#taggging bc this is unglodly hours

[z0nic]

I wanna hear about why you love Zonic so much

@stillafanofsonic @lunasilverpelt 1. He is cool as fuck okay /j Cut bc this is LONG

No but in all seriousness. I only JUST started liking him recently. I don't care much for his pre-reveal characterization or design, because he kinda just looked like a shitty megaman oc with some generic mumbo jumbo about protecting the multiverse or whatever. And I guess it was a pretty cool moment when he DID take his helmet off, but it kinda just missed the mark for me. Idk why it just did The writers mostly used him, along with Naugus, Mammoth Mogul, echidnas, and racism to give Sonic and the gang (mostly sonic) shit to do while Eggman was being set up. While the others were more serious villains, the zones Zonic took Sonic (OR THE READERS!!!) to were mostly just silly, one-off parody zones. After Eggman's return, Sonic had his hands full, and I assume Zonic and the zone cops did too. But while we're here, can we talk about the very CONCEPT of zones?? In the games, they were just areas to go in. Which is completely fine. But the inclusion of the special zone and the Zone of Silence in SatAM indicated that zones could also be seperate dimensions or realities. Sonic had a few fun times in zones before any Zonic shit was revealed, like in Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles, when he met Anti Sonic, or in that trippy zone with Al and Cal or whoever the fuck. And it's either been established or was common knowledge that those zones are either parallel universes such as Moebius/The Anti Zone, or pocket dimensions, like the Special Zone or Zone of Silence. The "COSMIC INTERSTATE" was just a gateway to Anti Sonic, but the IDEA that those zones are connected somehow was set up. Funnily enough, Zonic didn't even THINK to rear his ugly head (affectionate) during the Giant-Borg Crisis, so the Sonics solved the problem on their own. Although later down the line, he'd say he knew about all that and partook in some shenanigans with the Sonic Underground crew. The Cosmic Interstate would later be expanded into the concept of the No Zone, a zone that runs perpendicular to all other parallel ones, thereby intersecting and connecting all of them. This leads to the fact that every inhabitant of this zone is dedicated to preserving the multiverse, a group known as the Zone Cops. These motherfuckers never even took their sorry asses outside of their zone, however, leaving Zonic to do all their dirty work for them. How rude. He was involved with a lot of other miscellaneous shit over the years, which isn't really important, but I'll give a quick overview. He arrested Evil Sonic who then escaped jail after beating him up but then was promptly put back in jail. Mammoth Mogul tried to destroy every zone ever because he's cringe, so Zonic and Sonic teamed up to create the monstrosity known as Titan Tails. And then Anti/Evil Sonic was a little bitch and turned into Scourge, caused some mayhem, and was then beaten up by Sonic, who called Zonic out on his bullcrap, because the Eggman they have is not from their zone. Zonic comes and takes away Scourge, and says some vague ass shit about how he's "needed for the stability of your zone" or some shit. Which is why a lot of people dislike him actually, rather than just calling him mid. However, and this is encroaching headcanon territory, I think there's just enough clues to interpret for yourself. Chaos energy is extremely important in both the games AND in the comics, although in a more subtle way. So when Zonic says there "HAS to be a Sonic and an Eggman," he most likely means how the perpetual conflict that takes place between Sonic and Eggman sustains the natural chaos affinity of that specific zone, and when things get TOO chaotic, that's when the Zone Cops step in. He also says how the Zone Cops are fighting against Eggman N. so need to do a little bit of some zonal social distancing. He then calls Scourge a fucking loser or something and peaces out. Then the funny little jailbreak happens, and then reboot. Boom. A lot of character things here, but I won't go too into detail because I can't. I'm too dumb. Sorry :(

But now we need to go into personality, and a lot of VERY interesting concepts relating to zones imo. Zonic's usual personality is, like @burningdepths said, a lot more serious and focused than Sonic, due to the responsibility he has. It's also interesting to note that he rarely uses his super speed, if EVER, or if he even has it at all. (I like to think he does, just because. Well. He's a fucking sonic.) Sonic's speed obviously representing his freedom, contrasts with how Zonic is not free and can not be free. He's bound to his duty by some inexplicable rule, which creates conflict with the character of Sonic- ANY Sonic. Which are two very important things. (Also important- he DOES have Sonic's attitude and personality, just buried down a lot. IT does surface very rarely though.)

Starting with contrast: I always believed that every alternate zone version of a character starts the same, and is shaped into the person we see them as. This also means that nobody is BORN "good" or "evil". A bit of nature vs. nurture. A prime example of this is Scourge. What are common personality traits of a Sonic? Specifically in Archie, Sonic is a lot more of a dick. He has an ego and he's a little impatient. But he's still a hero at the end of the day, kind and respectful and fun and all that jazz, even though he does half the things he does just for the thrill of it. Archie's Sonic is a bit more grounded, although not by a lot, since he lives in a house with a family and friends and a team. He is also confirmed to be the embodiment of chaos, adding to the thing I said earlier about Eggman and him. Sonic is the way he is because the people he loved were taken away from him by Robotnik, and he wants to fight to get them back, and then keep them, as well as doing the same for others. The person he is today is a result of his character traits being molded by his situations.

Scourge, on the other hand, has been presented as what Sonic COULD be, if everything had went wrong. Unlike Sonic, Scourge had massive daddy issues, like all good villains do. The Great Peace also meant Moebius was weak and ripe for takeover. Since Kintobor is a big softie (I have no time nor energy to start on HIM), Scourge just waltzed in and took over. Good for him. He also committed murder. Now, WHY is he like this? Remember what I said about Sonic's character?? In for the thrill, has an ego?? (None of which are inherently bad, mind you) Well, so does Scourge. Sonic has mentioned that he used to be a bully, meaning that being a hero isn't a part of who he is. It's a product of who he came to be. Those character traits are present in Scourge as well. He came to find Sonic multiple times, because he was fucking bored. Even after powering up, he wanted to go test his powers against Sonic and Shadow. He is very obviously egotistical, and when taking over Moebius, referred to himself as a king. Not very humble. But in this case, he's a massive fucking dickwad, since there was no big bad to put him in his place, whether that be war or a mad scientist, and teach him to fight for the right cause with his friends.

Now Zonic, you can argue, is neither good nor bad. He is leaning a bit to the good side, seeing as most Sonics ARE good, but he's not a pure hero like the regular Sonic is. (credit to @id-f87 for some of these ideas too) Just like how the No Zone is perpendicular to the Prime and Anti Zones, Zonic's moral compass is perpendicular as well. He is technically a "good guy" at the end of the day, but not in the way Sonic is. That ego and thrill-seeking hasn't been toned down, rather redirected by the establishment that he was raised in. He's an Elite Cop, meaning he probably puts a lot of time and effort into all of that, and the multiverse is most likely no stranger to adventures. There's a lot to be said about the Zone Cops being a corrupt establishment and everything, but that's another discussion for another day. Zonic's brief conversation with Warden Zobotnik shows that he doesn't really care too much for minor rules, and if convinced that something is the right thing to do, would probably do it, regardless of what his orders are. Unlike Sonic, who isn't willing to cut any of his losses, Zonic seems more willing to make sacrifices for the "greater good," meaning that it is possible for him to end up against Sonic Prime. Like Sonic and Scourge, he seems prone to making rash decisions sometimes, and definitely has his fair share of mistakes, such as when he forgor to call Underground Sonic to fight Giant Borg. It does feel like he doesn't WANT to be a Zone Cop at times, but genuinely does not know any other option for himself. He pretty much represents the Zone Cops to other zones, (specifically the Prime zone, which might have to do with the fact he's a Sonic) and it's very hard to separate his personal identity to the identity of his bosses. Which is something I think can be explored, especially when his Zone Cop need to maintain order clashes with his own chaotic nature, outside of a workplace.