Megathread IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog - Megathread

[Red Hot Jack]

Yep Zavok is the most important recent character after Orbot and Cubot.

Anyway, I guess you are all right, Infinite's power of the ruby is gone so he would have to be retooled to work in a new story, I'm honestly a fan of the ideal plot he would go back to being... weak and powerless, it would be so interesting to see him deal with that without a new power source. I'm not sure what they could potentially do with Infinite, depends on SEGA of course.

[CertifiedNobody]

8 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

So, are we talking only games, only Modern Sonic, only post 2013?

If so, Infinite's only rival is Dodon Pa and NO ONE gives a dang about this guy. He might be least successful Mobian character in whole franchise.

I'd been theorizing that Dodan Pa was actually Infinite and the courses were illusion. Then the game released.

[CertifiedNobody]

It's interesting how the IDW comics always seem like they have no idea what they're doing until a major arc pulls everything together. It happened with Fallout, it happened with Metal Virus, and it's happening again with the Belle/Starline arc.

[Rabbitearsblog]

2 minutes ago, CertifiedNobody said:

It's interesting how the IDW comics always seem like they have no idea what they're doing until a major arc pulls everything together. It happened with Fallout, it happened with Metal Virus, and it's happening again with the Belle/Starline arc.

Yeah. It seems like most of the issues are standalone stories for the characters and then all of a sudden, a major arc comes up and they are able to tie everything together.  It's quite clever!

[CertifiedNobody]

5 minutes ago, Rabbitearsblog said:

Yeah. It seems like most of the issues are standalone stories for the characters and then all of a sudden, a major arc comes up and they are able to tie everything together.  It's quite clever!

I guess we keep forgetting that they've planned out a whole year for the comics before even getting started with it.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Considering how many times outside circumstances kept screwing Archie Sonic, it’s not that surprising they’d make more preparations to avoid any severe interruptions.

[Kuzu]

They make it pretty obvious when they're building up to something, they just don't reveal what that something is until just before it happens.

[Rabbitearsblog]

Yeah, if you just reveal everything at the beginning, then there will be no suspense in the story.

[DabigRG]

3 hours ago, CertifiedNobody said:

It's interesting how the IDW comics always seem like they have no idea what they're doing until a major arc pulls everything together. It happened with Fallout, it happened with Metal Virus, and it's happening again with the Belle/Starline arc.

In what sense?

 

On 11/6/2021 at 4:28 PM, Rabbitearsblog said:

I also would love for Infinite to show up in the comics again.  Even though he wasn't written that well in the games, he could be written better in the comics. They were able to make the Deadly Six into more interesting characters in the comics. Why not Infinite?

For the most part.

Also, because Sega could still say no to a number of things

20 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

So, are we talking only games, only Modern Sonic, only post 2013?

If so, Infinite's only rival is Dodon Pa and NO ONE gives a dang about this guy. He might be least successful Mobian character in whole franchise.

I mean, he is pretty far removed from what's happens of the franchise and mainly plays a negligibly ancillary role as a host.

[MetalSkulkBane]

2 hours ago, DabigRG said:

I mean, he is pretty far removed from what's happens of the franchise and mainly plays a negligibly ancillary role as a host.

I'm not saying Dodon Pa's least popular ever (that would be IDK, one of Coconut Crew Koalas or one of Sonic Boom NPC, someone really minor). But for a central character of a console game (last proper-ish game we had in 2 years), he really left little impact.

Ray, Honey, Gemerl, Marine, those characters are technically from more obscure games and see more conversation.

[DabigRG]

3 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

I'm not saying Dodon Pa's least popular ever (that would be IDK, one of Coconut Crew Koalas or one of Sonic Boom NPC, someone really minor). But for a central character of a console game (last proper-ish game we had in 2 years), he really left little impact.

Ray, Honey, Gemerl, Marine, those characters are technically from more obscure games and see more conversation.

They also have more "on brand" designs and were proper parts of an adventure and/or the action.

Oh and they live on the same planet or two, can't forget that.

[MetalSkulkBane]

Let's not pretend "they live on same planet" matters when it comes to popularity.

I'm not saying "huh, Dodon Pa still didn't show up in IDW", there are many possible explanations.

I mean "huh, almost no fanarts. No one talks about him on forum. Nothing."
And if you check BumbleKast Q&A Master List there are 24 questions about Infinite, 14 for  Marine, 9 about Honey the cat, 1 about Whiskers, 16 about Nega, 2 for Lumina and Void, and round 0 for Dodon Pa.

[CertifiedNobody]

8 hours ago, DabigRG said:

In what sense?

Fallout made the comic seem like it was going to be very basic and light on plot, then Battle for Angel Island and Metal Virus storylines began, building off of what was introduced in the early issues.

Metal Virus seemed like it was getting darker without any clear ending, then the Zeti getting thrown in for seemingly no reason, once the finale came together it fit together like a puzzle.

The Belle/Starline arc felt mostly like filler until Surge and Kit started getting introduced, now it's clearly building up the War Of Empires arc for issue 50, and continuing Starline's arc that we saw in Bad Guys.

[Red Hot Jack]

I have a new hot take: Trial by Fire (so far) > Test Run & Zeti Hunt

Aside from Zeti Hunt part 4, most of the issues were boring and I felt nothing happened, TBF is actually a filler even more, but I don't know why, I feel like it's more "alive" than these other 2 arcs, those were just lame, especially Zeti Hunt, fighting the Zeti (again), Belle is kidnapped... boring and predictable aside from Belle's backstory revealed, which was also slow and scattered. Test Run had a solid beginning, it was a bit mysterious but it was empty in the end.

Trial by Fire is just a fun and entertaining camping trip that turns into an adventure and the beginning of the more interesting, more serious saga that will feature Surge and Kit. There is the dynamic between the 4 girls, the adventurous and fun vibe, Tangle has an actual character arc now (sorta), and Belle is showing more decision, I am liking it so far.

The complaints for now are: filler again, Belle-focused again.

[CertifiedNobody]

I get why they focus so much on new characters. It's easier to write them because Sega will actually let them have character arcs, and they've been very positively received, but Belle and (probably controversial opinion) Tangle and Whisper have taken up way too much of the focus in previous arcs, to the point where they've overshadowed every game character that isn't Sonic, Tails, and Amy.

The Tangle And Whisper miniseries arguably should've gone to Silver given how important he was in the Metal Virus finale, considering he was a side character for most of it and Tangle and Whisper did little to affect Metal Virus. T&W was still good, but it kind of feels like it was made to capitalize on two potential Creator's Pets who were only paired together because they were both new.

All of this was why I was hesitant when seeing the Trial By Fire previews. It's a story about Belle, who'd already been the star of multiple arcs, Tangle, who'd gotten the most hype of any IDW character and an entire miniseries, Jewel, who has never done anything remotely interesting, and Amy, the one member of the main cast who I'd argue didn't need a bigger focus. This becomes frustrating when Knuckles, Team Chaotix, Silver, Blaze, Team Dark, the Babylon Rogues, and (the yet to be used but intended to be) Chaos Gamma, have all been given far less focus after having been neglected in many of the games as well.

Still, Trial By Fire surpassed my expectations, and I'm genuinely hyped for Imposter Syndrome.

[Rabbitearsblog]

32 minutes ago, CertifiedNobody said:

I get why they focus so much on new characters. It's easier to write them because Sega will actually let them have character arcs, and they've been very positively received, but Belle and (probably controversial opinion) Tangle and Whisper have taken up way too much of the focus in previous arcs, to the point where they've overshadowed every game character that isn't Sonic, Tails, and Amy.

The Tangle And Whisper miniseries arguably should've gone to Silver given how important he was in the Metal Virus finale, considering he was a side character for most of it and Tangle and Whisper did little to affect Metal Virus. T&W was still good, but it kind of feels like it was made to capitalize on two potential Creator's Pets who were only paired together because they were both new.

All of this was why I was hesitant when seeing the Trial By Fire previews. It's a story about Belle, who'd already been the star of multiple arcs, Tangle, who'd gotten the most hype of any IDW character and an entire miniseries, Jewel, who has never done anything remotely interesting, and Amy, the one member of the main cast who I'd argue didn't need a bigger focus. This becomes frustrating when Knuckles, Team Chaotix, Silver, Blaze, Team Dark, the Babylon Rogues, and (the yet to be used but intended to be) Chaos Gamma, have all been given far less focus after having been neglected in many of the games as well.

Still, Trial By Fire surpassed my expectations, and I'm genuinely hyped for Imposter Syndrome.

I can understand the frustrations with the previous arcs mostly focusing on the newer characters rather than the main characters from the games.  But, with the heavy restrictions that SEGA has over the characters from the games, it's almost impossible to make a coherent story with them without dealing with the mandates.  I think that if SEGA just lifted up their mandates on the game characters, then we would probably get more stories around the game characters, like Blaze and Silver.  But on the other hand, it would be better to develop these new characters from the get go rather than later on, so that way these new characters would feel like they exist in the world of Sonic the Hedgehog and if later stories have more of the game characters interacting with the new characters, then there could be more stories with the game characters.

[PublicEnemy1]

43 minutes ago, CertifiedNobody said:

(the yet to be used but intended to be) Chaos Gamma

Uhhh, who?

[Eurisko]

On 11/3/2021 at 7:26 PM, Mauro Fonseca said:

Because those minisseries weren't being made interchangeably with the main book. Sort of how back in Archie, Sonic X just became Sonic Universe in terms of production, and those who had active Sonic X subscriptions just started getting Sonic Universe from one month to the next naturally.

IDW Sonic 46 comes out, then the book "renames itself" Imposter Syndrome 1, then it "renames itself" IDW Sonic 47, etc, rather than Imposter Syndrome being a separate book. So previews sites and preorder sites and so on are still listing the next few issues as usual, it's just the issues aren't continuous numbering for a while.

This is my understanding at least, I can be wrong, I'm not the editor so I don't get a look at production.

Ahhhh I see. I think you're right.

[CertifiedNobody]

40 minutes ago, PublicEnemy1 said:

Uhhh, who?

A replica of Gamma from Sonic Battle that Ian's mentioned wanting to put in the comics several times.

46 minutes ago, Rabbitearsblog said:

I can understand the frustrations with the previous arcs mostly focusing on the newer characters rather than the main characters from the games.  But, with the heavy restrictions that SEGA has over the characters from the games, it's almost impossible to make a coherent story with them without dealing with the mandates.  I think that if SEGA just lifted up their mandates on the game characters, then we would probably get more stories around the game characters, like Blaze and Silver.  But on the other hand, it would be better to develop these new characters from the get go rather than later on, so that way these new characters would feel like they exist in the world of Sonic the Hedgehog and if later stories have more of the game characters interacting with the new characters, then there could be more stories with the game characters.

I don't think it's all too difficult to write good stories with the mandates, especially since Sega is often willing to ignore them if they like a certain story or idea. Sometimes it just requires a little out of the box thinking. Other than that, I agree, it's just bothersome.

[Sonictrainer]

What are the odds that Surge has accidentally zapped Kit or Kit has accidentally splashed Surge?

[Kazhnuz]

2 hours ago, Rabbitearsblog said:

with the heavy restrictions that SEGA has over the characters from the games, it's almost impossible to make a coherent story with them without dealing with the mandates.  I think that if SEGA just lifted up their mandates on the game characters, then we would probably get more stories around the game characters, like Blaze and Silver.

Except Shadow, they don't have that much mandates except "be themselves" and "don't step on our toes". And TBH, the game character got a lot of focus too, Amy, Gemerl, Cream, etc… got arcs. Blaze we know what she wasn't there in the Metal Virus because she would be able to kill Zombot, which was to iffy to handle. And Silver got a complete whole arc with S1 and S2, complete with having the right of a Super Form on the end.

Sure, it's easier when you can transform a character strongly, when there isn't the issue of "please don't make this character completely different than what it might be in the next game" (which is just common sense). But they manage to make character arc with game character.

For most characters, they isn't really much "mandates" to lift.

[KoDaiko]

I think SEGA saying "please don't make them ooc" which by itself isn't bad. The problem is the IDW writer and ST has a different idea of what counts as "in character".

Imo you don't always need a character development/changing arc to be interesting; good character interaction and drama/tension can be enough to make a story enjoyable. Like "Chao Races" may been interesting as a short & silly 2-parter without/with only a hint of the other shenannigans, or "Test Run" with the experiments and VR eggman could be interesting by itself without the slow part with Belle.

Or as Kazhnuz say, you can still make an 'arc' of some sorts for the game cast as long as you're not changing them drastically. Focusing on canon flaws, learning a lesson (like a cliche "underestimate someone but learn to respect them" trope), or have something that reinforce their belief ("this is why I do this") can work...?

[DabigRG]

12 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

Let's not pretend "they live on same planet" matters when it comes to popularity.

I'm not saying "huh, Dodon Pa still didn't show up in IDW", there are many possible explanations.

I mean "huh, almost no fanarts. No one talks about him on forum. Nothing."
And if you check BumbleKast Q&A Master List there are 24 questions about Infinite, 14 for  Marine, 9 about Honey the cat, 1 about Whiskers, 16 about Nega, 2 for Lumina and Void, and round 0 for Dodon Pa.

I wasn't contesting you on that, dude. Just explaining the basics as to why.

9 hours ago, Jack-al said:

I have a new hot take: Trial by Fire (so far) > Test Run & Zeti Hunt

Aside from Zeti Hunt part 4, most of the issues were boring and I felt nothing happened, TBF is actually a filler even more, but I don't know why, I feel like it's more "alive" than these other 2 arcs, those were just lame, especially Zeti Hunt, fighting the Zeti (again), Belle is kidnapped... boring and predictable aside from Belle's backstory revealed, which was also slow and scattered. Test Run had a solid beginning, it was a bit mysterious but it was empty in the end.

Trial by Fire is just a fun and entertaining camping trip that turns into an adventure and the beginning of the more interesting, more serious saga that will feature Surge and Kit. There is the dynamic between the 4 girls, the adventurous and fun vibe, Tangle has an actual character arc now (sorta), and Belle is showing more decision, I am liking it so far.

The complaints for now are: filler again, Belle-focused again.

I believe it's primarily because it's [seemingly] the only straightforward arc that's honest about what it's about from start to [projected] finish.

Chao Races and Badnik Bases, Test Run, and Zeti Hunt all suffered from having more than one plot thread, too many stars in the focus, relevant yet bait n switch antagonists, setup with Belle, and for the most part, a decoy that gave way to a less than satisfying climax, a spotlight hogging hero/anti-hero or two, Hijacked by Starline, the dragged out arc for Belle, and Hijacked by Starline syndrome to deal with. 

For the first arc, we had Rouge, Cream, Gemerl, and especially Clutch conducting a robot part trade at the Chao Races get very derailed in favor of Sonic, Shadow, and Amy taking on Starline, with only Belle and the fact that there are Chao paving through. For the second arc, Eggman stayed the sole villain trapping Sonic, Tails, and Amy in the Tower, but they primarily take a backseat in favor of Belle and later Tangle doing Restoration stuff  before finding their way there in order to finally unreveal that Belle was in fact created by Tinker. And Zeti Hunt, while a little more honest about some aspects, still set up a The Chaotix & later Team Jewel vs the MIA Zeti scenario that quickly becomes The Deadly Six reconvening before attacking Restoration HQ, which then becomes another restricted Sonic vs The Deadly Six fight with Tails making the save(also, Tangle and Whisper take a few potshots before getting wrecked beforehand), which is finally overshadowed by both the whole Sonic's Principals scene and Starline kidnapping Belle--the latter of which not only lasts half of the arc, but effectively made the Zeti decoy villains(again) in their own arc.

With Trial by Fire, there's almost none of that: we were advertised a story about Amy, Belle, Jewel, and Tangle going on a camping trip that erupts in flames and that's exactly what we've been getting. It still had a surprise or two with Not!Jimmy as well as the Palette Punks, but they at least feel in service of giving each of the girls a genuine chance to shine and/or finally do something in the spotlight. And assuming Surge and Kit are ultimately just cameos that teasing their existence, they will remain mysterious catalysts for this story with their proper introduction being in Imposter Syndrome. 

9 hours ago, CertifiedNobody said:

I get why they focus so much on new characters. It's easier to write them because Sega will actually let them have character arcs, and they've been very positively received, but Belle and (probably controversial opinion) Tangle and Whisper have taken up way too much of the focus in previous arcs, to the point where they've overshadowed every game character that isn't Sonic, Tails, and Amy.

Uuuuh...no and yes.

I agree that they can feel a bit overplayed depending on your perspective, but the reality is that aside from Belle(who was reworked into the sole connecting element of Season 3 after the original plan fell through), they've actually been pretty extra the handful of times we actually see them. Tangle has almost always had "Guest Star Party Member" written on her forehead and Whisper actually got less to do once the Miniseries happened, partly due to being cuffed to Tangle a lot.

9 hours ago, CertifiedNobody said:

The Tangle And Whisper miniseries arguably should've gone to Silver given how important he was in the Metal Virus finale, considering he was a side character for most of it and Tangle and Whisper did little to affect Metal Virus. T&W was still good, but it kind of feels like it was made to capitalize on two potential Creator's Pets who were only paired together because they were both new.

Again, while I formerly agree that Tangle very much stank of that initially, the Miniseries actually happened entirely because both characters were popular.wl

Whisper's backstory and hatred of Shadow were always things they were gonna touch on at some point, but the combination of her and especially Tangle's popularity incentivized them to take a chance--Mimic is literally an unused Archie villain who just happened to fit what it entailed and the rest of the Diamond Cutters were designed when they realized the Metal Gear parallels between those two.

Plus, their coincidentally contrasting characters was just a genuine good basis for a duo.

9 hours ago, CertifiedNobody said:

All of this was why I was hesitant when seeing the Trial By Fire previews. It's a story about Belle, who'd already been the star of multiple arcs, Tangle, who'd gotten the most hype of any IDW character and an entire miniseries, Jewel, who has never done anything remotely interesting, and Amy, the one member of the main cast who I'd argue didn't need a bigger focus.

Funnily enough, that's honestly part of why Jewel was the one I was the most interested in for this arc.

9 hours ago, CertifiedNobody said:

This becomes frustrating when Knuckles, Team Chaotix, Silver, Blaze, Team Dark, the Babylon Rogues, and (the yet to be used but intended to be) Chaos Gamma, have all been given far less focus after having been neglected in many of the games as well.

Still, Trial By Fire surpassed my expectations, and I'm genuinely hyped for Imposter Syndrome.

True

Wait, Chaos Gamma?!

 

 

7 hours ago, Sonictrainer said:

What are the odds that Surge has accidentally zapped Kit or Kit has accidentally splashed Surge?

Depends on how sloppy(or dickish) they are as a team.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

17 hours ago, DabigRG said:

Mimic is literally an unused Archie villain who just happened to fit what it entailed

Well, that’s interesting to know. Was he going to be an enemy of the Kingdom of Mercia, one of Abyss’s old crew mates, a special infiltrator of the Egg Army, or the same lone Wolf he is now?

[PC the Hedgehog]

On 11/7/2021 at 5:01 AM, Jack-al said:

Yep Zavok is the most important recent character after Orbot and Cubot.

Anyway, I guess you are all right, Infinite's power of the ruby is gone so he would have to be retooled to work in a new story, I'm honestly a fan of the ideal plot he would go back to being... weak and powerless, it would be so interesting to see him deal with that without a new power source. I'm not sure what they could potentially do with Infinite, depends on SEGA of course.

I would honestly love that. A character with a fragile ego and severe inferiority complex gets a taste of absolute power, has it snatched away, and then has to find a way to find a place in the world and claw his way back into relevancy.

Of course, SEGA wouldn't allow it, as character development for their characters is a strict no-no.