Why Silver needs Blaze

[batson]

When Silver first showed up in Sonic 06, the thing that i found compelling about the character was his immaturity and relative insecurity. The fact that these traits wasn't extremely visible was something that just made me like the character even more, since subtile personality traits is something very, very rare for Sonic characters. Overall, he seemed to have a personality that was almost unique among the characters in the series due to being pretty much realistic (due to primarly showing one type of personality on the outside but, as described in character profiles and being seen in glimpses in-game, having another type of personality underneeth).

And the most interesting aspect of his personality was something that showed up in his relationship with Blaze; namely his emotional needyness. I seem to recall that it was outright stated in an offical character profile that he was "emotionally dependent" upon Blaze, something that was also implied by in-game when Blaze says "he gets insecure when he's alone". It's not that he was a coward who didn't have the guts to fight or place himself in dangerous situtaions without her being there to help him or anything, just that he felt insecure without her emotional support.

But now that Blaze and Silver probably havent even canonically met, this aspect of Silvers personality will probably never be heard of again. And this is quite a shame if you ask me, because i found the idea of a male, physically powerfull character having this kind of dependence on a female character (who isnt even older than him, by the way) to be very interesting and something highly unexpected to see in a series like this. Some people say that this aspect of Silvers personality made him seem pathetic and, well, i could actually somewhat agree on that. But in my opinion, thats not a bad thing, because it made the character stand out in a series full of ultra-badasses.

And another thing that made the connection between Silver and Blaze interesting was that Blaze have emotional issues of her own, but of a different kind. Whereas Silver gets insecure about his own abilities when Blaze isnt around to give him support, Blaze, having a bit of a social phobia, gets insecure in social situations with people whom she doesnt know.

The bottom line is, in order to be a truly interesting character, Silver needs to have a relationship with Blaze again. Blaze gets along just fine without Silver, but in my opinion, it doesnt work the other way around.

[Teoleulbogo]

Hmm. I agree that the idea of Blaze being Silver's "emotional anchor" to be iteresting and well evidenced. It's a shame Sega,"in all there wisdom", decided to just make them not meat eachother just 'cuz the fans didn't like the idea of blaze being from both a different dimension and the future.

Also "Blue Hedgehog..."

Edited November 12, 2009 by metal madness

[Blazey Firekitty]

I think the problem is that Silver doesn't really have anyone else to interact with. Blaze has Cream and Marine as her "best friends," as well a stable dynamic with Sonic himself. When you take Blaze away from Silver, you're basically taking away his only friend, which pretty much leaves him running around yelling at random people about how the future is going to explode.

[Diogenes]

It's a shame Sega,"in all there wisdom", decided to just make them not meat eachother just 'cuz the fans didn't like the idea of blaze being from both a different dimension and the future.

I think it has more to do with that not making any sense.

Anyway, like I said in the "Shadow's love life" topic, I believe every character needs someone they can talk to. For '06 Silver it was Blaze, but removing her from the equation doesn't mean Silver's doomed to be alone. As much as some fans might rage, there's nothing preventing them from making a new character to replace the aberrant "future Blaze". If Silver gets another major role (even if it's a side game like Rivals), they could introduce a new character, most likely from his time, and have him forge a bond with him/her that lets him show off that other side of himself.

On the other hand, they don't explicitly need to make a new character to give Silver someone to talk to. It's a bit hard for him since he lives 200 years away from any of the other characters (aside from his Nega and potentially old Shadow), but he could still bond with someone from the main cast, the way Blaze did with Cream. The hard part is figuring out who, tho'. I can't think of anyone that he's already started to make progress with, and no one jumps to mind that would be a good match.

[HunterTSF]

On the other hand, they don't explicitly need to make a new character to give Silver someone to talk to. It's a bit hard for him since he lives 200 years away from any of the other characters (aside from his Nega and potentially old Shadow), but he could still bond with someone from the main cast, the way Blaze did with Cream. The hard part is figuring out who, tho'. I can't think of anyone that he's already started to make progress with, and no one jumps to mind that would be a good match.

Hmmm...who could that be?

Ah yes, Espio!

Yes! Silver and Espio. In much the same way that Blaze acquired a newfound friendship with Cream in Sonic Rush, Silver quickly befriended Espio in his return to the past in Sonic Rivals 2. Espio had a similar role to Blaze's in Sonic the Hedgehog, actually. Being the calm and collected guy that he is, he was one of the few people who was patient enough to tolerate Silver's "OMG! GOTTA STOP NEGA!" antics, and actually spent the time to hear his side of the story. I think Silver was good for Espio as well, seeing as he was able to socialize with someone outside of the Chaotix Detective Agency for a change. That being said, they were quite friendly with one another and were there for each other in their times of need. It's a shame that Espio was too busy tracking down Whitestones in Icepeak to chill with Silver and the gang in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, though. But that's all Vector's fault for slacking off, anyways. >: (

Oh, and speaking of which, Silver and Blaze became hockey buddies in that game, too. Silver is explicitly stated as coming from the future, and Blaze another dimension. So, they managed to stay true to canon while at the same time befriend the two. Which is cool.

Edited November 12, 2009 by HunterTSF

[Octarine]

Blaze and Silver can definitely keep their dynamic going if they meet again- they may not both be from the same place, but they're still both outsiders in Sonic's world, and that could certainly bring them together. They're both enemies of Eggman Nega, after all (somehow...), and if there's any character who'd be willing to break the space-time continuum into enough pieces to get Blaze and Silver in Sonic's world/time at once, it's him.

I like Espio as Silver's friend, though, too. It struck me (still strikes me, really) as a strange decision, but strange did kind of work in their case, and I hope they get to work together again. It's nice to see Espio getting to do something that's at least a little separated from the rest of the Chaotix.

Edited November 12, 2009 by Octarine

[Legendary Emerald]

Silver was a great character in Sonic 2006, in my opinion. But I never knew why he always seemed to be so uninteresting in the other games he's appeared it. Now you've made it so clear: he is no longer interacting with Blaze.

[batson]

In my opinion, in order for Silvers relationship with Espio to be as interesting as his former relationship with Blaze, Silver would have to develop the same kind of emotional needyness towards Espio as he had for Blaze.

And of course, on one hand, the fact that Espio is a male character of about the same age as Silver might make such an occurence seem a bit... funny. But on the other hand, due to the fact that Espio (even though he canonically might be only 16 years of age) seems and acts much much older than Silver, this kind of relationship could probably still work, on the grounds that Silver could see Espio as a kind of "mentor" who always keeps his head cool and always seems to know what to do. Kinda like Blaze, in other words.

[Viku]

I think that is a drastic turn. But I think SEGA should redothe whole thing and state Silver comes from Blaze's dimension. The whole future thing would be fix and Blaze would stay as canon as Sonic Rush was. I do enjoy the paralel dimension more than the future since I don't think SEGA will ever do a decent story involving time travel.

[Crystal Kingfisher]

Very good post you made. I like Silver, but like you said, when he's with Blaze, that's what makes him very worthwhile. If they make a Sonic Rush 3, they need to include the relationship between Silver and Blaze.

[Gabz Girl]

Silver isn't my favourite character in the series, but I must admit he seemed alot..sweeter in Sonic '06. His personality was unique, and his relationship with Blaze was very cute.

After that though, they turned Silver into an asshole. =[ I hope he and Blaze can be reunited in a future game, even if it seems doubtful. Silver is just a better character overall, with her.

[batson]

I hope he and Blaze can be reunited in a future game, even if it seems doubtful.

Well, the only somewhat likely scenario i can imagine in which Sega might let the two of them meet again is if they eventually decide to actually explain how its possible that Eggman Nega is both a foe to Silver in the future and to Blaze in another dimension. And i honestly think that, given Segas habit of making giant plot holes in their games but eventually give an explanation to them in another game released years later, its not entirely impossible that it will happen.

[batson]

Well, it's 11 years later, but I'm still as curious about what people think of Silver's and Blaze's relationship and what it's disapearance means for the characters, so bumpety-bump!

[MetalSkulkBane]

Huh.

I'm surprised someone made that point in barely 3 years of Silver live spam. That was what, 3 games with cutscenes?

I whole hearty agree. Sonic needs Blaze and frankly Blaze gets a lot of of this too. It's one thing when Amy, Cream, Sonic try to break her "loner" defenses, but Silver is such a naive goof that she lowers them on her own.

It's not to say that Silver can't interact with others in gratifying way. I think Silver would inspire to act more like Shadow given a chance, while Sonic would try to do a opposite, teach him to chill and and enjoy himself more. And there is Rivals 2 where Espio showed patience and intelligence to take Silver's crazy warnings seriously. And comics added him many new allies (Mogul, Secret FF, Gold, Whisper, Schlemmer), but few of them are as deep as his connection to Blaze.

But I think most interesting it is how mutually beneficial it is. Silver inspires Blaze with his naive pureness to be more open and have faith in people and in turn her more "mature adult" guidance protects him from his own insecurities.

[Wraith]

I always thought the Blaze Silver pairing was a little strange. It can be a lot of fun but I feel like that it puts too much emphasis on Silver's immaturity to contrast with Blaze's emotional stability when Blaze is one of the most immature members of the cast when you really get down to it. They should both have something to take from each-other but instead Blaze is more of a side piece for Silver's own growth. If you were being true to both characters I just feel their dynamic would be completely different: bordering on incompatible. Doesn't mean it's not worth exploring, but yeah. 

One of the parts of 06 I liked was Shadow pairing up with Silver. I like the idea of someone earnest but air-headed receiving a no-nonsense mentor like that. I like the idea of Tails and Silver hanging out as well. Tails is a patient kid and could put up with Silver's quirks while Silver might be a bit more genuinely interested in Tails's ramblings than most characters. 

[Shadowlax]

1 hour ago, Wraith said:

I always thought the Blaze Silver pairing was a little strange. It can be a lot of fun but I feel like that it puts too much emphasis on Silver's immaturity to contrast with Blaze's emotional stability when Blaze is one of the most immature members of the cast when you really get down to it. They should both have something to take from each-other but instead Blaze is more of a side piece for Silver's own growth. If you were being true to both characters I just feel their dynamic would be completely different: bordering on incompatible. Doesn't mean it's not worth exploring, but yeah. 

One of the parts of 06 I liked was Shadow pairing up with Silver. I like the idea of someone earnest but air-headed receiving a no-nonsense mentor like that. I like the idea of Tails and Silver hanging out as well. Tails is a patient kid and could put up with Silver's quirks while Silver might be a bit more genuinely interested in Tails's ramblings than most characters. 

It feels more like Blaze is a tool of silvers development rather than her own character. And that sucks because she was pretty cool before silver existed and still is , now. I like teams where both parties get something out of it, and still to this day it only seems like silver is getting anything out of that

[Kuzu]

I feel like this pairing is only really popularized because it highlights Silver's immaturity, and makes Blaze the emotionally stable one. Its certainly a unique dynamic, but fans usually put the onus of focus on Silver while Blaze is just there as support. Thanks in no part to fancomics like Ghosts of the Future.

It's not a bad dynamic, and I do agree with the OP that having an emotionally immature male paired with a down to earth female is good on paper.

Thing is, as most have said, since the focus is usually on Silver, Blaze tends to lose the traits that actually made her an interesting character. She's just as socially maladjusted and shy.

 

Its certainly a dynamic that sounds interesting, but I feel it's something that both should get out of it. Rather than Silver just being the immature one and Blaze more or less having to babysit him.

[Almar]

I'll point out Blaze supposedly was meant to be in 06 early on with the connections between that and her Rush appearence meant to have more put into it than what we got. A twitter thread with Maekawa talked about it.

[DabigRG]

Bit surprised to see such positive reaction to this, but cool.

When I was thinking ideas of how to rewrite elements of games like 06 last year, Blaze was indirectly a weird element to take into account. It was partly due to some awkward similarities with Elise, admittedly, but either way, I do have to wonder why they used her in 06 when it would've made more sense long-term to have it be an original character. I know the answer is that they intended to do more with the game's elements, including DLC, but the Christmas rush and hype backlash shelved any further plans.

Team Sonic Racing and IDW brought the dynamic back for what I assume is the first time in years and they both handle them in different ways. The former has the two pleased to be working together again, with Blaze picking up on Silver's worries and suggesting some possibilities about his powers; the latter has that annual story of Blaze helping Silver with try a new hobby with what I assume is her own botanical experience from back home. SonicTeam obviously likes the connection between the two and works it in on the rare occasions where those two have breathing room together.

On 11/11/2009 at 11:25 PM, Octarine said:

Blaze and Silver can definitely keep their dynamic going if they meet again- they may not both be from the same place, but they're still both outsiders in Sonic's world, and that could certainly bring them together. They're both enemies of Eggman Nega, after all (somehow...), and if there's any character who'd be willing to break the space-time continuum into enough pieces to get Blaze and Silver in Sonic's world/time at once, it's him.

 

I like Espio as Silver's friend, though, too. It struck me (still strikes me, really) as a strange decision, but strange did kind of work in their case, and I hope they get to work together again. It's nice to see Espio getting to do something that's at least a little separated from the rest of the Chaotix.

 

On 11/14/2009 at 8:27 PM, batson said:

 

 

Well, the only somewhat likely scenario i can imagine in which Sega might let the two of them meet again is if they eventually decide to actually explain how its possible that Eggman Nega is both a foe to Silver in the future and to Blaze in another dimension. And i honestly think that, given Segas habit of making giant plot holes in their games but eventually give an explanation to them in another game released years later, its not entirely impossible that it will happen.

Mr. Iizuka clarified their respective origins a few years ago: Blaze is obviously from the Sol Dimension while Silver and Nega are from Sonic's Future.

So Nega basically messed around with time and space travel, ended up in Blaze's World, terrorized her kingdom while investigating the Sol Emeralds & Jelewed Scepter, learned about the balance between the two dimensions, contacted Eggman to help him create Eggmanland, snapped after losing to Super Sonic & Burning Blaze, and then set about using what technology & other research he could to replace his ancestor and change his future.

[Sega DogTagz]

12 hours ago, Wraith said:

I always thought the Blaze Silver pairing was a little strange. It can be a lot of fun but I feel like that it puts too much emphasis on Silver's immaturity to contrast with Blaze's emotional stability when Blaze is one of the most immature members of the cast when you really get down to it. They should both have something to take from each-other but instead Blaze is more of a side piece for Silver's own growth. If you were being true to both characters I just feel their dynamic would be completely different: bordering on incompatible. Doesn't mean it's not worth exploring, but yeah.

Pretty much this. 06 Blaze was a pillar of stability and quite frankly nothing like the volatile and hostile Blaze that started in the Rush series and carried over and developed over the years. The very things that made her a workable foil for Silver in 06 were largely parts of her character that don't exist. 06 bent her hella out of shape to make her fit the narrative. That's why when Rivals rolled around, Espio was a natural surrogate for Blaze because he actually can exude some of that same stoic, moral guidance that Silver leaned on in 06.

Sega has been all over the place with Silver and Blaze since then. They clashed hard in Colors DS - to the point of being on the verge of a fistfight. But then in TSR they are nothing but complementary.

[Kuzu]

I feel like there was some huge miscommunication when both Rush and 06 were being developed, and there were literally two versions of Blaze that they wrote. The one in Rush, and then the one in 06. I'm assuming that development got so late that they couldn't just get rid of either of them, so they just said "fuck it" and released them both. So now they're basically tripping over themselves at actually  trying to make sense of her entire character. 

 

It's honestly kind of sad and annoying how mishandled these two are; and like, not even in the sense of any other character, Blaze and Silver are just REALLY fucked as characters because Sega just bungled their entire background. So much so that they literally just had to ignore it just so they wouldn't have to justify their presence in any given narrative.

[Waveshocker Sigma]

Eh, Silver doesn't need Blaze and Blaze definitely doesn't need him. She has Sonic, Cream and Marine and Silver has Espio. I'd personally rather keep the two as far away from each other as possible or just friends "in passing" but never officially teamed up in anything since I prefer the dynamic she has with Sonic in Rush and especially Rush Adventure and how it brings out different sides of both of them and shows the rare case of Sonic treating someone as his true equal with a lot less teasing and more respect. It's part of why I love IDW issue 4, too.

It doesn't help that I found Silver dull and not a very good character in 06 and have never liked him in anything else aside from Archie, due to it literally dragging him through the mud to show him why he sucked as a "hero" so he could improve himself and him actually doing it, and he never did anything to redeem himself for me since then, so he's basically on the same level as the Deadly Six. I groan in disgust when I see him, but deal with it cause I know he's not going anywhere even though he literally has nowhere to go as a character as long as he stays as "Future Trunks the Hedgehog, except not really".

I also just prefer Blaze on her own and don't want her forever chained to Silver just because of one awful game that, for some reason, people don't want to let go of. Silver doesn't need Blaze or friends, since he has those now. What he needs is to grow past being a plot device for some big event to happen. or rather, he needs a story with a crisis in the future that he doesn't just run away to the past for and actually just deals with in a lengthy story that gives plenty of moments to show why he has a place in this series and what unique element he can bring to the table that no one else can. Cause, so far? I didn't see it in 06, I didn't it in Rivals and I'm still not seeing it now.

Honestly, though, if they're gonna keep having him just be an uncool lesser Trunks and want to improve that, maybe they shoudl stop basing him off "Future Trunks" and start basing him off "Xenoverse Trunks" so that he goes to different points in time to fix stuff, but actually knows what he's doing.

[Shadowlax]

3 hours ago, Kuzu said:

I feel like there was some huge miscommunication when both Rush and 06 were being developed, and there were literally two versions of Blaze that they wrote. The one in Rush, and then the one in 06. I'm assuming that development got so late that they couldn't just get rid of either of them, so they just said "fuck it" and released them both. So now they're basically tripping over themselves at actually  trying to make sense of her entire character. 

 

It's honestly kind of sad and annoying how mishandled these two are; and like, not even in the sense of any other character, Blaze and Silver are just REALLY fucked as characters because Sega just bungled their entire background. So much so that they literally just had to ignore it just so they wouldn't have to justify their presence in any given narrative.

What sucks worse is that they both have extremely interesting premises and its never expanded upon. Hell yeah I wanna go back to blazes world, and I want to go to the future again. But ... nope I guess

[Almar]

I think that's a sign that ST's a bit too invested in this "teams and team-ups" shtick. Blaze and Silver aren't really treated as characters who can carry and finish plots on their own. At least not anymore if ever.  Blaze wasn't in Forces but Silver like the rest of the Resistance went 6 months without making serious progress in reclaiming land meaning if he's not paired with Blaze he can only be extra muscle. Not a serious protagonist.

[StaticMania]

5 hours ago, Waveshocker Sigma said:

...start basing him off "Xenoverse Trunks" so that he goes to different points in time to fix stuff, but actually knows what he's doing.

That...doesn't seem very cool.

He could just...live in the past, constantly coming back from the future is tiring. He's never said to have any relationships in the future and we never get to see it beyond ruin, so nothing is lost if he just stays in the past permanently.