Death in the Sonic series.

[Iceman Etika]

hat said, somehow programming every TV broadcast in the world (fifty years into the future no less) to be overridden with a broadcast of his own execution video (How did he get that recording to the ARK posthumously?) goes beyond scientific genius and into "magic" territory.

One could theorize Gerald had someone helping him, but Shadow had also been captured by GUN by this time, so he couldn't have helped Gerald set up this plan.

I mean... what? How did he DO this? It bugs the hell out of me, quite frankly.

It is quite possible when you consider the potentials of the chaos emeralds I believe... Judging from Rouge's report to her government officials, it seems as if the eclipse cannon was built to be much more than a cannon. Although ripping planets a new asshole was it's main and most sought function, it also seemed to have smaller sub functions, as you said, having a feature to direct itself in a particular direction once energy from the emeralds has been collected.

Professor Gerald seemed to have the ability to harness chaos emeralds to a degree past human conception, especially based on his "Gizoid" project which is seen in full detail in the game "Sonic Battle"... When I take all that into consideration, it really doesn't seem that impossible to replace all airwave frequencies in the world with his own prepared one, with the power of the chaos emeralds backing it...

-Iceman

Edited December 17, 2009 by Iceman

[Diogenes]

and how in the world did he even plan for an event that would take place years after his death?

Shadow. Everything Shadow did, from the moment Eggman released him until his talk with Amy (with the possible exception of fighting with Sonic) was to carry out Gerald's plan. Somehow, Gerald was able to reprogram Shadow between his arrest and his execution, giving him the instructions and his own hatred of humans to carry them out. And when some greedy fool seeking power released him, the chain of events was set in motion. The first thing Shadow does is make Eggman think that he's the one in charge, that he is the master and Shadow is the servant. Shadow leads him to the ARK, telling him to bring the Chaos Emeralds, and makes Eggman think he's helping him reactivate a super weapon. But in reality he's using him, getting Eggman to collect the emeralds so that, in his greed and thirst for power, he brings about the end of humanity.

I believe everything that would need to be done behind the scenes for Gerald's plan to work was carried out by Shadow. He reprogrammed the ARK, using the information that Gerald had implanted into his mind, all the data and equations Gerald had scrawled on the walls of his cell. He recovered Gerald's execution video, and set it to be broadcast across the entire world. Perhaps he even set the Biolizard to be released if anyone approached the core; he certainly didn't seem surprised to see a giant eyeless cyborg lizard splashing around. All of this, implanted into his mind, without him even realizing it, by Professor Gerald Robotnik.

"Based on my original projections, I was able to complete my project; Shadow. I designed its mind to be perfect, pure... I will leave everything, to him. If you wish, release and awaken it, if you wish to fill the world with destruction..."

So yeah, Gerald was pretty awesome.

[Greg the Fancat]

That said, somehow programming every TV broadcast in the world (fifty years into the future no less) to be overridden with a broadcast of his own execution video (How did he get that recording to the ARK posthumously?) goes beyond scientific genius and into "magic" territory.

One could theorize Gerald had someone helping him, but Shadow had also been captured by GUN by this time, so he couldn't have helped Gerald set up this plan.

I mean... what? How did he DO this? It bugs the hell out of me, quite frankly.

Quite convoluted, yes? If only they had explained more in the storyline of how most of the stuff with the Ark and pretty much anything had happened. With a guy with those plans, I'm wondering why he never activated the operation to destroy Earth and humanity before his execution.

[Dr. Mechano]

That actually makes a lot of sense, Diogenes. I don't know why I didn't think of that.

Gerald's immense foresight never ceases to amaze.

[Phos]

Wait, Shadow was never awake while on board the ARK?

For the interested, here's Rouge's report to her spymasters regarding what happened with Gerald and the ARK; as told in the Japanese SA2 strategy guide.

And Gerald wasn't employed by the government? Man, I thought I knew this game's story.

Oh, and I'd also like to mention that no matter what really happened, SA 2's story was torn a new one when ShtH decided to try and make Gerald out to actually be a hero because Shadow's true purpose was to destroy Black Doom. Wait, Gerlad actually deceived Black Doom, he got his help in exchange for having Shadow give him the Chaos Emeralds... It seems as though it would have been simpler for him to just get them himself.

[Badnik Zero]

That's it. I'm starting my Gerald fancomic. Ten issues. I already have a plot outline. It's delicious candy, and someone needs to tell this story.

[Iceman Etika]

just know that if you do, I will be a loyal reader from start to finish. It's incredible how deep this story goes. My god SEGA. What the hell happened to you in only 6 years.

-Iceman

Edited December 17, 2009 by Iceman

[Aquaslash]

No, no and NO. This is NOT the series that needs to be tackling this subject. It's bad business. Every character is built to be a cash cow. Every character is built to draw little kids in. You aren't gonna keep those kids if you kill off all their favorite characters! Why do you think Transformers damn near tanked in the 80s when they killed Optimus Prime?!

I'm sorry, I can't help but face-palm when I see all these piss poor attempts at a deep storyline in the games. Honestly, WHO THE HELL CARES?! I don't give a damn about the writings of some old man who was killed by the government 50 years ago, I don't care how Sonic may subconsciously feel about Amy, I don't care about some poor 6 on a scale of 1-10 princess who can't cry. All I need to know is that Eggman is trying to start some shit again, and I, as Sonic, Tails, or whoever, need Spin Dash, Spring Jump, Homing Attack his fat ass across the world again. You wanna teach the kids about reality? Make them watch the damn news.

[Semi-colon e]

I think Gamma and Gerald were handled well, as was Shadow's heroic sacrifice. Having the black arms into it though makes it really weird and Gerald's motives make little sense. But an aside here for now.

Sonic's death in 06 is so bad, we all know that. BUT, it gets worse. It uses ingame graphics. Why the hell does SOUNDS LIKE BEING A PRINCESS ISN'T THAT EASY have CGI and SONIC'S DEATH have fucking ingame graphics?! Where the hell were their priorities? It's a disgrace *nerdrage*

It's a small point, but WHAT THE FUCK WERE THEY THINKING?! Surely Sonic's death should be one of the most important points of the game, yet it is treated with such disrespect. Actually, so is the Duke's death. Yet a crappy Elise x Sonic scene with no plot relevance gets CGI. It makes no sense.

Edited December 17, 2009 by Semi-colon e

[ArtFenix]

There is a sakura you know..And i don't mind that scene being in CG, cause it's so beautiful!

[AdventChild]

Well, I wouldn't mind it, but if it is anything like the piss poorly executed death of Sonic in '06 then no thanks. Seriously, once he falls to the ground you can see his

not to mention there is no music for more dramatic effect. However, if there is going to be death, chars should REMAIN DEAD, no deus ex machina princess kiss for revival or anything like that, and dead is dead. Yet knowing how ST revived Shadow out of fanboy outcry, this probably isn't going to happen for the most part. Also, if there is going to be death, at least, make a good plot that goes along with it. Of course, people like me care about gameplay overall more than everything else so if good plot with death means sacrificing good gameplay than no thanks as far as Sonic games are concerned. If you're planning to have death, then execute it properly, and make it dramatic (not over the top), subtle, and emotionally effective so we could actually give a crap if someone is tragically at the end of their life.

[Dr. Mechano]

Oh, and I'd also like to mention that no matter what really happened, SA 2's story was torn a new one when ShtH decided to try and make Gerald out to actually be a hero because Shadow's true purpose was to destroy Black Doom.

No, it makes perfect sense because Gerald hadn't gone insane yet.

Gerald used to be a good man, but Maria's death drove him over the edge. His heroism lost, he became obsessed with revenge and destruction.

Seeing Gerald's past nicer self doesn't discredit his spiral into madness at all.

[Phos]

No, it makes perfect sense because Gerald hadn't gone insane yet.

Gerald used to be a good man, but Maria's death drove him over the edge. His heroism lost, he became obsessed with revenge and destruction.

Seeing Gerald's past nicer self doesn't discredit his spiral into madness at all.

I didn't say it didn't make sense, I said it was torn a new one. They made Eggman's admiration him make more sense, but they completely changed Shadow's backstory and the reason for his creation. Where does the Biolizard fit into the new story? Was Maria really the reason he was doing the experiments he did? Why didn't black doom just get the emeralds himself, rather than waiting for fifty years for someone else to do it?

[Octarine]

I didn't say it didn't make sense, I said it was torn a new one. They made Eggman's admiration him make more sense, but they completely changed Shadow's backstory and the reason for his creation. Where does the Biolizard fit into the new story? Was Maria really the reason he was doing the experiments he did? Why didn't black doom just get the emeralds himself, rather than waiting for fifty years for someone else to do it?

Gerald's experiments, including Shadow, were still presumably for Maria's sake. Black Doom's blood was just the final ingredient, as it were. Presumably the Biolizard was from a stage in Shadow's development prior to Black Doom's involvement... maybe Black Doom's blood is what it took to compact the Biolizard's power into a form that wasn't the size of a tractor trailer and stuck on life support.

Gerald's downfall in the wake of his contacting Black Doom is sort of interesting in a Twilight Zone-y way. It wasn't necessary at all, but I don't think it hurt the story as much as some other things in Shadow.

As for why Black Doom himself was involved... no idea. This is the same person who wasn't capable of bringing a comet to Earth's surface without the use of Chaos Control, though, so I'll put it up to gross incompetence on his part.

[Frozen Nitrogen]

I didn't say it didn't make sense, I said it was torn a new one. They made Eggman's admiration him make more sense, but they completely changed Shadow's backstory and the reason for his creation. Where does the Biolizard fit into the new story? Was Maria really the reason he was doing the experiments he did? Why didn't black doom just get the emeralds himself, rather than waiting for fifty years for someone else to do it?

Religion.

Black Doom rants and raves his way through all of Shadow's story about now being "The Promised Time". He could have taken the Emeralds 2000 years ago when he had stone gravships and everyone else had flint and spears. He could have taken the Emeralds 50 years ago when GUN had (presumably) less space-tech than they do now (in several of Shadow's hero-route stages GUN launches a counterinvasion of the Black Comet itself). But he doesn't 'cos he's a jihadist nutcase waiting for the stars to align in the exact right place for him to be eschatologically allowed to invade.

Thinking about it, he might also have been waiting for the stars to align in a LITERAL sense. Maybe THIS time is the closest approach the Comet's made to Earth Mobius Sonic's world in thousands of years, and only now is it close enough to actually launch an invasion.

EDIT:

Gerald's experiments, including Shadow, were still presumably for Maria's sake. Black Doom's blood was just the final ingredient, as it were. Presumably the Biolizard was from a stage in Shadow's development prior to Black Doom's involvement... maybe Black Doom's blood is what it took to compact the Biolizard's power into a form that wasn't the size of a tractor trailer and stuck on life support.

I'm of the opinion that Black Doom was involved in Project Shadow since BEFORE the Biolizard. It's a freakin' black and red reptile. How more like a Black Arms can it get?

Then the reasoning goes that Biolizard failed simply because science is hard, not because they were missing some crucial component.

On a related note: Does Shadow's blood cure N.I.D.S.?

Edited December 17, 2009 by Frozen Nitrogen

[Crystal Kingfisher]

And of course, Sonic's death in '06 is just a steaming pile of shit all around.

Agreed. +1

Sonic's death in Sonic '06 was so retarded, especially how that bitch Elise kissed him to bring him back to life. Ugh.......

[Diogenes]

They didn't really change anything we knew, just added onto it. When the Biolizard failed to be a viable ULF, Gerald became desperate. He somehow made contact with Black Doom, and a trade was arranged; Black Doom's blood, so that Gerald could create a new and better ULF to try to save Maria, in exchange for the new "Project Shadow" to come under Doom's control the next time the comet passed by. Gerald, still sane and basically good at this point, trusted in Shadow's good nature and the power of the Eclipse Cannon to stop Doom when the "promised time" came around. Of course, everything goes to hell once GUN decides to shut the ARK down by force; Gerald spirals off into insanity due to Maria's death, reprograms Shadow to carry out his plan to destroy humanity, etc etc.

I'm of the opinion that Black Doom was involved in Project Shadow since BEFORE the Biolizard. It's a freakin' black and red reptile. How more like a Black Arms can it get?

It looks like it fits, yes, but it doesn't seem right to me. Rouge's report makes it sound like, while the Biolizard was a team effort, Shadow was being done in secret by Gerald himself. Which would make sense if Doom showed up between the two; it wouldn't look good for Gerald to be trading the future of Earth to an evil alien.

On a related note: Does Shadow's blood cure N.I.D.S.?

I was just thinking something similar. What, exactly, was Gerald going to do once he had created an immortal lifeform? Inject Maria with some stuff that'd turn her into a black-and-red half-human, 1/4-hedgehog, 1/4 alien?

[Octarine]

I was just thinking something similar. What, exactly, was Gerald going to do once he had created an immortal lifeform? Inject Maria with some stuff that'd turn her into a black-and-red half-human, 1/4-hedgehog, 1/4 alien?

If there isn't already fanart of a Shadow-ized Maria, I'll be quite surprised.

The fact that Shadow's already part hedgehog, part alien and the successor to a giant salamander (does he also have some Chaos in him?) makes that actually sound fairly plausible. Any rules of genetics can be overridden with the power of super-science, especially when that super-science is powered by a Robotnik. Actually, I think Gerald might have been hoping that Shadow could cure Maria using some variety of Chaos Control, considering how keen he seems to have been to have Shadow able to use that power.

...not that it's been at all consistent anyway, but why exactly can Black Doom use Chaos Control anyway? The emeralds clearly aren't from his corner of the galaxy.

Edited December 17, 2009 by Octarine

[Frozen Nitrogen]

...not that it's been at all consistent anyway, but why exactly can Black Doom use Chaos Control anyway? The emeralds clearly aren't from his corner of the galaxy.

...but he has been in the Solar System for at least 2,000 years. That's considerably more time for study than Shadow had.

[Blazey Firekitty]

I was just thinking something similar. What, exactly, was Gerald going to do once he had created an immortal lifeform? Inject Maria with some stuff that'd turn her into a black-and-red half-human, 1/4-hedgehog, 1/4 alien?

If there isn't already fanart of a Shadow-ized Maria, I'll be quite surprised.

The thing that amuses me about all this is that it gives Shadow's title of "the Ultimate Lifeform" a new meaning. It's as if Gerald saw Shadow as the final supreme endpoint of biological evolution, and thus the most logical way to cure sickness and death was to basically turn everyone into Shadow.

[Reading]

And of course, Sonic's death in '06 is just a steaming pile of shit all around.

Could someone (calmly) explain why this is a common opinion? I never understood what was so poorly executed about Sonic's death in that game... (Plot-wise; I can see where the complaints about the graphics and such come from)

On the topic of death, it's fine, I just don't like when characters are brought back in the next game, as has been said before. I think I would've preferred if Shadow had remained dead after Adventure 2; it just works as being more dramatic and touching that way. I think it works in the series without making it too mature for the younger fans, as long as it isn't too violent.

[Octarine]

The thing that amuses me about all this is that it gives Shadow's title of "the Ultimate Lifeform" a new meaning. It's as if Gerald saw Shadow as the final supreme endpoint of biological evolution, and thus the most logical way to cure sickness and death was to basically turn everyone into Shadow.

Who wants to bet that Gerald left a very uncomfortable "be fruitful and multiply" video message?

...but he has been in the Solar System for at least 2,000 years. That's considerably more time for study than Shadow had.

True enough. Adventure 2 and '06 portrayed it as taking about ten seconds and a bit of luck to learn, so I guess that makes sense. Actually, that's why it seemed odd to me for Black Doom to be using it in the first place: it felt more like an inherent ability than one that could be learned, since Sonic and Silver were able to use it pretty much instinctually. Ugh... if we're going to see any more Chaos Control in the series outside of Shadow's hands, we're going to need to lay down some ground rules. Preferably ones that don't allow for casual time travel.

Speaking of death, Adventure 2 and Chaos Control, what about Sonic's fake-out death in that game? I think it's a fairly interesting example, even though it didn't stick, because of the effect it had on Eggman and Tails. I don't think there's any other time in the series, including when Sonic died in '06, when we've really seen Tails that angry... of course, he immediately forgot about his grudge when Sonic turned up alright, but it was still fairly unique.

Edited December 17, 2009 by Octarine

[Blazey Firekitty]

Who wants to bet that Gerald left a very uncomfortable "be fruitful and multiply" video message?

Hee hee hee.XD

"Okay, people, for the sake of the future, we're all going to have to be furries. And yiff. A lot. I'm talking exponential levels of yiff, here."

I'm pretty amazed that Tails was on friendly terms with Eggman at the end, given that he still had the knowledge that Eggman had tried to kill his friend. I wouldn't personally have it any other way, though. It would be both understandable and forgivable for Tails to remain bitter, but I'd like to think that Tails is a lot like Sonic...Angry in the moment, but forgiving and optimistic in terms of the bigger picture.

Granted, I would have liked Tails' last line to Eggman to have been written in a more subtle way(WE ALL DID IT TOGETHER), but that's almost another issue entirely.^_~

[Dr. Mechano]

As we gather here today, let us remember Flying Dog, who went down in the cataclysmic explosion of Prison Island.

An ace GUN pilot, Flying Dog gave his life defending the Chaos Emeralds that were expertly strewn about the base with reckless abandon. Incapacitated by fellow agent Rouge, and blown to what can best be described as "smithereens" by Dr. Eggman, our heroic friend was lost in the wreckage. And although Prison Island itself would return unscathed in Shadow the Hedgehog, much to the bewilderment of pretty much the entire globe, the hovering hound of GUN did not.

He left behind many questions, like "Why was he the only living soul in an otherwise automated base?", or "Why was he tasked with guarding the Chaos Emeralds, when said Emeralds could have been kept in GUN's maximum security and heavily-defended base in actual containment centers instead of out in the open?", or even "Wait, didn't the story say several times that Prison Island was abandoned? Then... why was Sonic detained there, and why was Flying Dog guarding the island to begin with? How'd the Chaos Emeralds get into GUN's custody, and why were they kept HERE of all places? THIS MAKES NO SENSE, SEGA, IT MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL!"

But I digress. The legacy of this brave man may shine light on the shaky continuity of his world, but it does not cheapen the effect he had on us all as a memorable and endearing character whose two whole scenes captured the hearts of his audience.

He is survived by his best friends, Bigfoot of GUN's Spider Troop and Hotshot of GUN's Scorpion Troop.

This Flying Dot just can't be destroyed, and indeed, he lives on in our hearts. Good night, sweet prince.

[Frozen Nitrogen]

An ace GUN pilot, Flying Dog gave his life defending the Chaos Emeralds that were expertly strewn about the base with reckless abandon. Incapacitated by fellow agent Rouge, and blown to what can best be described as "smithereens" by Dr. Eggman, our heroic friend was lost in the wreckage. And although Prison Island itself would return unscathed in Shadow the Hedgehog, much to the bewilderment of pretty much the entire globe, the hovering hound of GUN did not.

Unscathed?

It's a shattered husk of a base with green radioactive sludge flowing everywhere!

UNSCATHED?