Sonic the Hedgehog IDW #66 - Reader Reaction & Review

[MetalSkulkBane]

#66 is out, let's go!

Knuckles is story is fine. It's an action scene. Jet was never a threat, but I'll take anything over smashing badniks again. Low stakes, but fun. Giggled at Charmy giving up relic and Vector's disappointment everyone was invited to Vanilla's. It's all perfectly fine.
I'm only a liiitle disappointed with reveal who was behind it and why. It's so... token. IDK, I would laugh my ass of if Rouge hired Jet to steal relic Amy forced her to give back. It would be nice change of pace for her to do something evil (and fail). Maybe what we got will have repercussions in the future, we'll see.

Cream.... big off.
Artwork is good. Great even. Look at Charmy making Cream laugh, scary Vanilla, her feeding Vector in last panel. It's amazing.
Sooo, maybe it's good enough to ignore plot?
To be fair, nothing is out of character for Cream. Logically skunks are too strong for her, especially when she's more focused on food than fighting (Cream calling them "rude, UNKIND people" is gold). I wouldn't say it's ruining Cream on it's own, it's just a bit lame that even in her own story she doesn't get to shine.
But if I stop hyper-focusing on Cream and just look at it as a story... meh. Skunk Bros walk into house, wreck it, get spooked, take out, the end. This somehow filled 16 pages. Maybe if Vanilla unleashed her wrath the story would be worth it. Maybe if story ended Rough and Tumble cowardly cleaning the house in maid dressed, under the watchful eye of Terrifying Vanilla. That would be kinda neat.
Artwork great, story not so much, but I won't loose sleep either way.

Now PLEEEEEEEEEEASE somebody ups the stakes. Gimme alien invasion, unleash demons, start apocalypse, anything!  I'm so done with little stories for now, let's get into another large arc. I'm sorry I even implied Metal Virus was too long, I miss it.

...well, see you later with another small story in Winter Jam. Sigh.
 

[sonicclaasic]

2 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

#66 is out, let's go!

Knuckles is story is fine. It's an action scene. Jet was never a threat, but I'll take anything over smashing badniks again. Low stakes, but fun. Giggled at Charmy giving up relic and Vector's disappointment everyone was invited to Vanilla's. It's all perfectly fine.
I'm only a liiitle disappointed with reveal who was behind it and why. It's so... token. IDK, I would laugh my ass of if Rouge hired Jet to steal relic Amy forced her to give back. It would be nice change of pace for her to do something evil (and fail). Maybe what we got will have repercussions in the future, we'll see.

Cream.... big off.
Artwork is good. Great even. Look at Charmy making Cream laugh, scary Vanilla, her feeding Vector in last panel. It's amazing.
Sooo, maybe it's good enough to ignore plot?
To be fair, nothing is out of character for Cream. Logically skunks are too strong for her, especially when she's more focused on food than fighting (Cream calling them "rude, UNKIND people" is gold). I wouldn't say it's ruining Cream on it's own, it's just a bit lame that even in her own story she doesn't get to shine.
But if I stop hyper-focusing on Cream and just look at it as a story... meh. Skunk Bros walk into house, wreck it, get spooked, take out, the end. This somehow filled 16 pages. Maybe if Vanilla unleashed her wrath the story would be worth it. Maybe if story ended Rough and Tumble cowardly cleaning the house in maid dressed, under the watchful eye of Terrifying Vanilla. That would be kinda neat.
Artwork great, story not so much, but I won't loose sleep either way.

Now PLEEEEEEEEEEASE somebody ups the stakes. Gimme alien invasion, unleash demons, start apocalypse, anything!  I'm so done with little stories for now, let's get into another large arc. I'm sorry I even implied Metal Virus was too long, I miss it.

...well, see you later with another small story in Winter Jam. Sigh.
 

I enjoyed reading Issue #66 I thought It was great to read and I like artwork In this Issue as well. I agree with you about the next arc because we got Surge & Kit In the next Issue coming up which should be Interesting on what they are up to next. 

Then you got Clutch & Mimic with there plan going Into the restoration hq and Surge and Kit are heading to the restoration hq also which should be Interesting as well. Looking forward to Issue #67 coming up.

[Kaotic Kanine]

...I didn't have high hopes for how this issue would conclude Cream's story. But this is even more disappointing than I expected.

Before I get into that, though, Knuckles and Babylon Rogues story was... Okay. I feel that Jet and Wave should've put up more of a fight, have them whip out their respective weapons to at least try and attack the Chaotix, but I suppose it's hard to do that while carrying those relics. At least Storm got to demonstrate his strength, fighting Knuckles to a near stalemate and needing to be pulled away from a second round by Jet and Wave. Certainly a better outing for the birds than their previous appearances in IDW, and Archie for that matter. Personally hoping that a future story has them try to get payback at Clutch for hiring them just to distract the Chaotix, cause that really is an insult lol Not much else for me to say about this story.

Cream's story... Well, like I said, I didn't expect much from this 'nothing story', yet it still disappointed me. It was one thing to have Cream's first actual story in IDW, after a two year stay in the bus, be pointless filler. But this has got to be the weakest and most insulting display of Cream's character.

Cream's single moment of fighting (or more accurately attempting to) is shown as completely ineffectual, only resulting in her getting man-handled by Tumble. When a truly seriously battle was about to break out, Cream ignores that in favor of getting the roast out of the oven (admittedly a funny moment, but still). And when Tumble stomps on the roast right after, Cream's response is to sit down and cry. Not even cry while beating up Rough and Tumble up with Cheese and Gemerl, just sobbing on the ground in the most pathetic way.

This girl made her debut being a boss destroyer, and every game after (as well as Sonic X) consistently showed Cream to be a capable fighter and adventurer, even if not close to Sonic's level. Yet here is Cream practically getting defeated by the comic's joke villains. Like, fucking hell, this is comparable to Forces having Tails cower in fear of Chaos 0, if not worse. At least Chaos is, y'know, Chaos, the God of Destruction! Yes, yes, it's actually a Phantom Ruby illusion, but still Rough and Tumble are basically Team Rocket, and Cream couldn't handle them...?!

Between this and 'Chao Races and Badnik Bases', where Cream was similarly portrayed as ineffectual, I'd love for Evan Stanley to never write for Cream again. Evan clearly has an awful grasp on Cream's character and I cannot trust her to portray Cream in a remotely positive light. Leave Cream to Ian Flynn and literally every other writer, Stanley can go fuck off.

The only good thing about this story, the one thing I liked, was Vanilla. Her having a scary side had always been a joke in the fandom, and it's so nice to see that become canon with Vanilla terrifying Rough and Tumble into apologetic wrecks, complete with an aura of pure rage. And the ending with everyone enjoying takeout was cute. This comic is really feeding us Vectilla fans, and we finally got an interaction between Cream and Charmy, small and silent as it is. Just a shame that Cream was made into such a wimp for me to really be satisfied with those moments.

[Kuzu]

Even as someone who admittedly doesn't care much about Cream, yea it's a pretty baffling display of competence on her part. It would be understandable if it was a serious threat that she just couldn't handle, but being ineffectual against the Team Rocket of the series is pretty inexcusable, yea lmao.

[Phoenix]

Liked it well enough, but happy were moving back to Surge and Kit next time. The whole Cream side story was a waste of time.

[A super No.1 washedupgamer]

I enjoyed the issue! Cream character assassination aside, it was a fun read. I like that knuckles and storm can go toe to toe to a stalemate and the dialogue was great.

 

C̶r̶e̶a̶m̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶n̶i̶c̶e̶ ̶e̶n̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶h̶o̶l̶d̶ ̶b̶a̶c̶k̶ ̶a̶g̶a̶i̶n̶s̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶j̶o̶k̶e̶ ̶v̶i̶l̶l̶a̶i̶n̶s̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶g̶u̶y̶s̶

Edited November 8, 2023 by A super No.1 washedupgamer

[MetalSkulkBane]

To play devil's advocate:
- Skunk Bros are actually pretty strong, near Knuckles. They are idiots, sure, but (Rouge & Tangle story aside) they are pretty hard to defeat physically.
- Cream never put a real fight, because that wasn't the focus for her. She probably could defeat them Home Alone style or by outsmarting them, but the priority was dinner, which was an absolute disaster. Things were just happening too fast.
- Yes she breaks into tears by the end, but she is a kid. Shadow or Knuckles would go on a revenge rampage, but things were ruined already, there was no incentive for her to get tough and beat them up. And Vanilla shows up before Cream has time to do something productive.

Right, this is an explanation of why things COULD go this way. I absolutely don't think this is the way things SHOULD have gone. I think it's still somewhat in character for Cream, just in the worst way possible. Like having a story where Chaotix do their goofy shtick, but it actually ruins something very important and un-fixable.

 

Edited November 10, 2023 by MetalSkulkBane

[Maple Syrup]

 Evan? IDW? Are you guys ok? And what have you done to my girl Cream?! Have you people never played as Cream in games?(if you don't, you must've heard of cream in the advance trilogy!) Compared to Eggman, Zavok, Zeena, Clutch, Rough and Tumble are tiny bugs! And the worst part is that Cream fought Eggman, Zavok, Zeena, and Clutch perfectly! She fought but APPARENTLY it didn't work. The boss destroyer couldn't fight Rough and Tumbleof all people. I appreciate you bringing back Cream, but do better Evan. Please. But focusing on the other parts, The part with Cream was relatable for me even though it wasn't her character. She tried her best to be perfect like I did. She was under pressure like me! At least Vanilla accepted that. If only. Speaking of Vanilla, she was able to convince Rough and Tumble and I absolutely respect that. I really liked that last part. Absolutely wholesome. Friends, Family, enemies, come together for takeout. Dinner parties can just be takeout. The thing that makes me sad are that the enemies aren't you know...Effective. Well at least dinner is served. Overall I just like the story but Creams character is a big no no. p.s: I love shrimp noodles.

Edited November 8, 2023 by Maple Syrup

[Kaotic Kanine]

2 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

To play devil's advocate:
- Skunk Bros are actually pretty strong, near Knuckles. They are idiots, sure, but (Rouge & Tangle story aside) they are pretty hard to defeat physically.

Nonetheless, Rough and Tumble are the designated bottom tier villains for IDW Sonic. Like Team Rocket of the Pokemon anime, or indeed Scratch and Grounder from AoStH, their purpose is to be bumbling thugs who elicit more sympathy than sincere dislike from audiences due to being such pathetic villains. None of the other heroes struggled much if at all fighting against Rough and Tumble, at least to my knowledge. So Cream failing completely against those two practically revokes all of her badass credentials. Being a boss destroyer in Advance 2 and 3? The only one to defeat Emerl in Sonic X? Stood up to Death Adder in SEGA Heroes? Pretty much all of the Metal Virus Saga?! "Well, she got beat by Rough and Tumble, so she sucks lol Sonic, Vanilla, and others are right to keep her at home and away from danger." And just like that, SEGA are excused to bench Cream however much they like, because only the diehard Cream fans will put up a fight

2 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

- Cream never put a real fight, because that wasn't the focus for her. She probably could defeat them Home Alone style or by outsmarting them, but the priority was dinner, which was an absolute disaster. Things were just happening too fast.

Okay, that is a fair point. I still feel that Cream would shift her priorities to taking out the hostile home intruders, since their very presence interferes with the dinner anyway. But I guess with the situation moving as fast as it did, she wouldn't be able to think that.

2 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

- Yes she breaks into tears by the end, but she is a kid. Shadow or Knuckles would go on a revenge rampage, but things were ruined already, there was no incentive for her to get tough and beat them up. And Vanilla shows up before Cream has time to do something productive.

Also a very fair point. Particularly that things were ruined already. That roast being ruined just left Cream with nothing, so sulking in defeat was pretty much the only option. Still a horrible look for her, though. Just reinforces to people that Cream's a fragile baby who must be kept safe from danger at all costs. And for the sake of her character, we don't want Cream to be kept away from danger, and by extension adventures.

I know that these are simply how things COULD have gone, but definitely not how you think they SHOULD have gone. I like to be a devil's advocate myself. But in this case... As you say, this is in-character for Cream in the worst way possible. And frankly, if a story demonstrates a character in such a bad way, there is no defending it. Like Washedupgamer said, this was straight up character assassination for Cream. This single issue makes all of Archie Reboot and World's Unite look good for Cream, cause at least she was effective in the few times she was allowed to do something. Hell, I'd dare compare Cream's writing in this issue to Shadow in Issue #19, it's such a bad look for her.

Edited November 9, 2023 by Kaotic Kanine

[Kuzu]

I wouldn't go as far to call it "character assassination" but it certainly doesn't make people wanna see more of and take an interest in Cream as a character.

For better or worse, Sonic characters are gonna be judged for how cool and badass they are; its coded into the very foundation of the series. It's not a coincidence that some of the most fan favorite characters are the ones that are conventionally cool; Shadow, Blaze, and even Knuckles and Silver when they aren't played for jokes. 

So reading Cream being ineffectual and prioritizing something mundane against the literal joke villains, its not really out of character, but it doesn't really make people wanna see more of her.

It's not really the end of the world, but it's pretty indicative that the writers don't really see Cream as a "cool" character, so she's gonna continue to struggle gaining a significant fandom. They don't even really give brief moments of competence to subvert her usual image at times 

 

That is to say, sucks to suck I guess.

Edited November 9, 2023 by Kuzu

[Iko]

I think that everything has been said, so I don't have much to add.

I'm disappointed as well, but it was totally expected from the last issue, so... I was prepared.

If I have to be completely honest, it's not just Cream's story that was pointless, Knuckles' one also kinda was. All the mess for nothing, Charmy gave the relic back to the bad guys because he's been called a thief, and the Babylon Rogues were angry for being "used", when they were paid to do a job, so offcourse they were "used" because they were hired for that. I think a lot of stuff in this issue just didn't make any sense.

I don't even have many problems with the fact that Cream cried, it's more that the overall story was completely useless and pointless, especially the ending with Rough and Tumble staying for dinner with everyone else. It's just a big joke of a story that you just can't take seriously. If anything, I found it kinda funny when Cream started ignoring them and just cared of the food; still an horrible take on the character anyway.

[A super No.1 washedupgamer]

I think I get it know. I think maybe this was trying to come off as a joke about how cream, as cute as she is, can kick major butt or just stand her ground to serious threats like eggman, evil emerl, zeena and zavok, but when it comes to these not-so-serious guys, she breaks down. 

Like krillin hitting super saiyan Goku upside the head with a rock and making him flinch.

If that was the intention, they seem to have fumbled the ball here.

Edited November 9, 2023 by A super No.1 washedupgamer

[Kuzu]

Yea, this year has been mostly, for lack of a better term, "filler". In that, it doesn't feel like we're building towards any major conflicts any time soon.

Like Clutch and Mimic are clearly brewing something, but that's been in the background with the main focus being on these relatively slice of life, mundane adventures.

 

There was a similar lull period after the Metal Virus before Imposter Syndrome got started, so I guess the next major arc will begin in 2024.

[TangleTangerine]

On 11/8/2023 at 8:00 PM, MetalSkulkBane said:

Now PLEEEEEEEEEEASE somebody ups the stakes. Gimme alien invasion, unleash demons, start apocalypse, anything!

Your wish might be coming true sooner than you think. I picked up the IDW Sonic art collection and found this gem in it's pages which came out with #66: 

It is giving me heavy Frankenstein's Monster vibes. Meaning in my book that Starline is coming back and was planned to die from the get go if this is a concept after his original design. 

what over arching plot might this give us? I honestly don't know but it gives them a chance to reinvent his character again which opens alot of avenues for the next arc

[Gruffin]

There were lots of good gags in this one. I laughed at how Knuckles had his seemingly noble moment of letting the Rogues go only to get wound up again by Storm in the very same page. How very Knuckles of him. The groceries conversation was funny (that dead look in Espio's eyes...lol), the way that Mauro Fonseca exaggerates Jet's expressions, and of course Vanilla's scary side.

It certainly feels like the comic is more of an episodic comedy than an action series as of late. There were fight scenes, but they deescalated before they got too exciting, and served more as a vehicle for more gags rather than something that you would look at and go, "Awesome!" Heck, in Cream's case, it hardly felt like a fight at all.

It's downtime, but at least it's funny downtime. Like others in this thread, I'll be happy to see some stuff that packs a punch in the near future...Hopefully Surge will be happy to assist?

[Zaysho]

19 hours ago, TangleTangerine said:

Your wish might be coming true sooner than you think. I picked up the IDW Sonic art collection and found this gem in it's pages which came out with #66: 

It is giving me heavy Frankenstein's Monster vibes. Meaning in my book that Starline is coming back and was planned to die from the get go if this is a concept after his original design. 

what over arching plot might this give us? I honestly don't know but it gives them a chance to reinvent his character again which opens alot of avenues for the next arc

It's worth noting these particular concepts were shown off way back in issue 12 when Starline debuted along with other permutations, so I wouldn't treat this as meaning anything for the future of the character. Not saying it can't happen down the line, though (I think it'd be cool and I'd probably check out the book again for a bit), just best to keep expectations in check.

[Red Hot Jack]

I was also disappointed by Cream here, I get it, she's a pacifist who only fights when you hurt her friends or the world is in danger, so she had no reason to fight the Skunk Bros but still, it wouldn't have hurt them to make her do something other than cry, that is pretty lame.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed Vanilla's losing it moment.

I just don't think they wanted anyone to fight in this story, probably because "B story type", I mean, not even Gemerl or the Chaotix fight?

[Gruffin]

On 11/9/2023 at 5:49 AM, TangleTangerine said:

-snip-
It is giving me heavy Frankenstein's Monster vibes. Meaning in my book that Starline is coming back and was planned to die from the get go if this is a concept after his original design. 

what over arching plot might this give us? I honestly don't know but it gives them a chance to reinvent his character again which opens alot of avenues for the next arc

9 hours ago, Zaysho said:

It's worth noting these particular concepts were shown off way back in issue 12 when Starline debuted along with other permutations, so I wouldn't treat this as meaning anything for the future of the character. Not saying it can't happen down the line, though (I think it'd be cool and I'd probably check out the book again for a bit), just best to keep expectations in check.

It's also doubtful that they would show off a design like this if they had plans to incorporate it into the story. It is a cool idea ngl, just not one that seems very likely in the near future.

If we're going off of what is in the most recent issues, I'd speculate that the next big thing is the Restoration being attacked from the inside by Mimic/Surge/Kit/Clutch. Possibly involving a team up or possibly them fighting each other just as much as the good guys.