Megathread IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog - Megathread

[Razule]

1 hour ago, RedFox99 said:

Wow, Sonic is being a bit cold towards Amy.

Maybe he thinks she's just there to bother him at first.

52 minutes ago, Dr. Detective Mike said:

and the one dude with the mustache

Hey, he had a captain's hat, that means he was important

[RedFox99]

9 minutes ago, Razule said:

Maybe he think she's just there to bother him at first.

I guess.

Also, regarding the townsfolk, I see where @Ryannumber1gamer is coming from since it seems like they are acting like the other main characters in game in that they constantly need to be saved by Sonic and worship him like some messiah. I don't want them to act like the Boom villagers, but I also don't them to be so dependent on Sonic.

[Dr. Detective]

1 hour ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

You see, I'd probably agree with you if Mega Drive wasn't a thing, which was a completely different world compared to Archie Sonic that focused on Classic characters - had a fun and interesting plot, decent and expressive action, and had immense charm with the characters and the interactions. Compared to it, this feels a lot more bland, in a sense.

Sure. I can see the reaction to something like this being intensely weak compared to something like that. I can't fully get on the level with this comparison since this hasn't finished just yet but at the moment, drawing from my memory of the first issues from both, my reaction is relatively similar. Although, I think Mega Drive has the edge in terms of drawing and expressions, definitely.

Either way, I'm just speaking from the perspective of someone who's getting what he expected and appreciating it for what it is so far. I've literally only read the first issue so I can't really add more to it then this. I'll go back and read through them both when this is finished to have a more clear view of it all but I have a feeling it won't matter much in the long run since what I'm expecting and getting out of this naturally carries a different set of expectations by default.

1 hour ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

That's true, but I also doubt that we'd have them totally split and separated off to those who'd fight and those who don't. There's going to be towns with a decent chunk of those who likely did step up and fight with the resistance and those who simply submitted. And except from one person who dropped their Wispon, all we've seen is Sonic saving the day.

And it's not even like I'm against Sonic being popular for his moves. Unleashed did the same thing to a lesser degree with Sonic being known world-wide and quite a few recognizing him. But Unleashed also had Sonic slowing down to help with Townspeople with more personal matters, taking time to help them with minor things, even helping kids find an anniversary gift of all things. Here, Sonic kicks a few robots' asses, says a few snark filled lines and everyone adores him to the point of claiming being attacked and nearly killed is worth it because "at least sonic spoke to us!". Instead of giving Sonic a few relatable aspects and making it feel like he's someone who loves helping people, and loves exploring/adventure, it kind of makes him feel like he's above the citizens in a sense, rather than truly apart of the world, and depending on how the others are handled, the same thing might occur.

Like, take Spider-Man for example. He's known as a hero to all, or a menace, if J Jonah has involvement. Yet Spidey takes time to help New Yorkers with just everyday simple problems. He isn't the most popular guy around and when he does get that popularity, it feels like he had to work to build connections with the people of his city to actually gain his popularity and fight back against the bad stuff J Jonah Jameson tries to spread through his media empire. I saw Sonic in a somewhat same level as that in terms of being relatable.

He's not some alien who came from another world and above everyone, he's not a rich billionaire who has a tragic past and tons of spending money, he's a relatively regular guy apart from his abilities. He loves adventure, he loves action, and he hates it when anyone messes with people and their freedom. Instead of something like Archie, X or even Unleashed where Sonic works hard to gain any type of popularity and even then will stop to do things like helping regular citizens, finding an anniversary gift for some kids, or even taking a disabled girl to an island she always wanted to go to in direct exchange of something that could build his own popularity in the eyes of the general public, it feels like he's above everyone due to how much people just want to be him and completely fanboy over him at every turn.

It could change in the future, possibly. But right now, it just seems boring and bland, and reminds me of the idiots in Boom more than anything, only instead of misblaming Sonic too often, they're far more willing to accept danger and death just to be near Sonic.

Again, I feel like this is a bit much for the first two issues. We just started. I don't really see Sonic stopping to mingle with the locals beyond winking at them and dropping an occasional line. He's on a personalized mission and in a hurry to clean up a mess that's in media res right now. The down time in Unleashed was carried through by moments where the threat was neutralized depending on what you were doing in the game.

Also, I don't have an issue with these people needing to be saved. If Sonic's visiting the towns that are in heavy need of assistance, it stands to reason it's because the people there aren't able to put up a fight on their own or what little resistance there is, isn't enough. Sometimes there's an increase in the enemy forces and sometimes there's not enough people to help out. It doesn't feel like an issue that's big enough to worry about. Unless something happens to directly make what I'm seeing contradict what I know from Forces, but that hasn't happened yet. If there's a resistance, it's going to already be of significantly less numbers than those of people who aren't.  To me the established setting is fairly straightforward. Before I call foul on any misgivings about their conduct I'm going to need there to be something that stands out about the portrayal as particularly egregious to be worthy of note.

I can totally see the issue with worrying about Sonic coming off as above the citizens though. That's something I rather enjoyed about Unleashed. Their response to Sonic was fairly on the level. There wasn't much hero worship and that made the interactions a lot more endearing to me in the long run. Despite understanding that it technically DOES make sense for them to fawn over him and have a hero to want to get the autograph of... honestly it's mostly just annoying having to read stuff like that. Suffice to say, if I were writing this I'd have kept that kind of stuff to a minimum or just re-worked the dialogue a bit so that it wasn't as blatant. 

Granted, I think what's helping me out here is the fact that Sonic himself isn't really acting like he's above them so far. Seeing as how this is being written by Ian Flynn, I was worried he'd have that overinflated Archie ego back again but his reactions to everyone have been fairly tame. I hope it keeps up on that front because I like it when the writers remember that Sonic's fairly good at being humble too.

I really don't like Sonic's portrayal in Archie for a good chunk of what I read but I'll also agree to ultimately wishing Sonic turns out more like how he was in X and Unleashed. Though, the fan worship thing doesn't bother me in and of itself. How it's handled does. How the first issue handled it has some issues but if the cards are played right it could end up being something like in Sonic X where the fans are there but it isn't overshadowed by how Sonic and the situations they get into carry themselves.

 I don't necessarily view their comments as acceptance of death and danger but more so just finding a positive outlet for the current predicament. I have my doubts that they'd seriously be okay with death and danger if it meant Sonic got to hang out with them. Who knows though? That may happen. I hope it doesn't.

It's fairly simple and expected but it's also appreciated and works as a nice jumping on point for me. I'm not bored and I don't find much to be all that bland. It's just what I expected. It helps that what I expected is also a good majority of what I wanted too. So far, there hasn't been much to deter me yet.

If the biggest issue is the citizens and how they view Sonic, then that's something that'll need time to develop anyway, plus it's also not the thing I care the most about at the moment. It is the thing where most of my grievances exist.

I feel like we agree on what the problem is but we have different scales for exactly how important it is and how much it's affecting our enjoyment. Not to mention, there's also a difference in how it's being perceived. I typically don't think Sonic saving them is an actual problem at all and the fan worship is little more than moderately annoying.

1 hour ago, Marco9966 said:

But I agree, if we divide the characters into "Main powerful famous Sonic characters" and "weak citizens fanboys", I hope it's not like that all the time.

That's not where I was making the divide. There's citizens who fight and citizens who don't. The ones who fight are naturally going to be of a significantly less number than the ones who don't. That's just a given as far as I'm concerned. Doesn't really have to do with being a famous or powerful Sonic character.

[Fire-N-Space]

This page is not that bad but that finger poke could have been drawn better and she doesn't give me that Boom Amy feeling. But Sonic not acknowledging Amy's achievement or  presence feels like something Ian Flynn forced in and not very Sonic like. Glad to see Amy is still cute as a button here as she is in the games!   

[Marco9966]

I find Sonic too harsh with Amy, hope that changes in the next pages.

[JosepHenry]

Yeah, this thing about Sonic being a celebrity is starting to get annoying and is just the second issue. The resistance itself better have recognition. If none of the villagers thank Amy afterwards for doing that I will facepalm.

Also, just as I expected how Sonic would react to Amy at first. She needs to prove herself useful so he can warm up to her and team up, if she keeps flirting he won't listen.

[Dr. Detective]

So I read the page to see what you guys were talking about and... it doesn't seem like he's being harsh. He's a bit dismissive I suppose but... 

"Fancy meeting you here" he says a bit worried because it's Amy and she tends to get clingy.

"Looks like things are under control here. Thanks for the save. Laters." I mean... it reads just fine. I suppose the issue is that he's in a bit of a hurry to leave and is making a determined, unhappy face.

I dunno. I'll have to decide when I read the full issue and see what happens after. This doesn't seem like much to worry about so far either. 

I'm not holding too much to scrutiny at the moment. The only real problem I've had is that the hero worship stuff is just stuff I don't want to see, regardless of how much sense it may or may not make. Or if it has to be there, it's done in a less "swooning and fawning" matter and more of a "friendly wave as he runs by" and a "Hey, nice to finally meet you!" kind of way. 

Small potatoes at the moment. I've complained about a lot when it comes to the Archie Comics so I'm not adverse to doing so for this should the need arise of course. Most of the problems I have for this first issue and this preview are minor grievances. 

[Marco9966]

4 minutes ago, Dr. Detective Mike said:

So I read the page to see what you guys were talking about and... it doesn't seem like he's being harsh. He's a bit dismissive I suppose but... 

"Fancy meeting you here" he says a bit worried because it's Amy and she tends to get clingy.

"Looks like things are under control here. Thanks for the save. Laters." I mean... it reads just fine. I suppose the issue is that he's in a bit of a hurry to leave and is making a determined, unhappy face.

I dunno. I'll have to decide when I read the full issue and see what happens after. This doesn't seem like much to worry about so far either. 

I'm not holding too much to scrutiny at the moment. The only real problem I've had is that the hero worship stuff is just stuff I don't want to see, regardless of how much sense it may or may not make. Or if it has to be there, it's done in a less "swooning and fawning" matter and more of a "friendly wave as he runs by" and a "Hey, nice to finally meet you!" kind of way. 

Small potatoes at the moment. I've complained about a lot when it comes to the Archie Comics so I'm not adverse to doing so for this should the need arise of course. Most of the problems I have for this first issue and this preview are minor grievances. 

It reads fine, perhaps it's the expression.

As for the citizens cheering, it's less blatant than in issue 1! They cheer for him after he destroys that huge threatening robot, kinda like when Tails defeated Eggman and the people of Station Square cheered for him.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

I don't really see it as him being dismissive of Amy, I see it more (And she even confirms such when she somehow got there from hearing Sonic saved a nearby town, despite how short of a timeframe there is). Sonic likely just didn't have time nor patience for one of Amy's games of "Date/Marry me" when towns were under attack. Amy in the further pages likely has to show him she's there for more than just trying to score a date with him.

[Dr. Detective]

 

1 hour ago, RedFox99 said:

Also, regarding the townsfolk, I see where @Ryannumber1gamer is coming from since it seems like they are acting like the other main characters in game in that they constantly need to be saved by Sonic and worship him like some messiah. I don't want them to act like the Boom villagers, but I also don't them to be so dependent on Sonic.

I see where he's coming from as well. I'm just not in the camp that thinks it's quite to that level based on what I saw in this first issue. Sonic saving random citizens is fine. Sonic shifting the tide of a battle that the town militia couldn't handle is fine (and also expected). Hell, Tails ended up having to save Sonic in the issue and then stayed behind to ensure they remained safe on his own. Sonic even told Tails to come with him if he was worried that Sonic might end up "dying"  rather then just reaffirm that he was awesome yet again and claim that he'd be fine on his own.

I'm holding off on messiah comments until something beyond what I feel is acceptable happens. Like, a horde of confirmed resistance fighters are in a choreographed battle against Eggman's forces in a huge open area and aren't making any kind of headway, then Sonic swoops in, demolishes everything with no problems and no help, then is praised and given all the credit. Bonus annoyance points if Sonic's reaction is to say how awesome he is. 

1 hour ago, Marco9966 said:

It reads fine, perhaps it's the expression.

As for the citizens cheering, it's less blatant than in issue 1! They cheer for him after he destroys that huge threatening robot, kinda like when Tails defeated Eggman and the people of Station Square cheered for him.

Yeah. Stuff like that is fine.

There's just a balance they need to be aware of and there's an understandable worry that things may become unfavorable if it isn't kept in check. 

[SBR2]

44 minutes ago, Fire-N-Space said:

This page is not that bad but that finger poke could have been drawn better and she doesn't give me that Boom Amy feeling. But Sonic not acknowledging Amy's achievement or  presence feels like something Ian Flynn forced in and not very Sonic like. Glad to see Amy is still cute as a button here as she is in the games!   

What are you talking about? Sonic literally says the towns under control with Amy being there. It's the thing he's saying at the end. It isn't hidden. 

[Ryannumber1gamer]

To clarify - I don't have an issue with Sonic saving citizens per say. It's just that I want the citizens to actually do more than just wait around for Sonic to save them. Forces was all about them rising up because they couldn't count on Sonic all of the time, and apart from Archie, the fact the citizens have their own weapons and such to fight back is something to give the world something distinct. It removes a bit of agency when all of the citizens instead don't fight and wait for saving. Even if they attempted to fight back and were shut down, it'd be better than cowering in fear and then saying it was all worth it because "i got to see Sonic!" 

In the same vain, I'm not exactly against them cheering for Sonic doing something heroic, I'm against them exaggeratedly doing so. Issue 2 has them thanking Sonic compared to Issue 1 where quite a few said the near-death experience was worth it to meet Sonic for a few brief moments. 

[KoDaiko]

I find interesting that common civilians in this issue look very unique, many of them look like they can be recurring characters. The boy with the Blaze-hair bothers me though.

 

1 hour ago, Fire-N-Space said:

This page is not that bad but that finger poke could have been drawn better and she doesn't give me that Boom Amy feeling. But Sonic not acknowledging Amy's achievement or  presence feels like something Ian Flynn forced in and not very Sonic like. Glad to see Amy is still cute as a button here as she is in the games!   

If this was in game I can easily imagine Amy rushing to hug a flustered Sonic after destroying the enemy. I also imagine she would be pouting at the last panel, while Sonic would look less serious/upset. (Also why is her cheek shining in the 3rd panel?)

[Dr. Detective]

1 hour ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

To clarify - I don't have an issue with Sonic saving citizens per say. It's just that I want the citizens to actually do more than just wait around for Sonic to save them. Forces was all about them rising up because they couldn't count on Sonic all of the time, and apart from Archie, the fact the citizens have their own weapons and such to fight back is something to give the world something distinct. It removes a bit of agency when all of the citizens instead don't fight and wait for saving. Even if they attempted to fight back and were shut down, it'd be better than cowering in fear and then saying it was all worth it because "i got to see Sonic!" 

I understand what you mean. I just think we have different ideas about who these citizens are and how they carried themselves.

I saw these people as citizens who were random townsfolk who couldn't fight back that also had a few of the resistance members strung about the place because Sonic openly acknowledges the town militia when he sees them. He doesn't make that same comment towards the guy he saves in the beginning. I judged that first NPC's reactions as those of someone who was a normal citizen who wasn't a resistance fighter because it looks as though it was written to deliberately come off that way. He tells the people behind him to run, then grabs a weapon he clearly doesn't know how to use to fight a robot he has no idea if he can beat. Then he gets swatted back by the robot and is about to be killed when Sonic saves him and helps him up. 

The other pair of people he came across with the stupid "he winked at me" and "I want his autograph" dialogue were trying to shut a heavy doorway before a gaggle of Motobugs overtook them. There was an effort to accomplish something on the parts of the people he was helping out. 

If it was literally just a bunch of people screaming and running I could maybe see this a bit more. I probably wouldn't be bothered by that either though as that'd be heavy confirmation that they weren't resistance fighters either.

[DabigRG]

3 hours ago, Dr. Detective Mike said:

Having a really cute unhinged psychopath sounds like an awesome gimmick to me.

That's why the idea of Tails being The Riddler is so adorable to me.

Watch as he laughs maniacally and hides a bunch of useless trophies around Gotham, all while looking cute as fuck. It's great.

So what you're trying to say is, "We need more Thunderbolt?"

2 hours ago, Sonictrainer said:

(wait...why are we putting the official preview in Spoiler Tags?)

Probably because those other ones were pretty large. Also, technically spoilery.

2 hours ago, RedFox99 said:

Wow, Sonic is being a bit cold towards Amy.

♪The "Fun" Be-Giiins!♩

2 hours ago, Sonictrainer said:

(wait...why are we putting the official preview in Spoiler Tags?)

Amy kinda looks like Evan Stanley's style in the 2nd panel.

2 hours ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

Is anyone else really beginning to get bad "Countdown to Chaos vibes"? 

Because given last issue, and given the preview of this story, I'm really getting the feeling that this arc will be nothing but "Sonic goes to *insert town here*, people of town geek out over him, Sonic then meets *insert friend here* who then spends the rest of the issue talking with him a few times, and helping him in combat to show their ability teamup before Sonic goes again, and repeat".

Countdown to Chaos followed a similar formula, Sonic and Tails go to new area, find Freedom Fighter member, restore memories of old world, they proceed to fight for a little bit, repeat. But even then, that had the build-up of Eggman potentially destroying the world at the end of Worlds Collide and the Tails Doll fight with Tails that introduced tons of new questions to the series.

 

Yeah, pretty much. 

2 hours ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

 I liked that contrast of Archie Sonic where Sonic while generally well-liked and respected still had those who while not enemies, did oppose his personality and did generally counter him. T

 

Yeah, I did too. It's something that's worth appreciating depending on how it's done.

2 hours ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

It seems completely off to me that these townspeople, who IIRC was even established to have wispons run off and are terrified of badniks of all things when a literal army of them went up against Eggman and Infinite in Forces, as well as Infinite's overpowered Shadow/Chaos/Metal/Zavok clones. 

 

Heh. "Overpowered clones."

 

[Ryannumber1gamer]

1 minute ago, DabigRG said:

Heh. "Overpowered clones."

I don't mean that in the sense of "they're overpowered as bosses/enemies/whatever" but more so they had the general strength of their originals in the fight against Sonic and while weakened somewhat in the war battle, they still would've been able to hold some power.

That said - Forces wasn't very good conveying that, leading to them being weak as crap in the war cutscene.

[Dr. Detective]

Yeah, seriously. If those clones had the power of the original people they were based on, even the main characters would have had a much rougher time with them then the game let on. 

[Ryannumber1gamer]

1 minute ago, Dr. Detective Mike said:

Yeah, seriously. If those clones had the power of the original people they were based on, even the main characters would have had a much rougher time with them then the game let on. 

In all honesty - if they were so intent on the whole "OH ILLUSION CLONES" nonsense, they should've made them have all of the power of the originals, but in exchange, none of the raw skill or combat knowledge to make them effective. Think Captain Ginyu from Dragon Ball when he body-swaps with Goku. He has immense power, even more so than any main cast character because Goku was that strong in that point of the series, but Krillin and Kid Gohan are easily able to kick his ass because Ginyu has none of the training, skill or knowledge to actually apply his newfound power.

It would make them a legitimate threat while balancing the power down for the army to fight. The reason why they manage to knockout Sonic being that Infinite was able to control their actions directly, otherwise they're just powered-up mindless zombies.

[Dr. Detective]

1 hour ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

In all honesty - if they were so intent on the whole "OH ILLUSION CLONES" nonsense, they should've made them have all of the power of the originals, but in exchange, none of the raw skill or combat knowledge to make them effective. Think Captain Ginyu from Dragon Ball when he body-swaps with Goku. He has immense power, even more so than any main cast character because Goku was that strong in that point of the series, but Krillin and Kid Gohan are easily able to kick his ass because Ginyu has none of the training, skill or knowledge to actually apply his newfound power.

It would make them a legitimate threat while balancing the power down for the army to fight. The reason why they manage to knockout Sonic being that Infinite was able to control their actions directly, otherwise they're just powered-up mindless zombies.

Certainly. That's more thought then they were going to put into it though.

The most creative thing they managed to ring out of that illusion thing was the Capital City level where Infinite's fucking with the perception of reality as you run through it.

If you're gonna bring this stuff back, throw some imagination in there. Something other than "It's Metal Sonic except he's WAY bigger now."

If it gets brought up at all in these comics I'm willing to bet Ian will come up with something that's a bit more impressive. Although, truthfully, I hope the Phantom Ruby thing is done with from here on in.

[Fire-N-Space]

Just now, SBR2 said:

What are you talking about? Sonic literally says the towns under control with Amy being there. It's the thing he's saying at the end. It isn't hidden. 

He didn't say Amy had things under control he left after the area was clear of robots saying thanks for the save leaving at her mere presence even though he wasn't in a rush as he was soaking up the praise long enough for a giant robot to sneak up on him.

[Dr. Detective]

1 hour ago, Fire-N-Space said:

He didn't say Amy had things under control he left after the area was clear of robots saying thanks for the save leaving at her mere presence even though he wasn't in a rush as he was soaking up the praise long enough for a giant robot to sneak up on him.

She saved him. He thanked her for saving him. Then he said it looks like things are under control here and tried to move on.

He definitely acknowledged her achievement and presence. Maybe not in the most outwardly buddy-buddy way he could but he still did. It's a noticeable kind of distinction portrayals of Sonic and Amy's relationship tend to have. It varies and some have their own preferences for how it's done, seemingly down to the letter, which I don't exactly get, but alright.

I think this is one of the ones we'll have to wait for the full issue to judge.

I've got a sneaking suspicion I won't find the overall package to be a big deal but a few others are going to not like a face he makes at her or a line he says to her or something. I'm noticing a lot of tension whenever Amy gets brought up around here for some reason. 

[RedFox99]

5 minutes ago, Dr. Detective Mike said:

I've got a sneaking suspicion I won't find the overall package it to be a big deal but a few others are going to not like a face he makes at her or a line he says to her or something. I'm noticing a lot of tension whenever Amy gets brought up around here for some reason. 

I guess it has to do with how she arguably has the greater tendency to be flanderized and poorly written than most of the other characters and many didn't like how she was treated by Ian, especially in cases like Issue 222 as many see him as pushing her aside in favor of Sally. 

[DabigRG]

2 minutes ago, Dr. Detective Mike said:

 

I've got a sneaking suspicion I won't find the overall package it to be a big deal but a few others are going to not like a face he makes at her or a line he says to her or something. I'm noticing a lot of tension whenever Amy gets brought up around here for some reason. 

Yeah, I really noticed that in regards to Boom in particular, which I can somewhat understand, but the sentiment apparently bleeds over here, for whatever reason.

 

Just now, RedFox99 said:

I guess it has to do with how she has the greater tendency to be flanderized and poorly written and many didn't like how she was treated by Ian, especially in cases like Issue 222.

Isn't that the one where he was a little miffed about Naugus and Geoffrey winning people over and he ran off to get a Warp Ring from Knuckles?

[RedFox99]

6 minutes ago, Dr. Detective Mike said:

think this is one of the ones we'll have to wait for the full issue to judge.

Yeah, we're probably jumping the gun on this one.

2 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

Yeah, I really noticed that in regards to Boom in particular, which I can somewhat understand, but the sentiment apparently bleeds over here, for whatever reason.

 

Isn't that the one where he was a little miffed about Naugus and Geoffrey winning people over and he ran off to get a Warp Ring from Knuckles?

No, 222 was where Sonic got back together with Sally and had Amy looking shocked in the background of the issue cover.

[Dr. Detective]

1 hour ago, RedFox99 said:

I guess it has to do with how she has the greater tendency to be flanderized and poorly written and many didn't like how she was treated by Ian, especially in cases like Issue 222.

You mean the infamous issue with the really suggestive cover of Sonic carrying Sally towards the reader with Amy looking on in the background, longingly? Yeah, I can see that... however, that was also a really long time ago at this point.

I remember pitching a fit over some of that stuff a while back but I haven't really had a huge problem with Ian's portrayal of Amy as a general character. I suppose I just lumped it all in as apart of that really annoying love triangle nonsense I didn't like. All parties involved with that had my ire and when it was removed I thought he handled her well enough.

She was fine during the Mecha Sally stuff. She was fine in the Megaman crossover. She was fine in the reboot. At least to me she was. I have to double back a fairly long way in order to locate something he's done with her that I felt was worth getting supremely angry about.