Question about Maria

[EmTiven01]

Why is it that a lot of people want her brought back from the dead? I've noticed that the idea of Shadow's long-dead friend Maria Robotnik being resurrected is rather popular among the Sonic fandom. Most notably as an anthropomorphic hedgehog.

Obviously this is usually done to ship her with Shadow. (And because of that one scene in Sonic 06) But other than that, why is it that fans are so in love with the idea of Maria returning from death? Given how Shadow's character was molded by her tragic fate, don't you think it would render it meaningless? Think how certain Star Wars fans reacted to Emperor Palpatine returning in Rise of Skywalker.

[Spin Slasher]

Yeah Maria is a Hedgehog, formerly human

[DabigRG]

I guess for the fun of it. After all, nothing would truly be lost by doing so and they'd be gaining another female character, one who Shadow could actually be open with.

I guess the other thing to worry about is the how and what leads up to it.

[Simasuu]

Hard to say.  Maybe people want the modern game plots to be more serious again and Maria's character were from that era.

Also maybe they want Shadow to have a good plot, like atm he doesn't really have much to do, so idk Maria's comeback would do something about it.

[EmTiven01]

14 hours ago, DabigRG said:

I guess for the fun of it. After all, nothing would truly be lost by doing so and they'd be gaining another female character, one who Shadow could actually be open with.

I guess the other thing to worry about is the how and what leads up to it.

If I were to revive Maria, I would keep her human. Not to mention the cause of her resurrection would be Dr. Eggman wanting a protege and thinking that a fellow Robotnik would be the perfect candidate. He'd probably bring back Maria through cloning.

What would be interesting to see is how Maria plays off of Sonic and his friends and how she would react to the events that occurred in her absence. (Such as her grandfather going insane and trying to destroy the world and her cousin turning evil and trying to conquer it)

People have also said all of Shadow's appearances following SA2 render his story arc pointless so Maria being brought back from the dead doing the same is a moot point, I guess.

[Diogenes]

A lot of people want to see everyone get a happy ending, no matter how implausible.

Alternatively, a lot of people want to be able to twist the knife a second time.

[MetalSkulkBane]

Oh dear! Where to starts???

1) Same reason no one dies in comics books: dead characters can't do anything. So you bring them back

2) Shipy shippering shipping of shipment

3) Because mobians rule, humans drool. But we like Maria. Cognitive dissonance, let's turn her furry.

4) Need to explore characters that we have reason to be invested, yet never really meet

5) People like happy ending

6) Any excuse to focus on Shadow is good,

7) especially if it re-focuses on him actually having a heart and being a good person, not current jerk

...ugh 8.) Because Some people want to have "Possession OC" which means taking less explored character and basically use as your own. You avoid "dumb recolor OC" label, more people will pay attention to real character, etc. It's why so many background ponies in "friendship is magic" get so many fanarts.

(Gamma? Never heard of him.)

[JezMM]

The question has kinda been covered so I can't really add anything there, but I do want to say that forget anthropomorphised Maria, the coolest alternate interpretation of her character I've ever seen is this art by burnishable.

[DabigRG]

On 11/9/2020 at 8:08 AM, EmTiven01 said:

If I were to revive Maria, I would keep her human. Not to mention the cause of her resurrection would be Dr. Eggman wanting a protege and thinking that a fellow Robotnik would be the perfect candidate. He'd probably bring back Maria through cloning.

What would be interesting to see is how Maria plays off of Sonic and his friends and how she would react to the events that occurred in her absence. (Such as her grandfather going insane and trying to destroy the world and her cousin turning evil and trying to conquer it)

People have also said all of Shadow's appearances following SA2 render his story arc pointless so Maria being brought back from the dead doing the same is a moot point, I guess.

That implies the clone would retain her memories, whether naturally or through Eggman's deliberate choice.

On 11/9/2020 at 6:21 PM, JezMM said:

The question has kinda been covered so I can't really add anything there, but I do want to say that forget anthropomorphised Maria, the coolest alternate interpretation of her character I've ever seen is this art by burnishable.

So evi/ scientist Maria(that looks nothing like her)?

[EmTiven01]

On 11/10/2020 at 6:23 PM, DabigRG said:

That implies the clone would retain her memories, whether naturally or through Eggman's deliberate choice.

If it's natural, it would give off the implication that while the Maria we see now is a clone, the spirit residing in her is that of the original. And I don't mean figuratively, I mean literally. Given how the Sonic universe has tons of fantasy elements in it, it wouldn't be far-fetched.

[JezMM]

4 hours ago, DabigRG said:

So evi/ scientist Maria(that looks nothing like her)?

While the artist drew it as a joke, the main thing I like about it is the backstory they wrote below, and the concept of her relationship to Eggman as a rival and having an odd affection for Sonic.  The reason it doesn't look much like her is that the ARK incident happened 50 years ago - for her to interact with present-day Sonic and Eggman, this depiction of her has to be about in her 60's.

[Shadow Chaos Control]

Maria could return if Gerald made clones.  A Hedgehog Maria could be an experiment Proff Gerald made when trying merge Shadow’s DNA with Maria’s DNA in his quest to save Maria. I think it would be interesting, she could be like Amy Rose to Shadow, but Shadow rejects her for a time because she isn’t human like Maria. I think its a great idea. 

[EmTiven01]

1 hour ago, Shadow Chaos Control said:

Maria could return if Gerald made clones.  A Hedgehog Maria could be an experiment Proff Gerald made when trying merge Shadow’s DNA with Maria’s DNA in his quest to save Maria. I think it would be interesting, she could be like Amy Rose to Shadow, but Shadow rejects her for a time because she isn’t human like Maria. I think its a great idea. 

Even if a Maria clone were to be human, Shadow would still reject her because she technically isn't the Maria he knew and loved 50 years ago. Especially if said clone was created by Eggman.

[Shadow Chaos Control]

2 hours ago, EmTiven01 said:

Even if a Maria clone were to be human, Shadow would still reject her because she technically isn't the Maria he knew and loved 50 years ago. Especially if said clone was created by Eggman.

However, Shadow has wrestled with is he really Shadow? When Rogue speaks to him on The Space Colony Ark and later in Shadow The Hedgehog he worries he’s an android. So he may be open to a clone of Maria since he has had an identity crisis himself. 

[EmTiven01]

1 hour ago, Shadow Chaos Control said:

However, Shadow has wrestled with is he really Shadow? When Rogue speaks to him on The Space Colony Ark and later in Shadow The Hedgehog he worries he’s an android. So he may be open to a clone of Maria since he has had an identity crisis himself. 

Like I said, if the clone were to have the memories and personality of the original Maria, then it's very likely that her literal spirit is inhabiting the clone.

How do you think scenes between Maria and cousin Ivo would look like? How would she play off of Sonic and his friends? And how would Maria react to the events that occurred in her absence? (her grandfather going insane and trying to destroy the world, her cousin turning evil and trying to conquer it, etc.)

Most importantly, how would Shadow react upon seeing Maria alive again?

[Shadow Chaos Control]

17 hours ago, EmTiven01 said:

Like I said, if the clone were to have the memories and personality of the original Maria, then it's very likely that her literal spirit is inhabiting the clone.

How do you think scenes between Maria and cousin Ivo would look like? How would she play off of Sonic and his friends? And how would Maria react to the events that occurred in her absence? (her grandfather going insane and trying to destroy the world, her cousin turning evil and trying to conquer it, etc.)

Most importantly, how would Shadow react upon seeing Maria alive again?

Hearing her Grandfather Gerald became insane and sought to destroy the world would break her heart. 

Her cousin wanting to dominate the world would alarm her and perhaps she would believe she could sway him from his Egg Empire ambitions.   

Maria’s reaction to the events that transpired in her absence would probably be joy, especially that Shadow teamed up with Sonic to defeat the Biolizard. 

Shadow’s reaction to Maria would likely be shock, “Maria? What? Impossible.. I saw you..” Then Shadow would take one of two dispositions:

a) He’d accept her as the real Maria, and protect her.  He’d have purpose beyond his normal life. 

b) He struggles with the clone part and rejects Maria saying, “You are not her! She died!” Maria says, “Shadow.. its me! Why don’t you believe me?” Shadow responds, “The real Maria is gone.. you are an imposter!” 

The a result would fit a warmer story that SEGA wpukd likely prefer, the b result is more edgy and in the vein of Shadow The Game, with the Maria Clone having to sway Shadow to accept her. 

[EmTiven01]

1 hour ago, Shadow Chaos Control said:

Hearing her Grandfather Gerald became insane and sought to destroy the world would break her heart. 

Her cousin wanting to dominate the world would alarm her and perhaps she would believe she could seat him from his Egg Empire ambitions.   

Maria’s reaction to the events that transpired in her absence would probably be joy, especially that Shadow teamed up with Sonic to defeat the Biolizard. 

Shadow’s reaction to Maria would likely be shock, “Maria? What? Impossible.. I saw you..” Then Shadow would take one of two dispositions:

a) He’d accept her as the real Maria, and protect her.  He’d have purpose beyond his normal life. 

b) He struggles with the clone part and rejects Maria saying, “You are not her! She died!” Maria says, “Shadow.. its me! Why don’t you believe me?” Shadow responds, “The real Maria is gone.. you are an imposter!” 

The a result would fit a warmer story that SEGA wpukd likely prefer, the b result is more edgy and in the vein of Shadow The Game, with the Maria Clone having to sway Shadow to accept her. 

Something tells me Shadow's reaction would be a mix between both outcomes; he would initially dismiss the new Maria as a faker, but gradually accepts her.

Maria's relationship with Eggman would be...interesting to say the least.

What if Sonic and his friends were to meet Maria first? I imagine they wouldn't recognize her at first, but some of them would start piecing it together and they would ultimately realize who she is after Sonic introduces Team Dark to his new "friend".

[Shadow Chaos Control]

3 minutes ago, EmTiven01 said:

Something tells me Shadow's reaction would be a mix between both outcomes; he would initially dismiss the new Maria as a faker, but gradually accepts her.

What if Sonic and his friends were to meet Maria first? I imagine they wouldn't recognize her at first, but some of them would start piecing it together and they would ultimately realize who she is after Sonic introduces Team Dark to his new "friend".

Sonic’s reaction would probably be chill, Maria may mistake him in the shadows or at night as Shadow. Tails would likely be friendly and seek to help Maria find Shadow, Knuckles would likely not notice her much unless it has to do with chaos emeralds, Amy Rose would become Maria’s friend immediately and they’d be gab sisters, Silver would be kind but Maria’s return wouldn’t warrant much attention from him, Rogue would be her usual charming self and probably would be more intrigued about Maria because she had read all of Shadow’s files and she may be suspicious of Maria’s return; a trap by Gerald? Espio, Charmy, and Victor would likely pay no heed to Maria except for that she knows Shadow and Team Dark is a rival. 

Dr. Eggman would likely seek to capture Maria, wanting to know Gerald’s research and finding out what in Maria’s cells revived her or how she was cloned for his own research to escape death. 

[EmTiven01]

16 minutes ago, Shadow Chaos Control said:

Sonic’s reaction would probably be chill, Maria may mistake him in the shadows or at night as Shadow. Tails would likely be friendly and seek to help Maria find Shadow, Knuckles would likely not notice her much unless it has to do with chaos emeralds, Amy Rose would become Maria’s friend immediately and they’d be gab sisters, Silver would be kind but Maria’s return wouldn’t warrant much attention from him, Rogue would be her usual charming self and probably would be more intrigued about Maria because she had read all of Shadow’s files and she may be suspicious of Maria’s return; a trap by Gerald? Espio, Charmy, and Victor would likely pay no heed to Maria except for that she knows Shadow and Team Dark is a rival. 

Dr. Eggman would likely seek to capture Maria, wanting to know Gerald’s research and finding out what in Maria’s cells revived her or how she was cloned for his own research to escape death. 

What about Blaze?

But in this scenario, Eggman is the one who revived Maria. Mainly for two reasons: 1) To have a fellow Robotnik rule by his side. And 2) To learn more about his grandfather.

Going by that plot point, what would the two cousins' relationship be like?

[Shadow Chaos Control]

Just now, EmTiven01 said:

What about Blaze?

But in this scenario, Eggman is the one who revived Maria. Mainly for two reasons: 1) To have a fellow Robotnik rule by his side. And 2) To learn more about his grandfather.

Going by that plot point, what would the two cousins' relationship be like?

I don’t know Blaze at all, so I can’t speak for her reaction. 

My Maria returns story is that she is already on Space Colony Ark in a cryostasis like Shadow was and she was made via Shadow’s DNA mixed with Maria’s. 

In the scenerio and story you describe I would think Eggman would at first try to make Maria hai protege, when his ulterior motive is to harvest her cells  to learn how to make himself live forever or make a hybrid clone of himself.  Maria would turn on him when she learns the truth. I cannot see her at firxt leading her of Marian Empire, she’d be confused and reliant on Shadow, but later the Robotnik blood would lead her dowm the dark path.    

[EmTiven01]

On 11/14/2020 at 2:20 PM, Shadow Chaos Control said:

In the scenerio and story you describe I would think Eggman would at first try to make Maria hai protege, when his ulterior motive is to harvest her cells  to learn how to make himself live forever or make a hybrid clone of himself.  Maria would turn on him when she learns the truth. I cannot see her at firxt leading her of Marian Empire, she’d be confused and reliant on Shadow, but later the Robotnik blood would lead her dowm the dark path.    

Funny, Palpatine had a similar plan with Rey.

[Shadow Chaos Control]

I can see Shadow being Maria’s protector as Eggman seeks to harvest her. Then at some point we learn Maria is not as helpless as she seems, which leads to her fighting against her cousin. 

[Johnny Boy]

On 11/14/2020 at 4:02 PM, Shadow Chaos Control said:

Hearing her Grandfather Gerald became insane and sought to destroy the world would break her heart. 

Her cousin wanting to dominate the world would alarm her and perhaps she would believe she could sway him from his Egg Empire ambitions.   

Maria’s reaction to the events that transpired in her absence would probably be joy, especially that Shadow teamed up with Sonic to defeat the Biolizard. 

Shadow’s reaction to Maria would likely be shock, “Maria? What? Impossible.. I saw you..” Then Shadow would take one of two dispositions:

a) He’d accept her as the real Maria, and protect her.  He’d have purpose beyond his normal life. 

b) He struggles with the clone part and rejects Maria saying, “You are not her! She died!” Maria says, “Shadow.. its me! Why don’t you believe me?” Shadow responds, “The real Maria is gone.. you are an imposter!” 

The a result would fit a warmer story that SEGA wpukd likely prefer, the b result is more edgy and in the vein of Shadow The Game, with the Maria Clone having to sway Shadow to accept her. 

I think this would be an interesting idea if executed correctly. Especially if Maria would later become a member of Team Dark, her interactions with Rogue and Omega would be especially fun to see.

[Shadow Chaos Control]

8 hours ago, Johnny Boy said:

I think this would be an interesting idea if executed correctly. Especially if Maria would later become a member of Team Dark, her interactions with Rogue and Omega would be especially fun to see.

I would love to see Maria join team Dark. A capital idea! SEGA, are you reading? 

[EmTiven01]

On 11/30/2020 at 1:12 PM, Johnny Boy said:

I think this would be an interesting idea if executed correctly. Especially if Maria would later become a member of Team Dark, her interactions with Rogue and Omega would be especially fun to see.

Aside from being Team Dark's equivalent of Tails, (much like Hope Kintobor from pre-reboot Archie Sonic) she would be a White Mage-type character. Think healers from Final Fantasy like Aerith, Rinoa, Garnet and Yuna.

Maria would also be deeply disturbed by Omega's lust for violence.