Megathread IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog - Megathread

[DabigRG]

14 minutes ago, Kuzu said:

And after a whole decade of the most prominent antagonists being the Deadly Six, a new Sonic rival is pretty fucking refreshing at this point.

Thats saying a whole friggin lot.

 

4 minutes ago, Slashy said:

 

It seems more I would rather she be something more unique to the series because I don't get the hype for another Sonic-like antagonist that has several similarities to Metal Sonic.

Such as...?

[Slashy]

11 minutes ago, Kuzu said:

Like, the only real pitfall I can see Surge falling into is if she ether never develops past being two-dimensional rival for Sonic, and thereby suffering diminishng returns after a while. Or she becomes yet another hero character in a roster bloated with them. But its too early to tell right now, so just gotta wait and see.

I mean, the only similarities she has with Metal is just being a doppelganger to Sonic, except Surge is allowed to actually have dialogue with him.

That said,  I can understand feeling she's redundant after we've millions of Sonic rivals already.

She was created by a mad scientist to be similar to Sonic but loyal to him.

[DabigRG]

4 minutes ago, Slashy said:

She was created by a mad scientist to be similar to Sonic but loyal to him.

And that's it, non?

[Kuzu]

Ok, that's fair. I think you're being a just a bit premature though, because there are hints that her and Kit are going to defect from Starline. Doesn't necessarily mean they'll be Antiheroes as they can still antagonize Sonic as their own independent faction.

[Slashy]

4 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

And that's it, non?

There isn't much to her character at the moment. I am not going to get hyped for potential that hasn't been hinted at or hype a character up based on wishful thinking of what could be done for them.

5 minutes ago, Kuzu said:

Ok, that's fair. I think you're being a just a bit premature though, because there are hints that her and Kit are going to defect from Starline. Doesn't necessarily mean they'll be Antiheroes as they can still antagonize Sonic as their own independent faction.

That fine, but I will wait till I see it. Rough and Tumble are also an independent faction and they suck. Mimic is also independent and I don't think there is any other potential for him beyond continuing to antagonize Whisper.

 

I just don't get the hype train and focusing the entire comic on these characters when they just come off as alright takes on an existing archetype in this series. Maybe I am just not obsessed with Sonic enough to get super excited about every remotely interesting character that comes down the pipeline.

[Razule]

There's millions of Sonic rivals, but not many who are currently available to use as rivals. He's definitely lacking any who are still villains, aside from Metal Sonic, who can't talk. As much as the "silent killer schtick" works for him, not being able to know what a character is thinking is actually very limiting.

[StaticMania]

They want new characters...

New characters need focus to make people care.

The focus makes you not care about the new characters.

[Kuzu]

At the very least, I can understand the feeling; Sonic's had a million rivals, and the only ones that are treated seriously nowadays are just Metal and Shadow, and in the latter's case, they very often have to force a conflict to justify them fighting. Metal Sonic is much easier since he has a simpler motive and personality, but the fact he can't speak at all really limits what can be done with him. 

So Surge has a lot to live up to, because she has to stand out from both Metal and Shadow while still remaining an active threat towards Sonic. Not saying those are impossible, but I can see why some would skeptical of that. 

[Slashy]

3 minutes ago, StaticMania said:

They want new characters...

New characters need focus to make people care.

The focus makes you not care about the new characters.

Imposter Syndrome should be their focus but now the main comic seems to also be focusing on them.

That's what I mean by too much focus

[StaticMania]

When did that happen?

[Kuzu]

1 minute ago, Slashy said:

Imposter Syndrome should be their focus but now the main comic seems to also be focusing on them.

That's what I mean by too much focus

The next arc is about the Chaotix though; so far, they've only cameo'd in the main book.

[Slashy]

Just now, Kuzu said:

The next arc is about the Chaotix though; so far, they've only cameo'd in the main book.

The enemy they are fighting is very obviously Kit.

[Razule]

The point of the mini-series was to introduce them before they appear in the main book. They didn't make them to not use them. They're new enemies that our pre-established game characters can fight.

[Slashy]

1 minute ago, Razule said:

The point of the mini-series was to introduce them before they appear in the main book. They didn't make them to not use them. They're new enemies that our pre-established game characters can fight.

I don't think they should never appear but I also don't need the main book and side comic to dedicate time to them to establish them as regular villains for Sonic to fight in the future.

I fully expect issue 50 to be the culmin ation of this Surge Kit arc.

[Kuzu]

Nothing we can do but wait to see where this focus leads to. The staff are pretty obviously trying to put in the legwork at making them credible threats and fully realized characters.

[Celestia]

My issue with both sides of the argument on the last page about bringing old characters back is it's really obvious the only thing actually stopping them in the first place is that SEGA not okaying bringing old characters back (and they probably won't anytime soon).

I think it's a good point that bringing old characters back is more work, I agree saying it'd be "easier" is wrong...but stuff like giving them a new design is something they were totally up for in the past, and "what if people don't like the new take on the character" is moot when people seem lukewarm on all the brand new characters too. I mean, I like them all, and I see a lot of love for them elsewhere, but this thread in particular averages on "meh" towards them. Even Surge as we've just learned, lol.

1 hour ago, Slashy said:

I don't get the appeal of Surge. She is another Sonic-like antagonist which has already been done in the series before. She just comes off as Starline's Metal Sonic. I think her lightening powers are cool though.

The only* non-robot Soniclike switched sides in roughly the same game he was introduced, give or take some amnesia induced "am I good or bad" confusion a couple games later.

*Blaze is way more Knuckles than Sonic, really.

 

[Wraith]

I was only trying to say that everyone has to work their asses off on getting the new characters approved whether the character is technically old or not. I probably could have just said that and not spun my wheels for 8 paragraphs but yeah.

[Slashy]

I would much rather see a new zone or Macguffin get all the rage than another new character. I will say that the Imposters probably deserve it in their case because we were in dire need of new antagonists.

I want IDW to mix it up so there is more of a selling point than new characters especially when they don't always pan out.

[Wraith]

The story arcs focusing on the new characters have been the better ones to me. I like most of them and wouldn't have minded the book introducing even more but I guess if they stop here they have a pretty solid cast.

My only beef is that if Starline was always going to be the only major alternative to Eggman, they could have differentiated him a little more. Sonic didn't really need another mad scientist to fight.

[Slashy]

8 minutes ago, Wraith said:

The story arcs focusing on the new characters have been the better ones to me. I like most of them and wouldn't have minded the book introducing even more but I guess if they stop here they have a pretty solid cast.

My only beef is that if Starline was always going to be the only major alternative to Eggman, they could have differentiated him a little more. Sonic didn't really need another mad scientist to fight.

Starline is like the best new addition to the comic.

I am not even saying to stop adding new characters but it genuinely seems like new characters are the only thing IDW seems confident will drum up hype in the comic. I wouldn't be surprised if they double down on it with the Metal Virus not being a huge success.

I would much rather see unusual plots and mythology be the selling point of new plots like the storybook titles and Unleashed.

[Celestia]

I'm honestly surprised the Warp Topaz kind of seemed to just exist, seems like it could have had a bit of a backstory to it. Like the Chaos Emeralds have some backstory (admittedly stuff that doesn't come up at all outside of old manuals and the like, but still) and while the Time Stones also just exist, they're at least tied to a mysterious planet. I guess we could learn more about it at some point but we don't even know where it is now.

[Kuzu]

Well Sega of Japan limit what they can do with the game cast and setting, so there's not much they can really do with them in those rigid guidelines.

 

Someone on tvtropes described the new characters as "Endearing but not engrossing" they're likable enough, but nothing really there to keep the attention of the reader long term, which I kind of agree with tbh.

Tangle mostly filled a similar niche to Amy when the latter was playing leader, but she seems to be returning to form so who knows, Whisper is a holdover from Forces, Starline seems to be there to address a problem that Eggman never really had before, and as mentioned, has a bit too much overlap with him as another mad scientist. Rough, Tumble, Mimic, and Clutch are small time crooks.

Sooo, it leaves them in a weird spot tbh. 

[Red Hot Jack]

It's because IMO the IDW originals are kind of simple, they aren't supposed to be that big level of depth, but are pretty cool looking, badass, with fun powers and sometimes have a tragic or sad backstory. That's why most of them worked.

I think Jewel is my least liked newcomer, because she's boring, her favorite thing is to fill up papers, make lists and organize things, I get it that not every character needs to be a hero with powers and that's great about her, but she's just lame for me.

My favorites are Tangle & Whisper because their dynamic really works well, they are like female versions of Sonic and Shadow but actual friends... or a ship, whatever they decide or allow them to be. Dr. Starline is also great but I wanted a backstory for him rather than just "I'm an Eggman fanboy", but he's having a nice character arc in my opinion.

As for Surge and Kit... there is not much to say, we have barely seen 1 issue of them, they aren't even in action yet.

Belle is just an issue of being overused in a short time span.

Rough and Tumble are just kind of there, been dropped since issue 15. Mimic was weird, he was this threatening antagonist in the first mini, and then really underpowered and weaker in the second one.

[Slashy]

36 minutes ago, Kuzu said:

Well Sega of Japan limit what they can do with the game cast and setting, so there's not much they can really do with them in those rigid guidelines.

 

Someone on tvtropes described the new characters as "Endearing but not engrossing" they're likable enough, but nothing really there to keep the attention of the reader long term, which I kind of agree with tbh.

Tangle mostly filled a similar niche to Amy when the latter was playing leader, but she seems to be returning to form so who knows, Whisper is a holdover from Forces, Starline seems to be there to address a problem that Eggman never really had before, and as mentioned, has a bit too much overlap with him as another mad scientist. Rough, Tumble, Mimic, and Clutch are small time crooks.

Sooo, it leaves them in a weird spot tbh. 

With the exception of Whisper and Starline most of the characters don't have much depth or gigantic emotions or have had radical character development.

The obvious mandates holding back the game cast isn't being addressed in most of the new characters.

[Red Hot Jack]

Isn't Starline a mix of

Snively = a lackey

Eggman Nega = Eggman clone/wannabe

Finitevus = warping portals gimmick

But unlike with those, they did something interesting with him and made him be an independent and confident villain after being a sidekick.

Tangle and Whisper for me are both inspired by Forces, as it was said by the writers, Whisper is from the wolf avatar and Tangle has the long tail that works like the avatar hook in Forces. They said in interviews, they wanted more strong and badass female characters around because, as we know, Amy has the love interest role, Blaze is in another dimension, Rouge is sexualized and Cream is a kid and more than often forgotten.