Commander Brutus

Commander Brutus was Doctor Robotnik's second-in-command and a major threat to Mobius. He was created by Lew Stringer.

It is interesting to note that Brutus is one of the few foes that is very hard to defeat. In every battle with him expect for their final encounter, Sonic has been outmatched. No other hero has ever defeated him in battle either, with even Shortfuse the Cybernik over-powered. The only people who ever defeat him in combat are other villains: Super Sonic and Robotnik, and it was Robotnik who was responsible for finally finishing him off.

History[]

Seeking to create for himself a right-hand man, Robotnik modified a Special Badnik Service Trooper into Brutus - as well as now being made of Megatal, Brutus was given a copy of Robotnik's own brainwaves! For flair, he wore a red cape.

It wasn't long before Brutus confronted Sonic the Hedgehog in the Pleasant Zone, and his strength and tactics proved to be more than the Freedom Fighters could handle. The Freedom Fighters were completely trounced and even briefly captured by Brutus and his Trooper forces. As things looked like they were all over, Sonic transformed into Super Sonic, and Brutus found this was more than he could handle. As a last resort, Brutus used Amy Rose as a 'human shield', but Sonic was no longer himself and pressed his attack, something that Brutus didn't notice until it was too late; in the process, Super ripped off Brutus' arm.

Brutus was forced to order a retreat, and then suffered a reprimand from Doctor Robotnik, as he had embarked on the mission without his permission. But what Robotnik did not realize was that in programming Brutus with his brain patterns, he had transferred all of his thoughts and desires to Brutus - and now, Brutus too sought to rule Mobius!

With his shattered arm replaced with a new one that doubled as a powerful energy weapon, Brutus set about capturing Mobians to be converted into Badniks - for his own private army. He had Grimer construct a portable version of the device that gave him Robotnik's brain patterns, and covertly used it on the scientist to gain the secrets of Badnik production. Once his army was complete, he launched a massed attack on Johnny Lightfoot and scanned the captured hero's brain patterns. Brutus now knew the location of the Emerald Hill Zone refugees and the Freedom Fighter's cover identity as Bob Beaky's Travelling Circus... but as he'd scanned a copy of Johnny's personality and found himself doing heroic deeds, he was forced to purge his mind of these brainwaves and the knowledge.

Brutus went AWOL, mustered a full fighting force, and launched a major assault on the Metropolis Zone. Secondary forces attacked the Casino Night Zone, Tails, and several other locations. He aimed to completely wipe out organic life through extermination and increased pollution, and in his opening strike he did succeed in defeating Sonic and turning Johnny and Amy into Badniks.

The main conflict was brutal, leaving the Metropolis Zone half-wrecked, and Brutus' army swiftly destroyed Robotnik's Badniks and stormed Citadel Robotnik. Robotnik's trump card, a self-destruct program in Brutus' head, turned out to be useless - Brutus had known Robotnik would do that and had excised it ages ago. Robotnik would've been executed if Sonic and Shortfuse the Cybernik hadn't intervened, but Shortfuse proved no match as the Trooper easily beat him (literally) into the floor.

The heroes had, however, distracted Brutus enough for Robotnik to reach a battle-armour. The two villains duked it out, and Brutus would have won - if Robotnik hadn't sucker-punched him with liquid nitrogen and then shattered the frozen body with a single punch. Robotnik swiftly took control of Brutus' Badniks and made a planetwise broadcast to Mobius, proclaiming that this only confirmed that nobody could ever defeat him.

When Robotnik absorbed the power of the Chaos Emeralds and became all-powerful, he resurrected several of Sonic's old enemies, including Brutus. However, Sonic was able to defeat them by knocking Brutus into an energy-based being known as Plasma, the impact with Brutus disrupting Plasma's electrical make-up and triggering a chain reaction that destroyed the other villains. Brutus was resurrected a second time by Agiatha Witchbrew's granddaughter, Violet Witchbrew, but Agiatha conveniently arrived to undo the spell Violet cast causing this mishap.

Abilities[]

Commander Brutus' skills made him a highly formidable opponent for Sonic and his friends to fight. Thanks to the invulnerable nature of his Megatal armour, Brutus was superhumanly strong and highly resistant to physical damage. Equipped with an anti-gravity device (from his time in the SBS), Brutus was also capable of flight at great speed. When his hand was destroyed in battle with Super Sonic, he repaired it with a replacement part that doubled as a powerful laser gun. He was also capable of viewing the infrared spectrum and seeing through solid objects.

Gifted with a full copy of Dr. Robotnik's brainwaves and thought patterns, Brutus was also a devious and cunning foe who frequently outsmarted his enemies. Able to utilize all of his creator's fiendish intelligence, Brutus could design a portable version of the device that granted him a copy of Robotnik's brainwaves to use on Johnny Lightfoot and managed to build an entire army of loyal robots.

Relationships[]

Doctor Ivo Robotnik[]

"Brutus has become too disobedient! It's time I gave him a piece of my mind!" - Robotnik to Grimer

Brutus was created to be second-in-command to Robotnik and would have helped him control his empire. To this end, the dictator had his brainwaves programmed into Brutus. Unfortunately, this had the undesirable effect of making the robot want to rule the world.

Although Brutus kept his plans for treachery a secret from his master until his final attack, it was an inevitability to everybody else. In Citadel Robotnik, Brutus was well-spoken and frequently apologised for his short-comings. However, in the middle of battle, Brutus would outwardly show his distaste for having to live under the shadow of Robotnik. During the initial fight with the Freedom Fighters, Brutus ignored Robotnik's communications, giving Sonic and friends cause for concern. On the second occasion, Brutus answered immediately but shortly. Following his failure to obey Robotnik's orders, Brutus arrived at a meeting with him twenty minutes in order to attend to his broken bodywork.

Brutus' relationship with Robotnik truly broke down when the robot went behind his employer's back for the second time, commissioning Grimer to create the brain scanners. Robotnik believed that Brutus was up to something and decided to teach him a lesson. Unfortunately for him, he was beaten to the punch when Brutus stormed Citadel Robotnik with his new Badniks. Robotnik ordered his troops for war, but in the main control room, Robotnik was forced to activate Brutus' self-destruct mechanism. It soon transpired that Brutus had removed it and ordered his Troopers to kill Robotnik. Sonic and Shortfuse accidentally saved him, allowing the dicator to escape. Brutus tracked him down, wishing to "destroy him". He eventually discovered Robotnik in his War-Armour; the pair volleyed insults and punches before taking the fight outside. Robotnik eventually took the upper-hand, freezing his creation before destroying him.

In a speech to Mobius, Robotnik vowed never to share his responsibilities with anybody else ever again.

Sonic the Hedgehog[]

"Sonic the Hedgehog is defeated... Now no-one can stop me!" - Brutus to the Freedom Fighters

As Brutus was programmed with Robotnik's brainwaves, Sonic shared the same hatred towards Brutus as Robotnik, and vice-versa. The commander took great glory in his victories against Sonic and was keen to make an example of his enemy by parading him through the streets in chains. Whilst battling each other, both Sonic and Brutus would frequently insult each other, with Brutus picking up on Robotnik's penchant to call Sonic "spikeball".

The mutual animosity between them ramped up when Brutus threatened to kill Sonic and his friends. This fear drove Sonic to transform into Super Sonic and launch a reckless assault against Brutus and his Troopers. Brutus would taunt his foe into attacking, somehow not knowing that Super had no qualms about destroying him. Following a failed attempt to capture him, Brutus later admitted that he had underestimated his foe and left to plan a new method of attack.

After months of planning, Brutus stormed Citadel Robotnik and announced himself as the new ruler of Mobius. It soon became clear that Sonic was lower on his priority list than before, with the robot focused on usurping Robotnik. Brutus quickly showed his superiority when Sonic attempted to intervene by knocking him out with his new gun. He then captured Amy and Johnny and turned them into Badniks, but left Sonic on his own, presumably preferring to let the new weapons keep Sonic busy. He would eventually realise that Sonic, teamed up with Shortfuse, was a foe to worry about and ordered his Troopers to destroy the hedgehog rather than kill Robotnik. Following this, he took delight in showing Sonic his robotic friends before leaving him to fend for himself.

As Robotnik and Brutus fought each other, Sonic openly hoped they would both destroy each other.

Johnny Lightfoot[]

"I refuse to be stopped by two hedgehogs and a skinny rabbit" - Brutus on Sonic, Amy and Johnny

Compared to Sonic, Johnny had considerably less interactions with Brutus, despite him encountering him on three out of four of the robot's outings. During their first encounter, Johnny didn't personally speak to Brutus until Sonic turned into Super Sonic and preferred to mock the brute from out of hearing range. Brutus soon captured Amy, prompting Johnny to warn Brutus away. Brutus nonchalantly pushed "teeth-ache" away.

Brutus supposedly identified Johnny as the weak link of the Freedom Fighters and targeted him with his new Badniks. Despite his Trooper pilot complimenting Johnny's fighting style, Brutus took the time to sing mockingly at Johnny's later escape attempte, laughing as Badniks shot at the Freedom Fighter. After Johnny's victory, Brutus captured the "short-tail" and subjected him to his personal brain scanners. Johnny attempted to keep a brave face when confronted by Brutus was crushed when he revealed all of Johnny's secrets. However, Brutus felt suitably confused when given a copy of Johnny's personalities, forcing him to reverse the process and destroy the device.

On his return to Citadel Robotnik, Brutus insulted Johnny once again and captured him, turning him into a Badnik. The fight between the two villains left Johnny wondering who to aid, although Sonic insisted they should let them destroy each other.

Grimer[]

"Behold... Brutus! The ultimate trooper!" - Grimer to Robotnik

Grimer was the creator of Brutus and took great pride in creating the "Ultimate Trooper". However, despite the robot being programmed with Robotnik's brainwaves, the scientist never showed the same kind of reverance towards Brutus. Their sole interaction came when Brutus asked Grimer to create the portable brain scanners. Grimer agreed without question, although presumably because he thought Robotnik knew of the request. Upon completion of the job, Brutus shot Grimer, although set his blaster to "stun", not wishing to hurt the person that helped him. Brutus also told Grimer to rest when he woke up, saying that the pressures of the job were getting to him.

Badniks[]

"Bah! How did Robotnik rule Mobius with you idiots working for him?" - Brutus to his incompetent team of Troopers

Despite being a modified Trooper himself, Brutus showed great disdain towards Robotnik's Troopers. Even so, he saw enough of himself in them to convert them into his loyal soldiers following his decision to take control of Mobius. After the creation of his own army of Badniks, the Troopers remained as his personal guards and accompanied him to Citadel Robotnik to defeat Robotnik.

In the heart of battle, the Troopers would follow Brutus' orders but were often left confused by his requests. They acted too slow to shoot Sonic at point-blank range and questioned Brutus' decision not to take the heroes back to Citadel Robotnik. They even refused to chase the fleeing heroes, citing Brutus' order not to do anything unless told to do so.

Brutus showed on a number of occasions that he was much more capable of dispatching the heroes than his loyal Troopers. They were often used as cannon-fodder rather than a plan to capture Sonic, although he did trust that, in a case of irony, the Troopers would kill their former master.

Trivia[]

Brutus is named after Marcus Junius Brutus, or Brutus, the man involved in the assassination of Julius Caesar.
Brutus could be compared to DC Comics villain Bane, an enemy of Batman. Both being a large, nearly unbeatable foes whom struck the heroes with a definitive defeat in their first encounters.