emerald has shifted from a generic powerful gem to a crucial aspect of Knuckles' journey as a character. With Knuckles' first-ever big-screen appearance getting fans truly thrilled, it'll be interesting to see how much of the Echidna's lore make it into the film. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 could take some very interesting directions in its glimpses of Sonic's homeworld.