| “ | Jackal Squad! Move in for the kill! | „ |
| ~ Infinite ordering his troops to battle. |
Jackal Squad are major antagonists in the 2017 video game Sonic Forces. They are a group of thieves and mercenaries consisting entirely of anthropomorphic jackals, lead by the self-proclaimed "Ultimate Mercenary", who would go on to become the sole survivor of the team after they were wiped out by Shadow the Hedgehog, driving him to obtain the power of the finalized Phantom Ruby prototype and become the insidious Infinite.
History[]
Meeting Eggman[]
Not much is known about the Squad's past apart from being a gang of thieves and mercenaries working for money. Their leader was the most skilled of them all, being known to be the "Ultimate Mercenary".
One day, they decide to raid Dr. Eggman's base in Mystic Jungle in order to steal his technology and sell it off. Eggman, who just discovered the Phantom Ruby, accidentally triggers it, causing it to summon an army of Badnik replicas. With this newfound army, he attempts to defend his base from Jackal Squad. The rest of squad is defeated and captured, but the leader manages to reach Eggman to deal the final blow, however, the leader's sword comes into contact with the Ruby, causing it to create an illusion of how he desires the world to be: a ruined wasteland where he rules as an overlord.
While he is distracted, Eggman knocks him away while a Badnik subdues him. Seeing potential in the mercenary, Eggman offers him and his squad to join him in conquering the world. Although the rest of the squad were against this offer, the leader accepts as a way to change the world the way he envisioned and forces the team to ally with Eggman.
Sonic Forces: Episode Shadow[]
Eggman becomes so obsessed with studying the Phantom Ruby and its power that he becomes negligible to create more Badniks to defend his base. Because of this, he hires the rest of Jackal Squad to protect his base while he does his studies. This attracts the attention of Team Dark, who send Shadow the Hedgehog to raid Eggman's base. When he begins to approach the base's perimeters, he is attacked by most of the Jackal Squad except for the leader, but Shadow easily defeats them all, apparently killing them all in the process.
Furious at Shadow for destroying his squad, the leader catches up with the hedgehog and boasts that he'll show Shadow why he's called the "Ultimate Mercenary". He attacks, but Shadow effortlessly defeats him in a few strikes and warns him never to show his face again before teleporting away. After his defeat and and realization of his own fear of Shadow, his inferiority complex is triggered causing him to have a meltdown.
With the tests completed, Eggman gives the Phantom Ruby protoype to the now sole jackal, granting him ultimate power transforming him into Eggman's newest secret weapon, "Infinite".
Trivia[]
- According to DeviantArtist Nibroc-Rock, Adam Bryce Thomas, the line artist for the official Sonic Forces digital comics, had approved the names Uno, Deux, Quatre and Trois for four members of the Jackal Squad, while the silhouetted ones were named Cinq and Sei.[1][2]
