Should Infinite return to the Sonic series?

[Mountaindewandsprite]

No. He was mediocre at best, and that's being generous. Not only was his backstory horrible, but I felt that he was just sort of...there just to be there.

[DabigRG]

11 hours ago, VEDJ-F said:

Ian Flynn explicitly asked about it when doing the prequel comic, and that is what he was told.

Speaking of, I doubt the Jackal squad would come with him if he returned. Not only is he not shown caring for them that much, they matter so little that ABT was left to fill in their designs.

Assuming they're not on Shadow's fatality resume anyway.

8 hours ago, Miragnarok said:

If the Heavies come back, i’ll Be asking where he is, like Chaos without Tikal in Battle. 

To be fair, Tikal was explicitly dead-ish compared to Chaos being a mutated chao who was simply locked away and whose namesaked are known for not dying.

7 hours ago, Shadowlax said:

Eh, The first thing doesn't really matter? If people like the design, they like no matter if some loud folks don't like it. Shadow is proof of this

To be fair, Shadow was built from the term "Dark Sonic" and is ultimately just Super Sonic Black in design.

Though his initial designs are definitely up for submission.

[FlameStream]

I'd like him to return. More as a different faction than part of Eggman's lackey.
At the very least, his sizeable visible fanbase should be enough to consider it.

It would be a good first step in developing some sort of thread continuation.

[Darth InVaders]

Infinite's character was flawed in its design and writing, but it still has possibility - I for one would like to see Infinite return under the right circumstances.

As for the flaws... His character design is overall ok, but that missing eye is just trying too hard to scream edge. It is completely unnecessary, and makes his ability to see through that mask awkward - hell, half of his vision is gone (and why does the no eye side glow but not the real eye?). His backstory and motivation are straight out of Dragon Ball (omg I muss beee duh stwongess) and are a bit lame.

But I really like how he is so powerful but is still Eggman's flunky. Hell Eggman tossed him aside to be the final boss. The powers of the Phantom Ruby are pretty cool but would be better if they were more understandable (so you are under the Ruby's power if you get hit by a cube... but you can be placed under its powers in other ways). I also like how the Ruby comes with its own weaknesses (something all characters need, but are too frequently built as not having).

I would not even mind if Infinite becomes yet another traitor to Eggman, but only if Eggman beats him back into place.

[Nestor]

I'd also like to see Infinite return in some capacity – I think he actually has some potential. It's strange, but although it was implemented in a hamfisted way, his backstory – whether through accident or design – does actually make sense of how he's portrayed in the game.

With what we're shown of Infinite’s backstory as the ‘ultimate mercenary’, he appears to be a malignant narcissist – aside from giving himself a grandiose title, his motivations for joining Eggman appear to simply be to gain greater glory for himself by helping ‘shake up’ the world. When his vaunted Jackal Squad isn't even a speed bump to Shadow and he himself is dispatched with disdain, his ego can't handle it as his whole life goal revolves around him being a big deal, leading to his whole mini-breakdown.

This incidentally also gives an explanation as to why, when he's so powerful, Infinite doesn't make any attempt to overthrow Eggman and rule the world; he simply doesn't want to rule, all he's interested in is sadistically flaunting his power over others and proving how great and unbeatable he is (and hence his penchant for over the top edgy terrorizing of his victims). Let Eggman rule and have to worry about administrating his empire, as long as Infinite can take the role of his unstoppable enforcer and have the population trembling at his might, he's living the dream; it's worth noting that, in contrast to Eggman's vision of an empire, the Phantom Ruby shows Infinite a dream world of ruin and destruction, the idea of him ‘shaking up' the order of the world and the glory of being that change.

The only problem is, while this backstory does actually manage to explain his traits – his edginess and sadism, his breakdown, his motivations – it was so haphazardly implemented in Forces that it only really explains things after the fact rather than being revealed in a coherent fashion to build the character.

He does however have the potential there to be used in the future as a worthwhile antagonist, if they can insert him into a sensible role in the plot (and possibly lose a bit of the edginess; while much of his dialogue isn't much different from a standard Marvel villain and it's important for his character to maintain his sadistic streak, it did go a bit over the top at points).

I'd argue that he should also be depowered so that he doesn't turn into a complete Mary Sue – still able to do his illusion schtick, but not to the same level as in Forces. In theory, this should already be the point he's reached post-Forces, as he's lost the Death Egg/fortress reactor/Death Egg Robot power source for his Ruby and should be greatly reduced in power (depending on exactly what happens to him at the end of Forces and which Phantom Ruby is ultimately destroyed). Or, if his Ruby was the one destroyed, they could have him reduced to using a conveniently rediscovered prototype Ruby.

Either way, I think he has the potential to reappear and be a net positive to the series if handled correctly.

[Splash the Otter]

I'd love to see Infinite again. IMO he should still be part of the Egg Empire, and use that sword he had in the prequel comic.