Megathread IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog - Megathread

[Red Hot Jack]

22 hours ago, Eurisko said:

This looks cool. I guess the Dr Starline questions will actually be answered.

 

This was up on Forbidden Planet by the way. https://forbiddenplanet.com/303865-sonic-the-hedgehog-bad-guys-1-cover-a-hammerstrom/

Btw, I haven't seen anyone consider this about the miniseries: there will likely be a prologue story in the Annual releasing on July 8th, I looked up and issue 25 released before the original release date for the annual 2020, so this is supposed to be during the Zeti arc, after Dr. Starline is kicked off-screen, which means it perfectly fits, there will likely be a story that will start the miniseries like the Tangle and Whisper story in Annual 2019 that was kinda a prologue to their adventure in the mini. Cool! Considering Zavok is in the main comic currently, Rough and Tumble have literally "fallen" to the virus, they will probably not be featured yet.

So, the description says we are getting six small stories:

- Big's story

- Metal Sonic with the virus

- Dr. Starline and the prologue to the mini

- ???

- ???

- ???

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

6 hours ago, Jack out of the comics! said:

So, the description says we are getting six small stories:

- Big's story

- Metal Sonic with the virus

- Dr. Starline and the prologue to the mini

- ???

- ???

- ???

I remember making a post on Tumblr about this, so copy pasting my guesses here:-

Spoiler

 

Eggman’s Day Off: Perhaps this story could set things up for a future arc, or maybe lead to the events of Issues 31-32.

Flock Together: Yeah I have a feeling we could be focusing on the Babylon Rouges again, and the more I think about this, I think this could take place after Issue 28-during Issue 29. (To add, the writer for this story also worked as a storyboarder for Ducktales the reboot).

Not sure about The Darkest Hour, The Catalyst and Reflections. Darkest Hour or Catalyst story might have focus on Metal Sonic if one of the covers goes by anything. (Though maybe what Jack said, one of these stories could also lead to the miniseries Bad Guys as well.)

Reflections sounds like it’s focusing on the Heroes, maybe them thinking things after the Metal Virus is gone. Though for some reason I keep thinking about Amy when it comes to this story.

 

 

[Eurisko]

14 hours ago, Spinneret said:

Freedom Fighters coming when???

Well, they're not are they. Lets face it.

[Sonictrainer]

Here's a thought...are we sure that there's only one Warp Topaz?

[DabigRG]

3 hours ago, Stay at Home Ultima said:

I remember making a post on Tumblr about this, so copy pasting my guesses here:-

  Hide contents

 

Eggman’s Day Off: Perhaps this story could set things up for a future arc, or maybe lead to the events of Issues 31-32.

Flock Together: Yeah I have a feeling we could be focusing on the Babylon Rouges again, and the more I think about this, I think this could take place after Issue 28-during Issue 29. (To add, the writer for this story also worked as a storyboarder for Ducktales the reboot).

Not sure about The Darkest Hour, The Catalyst and Reflections. Darkest Hour or Catalyst story might have focus on Metal Sonic if one of the covers goes by anything. (Though maybe what Jack said, one of these stories could also lead to the miniseries Bad Guys as well.)

Reflections sounds like it’s focusing on the Heroes, maybe them thinking things after the Metal Virus is gone. Though for some reason I keep thinking about Amy when it comes to this story.

 

 

Spoiler

Sounds about right.

Lol

The first two do sound like something that would take place during or before the Virus was released.
I would sorta hope that Amy finally gets a side story even this late, but it's probably gonna be around Sonic.

2 hours ago, Sonictrainer said:

Here's a thought...are we sure that there's only one Warp Topaz?

Good question. It would be the easiest way for Starline to maintain his particular ability.

That said, it could also just be a similar powered gemstone.

[Sega DogTagz]

If we open the door to find more Warp Topaz sitting around somewhere... then doesn't that also blow open the possibility of locating a second Phantom Ruby? 

Can't make it too easy to get their hands on these mythical gemstones. I'd much rather have him figure out a way to get his previous possession back from Eggman. 

[Guest]

53 minutes ago, Sega DogTagz said:

If we open the door to find more Warp Topaz sitting around somewhere... then doesn't that also blow open the possibility of locating a second Phantom Ruby? 

Can't make it too easy to get their hands on these mythical gemstones. I'd much rather have him figure out a way to get his previous possession back from Eggman. 

I was thinking about this myself. If there's multiple Sonics, Eggmans and the like, as in modern and classic, and also multiple copies of the chaos emeralds, being 7 in both worlds, its quite possible that there's a second phantom ruby in Modern Sonics world, as the the original ruby went back to classic Sonic's world. Well, in my own head headcanon anyway. Of course, even if Eggman found it, I doubt he would use it, as if I recall correctly, in the comic Eggman himself said he'd had enough of magic rocks. XD 

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

On 6/29/2020 at 10:14 PM, Spinneret said:

Freedom Fighters coming when???

Years at best.

I wouldn’t doubt them ever coming back, but Sega are infamous for dragging their feet on this—it took almost 10 years for three of the Chaotix to come back and over 20 years for Mighty and Ray to come back. Not to mention how long it took before they even bothered to bring Classic Sonic back, or how they’ve segregated their appearances.

So you can hold out hope for them, but if the above is any indicator, you’ll be doing so for a very, very long time at best.

 

[Shadowlax]

I don't think the ff's are coming back ever. I think these idw characters will be their comic initiative characters and that's it

[DabigRG]

On 6/30/2020 at 6:43 PM, Sega DogTagz said:

If we open the door to find more Warp Topaz sitting around somewhere... then doesn't that also blow open the possibility of locating a second Phantom Ruby? 

Can't make it too easy to get their hands on these mythical gemstones. I'd much rather have him figure out a way to get his previous possession back from Eggman. 

So, Eggman's Dozen except its Starline's Quartet.

[Meta77]

On 7/1/2020 at 1:01 AM, CrownSlayer’s Shadow said:

Years at best.

I wouldn’t doubt them ever coming back, but Sega are infamous for dragging their feet on this—it took almost 10 years for three of the Chaotix to come back and over 20 years for Mighty and Ray to come back. Not to mention how long it took before they even bothered to bring Classic Sonic back, or how they’ve segregated their appearances.

So you can hold out hope for them, but if the above is any indicator, you’ll be doing so for a very, very long time at best.

 

Except chaotix and ray and mighty were already released game characters with no ties to the comics *by that i mean they were in games before the comics* ff are more than likely NOT coming back as IDW is being watched way more closely than archie.

And seeing that future stories are going to be more "fun" really makes me wonder if were about to hit colors level of story telling filled with memes and completely goofy. I love the MV arc and yes you do not follow a dark arc with another but at least somewhat keep the tone with how the characters are and villains act.

[Rouge_Witchy]

I Feel awkward....I've barely read the idw sonic series and only have two issues from the metal virus saga

i got started really late i suppose but hey at least I can jump on board with Evan Stanley's Run heh

if that doesn't get delayed(due to the virus cases ramping up  I'm not exactly too sure about the comic book industry at that point)

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

4 hours ago, Meta77 said:

Except chaotix and ray and mighty were already released game characters with no ties to the comics *by that i mean they were in games before the comics* ff are more than likely NOT coming back as IDW is being watched way more closely than archie.

And were only still alive and relevant thanks to Archie when Sega forgot about them for almost a decade (or two for Mighty and Ray) before bringing them back on a sheer whim out of a niche demand, because there was a time they didn’t care about the Chaotix or Mighty and Ray in the slightest much the same way, and they sure as hell didn’t give a damn if they were in the games already or not if they’re willing to take up to 20 years to finally allowing two niche characters to return. 

If Sega decides to bring back the FF, that will be their their call, and you and every other naysayer are about as certain as a needle in a haystack on that never happening as much as those who want them back—and you should know better given that no one saw Mighty and Ray ever coming back for almost a whole generation until Mania, and Iizuka has gone on record saying they would never have seen the light of day were it not for Mania. As long as Sega still owns the characters, that possibility is still there even if, like the above, it takes 10 years or more.

[KoDaiko]

Idk if they add characters from series that's not active anymore/considered "dead". Guess it depends on if Sega (specifically SoJ) accepts the FFs as an important part of their history, and official Sonic multiverse. If they do, they do. If they don't, they don't.

A thing to note is that while the FFs/Sally has a big presence in the west, specifically the US, they are barely known outside the country. They also have multiple versions, and their own unique story/deep history completely separate from the games. At least Mighty, Ray and the Chaotix were all game characters (obscure, but still created by Sega) with barely any traits so they seemed more appealing to "reboot" or "revive" back into the series.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Sonic as a franchise is barely known even in his home country given how poorly he sells in Japan, so that’s not really saying much.

Nevermind how the FF were rebooted themselves with new backstories to fit the games more. Not hard to see them doing it again and at least keeping the spirit of who these characters are.

[DabigRG]

It's worth noting that Mighty and Ray were only brought back because Mania Base did so well and thus Christian Whitehead had hard earned pull to ask, to which Sonic Team was like whatever since they had no intention to use them or the Hooligans.

Good luck getting Classic Chaotix back, though.

31 minutes ago, KoDaiko said:

Idk if they add characters from series that's not active anymore/considered "dead". Guess it depends on if Sega (specifically SoJ) accepts the FFs as an important part of their history, and official Sonic multiverse. If they do, they do. If they don't, they don't.

A thing to note is that while the FFs/Sally has a big presence in the west, specifically the US, they are barely known outside the country. They also have multiple versions, and their own unique story/deep history completely separate from the games. At least Mighty, Ray and the Chaotix were all game characters (obscure, but still created by Sega) with barely any traits so they seemed more appealing to "reboot" or "revive" back into the series.

I mean Sally apparently had merchadise in places like Australia & Syndey(?) and still had enough pull with Sonic Team themselves from their prior interest to have some sway with things like Spark of Life, iirc.

But yes, Sega very much has a bias/preference for what characters are now--just look at Tangle, one of the Diamond Cutters, and likely Lanolin.

[KoDaiko]

41 minutes ago, CrownSlayer’s Shadow said:

Sonic as a franchise is barely known even in his home country given how poorly he sells in Japan, so that’s not really saying much.

Nevermind how the FF were rebooted themselves with new backstories to fit the games more. Not hard to see them doing it again and at least keeping the spirit of who these characters are.

Haha, true. 

I was kinda avoiding saying this as it's a touchy subject, but seeing you're pretty open toward another possible reboot...how much change do you personally think is ok? Because if Sega/SoJ were to include the FFs in the game I'm sure they'd go another strong reboot. Even though there were closer to the game post-reboot, they still had connection/reference to the old cartoon/lore that doesn't fit the game.

Looking at twitter people have different opinion on what the spirit/cores are, how Sally & co. should be brought into the game. Some think Sally needs to be a princess, others think it's fine as long as she's a leader of something. Some think her relation with Sonic is a must, other think she and/or the FFs can be an individual character completely seperate from Sonic. Some think Sally is ok by herself, others think they need to bring all the Knothole and whatnots in.

56 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

But yes, Sega very much has a bias/preference for what characters are now--just look at Tangle, one of the Diamond Cutters, and likely Lanolin.

Could you please elaborate on this? I only know Sega is more involved in the character designing process. 

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

12 minutes ago, KoDaiko said:

Haha, true. 

I was kinda avoiding saying this as it's a touchy subject, but seeing you're pretty open toward another possible reboot...how much change do you personally think is ok? Because if Sega/SoJ were to include the FFs in the game I'm sure they'd go another strong reboot. Even though there were closer to the game post-reboot, they still had connection/reference to the old cartoon/lore that doesn't fit the game.

Looking at twitter people have different opinion on what the spirit/cores are, how Sally & co. should be brought into the game. Some think Sally needs to be a princess, others think it's fine as long as she's a leader of something. Some think her relation with Sonic is a must, other think she and/or the FFs can be an individual character completely seperate from Sonic. Some think Sally is ok by herself, others think they need to bring all the Knothole and whatnots in.

The main spirit of Sally and the Freedom Fighters isn’t too different to what their reboot versions are, but if I had to summarize:

-If Sally absolutely can’t be a royal princess (which I don’t see why the hell she can’t given we already had two in a single game together), she can still be a high ranking authority figure who leads and sets up plans of actions. A field commander of a sort, like Major Makoto Kusanagi of Ghost in the Shell or General Leia in the Star Wars Sequels (yes, I know the sequels sucked, I’m just using an example here)

-Antoine and Bunnie are the ones who need the least change. Keep their marriage, accents, and personalities as well as Bunnie’s cybernetics. I kinda liked how their rebooted incarnations were, so quite frankly, the only thing you’d be doing is adding more to them

-Rotor, to me, had the most interesting changes to him with his father being an Egg Boss serving Eggman’s beck and call. Given that there’s no Egg Bosses anymore (which sucks), the most you’d be changing is his backstory. I can’t really say how to go about changing that, so I can only judge the end result.

They can be individuals who are connected to Sonic and have their separate ways and come together when the need arises, or be kept as a group. They were already doing both, so either one isn’t a huge bother.

All in all, not a hard thing to accomplish. Ian is more likely to nail this than Sega, so the less input the latter has beyond giving them the OK to appear, the better.

[KoDaiko]

1 hour ago, CrownSlayer’s Shadow said:

The main spirit of Sally and the Freedom Fighters isn’t too different to what their reboot versions are, but if I had to summarize:

-If Sally absolutely can’t be a royal princess (which I don’t see why the hell she can’t given we already had two in a single game together), she can still be a high ranking authority figure who leads and sets up plans of actions. A field commander of a sort, like Major Makoto Kusanagi of Ghost in the Shell or General Leia in the Star Wars Sequels (yes, I know the sequels sucked, I’m just using an example here)

-Antoine and Bunnie are the ones who need the least change. Keep their marriage, accents, and personalities as well as Bunnie’s cybernetics. I kinda liked how their rebooted incarnations were, so quite frankly, the only thing you’d be doing is adding more to them

-Rotor, to me, had the most interesting changes to him with his father being an Egg Boss serving Eggman’s beck and call. Given that there’s no Egg Bosses anymore (which sucks), the most you’d be changing is his backstory. I can’t really say how to go about changing that, so I can only judge the end result.

They can be individuals who are connected to Sonic and have their separate ways and come together when the need arises, or be kept as a group. They were already doing both, so either one isn’t a huge bother.

Ah, thank you for your answer. Ian did well to maintain their spirit while reseigning them.

I'm not so attached to the characters, so if Sega were to drastically change them I'd at least want them to keep:

• Sally - Leadership (of anything, perhaps similar to the Diamond Cutters?). Her logic-based serious personality may also be interesting to play with. 
• Antoine - I can't recall anything unique aside from being Bunnie's husband. Sorry 'Twan. Maybe his sword skill? My biggest impression of him used to be his original personality (cowardice and narcissism), it'd be interesting if they played with a toned down version of that. 
• Bunnie - Cybernetics. Maybe accent too, but to me the cybernetics is her main trait. 
• Rotor - I don't recall anything about him that stands out aside from being the chubby tech guy. Sorry buddy. Why is it always the guys?

[DabigRG]

2 hours ago, KoDaiko said:

Could you please elaborate on this? I only know Sega is more involved in the character designing process. 

That's pretty much the context of what I mean:

• Tangle was originally gonna be a rabbit in reference to an early concept for Sonic, but Sonic Team rejected that and maybe a few other things before agreeing on a lemur.
• Rough and Tumble were apparently be more clothed early on, which naturally doesn't fit how male Mobian characters tend to be designed.
• One of the Diamond Cutters(either Clair or Slinger) was gonna be an insect, but Sonic Team rejected that on the basis of not really wanting bug characters. This is in knowing contrast of allowing Jewel to be a beetle, mind.
• Lanolin is unlikely/risky to make a proper character since she wasn't actually intended to be more than a random villager in the Issue 2 script and Sega may not take kindly to IDW sneaking in a character they didn't approve first. 

All that to say Sega has a tighter grip on what goes on in the book than before and bringing back characters not made or likely approved by them is an inherent obstacle.

.

2 hours ago, CrownSlayer’s Shadow said:

The main spirit of Sally and the Freedom Fighters isn’t too different to what their reboot versions are, but if I had to summarize:

-If Sally absolutely can’t be a royal princess (which I don’t see why the hell she can’t given we already had two in a single game together), she can still be a high ranking authority figure who leads and sets up plans of actions. A field commander of a sort, like Major Makoto Kusanagi of Ghost in the Shell or General Leia in the Star Wars Sequels (yes, I know the sequels sucked, I’m just using an example here)

-Antoine and Bunnie are the ones who need the least change. Keep their marriage, accents, and personalities as well as Bunnie’s cybernetics. I kinda liked how their rebooted incarnations were, so quite frankly, the only thing you’d be doing is adding more to them

-Rotor, to me, had the most interesting changes to him with his father being an Egg Boss serving Eggman’s beck and call. Given that there’s no Egg Bosses anymore (which sucks), the most you’d be changing is his backstory. I can’t really say how to go about changing that, so I can only judge the end result.

They can be individuals who are connected to Sonic and have their separate ways and come together when the need arises, or be kept as a group. They were already doing both, so either one isn’t a huge bother.

All in all, not a hard thing to accomplish. Ian is more likely to nail this than Sega, so the less input the latter has beyond giving them the OK to appear, the better.

 

57 minutes ago, KoDaiko said:

Ah, thank you for your answer. Ian did well to maintain their spirit while reseigning them.

I'm not so attached to the characters, so if Sega were to drastically change them I'd at least want them to keep:

• Sally - Leadership (of anything, perhaps similar to the Diamond Cutters?). Her logic-based serious personality may also be interesting to play with. 
• Antoine - I can't recall anything unique aside from being Bunnie's husband. Sorry 'Twan. Maybe his sword skill? My biggest impression of him used to be his original personality (cowardice and narcissism), it'd be interesting if they played with a toned down version of that. 
• Bunnie - Cybernetics. Maybe accent too, but to me the cybernetics is her main trait. 
• Rotor - I don't recall anything about him that stands out aside from being the chubby tech guy. Sorry buddy. Why is it always the guys?

I imagine issues would arise with reincorporating them for a variety of reasons.

• Sally is the obvious big name who though they saw potential in before also technically failed to truly go anywhere, in addition to almost everything about her requiring more context and potentially rattling Sonic's cage.
• Bunnie and Antoine are at risk because Sonic Team may be adverse to characters having overt accents after Rush Adventure(compare to Master Zik) and the idea of having a married couple in the cast is a foreign one they just might question. Bunnie may also be found redundant because a dark yellow hare is near interchangeable to a pale brown rabbit. 
• Rotor is probably the weirdest sell because a walrus is an unorthodox choice in addition to being a little odd to make look cool(Vector and Espio are at least reptiles) and if Rise of Lyric is any indication, they may be a part of the insecurity about having a tech guy besides Tails on the side of good.
• And that's without getting into Nicole or Dulcy.

[DabigRG]

 

I thought it was 30 minutes?

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

There’s not that much to change with Nicole beyond her, if you ask me. She’s already had two or even three completely separate origins, but she still remained a sentient computer/AI that was always loyal and friendly. 
 

I sort of forgot about Dulcy since she was made separate from the FF come the reboot, but I’d love to see how they’d reuse her if they had the chance.

[KoDaiko]

3 hours ago, DabigRG said:

That's pretty much the context of what I mean:

• Tangle was originally gonna be a rabbit in reference to an early concept for Sonic, but Sonic Team rejected that and maybe a few other things before agreeing on a lemur.
• Rough and Tumble were apparently be more clothed early on, which naturally doesn't fit how male Mobian characters tend to be designed.
• One of the Diamond Cutters(either Clair or Slinger) was gonna be an insect, but Sonic Team rejected that on the basis of not really wanting bug characters. This is in knowing contrast of allowing Jewel to be a beetle, mind.
• Lanolin is unlikely/risky to make a proper character since she wasn't actually intended to be more than a random villager in the Issue 2 script and Sega may not take kindly to IDW sneaking in a character they didn't approve first. 

All that to say Sega has a tighter grip on what goes on in the book than before and bringing back characters not made or likely approved by them is an inherent obstacle.

Oh sorry, I thought the talk was more about difference in origin/amount of lore so I got confused why the IDW characters were mentioned. Especially since Lanolin is a cameo OC.

I didn't know those process details, so thank you for that!

Quote

I imagine issues would arise with reincorporating them for a variety of reasons.

• Sally is the obvious big name who though they saw potential in before also technically failed to truly go anywhere, in addition to almost everything about her requiring more context and potentially rattling Sonic's cage.
• Bunnie and Antoine are at risk because Sonic Team may be adverse to characters having overt accents after Rush Adventure(compare to Master Zik) and the idea of having a married couple in the cast is a foreign one they just might question. Bunnie may also be found redundant because a dark yellow hare is near interchangeable to a pale brown rabbit. 
• Rotor is probably the weirdest sell because a walrus is an unorthodox choice in addition to being a little odd to make look cool(Vector and Espio are at least reptiles) and if Rise of Lyric is any indication, they may be a part of the insecurity about having a tech guy besides Tails on the side of good.
• And that's without getting into Nicole or Dulcy.

True. I think there's zero to little chance that they will actually make it in....Even if Ian tried his best to make their personality/lore more streamlined, post-reboot Archie is still different from the games. And a lot of what makes them stand out is stemmed from the unique concept and worldbuilding the comic had. But it's still interesting to hear what people think is the FF's core/spirit. Whenever the topic is brought up, I wonder "How much can Sega change until those fans thinks it's not the FFs anymore?" 

Also, totally forgot about Nicole. I'm pretty sure they won't use the whole holo-lynx thing.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I don’t see why they wouldn’t use the holo-lynx unless they have something else to compensate for it.

[KoDaiko]

1 hour ago, CrownSlayer’s Shadow said:

I don’t see why they wouldn’t use the holo-lynx unless they have something else to compensate for it.

Idk I think Sega would be fine with a sentient AI (there's several of them in game), but having the ability to create a physical hologram of a regular mobian lynx that can also touch & feel sounds a bit far. But then we have more bizzare things in the game, I guess?

I'd imagine the game would go for a robot, AI in the ship the FF uses, or a handheld like the original cartoon. 

 

 

Unrelated, but apparently Ian participated in one of the official Sonic Livestreams yesterday? I remember someone tweeting they'd be doing some Q&A, I hope someone was able to take notes...