Megathread IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog - Megathread

[SSF1991]

The answer is much larger than I think people realize. Clearly, there is no legal problems keeping the Freedom Fighters from appearing. It is nothing more than IDW wanting to take the Sonic comics one step at a time. The only thing holding the Freedom Fighters back is IDW themselves, and I feel this is only because they're wanting to focus on getting the comics underway for now. Seeing as how Ian Flynn's a fan of them, he'll probably bring them back once the time is right. I think they'll appear next year.

I'm going to be blunt. This answer should not have taken a year to give, and there's really no excuse for it. But, on the plus side, fans of the Freedom Fighters have just gotten a ton of hope again.

[Multikaris]

52 minutes ago, andrewtuell1991 said:

I knew they wouldn't.  Can we just write them off as dead now?  The silence pretty much confirms it.

They could also be classic-locked, or even spun off as a new IP.

[Zeer]

Could be possible that SEGA hasn't given them a solid answer? Go back to that GameInformer interview and Ian talks about starting with the core game stuff since you never know what the licensor wants represented or not. He gives some hope to the idea of they might incorporate older elements from the fringes of the franchise and the answer regarding the FFs kinda falls in line with that.

[Splash the Otter]

57 minutes ago, VEDJ-F said:

They did not go into the FFs like Ian said they would. 

They did go into Mighty and Ray though. Interesting, they are imposing a classic separation for them. Might do the same for Fang. Bean and Bark as well then. 

Why does there have to be this Classic/Modern divide? I don't like when characters are mutually exclusive...

[DabigRG]

Quote

"One of the early concepts for the villains looked like an 80's gym rat complete with the shorts."

What?

1 hour ago, VEDJ-F said:

They did go into Mighty and Ray though. Interesting, they are imposing a classic separation for them. Might do the same for Fang. Bean and Bark as well then. 

The Hooligans are essentially Heels with unique designs that could always just be thrown in, especially wih Fighters HD and Mania being recent.

Mighty and Ray are essentially Sonic(and Tails) clones that probably need further reevaluation.

1 hour ago, GentlemanX said:

Per Ellen at TSSZ, Freedom Fighters not in 2018. Door is not closed.

Makes sense. They are more or less mascots of a recently ended longrunner.

[SSF1991]

47 minutes ago, Zeer said:

Could be possible that SEGA hasn't given them a solid answer?

It doesn't take a year to give them a solid answer on something that has no legal problems.

[DabigRG]

Holy shit, I just learned about this!

I thought it was Mania Adventures they were in?

Quote

 

"We want Tangle to act as if she were a Sonic fan who entered Sonic's world"

When Sonic & Tangle first meet, they shake hands, but Sonic accidentally grabs her tail thinking it's her hand! Whoops!

 

How do you even make that mistake?

 

[Razule]

9 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

Holy shit, I just learned about this!

I thought it was Mania Adventures they were in?

How do you even make that mistake?

 

They're described as being back to back in battle, with them both facing the bad guys and shaking hands at the same time. Tangle uses her tail, Sonic shakes it, unknowingly.

2 hours ago, VEDJ-F said:

They did go into Mighty and Ray though. Interesting, they are imposing a classic separation for them. Might do the same for Fang. Bean and Bark as well then. 

That's kind of a big thing. RIP Mighty and Ray in comics for sometime then.

[andrewtuell1991]

1 hour ago, Miragnarok said:

They could also be classic-locked, or even spun off as a new IP.

That comment was made before the "not in 2018" information, so...

But you bring up a good point.  They said Mighty and Ray, and I'm just gonna assume Fang, Bean, and Bark by extension, wouldn't be in because they're "classic" characters and the comic will focus the "modern" universe despite the five having faux-modern designs via Archie.  If they're truly drawing a thick, fine line between the two universes based on games then that leaves the Freedom Fighters without a home unless they really wanna stretch and count their 2-second cameos from that one minigame from Spinball.  Of course that would mean Sally would be restricted to her pink design and no Antoine but Muttski would be viable (lol).

[PublicEnemy1]

I love the FFs, but even I admit that they should be introduced after the main cast is established. I love the direction they're taking.

[goku262002]

So we get Mighty and Ray back in the games but the tradeoff is that their perma-locked, like with the hooligans, to Mania and it's canon/lore.

That's fucked honestly, all we can hope for is that they all get modern adaptions in the games someday and therefore can be used in the comics.

[Dr. Detective]

I'm too married to my bias towards what I grew up with and as a result it seems that I don't really have a problem with Mighty, Ray, and the Hooligans being tied to the Mania canon. 

If they were to be included in the comic I wouldn't throw a fit though. I'm just not losing sleep over it.

[Tenko]

But...Nack especially was in the Archie comic since what the late #20's or so. Perhaps the Triple Trouble special, I forget. If you grew up with Archie Sonic then he's been in it almost since it's infancy. He did tend to have long patches of no-show tho.

There are times this whole separation between "Classic" and "Modern" is a big pain in the butt. Sega should just bite the damn bullet and give the older characters an official redesign so they can be used in other media. This whole dimension thing instead of what most considered future/past is causing even more divide.

[Dr. Detective]

2 hours ago, Tenko said:

But...Nack especially was in the Archie comic since what the late #20's or so. Perhaps the Triple Trouble special, I forget. If you grew up with Archie Sonic then he's been in it almost since it's infancy. He did tend to have long patches of no-show tho.

There are times this whole separation between "Classic" and "Modern" is a big pain in the butt. Sega should just bite the damn bullet and give the older characters an official redesign so they can be used in other media. This whole dimension thing instead of what most considered future/past is causing even more divide.

Nack wasn't involved in any of what I grew up with.

I grew up with 2 episodes of AoSth on VHS, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, Sonic Heroes, and Sonic X onward. When it comes to the Archie comics, I randomly bought Issue 181 at a bookstore one day, didn't buy anymore until I picked it up again at 194 and moved onward. As a result I struggled to get over the fact that it was a book that wasn't really geared towards what I, at the time, and still today, wanted the most out of a Sonic comic which admittedly was just a story about the modern world and the characters I was familiar with. I like the Hooligans for what they contributed to the book as villains though. I got behind them more than I ever could with the Freedom Fighters (and I tried with them too but... that ended up not happening...)

So you know. Again, I don't have a problem if they were to show up. I'm not losing sleep over them being gone though.

You know. It's all about what kind of fan you are and why you're even here, looking forward to these comics. I've got several binders full of the comics but I enjoy them for different reasons then most. 

[Your Vest Friend]

1 hour ago, Tenko said:

This whole dimension thing instead of what most considered future/past is causing even more divide.

This has got nowt to do with the dimension thing and everything to do with Sonic Team just not wanting them in the modern games. 

They left these guys to rot for 21-25 years precisely because they weren't interested in using them. In this period, their appearances in the games were treated on-par with any other comic original in terms of how significant they were, so it's not like they were overly invested in them while the Archie comic was going on. 

Now they've given another company and a fraction of the Western side a place where they can have their own little playground effectively, for the classic-style gaming and concepts they don't want to use themselves still. It just so happens that the tradeoff is that the scrapped characters they used go from having no lock due to being inactive to being classic-locked. They have a higher status of recognition, but it doesn't come without consequences. 

[Multikaris]

1 minute ago, VEDJ-F said:

This has got nowt to do with the dimension thing and everything to do with Sonic Team just not wanting them in the modern games. 

They left these guys to rot for 21-25 years precisely because they weren't interested in using them. In this period, their appearances in the games were treated on-par with any other comic original in terms of how significant they were, so it's not like they were overly invested in them while the Archie comic was going on. 

Now they've given another company and a fraction of the Western side a place where they can have their own little playground effectively, for the classic-style gaming and concepts they don't want to use themselves still. It just so happens that the tradeoff is that the scrapped character they used go from having no lock due to being inactive to being classic-locked. They have a higher status of recognition, but it doesn't come without consequences. 

Hopefully the Freedom Fighters have no lock, or, if they do, they could become active again.

[goku262002]

So pretty much if it's an inactive character thats modern, theirs a good chance of them being used in the comics. but if said character is active in any other offshoot thats not in the modern canon, then fuck it theirs no chance in hell.

Along with Mighty and Ray & the hooligans Sticks would be another example of this, not inactive but belongs to an offshoot of the Sonic franchise, not like anything from Boom could be used anyways.

[GentlemanX]

49 minutes ago, Tenko said:

But...Nack especially was in the Archie comic since what the late #20's or so. Perhaps the Triple Trouble special, I forget. If you grew up with Archie Sonic then he's been in it almost since it's infancy. He did tend to have long patches of no-show tho.

There are times this whole separation between "Classic" and "Modern" is a big pain in the butt. Sega should just bite the damn bullet and give the older characters an official redesign so they can be used in other media. This whole dimension thing instead of what most considered future/past is causing even more divide.

On the flip side, should the Modern Sonic book do well enough, it's perfectly conceivable that a Classic Sonic book could become a thing, and everything in Mania would be prominently featured there. Similarly, if the Classic Sonic only elements are received well and become popular enough, it is possible Sega could reintroduce them into the Modern franchise as well. I'm not concerned about it and honestly the characters are better positioned for continued use and success by being associated with Mania then as minor characters in a spin off book.

I'm kinda curious what all fits under the "Classic Sonic" umbrella right now though. Obviously we have confirmation that the Classic designs and Mighty and Ray are Classic Sonic, making it a fair assumption that Fang, Bean, Bark, and everything else in Mania is also Classic Sonic. But where does that leave other pre-Sonic Adventure elements that aren't referenced in Mania? Are the Witchcarters and Battle Bird Armada bound by Classic Sonic since they're from a pre-SA1 title, or are they still considered "forgotten" and therefore available from something like IDW Sonic as they were for Archie Sonic? If something is considered forgotten now and available, if a follow up to Mania reintroduces a character or concept will that retroactively make them Classic Sonic and therefore unavailable for use in IDW Sonic from that point forward? Today they said the door isn't closed for the Freedom Fighters to show up in the future, does that mean the DiC concepts aren't considered Classic Sonic despite when they came out, or in the Freedom Fighters and SSSS Squad despite appearing in Spinball and Mean Bean Machine (how would the original concepts from those games be classified, like say Hip and Hop?)? Once again, if the Mania team later got permission to use the DiC concepts, would they also be retroactively barred from IDW Sonic?

I'm also curious what all IDW can use now from the other branches of the franchise. Ian previously stated the DiC concepts were kept in Archie Sonic due to being grandfathered in by contracts from when Archie and Sonic first worked together. I assume those same terms aren't being applied now, so if DiC concepts are still available, does IDW have stuff like X or Boom available as well? If Boom is still relevant enough that Sega doesn't want those concepts mixing with Modern Sonic elements, would IDW have the ability to produce a Boom comic should their be enough talent available?

Lots of questions. Excited to learn more later.

[Tyranno]

I imagine Mighty and Ray (and probably the Hooligans thanks to Mania) being locked to classic stuff is that they're now on Sega's radar, as Classic characters, and thus any other involvement for them falls under Sega's scrutiny, and it's now up to them to determine how they're used in a broader context. Basically, Sega wants IDW to avoid any contradictions in how Mighty and Ray are portrayed should they ever decide to have them make the jump from Mania to involvement in bigger things.

[Your Vest Friend]

3 minutes ago, GentlemanX said:

Similarly, if the Classic Sonic only elements are received well and become popular enough, it is possible Sega could reintroduce them into the Modern franchise as well.

I sincerely doubt that to be honest. If they've wanted them separate for two decades (to the point of not using them), I don't see them changing their mind even in the face of Mania. I mean, even way back when the divide happened, they weren't separated out due to their popularity (Fang at least was probably far more familiar with the general audience than Espio (or any of the other Chaotix but I'm speaking strictly non-Sonic Team made)). 

3 minutes ago, GentlemanX said:

I'm kinda curious what all fits under the "Classic Sonic" umbrella right now though. Obviously we have confirmation that the Classic designs and Mighty and Ray are Classic Sonic, making it a fair assumption that Fang, Bean, Bark, and everything else in Mania is also Classic Sonic. But where does that leave other pre-Sonic Adventure elements that aren't referenced in Mania? Are the Witchcarters and Battle Bird Armada bound by Classic Sonic since they're from a pre-SA1 title, or are they still considered "forgotten" and therefore available from something like IDW Sonic as they were for Archie Sonic? If something is considered forgotten now and available, if a follow up to Mania reintroduces a character or concept will that retroactively make them Classic Sonic and therefore unavailable for use in IDW Sonic from that point forward?

Hmm....you have a good point about the remaining classic cast. I would have said they were fair game but retroactive locking would mess with that. Unless there are just some ideas SEGA would deny even the Mania team (I could see any characters originating from a Tails branded game getting this, for example), keeping them permanently unlocked and free for the comic to use.

3 minutes ago, GentlemanX said:

Today they said the door isn't closed for the Freedom Fighters to show up in the future, does that mean the DiC concepts aren't considered Classic Sonic despite when they came out, or in the Freedom Fighters and SSSS Squad despite appearing in Spinball and Mean Bean Machine (how would the original concepts from those games be classified, like say Hip and Hop?)? Once again, if the Mania team later got permission to use the DiC concepts, would they also be retroactively barred from IDW Sonic?

God knows at this point. They keeping saying that the door's open to stuff like them and Fleetway of all things, but we know for a fact that there are still restrictions on alternate media because Sonic Underground can't be touched. 

[Dr. Detective]

If it were me, regardless of my personal feelings, I probably wouldn't bother with the alternate media stuff at all. Just talking about it sounds like it'd be a confusing back and forth that's barely worth getting into when the primary concern is to get a comic off the ground with the concepts and characters that you definitely know you can use without much of an issue. If it ever becomes viable and worth it enough to be implemented without much of a hassle trying to sort things out, or heaven forbid, concern for outside Penders parties throwing their hats into the ring because of a bunch of legal nonsense no one saw coming then maybe I'd think about giving it a shot.

At the moment though, I can't blame anyone over there for wanting to focus just on the main series stuff. 

It sucks for me too because I want that Danny meets Bocoe and Decoe buddy-cop comedy. Special guest starring Germone Wise; the President's aid who got fired and immediately went to being a bum who dug through garbage cans on the streets in Sonic X. That story was magical.

[Eurisko]

I've been sleeping through all this , is there a place to watch the whole panel anywhere. YouTube etc...... 

[Tenko]

I hope that the Battle Bird Armada is still open for use and not locked. While I would love to see them in Mania 2 perhaps, I still really want to see what Ian had planned for them. The way he has talked about his ideas for Archie that never got used or submitted it sounds like he might rewrite a few to use in IDW, and it seemed like there was going to be a return of the Armada after the whole Shattered World thing.

Speaking of, if they did bring them in, would they use a more accurate design of Speedy, akin to Drawloverlala's with Speedy being white and wearing armour not a...eggshell type nappy?

Hmm..also if the Freedom Fighters do show up in 2019 based on the recent comments, do you think Nagus will be back too? 

[MetalSkulkBane]

At the end of a day I can live without Mighty, Ray or Hooligans. Maybe IDW wil change policy and add them later, maybe not. Either way I'll be fine. Still, it seems a bit strange that Mania is crazy popular now, yet they don't want to use classic characters here.

Maybe they planning Classic book later down the line? Personally I can take it, but would pick SU or Shadow book over it without slightest hesitation. Even Boom can potentially lead to more unique stories than "Sonic, jokes, Eggman, badniks". Main tittle can do this just fine, thank you.

(Also, I do wonder if Chaotix will ever appear in Mania/Mania Adventures/ any of other classic property).

[SSF1991]

1 hour ago, GentlemanX said:

Today they said the door isn't closed for the Freedom Fighters to show up in the future, does that mean the DiC concepts aren't considered Classic Sonic despite when they came out, or in the Freedom Fighters and SSSS Squad despite appearing in Spinball and Mean Bean Machine (how would the original concepts from those games be classified, like say Hip and Hop?)?

Ray and Mighty were de-confirmed for the IDW Sonic era for now because they are Classic characters and IDW Sonic is Modern. The Freedom Fighters have been modernized beyond all recognition and they have long since become their own thing, so I don't think there is any worry about that. Hell, I think the Freedom Fighters have become more known for being comic characters than SatAM characters nowadays. And they'd fit in the IDW Sonic comics well.