Megathread IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog - Megathread

[DabigRG]

On 9/2/2021 at 4:08 PM, caitash said:

.

A minor nitpick of the preview pages of issue 44, it seems to take place right after the battle but all the battle-damage is already gone from the pair. I would have liked to see that art continuity continue but it’s really only a minor nitpick.

I'm guessing it takes place a few hours after, considering the Zeti are already back up and Tails had to drive in his rocket from his workshop after already flying over.

On 9/2/2021 at 8:17 PM, StaticMania said:

I hope she's a mad punk scientist

The cover was making me not like the pants but those sketches definitely brought them back up for me

She's great

I've been wondering about that since the beginning, actually: this two were supposed to show up alongside Starline to begin with and Starline was always supposed to be a Never Meet Your Villains character arc, so were they supposed to be fans of his as well? And if so, does that mean they also have scientific skill?

On 9/2/2021 at 8:24 PM, Mauro Fonseca said:

yeah I get to publicly state now I co-designed surge and kit lol

What an honor! Great to hear at one least one part is still giving fresh blood a chance to shine.  

On 9/2/2021 at 8:47 PM, DaddlerTheDalek said:

I'm getting gopnik vibes from Surge. 

Gopnik?

On 9/2/2021 at 11:00 PM, dbzfan7 said:

Why does Kit always look depressed and in need of a hug haha

Well he is based on Tails, so tapping into his easy to forget troubled origins makes sense.

On 9/3/2021 at 12:07 AM, Kuzu said:

>Android 18 inspiration

 

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

Like I said, love and hate her already.

On 9/3/2021 at 4:54 AM, Jack-al said:

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

Makes sense, considering Tails occasionally gets groaners from Sonic's cockiness.

On 9/3/2021 at 5:03 AM, MetalSkulkBane said:

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).

It's kind of an unavoidable coincidence, considering Spaz free inspiration from the same source on that one.

On 9/3/2021 at 7:54 AM, IWriteAlright said:

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.
 

 

Back when Amy was leading the Resistance/Restoration, I suggested adding a Geoffrey/Penelope style character--someone who would be a more experienced by the books and security minded sort in contrast to her optimistic go getter mood. Someone who would be more wary of the threat Eggman and other like the Skunk Bros still pose to the world while she was more focused on reforming the Resistance into an organization dedicated to rebuilding and helping people. 

Personal antagonists for less big name game characters is also always welcome.

23 hours ago, dbzfan7 said:

 

ANDROID 18 SURGE HYPE!!!!

...Have you been a ace modeler this whole time and we just didn't notice?

19 hours ago, Kazhnuz said:

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.

I am wondering what exactly would be keeping those two together, considering how polar opposite they appear to be.

19 hours ago, Kuzu said:

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. 

That'd be cool actually.

Tails has generally gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to supporting characters due to being the young sidekick--he tends to either get loans/hand me downs(Eggman, maybe Mogul), C-listers at best(Octobot, ultimately Miles), or interesting but forgotten cases entirely(Fiona, technically Wave). I hear StC fared better with a Commander Brutus, but I still have yet to get anywhere near that and the proof will be in the pudding if it is a true aversion.

Kit would be too obvious not to mention possibly fizzle nowhere given his mood apparent, but swapping in Surge would give him something interesting and new to face in tandem with Sonic.

[SkullPirateMike]

9 hours ago, Kazhnuz said:

I find that it's a moment where an action that was obviously a good thing (defeating Super Neo Metal Sonic when he was mopping the floor with Sonic & Knux) was shown as bad for plot purpose using an information that Shadow couldn't have (that somehow Neo didn't need Chaos DNA). And IDW19 but everybody talked about IDW19, I'm not sure it's worth adding anything or beating this dead horse.

The problem for me isn't that it's "inconsistent with its power level". it's more that nearly every of his apparition, he have to loose for plot purpose and is mostly sent into fight that if he won, it would stop the plot xD (or reduce the stakes)

That's a problem with Shadow as a character, though. He's set up to be too powerful, which means he has to either never show up or he has to be a screwup to stop the story from instantly ending when he arrives. What baffles me is that people are suddenly upset he's a screwup in IDW, even though he's consistently been a screw up every time he's had his own plot. Heroes is maybe the only game where Shadow has a story mode that isn't set in motion by him monumentally messing up in some way.

[DaddlerTheDalek]

7 hours ago, DabigRG said:

Gopnik?

"A gopnik (Russian: гопник, romanized: gopnik, pronounced [ˈɡopnʲɪk]; Ukrainian: гопник, romanized: hopnyk; Belarusian: гопнік, romanized: hopnik) is a member of a subculture in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and in other former Soviet republics – a young man (or a woman, a gopnitsa) of working-class background who usually lives in Russian suburban areas and comes from a family of poor education and income. The collective noun is gopota (Russian: гопота). The subculture of gopota has its roots in the late Russian Empire and evolved during the 20th century in many cities in the Soviet Union. As of the late 2010s, the subculture has faded for the most part, although youth gangs (such as the A.U.E.) that resemble gopota still exist in Russia and in other Slavic and Baltic countries."

Wikipedia

aka the slavs who squat a lot. Just watch gopnik memes and you know what i mean. Surge reminds me a little bit of them.

 

 

[CertifiedNobody]

1 hour ago, SkullPirateMike said:

That's a problem with Shadow as a character, though. He's set up to be too powerful, which means he has to either never show up or he has to be a screwup to stop the story from instantly ending when he arrives. What baffles me is that people are suddenly upset he's a screwup in IDW, even though he's consistently been a screw up every time he's had his own plot. Heroes is maybe the only game where Shadow has a story mode that isn't set in motion by him monumentally messing up in some way.

That's not really true. Shadow wasn't set up to be too powerful in any games I can think of. He's always been just about as powerful as Sonic or slightly above him (Aside from him taking off his Inhibitor Rings, but that's a last resort that drains him completely afterwards, and even caused his "death" in Sonic X). And at what point in SA2, Shadow, 06, and Forces does Shadow "monumentally screw up"? "Being evil" doesn't really count either.

[SkullPirateMike]

3 minutes ago, CertifiedNobody said:

And at what point in SA2, Shadow, 06, and Forces does Shadow "monumentally screw up"? "Being evil" doesn't really count either.

In SA2 he's the one who sets Gerald's plan to destroy the world in motion, in Shadow he gives Black Doom the Chaos Emeralds, in 06 he breaks the Scepter of Darkness releasing Mephiles, in Forces he essentially creates Infinite.

I agree with you that Shadow isn't generally portrayed as stronger than Sonic, but clearly his fans have other ideas, or we wouldn't be having this conversation.

[Razule]

I hope someday if IDW lasts long enough that we get a character based off of the Sonic the Fish glitch in Colors Ultimate, lol

[DabigRG]

On 9/3/2021 at 4:01 PM, dudebro1993 said:

I agree, but in the examples I listed above Shadow didn't get caught off guard. Shadow somehow got nerfed against Knuckles and the team battles, but yet was able to defeat Archie Sonic - the most overpowered and godlike character in the comic series. That's inconsistent. 

For curiosities sake, how about when Amy caught him off guard?

On 9/3/2021 at 4:04 PM, Rabbitearsblog said:

I agree with this.  If the mandates are making it hard to write Shadow, then I would rather him stay off the main events from the books for awhile until SEGA lets up on their mandates.

You're not the only one, so take a breath at that sorta being the plan.

On 9/3/2021 at 4:16 PM, Sonictrainer said:

In regards to Shadow

I would be very very careful about trying to compare the same character from different continuities.

I don't remember a single battle in Archie where Shadow could knock someone out of their super form with a single Chaos Spear, without being in his Chaos Form or Super Form.

 

Anyway, here's some more Surge art

 

While most of those are indeed fun and would make for nice variant covers, I'm kinda glad they went with the one they did.

For better or worse, it made their proper reveal more memorable.

On 9/3/2021 at 4:46 PM, Sonictrainer said:

...I can kind of see what you mean.

This.

If that were the case, that means Antoine is stronger than Shadow.

What are you going by there?

On 9/3/2021 at 5:53 PM, Dr. Mechano said:

You say "even Cream," but like. Cream's a powerhouse, and that's even before you factor in Cheese. We don't know how hard she can hit, because she's never attacked directly before, but that girl can lift Big the Cat, who weighs 600 pounds.

But yeah, offense-wise, Cream's basically a beastmaster rather than a direct combatant - and that's where her strength lies. Cheese probably has maxed-out stats and can dish out a cartoonish amount of damage, shredding through Eggman's mechs in the Advance games like paper. She's the "easy mode" character for a reason, and that reason is she's crazy overpowered.

Don't underestimate the bunny.

I'm still happy this is a thing.

On 9/3/2021 at 6:09 PM, Dr. Mechano said:

Yeah, that's a good way to look at it. Higher-tier characters might be favored to win but that doesn't mean they necessarily always would.

On this note, I feel like Eggman is "Tier ?" - He can pilot ramshackle contraptions that barely work and he can pilot gigantic death mechs that give even Super Sonic a run for his money, and everything in between those two extremes. His stats are always varied and unpredictable because of his use of constantly-changing weapons, which makes him kind of a wildcard.

And when he's out of a mech, he's at least as strong as the average power type and can outrun Sonic.

On 9/3/2021 at 6:10 PM, StaticMania said:

She really does have sharp teeth

Uh, not what I meant.

1 hour ago, CertifiedNobody said:

That's not really true. Shadow wasn't set up to be too powerful in any games I can think of. He's always been just about as powerful as Sonic or slightly above him (Aside from him taking off his Inhibitor Rings, but that's a last resort that drains him completely afterwards, and even caused his "death" in Sonic X). 

Yeah, it's clearly a case of Memetic Badass, with a bit of legitimacy to it.

He was initially a Sonic clone on hover skates who could occasionally use Chaos Spear or Chaos Control, his game added Chaos Blast in addition to having him ripping up pavement and flipping buses with a single hand, 06 gave him the ability to teleport in combat and remove his Inhibitor Rings without being drained, and finally stuff like "Maria is in my heart"(or as one person wouldn't let go of, Forces not bothering to show him with an Emerald in his introduction) straight omitted the one limit to his most powerful abilities.

Blaze sorta got that treatment as well, although at least she usually has some of the Sol Emeralds with her.

50 minutes ago, Razule said:

I hope someday if IDW lasts long enough that we get a character based off of the Sonic the Fish glitch in Colors Ultimate, lol

Wth is this about?

[Razule]

22 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

Wth is this about?

Spoiler

Sonic's model freaks out and is replaced by a fish.

 

[MetalSkulkBane]

Shadow screwed up in games, but he tend to, you know, clean things. In IDW he messes up and that's about it.
SA2: Started apocalypse because of amnesia, died to fix it. Kicked giant lizard butt.
SHADOW: Kiiiinda started apocalypse because of amnesia, fixed it. Kicked alien butt
BATTLE: Tried to kill Emerl, but ultimately bonded with him as a Living Weapon and gave up Maria's emerald to let him be whole. Quite touching honestly. Only does wrong thing for right reason.
06: Unleashed Mephiles (because he prioritized catching Rouge over a scepter), spends whole game trying to fix it, helps Silver see the truth. Kicks a lot of ass. Ultimately plays vital part is defeating Mephiles.
FORCES: Creates Infintite, yes. But 1 How he could predict this would happen? Being jerk to villain isn't a crime 2 Story is all over the place 3 He kicks a little butt. Even if it's his own.

Compare it to IDW where
- Tries to murder Tinker and then just leaves without word (this story I actually liked. It's similar to Emerl situation or Cosmo in Sonic X.)
- Powers up Neo Metal, does nothing to help beat him and then just leaves without word.
- Zombots, let's say no more.
- Fails to top Eggman from escaping, catching Starline or even taking down Clutch, who plays possum.
I don't care if Shadow looses from time to time. But if he MUST be a smug asshole self-assured of his perfectness now, let him live up to this hype, even a little. There is nothing worse than jerk who keeps saying "I don't need help" and then keeps messing up.

[dudebro1993]

13 hours ago, DabigRG said:

For curiosities sake, how about when Amy caught him off guard?

 

Fair enough,  my point about Knuckles still stand though.

[DabigRG]

So while we continue to wait for more on Kit, what do you think the Starline Trio's interactions and gameplan will be like?

 

 

Also, how did Sonic 44 get a preview so quickly?

[caitash]

Issue 44 is supposed to be out on 15 Sept so (unless that release date is pushed back) it seems a fairly normal time for preview pages. I think issue 43 just got delayed so much it ate into the following issue’s preview window.

I can’t wait to hear more on Kit. I wonder when that will be.

[DabigRG]

Since a certain bog has been back, I guess I can segueway off of it for an important question: how do we feel about the comic's treatment of the game characters throughout these three years of IDW?

6 hours ago, caitash said:

Issue 44 is supposed to be out on 15 Sept so (unless that release date is pushed back) it seems a fairly normal time for preview pages. I think issue 43 just got delayed so much it ate into the following issue’s preview window.

I can’t wait to hear more on Kit. I wonder when that will be.

Oh, that makes sense.

 

I was assuming it'd be soon considering the post on Surge would've circulated and possibly been coordinated. Doesn't she have a DeviantArt or something?

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

1 hour ago, DabigRG said:

 

Since a certain bog has been back, I guess I can segueway off of it for an important question: how do we feel about the comic's treatment of the game characters throughout these three years of IDW?

 

Barring Shadow?

Because we all know where that discussion leads...

[Kuzu]

I'm so tempted to ask to ban all discussions pertaining to Shadow...

[Rabbitearsblog]

No discussions about Shadow until the mandates around him are lifted up! 

[knuckles20]

2 hours ago, DabigRG said:

Since a certain bog has been back, I guess I can segueway off of it for an important question: how do we feel about the comic's treatment of the game characters throughout these three years of IDW?

I find the game characters treatment in the comics to be overall satisfying. One thing that I can't be grateful enough for is not only that they're allowed to take action alongside Sonic, but also showcase that when the blue hedgehog is absent they have no problem acting on their own.

[DabigRG]

2 hours ago, CrownSlayer’s Shadow said:

Barring Shadow?

Because we all know where that discussion leads...

 

1 hour ago, Kuzu said:

I'm so tempted to ask to ban all discussions pertaining to Shadow...

 

1 hour ago, Rabbitearsblog said:

No discussions about Shadow until the mandates around him are lifted up! 

Barring the bog that is Shadow, yes.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

1 hour ago, DabigRG said:

 

 

Barring the bog that is Shadow, yes.

All in favor, say “Aye.”

Aye.

Edited September 6, 2021 by CrownSlayer’s Shadow
Done by a Shadow-fan...

[CertifiedNobody]

This is wholly unrelated but I never realized how heavily the IDW comics impact the series until I thought about how saying "My favorite Sonic character is Gemerl" a few years ago probably would've been met with "What?" and "Do you mean Emerl? Wasn't he in Sonic X?".

But now that Gizoid recolor is a legitimate character that I like and I really appreciate what the IDW team has done with him and other characters. As much as IDW screwed up Shadow, they've given several other characters new life.

[StaticMania]

44 minutes ago, CertifiedNobody said:

Wasn't he in Sonic X?".

This isn't real

[Kazhnuz]

About character, I love IDW's characterisation of them, especially Evan's characterization (way quirkier, especially her Sonic that is the perfect goofball), but Ian's is pretty great too (he just tend to be kinda a tad too wordy).

( And tbh, even that character, Evan's characterization is really growing on me. I would love more of Evan's take about him. )

[MetalSkulkBane]

7 hours ago, Kuzu said:

I'm so tempted to ask to ban all discussions pertaining to Shadow...

I really understand the feeling, but I don't think it's good idea. Maybe it would be better to make a separate topic "It's all about Shadow" or something.

Of course it will make discussion about future issues a bit awkward.

"So in Issue 6 I was disappointment Sonic had kinda underwhelming.... stroll around forest, but I did appreciated Rouge's plan to delay.... birthday party."

[DabigRG]

Aye

Anywho

On 9/5/2021 at 10:25 AM, DabigRG said:

So while we continue to wait for more on Kit, what do you think the Starline Trio's interactions and gameplan will be like?

 

 

Also, how did Sonic 44 get a preview so quickly?

I think this could sum up what I can recall without a full revisit yet, though detail is warranted

 

12 hours ago, CertifiedNobody said:

This is wholly unrelated but I never realized how heavily the IDW comics impact the series until I thought about how saying "My favorite Sonic character is Gemerl" a few years ago probably would've been met with "What?" and "Do you mean Emerl? Wasn't he in Sonic X?".

But now that Gizoid recolor is a legitimate character that I like and I really appreciate what the IDW team has done with him and other characters. As much as IDW screwed up Shadow, they've given several other characters new life.

True, although his introduction in World's Unite was enough of a highlight that I was glad Archie didn't respond to my message to hold off on my subscription.

11 hours ago, StaticMania said:

This isn't real

Fair--we know that was  ML

8 hours ago, Kazhnuz said:

About character, I love IDW's characterisation of them, especially Evan's characterization (way quirkier, especially her Sonic that is the perfect goofball), but Ian's is pretty great too (he just tend to be kinda a tad too wordy).

( And tbh, even that character, Evan's characterization is really growing on me. I would love more of Evan's take about him. )

That's a decent way of putting it

[Kuzu]

9 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

I really understand the feeling, but I don't think it's good idea. Maybe it would be better to make a separate topic "It's all about Shadow" or something.

Of course it will make discussion about future issues a bit awkward.

"So in Issue 6 I was disappointment Sonic had kinda underwhelming.... stroll around forest, but I did appreciated Rouge's plan to delay.... birthday party."

Or ya know, you can just stop letting him dominate any and all discussion