Who are some villains that you'd love to eventually see return?

[Xandur]

There's been a lot of villains throughout the history of Sonic who were either super underdeveloped or had an unsatisfying end. 

Out of all the mistreated villains from the different Sonic canons, who are a few that you'd like to eventually see make a return in some fashion?

For me, my top three would be Infinite, Neo Metal Sonic, and Mephiles.

To me, the return of Infinite feels like a very realistic possibility. After the events of Sonic Mania Plus, we have no idea what happened to the Phantom Ruby and, by proxy, Infinite himself, as Infinite was absorbed by the Phantom Ruby in Forces. This means it's technically possible for Infinite to return at any time. Infinite's brief mention in Sonic Frontiers gives me hope that Sonic Team hasn't totally left him in the dust, and that he may eventually get another chance.

Metal Sonic has been a joke for years. He used to be a formidable rival of Sonic's, now reduced to a simple throwaway boss that Sonic fights with ease every now and again. I think it's about time Metal got a chance to shine once again, and the return of Neo Metal Sonic would be an interesting way to approach it (I just really like his design and abilities). Like Infinite, Neo was also mentioned in Frontiers, so there's certainly a slim chance.

Mephiles is a villain I've always thought was neat. It goes without saying that Sonic 06 in general missed the mark narratively, and as a result, Mephiles didn't end up actually doing a whole lot - a shame given how interesting his concept is. Granted, the return of Mephiles is by far the most unlikely possibility out of these 3, as he was literally wiped from the timeline at the end of 06. Regardless, it's a neat hypothetical to think about.

[Gruffin]

Seconded on Infinite because he's wasted potential in Forces.

I'd also like Dark Gaia to make a reappearance in the IDW comics if only to see what the writers would do with the werehog. It would have to be in a way that isn't just a retread of Unleashed though.

[Salamander]

I think the Battle Birds have potential; they would make good third side in a typical Sonic-Eggman conflict, and they diverge interestingly from Eggman in being another militarised force with different personalities at the top and no reliance on robots.  They're also more broadly a perfect fit for Sonic's world in a way many other enemies aren't; they are self-explanatory.  I'd say they're ripe for a formal reintroduction.

I'm also on record as saying that Sega accidentally created an interesting character in Infinite.  They want you to see a cool, edgy, powerful henchman, but his backstory is of somebody embittered, even traumatised, with a clear inferiority complex.  His flaws and frailties and weaknesses are something you could work with - but he'd probably be a better fit for the comics in that respect.  I'd depower him and have him scrambling for some other gem to stick in his chest that might give him the edge - desperate and unhinged.  Definitely a character for whom the most interesting thing you can do with him is more introspective, rather than as a function of whatever powers he may or may not still have.

[A super No.1 washedupgamer]

I'd like to see the hard boiled heavies return.

[MetalSkulkBane]

I love Mephiles... and I don't want to see him ever again.

Simply put 06 was such a unique game, I'm 90% sure his next appearance wouldn't live up to it.

Mephiles killed Sonic. Was about to rewrite reality. Was beaten by 3 super forms at once. And is responsible for worst thing that ever happened to Sonic (06). You simply cannot replicate those circumstances.

And then there is his voice. His creepy movement. His flowery dialogue. His spooky music. You know how easy it would be to mess up any part of it?

Even the worst part of him (insanely over complicated plan) has it's own charm. He's a devil. A time traveling god. He sees what us mortals cannot. Giving him simpler plan (or heavens forbid: trying to make sense of original) would loose something.

Even Flynn asked about Mephiles usually grumbles about 'nerfing' him so he's usable, which kinda misses the point.

His story has been told. Leave be on his golden throne signed "biggest bad guy". Infinite, End, Enerjack. They can try to usurp his spot. Let them try. Let them fail.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Please, Mephiles can do way better than what he did in Sonic 06.

We only saw what he could do to Earth. Imagine if he caused chaos to Sonic’s dimension and the Sol Dimension as well as their future timelines?

Edited November 14, 2023 by CrownSlayer’s Shadow

[Xandur]

5 hours ago, Salamander said:

I'd depower him and have him scrambling for some other gem to stick in his chest that might give him the edge - desperate and unhinged.  Definitely a character for whom the most interesting thing you can do with him is more introspective, rather than as a function of whatever powers he may or may not still have.

 

I never really thought about approaching his character that way. When thinking of the return of Infinite, I always thought about him keeping his powers, since he's now essentially "part of" the Ruby. But taking away the only thing that made Infinite feel whole and having him try to desperately cling on to a substitute would make for a very interesting character arc.

 

Maybe without any powers to hide behind, Infinite would eventually recognize the gravity of the things he's done, and he'd get some sort of redemption arc. Very interesting to think about, thank you for sharing.

[Iko]

Besides Fang the Sniper Hunter (in a modern game possibly), Infinite.

In order to use the Phantom Ruby, Infinite needed a lot of energy, provided by Eggman. I would like to see a return of Infinite where he's not working for Eggman anymore, he actually wants revenge on him, and because of this he doesn't have access to Eggman's power sources, so he has to find other ways to absorb energy for the Phantom Ruby. I'd also like to see him back to his work as a mercenary, but not for Eggman this time.

I would like another "triple trouble" situation with different factions of villains causing problems to Sonic and to each other as well, Infinite being one of those factions.

[Xandur]

12 minutes ago, Iko said:

In order to use the Phantom Ruby, Infinite needed a lot of energy, provided by Eggman. I would like to see a return of Infinite where he's not working for Eggman anymore, he actually wants revenge on him, and because of this he doesn't have access to Eggman's power sources, so he has to find other ways to absorb energy for the Phantom Ruby. I'd also like to see him back to his work as a mercenary, but not for Eggman this time.

Interesting take on his character. The combined desperation of him trying to find other power sources, find a new mercenary squad, and enact his revenge on Eggman could make him eventually go crazy.

16 minutes ago, Iko said:

I would like another "triple trouble" situation with different factions of villains causing problems to Sonic and to each other as well, Infinite being one of those factions.

Good thinking. A lot of these games feel kind of one-dimensional with their hero-villain dynamics - it'd be nice for them to mix things up once in a while by more frequently introducing multiple opposing parties.

[ShadowForever]

Starline. I know he's canonically "dead", but I still hope he can return in future. Maybe, in a game! (But if he won't do anything bad to Surge and Kit)

Eclipse from Archie. Yes, he's from Archie, but I think he can join... Dunno, Shadow the Hedgehog 2??? (And today 18 years ago ShTH came out!)

Also I wish we could see Omlette (from Mania) in a future game, she's cute!

I miss lots of Archie villains, like Scourge. 

Edited November 15, 2023 by ShadowForever

[CalmCha0s]

4 hours ago, ShadowForever said:

I miss lots of Archie villains, like Scourge. 

I miss Scourge so much! He's one of my favorite characters. I hope the Sonic Villains fan film does him justice; it's looking good so far so fingers crossed! 

Since I know I can't have Scourge anywhere else, then Mephilies and Infinite would be my other choices. Although I kinda feel the Deadly 6 and Infinite are in the same boat. Give them a better story to show their true potential. Infinite just had so much power the story held him back from. And the Deadly 6 are pretty tough in the comics, it's just the games' story that made them embarrassing lol But I feel Infinite is a much cooler character than the Deadly 6 and would like to see him return more.

[cosmichaos]

There is literally not even a fraction of a chance of this EVER happening, but what I would give to see Fleetway's Super Sonic again. I do really dig the concept of regular Super Sonic being some sort of god-like being who is an unstoppable force for his own justice, but I also like the idea of Sonic getting his hands on the Chaos Emeralds and just losing his collective mind. I mean, they are called the Chaos Emeralds. I know why creatures like Chaos turned into Perfect Chaos because of negative energy and Sonic willfully turned into Super through positive energy, but why do the Chaos Emeralds even have positive and negative properties? They're the Chaos Emeralds.

I think it would be funny if THAT'S how Sonic went about winning the final battles. Like he's trying his best to play fair, but his opponent is pushing just a bit too much and eventually Sonic just snaps. The enemy has no idea what's happening(unless it's Eggman, he's just like "damn, not again"), and then boom. The big bad has to deal with a hyperactive demon who wants nothing more than to take his decapitated head as a trophy. 

It would also pose an interesting issue for Sonic morally. He's a good person, that's what he's strived to be his whole life, but he has to deal with this creature that he has no control over. It would explain why he mellowed out so much. 

[Xandur]

9 hours ago, ShadowForever said:

Starline. I know he's canonically "dead", but I still hope he can return in future. Maybe, in a game!

For sure. I really wish Starline had a presence outside of the comics before getting shelved. Not many villains have tried to take Eggman's place while also having the means to do so. I'm not sure how they'd go about bringing him back since he had one of the most unambiguous ends out of any villain. He didn't just disappear like most other villains, the dude straight up got crushed by 1000 pounds of concrete. Sucks how IDW kind of worked themselves into a corner with that.
 

4 hours ago, cosmichaos said:

It would also pose an interesting issue for Sonic morally. He's a good person, that's what he's strived to be his whole life, but he has to deal with this creature that he has no control over. It would explain why he mellowed out so much. 

I'd like to see Sega eventually try something like this with Sonic. A tug-of-war between his desire to fight for the greater good against his violent impulses would be a great internal conflict that would add more depth to his character. They kind of already tried it with the Werehog, but I feel that it ultimately fell flat in that regard. Worth another shot.

[castell-neath]

My preference, in order, are:

1- Hard Boiled Heavies

2-Infinite

3-Lyric (In "prime" form)

And just for laughs, which would cause a meltdown in the fan community:

Black Doom

Edited November 15, 2023 by castell-neath

[Lorekitten]

1 hour ago, Xandur said:

For sure. I really wish Starline had a presence outside of the comics before getting shelved. Not many villains have tried to take Eggman's place while also having the means to do so. I'm not sure how they'd go about bringing him back since he had one of the most unambiguous ends out of any villain. He didn't just disappear like most other villains, the dude straight up got crushed by 1000 pounds of concrete. Sucks how IDW kind of worked themselves into a corner with that.

Given that Ian Flynn is the same guy who blew Lien-Da to pieces and somehow Dr. Eggman was able to put her back together afterwards, if he was told that he needed to bring back Starline, he'd find a way to do it. (Hopefully a more believable way than he did with Lien-Da -- my brother had a theory that post-Iron Dominion Lien-Da was actually an auto-automaton that thought she was Lien-Da, but wasn't, because that at least made more sense than what we got in the comics.)

Realistically speaking, probably the best way to bring back Starline would be to retcon that he injected himself with whatever causes Surge to heal really fast (presumably those cells derived from the metal virus that he put into Surge and Kit), and that's how he made it out alive. But even if he does somehow return, he's never gonna be the same after that sort of physical and emotional trauma, and quite frankly, I am all for seeing how he'd cope with the literal and metaphorical flattening of everything he ever thought he was. Honestly, even if he is somehow alive, I wouldn't blame him for never showing his face in the comic again.

I will however state that as much as I love him as a character, a quick death was better than he deserved and if he does come back I fully expect Surge to come at him for round two.

[Xandur]

1 hour ago, Lorekitten said:

Given that Ian Flynn is the same guy who blew Lien-Da to pieces and somehow Dr. Eggman was able to put her back together afterwards, if he was told that he needed to bring back Starline, he'd find a way to do it.

Good point. I do hope he chooses to eventually. There's a lot more that both IDW and Sonic Team could do with Starline.

[ShadowForever]

9 hours ago, Lorekitten said:

Realistically speaking, probably the best way to bring back Starline would be to retcon that he injected himself with whatever causes Surge to heal really fast (presumably those cells derived from the metal virus that he put into Surge and Kit), and that's how he made it out alive. But even if he does somehow return, he's never gonna be the same after that sort of physical and emotional trauma, and quite frankly, I am all for seeing how he'd cope with the literal and metaphorical flattening of everything he ever thought he was. Honestly, even if he is somehow alive, I wouldn't blame him for never showing his face in the comic again.

Oh, you're a master of great theories! I never thought about it this way, so let's hope that's what happened! Starline deserves better future!

Edited November 16, 2023 by ShadowForever

[Lorekitten]

4 hours ago, ShadowForever said:

Oh, you're a master of great theories! I never thought about it this way, so let's hope that's what happened! Starline deserves better future!

I do have a habit of thinking entirely too much on subjects that interest me.

And, well... as a character Starline deserved better; as a person, he was absolutely horrible and as I've said before, a swift death was better than he deserved and certainly better than what Surge would've given him. But at least he lives on in our hearts (and in Surge's hallucinations; he's literally living rent free in her head).

[DaddlerTheDalek]

Sonic needs more active villains in general.

[LegoNess]

I agree with everyone here saying Infinite, but I'd also like Zavok to return in the future. Why? Because I find it funny.

[sonicclaasic]

I would love to see Infinite return he made a great villain In Sonic Forces. I just love his evil presents and style as well. It would be awesome outside of Sonic Forces to be In other Sonic games as a villain or possibly team up with other future Sonic villains.

[Lorekitten]

I've already mentioned Starline here (reading his entire character arc on a Sonic wiki is what actually got me reading the IDW comics), but another villain I'd like to see return (but will likely never happen) is Scourge.

I know that Surge fills the 'evil doppelganger' role now (even sharing his color scheme, which as everyone knows by now is based off the 'Ashura' glitch), but it'd be interesting to see them interact nonetheless -- I imagine Scourge would start hitting on Surge and Surge would start literally hitting Scourge. It would be hilarious. And once she finds out he's a version of Sonic, that'd just give her all the more irrational reason to hate him.

[ShadowForever]

43 minutes ago, Lorekitten said:

I know that Surge fills the 'evil doppelganger' role now (even sharing his color scheme, which as everyone knows by now is based off the 'Ashura' glitch), but it'd be interesting to see them interact nonetheless -- I imagine Scourge would start hitting on Surge and Surge would start literally hitting Scourge. It would be hilarious. And once she finds out he's a version of Sonic, that'd just give her all the more irrational reason to hate him.

That'd be a true gift for fans! Like, Archie characters travel to IDW universe (aah just let me dream). First, they AREN'T SURPRISED AT ALL cause meeting your alternate version from other dimension is a common thing for Sonic, then Starline and Finitevus (!) team up, the adventure begins, they travel around other dimensions and save the day. (I know that'll NEVER happen, but still..!) (And I reeeally miss Scourge. Maybe I should reread Archie)

[Lorekitten]

5 minutes ago, ShadowForever said:

That'd be a true gift for fans! Like, Archie characters travel to IDW universe (aah just let me dream). First, they AREN'T SURPRISED AT ALL cause meeting your alternate version from other dimension is a common thing for Sonic, then Starline and Finitevus (!) team up, the adventure begins, they travel around other dimensions and save the day. (I know that'll NEVER happen, but still..!) (And I reeeally miss Scourge. Maybe I should reread Archie)

You had me at 'Starline and Finitevus team up.' Of course, both of them would immediately plot to betray the other and I can't even begin to imagine which of them would have the upper hand (that could make for an interesting death battle, and make no mistake, eventually they'll try to kill each other), but they'd both put up the facade of being on the other's side while knowing full well that they can't trust each other but pretending to trust each other to get whatever each of them wants out of the partnership.

It would be magnificent.

And yeah, I'm adding Finitevus to my list of villains I want to see return but have no hope whatsoever of it actually happening.

[SomeOtherStranger]

I saw someone mention the Battle Bird Armada, which I absolutely second. It'd be another entire villain faction aside from Eggman (and consisting of Mobians no less), and Speedy could be a neat rival for Tails that would test his speed rather than his smarts.

Infinite has a ton of potential, and I've love to see that potential properly executed for a change. His ambiguous fate practically demands a comeback.

The Hooligans being brought back in the "Modern" games would be neat. They could act as foils for the Chaotix.