#Archie Sonic issue 198

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Okay I know I know obvious joke "they just got back together but of course divorce is looming again" but like

Like this isn't a confontation you don't expect. When I first read this I thought "Oh, Snively is undermining him and trying to bring back the Iron Queen". It's not hard to come up with that one. After all, Robotnik knows Snively (and the other grandmasters) are all conspiring against him. In fact, he finds that enjoyable. So he only calls one of them out when an assassination or plan of usurping him fails (like when he caught Snively in the act of tampering with one of his Metal Sonic's).

But it turns out Mr. Eggman over here is being...dramatic. Yeah that's one word for what's happening.

Because...the only proof he has that Snively is being "treacherous" and not "falling back into line" are tapes of his conversation with the bride of the Raiju clan. And what did Snively do? He just asked how the Iron Queen was doing and where she was imprisoned (he did love her after all), and he rightfully gets exasperated at the idea of him calling the Dragon Kingdom proving his treachery. Sure, the signs are there if he wants to retrieve the Iron Queen, but he clearly hasn't yet done so. And she's not going to be as powerful as before even if he did, so what's Robotnik afraid of?

He can’t be afraid of the Iron Queen taking his forces again.

So he's afraid of...what?

Mr. Flynn. Sir. Is Robotnik afraid of Snively leaving him? He's the one always telling Snively how he knows he'll come back, how he can't resist trying to use Robotnik to take power.

But before now, even if Robotnik was right—even if Snively does always come back to save his own hide, to get the power he craves, because he just can't help coming back to this little relationship—there is a new variable now. Hope, his only family? He'd ensured her safety, so Snively had no problem joining back with his uncle then. But Snively has fallen in love with someone else. Whether the Iron Queen was using him or not, he loved her. He believed she would allow him to achieve his dream of ruling without putting up with his uncle—a man who'd been neglecting his forces and losing their trust, neglecting the battle over his territory at hand, neglecting everything but his personal fight against Sonic, neglecting him (Snively), all because he couldn't handle one of many losses to Sonic the Hedgehog. Robotnik, purposely or not, pushed Snively away. And Snively opened himself up to love with Regina (the Iron Queen), because she wasn't neglecting him, she would say nice words to him and appreciate his assistance, she made him believe she loved him too.

And I cannot understate just how much his secret thing with the Iron Queen prior to her taking over was treated...almost like he was cheating. Dimitri even threatens to expose his romance (and their talk of treason) to Robotnik before Snively assures him that Regina can help out the Dark Legion.

(Note the end usage of "your very violent uncle finds out about your little love affair" rather than the focus on Snively conspiring against Robotnik)

This is all to say that the new variable in our equation is that Snively had fallen in love with the Iron Queen.

And this is a threat to Robotnik—to his control over Snively, and to being able to keep him.

I implore you to go back to the third image I posted in this post.

"Say it's over. Say that your little romance with the Iron Queen is over. Give her up. Here. Now."

It's hard to also not interpret this as jealousy. It would be enough to keep them apart, to keep telling Snively the proof of how the Iron Queen was just using him. It would be enough to tell him that it's over and expect him to follow orders.

But this "little love affair"? He wants Snively to prove it to him that it's over. He wants Snively to prove, right in front of him, that he'll only be loyal to him (and perhaps that he'll only keep trying to take power through him).

Jeez he's like a jealous partner demanding their date never goes back to their ex ever again and in fact denounces their ex so they can feel assured that their date will be devoted only to them (because they're also insecure and demand control)

But...I think this panel makes it clear that Robotnik doesn't have Snively as he once did. Their little game of Snively trying to usurp his seat of power and him foiling that plan and Snively running away to save his hide before running on back for the comforting familiarity of working under dear old uncle? It'll never be the same again. And it's clear to Snively that making him denounce his love completely, as if he's not allowed to even live with that love, even if he never betrays Robotnik or saves the Iron Queen, is crossing the line for him.

I'll be interested to see how this next divorce unfolds.

ㅤㅤ

If you're still reading after that, I only created this readmore so I could scream over...this

I don't have much to say it's just...packed with so much

The comedic timing of Robotnik freaking Snively out.

Snively, once again, getting to laugh and go on about how pathetic his uncle is (oh how the tables have turned).

Snively trying to lord over Robotnik just how much better his life is now with Regina compared to him.

Robotnik not only telling Snively that Regina is playing him and his feelings for a fool, but doubling down and asserting that Snively cannot love purely, because he's a coward who cares about his hide.

To Robotnik asserting again that Snively will be back, because he always comes back.

[tenebraevesper]

Our Last Meeting (Sonic & Shadow... & Knuckles)

So, I had been listening to the Sonic_Speed Podcast, specifically Pre-Reboot Archie and making notes when was the last time we saw a character appear before the Super Genesis Wave changed the world, and something I had noticed is that the last time Sonic and Shadow interact is in Sonic Universe Issue #2: Time & Again. The SU story takes place around the time the Freedom Fighters have launched an attack on Eggman to take him down once and for all, which takes place between Issues #198-#201. While Shadow does appear in later comics (specifically, Sonic Universe Issue #21-24: Treasure Team Tango), this is Sonic and Shadow’s last interaction before the Super Genesis Wave:

I really love this interaction and conversation, as it shows the progress of their relationship from enemies to friendly rivals. It’s also kind of... melancholic when you already know ahead what’s going to happen and just how strict SEGA will get with their mandates regarding Shadow’s character.

As for the Post-Super Genesis Wave comics, Shadow doesn’t interact with Sonic at all aside from one scene and that was in Worlds Unite:

To keep it short (if I understood correctly), during Worlds Unite, there was an editorial mandate to kill off a main character to raise the stakes and Ian Flynn went with Team Dark simply because it was obvious that things would return to normal after the crossover. But, yeah, this is the only time the two actually talk to each other, and it’s one panel of Sonic checking on Shadow to make sure he’s still alive. It’s kind of heartwarming.

Admittedly, there is also a fun scene in Sonic Universe Issue #87: Shattered (Part 1) where Amy brings up Sonic helping to save the world: 

You know that Shadow is a bit jealous here and would probably want to join Sonic with saving the world. His little pout here is adorable.

While we don’t get much Sonic and Shadow interactions in Post-SGW, we do get plenty of fun interactions between Shadow and Knuckles though:

This is just the tip of the iceberg. I seriously recommend you to read Sonic Universe Issue #67-70: Total Eclipse and Sonic Universe Issue #89-90: Shattered, just for the sheer hilarity that are these two. I promise, you won’t regret it.

#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer (Masterlist)  

[kinopioa]

The wordpress reviewer again, funny how annoyingly poor of meta Ian wrote Archie in just the first 6 issues he did

Bonus, the Sonic X comic pulled this

For Shadow, the events of X's SA2 arc were never adapted in the X comic. New people are going to be confused on this, and worse, it was just to buff up Sonic Universe after Mainline Archie 198

Regardless, using meta for author bias is very petty and shallow, nor professional. Same for joke padding

15 years later, you have Starline be authors word on Eggman, and Shadow being mischaracterized. Nothing has changed for Ian...

@randomthefox @colony-drop-program

[transneonneko]

Things from Archie Sonic that I would love to see return in the Mainline Games and/or IDW Sonic!!

Recently, I decided to read some of the Archie Sonic Comic, from like issue 186ish up until the first MegaMan crossover and the reboot, mainly because there were some gaps in my knowledge of those stories. Mainly Issues 198 till 235, which I never got to read as a kid and, I have to say, there were a lot of really interesting concepts during Ian's run of comics before the reboot that I really loved. There was a lot of really interesting concepts I love after the reboot too. I wanna celebrate that. A lot of these concepts and story idea I feel really deserve another chance.

So I wanna make this list of stuff I wanna see return in either for stories in the Mainline Games or the IDW Sonic comics. Before we start, I do wanna add somethings. This post isn't meant to be shitting on IDW and being like "IDW would be better if they did this". I really love the IDW comics and universe. I also know that some of these concepts likely can't be done due SEGA Mandates and I'm not gonna include stuff like "Bring back the Freedom Fighters" because I feel asking to bring back characters isn't gonna be very productive, as much as I would like to see their return. Anyways, let's begin.

The Fate of the ARK

One thing that really inspired this list was this scene right her. We'll talk more about Silver's Future later but for now, let's focus on the ARK. I'm gonna assume anyone reading this knows the story of the ARK from SA2 and Shadow. Sadly, the ARK hasn't really been revisited in the main canon since Shadow, despite how iconic of a set piece it is. In the Archie Comics, we get a look at Silver's future and one of things that may have been the cause of how bad things are is the ARK crashed. Sadly, Archie got rebooted before the writers could go more into it but, from SA2, we know that the ARK was set to crash into the planet if all 7 Chaos Emeralds are placed into it, wiping out all life on the planet. This could be an excellent premise of another Silver adventure, whether it be in the comics or games, where Sonic, Silver and some friends have to stop someone from making the ARK crash into the planet.

Expanding the Eggman Empire/Egg Bosses

Something I've always found a bit lacking in the game canon is how the Eggman Empire itself has been presented. In the games, the Eggman Empire is usually just made up of Eggman, Metal Sonic, Orbot, Cubot, a bunch of robots and (recently) Infinite. It's not really an Empire if it's just one guy and a bunch of robots. The main goal is the conquer the world but we hardly see Eggman actually see what happens when Eggman conquers a place, like what happens to the people who used to live there, besides like Colours and Forces, where the Wisps and Mobians are usually just seen being imprisoned. The Egg Bosses are the perfect solution to this and adds so much to Sonic's World.

The Egg Bosses are Mobians who, either willingly or unwillingly, aligned themselves up with Eggman for whatever reason, becoming commanders of the Eggman Empire. This usually comes about when Eggman has taken over a part of the region and the people living in that region have no choice but to join the Eggman Empire, for their own safety. Not only does this make the Eggman Empire feel more than just one person but it also makes Eggman more a villain himself. It able to portray Eggman as someone to be feared and, I mean, this is a dictator and genocider who is pretty much declaring war against the world.

It also brings up some interesting thoughts about the world. Characters like Maw, Thunderbolt and even Nephthys to a degree joined up with Eggman because they felt it was the right thing to do for the sake of the world, or in Nephthys case, to stop things getting worst later on, meanwhile characters like Grand Battle Kukku are plotting to usurp Eggman, with Clove and Beauregard only working for Eggman to protect family or close ones.

As I said before, having these Egg Bosses also makes Eggman look more threaten, both because he's able to look like a "bigger bad" next to these villains he has command of and, because almost all the Egg Bosses hate Eggman's guts, they are cyberized, a terrifying process in which those who work for Eggman are focus to have parts of their body replaced with cybernetics, with either bombs which will blow if they decide to leave or a locking mechanism that will paralyze their entire body, ready to be locked up.

If either in the game or the IDW comic, I would like to see the Egg Boss concept return. It doesn't even need to be the same characters or use the name "Egg Boss." It would help expand the army of the Eggman Empire, as well as provide some fun bosses for the games I think.

Mobians and Humans living together

This was always a weird hangup I felt the series had. In the case of games between Sonic Adventure & Unleashed, Sonic and friends were the only Mobians, humans made up the NPCs while Mobians were reserved for main characters. Then in Forces and IDW, Mobians made up the background characters, so then Eggman is the only human. I really prefer it when they have the two living together, it makes it seems more normal and, honestly, a better solution than the whole "Two Worlds" explanation.

Eggman Seemingly Defeated

Can I just that I love Issues 198-200? In these 3 issues, Sonic and friends Eggman's main base, the Egg Dome. This including fighting on the outside of the base, involving fighting hoards of the Dark Egg Legion soldiers and Eggman in the Egg Phoenix. After dealing with the outside, Sonic and friends raid the Egg Dome itself, taking different directions, with the Dark Egg Legion seemingly retreating, until they reach the center of the base, where they are blocked off by a barricade, which only Sonic can pass through, giving a "Point of No Return" vibe, Dark Egg Legion soldiers lining up and saluting Sonic. Then Sonic reaches the center and finds Eggman in the Egg Tarantula, starting their final battle which Sonic wins. This defeat is enough for Eggman to lose his sanity, seemingly ending the war Sonic and the Freedom Fighters have been fighting their entire life.

Of course Eggman returns but, god, it's just such a memorable couple of issues. There's a real sense of finality to it. I would a sequence like this in the games, something that feels like truly ending the Eggman Empire and defeating them once and for all. Of course, it wouldn't be the end, Sonic games are always needing to be made which would lead to...

The New Rulers of the Eggman Empire

In the comics after the defeat of Eggman, the Eggman Empire is taken over by some of it's Commanders, the Iron Queen and Iron King, who rules the Empire as their own until they are defeated and Eggman's return.

I love the idea that even if the Eggman, there will always be someone there to take his place. The games could do this by having Neo Metal or Infinite take his place. Hell, IDW did have Neo Metal take over but I think what made that less interesting was that Neo Metal wasn't doing it for himself, he was doing it for Eggman. I think this would work well if a concept like the Egg Boss was introduced in the games, maybe have one of the characters part of that group take over OR have a lot of the more ambitious Egg Bosses war against each other to take command, until eventually Eggman returns and puts them in line.

Silver's Future

Silver is one of the most recurring characters, who always joins the gang when his future is in trouble. The problem is that we never see his future besides 06. We have no idea what Silver's future is currently until it's in danger and, even then, we never see it.

We see Silver's Future in both continuities of the Archie Comic, with two different takes. Pre-SGW has a destroyed city vibe, like 06 but less lava. Post-SGW brought a whole new take where people are ruled by a corrupt council where people are put into class groups, and security robots will arrest if you are not at your job at the right time. They even re-contextualize Silver's bracelets as cuffs that the robots can activate. With Silver being my favourite character as a kid, I remember being obsessed with this new world and story, wanting to know more.

I'm not saying they would need to copy this world exactly but it would be nice if they gave us a concrete and consistence look for Silver's Future.

The Heroic Metal Sonic

Right before the SGW, we were introduce to Shard the Metal Sonic. His story is that he was the original Metal Sonic, the one that raced Sonic in Stardust Speedway. He appeared later in the comic, where Sonic made him realized there was more to life than just being Eggman's killing machine. He seemingly died, but was rebuilt to serve as a member the Secret Freedom Fighters.

This one would be tricky to be included. It worked in the Archie comic as they had been many Metal Sonics throughout the series, each one getting destroyed. Meanwhile, there's only officially been one Metal Sonic in the games made by Eggman (two if we count Classic and Modern). Admittedly, Gemerl fits Shard's personality and does need to be used more in the games but having it be Metal Sonic is just a cooler concept.

I think a solution to this is that we have Metal Sonic 1.0 made by Eggman and, in Rivals 2, we have Metal Sonic 3.0 by Eggman Nega from the future. But what about Metal Sonic 2.0? I think we could have a game where after Metal Sonic fails, Eggman builds a replacement, being 2.0, which would give reason to Metal Sonic wanting to revolt, which could lead to a redemption? While I am loving the IDW comics, I do really miss a lot of what both Archie continuities offered. I haven't mention the some other concepts and stories I liked that really focused on certain characters such as Naugus, Geoffrey St. John, Dimitri etc. Maybe I'll talk about that another day...