Megathread IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog - Megathread

[Meta77]

1 hour ago, DabigRG said:

Well it is Eggman.

EDIT: Oh, you meant that first page! Yeah, that's kind of a Sonic Boom like right there.

Oh really? I didn't know that since I didn't really put much stock in learning each of the Diamond Cutter's names, admittedly. I'm just going off what I remember from the miniseries.

Well it is Eggman.

Oh really? I didn't know that since I didn't really put much stock in learning each of the Diamond Cutter's names, admittedly. I'm just going off what I remember from the miniseries.

Yea i meant the first page ^_^;

[dbzfan7]

10 hours ago, Kuzu said:

You gotta love how none of the strongest characters are around to deal with this lol.

Maybe Gemerl counts...he potentially like Emerl has all the powerhouses skills?

 

[Kuzu]

21 minutes ago, dbzfan7 said:

Maybe Gemerl counts...he potentially like Emerl has all the powerhouses skills?

 

That was an awakened Emerl with the power of the Chaos Emeralds. Highly doubt Gemerl is capable of that. 

[dbzfan7]

15 minutes ago, Kuzu said:

That was an awakened Emerl with the power of the Chaos Emeralds. Highly doubt Gemerl is capable of that. 

I did say skills, not power. But I see what you mean.

[PC the Hedgehog]

Surprised no one has brought out what IDW has planned for Sonic's 30th anniversary. The press release states that they will release their "first Classic Sonic Adventure in a spectacular special" as well as a new mini-series. The subheading also calls it a "classic Sonic comic book miniseries." Any ideas what that might mean? If we get some classic Sonic action, maybe we'll get to see the likes of Mighty, Ray, Bean, Bark, and Nack again? I'm sure Ian is just itching to bust out Bean and Bark. Or, dare I say, a new Mega Drive-esque sort of story?

[Polkadi~☆]

On 9/13/2020 at 12:57 PM, Silvereyes said:

EDIT: Idea for Mimic. How about after Bad Guys, Mimic disappears for a long while. Then BAM! It turns out he has been impersonating a character for a number of issues, and the real character is held captive by Eggman or Starline or whoever he works for?

If it can be done more gracefully than Archie Sonic haphazardly making Antoine get swapped with an evil double suddenly for drama, then maybe. And the plot thread where Sonic got replaced with an evil Sonic who... mmrrph...

But either way, character swaps can be a little difficult to do right, even with the Archie stuff aside. Considering that Mimic isn't a perfect impersonator due to the colour of his immitations appearing more washed out and his palms having visible suckers, it would be a plot that doesn't hold up for long.

59 minutes ago, PC the Hedgehog said:

Surprised no one has brought out what IDW has planned for Sonic's 30th anniversary. The press release states that they will release their "first Classic Sonic Adventure in a spectacular special" as well as a new mini-series. The subheading also calls it a "classic Sonic comic book miniseries." Any ideas what that might mean? If we get some classic Sonic action, maybe we'll get to see the likes of Mighty, Ray, Bean, Bark, and Nack again? I'm sure Ian is just itching to bust out Bean and Bark. Or, dare I say, a new Mega Drive-esque sort of story?

It was brought up last page, but got skipped over as it was close to the end of the page.

As for the classic Sonic story... I would imagine that, yeah, it would be something like Mega Drive. Not a continuation, unfortunately, but certainly something like it. And if I do recall, Tyson Hesse himself still hasn't done interior artwork in the comics, maybe he could pick up where he left off with the Mega Drive style?

I feel like there's at least one new miniseries every year. If that's our replacement for Sonic Universe, hey, I'll take it.

[Silvereyes]

1 hour ago, Polkadi~☆ said:

If it can be done more gracefully than Archie Sonic haphazardly making Antoine get swapped with an evil double suddenly for drama, then maybe. And the plot thread where Sonic got replaced with an evil Sonic who... mmrrph...

I will always love and hate the story of Evil Sonic replacing Sonic just to try and bang all of his female friends. On the one hand, it is one of the worst Sonic stories ever written, and in many ways, a representative of the toxic melodrama that was in Archie Sonic. But on the other hand though... a story about Evil Sonic trying to bang his way through Sonic friends is an actual officially published Sonic story will always be amazing to me, especially when it seems like there is an actual implication of Evil Sonic and Bunnie had sex, or at least making out. I just find that hysterical.

1 hour ago, Polkadi~☆ said:

But either way, character swaps can be a little difficult to do right, even with the Archie stuff aside. Considering that Mimic isn't a perfect impersonator due to the colour of his immitations appearing more washed out and his palms having visible suckers, it would be a plot that doesn't hold up for long.

I mean, you are right. You could always say though that Mimic uses props and make up to help his disguise. In T&W, Mimic is on the run from the 2 of them and keeps changing disguise on the fly, my idea would be Mimic is doing a proper long term infiltration. I also wouldn't make it too many issues that Mimic is impersonating someone, I think in Archie if I remember, Antoine is meant to be replaced for something like 25 issues. With Mimic, I would make it 6 at most.

 

2 hours ago, PC the Hedgehog said:

Surprised no one has brought out what IDW has planned for Sonic's 30th anniversary. The press release states that they will release their "first Classic Sonic Adventure in a spectacular special" as well as a new mini-series. The subheading also calls it a "classic Sonic comic book miniseries." Any ideas what that might mean? If we get some classic Sonic action, maybe we'll get to see the likes of Mighty, Ray, Bean, Bark, and Nack again? I'm sure Ian is just itching to bust out Bean and Bark. Or, dare I say, a new Mega Drive-esque sort of story?

Frustratingly vague summary, especially since I can't seem to find any other source for this, at least with a quick Google. Could be fun, a mini-series or a one shot is definetly the most logical for this kind of thing. Not sure if they have any plan for an anniversary story in the main book, perhaps one of the reasons why the main book is being less serialised at the moment to accomodate such a story.

[SBR2]

8 hours ago, PC the Hedgehog said:

Surprised no one has brought out what IDW has planned for Sonic's 30th anniversary. The press release states that they will release their "first Classic Sonic Adventure in a spectacular special" as well as a new mini-series. The subheading also calls it a "classic Sonic comic book miniseries." Any ideas what that might mean? If we get some classic Sonic action, maybe we'll get to see the likes of Mighty, Ray, Bean, Bark, and Nack again? I'm sure Ian is just itching to bust out Bean and Bark. Or, dare I say, a new Mega Drive-esque sort of story?

If he's writing it I'm absolutely expecting the Hooligans to appear and I'd be shocked if Mighty and Ray weren't there since Mighty is getting toys soon. I'm hoping Tyson is able to do the art for the miniseries myself I hope it's not too long after the Bad Guys Mini wraps up.

Quote

I feel like there's at least one new miniseries every year. If that's our replacement for Sonic Universe, hey, I'll take it.

I'm kinda hoping they stop doing them yearly and make them a regular thing running alongside the main book. Other IDW books do that so it'd be nice to have that for Sonic.

[KoDaiko]

On 9/12/2020 at 8:16 PM, Sega DogTagz said:

Mimic is such a wildcard to me. 95 percent of the cast have yet to even meet the guy, and his transforming ability has too many devastating applications. As long as he steers clear of the likes of Whisper or Vector... and probably Espio and Tangle, he could get away with disguising himself as almost anyone and the heroes would be hard pressed to snuff him out. 

He could swap with Jewel and run the restoration into the ground. He could swap with Lanolin and be a background character in every major event, feeding intel to Eggman. He could swap with Nite and spew propaganda on the airwaves for a month. He could run into Silver as Silver and warn him about making bogus time-duplicates, driving him off on a wild goose chase. Heck, he could show up at the Master Emerald Alter as Tikal, just to  see how Knuckles would react. 

Too many possibilities, not enough counters. Tails should have put a tracker in his spine or something. He's going to be a problem. 

Mimic may not be much of a masterplan kinda guy (seems he's only in it to save his skin, or get some revenge) but he sure as heck can be an effective pawn in getting someone else that much closer. 

10 hours ago, Silvereyes said:

I mean, you are right. You could always say though that Mimic uses props and make up to help his disguise. In T&W, Mimic is on the run from the 2 of them and keeps changing disguise on the fly, my idea would be Mimic is doing a proper long term infiltration. I also wouldn't make it too many issues that Mimic is impersonating someone, I think in Archie if I remember, Antoine is meant to be replaced for something like 25 issues. With Mimic, I would make it 6 at most.

SInce Among Us is trending right now, I'm imagining a "who's the impostor??????" type arc. The problem is I don't know if Mimic is capable of fighting most of the victims by himself (Edit: maybe it'll work if they're mostly no-name/background chracters?), and it may not work with most of the main cast once they realize what's happening because they know each other too much. Also once found out the main cast may be able to deal/find him pretty quickly (like in that one Archie arc Naugus changed into Sonic to avoid Amy. She was totally okay beating him up but let Shadow and Knuckles do it).

If Mimic does something it would probably be a one time thing, or once every ....100 or so issues? Unlike Eggman his abilities are limited so if he keeps doing big things it will feel more convenient than shocking. Also I don't see him as a long-term planning guy.

[DabigRG]

12 hours ago, Polkadi~☆ said:

If it can be done more gracefully than Archie Sonic haphazardly making Antoine get swapped with an evil double suddenly for drama, then maybe. And the plot thread where Sonic got replaced with an evil Sonic who... mmrrph...

It's worth noting that Bollers originally intended for that to legitimately be Antoine affected by Sonic's absence in space, but Penders pushed the assassination and wedding stuff to reveal Patch had replaced him because I guess people weren't fond of him being that way.

 

10 hours ago, Silvereyes said:

I will always love and hate the story of Evil Sonic replacing Sonic just to try and bang all of his female friends. On the one hand, it is one of the worst Sonic stories ever written, and in many ways, a representative of the toxic melodrama that was in Archie Sonic. But on the other hand though... a story about Evil Sonic trying to bang his way through Sonic friends is an actual officially published Sonic story will always be amazing to me, especially when it seems like there is an actual implication of Evil Sonic and Bunnie had sex, or at least making out. I just find that hysterical.

 

Ch'yeah. 

At some point, you have to look at the audacity being published and just laugh.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

8 hours ago, DabigRG said:

It's worth noting that Bollers originally intended for that to legitimately be Antoine affected by Sonic's absence in space, but Penders pushed the assassination and wedding stuff to reveal Patch had replaced him because I guess people weren't fond of him being that way.

Hindsight really hates Penders with a passion.

Makes me wonder how things would be were Bollers the one in charge of things instead.

 

[Silvereyes]

The only good thing that seemed to happen is that after real Antoine came back, him and Bunnie got back together like nothing happened, which would lead into them getting married once Flynn took over. But that wedding story is absolute garbage, I'd say Archie Sonic #126 - #159 is the absolute lowpoint of the entire run.

[PublicEnemy1]

1 hour ago, Silvereyes said:

The only good thing that seemed to happen is that after real Antoine came back, him and Bunnie got back together like nothing happened, which would lead into them getting married once Flynn took over. But that wedding story is absolute garbage, I'd say Archie Sonic #126 - #159 is the absolute lowpoint of the entire run.

Hey, at least the Return to Angel Island arc was pretty good.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Anything not written by Penders was somewhat good.

But that’s not really for this topic...

[MetalSkulkBane]

2 hours ago, CrownSlayer’s Shadow said:

Anything not written by Penders was somewhat good.

Umm, I would disagree.

Every writer has at least one terrible idea on their conscience. Bollers wrote Dulcy's abusive boyfriend, Gallagher made Guardians of the Galaxy thing for 2 issues, Dan Slott kept doing stupid parodies and Romy Chanon did mostly bad stuff. It's just that Penders eclipses them. Heck, dude wrote few okay stuff in early days, but it's hard to talk about this.

But your right, this is IDW topic. Since we have few few more hours till #31 shows up I'll make my predictions about  "Bad Guys"

Spoiler

Spoiler

All I know right now is that Starline, Zavok, Mimic and skunk duo will try to steal something from Eggman. So I'm guessing

- The team will miraculously manage to work together only for Starline to betray them at the very end, gaining what needs and ditching the rest

- Starline has the conch, but it will get broken during the story.

- Zavok will get to do something relatively cool, to balance out his lacking act in the main comic

The biggest enigma for me is if they fighting Eggman, why Zavok can't end this in seconds with machine-controlling powers.

[Zulon Eredas]

7 hours ago, PublicEnemy1 said:

Hey, at least the Return to Angel Island arc was pretty good.

Yes. The Nazi symbolism was really suitable for a children's comic book. 

[Silvereyes]

Just read #31. Good issue, I think, even if it is all over the place and has alot of set up for future plot lines.
 

Spoiler

 

Sonic stuck in the Sol dimension with amnesia, Jewel taking over the Restoration, the sheer number of missing people that the Chaotix need to help find, Rough and Tumble out to cause trouble and learn nothing, Starline going on his own but also still oddly a fanboy of Eggman, Shadow being angsty and reflective, Eggman wanting to continue his plans, 5 of the 6 Zeti are MIA, the future is apparently bright for once... quite alot of stuff going on actually, even when it seems that the book is going to be a bit less serialised for the next few issues. I look forward to alot of this and where it may lead.

Kindof love the fact that seemingly everyone assumes Sonic will be back, it's very slightly meta. Tangle is seemingly the only one to question it with her still being the new girl. Vanilla and Vector is a nice moment, funny how the IDW book keeps reminding us of those past hinted romances that I think the main games have kindof forgotten about. I'm getting hyped for the Bad Guys mini-series with Starline's motivation here. He really is neutral evil frustrated with how chaotic good and chaotic evil Sonic and Eggman are. The fact the future is good is a fascinating element, although I kindof wonder if it just means we won't be seeing Silver for a while now. (Mind you, we don't see any people in his good future, so perhaps it turns out not be as good as he first thinks?)

 

So yeah, I like the issue, but I think it has alot of implications for the future of the comic, and really interested to see where they lead.

[Kuzu]

Of all of the fucking call backs, never thought I'd see 

Spoiler

Vector's crush on Vanilla from Sonic X making a return

That had me laughing pretty hard

[Wraith]

This issue was just more clean up/status quo reset but there were a lot of cute moments in it so I didn't mind 

[Sonictrainer]

Spoiler

Was that a Chaos Emerald Infinity Gauntlet on Eggman's screen?

 

[SBR2]

1 hour ago, Kuzu said:

Of all of the fucking call backs, never thought I'd see 

  Reveal hidden contents

Vector's crush on Vanilla from Sonic X making a return

That had me laughing pretty hard

Spoiler

I'm honestly surprised to hear that they brought his crush in. I would have figured since it's an element from a show and not the games that Sega wouldn't let that happen. I definitely don't mind though Vector crushing on Vanilla is pretty cute honestly. 

 

[MetalSkulkBane]

#31... who boy. It's barely a issue, just tons of short. Would be nice if Flynn wrote an 1h long netflix series, but comic.... it's kinda like bag of  old candies from your aunt. Some better, some worse, you'll eat them all, but ultimately it's not something you would pick yourself. IDK, I feel a little empty. Wasn't last issue a clean-up epilogue thing?

Whatever. For funsies I'll try ranking the scenes from worst to best.

Spoiler

10 Babylon Rouges
I know, unfair. Only 2 panels and acknowledgement from girls. I just needed full top 10. Still their screen time doesn't adds anything, they just there.
9 Silver
Similar case, just there to close his subplot. At least we see his future, that's something I guess?
8 Eggman/Omega
Well, that's a letdown. Some nice art, but it's just glorified recap/preview for upcoming events.
7 Shadow/Rouge
Sigh,I'm always on the fence when Flynn tries to fix his past mistakes. I never know if it's admirable or being unable to stick to your guns. But with Amy his 'apology' made me respect her more.
Here... well, that all there is to it. Shadow admitted his fault, broods a little, the end. No redemption, no deeper thoughts, no development. He won't even be in enxt issue (probably), that's a  bummer. And Rouge still can's get free to be her own thief/spy/seductress bat.
6 Cream/Chaotix
It's a little cute, that's it. A little cute to see Vanilla and Vector, even more when Cream is determined about "taking lots of notes". That's it.
5 Starline
While it is just a preview for the future, I am intrigued. I didn't see it coming that Starline will keep worshiping Eggman. It's kinda creepy. And I what the heck he's doing with that paint?
4 Sonic/Blaze
I know it's high, but it's mostly speaks about value of other scenes, rather than this one. In vacuum idea is interesting and mysterious. In context it's amnesia yet again and I'm 88% sure it will get fixed next issue.
3 Tails/Tangle
You think Cream was cute, look at Tails dorky face when he says "Sonic counting on us to keep peace". Whole scene has a nice comedic vibes, even if it's ridiculous that they won't just arrest those skunk idiots. I'm pretty sure they didn't served their time yet.
2 Tangle/Whisper
ARE THEY DRUNK FLIRTING!? I mean look Tangle's blush and how she leans on Whisper, who in turn waggles her tail! Sweet Light Gaia. I'm going to look very carefully at those two next issue.
I know, I'm probably reading too much into this, but screw it, I'll take all the fun I can squeeze out of this.
1 Amy/Jewel
Closest thing to something I genuinely like. Not because I totally called Jewel taking Amy's place, which obviously proves I'm the smartest and greatest and handsomest

Ekhm, sorry about that. No, it's just "Flynn's apology" done right. His explanation why Amy took the job makes sense and makes me respect her more. And I always bang on how Amy's love for Sonic should be noble source of her strength and this is exactly that. And Jewel taking her place does make sense and means Amy will have more freedom to be what we wanted, so yay that.

And that's that. This breakdone really makes me feel how weird this issue was. Insubstantial and yet full. Odd.

[LukA8]

1 hour ago, SBR2 said:

  Reveal hidden contents

I'm honestly surprised to hear that they brought his crush in. I would have figured since it's an element from a show and not the games that Sega wouldn't let that happen. I definitely don't mind though Vector crushing on Vanilla is pretty cute honestly. 

 

Spoiler

The little Sonic Channel comic strips from a couple years back already replicated the Chaotix's house from X, so Sega are likely not too opposed to certain elements from the show. Vector was a wildly inconsistent character in the anime though, and with Vanilla being such a non-entity in the games..but I'm for anything that gives her more personality than "mom", especially liking how she immediately puts her family to work. This woman is organized alright!

 

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

7 hours ago, Zulon Eredas said:

Yes. The Nazi symbolism was really suitable for a children's comic book. 

It’s not like children’s media has never explored Nazi symbolism before, dude.
 

This stuff isn’t new—we’ve been doing it for decades ever since Nazi’s were even a thing. It’s time we stop pretending what Sonic’s doing is something shocking and inappropriate in children’s fiction, especially when this current comic just finished an arc dealing with an apocalypse from a straight up bio weapon.

[Dr. Detective]

Oh man. For a pretty simple sounding issue on the surface, I have a ton I want to say about it. I appreciate being able to catch up on what everyone's doing all at once. Obviously we're still in the aftermath and lead-up section but my God, it's actually great having everyone around to bounce off of again. I don't think a single main character wasn't at least seen or mentioned in this issue aside from Big the Cat.

Spoiler

 

Mr. Needlemouse and Blaze - The sensuous looks on Sonic's face throughout these panels did initially through me off when I read the preview but I gotta admit, reading it again got a bigger chuckle out of me. The final panel where he's got that tiny teddy bear smile on as he's drinking tea is great. I'm all about it. However small this little excursion ends up being, I can see a mini Spongebob episode being made from Blaze having to deal with it.

Amy and Jewel - As was expected (at least by me) Amy's frustration with her situation has caught up with her and now Jewel, a woman dressed like a person who loves to organize things, is here to help. Though, she did say she was here to give Amy a break so who knows what's in store for her. Responsibility is a hard pill to swallow so I sympathize.

Tails, Tangle, Rough, and Tumble -  This was a cute scene, if only really because of Tails' adorable faces. Rough and Tumble are mildly amusing but I do feel sorry that because they were the literal first victims of the Zombot thing, their tenure as mainstays hasn't been explored too well comparatively. Their mileage is determined almost exclusively on how well their comedy is handled and not too much more. 

Silver - Silver's future will never not be confusing and I feel only sorrow and anguish on behalf of Ian for being left with the task of trying to make a proper sandwich out of this with broken bread and torn up baloney. Everytime I see Silver in the future I'm just wondering if he's constantly just a man out of his own time. His future changes around him but it doesn't affect him somehow. Is he talking with a friend and then suddenly the future becomes apocalyptic and his friend is wearing leather and holding a wooden bat with nails in it? Then Silver sighs and has to go back to the past to figure out what Eggman did this time. It's very amusing trying to make sense of it when you don't have to write it. 

Eggman, Orbot, Cubot, and Omega - Omega's dialogue continues to be 100% satisfactory. Eggman rebuilding Omega is definitely the only way this could have gone down in order for it to feel proper. I feel like if Tails had done it, it just wouldn't pass for me as feeling quite right since the renegade Eggman robot thing would have been a tad askew there.

Among the plate of interesting information is the fact that the rest of the Zeti are indeed just scattered now. I do personally find that incredibly interesting. I think we all have a good enough idea of what becomes of Zavok but the rest being up in the air intrigues me greatly. Another thing to comment on is Eggman saying, yet again, that he's just gonna barrel roll into the next project. The man is being portrayed as just relentless in his pursuit of this dream of his. It's almost like he's more of a force of nature rather than an actual human being. It's frightening.

Dr. Starline - It took a lot of willpower within me not to shut down all the people I saw on twitter way back saying that it was "obvious" Dr. Starline was going to betray Eggman when everything about his dialogue and mannerisms said that he clearly, fucking wasn't. Not intentionally anyway. I do appreciate it being spelled out here so that everyone can be on the level now about how he's an incredibly hopeless Eggman fanatic. It's amazing to me. The dude's goal is to surpass Eggman so he can then SEAT the guy he's attempted to surpass on a throne. That's so odd yet I can't help but respect the dedication to what he's about.

Team Chaotix and the Rabbit Family - So obviously, fucking obviously, this was my favorite part of the book. When I turned the page after the Eggman scene, even though Starline was next, my eyes traveled to the Chaotix on the other one and I had to hold myself back. I make no bones about it. I take every bit of my loveable lugs as I can get. Especially nowadays where Vector can't be fucked to be with his own team anymore. I'm incredibly happy that they've gone from lazy days at the office to literally being swamped with work. Like, the amount of missing person reports that have to be coming in after a world wide apocalypse has to be beyond monumental. There's no way three people could handle organizing all the paperwork and then go and search for the victims at the same time.

Luckily the Rabbit family is here to save the day. I love just how much about the Chaotix they're cribbing from Sonic X. The house is from Sonic X and so is this implied relationship between them. The way Vanilla and Cream just stroll on in as though it's a second household for them, baring snacks for their favorite detectives is almost too heartwarming a thing. It happened at the end of Season 3 too, only that scene was cut out of the 4kids dub.

I was surprised to see Vector's crush on Vanilla return, although, I do wonder if maybe that got by as a suggested "Oh no, he's just blushing because she complimented him" sort of thing. I also love how our resident mom character just immediately sets about organizing and filing as a competent woman who's got her shit together. It's great. I'd also like to comment on how Adam Bryce Thomas just makes the chao look beyond adorable. They are the absolute cutest things in a scene full of extremely cute things and everyone knows I'm all about the cute things. This whole scene was just the best. My heart thrives on wholesome Chaotix content and it's even better when the Rabbit family comes on in to hang with them. I'm glad Sonic X ending didn't mean the end to that either.

Shadow and Rouge - So there was a scene for Shadow that Ian Flynn really, really wanted to be in this particular issue and hoped SEGA would give him the okay to include it in. We found out a week ago on the Bumblekast that it wasn't taken away... but of course was heavily edited down to be as subdued as possible. Reading it now, I can totally see it too. Shadow's admission of respect for Sonic was probably supposed to be a lot more pronounced than it was here. As is, I'm shockingly perfectly okay with it. I dunno. I don't have a problem with lonesome, broody Shadow. I just prefer to be reminded that he CAN still do stuff like this. It's nice to at least know that Sonic being gone has affected him in some way and he's not just like "Well whatever. Fuck that guy I guess."

I also really like Rouge's reactions to him. SEGA can say whatever they want but Team Dark are friends. There's just no getting around it.

As an aside, those floating platforms were fun to see.

The Babylon Rogues and Whisper - I like that the Rogues are around for a party for a change, even if it's to mooch off the free food. Whisper still desires to be violent, which is fun, but I do side with Tangle that if the alliance of convenience is a thing than the aftermath parties can encompasse that... at least for some people. Not Eggman. He'll just show up in a giant robot and try to kill everyone.

 

That's it. T'was a fun time and I greatly enjoy just being able to be around these characters.