Megathread IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog - Megathread

[Shadowlax]

28 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

Fair enough. 

Didn't take you for a KTE guy, I must say.

 

Knuckles is cool

He's not my fav, he isn't not in my top 5. But I appreciate him for what he is , and like when he's done well. 

[DabigRG]

Gonna appreciate how the Band of Six got such a burst in comments for a page or so today.

45 minutes ago, Shadowlax said:

Knuckles is cool

He's not my fav, he isn't not in my top 5. But I appreciate him for what he is , and like when he's done well. 

Sonic: Cool!

 

I think many of us can appreciate things for what they are and/or when they're done well.

[Silvereyes]

So my issues of #15, #16, #17 and the Annual came a couple days ago. Personally, I'm really enjoying this second arc, but then I seem to be enjoying the whole IDW run really, I have very few complaints. It feels funny, in other fandoms, I tend to be the kindof guy who is far more critical but on this thread, I'm apparently one of the optimists. Ah well.

Still, I have been liking this arc. I do like Flynn's take on Amy, I will admit I've never been much of a fan of her outside of Boom but I do enjoy Flynn's take on her especially, as well as all the Sonic characters. Rough and Tumble make for a great comedic pair of henchmen, and while ofcourse they are arrogant idiots, I do think it is interesting how you do feel some sympathy for them when they are dumped with the metal virus. I like this pair, and it'll be interesting to see how they progress after this arc. I actually wonder if they'll wind up like those 2 comedy pirates from the Pirates of the Caribbean, who progress from comedic henchmen into perhaps comedic heroes? Just a thought.

The metal virus is wonderful in how dark it is, the fact that it turns people into goo which can lead to body horror, and basically make it nigh on impossible to stop is great for a comic meant for children. The fact as well that with the loss of Charmy, and the fact that it does look likely we will be seeing several characters succumb to the virus over the following issues will be great fun. It'll be interesting to see what the endgame of this arc will look like, I do want characters like Vector and Espio and other survivors to perhaps band together with Sonic, with characters reacting to their losses.

I also do genuinely think Sonic's character arc in this storyline about him becoming a victim of the metal virus is worth praising too, considering how we do know that Sega has a put a bunch of restrictions of what Sonic's actual character is and isn't allowed to do in the comics. I find those rejected covers for issue #15 very interesting, I never thought about the parallel between Sonic and Metal Sonic in such a way, and I sortof hope now that such a connection is made again. I am also curious to see how Omega and Metal Sonic react to the metal virus as well, if that does come up in the future.

I mean, I do think some criticisms are a bit valid. The IDW run is definetly taking its time, with some issues feeling like only one thing has really moved the plot along, I do think issues #13 and #14 are perhaps the most guilty of this. Saying that though, I don't think any issue has been pointless. I do think #13 was needed to reestablish Rough and Tumble as henchmen and have them lose so that they can be dumped with the metal virus in issue #15, and #14 was neccesary to establish that Dr Starline was a credible villian in both ability and intelligence, something which I think will pay off when we hit the end of the current arc.

I think the reason I am tolerating this is that I do have faith that there will be good payoffs later down the line, personally my bet is that Dr Starline will breakaway from Eggman at the end of this and become his own recurring villian. I'm wondering if perhaps the metal virus will have a lingering impact, perhaps when it is inevitably cured, perhaps not everyone is cured? Wouldn't surprise me if a new villian comes out of the aftermath of the situation. Not to mention as well that with the upcoming Tangle and Whisper mini-series and with several issues doing well in sales, I am growing more confident that we're going to see a second book launched at some point, with either a new book or a new mini-series announced after T&W #4. No evidence for that obviously, but I do feel hopeful. Archie had 2 books running for something like 13 years, can't see why IDW can't as well.

I feel the need to defend Year One as well, simply on the fact that while the formula did get repetitive, I do think it was neccesary to introduce the Sonic cast in such a way. For fans, that might be annoying, but I think it is neccesary for kids who are getting into the franchise. Blaze and Silver are still the newer members of the main cast, but they were introduced 14 and 13 years ago respectively, and havn't seen a huge amount of screen time since. Granted, that's not to say it couldn't of been in a slightly more interesting manner, the first 4 issues do all basically have the same pattern, and I do think issue #8 is the weakest issue of Year One because it does feel like a momentum killer between the reveal of Metal Sonic and the battle for Angel Island.

But, at the end of the day, I like IDW Sonic because I have very few problems with Ian Flynn's writing, all the characters are interesting, with the new cast mixing nicely with the old cast, how much it feels like this comic can be set in the game continuity, and I don't think we've had a single bad piece of art from the several artists who have worked on the series so far. Could more be happening in each issue? Yes, but I do think the universe is becoming richer already. Year Two only had four issues of setup to reach the metal virus plot going worldwide compared to Year One taking eight issues to reach the battle for Angel Island. I think things are already becoming richer, and I think the hint that the T&W mini-series will have its own original villian as well will help things too.

Really, I'm having fun, and trust the creative team. I honestly think even in just two years from now, the IDW run will be running like a charm, hopefully by then with a second book.

I also did enjoy the Annual. I don't think there is too much to say about it, it is essentially a short story collection, the only one that does feel substantial is the first twelve page story about the Babylon Rogues. Really do enjoy the first story with it introducing Jewel and the fact it seems like it is going actually be a little bit of a prelude before the T&W mini-series as well. The Sonic and Tails one was nice to see the two bonding, but like someone else on here, the sequenstial art did confuse me at the end. Victory Garden is a nice short about Blaze and Silver, and Blaze yet again basically being a big sister to Silver, really I enjoy it for the hopefullness of it and seeing this pair interact. Curse of the Pyramid is nice to see Rouge being nice, ofcourse when there is noone else to see her being nice and Rough and Tumble being Team Rocket. The Sonic Fan Club was a fun bit of fluff which feels like a callback to the early Archie days. I really like Jon Gray's new art, but I also find it so different to all the other IDW artists, so it feels so divorced compared to the rest of the annual in tone. I do enjoy it though, and hey, Mina the Mongoose's young sister turns up in it too.

I really enjoy the Annual, but I wouldn't say any of the stories are classics. I do love the variety though and am happy for future Annuals to be like this, rather than say an Annual issue just being a regular plus sized issue, like some of the Archie ones are. I must admit, with the 40 pages, and with us getting a 12 page story, two 8 page stories and two 6 page stories, I wouldn't mind perhaps if the second Annual perhaps axed a story, and instead we got two 12 twelve page stories and two 8 page stories. Compared to the Sonic Specials and Sonic Super Specials from Archie as well, I do rank the Annual above most of them, although Mecha Madness is always going to be the one to top for me.

Also, I get my comics from Forbidden Planet UK, and so they've been sending me the comics with Cover A on them, but with the Annual, they sent me the RI cover, with Blaze and Silver gardening. I'm not complaining, I adore all the Nathalie Fourdraine's covers, with the Annual perhaps being my favourite of all of them. Just curious as to why I got that one instead, I don't actually know what RI means. Thanks to anyone who answers.

[Shadowlax]

The 6 and more specifically zavok have been being discussed more in a lot of places primarly " Why are they still here and why is zavok in TSR " . They are this weird sort of fixture now in sonic media where I don't think they have a large fanbase even with kids... but they are just still around. So we are just left to question.

To connect this to the comic, how would ya'll like Ian to use them in the comic

[Bowbowis]

1 hour ago, Diogenes said:

I really can't agree. Mephiles only ever had one (very poorly explained) motivation; he's useless outside of it. Plus they'd have to nerf him hard or write him like shit, considering how game-breaking time travel should be. And Doom's at least as generic as the D6; he's just your bog standard invading alien, he's got nothing going beyond being evil and having a lot of fodder to throw at the heroes.

But they do give a writer something to work with, if not through their personalities then through the context they create. Black Doom, by his nature, is a catalyst for an alien invasion plot line, Mephiles opens up potential for all sorts of time travel shenanigans and could put characters in a position where they can't be sure if the person their talking to is really their friend or Mephiles in disguise. The two of them bring things to the table which could, in theory, justify reusing them, and maybe ironing out some of their flaws along the way. You can say it isn't much, but it is something, which is more than the Deadly Six have.

1 hour ago, Diogenes said:

Man and Doom's doesn't? He's some muddy-colored legless cultist with a puckered butthole for a mouth. Mephiles can pass but that's because he's a literal recolor half the time. The D6's designs aren't stellar but I'd say they're way more in line with Sonic character standards than most other villains have been. Simple shapes, saturated colors, a lot of shared features that unite them as a species despite vastly different body types...

Meh... It's sort of an uncanny valley thing for me. Stuff like Doom, Biolizard, or Dark Gaia are so far removed from the standard Sonic character design that it's obvious they're supposed to look weird and alien even in-universe. Comparing them to Sonic is sort of like comparing a human to a squid, they look very different because they're very different creatures. Ironically by hewing closer to the standard Sonic character design the areas where the Deadly Six deviate, such as their matte eyes, plasticky textures, and exaggerated squash and stretch (mainly with Zazz and Zomom) become more obvious and make them look less alien and more like immigrants from a different series with a similar-but-not-quite-the-same art style.

For a sense of what I'm talking about compare Zero Suit Samus in SSBB to Pokemon Trainer and his Pokemon from the same game:

 

Samus and Pokemon Trainer may share a more similar body plan and proportions to each other than to the Pokemon but there are subtle similarities linking the Pokemon to their Trainer which makes it clear he belongs with them more than he does with Samus.

[Wraith]

Don't really care at all for the Deadly Six but I don't think trying to ground them or make them more serious is the answer. They're definely lame characters but trying to make them more "badass" on a purely surface level comes off as kind of childish. Their abstract, exaggerated designs are like one of the only things they have going for them and if you were to try and "rehabilitate" them I'd start by leaning into that part of them more and not less. Have some fun with it. 

[StaticMania]

Nobody really suggested changing their designs, just giving them textures...

I said I'd take away Zavok's shoulder spikes and ponytail because, that's the only part of his design I actually dislike.

[Diogenes]

15 minutes ago, Bowbowis said:

But they do give a writer something to work with, if not through their personalities then through the context they create. Black Doom, by his nature, is a catalyst for an alien invasion plot line, Mephiles opens up potential for all sorts of time travel shenanigans and could put characters in a position where they can't be sure if the person their talking to is really their friend or Mephiles in disguise. The two of them bring things to the table which could, in theory, justify reusing them, and maybe ironing out some of their flaws along the way. You can say it isn't much, but it is something, which is more than the Deadly Six have.

I wouldn't say that Doom being pigeonholed into reruns of ShtH and Mephiles being pigeonholed into always-risky time travel plots is actually an advantage. The D6 don't have such a clear archetypical role but that doesn't mean there isn't anything to do with them. They're a bunch of asshole demons who've got reasons to hate both Sonic and Eggman; they could stage their own "alien" invasion of Earth after getting a taste of its life force, they could go after one side or the other for revenge, or they could make an uneasy alliance with one side against the other or against some outside threat. Plus while their lack of development/depth may not have left many solid hooks, empty space begs to be filled; they've still got a high degree of freedom in deciding exactly who these assholes are unlike Doom and Meph being stuck to their very specific and no longer relevant or fresh contexts.

15 minutes ago, Bowbowis said:

Meh... It's sort of an uncanny valley thing for me. Stuff like Doom, Biolizard, or Dark Gaia are so far removed from the standard Sonic character design that it's obvious they're supposed to look weird and alien even in-universe. Comparing them to Sonic is sort of like comparing a human to a squid, they look very different because they're very different creatures. Ironically by hewing closer to the standard Sonic character design the areas where the Deadly Six deviate, such as their matte eyes, plasticky textures, and exaggerated squash and stretch (mainly with Zazz and Zomom) become more obvious and make them look less alien and more like immigrants from a different series with a similar-but-not-quite-the-same art style.

...nah, I don't see it. The uncanny valley is a thing, sure, and I'd agree the D6 are a bit "off" from the standard character designs, but I can't say that makes them less fitting than characters who look like they were imported from a completely different series with a completely different sense of style.

And Sonic's no stranger to plasticy textures or squash-and-stretch animation so I don't know why they're listed as deviations. The latter is something Sonic could stand to use more of anyway...

15 minutes ago, Bowbowis said:

For a sense of what I'm talking about compare Zero Suit Samus in SSBB to Pokemon Trainer and his Pokemon from the same game:

...I mean the only way this comparison makes sense to me is Sonic and the Zeti being the Pokemon characters and characters like Black Doom being ZSS.

[DabigRG]

45 minutes ago, Silvereyes said:

Rough and Tumble make for a great comedic pair of henchmen, and while ofcourse they are arrogant idiots, I do think it is interesting how you do feel some sympathy for them when they are dumped with the metal virus. I like this pair, and it'll be interesting to see how they progress after this arc. I actually wonder if they'll wind up like those 2 comedy pirates from the Pirates of the Caribbean, who progress from comedic henchmen into perhaps comedic heroes? Just a thought.

 

He did foreshadow that as something of a turning point for them, so perhaps.

45 minutes ago, Silvereyes said:

. It'll be interesting to see what the endgame of this arc will look like, I do want characters like Vector and Espio and other survivors to perhaps band together with Sonic, with characters reacting to their losses.

Yeah, I'm hoping we get some downtime within the arc in part so we get have stuff like that..

 

45 minutes ago, Silvereyes said:

I also do genuinely think Sonic's character arc in this storyline about him becoming a victim of the metal virus is worth praising too, considering how we do know that Sega has a put a bunch of restrictions of what Sonic's actual character is and isn't allowed to do in the comics.

Apparently, when he pitched the story to SonicTeam, they actually went as far as to make further suggestions as to what he could do with this.

So until further notice, make of that what you will.

45 minutes ago, Silvereyes said:

I mean, I do think some criticisms are a bit valid. The IDW run is definetly taking its time, with some issues feeling like only one thing has really moved the plot along, I do think issues #13 and #14 are perhaps the most guilty of this. Saying that though, I don't think any issue has been pointless. I do think #13 was needed to reestablish Rough and Tumble as henchmen and have them lose so that they can be dumped with the metal virus in issue #15, and #14 was neccesary to establish that Dr Starline was a credible villian in both ability and intelligence, something which I think will pay off when we hit the end of the current arc.

 

Same-ish.

45 minutes ago, Silvereyes said:

I feel the need to defend Year One as well, simply on the fact that while the formula did get repetitive, I do think it was neccesary to introduce the Sonic cast in such a way. For fans, that might be annoying, but I think it is neccesary for kids who are getting into the franchise. Blaze and Silver are still the newer members of the main cast, but they were introduced 14 and 13 years ago respectively, and havn't seen a huge amount of screen time since. Granted, that's not to say it couldn't of been in a slightly more interesting manner, the first 4 issues do all basically have the same pattern, and I do think issue #8 is the weakest issue of Year One because it does feel like a momentum killer between the reveal of Metal Sonic and the battle for Angel Island.

 

Mm...I suppose.

I guess they really wanted Neo Metal Sonic's debut to be asap to Mr. Tinker's discovery and/or for it to be Issue Lucky Number 7.

45 minutes ago, Silvereyes said:

The Sonic Fan Club was a fun bit of fluff which feels like a callback to the early Archie days. I really like Jon Gray's new art, but I also find it so different to all the other IDW artists, so it feels so divorced compared to the rest of the annual in tone. I do enjoy it though, and hey, Mina the Mongoose's young sister turns up in it too.

 

Oh yeah, look at that.

45 minutes ago, Silvereyes said:

Wouldn't surprise me if a new villian comes out of the aftermath of the situation. Not to mention as well that with the upcoming Tangle and Whisper mini-series and with several issues doing well in sales, I am growing more confident that we're going to see a second book launched at some point, with either a new book or a new mini-series announced after T&W #4. No evidence for that obviously, but I do feel hopeful. Archie had 2 books running for something like 13 years, can't see why IDW can't as well.

That's sorta what I'm hoping for as well.

 

1 hour ago, Shadowlax said:

The 6 and more specifically zavok have been being discussed more in a lot of places primarly " Why are they still here and why is zavok in TSR " . They are this weird sort of fixture now in sonic media where I don't think they have a large fanbase even with kids... but they are just still around. So we are just left to question.

Eh...they are an anomaly.

For better or worse.

1 hour ago, Shadowlax said:

 

To connect this to the comic, how would ya'll like Ian to use them in the comic

Interesting question.

I know someone mentioned a few pages back the idea of

Spoiler

Zavok creating a conch-like artifcat that allows him to control Wisps.

Which is weird, but then this current arc is weirder.

[DabigRG]

1 hour ago, Bowbowis said:

But they do give a writer something to work with, if not through their personalities then through the context they create. Black Doom, by his nature, is a catalyst for an alien invasion plot line, Mephiles opens up potential for all sorts of time travel shenanigans and could put characters in a position where they can't be sure if the person their talking to is really their friend or Mephiles in disguise. The two of them bring things to the table which could, in theory, justify reusing them, and maybe ironing out some of their flaws along the way. You can say it isn't much, but it is something, which is more than the Deadly Six have.

To be fair, the same can be said about almost anything if you know what you're doing.

1 hour ago, Bowbowis said:

 

Meh... It's sort of an uncanny valley thing for me. Stuff like Doom, Biolizard, or Dark Gaia are so far removed from the standard Sonic character design that it's obvious they're supposed to look weird and alien even in-universe. Comparing them to Sonic is sort of like comparing a human to a squid, they look very different because they're very different creatures. Ironically by hewing closer to the standard Sonic character design the areas where the Deadly Six deviate, such as their matte eyes, plasticky textures, and exaggerated squash and stretch (mainly with Zazz and Zomom) become more obvious and make them look less alien and more like immigrants from a different series with a similar-but-not-quite-the-same art style.

.That's fair.

 

1 hour ago, Wraith said:

Don't really care at all for the Deadly Six but I don't think trying to ground them or make them more serious is the answer. They're definely lame characters but trying to make them more "badass" on a purely surface level comes off as kind of childish. Their abstract, exaggerated designs are like one of the only things they have going for them and if you were to try and "rehabilitate" them I'd start by leaning into that part of them more and not less. Have some fun with it. 

Zavok and for the most part Zik are fairly badass and/or serious though.

I can see that Zomom, though. And Zazz and Zor are essentially already there.

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

Evan Stanley posted some sneak peeks of a cover she's working on

Spoiler

Yo the colors look amazing!

 

[Shadowlax]

I feel like a good way to see if the D6 works is instead of grand plans, at least at first. Have them interact with different cast memebers and play off folks for a while, if the D6 is no longer a group, lump them with others and see what sticks. Maybe you can mold new personality traits out of interactions if there are no clear goals to speak off.

 

[Sega DogTagz]

Zavok and Zik could formulate a decent plan between them. I think those two would be the narrative focus of anything D6 related.

If it were me writing up a plot, I'd like to see the Deadly six put out a call for help to both Sonic and Eggman. Offering a truce to both sides and playing a proxy game where they could try to have both sides eliminate each other while they could be ready to swoop in and take advantage of the chaos. Zavok and two others could work with Eggman, looking to trap Sonic on Lost Hex and beat him, while Zik could take the other 2 and work with Sonic and Tails to fend off Eggman's latest incursion onto their homeland.

Even if Sonic and Tails knew they were walking into a trap, they really wouldn't be in a position to refuse.

At the end, you reunite the two groups of 3 for a final boss to the arc.

 

TSR showed that Zavok isn't above working with Eggman, and Zik is all about letting other people do the leg work. Seems like a good as place as any to drum up some plot points for the D6.

[StaticMania]

1 hour ago, Shadowlax said:

I feel like a good way to see if the D6 works is instead of grand plans, at least at first. Have them interact with different cast memebers and play off folks for a while, if the D6 is no longer a group, lump them with others and see what sticks. Maybe you can mold new personality traits out of interactions if there are no clear goals to speak off.

 

Well since they never interacted as a "group", you'd only be getting how they'd interact with the other characters.

The problem being that...if they actually had a group dynamic, this wouldn't be necessary. It'd happen naturally.

A common suggestion of fixing groups of characters is making them interact outside of their group...that's not fixing them as characters though. It just leads to getting rid of the characters who didn't work in a failed dynamic (why are they a group if they don't really interact).

[Red Hot Jack]

5 hours ago, Ellipsis-Ultima said:

Evan Stanley posted some sneak peeks of a cover she's working on

  Hide contents

Yo the colors look amazing!

 

There really needs to be a "love" reaction on this board. Because this deserves it.

[dbzfan7]

Eww Deadly Shits talk, gross. If I never see them again, it wasn't soon enough.

[Salamander]

What bothers me about the Deadly Six's designs, personally, is that they aren't anything.  Yes, most of the characters have looked like plastic at one time or another, but we know that the main cast are all animals; we know that Eggman is a human, that other characters are robots; that Chaos is made of water, Iblis fire, and so on.  They're made of a substance we can recognise.  But what are the Deadly Six?  They don't represent any real animal or thing, they don't even represent a pre-existing monster in human culture, and so we don't know how to interpret their lack of texture... so they just look like plastic.  The same can be said about the Chao, but they're little toyetic mascot characters anyway so it doesn't matter.  It does matter when Zavok and pals look like giant plastic models.

I don't think the Deadly Six are unsalvageable; but I also don't think they're remotely necessary.  If they never appeared or were mentioned again then the franchise wouldn't suffer.  I'd rather the franchise stopped making up magical fantasy elements overall because I think the nature vs. technology theme is much more engaging.  But if I did have to use them, I'd focus on their internal interactions and what makes them tick.  The very fact that they and their home are a random fantasy element also means they're a giant blank page waiting to be filled in, and personally without that context I find it hard to accept them.

[Kuzu]

5 minutes ago, FFWF said:

What bothers me about the Deadly Six's designs, personally, is that they aren't anything.  Yes, most of the characters have looked like plastic at one time or another, but we know that the main cast are all animals; we know that Eggman is a human, that other characters are robots; that Chaos is made of water, Iblis fire, and so on.  They're made of a substance we can recognise.  But what are the Deadly Six?  They don't represent any real animal or thing, they don't even represent a pre-existing monster in human culture, and so we don't know how to interpret their lack of texture... so they just look like plastic.  The same can be said about the Chao, but they're little toyetic mascot characters anyway so it doesn't matter.  It does matter when Zavok and pals look like giant plastic models.

I don't think the Deadly Six are unsalvageable; but I also don't think they're remotely necessary.  If they never appeared or were mentioned again then the franchise wouldn't suffer.  I'd rather the franchise stopped making up magical fantasy elements overall because I think the nature vs. technology theme is much more engaging.  But if I did have to use them, I'd focus on their internal interactions and what makes them tick.  The very fact that they and their home are a random fantasy element also means they're a giant blank page waiting to be filled in, and personally without that context I find it hard to accept them.

They're demon aliens...

 

 

I think a good place to start with the Deadly Six is actually giving them a goal to work towards beyond just antagonizing Sonic. 

I'll shit on Infinite all day, but you can at least understand why he does what he does; he's insecure and lords his power over everyone. Simple goal.

 

The Deadly Six just...exist; their goals kind of made sense when they wanted revenge on Eggman, but now they've just ignored that and now Zavok is just another attack dog for Eggman.

 

 

I would have preferred if they ran with them wanting revenge on Eggman, which would force Sonic and co to defend him. If they had focused specifically on them wanting justice for what Eggman did, they could have made pretty good anti-villains. 

[Razule]

41 minutes ago, FFWF said:

they don't even represent a pre-existing monster in human culture

They're Oni.

[Diogenes]

36 minutes ago, FFWF said:

But what are the Deadly Six?  They don't represent any real animal or thing, they don't even represent a pre-existing monster in human culture,

They're oni.

[DabigRG]

8 hours ago, Shadowlax said:

I feel like a good way to see if the D6 works is instead of grand plans, at least at first. 

 

You might be onto something else there, on top of the obvious.

Whether as a group or as individuals, one of the more notable appeals to having the Zeti around is essentially having a third/fourth, hectic side that could attack at any moment just because they can for the most part. This in turn could lead to any of them jumping into a relatively simple to grasp conflict to escalate things into a violent free for all or just showing up to antagonize Sonic and/or his friends in more self-contained stories.

7 hours ago, Sega DogTagz said:

Spoiler

 

Zavok and Zik could formulate a decent plan between them. I think those two would be the narrative focus of anything D6 related.

If it were me writing up a plot, I'd like to see the Deadly six put out a call for help to both Sonic and Eggman. Offering a truce to both sides and playing a proxy game where they could try to have both sides eliminate each other while they could be ready to swoop in and take advantage of the chaos. Zavok and two others could work with Eggman, looking to trap Sonic on Lost Hex and beat him, while Zik could take the other 2 and work with Sonic and Tails to fend off Eggman's latest incursion onto their homeland.

Even if Sonic and Tails knew they were walking into a trap, they really wouldn't be in a position to refuse.

At the end, you reunite the two groups of 3 for a final boss to the arc.

 

TSR showed that Zavok isn't above working with Eggman, and Zik is all about letting other people do the leg work. Seems like a good as place as any to drum up some plot points for the D6.

 

 

...Huh.... Well, it's one of the more intriguingly straightforward ideas thus far.

If I could make one suggestion though, I'd probably swap the team leaders. Not that those wouldn't work or couldn't use some work, but it'd vary things up and offer something more than the games have done thus far.

 

7 hours ago, Sega DogTagz said:

Zik is all about letting other people do the leg work. 

Um, is he?

7 hours ago, StaticMania said:

Well since they never interacted as a "group", you'd only be getting how they'd interact with the other characters.

The problem being that...if they actually had a group dynamic, this wouldn't be necessary. It'd happen naturally.

A common suggestion of fixing groups of characters is making them interact outside of their group...that's not fixing them as characters though. It just leads to getting rid of the characters who didn't work in a failed dynamic (why are they a group if they don't really interact).

I suppose you have a point. It can really go both ways with some of them, though..

To answer the last question though, it's possible they hadn't been operating together much as of late until Eggman showed up and bested Zavok.

43 minutes ago, FFWF said:

What bothers me about the Deadly Six's designs, personally, is that they aren't anything.  Yes, most of the characters have looked like plastic at one time or another, but we know that the main cast are all animals; we know that Eggman is a human, that other characters are robots; that Chaos is made of water, Iblis fire, and so on.  They're made of a substance we can recognise.  But what are the Deadly Six?  They don't represent any real animal or thing, they don't even represent a pre-existing monster in human culture, and so we don't know how to interpret their lack of texture... so they just look like plastic.  The same can be said about the Chao, but they're little toyetic mascot characters anyway so it doesn't matter.  It does matter when Zavok and pals look like giant plastic models.

 

They're Electromagnetic Kung-Fu Demo-Ogres. Well, at least Zavok and Zik are the second one anyway.

I see your point though.

33 minutes ago, Kuzu the Boloedge said:

They're demon aliens...

 

 

I think a good place to start with the Deadly Six is actually giving them a goal to work towards beyond just antagonizing Sonic. 

I'll shit on Infinite all day, but you can at least understand why he does what he does; he's insecure and lords his power over everyone. Simple goal.

 

The Deadly Six just...exist; their goals kind of made sense when they wanted revenge on Eggman, but now they've just ignored that and now Zavok is just another attack dog for Eggman.

 

 

I would have preferred if they ran with them wanting revenge on Eggman, which would force Sonic and co to defend him. If they had focused specifically on them wanting justice for what Eggman did, they could have made pretty good anti-villains. 

That's another important factoid.

Or/and they could've also did a better job of justifying why some of them would want to fight Sonic in the first place, with any compromise being adequately justified or handwaved--which Zavok really wasn't as of late.

Zazz makes sense as a general thing and Master Zik & Zor both gradually take an interest for their thematic reasons, but it did start to occasionally bother me as to why Zavok specifically becomes so cruel towards him.

 

[Salamander]

1 hour ago, Kuzu the Boloedge said:

They're demon aliens...

 

57 minutes ago, Razule said:

They're Oni.

 

57 minutes ago, Diogenes said:

They're oni.

 

44 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

They're Electromagnetic Kung-Fu Demo-Ogres.

Case in point, I'm afraid; and while they may be Oni in the Japanese script (and I could take issue with that amazingly broad brush, as well), in the west, they're Zeti - which is to say, they're nothing.

[DabigRG]

6 minutes ago, FFWF said:

 

 

 

Case in point, I'm afraid; and while they may be Oni in the Japanese script (and I could take issue with that amazingly broad brush, as well), in the west, they're Zeti - which is to say, they're nothing.

To be fair, Chaos and the Chao are their own things without really being based on anything. Most of the other monsters, aliens, and deities are...well, those.

 

I suppose it'd be more direct to say that the Deadly Six--whether they're called Zeti, Oni, Demon-like beings, etc--being something isn't a problem, but rather that what those things are and what they mean in the context of the series is not really explained with a sufficient background or understanding.

[Diogenes]

Why do you even need to know exactly what kind of monsters they are anyway.

This whole line of complaint seems pointless.

e: would your complaint actually be any different if they had explicitly called them oni? Or if they were called trolls or gremlins or grumpbutts or whatever?

[StaticMania]

Horned Beasts.

Knowing what they are will be a good thing, they can't simply be monsters can they?