The Best of the Rest?

[Diogenes]

I've seen this brought up before. And simply put, I HATE it. Shadow is not and has NEVER been a Sonic clone. If anything, I'd prefer the opposite route; make Shadow even MORE different from Sonic. Shadow has plenty of unique characteristics that set him apart from Sonic, and he existed 40+ years before Sonic did. He's not a Sonic clone, plain and simple, and making him a Sonic clone would make people like him even less.

He may not have officially or canonically been a clone, but he was always meant to mirror Sonic. To take that away from him would, I think, be an even bigger betrayal of the character than to make him canonically a clone.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Just make Shadow similar to Sonic but with his own separate and unique traits. That's not really something worth debating.

Sonic Boom, despite being a different universe, still has Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy all being themselves with the same dynamic they already had, so I don't see why Shadow, Silver or Blaze would have to be drastically altered to fit in. 

It is said that Amy is to be an archaeologist, which if true, is a huge difference in character from how she is in the games. Nevermind that she's even more of an action girl than her game counterpart.

 

And Knuckles? We hardly know a damn thing about him in this universe. We don't know if he's even a guardian of anything, with one episode synopsis having him run as a mayor of a town. So chances are he's equally different.

 

All we know is Sonic, Tails, and Eggman. That's it, and even they have some differences. No reason the other characters can't be as altered along with them.

[Kuzu]

Shadow being a clone of Sonic doesn't really mean his personality is any different ya know :\

[Wraith]

One thing I've always found interesting about Knuckles, Blaze, and Shadow respectively is how they all contrast with Sonic in different ways. I thought it was pretty clever how they all fit the role of Sonic's "rival" while still being unique from one another. It'd suck if those aspects of their characters were dropped. 

[Octarine]

I think the clone thing kind of works because it at least keeps Shadow artificial, which feels like a more important aspect of his character to me than his not technically being related to Sonic. Also it practically takes less time to explain that Shadow's a clone than it would to explain that he isn't and just happens to look like Sonic. I'm not sure it's ideal, but it's efficient.

 

I was thinking: if anything were to make it into Boom from the ARK-GUN-Gerald cycle (and it won't, but humour me), Maria would kind of make sense. I mean, since Eggman's taken on guy-from-Despicable-Me proportions, they might want to give him a tagalong kid to complete the "inspiration", and it just so happens he's got this cousin* lying around...

 

*change to niece or daughter as desired

[Sapphire]

Am I the only one who has the gut feeling that they are only going to stick with the core four characters (plus Eggman) that they have now?

 

Either way, character personalities and traits can only be as good as the writing is. At this point, I'm just concerned about that. And with episode plots like Knuckles becoming mayor and Eggman taking Sonic to court, I honestly can't imagine the writing to be anything above average. 

 

Eh, I don't really know where I was going with this in regards to the other characters...

[Octarine]

Am I the only one who has the gut feeling that they are only going to stick with the core four characters (plus Eggman) that they have now?

 

I'd almost certainly agree based on just the trailers and press blurbs, except it's sort of been confirmed that at least somebody else is returning. I forget who said it and where, but yeah. Totally a thing, I'm pretty sure.

[JaidynReiman]

Am I the only one who has the gut feeling that they are only going to stick with the core four characters (plus Eggman) that they have now?

 

Either way, character personalities and traits can only be as good as the writing is. At this point, I'm just concerned about that. And with episode plots like Knuckles becoming mayor and Eggman taking Sonic to court, I honestly can't imagine the writing to be anything above average. 

 

Eh, I don't really know where I was going with this in regards to the other characters...

I don't think you're the only one, but its been confirmed that both old and new characters other than the ones shown are returning. We've seen a Marine doppleganger, and we know that Cubot (which also means Orbot, too) will be appearing in the series. Cubot's voice actor leaked it when he probably wasn't supposed to.

 

If they're going to bring in Cubot and Orbot, I can't see them skipping other main characters that have been around a lot longer.

 

He may not have officially or canonically been a clone, but he was always meant to mirror Sonic. To take that away from him would, I think, be an even bigger betrayal of the character than to make him canonically a clone.

I didn't say make him SIGNIFICANTLY different, just a tad bit more different from Sonic so they're still similar but not looking so close to one another.

[Pawn]

 

One thing I've always found interesting about Knuckles, Blaze, and Shadow respectively is how they all contrast with Sonic in different ways. I thought it was pretty clever how they all fit the role of Sonic's "rival" while still being unique from one another. It'd suck if those aspects of their characters were dropped. 

 

Exactly. As funny as it might be to imagine (and as much as I enjoy gifs like these), I do not want anything resembling Hawaiian Shirt Shadow to become a reality*. Shadow's personality was defined not just by his unnatural birth, but also by a tragic past and distance from the rest of the world. I doubt they'd bring the ARK into this (and it wouldn't be all that entertaining to relive the same story again anyway), but the writers could easily come up with something simpler and in a similar vein to replace it. I don't think Eggman will create much outside of robots and giant mechs as usual, even if it is a different universe. Another villain maybe, say this 'ancient evil', could possess the ability to conjure (or build) Shadow as its own negative reflection of Sonic (only for them to betray Shadow; harm someone Shadow has grown to care about; etc). His redesign could bare the markings of the main villain in place of the stripes/scars and inherit his less Sonic-like abilities from said villain. It would be less complicated than the GUN plot and lack the stupid that the Black Arms brought to the table.

 

It would lack also the familial connection to Eggman himself, though. I've always liked that Shadow calls him 'Doctor', as if there is some level of respect between them. Whether that's because they're a part of the same family or simply the result of their previous team-up, who knows. That said, they could always team up later and develop a connection.

 

 

*Although I am aware that Indigo was probably not entirely serious about that =p

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

I'd propose doing something akin to Khan Noonien Singh from Star Trek for Shadow. Perhaps make him a genetically enhanced/superior hedgehog being, maybe even from a different time. Then give him a rivalry with Sonic and/or the the others.

[Sitronhog]

So since the Chaos emeralds are absence from Sonic Boom and if Shadow appears. Will he not be capable to perform Chaos Control now? Wasn't he created based of Chaos energy or something like that? And no Chaos emeralds, no chaos energy...Maybe he gets a different backstory then or he still has the original backround, only they changed it so the chaos emeralds would have nothing to do with his creation at all.  

[Kuzu]

With no Chaos Emeralds, I'm pretty sure Shadow is gonna straight up be Sonic's clone moveset wise.

[Sapphire]

I don't think you're the only one, but its been confirmed that both old and new characters other than the ones shown are returning. We've seen a Marine doppleganger, and we know that Cubot (which also means Orbot, too) will be appearing in the series. Cubot's voice actor leaked it when he probably wasn't supposed to.

 

If they're going to bring in Cubot and Orbot, I can't see them skipping other main characters that have been around a lot longer.

 

I didn't say make him SIGNIFICANTLY different, just a tad bit more different from Sonic so they're still similar but not looking so close to one another.

 

I kind of just mentally group Cubot and Orbot with Eggman, so I'm not surprised they'll make an appearance. 

 

I guess I just have a hard time imagining other Sonic characters having a significant role in the TV show. I can see it happening more in the game, though for some reason. Cameos have been done aplenty before.

 

In regards to the show, I just don't want them bringing in other Sonic characters for no reason at all, you know what I mean? I would want them to have SOME significance or contribute some role in the episode(s) they would be in. 

[Celestia]

With no Chaos Emeralds, I'm pretty sure Shadow is gonna straight up be Sonic's clone moveset wise.

You could always give him time manipulation powers as a unique ability rather than Sonic Team's Chaos Control. I mean, Chaos Control has always been "his" thing, and it'd make sense to keep that in mind for this universe that doesn't have the Emeralds. I could even see him having temporary bullet time as his unique skill if he's ever playable in the Boom games, giving you an advantage in combat for a fe seconds, and maybe being used in certain puzzles and the like.

[Sitronhog]

Maybe they change Shadow's Chaos Control to "Time Stop" now...Ugh xD

I think that was Sonic's version of Chaos Control in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle in 2-player mode. It doesn't sound as cool as Chaos Control though 

[Salamander]

Something I wrote in another thread:

 

Knuckles actually doesn't change much without the Chaos Emeralds.  He can still be the last, or one of the last, of an ancient civilisation that died out, someone who's spent his life in the wilderness and the ruins and who has a strong sense of purpose, legacy, history.  All it really changes is that he can go out sometimes without worrying about the Master Emerald, and the games had pretty much abandoned this element anyway in order to pursue him as a "main character."  So Knuckles as I see him is likely to be more or less the same.

 

I sense that he's too big a can of worms to be in this game, but rewriting Shadow is a hugely exciting prospect.  Shadow is basically the defining example of a character who was designed without any reference to the in-game backstory they were going to give him (Chip is another one).  There's really no reason for him to be an edgy Sonic doppelganger, but his whole concept really doesn't make much sense either - ultimate lifeform, cure for disease, Chaos powers, fifty years ago?  These elements don't really have anything to do with each other, or with a character whose image equates to "dark Sonic," which I imagine would've been roughly the pitch for his design and role in the script.  To recast him for Boom then you'd basically just want to boil Shadow down to a couple of essential ideas which actually fit him - which his design actually evokes.  He's an antihero, he's a dark Sonic, he looks powerful - alright, keep those.  I think the "fifty years ago" - or ancient, rather - angle is also worth exploring as he looks physically more mature than Sonic, too, but that confuses the issue of why he looks so similar to Sonic, which it's pointless to deny.  He's a Sonic clone, he was designed to be a Sonic clone, we all know this, let's not pretend he looks like anything else.  That's an element they have to have in there.

 

Mostly Shadow writes himself, then.  Evil enemy creates counter-Sonic with their own evil technology, horrible personality, fearsome powers, abiding hatred for Sonic but inner self-respect and dignity.  Still, though, working in the angle of him as an older figure is hard to reconcile there... maybe he's reincarnated somehow... yes, recycled from the DNA of an ancient warrior race plus Sonic's.  Something like that might work.

 

Silver and Blaze: Reluctant though I am to take away their time-travel and otherdimensional backstories, it might be for the best.  Silver's from some super-futuristic city that underwent some catastrophe - easy to reconcile with the growing sense that an ancient hedgehog civilisation might've been around at some point in the Boom universe.  Maybe not so much Trunks as Kal-El - last survivor of a race cast down by a terrible disaster.  Could still have time-travel in there, but relate it less to the rest of the Boom universe.  Blaze: Princess in a more mystical foreign kingdom somewhere, which accounts for her fire powers, likely also related to some local McGuffin, spiritual force, etcetera.

[Splash the Otter]

Just so you know, the following post is purely speculation:

 

I think since the Chaos Emeralds won't be part of Sonic Boom, it's likely the Master Emerald won't either. This means that if Angel Island shows up, it will either fly on its own or just be a regular island. Knuckles probably comes from Angel Island (or its counterpart) but isn't required to protect it. I approve of this, because it gives him the freedom I've been wanting Knuckles to have in the main series.

 

As for Team Dark, I can see Rouge as a rival to Amy. While Amy is more interested in the historical value of her finds, Rouge cares more about their monetary value. Shadow is an artificial lifeform created by an ancient civilization (like in STC-O, but it doesn't have to be the Drakon Empire). Rouge finds him while looking for treasure, and he becomes her sidekick.

 

I'm not really sure about the other characters. If Fang appears, I hope they don't make him an out-and-out villain. He can still be an antagonist, but I want him to have qualities that make him likeable. Blaze and Silver probably won't have their backstory from the games, but will retain their ability to control fire (for Blaze) and psychokinesis (for Silver).

[JaidynReiman]

Just so you know, the following post is purely speculation:

 

I think since the Chaos Emeralds won't be part of Sonic Boom, it's likely the Master Emerald won't either. This means that if Angel Island shows up, it will either fly on its own or just be a regular island. Knuckles probably comes from Angel Island (or its counterpart) but isn't required to protect it. I approve of this, because it gives him the freedom I've been wanting Knuckles to have in the main series.

 

As for Team Dark, I can see Rouge as a rival to Amy. While Amy is more interested in the historical value of her finds, Rouge cares more about their monetary value. Shadow is an artificial lifeform created by an ancient civilization (like in STC-O, but it doesn't have to be the Drakon Empire). Rouge finds him while looking for treasure, and he becomes her sidekick.

 

I'm not really sure about the other characters. If Fang appears, I hope they don't make him an out-and-out villain. He can still be an antagonist, but I want him to have qualities that make him likeable. Blaze and Silver probably won't have their backstory from the games, but will retain their ability to control fire (for Blaze) and psychokinesis (for Silver).

I'd prefer to keep Rouge as Knuckles' rival and give Amy a new rival (my thought was Blaze), but I could see Rouge being Amy's rival, too. Personally, I still kinda like the idea if, they brought back "Fang," he's Rouge's partner before Shadow, and if Shadow/Omega join to make a rival faction, Fang would be Tails' rival and Omega Knuckles'.

 

I can't see Fang appearing, but it would be cool.