Megathread IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog - Megathread

[Dr. Mechano]

21 hours ago, Rabbitearsblog said:

Though to be fair, Sonic nearly snapped on Eggman during the Metal Virus arc when he tried to infect Eggman with the virus after he had enough of Eggman's games.

Even then, Sonic didn't snap out of anger or a desire to harm Eggman, but it was a calculated gambit to force Eggman to create a cure. 

[PC the Hedgehog]

29 minutes ago, Kuzu said:

>Android 18 inspiration

 

Are we actually gonna see her kick Shadow's ass? 

And then gets even more angsty and mopey afterward because he's the "ultimate life form" and can't lose to anyone.

*shudder* I'd hope Ian wouldn't subject us to that.

[Red Hot Jack]

Android 18 and Ashura is not the mix I knew I wanted, but the one I needed  

Also Kit is gonna be annoyed and frustrated by Surge's wickedness, I'm calling it now

[MetalSkulkBane]

4 hours ago, PC the Hedgehog said:

And then gets even more angsty and mopey afterward because he's the "ultimate life form" and can't lose to anyone.

*shudder* I'd hope Ian wouldn't subject us to that.

Don't you mean "can't win against anyone" considering his IDW history?

Whatever. There will be time for fanboy-whinning when/if it happens.

 

On topic of Surge, I wonder what's Flynn's agenda on making her so much like Scourge. Is it to please his fans or he just misses writing him?

Just saying, it may backfire if she never manages to get out of his shadow. I'm pretty sure Scourge was most iconic Archie-exclusive character, (unless you count Nicole's Lynx form).

[IWriteAlright]

Scourge had a context that Surge never had and never will have. So I hope she becomes her own character. Similar with starling, if he was just the character he was based on he wouldn't be as good. He's entertaining because he has struck out on his own, and all the other character ended up being is a visual reference. There is a point where the expy has to become its own character or it will continue to loose meaning, because the context that created its existence in scenarios like this are increasingly further back in time. To the point where people reading the book might not have context. Motivations have to be their own , so they can stand on their own. Or they could die at the end of the arc god forbid.

Ian talks about creating expys in his recent bumblekast , i'm curious if they will create more. There are a lot of characters from archie, if not all of them who wouldn't really need to be the same animal or have the exact same context but could work as a minor character in the book. 

Any characters you all would be interested in being reborn? I say sally's brother. Wondering prince, he was cool.

As for shadow, here is a tumblr post.

The people who write the book don't view shadow in that way and she's talking about the current version of him so sega doesn't view him in that way either.  And calling back to an entirely different series to a moment that worked in said series because vegeta was a misogynist who didn't care about anyone and anything including the mother of his child and his child wouldn't work for a character who''s sole crime is " being a bit of a dick and trying to stop people from being bad" in the grand scheme of things.   I don't think the writers are conspiring against shadow, I don't know how you all on the forum feel but that's how I feel.

While yes mistakes may have been made, I don't think they would do anything like that. Considering their last several attempts trying to do anything with shadow have been meet poorly. I also I don't think it would behoove them to not run afoul of shadow either, specifically because the two gentleman in charge of sonic team basically made him and likely the ones who are inflicting some of the mandates upon us. It might cause more mandates or other worse things if they are given any reason to pay attention. Evan and Ian are also fans of the character and doing that to him for no reason after the past several years of this character I don't think would make them happy. At least it wouldn't make their time writing this book easier, anyway.
 

 

 

[dbzfan7]

10 hours ago, Kuzu said:

>Android 18 inspiration

 

Are we actually gonna see her kick Shadow's ass? 

 

ANDROID 18 SURGE HYPE!!!!

[SBR2]

3 hours ago, IWriteAlright said:

As for shadow, here is a tumblr post.

The people who write the book don't view shadow in that way and she's talking about the current version of him so sega doesn't view him in that way either. 

I mean yeah despite the comparisons Shadow and Vegeta have pretty much nothing in common. 

Like Vegeta is all about his pride and proving he's the most powerful. Shadow is just really grumpy and stubborn. 

[Wraith]

Just need to say Surge is the best Sonic design in like 25 years. Every time I look at her I like it even more. It's a slam dunk and everyone involved should be proud.

[Zaysho]

6 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

On topic of Surge, I wonder what's Flynn's agenda on making her so much like Scourge. Is it to please his fans or he just misses writing him?

She's more or less continuing a trend of "glitch" characters which starts with Starline (who is based on  Wechnia). I don't think there's some hidden agenda and the only people who would believe that are people like Penders who sees everything Ian and crew does as some personal slight. The similarities seem really surface level honestly.

[CertifiedNobody]

1 hour ago, Wraith said:

Just need to say Surge is the best Sonic design in like 25 years. Every time I look at her I like it even more. It's a slam dunk and everyone involved should be proud.

Really? Best design? Wow I disagree hard. I'm not really satisfied with the direction they went with, and Kit's design is far nicer IMO. I'm optimistic that the character will make me like the design but it is far from the best.

I'd also argue designs like Shadow, Metal, or even Scourge utilized the "evil counterpart/clone" concept better too.

7 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

On topic of Surge, I wonder what's Flynn's agenda on making her so much like Scourge. Is it to please his fans or he just misses writing him?

Both are just based on Ashura. Scourge's crown was even meant to replicate the black spot on his face that Surge also has.

[StaticMania]

19 minutes ago, CertifiedNobody said:

I'd also argue designs like Shadow, Metal, or even Scourge utilized the "evil counterpart/clone" concept better too.

They actually look like Sonic so there's no question

Since she very blatantly doesn't look like him, this isn't a factor in judging her design

[Kuzu]

Seconding Surge's design being a 10/10. Doesn't feel too out of place as an OC while still clearly being a Sonic character.

[dudebro1993]

13 hours ago, Kuzu said:

>Android 18 inspiration

 

Are we actually gonna see her kick Shadow's ass? 

God I hope not... We Shadow fans have suffered enough from Ian Flynn.

[CertifiedNobody]

51 minutes ago, StaticMania said:

They actually look like Sonic so there's no question

Since she very blatantly doesn't look like him, this isn't a factor in judging her design

That's true, and although I don't like the design too much, I will agree that that doesn't factor into the quality of the design.

I don't really like the vibe the design has, and the clothes are pretty unappealing to look at IMO. The baggy pants often give her body a weird triangle shape with most of the weight focused near the bottom. It looks wrong to me for some reason. Some pictures emphasize this more than others so I won't say it's a consistent issue. I like some of the art that makes her look more rabid though.

[StaticMania]

4 minutes ago, CertifiedNobody said:

That's true, and although I don't like the design too much, I will agree that that doesn't factor into the quality of the design.

I don't really like the vibe the design has, and the clothes are pretty unappealing to look at IMO. The baggy pants often give her body a weird triangle shape with most of the weight focused near the bottom. It looks wrong to me for some reason. Some pictures emphasize this more than others so I won't say it's a consistent issue. I like some of the art that makes her look more rabid though.

I guess the pants are indicating she's a kicker (not a mad punk scientist) and they wanted to do that without giving her boots like Rouge or it just being an inherent speedster thing

[Kazhnuz]

I'm really impatient to see how Surge will interact with the other character. Some of the sketch are full of wild energy, and I feel that some interaction would be really fun (especially with Sonic or the different Sonic foils, I can already see Shadow being more and more irritated with her antics for instance XD).

There is a lot of potential to make her a fun villain. I can't help but imagine that even Starline might have trouble to handle her XD. We have seen less of Kit so I can't really say anything about him, but he have potential too.

[Mega]

59 minutes ago, dudebro1993 said:

God I hope not... We Shadow fans have suffered enough from Ian Flynn.

I'm pretty sure SEGA's more at fault than Ian is, since a lot of their mandates restrict how Shadow is written.

[Kuzu]

Surge definitely gives off that female delinquent energy; she even has the slav squat. I'm assuming she's gonna be a rival to Tails given her electric based powers, so she'd probably look down on him for being a "weakling" and relying more on gadgets and trickery. Tails would inevitably turn the tables on her however. 

I do not see her being loyal to Starline at all; she might start off loyal, but eventually get fed up with his bullshit and take Kit and dip and strike out on their own. 

 

Only character I can see her having a significant dynamic with, besides Kit anyway which is just prime "delinquent with a heart of hold" material, is of course Sonic and/or Shadow as fellow speedster rivals. 

[Rabbitearsblog]

1 hour ago, dudebro1993 said:

God I hope not... We Shadow fans have suffered enough from Ian Flynn.

Actually, SEGA was responsible for the way that Shadow's was being written, not Ian Flynn.  Ian Flynn even tried to write Shadow properly during the Metal Virus Saga, but SEGA was the one who wanted Shadow to be written the way he was in the Metal Virus Saga.

[dudebro1993]

9 minutes ago, Rabbitearsblog said:

Actually, SEGA was responsible for the way that Shadow's was being written, not Ian Flynn.  Ian Flynn even tried to write Shadow properly during the Metal Virus Saga, but SEGA was the one who wanted Shadow to be written the way he was in the Metal Virus Saga.

 

30 minutes ago, Mega said:

I'm pretty sure SEGA's more at fault than Ian is, since a lot of their mandates restrict how Shadow is written.

Was it SEGA's mandates that Shadow was so underpowered during the Archie days? He drew with Knuckles and couldn't beat Team Rose, Team Blaze and Team Hooligan during the Treasure Tango battle royale. I can understand Blaze being a problem but the rest should have been overwhelmed by Team Dark. This was all the more odd as Shadow beat Sonic in the Arc battle in Sonic Universe, yet drew with knuckles who always loses to Sonic (as far as I know)... 

Edited September 3, 2021 by dudebro1993
Typo

[Mega]

I mean, power levels aren't everything. It's boring if a character wins all the time, and how many battles they win shouldn't be the defining factor of how well a writer handles them.

[dudebro1993]

5 minutes ago, Mega said:

I mean, power levels aren't everything. It's boring if a character wins all the time, and how many battles they win shouldn't be the defining factor of how well a writer handles them.

I understand what you mean but surely there should be some consistency? Imagine a character beats the most powerful character in the comic but yet can't beat one of the weakest, wouldn't that raise some questions?

[Kuzu]

Oh boy, here we fucking go...deep breathes. 

 

41 minutes ago, dudebro1993 said:

I understand what you mean but surely there should be some consistency? Imagine a character beats the most powerful character in the comic but yet can't beat one of the weakest, wouldn't that raise some questions?

 

Shadow is consistently portrayed as one of the strongest Sonic characters in the setting, but that does not mean that he is invincible or prone to getting caught off guard by other characters. We literally just had a comic book issue of Sonic & Tails getting overwhelmed by the Deadly Six and only winning through trickery and misdirection. Sonic is not Dragon Ball, characters do not have "power levels" and can be overwhelmed in specific circumstances. 

[StaticMania]

41 minutes ago, dudebro1993 said:

I understand what you mean but surely there should be some consistency? Imagine a character beats the most powerful character in the comic but yet can't beat one of the weakest, wouldn't that raise some questions?

Rigid adherence to consistency in relation to fighting prevents the fight (Treasure Tango battle royale) from being a thing that would even happen

It's not fun, it's just lame and limiting

[CertifiedNobody]

55 minutes ago, Mega said:

I mean, power levels aren't everything. It's boring if a character wins all the time, and how many battles they win shouldn't be the defining factor of how well a writer handles them.

I don't think Shadow should win all the time, but I'd rather not have them end up making him look bad just to boost a new character.