#but then again both the movies and the fandubs from snapscube AND the “hanging out” comics are all canon at the same time

[rainbowgod666]

*grabs silver* this mf would cry in front of xeno and the Mobian Team (or whatever) would hmu to be like "yeah were babysitting silver because he has the ultradepression. Coldsteel is maling him play some ultrakill"

The original meaning of the term "Final Girl," from 1987's "Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film" by Carol J. Clover, was "a woman who is a sole survivor of a group who are chased by the villain, and who gets the final confrontation with said villain [whether she wins or not is not considered] because of some implied moral superiority." As an example, Jamie Lee Curtis's character of Laurie Strode in 1978's Halloween is the sole survivor of the teenagers that Michael Myers hunts, and gets the climactic scene with him, though she's not the one who defeats him. Her character is the only one of her friend group who does not (onscreen at least) partake in drugs, alcohol or sexual activity.

The term "final girl" has expanded over the years, often losing the moral superiority clause (see: Sidney Prescott in Scream, Maxine in X) or having other survivor(s) so long as the girl gets the final confrontation (the sisters in the recent Scream movies, Dana Polk in Cabin in the Woods). The most common deviation is losing the moral superiority clause, with the characters either being just as moral as their group or even being morally in the wrong but still surviving as a subversion or deconstruction of the trope. A common addition is a prior connection to the villain, though this is not necessary.

With all that being said,

As always, Girl is a gender-neutral term when it comes to having fun. I decided not to count Knuckles because we don't know his full backstory in-game and the word-of-god answer is that his species died of disease, and also because he'd be the funny answer everyone would pick immediately so that doesn't count guys.

Important Notes to Consider:

Tikal:

Last Survivor: Somewhat. Other echidnas seem to have survived Chaos's attack, but Tikal was the last character alive shown onscreen, and the only other named characters in her time period did not survive.

Final Confrontation: Applies. She is the one to seal Chaos into the Master Emerald.

Moral Superiority: Applies. She's the only one in her tribe willing to stand up to her warmongering dad.

Shadow:

Last Survivor: Applies. While some people seem to have escaped the ARK massacre (like the Commander), all other named characters are either killed or captured and killed afterwards.

Final Confrontation: Debatable. There isn't actually a singular monster attacking the ARK, instead it's the entire military. Shadow however does get a confrontation with the Biolizard and later with Black Doom. Do they count for this though? You decide.

Moral Superiority: Not Applicable. Shadow isn't inherently morally above or below the other people on the ARK who died.

Cosmo:

Last Survivor: Mostly Applies. She is the last survivor specifically of her species. Everyone else in the Sonic Crew survives to the final confrontation, but her species is toast.

Final Confrontation: Applies. Cosmo is the last to interact with Dark Oak in the initial genocide, and the one to eventually defeat him (along with Tails, but really it was Cosmo's sacrifice that actually killed him).

Moral Superiority: Not Applicable. The rest of her species are portrayed as innocent and undeserving of their fate, and her survival was purely due to her fear making her accept a deal with Dark Oak and the implication that he's her father.

Silver:

Last Survivor: Mostly Applies. He and Blaze are the only seen survivors of Iblis's assault. Blaze absorbs Iblis and dips, but Silver does have a fight with Solaris in the final ending.

Final Confrontation: Somewhat. Blaze and Silver both boss fight Iblis, and Blaze gets the final confrontation and defeat. However, Silver partakes in the defeat of Solaris, who technically is Iblis.

Moral Superiority: Not Applicable. Silver isn't given moral superiority towards anyone who dies.

Sonic Forces Avatar:

Last Survivor: Somewhat. Avatar is the last survivor of their village due to them fleeing from Infinite. They join up with a group following this and assist Sonic in defeating Infinite.

Final Confrontation: Somewhat. Sonic is also there.

Moral Superiority: Debatable. Like Cosmo, the other civilians are portrayed as innocent and Avatar only escapes due to their perceived cowardice. They are shown to be Extra Special Besties with Sonic which helps them defeat Infinite through the power of Love, so that may count?

Whisper:

Last Survivor: Mostly Applies. Whisper is the last Diamond Cutter after Mimic kills her entire squad and betrays them. She goes solo until eventually confronting Mimic and then helping found a reformed Diamond Cutters.

Final Confrontation: Debatable. Mimic is still an active threat in the comics, but Whisper did get a climactic confrontation with him in Tangle & Whisper.

Moral Superiority: Not Applicable. Whisper only survived because Claire requested she stay behind due to her intuition.

Sonic in '06 specifically:

Last Survivor: Mostly Applies. Sonic is the only character who remembers that the '06 timeline occurred, making him the technical only survivor of its events. Ignore the fact he died at one point, he got better.

Final Confrontation: Mostly Applies. Sonic leads the attack against Solaris in the Final Boss fight, but Elise is the one to blow out the candle and reset the timeline.

Moral Superiority: Debatable. All the other characters are "heroes" but Sonic is the Biggest Best Hero Of Them All That The Chaos Emeralds Love Soooo Much, and he also is the one to selflessly insist on the timeline reset so that the whole Solaris Destruction Thing never happens.