Megathread IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog - Megathread

[Marco9966]

1 minute ago, Ernest-Panda said:

Dat art!

IKR!!

[kimplix]

Glorious artwork. I'm gonna like this issue quite a bit

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Spoiler

On one hand, I love seeing Neo Metal return, because he is so insanely underused and Metal got relegated to Eggman mook for a long time.

On the other hand, the literal most obvious answer was correct, and we don't even get Media Empire Breezie to play off Metal this time around when the original story implied a lot of backstory between the two, right down to Neo Metal giving her Casino Park, and now that's kind of wasted because Breezie is off limits again.

 

[Sonic Fan J]

Spoiler

6 minutes ago, Ernest-Panda said:

Dat art!

 

1 minute ago, kimplix said:

Glorious artwork. I'm gonna like this issue quite a bit

This is why right now ABT is easily my favorite artist for the book. I know A lot of people are nostalgic for Yardley and some of the others, but ABT right now is on a whole other level and everyone else needs to catch up and I can't wait for when they do ;D

 

[GentlemanX]

On one hand, I love the Neo Metal Sonic form and like Metal Sonic's anti-autonomy mandate seems to be gone (remember when Sega didn't want him speaking in Archie Sonic?) but on the other hand the villain of a main series game, especially one that is part of the extended cast is really not "obscure", and for Ian to imply otherwise was misleading. It's also retreading old ground other than Neo Metal Sonic not wanting to usurp Eggman this time - which makes me question why he'll bother going back to his previous form later as I'm near certain this is temporary. Regardless, we're regurgitating plot points from the games again except it's Heroes instead of Unleashed. There's no reason for Ian to seem so tethered to the game narratives as I'm sure no one's forcing him to do that. It really defeats the purpose of not only having this be a separate continuity, but one where the events of Heroes happened to boot.

But yes, Adam Bryce Thomas' artwork is fantastic. Tracy's not been at his best and Jennifer's art in issue 3 was awful, but Adam's work in in issues 2 and 7 has been superb and I really liked Evan's art in issue 4 as well.

[Marco9966]

3 minutes ago, GentlemanX said:

 

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On one hand, I love the Neo Metal Sonic form and like Metal Sonic's anti-autonomy mandate seems to be gone (remember when Sega didn't want him speaking in Archie Sonic?) but on the other hand the villain of a main series game, especially one that is part of the extended cast is really not "obscure", and for Ian to imply otherwise was misleading. It's also retreading old ground other than Neo Metal Sonic not wanting to usurp Eggman this time - which makes me question why he'll bother going back to his previous form later as I'm near certain this is temporary. Regardless, we're regurgitating plot points from the games again except it's Heroes instead of Unleashed. There's no reason for Ian to seem so tethered to the game narratives as I'm sure no one's forcing him to do that. It really defeats the purpose of not only having this be a separate continuity, but one where the events of Heroes happened to boot.

But yes, Adam Bryce Thomas' artwork is fantastic. Tracy's not been at his best and Jennifer's art in issue 3 was awful, but Adam's work in in issues 2 and 7 has been superb and I really liked Evan's art in issue 4 as well.

 

Spoiler

But Flynn always wanted to adapt Heroes as far as I know.

 

[Your Vest Friend]

I just don't get why he's Neo instead of regular. At least in Champions it was a flashback set to just prior to Heroes, so it made sense for that form to appear. Here it's ages after Eggman would have made sure he couldn't do that again. 

Unless it's Phantom Ruby shenanigans ala what happens in Plus.

[Sonic Fan J]

Spoiler

You know, a potential way to spin this is by using the Phantom Ruby to give Metal his Neo form and justify his desire to go after the Master Emerald as a way to secure the power he needs for to both sustain it and achieve the victory he once was deprived of by the Chaos Emeralds in Sonic's hands.

 

[QuantumEdge]

Hm, seems I'm getting a trade off here.  I get what I've been wanting for years, complete with artwork that does it justice (jeez, where did ABT find all that improvement...), but it comes at the cost of seemingly doing little to make it refreshing, interesting, or unpredictable.  I don't know, maybe there's actually another couple twists to be seen, but I'm more on the fence about this than I want to be.

[Meta77]

That is the mostfuckingbadads art iversen in a long time comic wise damn

[Marco9966]

1 minute ago, Meta77 said:

That is the mostfuckingbadads art iversen in a long time comic wise damn

TSR comic also gonna be great as it's also done by ABT!

[SBR2]

Spoiler

I mean predictable sure but holy crap is that reveal nice?

I honestly don't care that it's predictable people seriously make a thing that was easy to guess as more of an issue than it is. At least Ian didn't completely change his plans when people started guessing right.

Honestly if it had been an Infinite clone or something people would have complained that that was too predictable too so it'd have been a losing battle anyway it went. 

 

[Kuzu]

Spoiler

Well, can't say it wasn't exactly a shocking a reveal, but at the very least, Metal having his own agency is nice while still remaining loyal to Eggman. It helps him feel more like a character than just being Eggman's muscle.

 

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Spoiler

I honestly wonder if this was a repurposed plotline from Archie or something. As I said, they introduced the idea of Breezie and Metal having some kind of experience with each other, again Metal giving her Casino Park and she brought up the idea of him cutting ties with Eggman and such. It felt like Ian was setting up some kind of Neo Metal comeback with that and has said IIRC that he had tons of plans for Breezie that got cut short. With that specific flashback between the two, I honestly have to wonder if Neo Metal was planned to overthrow Eggman again in Archie.

 

[does it really matter]

Spoiler

I will say that, despite being very disappointed in the plot point initially, I do like the twist that it was still a backup plan of Eggman's creation and Metal Sonic is simply trying to complete the plan and find his master to return control of his empire and the world to him. It adds a bit of tension to the inevitable return of Eggman's memories after seeing just how much of a difference he can make in a good way. The idea that there is something in Eggman's memories that drove him to being villain is compelling and I hope they explore that a bit. Perhaps it's the memory of his grandfather and Maria or something else entirely, but it opens the door to a much more in-depth look at the character. 

 

[Your Vest Friend]

But still, Neo Metal Sonic being the one in control is really kinda o--

Oh ,yeah, they revealed it in the 5-page preview. It's officially revealed content now. 

[GentlemanX]

...did they forget that their reveal would be in their official preview?

Cuz if not... that's real lame.

[DabigRG]

5 hours ago, Marco9966 said:

SPOILERS, the TRUE VILLAIN is in fact.... :

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Gotta say it, not impressed with this reveal.

Spoiler

Not only is this something of a copout from having a potentially interesting new/"new" villain, but this technically doesn't really count as "based on something obscure" as per what the understanding was as far as I remember.

 

With that said, Metal is definitely a "character" that's considerably more interesting under Mr. Flynn than the games make him.

And that is some really good art.

.

5 hours ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

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the original story implied a lot of backstory between the two

Was there?

4 hours ago, Sonic Fan J said:

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You know, a potential way to spin this is by using the Phantom Ruby to give Metal his Neo form and justify his desire to go after the Master Emerald as a way to secure the power he needs for to both sustain it and achieve the victory he once was deprived of by the Chaos Emeralds in Sonic's hands.

 

That'd be an interesting way of explaining/exploring it, yes.

2 hours ago, SBR2 said:

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At least Ian didn't completely change his plans when people started guessing right.

 

Has that happened before?

2 hours ago, SBR2 said:

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Honestly if it had been an Infinite clone or something people would have complained that that was too predictable too so it'd have been a losing battle anyway it went. 

 

Spoiler

At least Infinite is a very new villain that people might like to see Mr. Flynn "do him justice."

 

2 hours ago, Kuzu the Boloedge said:

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It helps him feel more like a character than just being Eggman's muscle.

 

Which is ironic considering the size difference.

1 hour ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

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I honestly wonder if this was a repurposed plotline from Archie or something. As I said, they introduced the idea of Breezie and Metal having some kind of experience with each other, again Metal giving her Casino Park and she brought up the idea of him cutting ties with Eggman and such. It felt like Ian was setting up some kind of Neo Metal comeback with that and has said IIRC that he had tons of plans for Breezie that got cut short. With that specific flashback between the two, I honestly have to wonder if Neo Metal was planned to overthrow Eggman again in Archie.

 

Not entirely sure where the correlation for that comes from, but I suppose it could've been interestingly unorthodox.

40 minutes ago, VEDJ-F said:

 

Oh ,yeah, they revealed it in the 5-page preview. It's officially revealed content now. 

 

30 minutes ago, GentlemanX said:

...did they forget that their reveal would be in their official preview?

Cuz if not... that's real lame.

Oh fu--really? That sucks.

Wish I knew that seconds ago.

[SBR2]

57 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

Has that happened before?

 

People say the writers of Lost did it because fans kept guessing their mysteries. I mean I doubt that actually isthe case but it would explain the massive drop in quality. 

[Sonictrainer]

Finishes reading Issue #7

Spoiler

Ok, first off, like everyone else has seen and said, the artwork is the best part this issue. Seeing Sonic, Neo Metal Sonic, and the Egg Pawns fight is enjoyment from beginning to end. There is a lot of panels with mostly white backgrounds, but it works this issue to focus on the action. I like that Neo Metal Sonic's spin attack is represented as a giant 5 star shuriken.

So in the IDW World, Neo Metal Sonic was created (while also taking out the backstabbing part of his programming) as a backup plan for Eggman during the course of Forces. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to use Neo. So after the Resistance won, Neo Metal Sonic decided to takeover in Eggman's place only until "Lord Eggman" returned. Also, since this is Neo Metal Sonic, he can shapeshift (we've already seen him as Eggman) and has the ability to Gemerl other characters' abilities, allowing him to copy and counter against some of their moves. He may also have a healing factor...before Neo copied Sonic, Sonic managed to crack the right side of his eye. But once Neo copied him, it fixed itself.

The only thing I didn't like is the "song lyrics reference" thing. At one point, Sonic says "I never fear the fall"...and I'm not sure if that's cool or cringe at this point...

 

[Pengi]

15 hours ago, StaticMania said:

He wasn't given extra detail...until later games.

Metal Sonic's design was updated (made busier) for Sonic Rivals 2.

 

8 hours ago, NegaMetallix said:

Neo Metal copied all the heroes' data throughout the game, as well as "the power of Chaos" via the Chao and Froggy.

In Team Sonic's story he says "all lifeform data successfully copied" (apparently the Japanese line translates to "your data has been copied"). In Team Dark's story it's "Ultimate life form data has been copied". In Team Rose's story it's "Chaos data has been copied". Team Chaotix's story doesn't have a data-copy scene at all. So it's never stated that Metal Sonic copied the data of Amy, Rouge, Vector, Cream etc. Just Shadow, Chaos, Sonic and maybe Knuckles and Tails.

[DabigRG]

2 hours ago, SBR2 said:

People say the writers of Lost did it because fans kept guessing their mysteries. I mean I doubt that actually isthe case but it would explain the massive drop in quality. 

I didn't watch Lost, but okay.

Could probably be a thread unto itself, but how do ya'll feel about Metal having the ability to copy people and occasionally morph?

.EDIT: The following is after reading Issue 7

On 7/22/2018 at 6:17 PM, Sgt Nate V said:

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The second twist: It's not Neo, but...

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SPLATS?!

/s

(credit to TokeiTime for pic)

 

 

Honestly, that would've been a more accurate(citation needed) and creative reveal.

On 7/22/2018 at 11:29 PM, Marco9966 said:

When do you think we can get a second book? (Universe or Classic Sonic)

Probably when this book is actually far enough along and productive enough to need/have one.

As for Classic, whenever/if IDW and SEGA feel like doing something.

[DabigRG]

Okay, I'll admit--this was a fun read of an issue.

Spoiler

This issue felt like it had much more action than 6 or maybe even 3 did and yet it still was able to tell it's story in a satisfactory way.

Neo Metal Sonic had a surprisingly great presence here, as not only did he keep a degree of masterful coordination befitting the design, but he also got to show off what he can do on a much more head-to-head basis. There was even some enjoyability to how he once again really got into character as Eggman (much like in Champions) and even as just himself. And the final time we see him, he's sitting on this weird throne within his broken(?) cockpit that kinda reminds me a silver Eggman version of Naugus's crystallizing power, sinisterly anticipating the next step of his plan. Not bad for a rather basic robot double with no mouth and a monotone way of speaking, imposing upgrade or not.

Though I imagine the whole "Greatest Weapon in the Final Battle" thing is probably meant for that person who said Infinite should've been Metal.

Surprisingly appreciate Sonic taking a note from Shadow's book at one point there. Though what specifically is "Fear the Fall" a reference to? Also, "Señor Starfish Head."

Noticed Amy seemed startled by Neo Metal Sonic being around again, even if she quickly got the mission itself back on topic. I also kinda like how they emphasize that one random flower in the Resistance's base for some reason. Knuckles' face/head in the bottom page though...

And is that gleam on Angel Island supposed be where Shrine Isle is?

Actually looking forward to the next issue positively and the debuts that will happen there!

[DabigRG]

Sorry, gettin really chatty at conveniently sporadic intervals.

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

Ok you know what that reveal reminded me a bit about?

Spoiler

The background of that panel looks a little like Sonic Universe issue 50's cover but slightly altered.

Actually y'know what I'm gonna say this is a coincidence and leave it at that.