Megathread IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog - Megathread

[MetalSkulkBane]

4 hours ago, Shadowlax said:

Characters not mating

 

 

2 hours ago, StaticMania said:

Characters not mating? Why would they do that in a situation like this?

They're also too young, maybe Rouge and Big could...?

I think you misunderstood him.

Comic lacks Marine and her Australian-ish accent, matey

[Your Vest Friend]

Mattering. 

[Marco9966]

1 hour ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

 

I think you misunderstood him.

Comic lacks Marine and her Australian-ish accent.

Blaze could bring Marine with her

[DabigRG]

10 hours ago, Shadowlax said:

You aren't wrong.Ian wants to like do mysterious and with these " Who's there " elements... but he doesn't have enough space to work with , within the property to do that.  if he wants to do that, he needs to either A axe everyone else but sonic and focus on a sonic only mystery that allows it to actually progress at an interesting pace. Or B, get one more or several more books that allow characters to be isolated enough to make it work in this series. Also you know form mysteries around non eggman characters, but that's not happening anytime soon.

 

I guess this whole year is still being used for introduction, though ... there are characters they havent really properly introduced? In a weird way?

 

 

Yeah, Vector has been just kinda around with little to do despite being the biggest member of the Chaotix.

10 hours ago, Shadowlax said:

 

I would make the argument that to like sticks, you gotta come to terms with the idea that the powers at be may dictate her never seen from again.  And you have to genuinely enjoy every sonic product because you don' even know if your character will be seen again.

...What? 

11 hours ago, Scape said:

Amy can neither have a romantic relationship with Sonic, nor move on, nor even be given the spotlight long enough to be associated with something besides the fucking crush. An iconic victim of SEGA's dumbshit management and dumpster fire writing ability.

Yeah, most of the efforts to expand on her character were either set to not come up again or simply didn't [quite] go anywhere.

Probably why things like the original Manga, STC, and to an extent Boom were able to just make her considerably distinct from the game canon.

[Shadowlax]

1 hour ago, VEDJ-F said:

Mattering. 

Yeah, one hell of a type on my part

39 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

...What? 

 

to like stiicks you gotta come to terms with the idea you might not ever see sticks again

[Korke]

The issue was okay-ish, average. Sure, the OHKO was complete BS but I guess Flynn's gotta run. Not quite the fan of the transformation, but I'm willing to see how's that gonna work out.

Also, tell the artists that I'm sorry. No matter how hard they try by making wacky stuff they force Tangle to do and to appear on the background, I still can't like this character and I still stand on my vision that she, along with a few others, are just shoehorned here and adds nothing to the narrative - a similar mistake compared to the post-reboot.

 

42 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

Yeah, most of the efforts to expand on her character were either set to not come up again or simply didn't [quite] go anywhere.

Probably why things like the original Manga, STC, and to an extent Boom were able to just make her considerably distinct from the game canon.

Hahah, no way in hell SEGA would allow STC Amy being a thing. Didn't she get together with Tekno in the end?

[Sonic Fan J]

Haven't commented here in a while so might as well wet my feet a little again...

First off, issue 10 itself was probably the most bored I've been reading the IDW comic to date. While I disliked 6 it at least didn't bore me, but 10 here just felt so lifeless. While I acknowledge that the plot moved forward, the plot moving forward is not inherently entertaining and this issue kind of proves that for me. At most that is all the volume really felt like was a list of plot points to advance. We see that all of the characters are now free to help with Metal, that Blaze won't have her burning form for the fight, that the Mr. Tinker subplot is moving forward, and that Metal is now in a form that is easier to show everyone fighting him at once. The problem is, outside of the Mr. Tinker subplot, all of these events could have held a whole issue to themselves or at the Resistance and Burning Blaze threads could have shared an issue between them while this issue highlighted the fight and showed how Sonic and Knuckles team up to approach the weaknesses of the super forms, forms that Sonic has had to deal with the weaknesses of since meeting Knuckles as Knuckles was the first character to show they are beatable by knocking the super right out of Sonic. 

Looking at the comic as a whole right now and weighing it against complaints that people have about Flynn, I'm starting to wonder if the problem taking place with the pacing and structuring of the arc has to do with the whole Year 1, Year 2, etc. mentality that is being used to explain the comic. If every year has it's own arc, then unless a second book is added or better editing is applied I can see there being more problems like what issue 10 suffered appearing quite a bit in the future. I rather hope not and will reserve any judgement for now. Still, I find that I might have reason to be more concerned than I would like right now.

-----

So, then just to add on the Amy topic as she is one of my favorites in the franchise (even if it's more the potential I see with her than due to execution), I think the biggest problem that Amy has as a character and holding an arc is that she really is for all extents and purposes Girl-Sonic-Lite. Asides from her interactions with Sonic she is a hedgehog who loves adventure and helps everyone in trouble she meets along the way. While that is fine and all, Sonic, the main character, already covers that making Amy a relatively redundant character unless she is paired with characters who play off of her admiration and infatuation of Sonic. Be this Sonic himself and how she throws him off balance or a character like Shadow who Amy can see the heroic side of Sonic in and tries to bring that to the fore. Unfortunately though, it highlights a weakness in Amy's character since becoming a hammer wielding warrior of destruction who scares everyone senseless, in that she works best as a support character since her hammer mastery even prevents you from telling a story with her that really highlights how above another hedgehog Sonic is. Realistically, Amy is kind stuck as a character right now due to being not only Girl-Sonic-Lite, but honestly being too competent. She unfortunately has nowhere to go as a character and that does not allow for a lot of story potential.

Now, the above isn't to say that Amy has none, including in this arc despite it being Knuckles focused. In fact, to me if one wanted Amy to have more focus it is because this arc is Knuckles focused in light of Forces that I could see adding more focus on her. Most notably, in light of her effectively being the leader of the Resistance and using Knuckles as a figure head to unify everyone behind and now having to deal with the fallout and what it has cost Knuckles. Seeing a hint of desperation behind Amy's endless optimism as she tries to help take back the island she contributed into losing due to her unshakable belief in Sonic even being questionable after his defeat a few months prior would really help bring some pathos to this arc. It would again highlight that Sonic is not unbeatable, bringing some much needed tension to the narrative, and would also show someone who would legitimately feel for Knuckles not being where he was supposed to be as they carry some of the responsibility for that. Of course, there is enough here the way I see it to easily just give Amy an arc of her own where one takes the time to explore the nature of her optimism and how it helps her deal with the fallout of Eggman's world takeover and how it affected everyone, but that was not the point. Point is, despite being a Knuckles centric story, in light of Forces being the starting point and Amy's role in the Resistance as well as Knuckles' I can see how she can actually get more focus than she has.

[DabigRG]

7 hours ago, Shadowlax said:

While I didn't hate the issue, its interesting to see so many people have issue with it. I have my issues with it

Characters not mating

Fight Scenes a bit flat

The dumb overlord form

But overall it seemed, fine. I felt like progression occured

Yeah, it's just kinda unfocused/cluttery and needlessly expositiony rather than an outright letdown.

Unless you're just here for Blaze and/or Super Neo Metal, then you might have something of a problem.

7 hours ago, Shadowlax said:

 

Characters not mating

 

Aw yeah...

3 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

 

I think you misunderstood him.

Comic lacks Marine and her Australian-ish accent.

What? Correlation?!

1 hour ago, Shadowlax said:

Yeah, one hell of a type on my part

to like stiicks you gotta come to terms with the idea you might not ever see sticks again

Again, correlation?

[Shadowlax]

1 minute ago, DabigRG said:

Again, correlation?

Sticks a character form failed venture and an alternate sonic universe that might not show up in media again if sega decides to not use that character.

That's it.

We could also totally see her again, We could also not.

[DabigRG]

1 hour ago, Korke said:

Also, tell the artists that I'm sorry. No matter how hard they try by making wacky stuff they force Tangle to do and to appear on the background, I still can't like this character and I still stand on my vision that she, along with a few others, are just shoehorned here and adds nothing to the narrative - a similar mistake compared to the post-reboot.

 

To be fair, she was always described like she was just supposed to be a "Scrappy" guest character rather than anything notable.

It could also be the fact that her tail powers seldom look quite "right."

1 hour ago, Korke said:

Hahah, no way in hell SEGA would allow STC Amy being a thing. Didn't she get together with Tekno in the end?

I hadn't gotten very far into that, so i really have no room to answer.

Also, I was mainly stressing how different other versions tend to be.

1 hour ago, Sonic Fan J said:

 at[least] the Resistance and Burning Blaze threads could have shared an issue between them while this issue highlighted the fight and showed how Sonic and Knuckles team up to approach the weaknesses of the super forms, forms that Sonic has had to deal with the weaknesses of since meeting Knuckles as Knuckles was the first character to show they are beatable by knocking the super right out of Sonic. 

 

Pretty much.

[Gumbit]

5 hours ago, StaticMania said:

Characters not mating? Why would they do that in a situation like this?

They're also too young, maybe Rouge and Big could...?

Yes , Rouge and Big

[DabigRG]

1 hour ago, Sonic Fan J said:

I think the biggest problem that Amy has as a character and holding an arc is that she really is for all extents and purposes Girl-Sonic-Lite. Asides from her interactions with Sonic she is a hedgehog who loves adventure and helps everyone in trouble she meets along the way. 

 

Not the way I was looking at it, but I doubt you're any wrong.

I was just gonna call her basic Girl main character, minus most of the 90s stuff.

1 hour ago, Sonic Fan J said:

Unfortunately though, it highlights a weakness in Amy's character since becoming a hammer wielding warrior of destruction who scares everyone senseless, in that she works best as a support character since her hammer mastery even prevents you from telling a story with her that really highlights how above another hedgehog Sonic is. Realistically, Amy is kind stuck as a character right now due to being not only Girl-Sonic-Lite, but honestly being too competent. She unfortunately has nowhere to go as a character and that does not allow for a lot of story potential.

Now, the above isn't to say that Amy has none, including in this arc despite it being Knuckles focused. In fact, to me if one wanted Amy to have more focus it is because this arc is Knuckles focused in light of Forces that I could see adding more focus on her. Most notably, in light of her effectively being the leader of the Resistance and using Knuckles as a figure head to unify everyone behind and now having to deal with the fallout and what it has cost Knuckles. 

Maybe competent isn't quite the word, but I will say it is an aspect I didn't really care for in this comic, mostly these last two issues.

 

11 minutes ago, Gumbit said:

Yes , Rouge and Big

I'm sure that's out there somewhere.

[Sonic Fan J]

11 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

Maybe competent isn't quite the word,

Honestly I can't think of a better word right now as Amy has really been pretty infallible in the comics thus far and that doesn't really make for a fun character. At least not with Amy's history in consideration for me. Still, issue 2 was so generally entertaining and well handled and Amy is not the focus right now so I've been able to let it slide but I do worry about how she'll come across in the future. 

[DabigRG]

1 minute ago, Sonic Fan J said:

Honestly I can't think of a better word right now as Amy has really been pretty infallible in the comics thus far and that doesn't really make for a fun character. At least not with Amy's history in consideration for me. Still, issue 2 was so generally entertaining and well handled and Amy is not the focus right now so I've been able to let it slide but I do worry about how she'll come across in the future. 

I guess. (Maybe broad is closer to her in general.)

But yeah, Issue 2 ended up being the best handled issue thus far for a number of reasons.

[Marco9966]

1 hour ago, DabigRG said:

I guess. (Maybe broad is closer to her in general.)

But yeah, Issue 2 ended up being the best handled issue thus far for a number of reasons.

Perhaps it's because the very expressive art.

[DabigRG]

5 minutes ago, Marco9966 said:

Perhaps it's because the very expressive art.

That's a notable accent, but an accent/bonus nonetheless.

[Kuzu]

Ian is, for all intents and purpose, a fan writer and writes the series as such. I really wish he would get an assistant to help with his plotting issues because if every arc is going to be like this, it's going to be s very boring read going into 2019.

[StaticMania]

What if he wasn't confined to continuing from Sonic Forces? Honestly could've just been...a new story and ran off from there and no more adaptations.

[DabigRG]

3 minutes ago, StaticMania said:

What if he wasn't confined to continuing from Sonic Forces? Honestly could've just been...a new story and ran off from there and no more adaptations.

The weird thing is that, perhaps inherently, Forces technically left a lot of room for creativity story-wise. Heck, he'd arguably have much more to work with if this was an adaptation of the game.

[Dash Speed]

Anyone who thinks Knuckles or Amy is more unfairly treated than Shadow is demented. Due to the fact Shadow is barely in sonics narrative and basically serving as a optional role that does nothing important in the bog picture 

[Diogenes]

That the comic is a continuation from Forces sucks but that has almost nothing to do with the more substantial problems so far.

[Fire-N-Space]

9 hours ago, DabigRG said:

But to highlight backstory itself for a second, the Dreamcast and to an extent Modern eras kinda demolish that argument, for better or worse. Most characters have at least some sort of implied background, with over half outright having details regarding their history and upbringing. Amy, as far as I know, falls into the minority in that she just kinda...is.

Oh and on the "Hopelessly Infatuated" thing, most of the other characters' motivations and themes are more tangible and/or flexible in how they can showcased and utilized. Amy being about love and wanting to marry Sonic are more specific and somewhat limiting in the context of the game canon.

Amy's backstory is that she's tired of the city life and wants to do something existing with her life finding out in her cards that she will meet someone special in a unknown location after getting there she meets the love of her life Sonic but its short lived as she gets kidnapped by metal after being save by Sonic she spends her time trying to get his attention.

Amy has a implied background just like the others but IDW doesn't use any of it only to say she is growing out of it but what did she grow in to like with Boom she started to do less and only popping up every now and then after issue 2 she stop talking about Sonic down to the most simplest of ways not even a mentioning of his name by accident. Amy wanting to marry Sonic is flexible they just need to stop trying to make her grow out of it first.

[DabigRG]

1 hour ago, Dash Speed said:

Anyone who thinks Knuckles or Amy is more unfairly treated than Shadow is demented. Due to the fact Shadow is barely in sonics narrative and basically serving as a optional role that does nothing important in the bog picture 

Shadow got to have a dedicated character arc within the games themselves, is more consistently written/portrayed, and is always given notability in role & spotlight anytime he shows up in anything. 

Hush. Um, if that's okay.

[StaticMania]

13 minutes ago, Fire-N-Space said:

Amy's backstory is that she's tired of the city life and wants to do something excitng...

Where are you getting this from? Certainly not the Sonic CD manual, because this part here just sounds like you're describing her opening of Sonic Adventure...

[DabigRG]

15 minutes ago, Fire-N-Space said:

Amy's backstory is that she's tired of the city life and wants to do something

I mean, in terms of the ascension she got in Adventure 1, yeah somewhat, but that both still doesn't tell us much about her and doesn't have much bearing on the Classic era(or arguably, any game since).

31 minutes ago, Fire-N-Space said:

existing with her life finding out in her cards that she will meet someone special in a unknown location after getting there she meets the love of her life Sonic but its short lived as she gets kidnapped by metal after being save by Sonic she spends her time trying to get his attention.

Oh yeah, the Cards! Something that unfortunately doesn't get referenced/used much, nor expanded from.

31 minutes ago, Fire-N-Space said:

Amy has a implied background just like the others but IDW doesn't use any of it only to say she is growing out of it 

To be fair, the same could be said for anyone besides the Chaotix, Rouge, Blaze(from what I recall), and Silver. And then, most of them have more stuff that can be tapped into.

 

35 minutes ago, Fire-N-Space said:

what did she grow in to like with Boom she started to do less and only popping up every now 

Uh, maybe I'm just not remembering some stuff, but I swear Boom!Amy was consistently given far more appearances and roles in episodes than Tails, Sticks, and maybe even Knuckles throughout the show.

36 minutes ago, Fire-N-Space said:

 Amy wanting to marry Sonic is flexible they just need to stop trying to make her grow out of it first.

That may have some truth to it, but it's still fairly limited.

Especially since that goal will almost never happen by necessity.