Megathread IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog - Megathread

[LongcrierCat]

@Dr. Detective Mike It was more that your post beforehand for what respect you lent us, still read as dismissive of what some of us wanted in the book and for the series. The eggshells start cracking when you told us that you couldn't lie about being happy to see that fan favourite characters like the FFs and Mighty and Ray wouldn't be showing up. I mean okay, that's your opinion but it's kind of a really shitty thing to say. It would be like me taking glee out of never seeing Shadow the Hedgehog ever again and telling Modern Fans that I'm happy even if they aren't. You know? It's fine to prefer some characters over others. I don't get some comic book readers of other brands getting all gate keeping on the old characters when the comic books want to do something new when they get to keep the old characters still in some capacity and they even get an ending for those characters. 

The characters Sonic fans miss ended up just simply disappearing with no proper ending. I would have loved to get issue 292 of Archie so I could see all of the FFs on their own path however bittersweet an ending that would be. At least there'd be an ending and closure. 

We all have baggage to the characters we like and relate to and we all have our personal biases. With the biases said, sometimes it's best to be more quiet about our own biases or be willing to respectfully disagree. Which I'm going to offer to you. I disagree respectfully, andI see that you want the more modern side of things. That's fine, but I prefer an all around approach with a lot of new stuff. That and Sega has a bad history of disrespecting/misusing the history of this series to the point of stagnation and I'm honestly sick of it so there's that baggage to deal with too. 

[Fire-N-Space]

Just now, PublicEnemy1 said:

Well, her love for Sonic has ALWAYS been there. It's just been less extreme than Heroes. Which is how Ian and the vast majority of us prefer it.

Being there and acting upon it are different things and the vast majority isn't very vast, at most the ones I've seen just don't want to see nary hide nor hair of her flirting with Sonic saying the best Amy is from Boom as she hides it from view 90% of the time there.

[Dr. Detective]

So for more clarification, because somehow, I'm getting the sense that people seem to believe that my position is that I want them gone because "there's no role they can fill" or that they're "dead weight" and I assure you that's not the issue. As someone whose a huge fan of the process of storytelling and the kind that can take an incredibly large cast of characters and utilize them to their fullest despite how big or small a role they may have, I would never insinuate that a character on their own could never have something worthwhile to contribute and have that be the reason for their exclusion. I never even really said that when it came to Mighty. The position I was more going for was one that only really stems from this unique situation where the characters we're including come from several continuities rather then being created as tools for this specific story.

The reason I made mention of the fact that I could see what Mighty and Ray have to contribute easily going towards some other newly created character is because from my own personal standpoint, what they had to offer based on what I've read from these comics wasn't anything special on its own. That's not to say they couldn't be included and given something remarkable to work with. @Conquering Storm's Servant's example with Big is a good example of that. It's extremely possible that one could show you how it'd be able to manage itself within the narrative. I wasn't denying that.

I was really just going out of my way to explain why it didn't matter to me when it came specifically to them because I'm not in a position where that's happened for Mighty and Ray in my eyes and I don't believe Ian has anything in the cards that would convince me he's going to write them differently enough to allow me to care. As a result, I end up not really seeing it as a personal big deal that they're not in. Everything that's been done with them before in the book was something I never could get behind and as a result, whenever I saw them, I didn't really have a reaction different from wishing they were gone so I could see the others do their thing. Again, though, I also recognize that it's very possible for this to be the case for other people when it comes to the characters I care about. It's admittedly a lot harder to see since I don't think the Chaotix or Omega are as popular as characters like Blaze and Shadow but it's very possible that when they show up, someone is going to think they're stealing screentime from someone more worthy of it.

It's a bit of a hard thing to explain because I'm also not someone whose come across situations where I've outright hated characters or wanted them to disappear for the sake of my own experience. It's only really been a thought I've had concerning this comic and even then, despite exerting the fact that I do prefer the book be this way, it's not as though I hated the Archie Comics the way they were. I still purchased them and collected them. I wasn't a fan of the set-up and it had a lot of things about it that shifted the perception of what I would have personally wanted from a Sonic comic book, sure, but what was good about them was good enough to remain invested in them.

I'm just expressing why my position is, now 100% alien from the rest of you guys. It was a hunch before but it's clear now. I'm a total outlier here, and I'm completely fine with that. I'm not trying to take the feelings you have away from the rest of the cast by admitting to and explaining what I can about why I'm happy that the book is the way it is. 

Does this clarify things a bit more or is there something else I need to explain? I'll be happy to do it. 

1 hour ago, LongcrierCat said:

@Dr. Detective Mike It was more that your post beforehand for what respect you lent us, still read as dismissive of what some of us wanted in the book and for the series. The eggshells start cracking when you told us that you couldn't lie about being happy to see that fan favourite characters like the FFs and Mighty and Ray wouldn't be showing up. I mean okay, that's your opinion but it's kind of a really shitty thing to say. It would be like me taking glee out of never seeing Shadow the Hedgehog ever again and telling Modern Fans that I'm happy even if they aren't. You know?

I don't agree. The reason I didn't word it the way you have it worded here in the post is because I was talking more about being happy with the direction of the comic. It's not so much that I'm happy you guys aren't getting those characters anymore. I'm happy because I'm getting the Sonic comic I've always wanted. I addressed your concerns still, however, because I didn't want to seem disrespectful and thus tried to go into why my position was the way it was a bit more. This is despite the fact that I've actually explained this in various ways before. I don't take any glee in seeing people upset. I've stated that before as well, though I realistically don't expect people to comb through this thread and find all the words of sympathy I've tried to lay out for you all or retain the full knowledge behind what I've stated.

However, I can't agree that simply stating that I'm happy with the direction of the book is the same as making a direct statement towards the fans of the people who wanted it a different way. There's a difference between saying "I'm happy this is happening" and "I'm happy you're not getting what you want anymore". I suppose I should expect people to take it that way though since we're still in the early stages of what's going down. A lot of people are still riled up and unhappy that the Archie Comics don't exist anymore and are putting a lot of the hopes for what they accomplished on this comic as it's trying to do it's own thing. I get that.

However, I felt the need to express a position that was in full support of their decision making and I went ahead with it. I tried my best to be careful not to step on anyone's toes but if saying I'm happy about it IS the thing that's shitty well I'm sorry. That's literally just saying that my having a different opinion about these concepts and what should be done with them is a shitty thing. I shouldn't keep myself from expressing it just because there's people who feel differently.

1 hour ago, LongcrierCat said:

 

We all have baggage to the characters we like and relate to and we all have our personal biases. With the biases said, sometimes it's best to be more quiet about our own biases or be willing to respectfully disagree. Which I'm going to offer to you. I disagree respectfully, andI see that you want the more modern side of things. That's fine, but I prefer an all around approach with a lot of new stuff. That and Sega has a bad history of disrespecting/misusing the history of this series to the point of stagnation and I'm honestly sick of it so there's that baggage to deal with too. 

That's fine. I was never in a position where I considered this to be some sort of argument. I just wanted to express how happy I was with the book's current direction. If they decide to include those characters in again, I'll probably also say something like "I'm disappointed but I'm happy for you guys" like I always have and will. I've never had a problem, respectfully disagreeing with someone. It's just that I've come to realize that staying quiet about what you feel isn't a fair thing to do for yourself if you have something you want to express. Opposition isn't something I should be steering clear of. It happens to literally anyone who poses an unpopular opinion. Both parties are facing some sort of push back as a result of sharing opposing viewpoints after all.

Plus, it helps being able to recognize that this is still clearly a personal bias situation. I'm not making some sort of objective statement.

[PublicEnemy1]

Anyways, I wonder how good Issue 2 will be.

[JosepHenry]

Issue 2 better show Amy as kind of a celebrity like Sonic, I will be very disappointed if Sonic is the only famous one. Amy deserves some love.

[Mountaindewandsprite]

4 hours ago, Conquering Storm's Servant said:

I have to say that oftentimes when I hear a character considered “dead weight”, it seems to mean more often than not “a character I don’t want to see again.”

Sure one can’t think of something for a character, I know I couldn’t for Big. But that doesn’t mean others can’t show you otherwise.

Agreed. A niche can be created for many characters, however, one problem is the altering of characteristics to fit that niche.

[BlueSky]

At the risk of me getting yelled at for this, but it'll ruin my whole day if I don't say it now, in the morning (yes my concious mind works like cow's stomachs, it ruminates small things all day long and I can't concentrate on anything then);

I, for can I only speak for myself, was talking in a more abstract level than pointing my finger at @Dr. Detective Mike, there would really be no reason for that since from my point of view they've been about as respectful about the matter as a human being can be. While I myself don't recognise that problem in myself it doesn't mean I wouldn't see where they're coming from, at least I hope so.

Everybody has the rights to their own opinions and also rights to express them as long as it's done as respectfully as possible I think.

I think there's a point of not wanting to include some character, at least if you feel like they wouldn't bring anything new to the table, again, speaking on an abstract level in this here sentence.

I wouldn't have this problem in the first place if Archie Sonic would've had a real closure and a more respectful cancellation process towards the public.

Do I need to say I'm one of those guys who consider respect something you need to usually earn if you want it more than just the average quantity anyone gets?

Okay. Now I've had my piece about this. Whatevs, I do enjoy freelly roaming discussions more than strictly peer-steered ones anyway... But then again, sometimes there is a need for mods so whatevs...

[MetalSkulkBane]

All right, talk about Amy... cancelled.
Talk about respecting other opinions.. cancelled.
Talk about issue 2... what the hell can we say at this point about issue 2? Just speculate.

Well, let's check if worst case scenario is real. I'm going to try to predict the whole issue based on solicitation alone.

1 Enemies will be badniks and that giant spider-thing from Forces.

2 Sonic will easily beat smaller badniks, but will need Amy help to destroy spider, to emphasize power of friendship/team-work.

3 Amy will act like she did in Archie. Some casual flirt, maaaaybe hug or two, 70% chance she will talk to locals how awesome Sonic is, to inspire them.

4 Amy will ask Sonic about joining resistance early on, so point 2 can prove to him that he can't do everything alone. He'll probably aggress, but in a way that lets him leave her behind. He still have his meetings with Knux and Tangle in later issues. There is a chance that Sonic will say "Resistance doesn't need me. You're doing fantastic job."

5 Mystery villain will show on last page too announce Rough and Tumble for next story.

6 Literally nothing else will happen.

That's my worst case scenario. Plot so predictable I can write it without my morning coffee.

[Marco9966]

I hope we see the villagers that are on the cover of issue 2.

That sheep and dogs citizens look cool.

I also want names for the towns so we can have a bit of geography and worldbuilding.

[Salamander]

6 hours ago, JosepHenry said:

Issue 2 better show Amy as kind of a celebrity like Sonic, I will be very disappointed if Sonic is the only famous one. Amy deserves some love.

If they're following Forces, you would expect that the key Resistance leaders would have become pretty widely-known.  Thinking about it that way, it would be a bit strange for Amy to go back to her usual civilian, bystander status after Forces...

But on the other hand, given that pre-Forces Infinite seemed to have no idea what he was up against when he went to fight Shadow, it's not all that clear how fast news travels in Sonic's World.

[Marco9966]

Judging by the Forces prequel comic, Amy should be well known.

[Red Hot Jack]

1 hour ago, Marco9966 said:

I hope we see the villagers that are on the cover of issue 2.

That sheep and dogs citizens look cool.

I also want names for the towns so we can have a bit of geography and worldbuilding.

I hope so too, at least Forces level of worldbuilding, which was small but okay.

[Salamander]

I'm definitely on-board with giving even small villages a proper name.  If you do that, that creates the possibility of using one of them again later if you happen to need a village for things to happen, or dropping its name into dialogue.  It helps to construct the illusion of reality; to give the impression that these places are real to the characters and genuinely matter.

[DabigRG]

3 hours ago, Marco9966 said:

I hope we see the villagers that are on the cover of issue 2.

That sheep and dogs citizens look cool.

I also want names for the towns so we can have a bit of geography and worldbuilding.

I really like that sheep/goat girl, so I hope so too.

3 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

All right, talk about Amy... cancelled.
Talk about respecting other opinions.. cancelled.
Talk about issue 2... what the hell can we say at this point about issue 2? Just speculate.

Well, let's check if worst case scenario is real. I'm going to try to predict the whole issue based on solicitation alone.

1 Enemies will be badniks and that giant spider-thing from Forces.

2 Sonic will easily beat smaller badniks, but will need Amy help to destroy spider, to emphasize power of friendship/team-work.

3 Amy will act like she did in Archie. Some casual flirt, maaaaybe hug or two, 70% chance she will talk to locals how awesome Sonic is, to inspire them.

4 Amy will ask Sonic about joining resistance early on, so point 2 can prove to him that he can't do everything alone. He'll probably aggress, but in a way that lets him leave her behind. He still have his meetings with Knux and Tangle in later issues. There is a chance that Sonic will say "Resistance doesn't need me. You're doing fantastic job."

5 Mystery villain will show on last page too announce Rough and Tumble for next story.

6 Literally nothing else will happen.

That's my worst case scenario. Plot so predictable I can write it without my morning coffee.

It's still more story than the first issue apparently has.

2 hours ago, FFWF said:

If they're following Forces, you would expect that the key Resistance leaders would have become pretty widely-known.  Thinking about it that way, it would be a bit strange for Amy to go back to her usual civilian, bystander status after Forces...

But on the other hand, given that pre-Forces Infinite seemed to have no idea what he was up against when he went to fight Shadow, it's not all that clear how fast news travels in Sonic's World.

Amy was seemingly in charge of the Archives(for some reason) and also oversaw many of the missions. So it depends on whether she was supposed be the Wade Load or the Sally Acorn of the Resistance.

Infinite is supposed to be the haughty type and he was more focused getting payback on Shadow for destroying his Squad rather than because Eggman ordered him to. Whatever stories he heard of Shadow didn't really matter.

[Your Vest Friend]

Knuckles was commander and tactics, Amy was communications.

[DabigRG]

4 minutes ago, VEDJ-F said:

Knuckles was commander and tactics, Amy was communications.

Ah, so she was Wade Load and NICOLE the Holo-Lynx!

[MetalSkulkBane]

40 minutes ago, VEDJ-F said:

Knuckles was commander and tactics, Amy was communications.

Huh? When did they said that?

[PublicEnemy1]

I hope Infinite is in this. Although, that would depend if SEGA considers Infinite dead, because if he is, Ian can't use him.

[Salamander]

I would imagine that if Sega doesn't intend to use Infinite again, then since he's very clearly a part of the Modern brand they might just give the comic free rein with him; it seems more likely for him to be off-limits if they do actually have concrete plans to bring him back in the games.  (Then again, there's Eggman Nega, who they apparently nixed for comic appearances on the grounds that they "didn't know what they wanted to do with him" and proceeded to do nothing with him.)  But at the same time, there's always the chance that they want to sweep Infinite under the rug entirely - but given that they were either content with or actually responsible for the comic starting out as effectively a Forces sequel, then that seems unlikely.

[Dr. Detective]

Yeah, I'm 99.99% sure Infinite's not dead. He's most likely fair game too. If they still have very open and clear intentions to use the Deadly Six, then I don't see why they wouldn't bother continuing the tale of Infinite's Lament for ultimate power. They even gave him a theme song.  Though, his disappearance is most likely due to the writers not really having a way to end his story in Forces properly. Like Eggman at the end, and the Deadly Six before him in Lost World, he just disappears because proper endings where things are clarified and explained are so foreign and toxic to the series now. Not the comics though. Thank goodness.

13 hours ago, JosepHenry said:

Also guys, those discussions about what we want, don't want, your personal bias over the comics, are getting a bit oversaturated and repetitive, like, I get it, you're fine with the decisions made in the new comic, but you don't have to put an entire book in the topic explaining your reason, just say what you need to say and we will understand no more need for overblown clarification, or else it starts becomimg unintentional spam. 

Well, clearly I was the only one doing that so I'll apologize for it. It just seemed like so many weren't understanding to the point to where I got accused of saying something shitty. I didn't want anyone to leave this thing thinking I meant anything bad so I tried my best to cover everything in as strict detail as I could. Plus, I've been in so many situations where just saying what I need to say led to the exact opposite.

[Marco9966]

Why is it that the cover on issue 2 has Forces badniks?

It's supposed to be the Egg Pawns from Sonic Heroes.

Or is it only for this cover??

[JosepHenry]

@Dr. Detective Mike Is okay, you're not the only one either.

@Marco9966 Maybe they are higher budget?

[Salamander]

Sourced from different parts of Eggman's scattered army?  Or perhaps it's a clue to something we don't know about yet.

[Korke]

Finally got the time to read the leak. As I was expecting ever since some announcements made, this first issue was okay - for Sonic fans. It was quite unwelcoming to newcomers, though, as you are "supposed" to know many things.

This would not be a problem years ago, but now it is. Our numbers are getting smaller every new year, every new mediocre game release...

It lacked hooks, but I'll let it slide for being only one issue. Even some great shows out there require some time to make you dive.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

 

On 3/26/2018 at 7:27 PM, Dr. Detective Mike said:

I never said I considered him dead weight. It really is just that I don't like him and don't really care if I see him again.

I'm trying my hardest to be as careful with my words here as I can because, like I said before, admitting all of this feels like I'm walking on egg-shells.

I never said you did. I was just making a statement on the matter.

I’d have directly quoted you otherwise. Everyone has a chance they don’t particularly like or care for, hence me using Big as an example for myself. I figured I’d make a point on it since the discussion was going thay direction.