Sans the Skeleton is the tritagonist of the indie-game Undertale, serving as a major character in the Neutral Route (with his specific role depending on the ending), the tritagonist of the True Pacifist Route, and the main antagonist of the Genocide Route. He also appears as a minor character in the alternate-universe spin-off Deltarune.
He is a skeleton and older brother of Papyrus. Lazy but with a love for humor, Sans barely helps his brother capture Frisk and instead spends most of the Snowdin area serving as a comic relief friend. In the Genocide Route, however, it's revealed Sans harbors deep power and knowledge about the Underground that leaves him a depressed, nihilistic wreck that is too apathetic to intervene when anything bad happens.
Personality[]
Sans is shown to be very laid-back and flippant, sleeping on the job as often as he takes breaks. He does just enough work to avoid being fired by Undyne. He enjoys making bad puns, usually relating to skeletons, to the annoyance of his brother. He is kind and reassuring, but becomes eerily serious at abrupt moments (particularly when angry). He deeply cares for and admires his brother, Papyrus, and reads him bedtime stories. He likes to mess with Papyrus, as he sends him "bad puns in a goofy font" on the UnderNet. He also leaves a dirty sock in their living room for Papyrus to fuss over. Sans worries about others hurting Papyrus or taking advantage of him. In some Neutral Endings, Sans is afraid to tell Papyrus about other characters' deaths, so he lies about them going on a vacation.
He is also very observant, and his lines and actions change the most through the path and the way of playing the game. He knows the number of times he had defeated the player (in Genocide Route). He tends to say he hates to make promises, this is likely a result of having to harm a human, as he promised Toriel he would protect humans. He will deeply resent Frisk if they kill Papyrus. In the same case, he also seems to go missing, nowhere to be found until the end of the game.
Despite this, he only fights Frisk on a Genocide Route, when they are a threat to the timelines. This is possibly due to his promise to Toriel to protect humans, as killing Frisk would obviously break the promise and he figures he has no choice but to do so on a Genocide Route.
His laziness is noted again during the final fight in the Genocide Route - he is unsure if being somewhat aware of the timeline resetting has broken his spirit, knowing that everything he does will mean nothing... or if he's just using it as an excuse to slack off. He also seems to be quite patient, as shown by his willingness to use his "Special Attack" (which is nothing) until the end of time in order to bore the protagonist into quitting the game.
As shown during his fight on a Genocide Route, Sans isn't above using underhanded tactics in battle, as shown when he tries to manipulate Frisk into sparing him, then killing them if they yield. Granted, Sans knew that Frisk would very likely end all timelines if they get past him, so this may be out of desperation to stop them, or out of spite for their murder of Papyrus and other monsters.
Somehow, Sans knows that he's really in a video game, because if the player gets an "Impossible Ending" by somehow meeting none of the requirements for completing Undertale or by hacking the game, Sans will explain in his phone call that the call is an error-handling message and will suggest contacting the developer so he can fix it or add another ending. Sans then says "chances are, though... you're just a dirty hacker, aren't you? yeah, get outta here" before hanging up.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Teleportation: Sans can quickly travel or teleport using what he calls "Shortcut".
- Skeleton Physiology: Sans is a living skeleton.
- Temperature Immunity: Sans can survive in the freeing cold of Snowdin and the boiling heat of Hotland with no problem.
- Gravity Manipulation: Sans can throw you around the walls of the Bullet Board using telekinesis and make you heavier by turning your soul blue.
- Gaster Blasters: Sans can fight by summoning and moving telekinetically magical dragon-like skulls that can activate and make them shoot a blue laser.
- Time Manipulation: In the Grillby's pub Sans will stop time around himself and Frisk to ask them "have you ever heard of a talking flower?".
- Deception: Sans is an expert at tricking people into his pranks such as using whoopee cushions in unexpected places, sharing an unscrewed ketchup bottle, eye painting a telescope, and the most extreme example, pranking you across time and space. However there is a more lethal version of his deceptive skills as he lulls you into a false sense of security by pretending to give you a hug so that he can kill you in the Genocide run, ending the run by saying "geeettttttt dunked on!!!".
- Clairvoyance: Sans is able to sense the EXP (Execution points) and LOVE (Level of Violence) of Frisk at the end of the game.
- Rule Bending: Sans is able to break the rules of Undertale's battle system by dodging your attacks and attacking outside of the Bullet Board.
- Bone Manipulation: Sans can create an apparently limitless amount of bones of various sizes that damage you if you collide with them.
- Karmic Retribution: In Sans's final boss fight when you get hit by an attack your HP will be under a poison like effect because of the LOVE you have collected.
- High Intelligence: Despite being the comedic relief of the game, Sans has shown to be extremely smart through the multiple quantum physics books he owns, his secret workshop, his affinity for science and space (as stated by Papyrus), and his timeline research. Sans observant nature also adds to this as he reads the protagonist's expressions to tell there emotions and can often tell when they have already done certain tasks.
- Aerokinesis (Possibly): Sans may have the ability to manipulate wind as shown by the self-sustaining tornado in his room made of garbage (however this may be explained by Sans's gravity manipulation power).
Super Smash Bros.[]
Sans was added in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a downloadable costume for the Mii Gunner character in Wave 3. He uses a Gaster Blaster as his arm cannon. (Which has received universal acclaim)
Quotes[]
| “ | heya. you've been busy, huh? ... so, I've got a question for ya. do you think even the worst person can change...? that everyone can be a good person, if they just try? heh heh heh heh... all right. well, here's a better question. do you wanna have a bad time? cause if you take another step forward... you are REALLY not going to like what happens next. welp. sorry, old lady. this is why I never make promises. | „ |
| ~ Sans before fighting Frisk/Chara in the Genocide route. |
| “ | you can't understand how this feels. knowing that one day, without any warning... it's all going to be reset. look. i gave up trying to go back a long time ago. and getting to the surface doesn't really appeal anymore, either. 'cause even if we do... we'll just end up right back here, without any memory of it, right? to be blunt... it makes it kind of hard to give it my all. ... or is that just a poor excuse for being lazy...? hell if I know. | „ |
| ~ Sans revealing his knowledge of the Resets and the truth behind his lazy demeanor |
| “ | all I know is... seeing what comes next... i can't afford not to care anymore. ugh... that being said... you, uh, really like swinging that thing around, huh? ... listen. i know you didn't answer me before, but... somewhere in there. i can feel it. there's a glimmer of a good person inside of you. the memory of someone who once wanted to do the right thing. someone who, in another time, might have even been... a friend? c'mon, buddy. do you remember me? please, if you're listening... let's forget all of this, ok? just lay down your weapon, and... well, my job will be a lot easier. | „ |
| ~ Sans trying to convince Frisk/Chara to stand down |
| “ | .. you're sparing me? finally. buddy. pal. i know how hard it must be... to make that choice. to go back on everything you've worked up to. i want you to know... i won't let it go to waste. ... c'mere, pal. geeettttttt dunked on!!! if we're really friends... you won't come back. | „ |
| ~ Sans killing Frisk/Chara if they spare him. |
| “ | welp, it was worth a shot. guess you like doing things the hard way, huh?/woah, you look REALLY pissed off... heheheh... did i getcha? well, if you came back anyway... i guess that means we never really WERE friends, huh? heh. don't tell that to the other sans-es, okay? | „ |
| ~ Sans if the player does not spare him. |
| “ | i know your type. you're, uh, very determined, aren't you? you'll never give up, even if there's, uh... absolutely NO benefit to persevering whatsoever. if i can make that clear. no matter what, you'll just keep going. not out of any desire for good or evil... but just because you think you can. and because you "can"... ... you "have to". but now, you've reached the end. there is nothing left for you now. so, uh, in my personal opinion... the most "determined" thing you can do here? is to, uh, completely give up. and... (yawn) do literally anything else. | „ |
| ~ Sans to the trapped protagonist. |
| “ | ... ... ... so... guess that's it, huh? ... just... don't say i didn't warn you. welp. i'm going to grillby's. papyrus, do you want anything? | „ |
| ~ Sans last words before he dies in the Genocide route. |
| “ | you never gained any LOVE. 'course, that doesn't mean you're completely innocent or naïve. just that you kept a certain tenderness in your heart. no matter the struggles or hardships you faced... you strived to do the right thing. you refused to hurt anyone. even when you ran away, you did it with a smile. you never gained LOVE, but you gained love. does that make sense? maybe not... | „ |
| ~ Sans if Frisk never killed anyone through a Neutral route |
| “ | The end of your journey is at hand. In a few moments, you'll meet the king. Together... You will determine the future of this world. | „ |
| ~ Sans's introduction in the Last Corridor. |
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