Metal Sonic first appeared in Sonic CD in 1993 as Dr Robotnik's robotic counterpart to Sonic the Hedgehog, designed to match his speed and attitude. The character returned across later Sega games, cartoons and comics, gaining a cult following for his silent, threatening design and distorted voice effects. Short voice clips labelled SDIYBT circulated on fan soundboards and in YouTube edits, where the second version became a reusable reaction for rival reveals, robot characters and nostalgic Sonic memes shared by gaming communities.