Megathread Archie Sonic Main Discussion

[Your Vest Friend]

 

Maybe if there were more interesting interpersonal relationships within the team, it would be better...but as is, it feels like there's very little beyond "they're all good friends". And Antoine and Bunnie are a married couple, obviously, but that's about it. I always thought that Sally was supposed to be especially best friends with Nicole and Bunnie, but we don't even see much of that. (Though admittedly, I've skipped a lot of comics, so I'm not the best informed.)

For Sally and Nicole, you'll want Spark of Life if you haven't already seen it. Sally and Bunnie...eh, their friendship seems to have had a bit of a downgrade post-reboot, especially when Sally refers to Nicole as her best friend when Bunnie was in the past. Now she's even more just attached to Antoine and Antoine alone. :/

Maybe Hidden Costs will bring something to the table.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

My thoughts on Mega Man #52. Being honest, this was a pretty lackluster ending to a pretty lackluster crossover. I've already gone over my issues with the main series itself so let's focus on this issue specifically.

Pros:

+Art is really good
+Sonic & Mega Man's interactions
+Mega Man's face when Sonic jokes about him using too much power
+The quick endings showing they don't remember the exact events but do remember each other.

Cons:

-Super Sonic & Super Mega Man Vs Sigma only lasts like 5 pages or so before he's beaten

-The series is effectively erased with no lasting effects whatsoever, other than Eggman losing his emerald for no reason, meaning this three month break has been nothing but a total waste of time, especially for Mega Man and Sonic Boom

-There's no real explanation as to why Sonic, Mega Man, Wily, and Eggman, and Sticks remembers what happens despite the events just not occurring. There's absolutely no reason as to why certain characters remember, but others don't.

-Time travel plot doesn't make sense anyway. Xander shoots Sigma before he can go back to Eggman's world, claiming that ''Dr.Eggman has already made his preparations''. If that was the case, Eggman should have his base already set up on the Lost Hex, but when we see him, it's right before his invasion of the Lost Hex.

-All main characters remember the events, except X for some reason.

-Eggman & Wily aren't really used well. They were planning to take over Sigma's entire operation, only for Xander to suddenly decide he's gonna save the world. 

-Going further, Xander's plan doesn't work. He claims that he's gonna shoot Sigma so that Eggman and Wily can't create their machines...except, Xander's hatred of robots extend to them all. I really don't see how he considers himself saving the world when Mega Man, Mega Man X, and a lot of the other robots he claims to hate are still gonna be survive.

[Tomzilla98]

My thoughts on Mega Man #52. Being honest, this was a pretty lackluster ending to a pretty lackluster crossover. I've already gone over my issues with the main series itself so let's focus on this issue specifically.

 

Hidden Content

 fait analysis. this only thing that i'd like to add that confuses me is

 

the last page where Sticks mentions nexus...what does that mean??? is that planet mega man's, sticks's, x's or some untapped world for the next potential crossover?

[andrewtuell1991]

I have to agree with Diesel on most of the stuff he's saying.  252 should've been a full-on proper reboot that started from the beginning and told the stories of the games in a coherent and fleshed out way like with the Mega Man comic AND finally ditching the OCs of Satam/Archie (it's hard to tell which they belong since Archie began months before Satam contrary to popular belief).  The Freedom Fighters  and everyone else should've been thrown in the delete bin along with the OCs of Aosth, Underground, Fleetway, X, and OVA a long time ago.  Oh but wait!  Now we're starting to dig up some of the Aosth OCs for some ungodly reason.  Fricking why?  Nobody remembers Aosth outside of Youtube Poops, why are we dragging them back for?

 

The problem with the Freedom Fighters in the new Post-SGW timeline is that they just seem kinda redundant.  They were created at a time when you could count the number of game characters and the number of canon games on one hand.  The game universe now has tons of storylines and characters to work with, they're not needed.  Not to mention, they're still terrible characters in general.  Sally keeps ping-ponging between a bland Mary-Sue everyone falls in love with to an entitled brat who slaps Sonic for not being her palace pet.  Antoine and Bunny are still just the wimpy French and Southern Belle caricatures they started out as 20 years ago and if "A Nice Day to Start Again" is anything to go by their romance has reached a dead-end.  Seriously Bunny? Freaking out because a billboard almost fell on Antoine after everything you guys have been through, gimme a break.  Rotor is the FF I can tolerate the most but ever since Tails become the genius machine-builder in Sonic Adventure, all of the genius characters in the western continuities (Rotor, Porker, Tekno, etc.) just seem redundant.

 

The way Archie went about the reboot was just asinine.  Throwing out 350+ issues worth of content and then replacing it with an equal amount of content which is some odd synthesis of the games, Satam, Aosth, and who knows what else and throwing the reader in the middle of a story with practically no knowledge of what has transpired before?  Come on Archie/Sega/Whoever, no one is ever going to top Archie Sonic as the longest running comic based on a video all right?  No one is even attempting to break that record.  Just let Ian start anew instead of doing it the completely ass-backwards way you did.

 

The sad thing is, I would've loved Ian start completely fresh without the baggage of Gallagher, Penders, Bollers, and some 20 year dead Swatkats/Batman TAS wannabe.  When I look at what he did for Mega man, a series that was super-repetitive and had less of a story than Sonic, I wish he could done the same for the blue hedgehog.  In subtle ways he already has, take Sniveley's new origin story for instance.  In it he mentioned the events of Sonic 1 was where the raw material for the Death Egg was gathered and Sonic 2 was the refined and used for the Death Egg.  I though that way an absolutely brilliant way of tying Sonic 1 to the rest of the Death Egg arc, a game that's pretty just this odd solo adventure that doesn't really tie into anything.  But then I turned the page and found that the events of Sonic 2 were also being used as when the FF took Kingdom Acorn back from Eggman and felt nothing but rage.  First of all, no, don't pollute the story of a great game with crap like that.  Second, you cannot make the overall story of Satam fit in the world of the games without it looking like (more of) a joke.  You can't just replace Julian and Swatbots with Classic Eggman and Badniks and expect to feel the same.  When ever I read the new origins of the FF and see them running away from Motobugs and Buzzbomber like they're some legitimate threat, I just sit there stone-faced thinking "Seriously?"  I'm also not to keen on the whole FF concept in general still being a thing.  Can't they just be their own characters without that nonsense?

 

Also while I'm glad that the train-wreck known as Worlds Unite is over with, I'm a little hesitant to return to the main story.  I feel like the Shattered Worlds Crisis arc has over stayed it's welcome with it already going on bit longer than an adaptation of Sonic Unleashed should've, going on 33 issues already.*  It'll be over two years since it began when it ends which just seems exhausting considering Unleashed was already 5 years old when the comic arc began.  I just hope the comic doesn't get into the habit of dragging out adaptations of video games until the next one comes out.  That would just be mind-numbingly boring.

 

*For those asking how I came up with 33 issues: StH 257-272 (16)/ SU 59-75 (17).  I feel like StH 252-256/SU 55-58 are more like the ending of the unseen post-SGW equivalent of the Secret Freedom Fighters/King Naugus storyline from the pre-SGW timeline.

[Forte-Metallix]

The Freedom Fighters  and everyone else should've been thrown in the delete bin along with the OCs of Aosth, Underground, Fleetway, X, and OVA a long time ago.  Oh but wait!  Now we're starting to dig up some of the Aosth OCs for some ungodly reason.  Fricking why?  Nobody remembers Aosth outside of Youtube Poops, why are we dragging them back for?

Hate to break it to you, buddy, but SatAM and AoStH have plenty of modern fans who are more than happy to see their favorite characters stick around. Like it or not, the Freedom Fighters largely contribute to the comic lasting as long as it has. They make this world stand out next to Boom and the Sega universe.

Quite frankly, the post-reboot Archie universe is my favorite incarnation of Sonic because it's basically a giant love letter to fans of the franchise as a whole. The current writers and artists are all Sonic fans, and unlike say, Pontac and Graff, they understand what makes the series so special. If the comic was the same as the games, what would be the point?

[Your Vest Friend]

I dunno if the Freedom Fighters did largely contribute to be honest. I think it being a comic about Sonic was the large contributor.

[Komodin]

All the same, the Freedom Fighters still have their fans, they help make the Archie comic what it is, for better or worse, and the fact that they're still around is a testament to that. It'd just be a complete waste to just toss them aside like refuse to appeal to games purists.

[Monkey Destruction Switch]

Archie Sonic has never been solely based on the games and it never will be, and frankly I like that. Not because I don't like the games continuity, but because it brings something new to the table. And I think it's wonderful that it's taking "forgotten" aspects from Sonic history and giving them new life. I mean, I honestly would like Archie Sonic to be more based on the games, but I definitely enjoy that it's not just like the games, and wouldn't like for all the unique and interesting things in it to be lost.

You're entitled to your own opinion, though. In fact, it's perfectly understandable to think the way you do. I don't necessarily think it would be a good idea, though, as starting from the beginning of the classic games and eliminating all non-games stuff would probably be alienating both to current Archie Sonic fans AND (more importantly) people who are predominately Modern Sonic fans. Especially since it would take so long for fan-favorite characters to be introduced. Even for predominately Classic fans, you'd probably have to wait a while to see Tails, then wait a while to see Amy, then wait a while to see Knuckles, etc. 

Also...to be honest I think you're getting a bit too worked up about this. You saw the Freedom Fighters and were "filled with rage"? Seriously?

Not that I can't relate to it. A couple of weeks ago, I was watching an episode of the Adventures of Superman in which most of the episode consisted of Lois screwing Clark over, and in the end, Lois "won" - got the scoop and the bonus and whatnot. I know this is silly, but it made me really angry because of how attached I am to Clark. But in time, I realized that I got WAY too worked up about it, and shouldn't let myself get SO attached to a character that I lose all perspective - especially since Clark himself, being the mild-mannered fellow that he is, didn't get very angry about it! I mean, it's perfectly fine to care a lot about a certain franchise, but if it's getting to the point where small things actually enrage you, which was the point I got to myself, it might be a good idea to step back and, well, take a chill pill.

[YoshiAngemon]

Archie Sonic has never been solely based on the games and it never will be, and frankly I like that. Not because I don't like the games continuity, but because it brings something new to the table. And I think it's wonderful that it's taking "forgotten" aspects from Sonic history and giving them new life. I mean, I honestly would like Archie Sonic to be more based on the games, but I definitely enjoy that it's not just like the games, and wouldn't like for all the unique and interesting things in it to be lost.

You're entitled to your own opinion, though. In fact, it's perfectly understandable to think the way you do. I don't necessarily think it would be a good idea, though, as starting from the beginning of the classic games and eliminating all non-games stuff would probably be alienating both to current Archie Sonic fans AND (more importantly) people who are predominately Modern Sonic fans. Especially since it would take so long for fan-favorite characters to be introduced. Even for predominately Classic fans, you'd probably have to wait a while to see Tails, then wait a while to see Amy, then wait a while to see Knuckles, etc. 

Also...to be honest I think you're getting a bit too worked up about this. You saw the Freedom Fighters and were "filled with rage"? Seriously?

Not that I can't relate to it. A couple of weeks ago, I was watching an episode of the Adventures of Superman in which most of the episode consisted of Lois screwing Clark over, and in the end, Lois "won" - got the scoop and the bonus and whatnot. I know this is silly, but it made me really angry because of how attached I am to Clark. But in time, I realized that I got WAY too worked up about it, and shouldn't let myself get SO attached to a character that I lose all perspective - especially since Clark himself, being the mild-mannered fellow that he is, didn't get very angry about it! I mean, it's perfectly fine to care a lot about a certain franchise, but if it's getting to the point where small things actually enrage you, which was the point I got to myself, it might be a good idea to step back and, well, take a chill pill.

Not as far-fetched as seeing Fox McCloud filled with a murderous rage, after finding out that Andross killed his mother, and learned that Andross was after his father, in the comics. I wish to see the Star Fox Comics reprinted, some day. Hopefully, Viz Media can fulfill that promise.

[andrewtuell1991]

Like it or not, the Freedom Fighters largely contribute to the comic lasting as long as it did.

If by the FF you mean Sally then sure.  Seriously, in the grand scheme the other three are do nothings.  In Season 1 of Satam they accompanied Sonic and Sally but hardly did anything of significance and by Season 2 were pretty much background characters aside from those cringe-worthy filler episodes.  In the Archie comics, when Penders and Bollers came into the scene they were pushed into the background to make way for hundreds of echidnas and whatever OCs Penders came up with to make as many love triangles between Sonic and Sally as possible.  They've done a few things here and there but nothing of significance.

 

If the comic was the same as the games, what would be the point?

They pretty much are just the games now so why not take it the extra mile?  Less jokingly, I'm not sure what would be a good balance between comics and games would be.  Anyone know how the Zelda and Mario mangas handle it?  I've always wanted to get into those but never found the time and money to do so.

 

You're entitled to your own opinion, though. In fact, it's perfectly understandable to think the way you do. I don't necessarily think it would be a good idea, though, as starting from the beginning of the classic games and eliminating all non-games stuff would probably be alienating both to current Archie Sonic fans AND (more importantly) people who are predominately Modern Sonic fans. Especially since it would take so long for fan-favorite characters to be introduced. Even for predominately Classic fans, you'd probably have to wait a while to see Tails, then wait a while to see Amy, then wait a while to see Knuckles, etc.

I wouldn't want them to as by the numbers as a lot of people make it sound.  What I mean is expand on the stories and characters of the games (as much as Sega allows that is), steamline the confusing parts (Blaze/Silver/Nega triangle really needs some explain in one continuity), and maybe shovel the order of certain events if need be.  Have it start out with Sonic already knowing some of the cast (Tails and Amy at the very least), maybe only retell the "origin" story like a lot of comic book reboots do and everything past that be original stories that introduce old character in new lights.  Like maybe have Shadow's origin be something less convoluted than half-government funded bio-weapon cure for space-AIDS, half-DNA son of a space demon.  I don't want it to be strict re-tellings of the games (since the order of the games is still up in the air) but at least make it not feel like some cobbled-up on the fly fusion of the games and two 20 year old shows that barely had any resemblance to Sonic outside of the broadest of strokes.

Also...to be honest I think you're getting a bit too worked up about this. You saw the Freedom Fighters and were "filled with rage"? Seriously?

Hyperbolic exaggeration, no need to read that far into it.  It was more like an eye-roll.  Honestly I'm more shocked that Sega allowed that.  Flynn himself said Sega's protective as to how certain games are told, so it's surprising that Sonic 2 was injected with the overall plot of Satam/Archie 1-50.  That's one of the reasons I keep reading, to see what changes his made to the game's stories as to how much Satam/Aosth Sega allows in, and to see how he adds the Game Gear and other spin off games into the timeline.  As much as the Dic elements annoy me, I can tolerate their more Sega-fied revisions enough to enjoy this odd story Ian's was forced to whip up on the fly (seriously that deserves some kind of writing medal.)

[Mauro Fonseca]

If the comic was the same as the games, what would be the point?

Reading elaborate stories with the setting and characters of the games? I still don't understand this question, years later, as if the concept were so stupidly alien. Invert it and see how it sounds for you- why are you so certain the comic'd lose all point and reason to exist if Sally's not around, for an example? :V

So long as I'm here and we're talking about this, let me just drop a Ben Bates post I really enjoyed reading the other day

 

Edited August 22, 2015 by The KKM

[Sonictrainer]

Less jokingly, I'm not sure what would be a good balance between comics and games would be. Anyone know how the Zelda and Mario mangas handle it?  I've always wanted to get into those but never found the time and money to do so.

You mean this?

It pretty much tells the game's story (skipping most of the sidequests), except that Link actually talks.

It did have an original non-canon story about the Majora's Mask origin, but besides that, everything else follows the story of the game.

[Shaddy Zaphod]

 

They pretty much are just the games now so why not take it the extra mile?  Less jokingly, I'm not sure what would be a good balance between comics and games would be.  Anyone know how the Zelda and Mario mangas handle it?  I've always wanted to get into those but never found the time and money to do so.

I have all ten volumes of the Zelda mangas. And honestly, I don't know what to tell you. They add a lot of strange stuff. Examples include:

-Anju and Kafei's sidequest being given center-show in Majora

-Ricky and Maple being incredibly important to the main plot of Oracle of Seasons, along with a random chicken that falls in love with Link, dies, and hopes to be reincarnated as a human girl (this is not a fucking joke)

-Ralph gaining a fuckload character significance compared to Oracle of Ages

-A subplot of OoA involving link meeting his own ancestor "Sir Raven"

-Changing of purple Link's name in Four Swords to "Vio" and having him become a double agent for some reason

-Shadow Link eventually being not evil for some reason

-a lot of really weird ship tease between Link and...himselves

-Vaati being a sympathetic character who turns back into his minish form after being defeated (even though minish cap canonically comes before the others where he's evil...)

-A random girl being added to ALttP as more ship-tease for Link, even though her entire character arc is having to put up with not being the girl the man she just met chooses over Princess Zelda who fates have aligned towards him

-making Jolene more important than Oshus in Phantom Hourglass (really? She forges the phantom sword? WHY?)

 

Edited August 22, 2015 by Shaddy

[andrewtuell1991]

Reading elaborate stories with the setting and characters of the games?

Also this!  Giving it a bit more thought, maybe the Sonic comics could as an equivalent to the Star Wars EU, you know all the new novels, shows, and comics that fill in the holes between Episodes and flesh out the universe.  Maybe have an arc dedicated to 50 years ago and fill in some of Shadow's story from his creation to his capsulation possibly shedding some light on GUN's history and developing Maria, Gerald, and Shadow.  Maybe have an arc about Pachacamac's campaigns and shed some light on the Echidna Tribe and Tikal.  Perhaps a comedic one or two issue story about Espio getting his ninja training at some ninja academy or whatever and then how he, Vector, and Charmy met and formed the Chaotix.  A comic closer to the games doesn't mean the game's stories have to be regurgitated.

[King Scoopa Koopa]

One shitty story does not a bad writer make.

Every writer is going to have bad stories. On top of that, Ian had no choice but to write that issue because it was a plot point already built up by Penders. Ian had to resolve it. 

Yeah, this is like saying all Sonic games suck because of Sonic 2006.

[Shaddy Zaphod]

Yeah, this is like saying all Sonic games suck because of Sonic 2006.

Hitting a little too close to home there, buddy

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Also this!  Giving it a bit more thought, maybe the Sonic comics could as an equivalent to the Star Wars EU, you know all the new novels, shows, and comics that fill in the holes between Episodes and flesh out the universe.  Maybe have an arc dedicated to 50 years ago and fill in some of Shadow's story from his creation to his capsulation possibly shedding some light on GUN's history and developing Maria, Gerald, and Shadow.  Maybe have an arc about Pachacamac's campaigns and shed some light on the Echidna Tribe and Tikal.  Perhaps a comedic one or two issue story about Espio getting his ninja training at some ninja academy or whatever and then how he, Vector, and Charmy met and formed the Chaotix.  A comic closer to the games doesn't mean the game's stories have to be regurgitated.

That still misses the point that this comic was made more as an alternate universe instead of an extended one, and has been since day one just like every other alternate verse we've had in this franchise. A fact which some people are too selfish to grasp. Shadow's own game, as bad as it was, already sheded light on his creation and developed him, Gerald, and Maria much further than the comics have done in its 20 history, and Chronicles, non-canon it may be, expanded more about the Knuckles Tribe while SA1 gave us a far more extended look into Tikal years before the comics even started (poorly) adapting them. None of the games had the SatAM characters and other comic exclusive elements in your way there, so for you to suggest the comics should sacrifice the material other people enjoy and has intentionally made it distinct is incredibly greedy and self-centered.

Reading elaborate stories with the setting and characters of the games? I still don't understand this question, years later, as if the concept were so stupidly alien. Invert it and see how it sounds for you- why are you so certain the comic'd lose all point and reason to exist if Sally's not around, for an example? :V

The concept is so "stupidly alien," as you put it, because the games can do that ten times more so than the comics could in a year, especially given the comic's format to tell stories at a faster pace in four issue arcs which actually limits how elaborate they can be if Worlds Unite has been any indicator. Meanwhile, the games not only have more resources and space they can utilize to tell more elaborate stories than the comics (and without the non-game characters and places to boot), but enhance it further by allowing us to interact with the world and explore its history at the locations we want to go at our own leisure compared to the comics which rigidly take us to the places it wants us to see and lacks much of the freedom that the games have for us to explore. Like really, the games have been far more capable of delivering greater a greater depth of story than the comics, it being its own fault (and by that I mean the game writers and developers) for not capitalizing on the missed opportunities that the comics are taking advantage of, opportunities that I bet the games would have been much greater than the comics and gotten our greater attention and appreciation had it taken them for themselves without the comic exclusives.

One cutscene from the games tell and do far more than a single page (or even two) from the comics can, nevermind how the games can have several dozens of set pieces - from simple signs, to statues and paintings, to NPCs and so forth - that delivers much more information on that single game that we can explore at our own pace compared to a single comic which can only handle much fewer than that, requires us to wait weeks on end for us to see more, and does so at the pace it decides to have and with little input from the audience other than turning the page. And all this is why it still baffles people why you not only rant on the comics for not doing this, but also being something it's been since its very first issue. So this desire for more elaborate stories falls flat when, again, the comics are much more limited in doing such compared to the games.

I say this again, if you don't like how the comics handles it world differently from the games (which basically every other form of the franchise that isn't the games, bar the Boom!Verse, has done), then save yourself the annoyance and stick to the games or other sources you enjoy that give you what you want. I know for certain none of you ranting about the comics being different would want those of us who love it to transfer its comic exclusive characters and settings to the games you love (which even I'm against), so could you please be kind to return that sympathy to those of us who enjoy the comics for what it is and allow us to do so in peace? It's all we ask - and it's not difficult to do.

EDIT - And even then, if people still want a Sonic comic without the Archie exclusives and such, they could, I dunno, ask for a different comic brand without sacrificing the comic exclusive elements and see if they can deliver? You'd get exactly what you want without pissing off the group that enjoys the comic exclusive elements here, which would be much easier without this kind of drama - and I bet those who love Archie!Sonic would be just as interested in it as you would, or at the very least we can all enjoy the stuff we like without screwing the other over. No need for that zero sum nonsense, that's another reason this is so "stupidly alien" because you don't have to take away the stuff here other people happen to like.

Edited August 22, 2015 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Monkey Destruction Switch]

 

Hyperbolic exaggeration, no need to read that far into it.

Sorry I kind of assumed the worst there. I guess I just feel like, in general, Sonic fans sometimes get a bit (read: way) too worked up about whether the "Western" aspects of Sonic are good or bad, and so I was kind of reacting to that. I know I'm stating the obvious, but the fandom just seems too hostile sometimes. Some people like the Freedom Fighters and stuff like that and some people don't, and I suppose I think that Archie Sonic should remain as it is for the people who like those things. I mean, in a way it feels sort of "unfair" to act as if all media should line up with the games, since there are obviously many fans who like the alternate universe that Archie Sonic provides. And, well, I guess I just want us all to be happy. Archie Sonic contains certain elements that some people like, and if you don't like those elements, it feels like it would be better for you to just enjoy other Sonic things and not take something away that other people enjoy.

That's sort of an oversimplification, of course you're entitled to your own opinion about what Archie Sonic should be. In fact, I can completely understand where you're coming from, even if I don't quite agree. 

Yeah, I'm kind of going on a tangent, it's past midnight and the thoughts are flowing freely...

[Shaddy Zaphod]

 I mean, in a way it feels sort of "unfair" to act as if all media should line up with the games, since there are obviously many fans who like the alternate universe that Archie Sonic provides. 

Alternatively, we could just make the games' universe the one from the comics, and have each adventure be something off-panel from the comics.

I'm half-joking, of course, but I really, really want to see expansion on this "new" universe we've got, and I'd much rather have two ongoing Sonic canons than 3. Plus, having the occasional character with personality as a boss rather than just Eggman in whatever new contraption would be refreshing, in the sense that none of his Egg-Bosses actually like him. You could do some interesting stuff with these guys, because furry or not, good or bad, people are people, and they're just on the side that they think is better for them (with everything about the Kingdom of Acorn being a dysfunctional as shit monarchy). And Eggman's fully conscious of the hate, but he just doesn't give a fuck. The guy's view of reality as a game (nice and subtle there, guys) cited as a reason for building everything with such incompetent design pleases me greatly. Plus, as the Boom canon gets more developed, this is much more of an alternate world to that than the video game series. 

Because, while Sonic here has an army of freedom fighters and friends to back him up against an unbreakable Robotnik, Sonic's posse of the Boom series is a whole five heroes against a villain who could only be bothered to care as much as it cuts into his time spent watching TV and trolling the internet. Where one canon shows a confused anti-hero under pressure from his alien origins, Boom shows an asshole just in it for the fun, not giving a shit where he ends up, whether he lives or dies. Where Archie has a lonesome, serious protector of an island owned by a dead race, Boom has a lovable goof that enjoys connecting with nature and spending time with his friends.

I really just want to keep writing these analogies, so I'll leave it in the status updates or something.

[SSF1991]

1. The main Sonic universe didn't get an expansion overnight. 1991 it was just Sonic and Robotnik. Tails came in 1992, Amy and Knuckles in 1993, and so on. With each game came more locations, more plot, more characters. We just got used to it after so many years of having it. Likewise the Archie universe went the same route. It, too, didn't happen overnight. Honestly the Boom cartoon, compared to other Sonic cartoons, have been very diverse in the cast of characters. It's just none of them stand out. And honestly I can kind of see why. They don't want the spotlight taken away from them. Yet I don't think the comics really did Boom justice. You really didn't see that many characters in it compared to the cartoon.

I'd like an expansion myself but there's one problem: it's too soon. It hasn't even been a year since the first Boom media debuted. Odds are everything Boom-related is still in the introductory phase. Only eight months have passed. If a new season of the Boom cartoon happens, or a fourth game, I think then expanding may ensue because by then the universe has been introduced. The overall feeling will be "you're likely aware of what everyone and everything is like by now so lets move forward and really get down to business".

I don't think it is quite the time for Boom to expand yet. But I wouldn't necessarily object to it if it did either. They've set things up to where an expansion wouldn't be out of left field in my opinion.

2. As for the canon universes I don't think any expanding is necessary. The main one has been expanding for 25 years. The comics have been up and down with this for the last 10 and with all the "fixing" that has been done the last thing it needs is expanding and making what has slowly become a stable universe unstable all over again. The Boom one has only just begun to place its foothold on the Sonic brand. Quality aside the universes seem to be fine the way they are at this current time. Either way they're different universes for a reason. The last thing needed is more confusion about what the hell the Sonic universe is supposed to be.

Edited August 22, 2015 by SSF1991

[Your Vest Friend]

 

EDIT - And even then, if people still want a Sonic comic without the Archie exclusives and such, they could, I dunno, ask for a different comic brand without sacrificing the comic exclusive elements and see if they can deliver? You'd get exactly what you want without pissing off the group that enjoys the comic exclusive elements here, which would be much easier without this kind of drama - and I bet those who love Archie!Sonic would be just as interested in it as you would, or at the very least we can all enjoy the stuff we like without screwing the other over. No need for that zero sum nonsense, that's another reason this is so "stupidly alien" because you don't have to take away the stuff here other people happen to like.

Uh, they've had to cancel one comic and put another on hiatus because of money issues in all likelihood, they would not have the finances to do that. It's reasonable but impossible, basically.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Uh, they've had to cancel one comic and put another on hiatus because of money issues in all likelihood, they would not have the finances to do that. It's reasonable but impossible, basically.

I'm aware of that and the Megaman hiatus. I was really just throwing hypotheticals around when I said that, but the whole point was that there are people who love this comic as an alternate setting, and for those who don't there are more constructive approaches other than taking away things other people like and pissing them off over it. This is just throwing temper tantrums for someone eating a different piece of candy you don't like otherwise - there's still the games that are free of this stuff they don't like.

Edited August 22, 2015 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Pompadour]

I've been sitting here thinking how well a 100% adaptation of the canon Sonic games would turn out and... I'm not sure how well that would work in the longrun. Sega hasn't been very well known for their consistent direction for the blue guy, and it still shows to this day. Sure we have colorful and whimsical one moment, but then we get grim and gritty the next game, or suddenly things are more realistic, and now we've got like, 3 different apocalyptic monsters living on the planet that have no relation to eachother whatsoever that are completely ignored just a game later. That's a lot to try to explain and expand on without fear of the next game contradicting it, and I'm not sure how well it would work in comic form. It's not like Megaman where the stories continue one game to the other and usually stay the same in tone.

It's why I'm pretty okay with some of the in-game adaptations happening in the current Archie continuity. Yeah, it's not EXACTLY like the games, but it's at least part of a consistent and flowing continuity in an already established universe where it HAS to make more sense with what's already in the comic, rather than it being some over the top one-off story that's had zero residual effects on any plot after it and is promptly forgotten.

I really think in order for a 100% game canon comic to work out, the continuity of the games has to be reboot from the ground up with games that are much more consistent in story and tone. I will say Colors and Lost World DID try to do that some, but... then Sonic Boom kinda happened, so it's hard to know what's gonna happen next.

[Mauro Fonseca]

I think people'd be happy with an 80% game canon comic, though. Instead of the 50% we get now :V It wouldn't have to be a zero sum game, but we're forced into that position- "EITHER TAKE THE ARCHIE ELEMENTS OR NOTHING NANNER NANNER" which is just really absurd. You'd figure you'd get first a faithful adaption, then if that's successful, additional AU explorations But we've had this discussion before, my point is just that the possibility of a hypothetical comic that actually WAS more faithful to the games is not an absurd. I really can't think of other cases where when a product is adapted people flock to defend the adaptions as "it NEEDS all these extraneous elements or it wouldn't work!"

 

There's reasons to want a games-only comic that the games themselves wouldn't cover by force of being games and not comics, and I don't see how this is a bizarre concept at all, even if not a concept that interests you.

 

Plus just wanted to post that neat Bates post.

 

EDIT: Also "the games can tell better stories anyway!" is a fairly ridiculous argument. Games can do that, but they're also more expensive to make, buy, and come out much less regularly. The way you're describing it is almost as if the comic book medium's useless to you, which is not something I agree- even if you were right on everything else, I just LIKE comic books too.

Edited August 22, 2015 by The KKM

[Pompadour]

well hey, I didn't say it's wrong to want a more game-centric comic either. : P While I'm fine with the archie cast, I can understand why it's not someone's cup of tea. I guess I read some statements made here as "the comic shouldn't have different things from the games! Get rid of ALL the different things!", which made me think how THAT idea would work. It was less me arguing with whoever and more just me visibly thinking about the extreme opposite to what we've got already would do instead, haha. 

I'd be all for retelling and fixing the plots of the adventures/shadow the hedgehog games though.