#just another thing that he has in common with the chaotix

[galaxy-shapeshifter]

Do you ever think about how sensitive to cold Silver must be, after living in an oven for all his life.

[son1c]

So what you're saying is you're gonna cause irreperable damage to all four Shadow variants. Geez this guy can't catch a break no matter which version of him it is lol

eh i mean bermuda's kinda dug his own grave at this point. he's been living in a "bury them all, and then myself" mindset for as long as he can remember. so a heroic sacrifice is kinda the best ending he could hope for... only to be found adrift at sea later by... the chaotix? or maybe vanilla, i still haven't decided tbh... as a blank slate. it's a fresh start he doesn't deserve but will come to earn.

then, halcyon... idk, i was just thinking, his whole life he's been told to destroy the megaflora, you know? it's his capital "p" Purpose. he was literally created for it, and he was groomed to believe that it's the only right thing to do. but... is it? what if there's another way? what if he can choose his own destiny, carve his own path? something like that would be more impactful than just following orders, i think... especially since he's come to know windthrow and the rest of the surface dwellers and his world has opened up massively since his early days sequestered on the ark space colony.

so yeah, good ol' hal winds up fused with the megaflora. oops! of course, initially it seems like things will go very badly. after all, they're two diametrically opposed forces. the megaflora wants to destroy halcyon, and halcyon wants to destroy them. but what do they both have in common? the planet. earth. the megaflora love it in a ravenous sense, as something to be consumed. meanwhile, halcyon loves it as something to be protected.

but if it's destroyed, what will there be left to consume? nothing. and eventually the megaflora will die with it.

it's already kind of happening, i think. in areas where the flora has choked out too much of the original life on earth. vast patches of deadness... where nothing remains. not even the flora can survive, as they've starved the earth of all her nutrients, and they suffocate in the space left behind.

they'd be able to see halcyon's logic. and halcyon would be able to see the pain they've suffered at the hands of his creator... and maybe he'd be mad, too. i doubt he would've been told the whole story, anyways. about how gerald abandoned the flora when he realized he couldn't control it and left it to die. but it didn't die. and now they're both here. together. on a planet that they need to learn how to share.

and callisto... well, after The Worst 48 Hours Of His Life, he gets a happy ending. i'll explain it eventually <3

[dizzyhslightlyvoided]

So, everyone says "Sega should make Sonic Adventure 3". However, I believe they have already done so, in spirit if not in name.

What constitutes a "Sonic Adventure" game? Well, let's look at the commonalities between Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2:

Multiple freely-selectable storylines, each defined by a specific character or set of characters with their own idiosyncratic gameplay and set of moves and abilities, and which all take place at the same time.

As such, there are rival battles, in which the protagonist of one route fights the protagonist of another route -- and this fight is played out in both routes; in SA1, there's i.e. a point where Knuckles attacks Sonic, and you play it out as each of Sonic and Knuckles in their respective routes. Regardless, it's a clear case of "hero vs. hero".

Attempts to set a new standard for Sonic the Hedgehog games -- SA1 by being 3D and by having writing and dialogue, and SA2 by taking the story in a more serious direction with GUN and Shadow. It should be stressed, however, that this point refers to an attempt; it doesn't have to succeed, or even be very good.

Worldbuilding-first writing; the game's setting has its own history which is relevant to the plot. Indeed, this history might be the main reason why this plot happens in the first place. The plot is actually started off when Eggman barges in to try to steal or exploit some aspect of this history. Most or all of the individual levels are in halfway plot-relevant locations.

The Chaos Emeralds are the central MacGuffin. In both SA1 and SA2, Eggman is explicitly attempting to acquire all seven of them for his nefarious purposes.

Character upgrades; the protagonists start out with a limited set of abilities, and unlock more as they progress.

Notwithstanding him being the one to set things off, everything spirals out of Eggman's control, and the final boss is essentially Sonic doing damage-control on Eggman's already-failed plot.

So let's go down the checklist for some other games:

Sonic Heroes

Multiple freely-selectable storylines: Check; Team Hero (Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles), Team Dark (Shadow, Rouge, and Omega), Team Amy (Amy, Cream, and Big), and Team Chaotix (Espio, Charmy, and Vector). Like SA2, each route is defined by a set of characters, each of which has the same general set of abilities as their counterpart(s) in the other route(s).

Rival battles: Check.

Attempts to set a new standard: Hm. It's built around a gimmick, but I think that this basically counts. Check, even if it fails.

The Chaos Emeralds are the central MacGuffin: Nope; while Sonic gets them in order to become Super Sonic, they aren't really a major part of the plot?

Worldbuilding-first writing: No. The plot is presented as "Eggman attacks", and the setting is never actually relevant.

Character upgrades: No.

Everything spirals out of Eggman's control: I wanna say half-check; if you know the endgame twist of Sonic Heroes, you know exactly why.

In conclusion, Sonic Heroes is not a Sonic Adventure game.

Sonic Unleashed

Multiple freely-selectable storylines: No, just Sonic, who transforms into the Werehog.

Attempts to set a new standard: Check; they redid 3D Sonic gameplay from the ground up.

Worldbuilding-first writing: Sonic travels the whole world, and each location has its own atmosphere and general character; however, the only really relevant history is that of Dark Gaia and the Chaos Emerald temples. Mmm ... eh, check.

Character upgrades: Check.

The Chaos Emeralds are the central MacGuffin: Soooort of? Eggman isn't looking for them here, he explicitly drains their power in a cutscene and tosses Sonic out of orbit. Sonic is traveling the world in order to restore their power.

Rival battles: No; the only other protagonist characters who show up are Tails and Amy, who they're both strictly plot-NPCs, with Amy only barely plot-relevant at all.

Things spiral out of Eggman's control: Check.

Sonic Unleashed hits a bunch of notes, but doesn't go for the rest.

That other game

And then, of course, there's one other game we have to examine.

Multiple freely-selectable storylines: Check. Sonic (who also has Tails, Knuckles, and Silver once or twice), Shadow (who has Rouge, Omega, and Silver once or twice), and Silver (Blaze, Amy, and Shadow once or twice).

Attempts to set a new standard: The title indicates that it's meant to be a soft-reboot. Check, and massive failure.

Worldbuilding-first writing: The history of the setting and of the local religion are basically where the plot comes from, at least in Silver and Shadow's storylines. The game even opens with Eggman trying to kidnap someone in order to exploit it. Check.

Character upgrades: Check; Sonic, Shadow, and Silver have them, but other characters don't.

The Chaos Emeralds are the central MacGuffin: Check. Both Eggman and the other villain are searching for them.

Rival battles: Check; Sonic vs Silver and Silver vs Shadow.

Everything spirals out of Eggman's control: Check!

Therefore, Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) is Sonic Adventure 3.

[latin-dr-robotnik]

Hola Sebas! I saw that you really like the character of knuckles and amy rose, and I though...

Do you have some headcanons about them? 👀 I like to think that knuckles and amy can develop a sibling bond.

For example, knux being worried about her and even trying to protect in a sibling way during a battle.

And with amy, she would try to mock out knux in a friendly way like she did in the episode of sonic x where she was saying to him that it was obvious that knuckles was grateful for sonic's help but didn't wanted to say that to him but amy could read that in a spare of seconds

¡Hola anon!

Headcanons? Back at the start of this year I was actually working on an actual KnuxAmy oneshot lol. It was a bit of a personal experiment to try and branch out of regular ol' SonAmy content and into a different type of dynamic. A slower, more intimate one. Although it's still incomplete to this day, the main points were that after some years of relative peace in the world causing the Sonic cast to split up and do their own things, an older Amy decides to drop by Angel Island unannounced to visit the lone guardian of the Master Emerald, catch up on what they've been doing, and maybe remembering some old adventures they took part. It's meant to be a rather chill and intimate read in a post-Forces alternate continuity that takes the two of them around some beautiful vistas and secrets of Angel Island that no one but Knuckles (and maybe Sonic) knew of, while they slowly realize they might have more in common than they think. They're older, their way of understanding life is different, and so they might end up working better as "more than just friends", or at least that's what I was working toward before leaving the project sitting on my drafts haha.

As for actual headcanons, that "they might have more in common than they think" point is something I can stand by for any context, not just my self-indulgent fanfic. Alternate Sonic media like the comics have tried to develop quiet moments between them to strengthen their friendship, and it's something I can also see working as a general series headcanon. Knuckles in the main series is a bit of a wildcard, swinging between being the hot-headed Master Emerald guardian that wants to be left alone (but will chase you to the end of the world if you piss him off or steal the Emerald) in the Adventure days, and a bit of a dumb jerk as of recent games (Gens, Lost World, to some extent even Forces); and while I like both approaches, my ideal Knuckles (as I talked about him in a previous ask) has more of that SA2 Knuckles interacting with Rouge or Heroes Knuckles energy. (I like Heroes Knuckles a lot, he's as ready for adventure as he can be, and he's having lots of fun throughout.)

Anyway, yes, headcanons:

For grumpy Knuckles, the one who doesn't want to be bothered when he's on his floating island, I think Amy of all people is the one that can better connect with him; and while at first he won't let her delve too deep into his own thoughts and motivations, at the end of the day it helps him a lot to know he has a friend that understands him on a more personal level than the rest. That's not to say Sonic and Tails aren't close friends to him, but both of them are always around for adventures and kicking Eggman's ass. Sonic will never have a heart-to-heart conversation with Knuckles because that's not his style, because he understands Knuckles as is, and the only thing he want is for Knuckles to be fine and in shape for both punching shit and messing with each other. But Amy? Amy's empathy is the one key aspect that always carried her very far, and I believe she wouldn't let Knuckles walk away back to his island without talking about it, not because she wants to change him and force him to be more open, more friendly or just a completely different person, but because she wants to understand what's up with him, and reassure him that she'll always be there if he ever needs her. Of course, even if Knuckles denies it, it doesn't hurt to have someone you can chat with when the fate of the world isn't at stake. The M.E. is great and pretty shiny but I don't see it being too talkative (unless you turn it into a real character and... hooo boy that's a rabbit hole for another time.)

As for Knuckles as a jerk, yeah, I agree with both of them bantering a lot. We kinda saw that already with Sonic X, Sonic Generations and Sonic Lost World (Knuckles makes a funny comment about Sonic, Amy immediately retaliates, often with a strong shove involved lol), but I can headcanon Knuckles and Amy being complete jerks to each other. Over every other headcanon, I think this is the one with the biggest sibling energy: Knuckles is the big grumpy bro while Amy is the cheery little sister, and they both go ham having lots of fun mocking and teasing each other, laughing and then having some ice cream together or something before calling it a day. But that's exclusively their thing, do not attempt to make fun of any of them or the other one will tear you to pieces. That "knucklehead" you just mocked is Amy's big bro and if you don't apologize you'll meet her hammer head-on; and don't even get me started on what happens if you make Amy cry (heck, I can headcanon Knuckles threatening Sonic to break all his bones if he ever breaks Amy's heart lol like that "Are you playing with that girl's heart again, Sonic?" Heroes quote but now a lot more serious, haha.)

Heck, take off the KnuxAmy component of my fic and it becomes a decent sibling headcanon: Amy will visit Knuckles over at Angel Island on occasion (don't ask how she gets up there... that's part of Amy's magic), and they may or may not end up spending the entire afternoon talking about Sonic. If Knuckles ever has to come down to Station Square, I'm sure the first person he visits is going to be Amy, maybe even stick around for a cup of tea! He doesn't understand tea, though, or even the concept of a city apartment, so Amy may need some extra patience to teach him how everything works. Sonic may even show up while Amy is teaching Knuckles how to make tea, and he'll make a funny comment about him, causing Knuckles to immediately drop everything and chase after the blue blur across the city only to kick his ass.

So, in conclusion: yes, I was working on getting into older!KnuxAmy and maybe take their dynamic one step further, but for actual headcanons I can see Amy being the only one Knuckles can actually and fully trust, since she can see right through him, leading to probably one of the most solid friendships in the entire series, on the same level as Sonic-Tails, the Chaotix or Shadow-Rouge (don't kill me, shadouge fans... haha... ha.) When Knuckles is in the jerk mood the sibling energy between them goes to the moon, and leads to incredibly fun moments when they playfully mess with each other, laugh a lot and maybe Knuckles gets the chance to learn a bit more of how the world works outside of Angel Island.

[crusherthedoctor]

If you had full creative freedom for a brand new Sonic cartoon, what would you do with it?

This is by no means a complete list of what I'd do, but it gives you a general idea all the same.

- Since Sonic X was long ago by this point, I think it'd be nice to have another attempt at an anime, particularly if it looked something like the OVA or the animated intro for Riders. The actual art direction would basically take the Modern designs, but place them in a world that combines the best visual elements of SA1 and the Classics/Advances/Mania.

- I don't care if the writers are Japanese or American. Treating one as better simply because they're Japanese/American is a tad too elitist and extremist IMO, especially since neither of them have perfect marks when it comes to writing for this franchise. Whoever the writers are, all that matters is that the writing is good.

- It would have a lot more in common with the game universe. Since there have been so many adaptations that practically make a point about doing their own wacky thing (even the ones that claim to be linked to the games...), I think a more genuinely faithful adaptation would be welcome. There would be minor differences of course, and I'm open to taking notes from the better aspects of certain adaptations, but the overall spirit and characterizations would be reasonably consistent with the games.

- Stories would be brand new. Callbacks and references to existing plots is fine, and I wouldn't necessarily mind a show to the side that tackles adaptations ala Pokemon Origins, but overall, I'd rather have new refreshing adventures rather than adapt SA1/SA2 for the millionth time.

- The tone would pretty much be like SA1. Funny and tense in equal measures, never goes too far in either direction. Whether it's a funny moment or a serious moment, it would be sincere. Self-aware enough to be able to acknowledge the weirdness and be willing to poke fun at itself, but not to the point of being overly self-deprecating and pandering to the franchise’s detractors.

- The lore would connect certain plotlines to each other on SOME occasions, and only if the logic was reasonable and kept to a minimum. It would not be all tied together in an overly contrived manner that ends up leaving no interesting questions. In other words, the S3&K/SA1 connection through Angel Island's lore would be fine, but there'd be no “Did you know the Black Arms worshipped Solaris, went to war with Chaos, were the offspring of Dark Gaia, and wrote the Arabian Nights???” bollocks.

- Sonic, Tails, Amy and Cream would make up the main quartet, with their personalities and bonds bouncing off each other. Other characters would appear and be of importance, but only when their involvement is justified. Said characters including - but not limited to - Knuckles, Team Dark, the Chaotix, Blaze, Big, G-Merl, and even Tikal and Chaos.

- Likewise, Eggman and his Badnik army would naturally be the main villains. Other villains who aren't affiliated with him are free to exist and get their own time in the spotlight (as long as they're not shit and don't need to upstage the doctor to look credible), but Eggman is a plague to the world in spite of his eccentric qualities, and is treated accordingly. He does what he wants, and unless you’re Sonic and/or his friends, there’s not a thing you can do about it.

- Since they appeared in Sonic Forces Mobile, I would MAYBE be willing to include Tangle and Whisper if they were allowed. Starline too, but only if he keeps his simp privilege this time, if ya know what I’m saying. The Hard-Boiled Heavies would definitely be there, because they're too good to be only used once.

Regarding certain characters in particular:

- Sonic is not dumb. Nor is he an asshole. He can be rough around the edges, he can make hasty decisions depending on whether he feels it’s the right thing to do, but at the end of the day, he’s still as good a guy as any good guy could be, and as long as you’re not a villain or a Penders-tier asshole, he’ll be friendly with you. You’d still have to deal with quips of course, but that’s just how he is, right?

- Tails maintains his independent streak from SA1, but he still thinks the world of Sonic and would drop everything in an instant if the hedgehog ever needed his help. Though his more cautious approach occasionally clashes with Sonic being a little more gung-ho (albeit not to the point of flanderization), he always has full faith in his big bro.

- The handling of Amy's crush would be perfectly balanced. Not too overwhelming to the point of acting irrational and chasing Sonic like a loony, but not too downplayed to the point where it might as well not be there at all. That said, more focus would be placed on her other traits and interests, such as her tarot cards and her bond with Cream.

- Knuckles would still be prone to gullible and less-than-flattering moments, because it's Knuckles, but more focus would be given to his admirable attributes, like his expertise in translating ancient texts, and occasionally making good points when in an clash of ideas with Sonic.

- Shadow's backstory would remain the same at its core (though maybe without the aliens), but it'd be altered to be less edgy. For example, rather than getting capped, Maria would succumb to her illness, and Gerald's anger would instead be the result of feeling betrayed by G.U.N. for denying him the means/funds to be able to cure her.

- Metal Sonic is fiercely loyal to Eggman, but his identity crisis would also be on full blast, and eventually he'd realise the oxymoron of believing himself to be Sonic while working for Eggman. Rather than turn traitor and wear elf shoes however, Metal would try to rationalize this to himself... with insane results. Eggman knows about this, and would humor it as long as it benefits him. He'd probably also bring out the other Mecha Sonics now and then for no other reason than to confuse Metal even more. Because he's a dick.

- The Sol Dimension now includes Soleanna, which would be the main kingdom. (It's already got Sol in the name anyway.) Since Blaze would be the ruler because of this, his sadly means that Elise would probably have to get cut, but ah well. Due to the change in context, Solaris would be built up as the Sol Dimension's equivalent to Chaos, with more focus on their contrasts (Chaos is water while Solaris is light, Chaos looks aquatic/reptilian while Solaris looks like a bird, Chaos' turn to evil was caused by an ancient event while Solaris' turn to evil was caused by scientists, etc).

- If Silver were in this show, he'd be no more of a casual acquaintance to Blaze than he would be to Sonic. Instead, her tagalong would be Marine. Though Blaze would still get annoyed by Marine's antics at first, she would come around to gaining more respect for her whenever the situation justified it.

- Trudy would-

[mobius-prime]

246. Sonic the Hedgehog #177

Home, New Home

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: Tracy Yardley! Colors: Jason Jensen

As the Egg Fleet approaches New Mobotropolis, Nicole erects a forcefield-like shield around the entire city, protecting it from the bombardment that Snively, leading the fleet, begins dropping on it. With the shield protecting everyone, however, a slightly more immediate concern reveals itself - namely, the many criminals that have been teleported here along with the actual residents of Knothole, who see an opportunity to not only break free of the justice system, but take a few of the citizens with them.

Amazing speech on your part there, Mogul. Really, it's a wonder everyone didn't immediately fall at your feet. Sonic and Sally are impressed at Nicole's foresight, only to become concerned when her hologram begins flickering and she appears to show signs of pain in response to more shells hitting the city's shield. She tells them that she has to devote most of the city's power supply to keeping the shield up, and reassures Sally that she'll always be nearby even when they can't see her before disappearing. Sally and Elias address the crowd of rescued civilians, telling them that right now they can trust Nicole to keep them safe while they come up with a plan and that for now everyone should find their new homes. Sally stops Sonic, however, and orders him to go get medical attention before he does anything else, something he's predictably a bit grumpy about.

Okay, so this is where we address one of the most controversial things Ian ever included in the comic. It's controversial for good reason. We've already established that one of the major things Ian has been doing for the comic since taking over as head writer is bringing the world of the comics more in line with that of the games, and this includes the various characters and their attitudes. Vector is no longer as insufferable as he was under Kenders, Knuckles is one of Sonic's closest allies now rather than a distant rival, and so on, but this is where the age discrepancy between Charmy from the games and Charmy from the comics becomes a problem. If you'll recall, Charmy is six in the games but sixteen in the comics, and obviously a sixteen-year-old is going to act pretty different from a six-year-old. So how exactly does one take a fairly mature teenager, who's a prince of a lost kingdom and literally engaged to someone else his age, and make him act like a child? Well, I don't have any particularly good ideas myself, but Ian's highly controversial solution was to give him brain damage. From this point on, Charmy suffers from some substantial memory loss, and generally has a much more childlike personality than he once did. There's many problems with this, and others have gone into this topic much more in depth than I care to, but suffice it to say that while giving a character brain damage simply as part of their character arc isn't inherently a bad thing, and can even be a positive if handled right, giving a character brain damage purely as a plot device to make them act more like a child feels incredibly insensitive and insulting. From what I understand, this isn't totally Ian's fault; Sega was pressuring him to make these changes, and I suppose at the time this was all he could think of for the Charmy problem, but I know he has stated later on that he wishes he'd handled this particular issue better, so at least he's acknowledged how bad this whole thing seems. Furthermore, he does appear to treat Charmy as a character with as much respect as possible in future issues, so there's that at least.

Anyway, Saffron is relieved when Charmy happily confirms that he remembers who she is and hugs her, and Dr. Quack moves on from Charmy to take a look at Sonic. It doesn't take him long to confirm his suspicions that indeed, all the magical ring energy Sonic's been exposed to have given him a high resistance to injury as well as apparently an accelerated rate of healing, something which is quite fascinating and I wish would have been expanded upon in this universe's worldbuilding at some point. As Dr. Quack heads off to find his own family, we take a quick look at the Chaos Chamber on Angel Island, where Finitevus appears to be doing some kind of weird ritual with the Master Emerald, reciting Tikal's prayer. Scourge runs up and informs him that Dimitri has run - err, floated off, presumably to contact Knuckles and warn him of Finitevus' treachery. Finitevus, however, merely tells him that this was part of his plan all along, and he isn't concerned, as he'll bring back Enerjak one way or another. Sounds quite ominous indeed…

Hey man, someone needs to remind Antoine that bravery isn't a lack of fear, it's standing up to danger even when you are afraid. Sally becomes lost in thought for a moment, remembering all the times she led the Freedom Fighters into danger in the past, long before she was ever thrust into the role of acting ruler or forced into a disastrous arranged marriage. She suddenly stands up and reminds Bunnie of her old hairdressing ambitions, and asks her for one more favor before they begin their defense against Eggman's attack… Meanwhile up in the sky, Snively continues to try to break through New Mobotropolis' shield, only to become startled when a single, tiny aircraft begins firing onto his flagship. His robots prepare to return fire, but he suddenly orders them to stand down with a look of shock, and contacts the plane… having recognized it as the plane that Hope built. Hope yells at him through the comm when he opens a channel, furious that she took his advice and went to Station Square, but when she tried to return to Knothole, which she still considered home, it was in ruins. She blames him for all of it, too ashamed to show her face to the Mobians again after leaving, and begins to sob.

I absolutely love the way that these comics continue to humanize Snively more and more. I feel so bad for Hope here, especially knowing that none of the Mobians would blame her for what happened, but as for Snively, it's clear that despite his nature, he does value family, and does care about Hope. He's gone from being the cowardly, sniveling, silly minion of the evil Dr. Robotnik to an actual human with flaws, feelings, and attachments. From inside the city shield, Tails watches the bombardment continue with his parents and Merlin, and Amadeus expresses that though the destruction of Knothole was a tragedy, all in all this may actually be a good thing for the populace, as he believes that such a major event will prepare them for "the shift in thinking" that he plans for them. Merlin, however, warns him not to push ahead with any reforms he has in mind too soon, as the monarchy will also be very tense from all this chaos. Rosemary expresses her belief in her husband, and Tails excitedly says he'll support his father no matter what, but the sentiment is interrupted by Eggman's furious screaming from outside the city walls, banging on the shield with his battle suit and yelling for the Freedom Fighters to come out and face him, infuriated that his perfect victory has been stolen from him. Sonic cheerfully interrupts his tantrum, suddenly standing outside the shield, and Eggman is initially pleased, mocking Sonic for not learning from his initial defeat mere hours ago. However, it turns out that Sonic has learned, and with the knowledge that the battle suit was created to counter Sonic and Sonic alone, he and Sally have come up with the perfect plan while Eggman wasn't looking.

The entire Freedom Fighter and Chaotix force descends on Eggman's battle suit, and they're all able to locate weaknesses that Eggman hadn't anticipated in its construction. They tear it apart piece by piece while Sonic gleefully reminds his nemesis that there are more heroes on this planet than just himself, and that anything he can't handle on his own, the others definitely can. In the end, Eggman is left with barely half a shell of his precious armor, furious and humiliated, which leads into perhaps one of my favorite pages of this entire era - perhaps even the entire comic.

Eggman, still unwilling to let victory slip away despite his situation, orders his fleet to fire directly on their location, meaning either he was somehow unaware that this would kill him too, or he was aware, and was more concerned with killing his foes than surviving. Honestly, my bet is on the latter - it seems like something he'd do if angry enough and feeling sufficiently cornered. However, he's forgotten that Nicole has full control over the nanites in the city, and since everything in the city is made of nanites, she's able to stretch the city's wall out to create a wall between everyone out on the field and the bombardment from the Egg Fleet. She projects her form to Eggman and urges him to reconsider his decision, as frankly, Sally is showing him more mercy than he deserves by a long shot. And honestly, she's right - it would be a much better decision to either kill him right there, or, if they're feeling too honorable and whatnot, at least arrest him and shove him in a cell next to Mammoth Mogul…

Well hello there, old haircut! I will say, I did enjoy Sally's long hair while she had it - I thought it looked good on her. But hey, cutting one's hair as a show of maturation is a common fictional trope, and in a way, it's nice to go back to seeing Sally rocking her old look. I will actually note here that while I've mentioned before that Tracy's pencils have standardized the design of a lot of characters, I actually don't care much for his redesign of Sally as a whole. While I appreciate her proportions becoming more like those of every other Mobian - the human body that a lot of other artists gave her looked kind of weird, to be honest - her facial features have actually been significantly altered by his style. She always had a distinctive slanted-back eye shape and a more gentle slope to her nose, but by making her eye shape closer to than of characters like Bunnie and Tails, I feel she's lost some of her unique visual charm. That isn't to say that I think Sally is lesser as a character for this change - she's still one of my top favorites in the series - nor that I disapprove of Tracy's art style as a whole. And in the end, her hairstyle change here marks the beginning of a new era - one where she begins to act once more like her old self and once again joins the others on missions just like old times. She's worked through a lot of the trauma and self-doubt that she's been plagued with ever since Sonic's return to Mobius, and now we can look forward to new adventures with her, in a new location. I mean that "new era" thing literally, by the way. Congratulations, we've reached the end of the comic's fifth era - many of the eras beyond this one are significantly shorter than the ones we've seen previously, but that also means we'll be moving through distinctive arcs a little more quickly, and furthermore, the next era holds some pretty exciting new surprises! Shall we now - how do they say - do it to it?

[oiloceansurfclub]

Top 5 Sonic characters

Another question that can be taken multiple ways, so I'm going to make THREE WHOLE LISTS for this one. I have opinions and you are FREE to disagree with me! Just don't turn this post into a flame fest. Everyone has different views, gotta respect that.✌️

Note: I am ONLY including the games in these lists. I'm really only a fan of the Sonic games. If you want me to list other Sonic media, send me a different top 5 question and specify which.

List A: Top five fave Sonic characters.

5) Silver the Hedgehog. What a damn good boi who had a damn shame of a first entry into the series. It's quite sad, really. He has so much potential, and has frequently shown he can be a huge help, ontop of his naivety and optimism. I hope he's utilized more in the main series so we can get more of this boi to enjoi.

4) E-123 Omega. I don't usually love, or even like, robot characters, but Omega has really grown on me over the years. He's so, SO sassy. He's a rebel, fully aware of his creation and his purpose, and chooses to disregard his own programming in order to prove himself as an individual. He's really quite the ham. Wonderful character.

3) Sonic the Hedgehog. I generally don't enjoy the hero most of all in any story, but Sonic comes pretty close. I'm mostly fond of modern Sonic. His doofy sense of humor, his willingness to put all others before himself, and his obvious ego about his slick moves. He's horribly flawed, but that makes him endearing. What a good lad. Great lad.

2) Eggman. What's not to love about Eggman? His inventions are silly, yet still lethal. His sense of humor is a mix of "crazy uncle" and "dad jokes." His voice is flawless and divine. He's not afraid to ask his main adversaries for help just to try and get the one-up on them in the end. What a treasure. Best villain. 10/10.

1) Shadow the Hedgehog. Yeah I know, big surprise right? Shadow is the ONLY character in the main Sonic game series to have a COMPLETE STORY ARC. He has a past, a present, and a future- all of which are mostly certain. What leads me to enjoy him most is his transformation from villain to ally, in spite of his obvious setbacks and rejections. He tries to do what he believes is best, and by any means necessary to achieve the same common goal that Sonic and his pals have in mind. Shadow isn't afraid to take whatever measures he must in order to achieve these goals, and won't tiptoe around situations to accommodate for anyone else's shortcomings. He's blunt, disagreeable, and difficult to handle, but has always shown he does have a heart and, in the long run, has the world's best interests in mind. Also he's a grumpy old man. Love it.

List B: Top five Sonic characters by visual design.

5) Mighty the Armadillo. My favorite classic Sonic character (other than maybe most of Team Chaotix). He's super cute and super fun to play in Mania!

4) Vector the Crocodile. Modern design only. What a fun and unique Sonic animal design. Vector ditches the small and agile look for huge and tuff, and his music enthusiast accessories really sell him for me.

3) Knuckles the Echidna. This boy was my fave growing up, I could not get enough of him. What a great design, those dreads and those big scary pummeling fists?? Such a delight.

2) Rouge the Bat. She'd be number 6 on my top 5 favorites, but her design alone is so much better than most I could list. She has that pinup girl spy thing goin' on. The pink hearts nail it for me.

1) Silver the Hedgehog. It's like Sonic's sleek design but with a little futuristic flair. I also just really enjoy his color scheme and his long quills. He's adorable!

List C: Top five least favorite Sonic characters.

(Here's where people are going to get upset I'm sure :'D )

5) Charmy the Bee. I don't hate Charmy, I just don't care whether or not he exists. He's got a fun design, at least!

4) Big the Cat. Again, I don't hate Big. I feel like he could have been more fun than he is. His freaky dead eyes give me the creeps, and his personality is bland. He's great for memes, tho.

3) Eggman Nega. ....'scuse me, what?

2) Cream the Rabbit. I don't hate Cream, she just feels really out of place to me. Like she was shoehorned in to hit a demographic that the Sonic franchise was missing. (Similar to Shadow, but Shadow suits the high action gameplay and pace of the Sonic series, whereas Cream feels very forced) Good character, just waaaaay out of place.

1) Jet the Hawk. Actually, all three of the Babylon Rogues. I just... I'm sorry, Babylon Rogues fans. I just can't stand them. Love their designs, hate everything else. :'(

[the-desolated-quill]

Okay, Enough With The Live Action/CGI Hybrids - Quill’s Scribbles

So the trailer for the upcoming Sonic The Hedgehog movie came out...

Do I really need to say it? Everyone and their mums have already said it. Hell, you’re probably saying it right now.

Sigh. Okay. Fuck it. I’ll say it.

Who the fuck thought this was a good idea?!?!

The trailer itself is shockingly bad. It looks bland and generic with almost nothing in common with the games. The jokes are forced and painfully unfunny (why are the people in the airport more concerned that the ‘child’ in the bag isn’t James Marsden’s rather than that there’s a fucking child in the bag in the first place?!), Jim Carrey is being his usual obnoxious self and is plain and simply a terrible choice for Doctor Eggman (isn’t the whole point of Doctor Eggman that he’s supposed to, you know, look like an egg?), and the soundtrack is utterly cringeworthy (Gangsta’s Paradise? Really?!?!). But that all pales in comparison to by far and away the biggest problem with the trailer. And I think you can all guess what that is. 

Yes I’m of course referring to the noticeable absence of Team Chaotix. An artistic decision so despicable, it’s practically a hate crime. For shame! Everyone knows that Charmy Bee is the best character in the franchise and yet they don’t have the guts to put him in the movie! Fucking philistines!

...

Oh yeah, and Sonic the Hedgehog looks like a monstrous abomination concocted from the fever dreams of Doctor Frankenstein and Walt Disney.

It’s hard to know where to start when talking about just how grotesque and disgusting this CGI Sonic is. He looks like what your computer would produce if it caught pneumonia. What I especially don’t understand is why they veered away so heavily from the original, iconic design. I mean...

I don’t know about you, but I’d honestly have no problem if the movie just kept this look from the games. Hell, I think even giving him realistic fur would be pushing it. This is perfectly fine. I could totally see this design working in a movie. Instead we get the secret love child of Gollum and Papa Smurf.

He just looks so weird with human proportions. The leg muscles, the two eyes, the human looking teeth. Apparently the filmmakers wanted this Sonic to look as realistic as possible. Because when I pay to see a movie about an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog that can run at supersonic speeds, that’s my first thought. ‘Is it realistic?’

... Jesus Christ.

But of course the main problem with this live action Sonic movie is that it exists in the first place. When it was first announced, I assumed in my naivety that it would be an animated movie. Because that would make sense, right? There have been movie and TV adaptations before and they were all animated. Imagine a big budget computer animated Sonic movie. That would be really cool. But it was not to be. In Hollywood’s infinite wisdom, they decided to go the live action route because... Actually why did they choose to go the live action route? Well that’s what I hope to address in this very Scribble.

Live action adaptations and remakes are nothing new of course. Disney had tried it a few times in the past with movies like 101 Dalmations, there have been other live action versions of animated or illustrated characters such as the Grinch and the Cat In The Hat, Garfield, the Smurfs and Alvin and the Chipmunks, and there was of course the infamous Super Mario Bros movie, which answered the question of what it would be like if the Mushroom Kingdom took place in the same universe as Judge Dredd. But this is the first time live action/CGI hybrids have been huge money spinners. Disney struck gold back in 2010 when Tim Burton’s version of Alice In Wonderland made a billion dollars at the box office and now the company is mining through their back catalogue of Disney classics and giving all their movies the live action treatment. Initially I was okay with this because in the case of Alice In Wonderland and Maleficent they were at least trying to reinterpret the original films and put a new spin on them, but now they just seem to be copying the movies verbatim. Making live action remakes just for the sake of making live action remakes.

Now other studios are trying their hand at, the most notable being Pokemon: Detective Pikachu. Here’s a picture of the original Pikachu:

Cute, right?

Now here’s a picture of the live action Pikachu:

Can you see the problem here?

(also why the hell is Ryan Reynolds the voice of Pikachu? I honestly can’t think of anyone more inappropriate for the role. It’s like casting Samuel L. Jackson as a Powerpuff Girl)

The fact of the matter is some things just don’t work in live action. Sonic the Hedgehog and Pokemon work in their respective universes because they’re animated creatures in an animated world, and their anatomy and design fit that world. In the real world, it just doesn’t work. Pikachu looks strange and kind of creepy in the real world. The same is true of the other Pokemon. Jigglypuff looks utterly adorable in the games and animated show with its spherical body and cartoon eyes and you just want to take one to bed with you and cuddle them like a teddy bear, but in the real world it looks fucking scary!

I wouldn’t want to cuddle that thing! It looks like it would go for my throat given the opportunity!

The same is true of Sonic. Paramount’s attempts to make him look more ‘realistic’ just makes him look incredibly alien and out of place.

Another example I like to bring up is the film Christopher Robin. Now we all know Winnie the Pooh. Silly ol’ bear. Charming, cuddly and endearing, right? Just look at him.

How can you not fall in love with him?

Now here’s the live action version:

When I first saw the trailer, I was utterly creeped out. He looks like something out of a horror movie. Add to that that they got the original voice actor from the Disney cartoons to reprise the role, and Winnie the Pooh pretty much became the source of all my nightmares for the next couple of weeks. That lovable voice should not be coming out of that... thing.

It’s a pattern that repeats itself over and over again. Look:

Charming and lovable.

Weird and unsettling.

Creative and fun.

Photoshop disaster.

Sweet and likeable.

Fetch my crucifix and holy water.

Emotional and expressive.

So ‘realistic’ to the point where he looks like he has the emotional range of a teaspoon.

Now I recognise this largely comes down to subjective opinion. If you like these CGI redesigns, that’s great. More power to you. But I know for a fact I’m not the only one getting increasingly weirded out by these computer generated demons from Hell.

So why does Hollywood keep making these films. Well obviously in the case of Disney it’s because they’ve ran out of original ideas and want to make a quick buck by exploiting their audience’s nostalgia. (the same can be said of the Star Wars sequel trilogy). But what about other studios? Yes they’re financially motivated too, but there’s got to be more to it than that.

I think it’s largely down to the stigma of animated movies. Animation has become synonymous with children. When you hear the term ‘animated movie’, you automatically associate it with ‘kid’s film’. And ‘kid’s film’ is often used in a negative context. Like it’s somehow lesser than quote/unquote ‘proper’ movies. Live action suggests a certain pedigree. A sense of prestige. But that’s obviously bollocks. The quality of a film isn’t dictated by whether it’s live action or animated. It’s determined by the writing, directing and acting. There have been live action films made for kids and animated films made for adults. And I’m not talking about Sausage Party. I’m talking about Finding Nemo.

Now I know what you’re thinking. Finding Nemo? Isn’t that a kid’s film? No. It’s a family film. And that right there is the problem. You heard me say Finding Nemo, an animated film about talking fish, and you automatically associated it with a kids film. But the thing is Finding Nemo deals with some very dark and adult themes and its moral message of not being overprotective and allowing children to take risks is intended for the parents, not the kids. Obviously kids can still watch and enjoy Finding Nemo, but it’s the parents who are clearly the target here. The same is true of Toy Story 3. Children can still watch and enjoy it, but the film is clearly intended for people who watched the original Toy Story when they were a kid and are now grown up. When you stop and think about it, it’s really sad that family movies are associated with kids movies. Not that there’s anything wrong with kids movies obviously. But why do people assume that family movies are meant for kids? Why can’t they be adult stories that are also accessible to children? Books have done it. The Artemis Fowl series is kid friendly, but its tone, themes and style suggest the author has an older and more sophisticated target audience in mind. A Series Of Unfortunate Events is popular with kids, but it’s adults that get the full experience because of the way Lemony Snicket uses postmodern and meta-textual elements in the books, which would sail clean over the head of a kid reading it. The idea that a live action remake is somehow more ‘grown-up’ than an animated movie is just absurd. The original Lion King was very grown up, thank you very much. There are lots of bright colours and fun songs for the kids, but it also doesn’t sugarcoat the darker themes such as death, betrayal, corruption and abuse of power. Mufaser’s death isn’t going to be made any more impactful in live action. The animated version was more than heartbreaking.

Shifting the conversation back to Sonic, this is also intrinsically linked with another problem with Hollywood at the moment. Movie adaptations of video games. And again, it’s a similar problem. People, especially critics, view video games as being lesser than movies. Roger Ebert famously said that video games will never be considered art. But that’s nonsense. There have been loads of video games that could be and have been considered art. BioShock, for instance, which scrutinises and criticises both objectivism and capitalism. There’s the Mass Effect trilogy, which is often described as this generation’s Star Wars. The Last Of Us is widely considered to be a masterpiece by gamers and literacy scholars alike. Hell, the fact that Hollywood wants to make movie adaptations of video games at all suggests that games do in fact have some inherent artistic value after all. And it’s not as if I’m wholly against making movies based on video games. There are some games that could translate really well to films, Sonic being one of them. (I personally loved the Ratchet & Clank movie, for example. It’s just a shame nobody else fucking watched it due to the almost non-existent marketing). However there’s an inherent problem with translating video games to movies as opposed to, say, translating books to movies. In book to movies adaptations, studios are adding something. Visuals, sound, performance, etc. In video game to movie adaptations, they have to take things away. The most obvious is interactivity. Unlike movies where nothing is required of the audience other than to just dumbly stare at the screen, video games require the audience to actively control the story. Move the character, kill baddies, solve problems and stay alive. You are an active participant in the narrative. As a result, the emotional connection you feel with both the plot and the characters is often stronger than that in a movie because you have direct influence over what happens. 

Also video games have the luxury of being able to tell their stories over the course of eight to thirty to even a hundred hours of gameplay. There’s no way you could condense something like The Last Of Us down to a two and a half hour movie. There would just be too much lost. Important character moments and plot points that would have to be chucked in the bin. Yes things get lost in book to movie adaptations, but nowhere near at the scale of a game to movie adaptation. A possible workaround would be to make game to TV adaptations instead, but then we’re back to the interactivity problem again. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that movies are better than books or that video games are better than movies. I’m just saying they’re each individually suited to tell their own kinds of stories in their own unique ways, therefore translating from one medium to the other is often difficult. The Last Of Us would never make a good movie, and that’s okay. The game is still amazing and the story is still amazing. Its artistic merit isn’t lessened because it can’t be translated to films, in the same way the merits of a bike aren’t lessened because it can’t fly. It’s just not designed to do that.

I guess the point I’m making is there’s no one way to tell a good story. There are an infinite number of ways it can be done. So lets stop Hollywood’s obsession with pigeonholing everything into one format and actually explore the possibilities, shall we?

[cgsketchbook]

Chris G's Top 10 STCOMGs

There are many moments in STC's online history with thrilling plot twists, shocks and surprises, and below are just some of my top picks! Beware the SPOILERS beyond - obviously! 

Enter: Shadow (The syndicate - #229) now I'm a rather old school hume, so Shadow doesn't hold quite the same reverence for me as a character compared to some, but even I had to admit that his introduction to the comic was handled really well and felt like an organic progression of the comic's trajectory - it got me very excited for his future appearances - which is certainly not bad going for a literal Sonic clone right?  

Destruction of the Special Zone! (Fate of the Special Zone - #233) it's difficult to be surprised when you're working behind the scenes, but I remember that at the time this one really felt like the first proper gusty move by the writing team - a real statement of "this is our toybox now, and we're not going to treat these things like unbreakable ornaments!" - it's a powerful statement of intent and has been a lasting source of stories in STCO ever since, not least for the Chaotix themselves! 

Death (and Knuckles) (Vichama is Coming Home special) Oh my gosh, they only went and blummin' KILLED Knuckles! Vichama had been a slow burning plot thread throughout the early period of the online series, and when it finally came to a crescendo, at long last we got to learn a little bit more about Knuckles and his role as a guardian. As if that wasn’t enough, his subsequent resurrection provided yet another tantalizing clue to one of the comic's most enduring mysteries!  

Grimer's revenge (Goodbye Mobius - 248) The whodunit revealed at last! When Robotnik's loyal lackey revealed himself to be masterminding Sonic's very public downfall, it really was dramatic stuff - and served as a fantastic cliffhanger going towards the big 250 milestone! 

The Fury of Tekno (Twighlight - #249) When Tekno confronted false god Sett, who had been manipulating events to strand herself and Shorty in Solstice, we definitely were in for a shock! The idea of a Freedom Fighter pushed beyond their limits was something many thought unthinkable... But, stranded with none of her technology and no way home, Tekno found out the hard way that even heroes can only be pushed so far... 

Johnny's legacy (In Memory - #261) My knee-Jerk reaction on hearing the pitch for this story whilst in early development was "Oh no... TOO SOON!" But I needn't have worried, because this was in fact coming from THE Nigel Kitching... and boy does he know how to deliver a sucker punch right to the FEELS... 

The Return of Shortfuse (The War Machine #268) After the traumatic events of his return to Mobius, the team purposefully benched Shortfuse while we let the dust settle, and hopefully everyone had put him to the back of their minds when I wrote his comeback story, teaming up with Tails and putting another new spin on his armour design! I hope it was a surprise to work out the clues to the leader's identity and then have the reveal at the end of part one, I certainly had fun crafting this moment! 

Amy Adrift! (End of the Miracle Planet #270) Not content with destroying the Special Zone, driving a death carrier though Flickies' Island and letting Super Sonic wreck half of Emerald Hill, the Miracle Planet was the next casualty of the comic - and it took Amy, the GUN soldiers and some of the evacuated kids of the Miracle planet they were protecting with it! With the chain connecting the Miracle planet to the planet broken, Amy and the others’ whereabouts would be something of a mystery for a few issues in the buildup to #275...

Guess who's Back… (The Battle of Emerald Hill #271) Where to start? The cameos in the war room at Supreme command headquarters and on the front lines? The distinctly egg shaped missing piece the heroes discover at Robotnik's base? The mad doctor's new mobile operations… or the last minute timing of a certain blue hedgehog just when Tails and Mobius needed him the most…? A whole story filled to the brim with twists and turns! 

Attack of the…Cowbot? (Fallen #272) Now, be honest… you really didn't see it coming did you? I thought Michael was joking when he first suggested it for the script and I can't say I was convinced about it at first - but, the more we talked around it the more I realised that actually it was just what the story needed to break the tension of Tekno and Shorty's reunion - and the perfect way to unite them, facing against a common crazy threat together! Plus, y'know, cowbot's pretty awesome!

Well that’s some of my favourites but what have been your top twists from Sonic the Comic Online? 

[thealternatelifeform]

Tagged by @gambalt (and here goes the usual thing again with the not having time at first and then completely forgetting later)

How long have you been a Sonic Fan? I dunno, it seems like 4 years or so..  I didn’t get into the franchise at all until I played Sonic Generations - and it had been out for a little while, but before Lost World was even announced.  I guess since 2012 or early 2013?

First sonic game played: Sonic 1 - the original - the OG - the one before the best fictional character ever conceived of was.... conceived.

Top 3 Favorite Characters: (if you thought I was referencing CD and the birth of Amy HOO BOY HAVE I GOT -... nevermind) Tails, Sonic, then I guess Knuckles?  It’s harder to pin down my third favorite - it’d have to be a tie between at least a couple of the guys - Knuckles, Shadow, I liked Silver at one time, but now that I think about it, his actual character in-game is pretty bland.

Favorite Vocal Track: At an earlier time, I’d have probably said Live & Learn or another Crush 40 song from the same era (although I still love those), but lately I’ve had the credits theme from Sonic Colors stuck in my head more often than others - Speak With Your Heart.  Sure, it’s not exactly innovative in the lyrical department, but it’s at the end of a fun little game, it’s a feel-good tune, it’s catchy, and it sorta makes me think of Sonic & Tails’s friendship.

Favorite non-vocal track: Oh gees, it’s gonna be impossible to pin down a favorite here..  What came to mind right off the bat was the Sonic Generations soundtrack.  I’ll just say Sonic Generations Speed Highway - Classic. 

Top 3 Games: Sonic Generations, Sonic Colors...  and I guess Unleashed?  I’ve never played Unleashed, but I just like the gameplay style common to all of those games.  I didn’t grow up playing Sonic 3 - the last of the original games I’d played were Sonic 2 and Sonic Spinball, though I hear Sonic 3 (& Knuckles) is the popular favorite amongst classic Sonic fans.

Top 5 Stages: I dunno - I’ll just name the first five pleasant ones I’ve played that come to mind.  Speed Highway (both Generations versions), Seaside Hill - Modern Generations Version, Rooftop Run - Modern Generations, City Escape - All versions really, Carnival Night Zone especially with the All-Stars Racing Transformed remix of the tune.

Favorite Team, (Team Rose, Sonic, Dark, Chaotix): Team Sonic, of course.

Favorite game intro: As far as “best” IMO as far as like.. animation-wise and everything, for now I’m just gonna have to say the Sonic Riders intro.  The music is painfully cheesy (yes, even for Sonic music XD), but the animation style is cool (the same guys who did Attack on Titan... what?) and of course, the part where Sonic saves Tails.

Which game has the best story: Even though there’s the whole “every human is apparently racist against hedgehogs” thing - I’d have to say Sonic Adventure 2.  It’s got the most complex story and its story is probably the most relevant to the series as a whole.  Unleashed is good, too, but I feel it’s kinda forgettable, especially because we don’t seem to get any mention of the events ever again (not in the games, anyway).

2D, 3D, or Both: 3D, definitely.  Even though I grew up with a lot of 2D games, as far as Sonic games go, I prefer the rush of speed in the 3D games to the plaforming and stuff in the 2D games.  Although I haven’t played much of the more modern 2D Sonic stuff.

Sonic Mania or Sonic Forces: Even though I just said 3D up there - I’d have to say Mania.  We actually see what that’s turning into, and they’ve got Christian Whitehead on the dev team.  It’s sounding awesome so far.  And then we’ve got Sonic Forces (insert joke here like “..his opinions on others”) with the whole “yeah, we brought back Classic Sonic even though we said we weren’t going to - also, doesn’t look like any other characters are going to be terribly relevant... or playable.... oh and no, you can’t see any gameplay or anything, fuck you.

Which character(s) would you want to see in the Boom show: All the favs are there, but I wish when they had Shadow cameo, they didn’t just turn him into the memey version of him.  I guess I wanna say I hope Shadow comes back after he’s had his morning coffee.

Best Sonic Show: SatAM, I guess?  Sonic X fell flat on its face after the first couple of episodes, and had its moments after that.  Boom isn’t what I originally hoped it might be - but SatAM had an actual plot going, and from I remember of it, I really liked it.  I recently rewatched some of the early episodes and still liked them, too.

Favorite Sonic Era:  Tie between Dreamcast era and Modern era, I suppose.  Give us Sonic Unleashed gameplay with Dreamcast story and Chao Gardens!

Tag 5 or more people: A certain someone already tagged pretty much everyone I’d tag.

[rachelbethhines]

The Antoine and Bunnie Retrospective - 134

“Sonic’s Angels” - Sonic the Hedgehog #152

So this is quite the controversial issue for many reasons. Mainly because of the way it resolves the whole Evil Sonic mucking with Sonic’s love life plot. In that it doesn’t resolve anything.  

The freedom fighters are sent on a mission to stop a bunch of nanites from destroying the ecosystem. And the group is split into two teams, the “brain trust” (ie the smart guys) and the psychical fighters. Only without the Chaotix or Antoine around, most of the heavy hitters are all women save Sonic himself. 

This leads into my first problem with story and possibility with the whole of the Sonic franchise. There aren’t any super smart women! 

In all of the games, cartoons, and the majority of the comics (I haven’t read Fleetway so forgive me if I’m wrong) most women in the franchise can be roughly categorized into five groups. 

The Cute Bruiser or Action Girl - Amy, Bunnie, Julie-Su, Barby ect. 

The Serious No Nonsense Leader or Loner - Lupe, Sally, Madonna, Topaz, Blaze, Shade ect. 

The Innocent - Hope, Maria, Cream, Elise, Tikal, Mina, That genie from Sonic and Secret Rings, ect. 

The Femme Fatale - Rouge, Breezie, Fiona, Lin-da ect. 

The Mothers - Vanilla, Rosie, Bernie, Lara-Le, Aleena ect. 

There’s nothing inherently wrong with any the above tropes and it’s good there are enough differences between theses characters to make them unique from one another.  But it’s telling that the only genius women, like Wave and Relic, are fairly new additions to the franchise. ( I think Fleetway has one, Tenko, I believe?) And anyone else who doesn’t fit into theses categories are often outliers like Sarah, Merlina, Regina, Sonia, Marine, or Sticks. (though Sticks is becoming more prominent) 

Basically what I’m getting at is, due to the nature of the series, there’s an over abundance of psychically strong women and few that have equal but differentiating strengths. Especially since the innocents tend to be plot points and/or motivators for male characters. Cream and Mina being the exceptions. 

So I can’t really fault Penders for wanting to do a story that highlights the fact that over half of the comic’s warriors are women. But I can gripe about how he merely uses them to further forced relationship drama and how none of them, save Bunnie, actually do anything productive. With character’s like Mina being outright redundant with the comic actually stating that she is. 

So what does Bunnie do? Well she get captured by the nanites who thinks she can be converted into the collective because of her cybernetic limbs. 

Now I don’t have a problem with this scene necessarily, unlike many others who seem to, and here’s why....

It’s a logical conflict that’s true to the unique nature of the characters. Robotization already involves natnite technology and Bunnie is one of only two people in the world who still has this technology present in their biological system.   

This ties into Bunnie’s already established internal conflict about her identity but puts a new spin on it where she realizes that who she is now is better then some of the other alternatives out there. This could also potentially tie into future conflicts as her cybernetics could be considered a danger to herself but it’s not one that’ll come up often.  

Some have argued this scene is too “intense” for children but I grew up with late 80s/early 90s cartoons where crap like this was deemed ok. 

I’m of the mind that as long as it doesn’t involve outright gore and has a happy ending you can go as dark as you want with kids and they’ll be fine. Usually. I do recognize that there are exceptions to this rule. 

Last off, there is a happy ending and she’s not permanently psychically harmed by the event.

No, what I have a problem with is what happens after she’s freed. 

Ya see Sonic outwits the nanties with logic in order to free Bunnie. 

Grateful and relieved to be herself once more, Bunnie gives him a kiss. 

Now this isn’t a problem within of itself so much as every thing revolving around it is awful. Bunnie’s already interested and Sonic and believes he has feelings for her because of Scourge lying to her and Sonic himself is unaware of both Scourge’s actions and Bunnie’s new found feelings. So instead of responding to this action in an believable manner or trying to to set the record straight he just goes along with it. So I guess they’re dating now, only no, wait, they’re not, because they never follow up on this ever! 

This is indicative of a larger problem within the Sonic franchise as whole. I mean, yes, it’s also because Penders is mainly a shit writer, but hear me out. From Ben Hurst to Pontaff, 90% of conflicts in Sonic are reactionary. Most characters simply react or respond to events going on around them. Rarely does a character initiate conflict themselves. The few that do, Eggman, Lyric, Metal Sonic, ect. often have very base motivations and rely heavily on mindless monsters to do their dirty work. 

(Note: I do know there are exceptions to this rule such as Shadow in SA2 or Merlina in SatBK) 

In short most Sonic stories tend to be Overcoming the Monster plots. Therefore, external conflicts like Man vs Technology or Man vs Supernatural works for the most part. However when trying to introduce any other potential conflicts, like say love triangles, the writers tend to cock it all up because they’re still running off of that reactionary mindset. 

In order for a Man vs Man conflict to work, which is what relationship drama is based off of, then characters have to have basic motivations, make consciousness decisions, and initiate action. The conflict then comes from two or more characters having conflicting desires and needs.     

By having outside forces like Scourge and Patch be the instigators of the love triangles you then take way any agency on behalf of the other characters involved. They merely become participants reacting to events rather then characters with real agency. 

Now I still defend Penders idea to turn Evil Antoine into Anti-Antoine as Bollers original plan also had that same lack of agency problem with having the Source of All be the manipulator of events. But the entire Bunnie/Sonic/Antoine/Sally triangle is such wasted potential. Because there is a story to be told there, it just required everyone to maintain their agency.     

Bare with me if you will as I explain how I would have written out this love triangle. 

Sonic is believed to be dead and trapped in space as in the real comic. Meanwhile Antoine becomes more serious and over protective as he doesn’t want to lose anybody else. He spends more time training and becomes something of a workaholic. He also becomes more attentive of Sally as she’s in mourning and in need of friend. He and Bunnie grow ever more distant as his new goals shifts his focus away from her.  It’s not that he’s become colder or uncaring, the opposite in fact, but rather they just start spending less and less time with one another. 

When Bunnie confronts him over his obsession, they eventual, but reluctantly, agree that things aren’t working out like the once were and break up. Or at the very least agree to give each other some space to figure things out. During all of this Sally and Antoine become even closer as they find they confine in each other about their problems. Then Sonic returns. 

Every thing in Home plays out more or less the same minus some bitching between Bunnie and Antoine and less slapping on Sally’s part.But the end result is Sally realizing that, while she does still love Sonic, they have very different goals in life and he’s not ready to commit the way she needs him to. But Antoine is. He’s been the study rock she’s leaned on and her shoulder to cry on for nearly a year now. And after his break up with Bunnie they’ve only gotten closer. So eventually after her break up with Sonic, they start dating. 

So that leaves Bunnie and Sonic both feeling lonely and dejected. Since they’re already friends and now have some common ground with their former significant others braking things often to date each other. Well you could see how they would eventually become closer, and may even agree to try dating one another. 

From there you have multiple ways which this could pan out. You could have the clean “happy” ending where everyone eventually realizes who they really love and both couples return to the original status quo. You could have the bitter sweet complex ending where only one couple works out and the others are left to grow from their experiences. Either Bunnie and Antoine get back together, leaving Sonic and Sally to press on, or have Sally and Antoine remain a couple and Sonic and Bunnie break up to figure out who they are without a relationship to depend on. You could also have Sonic wind up permanently with either Sally or Bunnie and leave Antoine and one of the other girls alone, but knowing Sonic it seems unlikely. Finally you can have the unhappy ending where none of the potential pairings work out. 

Either way, regardless of the outcome, the story becomes more compelling as the motivations involved stem from real issues, not evil forces manipulating events. No one turning out to be evil, no one losing their shit and slapping someone just force a plot point, no miscommunication driving the conflict, and no one responding to events just because, but rather making active decisions. It’s people learning to deal with life and how it changes  both themselves and others. Its real, complex, and mature. And because all of the people involved are already close friends with established histories and chemistry; any of the potential outcomes makes internal sense regarding the characters. 

Well enough fanfiction, back to the issue at hand. 

Since Sonic “out logic-ed” the nanites they release everybody. Meaning the rest of the girls didn’t have use Snively’s plan to short circuit the city. Oh yes, did I not mention that Sinvely’s in this and by the end he’s now joined the Freedom Ftighers? Yeah he’s here now and no one manages to accomplish anything, making the rest of girls completely pointless and the “brain trust” a good three or four too many. 

That’s it for this weeks review so tune in next time on the retrospective as we dive even deeper into the final days of Penders run. 

[scifi4wifi]

Where shall I begin? Cuphead marries early Disney animation styles with “Nintendo Hard” gameplay in the vein of Contra, Ninja Gaiden, and other classic games from the 8 and 16-bit eras of gaming. This review is of both of the Xbox One version and the PC version via the “Xbox Play Anywhere” feature which allows you to buy once and have a copy on both the PC (via the Windows Store) and the Xbox One itself. I figured that this would give me the flexibility I needed to review this properly. Unless I specifically state that something is platform specific, assume that I’m refer to both versions. That being said, here we go …

Cuphead is probably one of the toughest side scrolling shooters I’ve played in a long time. I’m personally a fan of games like Contra, Sunset Riders, Metal Slug, and this game I would gladly say should be right up there with the rest of them. The bullet hell gameplay is fantastic and the game can run on pretty much any computer made in the last five years, which makes this great for the person who like pulling their hair out in frustration either alone or with a friend (as Mugman) in co-op.

The design of the game puts it in a class by itself. All the backgrounds, all the sprites, all the effects, everything is animated by hand. It’s all in the style of classic 1930’s animation, like what you see in Max Fleischer cartoons. This is a massive achievement, and while all hand-drawn artwork is common in adventure games, it’s the first time anybody’s done full animation like this in an arcade action game.

The basic premise for the game is that Cuphead and his brother Mugman are two fun-loving kids who live under the watchful eye of Elder Kettle. Against the elder’s warnings, the brothers wander into the Devil’s Casino and play craps. When the brothers go on a winning streak, the casino’s manager King Dice calls upon the Devil, who raises the stakes. If Cuphead and Mugman can win another time, they will own the entire casino; if not, the Devil will have their souls. Cuphead rolls snake eyes and he and Mugman must give up their souls. The brothers beg for mercy, so the Devil makes a deal with them: collect the contracts of other inhabitants of Inkwell Isle who have lost their souls by midnight the next day, and he might let them off the hook. They visit Elder Kettle, who gives them a potion that allows them to fire blasts from their fingers to aid in their quest.

The game offers some unique options in the way of how to play the game with powerups/potions such as rebound shot, homing shot, spread shot, and more. On top of that, you can power up your shots by consistently hitting the boss or parrying the pink shots which will fill your power gauge which you can use to fire a EX shot which is way stronger then the normal shot itself.

Bosses in Cuphead all have multiple phases and you’ll have to learn how to handle them through trial and error as well as sheer tenacity if you wish to progress through the game itself. The game will always keep you on your toes and make you regret your actions when you die,  but not because the game is unfair. It ‘s just because you have to “git gud” as the kids say. 🙂

The game draws plenty of parallels to Contra in the way it play and controls. You’ll find yourself ducking, jumping, and strafing to avoid shots and what not in mid-air while struggling to focus your attack on the boss as the same time. It’s one hell of a juggling act. However, Unlike in Contra, you do not pick up powerups in mid-stage. You buy them from the shop and can switch between two shot types at will. This allows for some unique combinations as well as strategies in both single player and in co-op play.

The game features numerous levels with unique gameplay, from aerial sidescrolling as planes, to run and gun levels where you have to make it to the end of the level to move on. The game also houses several secrets to be unlocked by the player in special ways (for example: not firing a single shot or killing a single thing in Run-and-Gun stages but still completing it.) Also, each level has multiple difficulties from Novice to Expert, which allows for players of all skill types and levels to give it a go.

Cuphead is easily one of the most unique games I’ve ever played and I cannot recommend it enough to anyone if they can grab it on sale. You can currently buy it on Steam, GOG, Xbox Live, and other online retailers. Unfortunately, it’s not available on the Playstation 4 or Vita. Still, go pick it up. It’s well worth it.

-30-

Chaotix’s Cuphead Review Where shall I begin? Cuphead marries early Disney animation styles with "Nintendo Hard" gameplay in the vein of Contra, Ninja Gaiden, and other classic games from the 8 and 16-bit eras of gaming.

[mobius-prime]

233. Sonic the Hedgehog #165

Look! Look! It's that eye thing again! Patrick "Spaz" Spaziante, stop this madness!

Leak

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: Tracy Yardley! Colors: Jason Jensen

This issue is honestly a fantastic one. There's so many great character interactions that as a writer myself, I live for. We begin by learning that Rouge arrived at Knothole about an hour ago, and in light of her most recent actions in the town, she's been taken into custody, with Knuckles, Julie-Su, and Vector in charge of her interrogation. Vector takes to his role with gusto, clicking on a lightbulb above her head and generally trying to play bad cop, but Rouge seems mostly amused by the proceedings, taking a particular interest in Knuckles and speaking to him directly. She arrived via warp ring, and seeing as that's technology unique to Angel Island (…dunno when that was ever established, but okay), they're very interested to know where she acquired it. When she acts flippant, Vector threatens to just throw her in jail, and when she protests that she's innocent of any wrongdoing Vector reveals that mere minutes after she arrived, the other members of the Chaotix went to Fiona for dirt on her. Fiona was shy and reluctant about sharing any information, obviously embarrassed of her shady past, but with Sonic's encouragement she opened up, explaining just how skilled Rouge is as an operative, as well as how she's not above getting her hands dirty to accomplish her objectives.

Irritated at being called out, Rouge agrees to explain what happened in between her last visit and now. She was uncertain about allying with Finitevus, but stuck with him for the first part of his plan, which involved breaking Eggman's most recent prisoners out of the Egg Grapes. Many of them were already dead, but Finitevus managed to save the Destructix, and took them to the same base where Shadow met Isaac. This is where we learn that Isaac was heavily malfunctioning all along, as the ancient, pre-Xorda Robotnik in cryostasis has apparently been dead for a long time, though Isaac still thinks he's alive and giving him orders. Finitevus planned to use the large store of nuclear missiles in the base for some unknown purpose, and when Rouge found out, her moral side kicked in and she destroyed them, which naturally pissed Finitevus off. She stole a warp ring to escape, and now here she is, looking for protection from Knothole - though she adds that she was likely followed. Sure enough, while Sonic and Fiona are walking out of their own interrogation room, they spot Tails looking incredibly nervous next to a tree. When they approach, Sleuth Dawg steps out from behind the tree, holding a gun to Tails' head.

Of course he's back! Scourge and Sonic immediately take off running, leaving Fiona behind to try to talk down Sleuth, who says he's here for the "traitor." Fiona calls him a hypocrite given his betrayal of the Freedom Fighters in the past, but Sleuth slyly insinuates that it's ironic for Fiona herself to be calling anyone else a traitor. Well that's suspicious… While they fight, Sonic asks Scourge why he's here, and of course first on his list of reasons is revenge. However, apparently that's not all.

Things are getting a little spicy, aren't they? They end up back near the others, and Fiona tells them to stop fighting as she's negotiated a deal - the crooks will give Tails back and leave if Rouge returns the stolen warp ring. Sonic immediately zips away and comes back with it, and satisfied, Sleuth and Scourge leave, with the latter giving Fiona a wink as he disappears through the ring.

You know what, Sonic? I don't think it is. Something is definitely fishy here. With the crisis averted, Rouge is free to go, but Julie-Su has one last word for her. I'm gonna let these last two pages speak for themselves, because this is exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned great character interaction.

Damn, even Kenders wasn't edgy enough for the almost-swear. I love this, though. Granted, I'm not actually much of a fan of the interpretation that Rouge is into Knuckles, but I can see her as the type to want to steal something - or in this case, someone - just to prove she can. Certainly, this version of Rouge is a little more ruthless and less morally-centered compared to her counterpart in the games, particularly with how she's characterized in Heroes and beyond. As for Julie-Su, her explanation of her relationship with Knuckles right here is why I think the Soultouch was never a necessary thing to begin with. It's such a weird thing to include - I mean, most of the time in fiction when there's some kind of deus ex machina plot device that mandates that two characters fall in love with each other, the characters really don't feel like they have any real chemistry to begin with, hence the necessity of such a plot device. It's a forced love story, if you will. But Knuckles and Julie-Su? They already had that chemistry, from the beginning. They're alike in many ways, including their rough upbringings and their hot tempers, and those things they have in common often bring them together, as they understand each other more than others can. There was simply no need for a magical soulmate-bond-thingy to explain their falling for each other - Julie-Su's little speech up there is proof enough of that.

Call of Duty

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: Steven Butler Colors: Jason Jensen

Speaking of Knuckles and Echidna Matters, later that day Rotor calls Knuckles to his lab, baffled at getting a call from Locke despite the call not having any signal he can recognize. Knuckles is unfazed, knowing that his father is using the mystical energies of the Master Emerald to contact him, and steps up. Locke doesn't waste time, ordering him to come back to the island immediately. Knuckles refuses, continuing to insist as before that the only way to properly protect Angel Island is to defeat Eggman first, but Locke informs him that things haven't been going very smoothly on the island since Echidnaopolis was retaken.

Well, that's interesting. Another new villain, perhaps? Knuckles is surprised that his father hasn't figured out who the new guy is yet, but Locke says he's been too busy looking for the missing members of the Brotherhood. Knuckles asks if he's bothering to look for Charmy's family as hard as he is his own, but Locke evades the question, instead insisting that he needs Knuckles to come back to help him look. Knuckles, quite angry by now, repeats that he won't, and when Locke tries to go all "What did you just say to me, young man?" on him, Knuckles calls back to the very training Locke gave him as a child that taught him to always go for the source of a problem, and again reiterates that he plans to stay in Knothole to help fight Eggman.

SMASH! Knuckles punches the screen, instantly shattering it and ending the connection, and stands there panting furiously, unable to believe that his father would even think of threatening to let his family be hurt. He collects himself after a moment and curtly apologizes for breaking Rotor's equipment and begins to leave, though everyone is mostly just concerned for his wellbeing. Tails tries to follow him, and tells him that he thinks he's doing the right thing, that he's essentially graduated from protecting one island to protecting the whole planet. Knuckles is still upset though, and leaves to go talk to Julie-Su to clear his head, though he quietly promises to himself that he will return someday, when all this is over.

Now, I absolutely love this. Because under Ian's writership, Locke is no longer treated as this wholly sympathetic, infallible being. Locke and Knuckles got along while Knuckles was still content to merely go along with his father's various plans, but now that he's starting to assert himself and go in a different direction than Locke intends, their relationship is starting to show its cracks. As we've seen before, Locke is someone who really doesn't hesitate to go all in on his plans, even if doing so will end up hurting someone. He created his own son to be a superpowered mutant, just because of a premonition he had. I mentioned before how Locke would have been so much more interesting as the well-intentioned extremist type of antagonist, rather than as the bland "father knows best" character he was under Penders, and I think Ian has finally started to steer the character in that direction. Unfortunately by now it's a little too late to make him truly interesting and complex, but Ian still does an admirable job with what he's been handed to work with.

[mobius-prime]

175. Sonic the Hedgehog #107

Crouching Hedgehog, Hidden Dragon (臣人豪猪臧龍) (Part Two)

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: Ron Lim Colors: Frank Gagliardo

Yes, those are the same Chinese characters as last time. I was kind of hoping they would have used different ones so we could have a second nonsense phrase to laugh over, but alas. The morning after the dragon's attack, Sonic and Tails are playing video games when they're called to a morning meeting with Station Square's president. Once in the meeting, the president begins to explain his strategy for taking on the dragon, but Sonic is less than interested.

Sonic suddenly realizes he recognizes the team as the one that captured him at the beginning of Sonic Adventure 2, and promptly bursts into hysterical laughter, remembering how easily he disarmed them last time. Sally is quick to salvage the situation by claiming that it's Mobian tradition to laugh at their allies as a show of respect, and a confused president and annoyed Paladin Team look on as every Mobian at the table howls with laughter to keep up the ruse. Sonic, however, is not pleased with the tough-guy, humorless attitude that every member of the team exudes, and Sally, Rotor, and Antoine stay behind in the city as Sonic, Tails, and Bunnie airdrop in with the team to Pyro Island, where the dragon is believed to be hiding out. The Mobians are cheery, singing and chatting with one another, but the leader of Paladin Team admonishes them for not taking things seriously. While everyone is distracted, two of the Paladin Team members lag behind everyone else, not realizing that there's a shadowy, snakelike figure stalking them from behind. As the Mobians and humans begin to argue, they suddenly notice the disappearance of two of their team members.

While the humans angrily head out to find their missing team members, Sonic, Tails and Bunnie press on into the trees, trying to figure out where a dragon might hide. Tails spots a cave behind a waterfall, and they duck inside, to be immediately greeted by… Dulcy! It's been a while since we've seen her! Her arm is in a sling, but otherwise she seems fine and happy to see them. Suddenly, the red dragon emerges from behind her, but Dulcy quickly explains that this is Zan, and she's in a relationship with him. However, he begins to act aggressive, insisting that the others are their enemies and shouldn't be here, to her dismay.

Well, that changes things a bit. Everyone tries to convince Zan to settle down so they can talk things out peacefully, but Zan becomes even angrier when Dulcy agrees. He's interrupted from scolding her for relying on them when a net entangles his mouth, shutting him up, and the humans all rush in with guns drawn, ready to kill both dragons. Sonic utilizes his super speed to take apart all their guns before they can fire, but then Zan breaks free of his muzzle, gloating that now that they're unarmed he can kill them easily. Sonic steps in the middle to prevent that from happening either, and then Dulcy, from the back, quietly speaks up.

So this isn't the only "surprise domestic abuse" plot in a Sonic canon. Anyone who's played Sonic and the Secret Rings knows that an abusive romantic relationship plays a big part in that game's plot as well. But it still does come as a big shock here. Sonic freaks out, infuriated that Zan would hurt his friend, and begins wailing on him, while Tails and Bunnie rush outside to check on Dulcy. She repeats certain stock phrases that are common of abuse victims, such as "he loves me" and "maybe it's my fault," while Bunnie reassures her that she's not at fault at all and deserves better than to be treated this way. It's honestly a decent portrayal of the guilt that abuse victims become stuck with, just very condensed, because this comic doesn't have time to throw in a whole long subplot about Dulcy's emotional recovery. Instead, it takes a fast-track approach, as while Sonic and Zan fight, Paladin Team sets up explosives and blows up the entire cave, with Sonic and Zan still in it! That'll solve it!

Everyone outside is horrified and rushes forward to try to dig them both out, but Sonic emerges safely, tunneling his way out from under the rock. However, Zan isn't so lucky. The team contacts the president, informing him that the dragon that menaced them is dead and the city is safe again, and he agrees formally to take in the Overlander refugees, while Sonic, Tails, and Bunnie stay with Dulcy at the ruins of the cave till nightfall, letting her mourn despite the abuse.

Fittingly, our character file for this issue is for Dulcy! She's an outlier in almost every way compared to the other characters so far. Since she's a dragon, you'd expect her to be bigger than the others, but I wasn't expecting her to be so massive. She's a whopping 240 cm or 7'10" tall, and weighs 111.8 kg or 245.9 lbs! That's easily taller than Big the Cat and E-102 Gamma, the tallest characters in the games (not counting bosses such as Iblis or Dark Gaia), though not nearly as heavy as either of them. Her wingspan also comes out to 169 cm or exactly five feet, which correspond well enough to how they're usually drawn as proportionately small. However, that's not the most interesting thing about her file. Based on her behavior and this recent relationship of hers, how old would you say Dulcy is? Seventeen? Eighteen?

She's thirteen.

I was honestly shocked when I found this out. This means that most of the previous times we've seen her, she was literally only twelve, not even a teenager yet. This actually puts a lot of her behavior into perspective - her somewhat crybaby attitude and nervousness in the face of danger, all that is due to literal immaturity. This means she was only about two years old when the war against Robotnik started, with her birthday being August 23. The file explains that when Robotnik began his coup, he heavily targeted dragons before any other creatures due to their sheer power. One such dragon, Sabina, sought protection for her daughter Dulcinea (Dulcy's real name) among the Kingdom of Acorn before she too was captured. Dulcy grew up over the years and helped the Freedom Fighters, though she mainly lived outside on her own due to her massive size. Interestingly enough, the file also attempts to provide a bit of a retcon for the whole "dragons can sense truth" plot hole that I pointed out all the way back during Endgame, instead suggesting that Dulcy in particular is just a very trustworthy individual who doesn't like telling lies and has an instinct for knowing when someone is being truthful, which I can accept. It's a lot better than the handwave from before, anyway.

Reunification (Part II)

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Dawn Best Colors: Robbie O'Quinn

Lien-Da is pissed. Apparently, she actually didn't expect Knuckles to be able to reverse the effects of the Quantum Beam, despite Dimitri not only promising Knuckles he'd do so himself, but even encouraging Knuckles to do so on his own. Dimitri is also shocked, though more at the sheer extent of Knuckles' power, which exceeds even his own when he was Enerjak.

What, Lien-Da? You think you're gonna recruit Remington or something? Remington's an upstanding guy, man, I think your chances are… uh… well, I suppose we mustn't forget about the time traveler girl who apparently thinks he's gonna murder Knuckles. Remington asks her for her name and she gives the name "Jani-Ca," though internally she notes that she's trying to hide her own identity, meaning this isn't her real name. Wynmacher and Lara-Le rush up, concernedly asking after Knuckles, and while Remington states he hasn't seen him, Jani-Ca hides her surprise at seeing a younger version of her grandmother. Wait - grandmother?! Then that means she's…

The Chaotix are back as well, having landed right back in the ruins of the Grand Conservatory, with their dialogue again suggesting that they haven't been away for long due to the slower time scale within the Twilight Zone. In Haven, the various members of the Brotherhood are dismayed to find the place trashed from Knuckles' earlier bursts of uncontrolled power, though they instead suspect the Legion's hand. They notice that Matthias and Hawking are no longer there, realizing that they've both died and headed on to the "next evolution," AKA echidna heaven. They sense one more soul with them, whom we know is Tobor, but they can't figure it out. Locke briefly worries that it might be Knuckles before hearing Knuckles' ghostly voice reassuring him that he's fine and currently in the city. Far from reassuring Locke, this only makes him worry that instead of his great plans for Knuckles to be a savior, instead his worst fears have come to pass. What, Locke, you starting to think that maybe genetically engineering and irradiating your unborn baby wasn't a good idea after all?

*sigh* So, yes, everyone, this is Knuckles' future daughter Lara-Su. Anyone who knows Penders and his whole lawsuit debacle will know exactly who this is. Now, she's kind of an unpopular character because of this (and because many people essentially dismiss her as Penders' Mary Sue OC), and there are definitely valid criticisms to be made about her inclusion into the comics, but I'm not going to immediately jump into hating her just because of the circumstances of her creation. After all, we still know basically nothing about her, not even how she came to be, and anyway you all know that I prefer to judge a character or story on its own merits and not on how likeable its creator is.

Everyone's conversations are interrupted by a flash of light, and Dimitri materializes in the middle of the group. Remington, of course, steps forward intending to arrest him, but Knuckles stops him much to his shock. Dimitri grins in a super-duper-not-an-evil-villain way and says that Knuckles has finally seen that he and his Legion only wish to rejoin the rest of echidna society, and that they're prepared to do whatever it takes to reintegrate…

[mobius-prime]

131. Knuckles the Echidna #28

The First Date (Part Three of Three): It Could Be Love (I Should Have Known Better)

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Chris Allan Colors: Frank Gagliardo

So it turns out that Knuckles hasn't yet given up on asking his mother for help. The day after asking Julie-Su on the date, he gets cold feet and decides he needs advice after all, this time on how to conduct a date in the first place. He decides to ask what she and Locke did on their first date, because clearly their relationship is a healthy one to model his own after, and after a moment of surprise she responds that they went on a picnic.

Well, what could she be on about? Soon, we find Lara-Le visiting Julie-Su, who's embarrassed at the messiness of her apartment. Lara-Le tries to calm her by reassuring her that "we need to talk," which as anyone suffering from an anxiety disorder knows, is the most comforting phrase in existence.

Upon learning that her and Knuckles' plan for the date isn't set in stone yet, she conspiratorially leans in to offer her a plan to make sure that this will be "one date my son won't ever forget." Uh… Lara-Le… what exactly is this plan…?

Meanwhile, the Chaotix are hanging out in the burger joint once again. Espio and Mighty interrogate Vector on why he seems to hate Julie-Su so much, and he just answers that something about her rubs him the wrong way. Honestly this really kind of highlights just how shallow the feud between the two is - no reason is ever really given for why he hates her, and the only reason she tangles with him specifically is because he's the only one targeting her. No effort is given to provide a real reason why they would argue so much, leaving their enmity feeling hollow and pointless. However, the group does agree that they would hate to see their friendship break up over such a disagreement, and then to their surprise, Knuckles arrives and agrees, having overheard their conversation. Vector gives Knuckles a real apology for his disrespectful words, and Knuckles apologizes as well for beating him up, and they make up. Hooray!

It really seems like Mighty's go-to action whenever he's happy is to lift things. Remember how after his Lemon Sundrop Dandelion poison recovery, he started lifting hospital beds with terrified nurses on them? We zoom out to find that, shock of shocks, Locke has been watching Knuckles through his spy screens in Haven this entire time, leaving his conviction to give his son some privacy last issue feeling totally pointless at best. He finds himself getting a call from Lara-Le, and after a moment, patches it through.

This is just yet another reminder of how cool a mom Lara-Le is, and how bad of a parent Locke still is. It's also interesting to note that Sonic turned sixteen not too many issues ago, and only now is Knuckles turning sixteen as well. In the games, Sonic is one year younger than Knuckles at only fifteen, but it seems like in the comics he's at least a month or so older.

The big day arrives, and Archimedes finds Knuckles freshening up in the reflection of a shop window on the street. He gives Knuckles some encouragement, and soon Knuckles is knocking on Julie-Su's door. She comes out in a short black dress and coat, which seems a little outside her preferred style, but eh, we can let her have some fun this time. She asks Knuckles if she can offer a change of plans, which isn't hard seeing as they didn't even have any plans, and informs him that a friend of hers is having a poetry recital at the Commons' Hall tonight. This seems like a downright bizarre choice for a first date, but as his father's first date also involved poetry Knuckles goes along with it, and soon they arrive at the hall flirting heavily. But when he walks in…

Surprise! His date has been replaced for the moment with a birthday party! His parents take him aside, and reassure him that even though they're separated and may not always get along, they both love him and will be there for him despite their own differences, and they all share a hug. Knuckles then rejoins his party as his parents fondly discuss how their boy is growing up. He asks Julie-Su for a dance, and after expressing how happy is he to be celebrating with his family, they agree to make up for their lack of a proper date tonight with a date next weekend…

Okay, I will say, this is the best issue of the three in this arc. Everyone's interactions are very genuine and heartfelt, and it's nice to have a bit of a break from all the heavy stuff to just enjoy a young relationship beginning to blossom. Like I've said before, despite how awkward and forced so much of this arc seemed, I am genuinely a fan of Knuckles and Julie-Su as a pairing - after all, I can't see either settling for a partner with whom they're not already close, and both would work well with a partner who will continue to challenge them, which is exactly what they already do for each other. Also, just as a little funny note, throughout the party we can see Vector hanging out with the weirdly sexualized swan from the other issue! I guess he got his date with her after all.

Below the Belt

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Manny Galan and Andrew Pepoy Colors: Frank Gagliardo

Last issue, we found Mighty about to rip a vault door off its hinges to continue to search for Ray. Right away he does so, and well, the search is over! There's Ray! He's hanging onto a giant glowing green gem, which Nic and Fiona immediately identify as the treasure they were looking for, but Mighty is only interested in hearing Ray's story, as Ray doesn't look - or feel - a day older than when Mighty last saw him. Apparently, once Sonic freed Mighty, they rescued Ray as well and then raced to Robotnik's lab, where Fiona was strapped into some kind of machine powered by the green gem. Mighty and Sonic distracted Robotnik while Ray grabbed the gem, but as soon as he did, he began to phase into another dimension. Sonic and Mighty ran for him…

They blinked into the zone and back out, which to some degree seems to be based on the idea behind their debut arcade game (the real-life arcade game, that is - I'm not sure how many people know, but Mighty and Ray were originally from a Sonic arcade game called SegaSonic the Hedgehog in which you played as Sonic, Mighty and Ray escaping from imprisonment by Robotnik). However, when they reappeared, Ray was left behind, sending Mighty into a grief-stricken rage. In response, Robotnik had his swatbots provide covering fire while he loaded the machine, still containing the imprisoned Fiona, onto an escape shuttle, getting away with his prisoner. Fiona then explains her own side of the story from there.

Well… that's a rather dark backstory for her, isn't it? Especially considering she was only a kid at the time. At least we know now how Robotnik ended up with that robotic duplicate of her that he used to lure in Tails, although that picture up there isn't quite how I remember her looking during that venture. Ray has been here ever since, trapped between zones and not aging at all, essentially being a victim of a time skip six years into the future. Nic shoots the power gem to free Ray, and Mighty promises to pay her instead of the other way around, overjoyed to have Ray back again. From here on in the comic, Mighty basically acts as a big brother to Ray, which is one of my favorite instances of found family in the entire comic. They're just so sweet together.

[crusherthedoctor]

Crusher’s Sonic Intelligence Tier List 2.0

Last year, I made my own estimations on where the Sonic cast would rank from an intelligence standpoint. For the sake of keeping up to date now that Mania and Forces have been released, I wanted to go back to it for the sake of adding a few characters who weren't featured the first time around. I also wanted to change a few placements on the list in light of the characters’ portrayals in Forces, as well as just having some second thoughts about them in general. Note that this is still a game-centric list, so no characters from SatAM/Archie/etc.

Do you agree with this list? Disagree? Feel free to elaborate on your thoughts either way. :)

GENIUS TIER

Dr. Ivo Robotnik/Dr. Eggman - Most people would argue that Gerald Robotnik should be higher than him, since the doctor himself held his grandfather in high regard in Adventure 2. Thing is, Gerald's long dead, and Ivo himself has made a great number of breakthroughs and achievements SINCE Adventure 2. Regardless of where you stand on the subject, Robotnik is indisputably the greatest living genius in the Sonic universe.

Professor Gerald Robotnik - That said, Gerald was a very gifted man to have created a lifeform like Shadow, as well as other accomplishments like the Artificial Chaos and the Space Colony A.R.K. Especially when you remember that he lived during a time in which the world as a whole was far less advanced.

Miles “Tails” Prower - How many kids do you know who can create different types of highly advanced contraptions and vehicles like it’s nothing? Let alone fake Chaos Emeralds?

VERY HIGH TIER

Wave the Swallow - Her engineering prowess speaks for itself.

Rouge the Bat - Comes with the job. An expert in infiltration and hacking, a master of deception, and an expert treasure hunter. Given how she explained Soleanna’s monarchy system to Shadow at the drop of a hat, that would also indicate she’s well read and has a good memory.

Blaze the Cat - More to do with implication, but she did once ask Tails if he could build a device that scans and analyses plasma and electromagnetic signals, in a tone that implied she knew what she was talking about.

HIGH TIER

Sonic the Hedgehog - Being able to avoid obstacles and fellow citizens with no issue at such insane speeds would imply that Sonic has a sharp mind and thought process. He’s also been shown on numerous occasions to adapt very quickly to unfamiliar situations, and his advice is usually profound in it’s simplicity. He can be pretty sly with his battle strategies as well when he puts his mind to it.

Shadow the Hedgehog - He doesn’t always have it right, but most of the time he’ll figure out what’s going on pretty quickly. Ever since the Black Arms incident, he’s also been wise to villainous trickery.

Erazor Djinn - Played his cards right from start to finish. Didn’t really make any stupid decisions, and made dastardly efficient use of what he had to work with, particularly his complicated relationship with Shahra.

Metal Sonic - Another one born out of implication, but given how he was created to be a match for Sonic in every way, I would assume Metal is just as clever as the real deal. He was pretty sharp in the OVA at least, and he had quite a few strategies to throw at the player in his Mania boss fight, including summoning a bunch of Silver Sonics to distract you with.

Merlina - She managed to keep Sonic distracted from her plan, all the while doing a competent job at portraying herself as a helpless bystander.

Heavy King - He was wily enough to try and steal the Master Emerald specifically when Knuckles wasn't guarding it. And it’s possible that he got Heavy Rider to keep Sonic and Tails busy so that they wouldn't intervene either. Too bad for him that Knuckles walked in at the last moment...

Zavok - He had a simple plan, but it was an effective one. He was also good at rolling with the punches whenever things didn’t go his way, and while Master Zik was the one who actually came up with the idea of turning Sonic into a robot, Zik himself estimated that Zavok would have probably came up with the idea on his own accord sooner or later anyway.

Vector the Crocodile - Despite his occasionally bumbling attitude, he’s still the brains of the Chaotix at the end of the day, and his deduction skills have proven to be accurate most of the time. Note that he suspected early on that the person guiding them in Heroes was Robotnik, and he also suspected early on that someone was pulling the Time Eater’s strings. Both of these predictions turned out to be correct.

AVERAGE TIER

Amy Rose - Can be ditzy at times, but she tends to have a good amount of common sense, and despite the lack of focus on it, her skill with tarot cards would add further evidence to her being far from stupid. She's also skilled in sussing out people's emotions and feelings even when they’re strangers to her, and as of Forces, she's now had experience as a resistance leader. With the latter, she's implied to have been reasonably competent in that occupation.

Knuckles the Echidna - He may be incredibly gullible, but he also knows a lot about ancient history, and like Rouge, he’s a very skilled treasure hunter. He was also the main leader of the resistance in Forces, although it seems Amy did most of the actual field work in that regard.

Espio the Chameleon - Maybe he should be higher, but we haven’t really seen much to know for sure with him...

Black Doom - Doesn't do anything especially idiotic (or at least not when it doesn’t involve the in-game AI, that’s another story...), but he can be oddly naive for someone so powerful and ancient. His dialogue in Sky Troops heavily and hilariously suggests that he doesn't know what lightning is.

E-123 Omega - For a robot who likes to use brute force to solve his problems, he has shown to be aware of the thoughts and feelings of those around him, especially when it comes to Shadow.

Marine the Raccoon - She was able to create a decent ship in spite of her boisterous personality.

Cream the Rabbit - Naturally her youthful innocence makes her a little naive, but she’s still prone to surprising moments of insightfulness, such as when she's explaining the concept of sadness to Emerl.

Big the Cat - Some fans (and Bioware) might think he should be lower, but one of the themes with Big is that he’s simple, NOT dumb. Given how we’ve seen him do things like piloting the Tornado - a plane he was unfamiliar with - without any obvious trouble, he's more on-the-ball than most fans give him credit for.

Silver the Hedgehog - Despite his incredible powers and competence with using said powers, he’s proven to be a bit foolish, and doesn’t often plan things out that well. That said, he seems to have gotten his act together somewhat by the time of Forces.

Infinite - Not a moron, but often too careless for his own good and usually bites off more than he can chew because of it. His use of the Phantom Ruby also tends to be very basic and thuggish, compared to the more elaborate and cunning ways Robotnik makes use of it.

Captain Whisker - Goofy, easily distracted and tricked, yet surprisingly effective at making getaways.

LOW TIER

Jet the Hawk - He probably isn’t that stupid overall, but aside from his legitimate hoverboard skills, his arrogance makes him out to be a bit of a fool more often than not. Usually more bark than bite. (Also, he doesn’t seem to realise that being the fastest on an Extreme Gear doesn’t mean you’re actually faster than the guy known for being the fastest thing alive on foot.)

Sticks the Badger - Some of her conspiracy theories can be correct, but she tends to be very... behind on things otherwise.

Charmy Bee - He has to be somewhat competent to still be working with the Chaotix, but he’s generally an airhead.

VERY LOW TIER

Storm the Albatross - Clueless individual in general. Mostly a yes-man through and through.

G.U.N. Commander - “I'm going to get revenge on the guy metaphorically responsible for killing Maria by joining the organization that actually killed her.”

INCOMPETENT SWINE TIER

Eggman Nega - Doesn't understand that by using time travel to wipe his ancestor out of existence, he would be wiping himself out of existence too.

Mephiles the Dark - Doesn't know what a straight line is.