Megathread Archie Sonic Main Discussion

[Badnik Zero]

I think multiple writers just makes things even more of a mess. Different people will have different ideas of what they want to do, and it means they'll have to work closely with one another...

 

That's what I mean, a team. I like what Ian does - but he falls short sometimes.

 

Two writers are stronger, they bounce ideas off each other. I know TV shows have writing staff, but I'm not even talking about that. I'm just talking about another guy who works under Ian for something fresh.

 

The problem in general is that the Archie comics are the last lingering remnants of the long-dead Western canon.

 

Nah disagree. I'll try to be articulate here. Extra characters do not make the comic inaccessible, and provided they are treated well they add to storytelling. Setting does not make the comic inaccessible, as shown by the OVA, or Sonic X, or the Storybook games, or whatever. People who favor the Sega canon do so because it's official. I don't imagine that these fans would object to seeing the owl from the OVA in comic form, or even the President and Sara, but then cast from an old show is stepping a line somehow. As a side point these characters were in the comic before the show even aired, but my main point is that these characters are the roots of the comic series - it's not that they're remnants of the dead Western canon - Archie is the living Western canon and has been for some time. So if we include characters like the Chaotix who don't get much game time, or Big who is even being phased out at the moment (a relic you might say to compare), then why not characters from the past who have been the backbone of this comic from the start. I understand people want the comic to be current, but current is always changing with Sega. They tried to be edgy with Shadow, they tried to be Final Fantasy with '06. My favorite storytelling moments recently (Verte would agree though she's on the other side of the fence here) were the Storybook games, but those were dead ends for Sega. Without the comic's history would it become an adaptation fest of behind-the-scenes moments from games? The newer ones have meager storyline and their adaptations are lifeless. Would it be a nothing but a promotional vehicle like the Pokemon anime? The history of the comic might be trivial to new readers, but it's important to maintain integrity of story in a comic book series right? The extended cast has proved the test of time at the least, and the game canon is freakin' schizophrenic. If fans need an outlet like the Japanese manga releases, which by the way are nothing but promotional, they should start a new series next to this one. And I didn't understand the "Sonic never loses" argument some posters were on about, but I guess I see it now. A shallow backdrop like the game universe allows for no drama to exist. I'd rather they canceled Sonic Universe and had a casual comic on the side, if that kind of thing is in demand. But I really don't think it is.

 

Basically what I see happening is that because Archie didn't have its legal shit altogether straight, Sega is putting a chokehold on the series direction when it was finally gaining traction on its own.

Edited February 3, 2013 by American Ristar

[-Mark-]

I will say one thing, admittedly. I actually wasn't that keen on Genesis because of the fact that it was pretty much filler that had no bearing on the plot (which was actually really building steam and getting interesting at the time).

 

I think the problem I had with Archie's 'too many characters' syndrome was that the majority of them didn't even resemble Sonic characters in the slightest. I'm not just talking about some rather... odd... species choices (what was the deal with putting an anthro horse in the series again, exactly?), but the fact they (and the majority of the cast) were drawn in a style that looked so awkwardly generic and out of place standing next to Sonic.

 

The art has improved leaps and bounds both in terms of style and consistency in recent years. We've got Yardley, Bates and Peppers now, as opposed the horrors of Ron Lim. Steven Butler used to be one of the better artists, and he's still decent now (even he was a major offender in terms of drawing boobs!Sally), but has been massively overshadowed by the others. 

 

Seriously, back before I dropped the comic originally, one thing that always baffled the living hell out of me was how some of the art in there even got past quality control. I may not be the biggest fan of the comic by a long shot, but if nothing else I'll give credit where credit is due and say it at least looks largely professional now.

[Kuzu]

I think a problem with the large cast is that the focus is thrown all over the place; We got the Freedom Fighters, Eggman Empire, the Chaotix, G.U.N., The wolf pack tribe, the Sandblasters, etc. etc. The cast is so bloated that unless you're a godly writer, it's really hard to focus on all of these factions and not make something convoluted. It's defnitely gotten better in recent years, but it's problem that rears it's ugly head now and then.

[Soniman]

I think a problem with the large cast is that the focus is thrown all over the place; We got the Freedom Fighters, Eggman Empire, the Chaotix, G.U.N., The wolf pack tribe, the Sandblasters, etc. etc. The cast is so bloated that unless you're a godly writer, it's really hard to focus on all of these factions and not make something convoluted. It's defnitely gotten better in recent years, but it's problem that rears it's ugly head now and then.

 

 

There's a difference between having a bloated cast that all try to be the main focus of the comic book, and having an actual world/setting in which many characters inhabit, this isn't exactly an unknown thing in comic books and compared to those Archie Sonic is nowhere near that huge. How is a cast "bloated" in any way if they tend to get focus for only 2-4 issues and then the plot moves forward and they're effectively out of focus (I don't see the Wolf Pack existence currently hindering what's happening in the comic currently)?

 

Just for reference, this is the Marvel Universe.

 

 

But even with all these characters with long detailed histories/backstories, the characters never get lost in the shuffle. The Spider-Man comics have no problems focusing on primarily Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four comics have no problem focusing on the Fantastic Four and so on.

Edited February 3, 2013 by Soniman

[Kuzu]

There's a difference between having a bloated cast that all try to be the main focus of the comic book, and having an actual world/setting in which many characters inhabit, this isn't exactly an unknown thing in comic books and compared to those Archie Sonic is nowhere near that huge. How is a cast "bloated" in any way if they tend to get focus for only 2-4 issues and then the plot moves forward and they're effectively out of focus (I don't see the Wolf Pack existence currently hindering what's happening in the comic currently)?

 

Just for reference, this is the Marvel Universe.

 

 

But even with all these characters with long detailed histories/backstories, the characters never get lost in the shuffle. The Spider-Man comics have no problems focusing on primarily Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four comics have no problem focusing on the Fantastic Four and so on.

 

 

Because this is a Sonic the Hedgehog book aimed at children, so unless you're really into the comics like that, you won't know who half of those characters are and you'd have to backtrack to a crapload of issues just to find out. I'm not saying the comic is terrible because of it, it's just something I'm pointing out, I never said it needs to cut down on it.

[-Mark-]

There's a difference between having a bloated cast that all try to be the main focus of the comic book, and having an actual world/setting in which many characters inhabit, this isn't exactly an unknown thing in comic books and compared to those Archie Sonic is nowhere near that huge. How is a cast "bloated" in any way if they tend to get focus for only 2-4 issues and then the plot moves forward and they're effectively out of focus (I don't see the Wolf Pack existence currently hindering what's happening in the comic currently)?

 

Just for reference, this is the Marvel Universe.

 

 

But even with all these characters with long detailed histories/backstories, the characters never get lost in the shuffle. The Spider-Man comics have no problems focusing on primarily Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four comics have no problem focusing on the Fantastic Four and so on.

 

Except they each get their own comic to themselves, pretty much. 

 

Now imagine if they all had to share just one or two comics. The whole thing would be a complete clusterfuck.

 

For that to be a fair comparison, there'd have to be about three or four times as many 'Sonic' comics, each focusing on a different portion of the cast.

 

The problem is that a monthly comic will only get 12-13 issues a year. At twenty-two pages per comic, that's 286 pages a year. Even if you include Sonic Universe to make it 572 pages (which is debatable, since Archie claim that Universe is 'optional' even though it's more or less an essential companion piece to the main series), 13 or 26 issues a year still isn't a great deal of space to cover such an expanded cast. 

 

The story moves at a snails pace due to the monthly releases as it is, just with them focusing on what's happening in the here and now. Universe takes the pressure off the main book somewhat, at least.

Edited February 3, 2013 by -Mark-

[Soniman]

Which is why factions like G.U.N, the Sandblasters, and the Wolf Pack only get 2-4 issues that mainly focus on them, it's not like these characters are constantly getting focus, it's called world building, to show that there's a world outside Sonic's New Mobotropolis. 

 

The argument that "these characters exists therefore the comic is bloated" makes absolutely no sense because the story doesn't constantly focus on all of them all of the time! And who says all of these characters absolutely have to get constant coverage? They can go without any appearances for a good long while and not have to be "renewed" in a new story for them to be relevant.

 

Seriously, it's really not that hard to keep track of.

[Kuzu]

Which is why factions like G.U.N, the Sandblasters, and the Wolf Pack only get 2-4 issues that mainly focus on them, it's not like these characters are constantly getting focus, it's called world building, to show that there's a world outside Sonic's New Mobotropolis. 

 

The argument that "these characters exists therefore the comic is bloated" makes absolutely no sense because the story doesn't constantly focus on all of them all of the time! And who says all of these characters absolutely have to get constant coverage? They can go without any appearances for a good long while and not have to be "renewed" in a new story for them to be relevant.

 

Seriously, it's really not that hard to keep track of.

 

 

Dude, just because every single character doesn't have an entire comic to themselves doesn't make the cast any less bloated. I said it's bloated just for the sheer scale of the cast, and yes it is hard to keep track of because like I said, unless you're a hardcore reader of this book, you will not know who anybody is. I literally had to read the wiki for hours just to know who half these characters are, and why I should care about them. And to the casual reader, they'd just say fuck it.

[Soniman]

So the writers just shouldn't bring in old characters or expand on them due to the always frequent chance of newer readers becoming confused? Im sorry but that's just silly. Unless the writer tries to clumsy exposition dump everything the character did recently then yes, the new readers may indeed be required to some of the research on their own if they truly want to learn about the characters and if they care enough.

 

This goes back to what I was saying about world building, having a ton of characters that make up a defined world does not make for a bloated cast. The current story arc may have taken us through the Wolf Pack Tribe, Furville, and Echidnaopolis, but the current comic's focus stays primarily on Team Fighters (Sonic, Tails, and Amy) and their ongoing fight with Eggman.

Edited February 4, 2013 by Soniman

[Kuzu]

So the writers just shouldn't bring in old characters or expand on them due to the always frequent chance of newer readers becoming confused? Im sorry but that's just silly. Unless the writer tries to clumsy exposition dump everything the character did recently then yes, the new readers may indeed be required to some of the research on their own if they truly want to learn about the characters and if they care enough.

 

This goes back to what I was saying about world building, having a ton of characters that make up a defined world does not make for a bloated cast. The current story arc may have taken us through the Wolf Pack Tribe, Furville, and Echidnaopolis, but the current comic's focus stays primarily on Team Fighters (Sonic, Tails, and Amy) and their ongoing fight with Eggman.

 

 

And that's what I'm referring to. As a general comic book, that's ok but as a book based on a video game series that's pretty light on story then it turns away potential readers. I'm not asking for clumsy exposition, I was just pointing something out.

 

 

Me and you have different definitions of a bloated cast then; You're going to tell me that a cast of well over 300 characters that have their own separate ongoing story arcs in addition to the main plot itself, that tie together in some way isn't the least bit over-saturated?

 

 

 

Also, for context; I'm talking about the comic as a whole, and not the current story arc which you seem to think I'm talking about.

Edited February 4, 2013 by Ragna the Bloodedge

[Soniman]

Me and you have different definitions of a bloated cast then; You're going to tell me that a cast of well over 300 characters that have their own separate ongoing story arcs in addition to the main plot itself, that tie together in some way isn't the least bit over-saturated?

 

Maybe if that was true...but it really isn't. 85% of these supposed 300 characters have absolutely no current bearing on the main plot (so in turn they really don't have any ongoing story arcs).

 

Let's look at the characters that are actually relevant to the main story.

 

Team Fighters: Chasing down Eggman and stopping the Death Egg

 

Eggman Empire: The main antagonist which consist of main Eggman, the Dark Legion (or specifically Lien-Da), Mecha Sally, and all the Metals.

 

Nagus and Geoffry: Currently one and the same, making plans to take over the kingdom.

 

Secret Freedom Fighters: Dedicated to overthrowing and stopping Nagus and have Elias reclaim the thrown.

 

Team Freedom: Currently on monitor duty for New Mobotroplis while Team Fighters is away.

 

These are the main plot lines, we have two antagonists and 3 hero factions. Literally none of these 300 other characters have no effect on the plot at hand, so once again, I just don't see how it's so bloated. The comic does a decent job of keeping track of all the characters and they all have their roles and fulfill them fine.

 

 

Also, for context; I'm talking about the comic as a whole, and not the current story arc which you seem to think I'm talking about.

 

Shit, wish I saw that sooner.

 

In that case, I guess there's some merit to that, but that's just how it is with a comic that has been running for as long as this one.

Edited February 4, 2013 by Soniman

[Kuzu]

Shit, wish I saw that sooner.

 

In that case, I guess there's some merit to that, but that's just how it is with a comic that has been running for as long as this one.

 

I understand that, it's no less of a problem with me tho. It's gotten better with recent issues as you said, but for a comic that's for the most part aimed at children under the age of 12, it's got quite a lot going on. I don't think the series can't handle it, but I think there were better ways at going at it. This is mostly in the Bollers, Penders era tho and less of a problem I have with the book and more with comics in general.

Edited February 4, 2013 by Ragna the Bloodedge

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I just want to add that it doesn't matter whether the number of characters is 30 or 300, there are always going to be characters a casual reader, viewer, or player will not know about and possibly need to look up to learn. For example, Batman has major hitters Joker, Mr Freeze, Bane, and Poison Ivy while other characters like Calendar Man and the Mad Hatter would be overshadowed by the more well known faces. Or how about Superman and any other villains aside from Lex or Brainiac? Doomsday could easily be known as the one who supposedly killed Superman, but others like Zod (when was the last time we've heard of HIM?) or Bizzaro? They can easily fall into obscurity.

Even the Sonic Games are already guilty of this, so it's not that good of an excuse to fault them over the number of characters, especially when - as Soniman already pointed out - many of those characters aren't even major ones in the first place.

Edited February 4, 2013 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Kuzu]

I just want to add that it doesn't matter whether the number of characters is 30 or 300, there are always going to be characters a casual reader, viewer, or player will not know about and possibly need to look up to learn. For example, Batman has major hitters Joker, Mr Freeze, Bane, and Poison Ivy while other characters like Calendar Man and the Mad Hatter would be overshadowed by the more well known faces. Or how about Superman and any other villains aside from Lex or Brainiac? Doomsday could easily be known as the one who supposedly killed Superman, but others like Zod (when was the last time we've heard of HIM?) or Bizzaro? They can easily fall into obscurity.

Even the Sonic Games are already guilty of this, so it's not that good of an excuse to fault them over the number of characters, especially when - as Soniman already pointed out - many of those characters aren't even major ones in the first place.

 

 

If I recall one of the main criticisms of the series is the overabundance of characters and large amounts of focus on them.

 

 

I fault them because this is a looooong running series, and it's going to continue to be, so the more intricate and detailed the plots get, the more back info people will need to read up on. Go ahead and try to tell me, in detail, the story of Batman since issue #1, and all of the story arcs within them. This is just mainly my problem with long running stories that have such a massive plot; it gets complicated, and unless you're  a really dedicated fan, you will get lost.

Edited February 4, 2013 by Ragna the Bloodedge

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

If I recall one of the main criticisms of the series is the overabundance of characters and large amounts of focus on them.

 

 

I fault them because this is a looooong running series, and it's going to continue to be, so the more intricate and detailed the plots get, the more back info people will need to read up on.

That sounds like a testament to its strength for lasting so long than it is a fault.

Go ahead and try to tell me, in detail, the story of Batman since issue #1, and all of the story arcs within them.

Which one? Because the general origin story of the one back in 1940 was the one everyone is familiar with: the mugging and death of Bruce Wayne's family and his fascination with bats lead to him adopting the motif to become The Batman. Said story arcs involve the Joker terrorizing Gotham similar to the way he is portrayed in the Dark Knight films before dealing with Hugo Strange and Catwoman in the latter arcs before having a second showdown with the Joker, who ends up stabbing himself trying to kill the Batman.

And that's just the Volume 1series. Anything else?

This is just mainly my problem with long running stories that have such a massive plot; it gets complicated, and unless you're  a really dedicated fan, you will get lost.

Despite the fact that there are side notes in the comics that flat out direct you to the other issues so that, should a new fan want to go back and look them up in previous issues, you can get up to speed with characters being brought back from the past?

[Kuzu]

That sounds like a testament to its strength for lasting so long than it is a fault.

I see it as a consequence mostly.

 

Which one? Because the general origin story of the one back in 1940 was the one everyone is familiar with: the mugging and death of Bruce Wayne's family and his fascination with bats lead to him adopting the motif to become The Batman. Said story arcs involve the Joker terrorizing Gotham similar to the way he is portrayed in the Dark Knight films before dealing with Hugo Strange and Catwoman in the latter arcs before having a second showdown with the Joker, who ends up stabbing himself trying to kill the Batman.

And that's just the Volume 1series. Anything else?

 

Exactly, that's 1 volume. You can't sit here and tell me you know every single Batman arc to date, including the current ones in detail. If you did, I'd have to question if you have a life or not.

 

Despite the fact that there are side notes in the comics that flat out direct you to the other issues so that, should a new fan want to go back and look them up in previous issues, you can get up to speed with characters being brought back from the past?

 

That's my point, if you wanna keep up you have to backtrack so much, and like I said unless you're a hardcore fans, you won't want to do that. If a casual reader just wanted to pick up an issue and read, but was then told to go back to whatever issue to make sense of the current situation, they'd probably be turned off.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I see it as a consequence mostly.

And your solution would be? Because there's only so much of game verse to make an adaptation before you reach a dead end that requires thought outside of he box.

Exactly, that's 1 volume. You can't sit here and tell me you know every single Batman arc to date, including the current ones in detail. If you did, I'd have to question if you have a life or not.

Or they can simply look up the arcs on the wiki or they could have an impressive memory and a lot of free time? And besides, vol 1 is only 700+ issues, it's not so massive that someone would be wasting they're life reading and knowing all of it in detail, and its rather insulting to say that someone.

Really, how long does it take you to read a single issue?

That's my point, if you wanna keep up you have to backtrack so much, and like I said unless you're a hardcore fans, you won't want to do that. If a casual reader just wanted to pick up an issue and read, but was then told to go back to whatever issue to make sense of the current situation, they'd probably be turned off.

If the reader felt like doing it.

Otherwise, they could do the simple thing and not bother with past plots while reading the current arc they're on? Because the arcs are sef-contained stories with references connecting to the past. It's pretty much telling the reader "hey, if you want, you can learn more about this in issue x, or just keep reading forward."

It would be absolutely no different if this were the case with the games were it to be something about past references considering how long lasting its been and references between each other, so I don't see how the comics are in the wrong either. This is essentially the equivalent of complaining about how hard a long lasting TV Show is to follow because you first started in episode 240 and don't want to make any effort to understand the details below the surface: or to use a game example, starting in Sonic Generations and complaining about details referenced from the past games that you don't feel bother to learn.

Edited February 4, 2013 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Sega DogTagz]

That's my point, if you wanna keep up you have to backtrack so much, and like I said unless you're a hardcore fans, you won't want to do that. If a casual reader just wanted to pick up an issue and read, but was then told to go back to whatever issue to make sense of the current situation, they'd probably be turned off.

 

 

That is a pretty loaded line of thought.

 

If your simply a casual reader of a comic, then you wont necessarily care enough about the lure of the series to want to go back to the issues that are mentioned in the side notes. As a casual reader, current issues offer you enough information to enjoy the plot at hand, even if a few of the little nuisances slip over your head. You know Eggman is the bad guy, and the gaggle of heroes has a bone to pick with Naugus. The rest is just there for you to enjoy. You need zero back issue contributions to tell you that. Current issues offer more than enough to get the casual reader where they want to be.

 

 

Once you start questioning underling character motives, and finding interest in the history and past interactions between sets of characters, then a casual reader has started to make the transition into a hardcore one. With that transition comes an expectation of research. I expect a hardcore reader to catch up a little bit on past issues. I expect a hardcore reader to try to fill in the blanks by doing a little leg work. Thats what those little notes are for. Not for the run-of-the-mill casual reader, but for those that want to begin their journey to learning more about what makes the comic tick.

 

There is almost no obligation to back track for casual readers. Those little notes are just there for those of us who want them. You can't make the argument that you need them to keep up because that simply isn't true. There is enough info within any handful of sequential issues to get a reader up to speed enough to know what is going on in a certain arc or situation.

[Badnik Zero]

Lol, yeah DogTagz pretty much sums it up, when you wanna get into a comic series, the first thing you probably do is buy back issues. First you're like, "Uh I don't get it" but then you get enough background to be a reader.

[tenchibr]

I used to hate comics, because of the concept that it is VERY difficult to read every single issue on most series.

 

I managed to do that with Archie Sonic, and I am glad I did. More like an achievement rather than actual knowledge. I can't remember half of what I read, just the major stuff (the dumb plots in the beginning and punny jokes, Endgame, Sonic's Transformation to Modern, Pendershit, Sonic in Space, etc..)

 

I love the fact that I can say I know about all of this; HOWEVER, ask yourself the following question: can you name ONE plot from any of the issues up to #200 that are relevant enough for a reader to know to be able to understand the current arc?

 

Nothing I mentioned above is necessary for current reading appreciation.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I love the fact that I can say I know about all of this; HOWEVER, ask yourself the following question: can you name ONE plot from any of the issues up to #200 that are relevant enough for a reader to know to be able to understand the current arc?

 

Nothing I mentioned above is necessary for current reading appreciation.

Knuckles becoming the avatar of Enerjak and completely destroying the capital of the Eggman Empire, except for the Egg Dome that later became the Death Egg MkII (#183)?  Knuckles (as Enerjak) removing the cybernetics of the Dark Legion and sending half of the remaining echidnas to Albion to rebuild, while forcing those that want them back to join the Eggman Empire to regain their cybernetics and become the Dark Egg Legion (#181)? Said faction of Dark Egg Legion attacking Albion in the current arc before Thrash came into the picture (#243-now)?

 

That's THREE plot points. And I can add even more than that by going with the Death Egg MkII alone.

Edited February 4, 2013 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[-Mark-]

Admittedly, I will say there's one reason I feel that the Archie comic is potentially stuck in a hypothetical dead end, although it's a reason that's applicable to almost every ongoing comic series ever.

 

 

Unlike most manga (and this is an observation, not any kind of East/ West bias), Western comics more often than not, take a concept and just run with it. They never really work towards any kind of eventual 'ending', because the general idea is to keep it running indefinitely to keep the franchise alive and kicking (i.e. making money) for as long as possible.

 

As a result (and this goes doubly for Sonic, a comic based off of an existing franchise), since there's no destination to work toward, writers literally just have to plan ahead for the next year or so and then pretty much make stuff up as they go along continually. If a series has an ending planned, no matter how far off, you can at least say "Well, in order to reach point XYZ, ABC etc need to happen". Nothing of any major consequence can ever really happen (and if it does, the writers will usually end up pulling a plot reset or something), and as a result no matter how serious things get, you know that everything's more or less going to stay the same forever. Any changes to the status quo will usually only last a couple of years or so at most (and that's only due to the slow, monthly nature of comics).

 

 

And that’s kind of what’s causing the whole issue of ‘Sonic can’t lose’; but then at the same time, Sonic can’t really win, either. They can’t ever up and defeat Eggman for good. It’ll ultimately just have to remain as a stalemate back-and-forth with each side getting temporary victories and/ or the upper hand for short periods of time. Obviously they can’t just end the series with either side winning, but at the same time it does kind of make the series feel like it’s ultimately just going nowhere with everything staying more or less the same over the years, despite temporary or minor changes.

 

On an unrelated note, I think the best example I can bring up to call the Archie series ‘convoluted’ is, again, something from the Penders/ Bollers era of crap, but still; the whole issue of the original Robotnik dying, then the quite frankly ridiculous lengths they went to to replace him. If I remember correctly, the current ‘Eggman’ was actually a robot from one of the alternate universes, who then randomly got abducted by aliens along with Snively, Sonic and Tails, who then made them fight to decide who was superior and then changed everyone back to flesh and blood. Same goes for much of the integration of Sonic Adventure stuff, actually; Amy wishing herself older to explain her design change, Sonic’s green eyes, the buckles, hell, if I remember correctly they actually use Amy’s wish as an excuse to ‘explain’ her being able to pull hammers out of hammerspace, saying she actually ‘wishes’ them out of thin air due to some of the wish-granting powers having gone into her.

 

 

They just explained things that don’t really need explaining, and it just came off as comically forced. Again, this doesn’t apply much to the comic these days, but my god it used to pull some ridiculous shit.
 

Edited February 4, 2013 by -Mark-

[Mogtaki]

Knuckles becoming the avatar of Enerjak and completely destroying the capital of the Eggman Empire, except for the Egg Dome that later became the Death Egg MkII (#183)?  Knuckles (as Enerjak) removing the cybernetics of the Dark Legion and sending half of the remaining echidnas to Albion to rebuild, while forcing those that want them back to join the Eggman Empire to regain their cybernetics and become the Dark Egg Legion (#181)? Said faction of Dark Egg Legion attacking Albion in the current arc before Thrash came into the picture (#243-now)?

 

That's THREE plot points. And I can add even more than that by going with the Death Egg MkII alone.

 

I still have barely a clue to what was the significance of Enerjak or what the hell it was until I asked here. Remember, this is coming from somebody who's only read them recently since #200

 

I kinda have to question why there was an echidna society in the first place when throughout my Sonic history, Knuckles has always been labelled as the last of his kind. The comics kept seemingly implying that he was 'the last guardian of his kind' rather than last echidna.

 

I dunno, just throwing that out there. I barely have a clue as a new reader.

[tenchibr]

Knuckles becoming the avatar of Enerjak and completely destroying the capital of the Eggman Empire, except for the Egg Dome that later became the Death Egg MkII (#183)?  Knuckles (as Enerjak) removing the cybernetics of the Dark Legion and sending half of the remaining echidnas to Albion to rebuild, while forcing those that want them back to join the Eggman Empire to regain their cybernetics and become the Dark Egg Legion (#181)? Said faction of Dark Egg Legion attacking Albion in the current arc before Thrash came into the picture (#243-now)?   That's THREE plot points. And I can add even more than that by going with the Death Egg MkII alone.

Enlighten me how this is relevant, especially when the Death Egg took a backseat so Thrash can be the focus for the current arc.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Enlighten me how this is relevant, especially when the Death Egg took a backseat so Thrash can be the focus for the current arc.

Because Knuckles becoming Enerjak and destroying Eggman's capital city led to Eggman putting as much work as he can towards keeping order and the Egg Dome being the only operational part of his city was his trump card that he never completed until he came out of insanity. Said Death Egg became a major plot point as it terrorized the world and made an attack on Albion in the current arc.

 

Knuckles ridding the Dark Legion of their cybernetics led to a slight increase in manpower for Eggman to use in his army when they joined him to gain their cybernetics back. And said leader of that faction ended up attacking Albion while they went in search of the Chaos Emerald Eggman was demanding be found before Thrash was written into the plot.

 

Had none of this happened, we would be somewhere completely different for the current arc.

 

 

 

 

I still have barely a clue to what was the significance of Enerjak or what the hell it was until I asked here. Remember, this is coming from somebody who's only read them recently since #200

Enerjak is a demi-god, and manifests in an echidna who wields a MASSIVE amount of Chaos Energy. One of those avatars was an ancestor of Knuckles named Dimitri before he became a cyborg, and Knuckles himself became Enerjak as a result of manipulation from Dr. Finitivus.

 

 

I kinda have to question why there was an echidna society in the first place when throughout my Sonic history, Knuckles has always been labelled as the last of his kind. The comics kept seemingly implying that he was 'the last guardian of his kind' rather than last echidna.

Yeah, you can't look at the comics from a game perspective regarding Sonic history, when the history of the comics is clearly different by contrast. That was your first mistake.

 

The comics stopped implying that before the series even hit the triple digits of issues. Knuckles even had his own series of comics that illustrated the echidna society before it was discontinued and put together with the main Sonic comics during Pender's run (I think).

Edited February 4, 2013 by ChaosSupremeSonic