Sonic the Hedgehog: Fang the Hunter #4 - Official Discussion

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Quote

Fang has finally cornered a lead on the fabled eighth Chaos Emerald! If only he, Bark, and Bean were'nt finding themselves cornered by their heavy competition! Can Fang escape the Heavy Wing with his prize, and his partners intact? And how do Sonic and Tails get dragged into this mess?

This is the official discussion topic for Fang the Hunter #4, the final part of the classic Sonic miniseries! Join the discussion here when the issue releases and the topic is unlocked, as we see Fang, Bean, and Bark battle off the Hard Boiled Heavies, claim his treasure and reveal the secret behind the mysterious Eighth Chaos Emerald!

[Ryannumber1gamer]

The issue is now released, and as such, the topic has been unlocked! Direct discussion here!

[Sonictrainer]

Favorite Panel

Spoiler

 

[Gruffin]

It's an eh ending for an alright miniseries. Nothing too offensive and does it's job as a prequel to Superstars, but doesn't particularly excite.

It leaned further into the "gag comic" tone than I cared for the finale to. It's expected; That's been the tone for the past three issues after all, but it did make the whole thing feel anti-climatic when it was just more of the same. I would have preferred another twist or for the gags to be dialed back juuust a bit for the action scenes so I could take them seriously.

Sonic and Tails' B plot amounted to...not very much at all. It's funny, because I consider their interactions to be the high points of this miniseries, but they really didn't end up doing much aside from destroying the ship, huh? I'm guessing them being here was a requirement of some sort, because otherwise that role could have easily been filled by Fang/Bark/Bean...Probably Bean.

I was glad to see some follow up on Bark and Bean's falling out with Fang, and was pleasantly surprised to see them outright leave in the end. I guessed that they would all be friends again by the end, but nope. It was a way to explain their absence from Superstars.

And I would say that there being potential for future stories involving the three and their spat is exciting...but let's be honest here: I didn't click with these characters from the start and still don't. Respect more, maybe. Understand why others might like them more, maybe. But I still really don't care for these guys personally, and won't shed a tear if this is never followed up on. I'm just glad to be out of the Fang Zone at last.

[MetalSkulkBane]

Eh.  I guess it's not worse than previous issues.

Classic stories were always basic, nothing wrong with that. Only this time whole thing was based on a stupid excuse plot. Yes, I was excited by 8th emerald at first, because I thought Flynn will give it some kind of resolution. I guess Warp Topaz counts, but that would work Fang informants saw Heavies find shiny rock and made assumptions.

Whole thing is prequel to Superstars. Barely. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Fang never teleports in that game, right? A bit weird to establish Fang just upgraded his bike, but it doesn't uses it in the game.  Yes, Bean and Bark left, but anyone needed that info. In fact, I say this leads to main problem of this mini.

Classic comics live and die on how much you enjoy watching the heroes goof around. And the characters here suck.

 

Bark might as well not be present. Yes, he's silent, but usually, he manages to show personality regardless, like his friendship with Amy. Wasn't he suppouse to be "kinda a good guy" who would take the lead on abandoning Fang?

Bean is forced into a sane man of the group instead and that just feels wrong. He gets one or two decent jokes, but less than usual.

And Fang is a jerk. Only like 10% more than usual, but the fact B&B reacts to it this time makes it not fun to watch. All that for pointless setup.

Heavies proved what I suspected a long time ago: they had a perfect amount of personality for silent bosses, which made them superior to Deadly Six. When they are forced to carry a story they are inferior to Zeti. They are not bad, but not interesting either. I mean, the climax of this saga is Fang grabbing Bark and teleporting away.

Sonic and Tails I'm okay-ish with. It's anticlimactic filler, but that's the joke. Still, it feels like they (& Knuckles) were here so IDW can put them on covers.

[Vlad the Vampire]

Sorry, my copy of the comic is not yet available in France, so can you tell me if

Spoiler

the Warp Topaz really is what is supposed to be the fabled 8th Chaos Emerald and what happened to it at the end of the final issue of the mini-series

, please?!...

Edited May 2 by Vlad the Vampire

[MetalSkulkBane]

They said it in the last issue: there is no 8th emerald. So if you want, you can argue Warp Topaz counts.

[cosmichaos]

This was kind of an "eh" miniseries. I think it would have been fine had they been able to continue the main storyline, but since they couldn't, it just felt like 5 months wasted waiting for things to go back to the big picture. I suppose it was alright, but it lacked a lot of substance and felt like fan service for an absurdly small portion of the fandom.

I think they're just focused on playing it safe, which is fine, I guess, but it also means that IDW will never have the love and popularity that series like Archie and Fleetway, which were...wild beyond most modern fans' wildest dreams, have garnered over the years. It doesn't have to, either, because it's obviously a whole different series, but a few real stakes and a bit of a gamble would be refreshing.

[Gruffin]

8 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

Classic comics live and die on how much you enjoy watching the heroes goof around. And the characters here suck.

4 hours ago, cosmichaos said:

This was kind of an "eh" miniseries. I think it would have been fine had they been able to continue the main storyline, but since they couldn't, it just felt like 5 months wasted waiting for things to go back to the big picture. I suppose it was alright, but it lacked a lot of substance and felt like fan service for an absurdly small portion of the fandom.

You two hit the nail on the head. Enjoyment of the miniseries relies so heavily on the wacky antics and personalities of the Hooligans that anyone who isn't interested by them is going to be bored by what feels like a 5-month-long filler episode.

I would only recommend this to fans of Fang, Bark and Bean or the completionists who want to read everything. Otherwise, the answers it gives to the greater lore (ie. Fang had the Warp Topaz before Starline, Bark and Bean aren't in Superstars because they're mad) are not so impactful to make this miniseries required reading.

[Zaysho]

Was kinda disappointed with this last issue though I liked the other parts fine enough. With the Warp Topaz showing up I was sort of hoping we'd see something bridging to the main book/modern stuff but instead it feels like this ending was an excuse to separate Nack from the rest of the Hooligans and explain why he was there in Superstars. Just feels like a waste, but it's just okay like virtually everything else in this run.

[A super No.1 washedupgamer]

Isn't the warp topaz just what shadow does when he uses chaos control?

[MetalSkulkBane]

7 hours ago, A super No.1 washedupgamer said:

Isn't the warp topaz just what Shadow does when he uses chaos control?

Technically: not at all, there are many different details.

Practically: yes.