#Eggman ended up being the villain in this movie

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Gerald Robotnik

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

You may not know this, but Jim Carrey is actually really good at playing villains. Like, it’s a pretty obscure fact about his career. So obscure that despite him playing at least three of the funniest villains I’d ever seen growing up, I completely forgot about them when I did the Psycho Analysis for Ivo Robotnik back when the original Sonic film dropped.

But now I know better. The Grinch, Count Olaf, the Riddler… Carrey is a master of playing cartoonish creeps. And Ivo Robotnik has proved to be the best and most fun of all his villainous roles, evolving beyond the simple yet fun egomaniac scientist of the first film into something that hews far closer to what Sonic fans might expect from the world’s sexiest fat man AKA Dr. Eggman. In fact, Robotnik might be my favorite villain role of his, and one of my favorite villains of all time.

Now what if we doubled that?

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 went bigger and better than its predecessors, and considering it was introducing the most popular character in the Sonic franchise who isn’t the Blue Blur himself—Shadow��it kind of had to. And that meant giving us not one, but two Jim Carrey performances. In this movie, the typically posthumous Gerald Robotnik is alive and well and out to enact some revenge. It’s a pretty bold and different approach to the beloved story of this Sonic adventure… so how does it work out?

Motivation/Goals: Gerald Robotnik is motivated by revenge, much like in the games, though this time he’s around to pursue it himself. After what G.U.N. did to Maria, he wanted to completely dismantle and destroy them. But the thing is, his decades of stewing in his hate and rage made him a little cuckoo, and now his hate extends to not just G.U.N., but the entirety of the human race… as well as himself.

Performance: Jim Carrey had already perfected Ivo over two films, but I think there may have been a little worry he’d make Gerald too similar and ignore what made fans love him in the game. Of course, we needn’t have worried; not only is Gerald a distinct character from his grandson, he still manages to be a truly despicable human being, perhaps more vile than he’s ever been before. He’s still as wacky and ridiculous as Ivo, but unlike with Eggman he manages to drop the silly at just the right moments to make Gerald a genuinely threatening monster.

Final Fate: No firing squad for Gerald this time; no, his ending here is much more undignified, but also incredibly well-deserved and satisfying. After callously trying to send his grandson into the vacuum of space, Ivo surprises the old man with a super-charged Sonic quill into his ass which sends him flying through the air into the chaos energy. He then proceeds to be disintegrate with a little pop like a bug in a zapper.

Now, this may seem incredibly cartoonish and even ridiculous as a way to defeat such a villain… But read the rest of this analysis to see just how disturbingly vile Gerald ends up being. I think this truly absurd and cartoonish death is exactly what the movie needed to do to rerail things and keep it from going way too dark. And, if you think about it, his death is still colossally fucked up, particularly because Tails seems a little too chipper about committing murder.

Evilness: For most of the movie, he seems like he’ll end up being like… a 6 or 7/10, like clearly a bad guy but one with an understandable motive that you can root for. G.U.N. do not come out of this film smelling like roses, and when you see the full extent of what they did to Shadow it’s hard not to root against them.

But then comes the third act. He reveals he wants to kill everyone and himself, he reveals he doesn’t give a shit what Maria would want because he’s so utterly consumed with misanthropy, and he drops the coldest line ever to reject his grandson… Yeah this guy is a 10/10. Maybe even a 10.5/10. He is genuinely fucking callous and vile and monstrous.

Best Scene: Without a doubt it’s the scene where he and Ivo dance through the lasers.

This scene is great for multiple reasons. The most obvious reason is that t’s an amazing example of the movies effects and how well it showcases the dual Jim Carrey performance. Like, this must’ve been a bitch and a half to make look convincing, especially with Ivo picking Gerald up and swinging him around. It’s amazingly well done, the choreography is great, and “Galvanize” by the Chemical Brothers kicks ass.

But it also works as a further highlighting of the character of Ivo, how he’s still desperately cramming in family fun now that he feels he has someone who cares about him… and it also makes the later reveal about Gerald sting all the more.

Best Quote: Remember that line in Frozen where Hans coldly reveals he’s a villain to Anna? Remember how it’s a stupid twist that doesn’t make sense, yet the line is one of the rawest in all of Disney’s canon? Imagine that except the twist actually works and is effective. That’s what Gerald gets:

“Oh, Ivo… You’re no Maria.”

This single line completely recontextualizes everything Gerald has done up until this point. Every single bit of fun and goofiness now comes off as deliberate manipulation of Ivo to help in his schemes. It also highlights just how single-minded and insane he’s become in his pursuit of revenge; here he has a living member of his family, someone who could fill the void Maria left, but he coldly rebuffs them because he is too consumed by his own hate and rage.

Final Thoughts & Score: I fucking love Gerald.

Jim Carrey really went above and beyond here (and considering they sent him the script in gold and let him play with himself on camera, why wouldn’t he?). He manages to make Gerald hilarious and goofy but also perfectly captures his grief, rage, and hatred when the third act hits. And that third act is genuinely impressive even when he gets into a scientifically-enhanced slap fight with his renegade grandson; just his eerily calm statement of his desire to commit murder-suicide with the entirety of the Earth, his callous brushing off of both his grandson and Maria’s desires, his flippant shrugging off of the worth of Shadow’s life when the hedgehog betrays him… It’s honestly shocking just how nasty Jim Carrey manages to be without completely dropping the inherent goofiness he brings to his roles. In fact, his goofiness just makes it more chilling when he drops the act and gets going.

Frankly it’s surprising just how much nuance there is in such a goofy role, how much can be read in to his actions. Like they really didn’t have to put so much work into the silly villain in the second sequel of a video game movie franchise, they could have easily half-assed Gerald or even just had him be posthumous to save themselves a lot of work. But they didn’t do that, they brought him in, managed to flesh him out and give him depth while still keeping him true to the core of the character, and they knocked him out of the park. Of course, Carrey’s amazing dual performance where he goes out of the way to interact with himself is a big plus too. The sheer spectacle is at least 50% of what makes Gerald so fun to watch.

All in all, Gerald is one of the greatest live-action family film antagonists ever seen, and he’s a big part as to why Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is so great. And best of all he continues to show that the human characters related to Eggman are the best in the franchise. Easily a 9.5/10 for me, with the .5 less than his grandson only because we get far less time with him since, you know, he fucking dies at the ends of this one and isn’t going to develop more. But the fact they manage to make him so well-rounded in just a single movie is worth a lot.

[caduschka]

Had a dream that there was a weird live action/animated hybrid about the Zelda franchise which ended with a Zelink kiss to confirm that Zelink is now cannon. Except they used in game models and in order to avoid collision or something the models didn't even touch.

[palskippah]

Hi! I give you this Stobotnik fankid I made a while ago :'y

She's Sofia --or Ivania or some other name ending in 'ia'-- Robotnik (coolest last name)

It's a compilation and also there's some Stone for practice bc I have no idea how to draw him pipipi Eggman is easier bc it's just his Sonic Boom design (I love it)

Some stuff about this universe under the cut!

(Btw if there's incongruencies is bc I can't make up my mind about the facts whwhw)

-Robotnik and Stone are married, very much married. Cartoon villains in love, I love that for them.

-["MARTHA I'M COMING HOME SWEETIE-"] Mixing up the movie things and the whatever's going on in the Sonic Boom, so Robotnik was gone for eight months and when he's back she's already born.

>Also the drawing is a reference to Icarly's "Whatcha got there?" "A smoothie" but she was clearly asking about the ostrich Spencer brought with him.

>Alternatively, Eggman's there and they go through the journey together yippiee. Choosing names, making evil parenting plans and whatever, being their idiot selves.

(After celebrating because they're good news actually) "I want a boy or a girl-" (Eggman) "Yeah me too." (Stone) "-and we should name them a single, worth of remembering name! Like... Eggette for a girl and Eggson for a boy." "I'm not letting you name them any of that, doctor..." "Okay, then how about Beyonce for a girl and-"

>They wouldn't have kids (?? maybe? I don't really know, I only know sonic boom and the movie :'U)- but she was probably the 1% the birth control warns you about. Also, Stobotnik got a very active seggsual life, and I'm imagining she came to be from a quickie over the desk, why not.

>Helpful diagram of Eggman + Stone kissing and then = baby. They were in work hours.

-In the one where he comes back and the baby's already there, Eggman does a terrible job as a father the few first months, but then he gets the hang of it and it's not so bad.

>He gets projectile vomited on and he's immediately asking to get an abortion (the baby's already born) (he didn't give birth to her), Stone says no anyways.

>"Surprisingly, I'm a good father" he thinks one day and it's because he's still very much an orphan here with no frame of comparation or example aside from researching the matter.

-In the one where they wait for her together, he does all the research necessary in all those months, absolutely refusing in doing an average job in that matter, he's the great Ivo Robotnik c'mon. He excels at anything and he'll be a great father (jk he's terrified of fucking up).

-The Stobotnik family is an evil but loving family, like the bears in Puss in Boots whwh criminal family✨

-For the funny of it, Sonic and Eggman got a sort of relationship like in Sonic Boom, so sometime maybe our favorite boy, Tails and Knuckles had to look after their child.

-Also since Knuckles broke Stone's and Robotnik's hands with their handshake, let's have him handle the baby with the most careful grip ever, just to demonstrate that he didn't have to grab their hands that hard aksdjask

-She's a big fan of Sonic and friends (Sonic the Hedgehog, not Sonic Wachowski, the second guy hadn't done even half the things she admires him for, but no one has the heart to tell her when she's a kid). Has a bunch of merch and all the comics of Sonic the Hedgehog.

>When she's a teenager she proudly uses her Sonic backpack in the same way Deadpool uses his Hello Kitty backpack.

-BTW Sonic, Knuckles and Tails are all brothers and Maddie and Tom's kids bc that's the best idea ever made.

-ALSO I'm definitely gonna draw that scene where Knuckles was about to put the baby in the blender and Sonic shouts THE CHILI DOG NOT THE BABY. Some day, you'll see pipipi.

-SAGE was created for various reasons, to be her sister (since she wouldn't stop asking for one but neither Stone nor Robotnik were willing in raising another human kid, thanks very much), to protect her, and also to answer the tedious "why?" questions that neither father had the patience for (A+ parenting right there). Maybe she was used for the original purpose too idk (I don't know that sonic game where she debuts).

>The child's delighted about having a sister, then she grows up and SAGE doesn't, so she has a little sister.

>METAL SONIC TOO MAYBE? Perfect lil american family, the two happily married parents and their three kids (one human girl, an IA and a robot clone of their alien enemy).

-On her early months she was called Pebble, because she really was a mini Stone, Robotnik went along with it (bc he also looked at her and only saw his husband whw) until she was a little older and they started calling her by her name.

>Alternatively, since Eggman was gone, Stone waited for him to return in hopes of choosing together a name for their child, and Pebble worked as a placeholder since she was just a bebi.

>Alternatively alternatively, Eggman came up with the nickname. ROCK-ONNAISSANCE 🗣️ also yeah I know he was going crazy from the mushroom stuff, but he's not above making silly puns, he's a dad now and also he's naturally silly.

(NGL I really gotta make up my mind about how it all happened ajsdkad)

-She's a spoiled kid and also a little menace, unintentionally evil, she can't help it.

>Good-hearted too sometimes, she loves Sage and does her best to protect her back (it's not necessary but it's appreciated anyways).

-Robotnik calls himself 'daddy' way too much in the live-action movies to ignore it, so he's daddy and Stone's dad (dada when she was younger).

>"These are my daddies!" (points to what's clearly two villains -but also good fathers-)

-She has Robotnik's eyes but as big as Stone's. They're the lethal-est sad puppy eyes ever (they work wonders on both parents and other people) (both men got beautiful dark brown eyes with visible eyelashes fight me).

>Look at Eggman's silly eyelashes:

>Also, you know that picture of Lee Majdoub with the beautiful everything? I think he was wearing eyeliner so my Stone wears eyeliner too in contrast to Eggman's dark circles under his eyes JDJS😭

-She's the five-year-old that made Sonic fear them because 'they can be so cruel when they sense weakness' (she was brutally honest as any young kid is).

-Stone and Robotnik got Gomez and Morticia Addams kinda parenting. They see their child beating up someone and they're like:

"What did we do wrong?" (Stone while shaking his head in disappointment) "I know... she lacks resourcefulness." (Eggman) "Exactly, there's her baseball bat right there, why doesn't she use it?"

-Remember that Shadow said in a game that he wouldn't mind taking a candy from a baby? (fandub I think but still) This comes in handy when neither Tails, Sonic or Knuckles want to upset the kid (so Shadow does it instead).

-She plays sports too because she got too much energy. In each of them she loses her patience. She grabs the football and hauls it at the nearest team member, she throws her baseball bat to the ground and starts beating up whoever threw the ball that she missed, she stomps in frustration if she loses, she's great at dodgeball (sends her classmates to the infirmary).

-Throws tantrums and stuff and overall's an annoying kid if she's upset. Eggman's like UGH WHY'S SHE LIKE THIS?? and Stone's like Because of you, doctor (terrible temperament runs in the family and also Robotnik just spoiled her too much).

-I'm kinda dressing her up in the clothes that existed in my mind that supposedly Eggman wore (the weird dress-like jacket with the big zipper in the middle). Under her jacket there's a dress in the same pattern as the original Eggman's clothes, also she wears a baby onesie like that too.

-When she's older she's definitely proud of her fathers, but she doesn't appreciate the rumors that she's prone to go power-crazy like Robotnik did. Especially because it may be true, but what do they know.

-For the irony, she can't stand drinking coffee, but loves the smell of it because it reminds her of home (omg).

-THEY HAVE A PET CAT like I read in some fics and her name is Robot and she's a lil shit and also grumpy like Robotnik.

>Maybe she brings her alive mice to experiment on all sort of stuff (like Pávlov and his dogs and the guy Skinner with his mice and cats (??))

-She gets to hang out with Sonic and friends under the condition of annoying him as much as possible. So, she complies. (She loves Sonic the Hedgehog, but she loves making her fathers happy more).

-Very smart kid but not to the level of Tails or Robotnik at that age, she's just got very good memory and learning skills and knows a lot of stuff ever since she was a little kid. More like a Matilda-kinda intelligence.

-She's a scientist when she grows up too but the kind that makes evil potions and serums and stuff aksjdk probably (chemistry things? biochem idk). She can make silly little robots for the fun of it but it's not her passion, unlike Robotnik and Stone's. PROBABLY. I'm still deciding.

-BTW LOOK (it says 'carefully crafted ploy to distract space porcupines')

>While Eggman's there with the baby and Sonic in front of him going AWWW BABY BOO and making her laugh, Stone is sneaking up on him holding a chair above his head to knock him out.

THAT'S IT THANKS FOR READING ✨✨

[bugslaststraw]

See it's funny because in the games, and in any other assorted media before the movies came out, everyone low-key just hates Robotnik. And not even in the fun dedicated way like they all seem to think he's a bit of a failure. Which sounds weird if you don't know anything about Sonic (and certainly sounded weird to me three weeks ago when I was one of those people) but it really is just genuinely the case. I think?

Obviously his family all hate him. Movie-only fans will have an idea about this one; we've got good old Geralt Robotnik who didn't give a rats ass about him in favour of his long-dead cousin Maria, whom he wants revenge for. Geralt manipulated him and used him and said "oh Ivo you're no Maria" even though Ivo probably doesn't even know who the fuck Maria is in the movie universe and so on, et cetera. Geralt sucks just as much in the games and did approximately the same thing there.

What you may or may not know is that in one of the games, Eggman runs into a descendant of his from generations into the future. That guy's name is Eggman Nega, and he absolutely hates his ancestor. He thinks he's cramping his style? He's trying to go back in time and kill him to restore his reputation as far as I remember. Not to mention he has other family and cousins, none of whom give a flying fuck what happens to him. I distinctly remember someone who's name was Collin but who's nickname was Snively and who also worked with Eggman at some point, but hated him, and then later betrayed him. I can't remember a single family member of Eggman's that actually seemed to like or even tolerate him.

He's had a lot of henchpeople too. Most of them were robots. A lot of them, like Omega, and Gamma, and Sage to an extent (although she was more like a robot daughter he built for himself) betrayed him and joined the good guys too (Sage is another outlier, she isn't exactly switching over I mean she definitely likes him but she definitely isn't loyal either so.??) I mean, Eggman isn't even surprised by the fourth time. Smaller minions like Orbot (and Cubot? another outlier) and their predecessors weren't able to betray Eggman, but definitely would've if they could've because they all disliked him because he's allegedly a shit boss. (Who says he isn't. He's evil after all.)

He "contracts" a lot of spies and stuff too. Animal characters. They all hate him as well, but he tends to hate them in return, so at least those are entirely fair game.

Not to mention all the villains he's conveniently happened to need the same thing as at the start of the game, but become inconvenient to towards the end, so they betray him as quickly as possible to get ready for their final boss fight with Sonic towards the conclusion of the story. There's more of those than I can count or care to remember. He meets his alternative universe self once and they hate each other. There's even a moment in I think the comics where Eggman loses all his memories and temporarily becomes nice, and hangs out in a village and builds things for the furry people who live there. He makes a wooden puppet style robot that also becomes like a daughter to him. She's good at engineering, just like him. Of course when he gets his memories back and becomes evil again she leaves as quickly as possible and later helps Sonic & co. She's very resentful about it all, I've heard.

None of that is surprising, of course. Eggman is an evil villain to the heroes and a loser to the villains. It's funny! It's a joke. They need to introduce scarier villains in the games to ramp up tension but they can't exactly just drop Sonic's nemesis down a hole somewhere, being as iconic as he is... So he sticks around. But as a joke, rather than an actual threat. And it's a little sad, yeah. But he deserves it! He's trying to create some sort of totalitarian egg-state and he bullies Sonic for having friends, for Christ's sake. Why should anyone want to stay loyal to a guy like that- and why should anyone do it at all? Joining the heroes is the cool thing to do! Shadow does it, Knuckles does it, Omega kinda sorta does it, Sage is toeing the damn line from what I've heard, it's...

Okay, it's kind of a lot? I mean I understand having nobody that's a good guy like the villain, but like... Not even his damn henchpeople robots? In a lot of the animated shows and comics he keeps building robot wives for himself that are explicitly created just to like him, by him. That or he's into someone who's into one of the animals, or similar. I mean, it's that bad. And it's like... Nobody? Not even once in like thirty years did anyone come up with the idea to give Eggman?? This behemoth among famous pop culture characters? A loyal henchman?

And- well, okay, nowadays this isn't true anymore. I'm sure we all know why. And that's kind of fun; in 2020, Doctor Robotnik gained his first and only loyal henchperson. Great! But...

Jeff Fowler is a Sonic fan, isn't he. Would he know..?

Would anyone involved in making the movies know that Eggman famously... Doesn't have any friends? That nobody seems to like him? That he's apparently infinitely betrayable? Do they know? Do they know? Is that why the third movie is written like that? Is it not just a character complex pulled out of someone's- I mean, when movie Eggman says that there's only ever been one person who actually liked him and one person who actually cared about him... He's quite literally right, isn't he. As in... Since 1991... Like 34 years since conception as a handful of red pixels in the hottest new platformer game there's actually, literally only been one character..? ooh I think I need to lie down for a bit

[e-vay]

SONIC 3 REVIEW

I wanted to wait a few weeks to give many people the chance to see Sonic 3 before I wrote a review, but of course I'll keep it under the cut for those who still haven't seen it.

DISCLAIMERS!

I acknowledge that the Sonic Cinematic Universe is a SEPARATE interpretation of the Sonic franchise so I will never dock it points for doing things different than we've seen in the games. These movies are inspired by the Sonic the Hedgehog video games, they are not direct adaptations. I have no sympathy for anyone who complains these movies get things 'wrong' about the games.

I acknowledge that the Sonic movies are family films marketed towards children, so some of the writing and plot devices are simplified or toned down for younger audiences. However, that won't stop me from pointing out some plot holes.

My review is just my opinion. I'm not saying I'm right or that you're wrong if you disagree.

I'm so damn excited to finally talk about it and I have SO MUCH to say, so buckle up!

TL;DR: I give Sonic 3 a score of 9/10, just barely shy of being an absolutely perfect movie! There were some editing choices and some plot holes that made me dock minor points. These nitpicks are small and almost insignificant compared to the whole of the film, but they stood out enough to bother me and they're why I can't give it a perfect rating.

Let's start with the positives.

CAST & CHARACTERS - 10/10

TL;DR - With a star-studded cast, it's almost impossible to say any one actor/character outshined the others. Every single person was on their A-game for this movie and gave emotional, hilarious, all-out performances.

Jim Carrey as both Ivo and Gerald Robotnik is genius! He plays both characters so differently that you could almost believe they were being played by two different people -- minus the tongue-in-cheek way the movie reminds you that they're the same person.

This iteration of Gerald is unlike any we've seen before, which kept me on my toes the entire time I was watching. He comes onto the scene fully claiming that he's a villain, but still he manages to suckerpunch you (and Ivo) with the final reveal of his ultimate plan. You would think that the same old man who was just doing a choreographed dance performance 20 minutes ago couldn't tear your heart out without even the use of words when we see him mourning the loss of his granddaughter, and then fill you with spine-chilling terror as he uses his whole chest to exclaim he's going to 'burn it all down!', but damn did Jim Carrey do that and more! This movie (and Jim Carrey alike) managed to make Gerald both the major comic relief of the movie AND simultaneously made him one of the most despicable villains in the franchise so far. His utter lack of compassion for Shadow or Ivo, using both of them as his puppets, really shows you how little this man values even those who are supposed to be closest to him. I encourage you to rewatch the movie and really appreciate the dynamic range we were given of this character in under a 2 hour window.

Ivo is back and better than ever, baby (despite what Tails says)! Though I liked the initial, unexpected take on his character in Sonic 1, it has been beyond satisfying to see the evil doctor's descent into madness, all culminating into THE Eggman we recognize from the games! Seeing him in the iconic Eggman suit was like seeing my baby in her gown for prom. I was one proud mama! Sonic 3 sends Ivo on an emotional rollercoaster and we not only get to see him the silliest he's ever been, but your heart truly breaks for him by the end of the film. Honestly, I'm still gutted over Gerald's "Ivo, you're no Maria" line! One thing I particularly loved is that repeatedly throughout this franchise, Ivo has mentioned how society has always rejected him, he's had nobody who loves him (except Stone ofc) and he's repeatedly reminded he's a failure. Yet at the end of this film, he's given the chance to live up to his real potential and Team Sonic (and Shadow (and all of Earth while we're at it)) wouldn't have stood a chance without him. With Ivo seemingly dead, this was a heartfelt, tearjerking, beautiful sendoff for Eggman in a way that doesn't feel forced and gives Jim Carrey the chance to excuse himself should he decide he no longer wants to be a part of the future movies. BUT if he does decide to come back (and it's sounding like he does) -- c'mon, y'all don't really think Shadow would have just left Eggman to die, do you? He absolutely could have teleported them both outta there at the last minute.

SHADOW. 👏👏👏 This was without a doubt, the BEST depiction of Shadow I have ever seen! Keanu Reeves and the animators put everything into this rendition of Shadow and I was moved to tears on several occasions. This movie gave us an emotional, heartbroken Shadow who doesn't mask his feelings. Even before losing Maria, we see that Shadow is someone who struggles with understanding who he is, where he comes from and what his purpose is. He's subjected to constant testing and when he's not 'in use,' he's seemingly stowed away in the dark for later. It isn't until Maria shows up and befriends him that we get to see that he's just a regular person. He's curious about music and dancing, he enjoys play and stargazing, he's self-conscious. And then the transformation he takes after being betrayed and losing his loved ones, UGH! Keanu Reeves freaking NAILS it in every single scene! One of the moments that stood out the most to me and physically gave me goosebumps was when Shadow begins to question if destroying the planet is what Maria would have wanted and Gerald convinces him to focus on the pain that was left from her death. When Shadow's charging the Eclipse Cannon and reliving the most devastating moment of his life, you can hear his rage just in the way he's breathing! Keanu Reeves doesn't even speak any words in that scene but I could feel every drop of anger and regret and hatred in his performance. But also he delivered some very funny lines too and at least to me, it didn't feel forced. I also really liked that Keanu Reeves did research for this character and actually 'created' a voice for Shadow instead of using his normal voice. (I strongly recommend watching this clip where he talks about how he came up with 'the voice'. It's fascinating and such a delight). I think a lot of people might have initially thought having him voice Shadow was cool but kind of a joke, but he took the role very seriously and I feel he made an effort to separate himself from Shadow. His voice scratched my brain in the most satisfying way lol. I wish he could permanently voice Shadow from now on, but at least I can always imagine his voice whenever I read or play any Shadow content. Also, Shadow's character model was GOR-GEOUS. He was so handsome and badass and also I love, love, LOVE the amount of contrast between him and Sonic. EVEN DOWN TO THE DETAILS IN THE TEXTILES OF THEIR GLOVES. Sonic's gloves appear to be cotton so they're soft and warm and porous -- a fabric that comforts and lets things in. Shadow's gloves are leather -- a fabric that's firm, resistant, impenetrable. SO MUCH thought and detail went into designing Shadow. AND SUPER SHADOW OH MYGOOOODDDDDDDD. He looked like an angel! I have always loved Super Shadow's platinum design in the games, but giving him the extra detail of iridescent and rose gold quills in the movie was so freaking beautiful. I truly can't fault a single thing about him in this movie. A thousand kisses to Keanu Shadow.

TEAM SONIC. That's right, I'm addressing the group here because this movie really treated each member of Team Sonic as equals and I loved it. Sonic may be the leader, but Knuckles packed this movie full of action, heart and laughs. Idris Elba and the writers found a great balance for Knuckles in that he delivered what I thought were some of the funniest lines of the film, but it didn't lessen the impact of his more serious scenes. When Knuckles is arguing with Sonic about using the Chaos Emeralds, there is so much tension and I feel like they really nailed the gravity of that fight. Knuckles ultimately chooses not to battle Sonic, but I felt that him reminding Sonic of their oath and pointing out that Sonic is breaking it was actually MORE of a punishment than a punch to the face. We also really got to see Knuckles 'THE GUARDIAN" in this movie which I greatly appreciated. We see a lot of Knuckles "the fighter" where he's quick to throw fists, but there were many moments in Sonic 3 where he got to serve as a proper protector. I cried when he caught Sonic and Tails and even after they're safe he's just holding them, the three of them a battered mess in the cornfield! AH MY HEART!

Speaking of my heart-- Tails you good boy! Tails showed so much growth between Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 and I was so proud of him! He's still cute as can be and still has moments of childlike wonder, but he played a significantly larger role in this movie and showed a lot of maturity. He's quick to come up with plans but he is also actually in the action instead of shouting from the sidelines. I also really liked that during the bleakest part of the film, it's actually Tails who is trying to console Sonic about what's happened to Tom. You know things are bad when it's the baby sibling who attempts to be the emotionally strong one and comfort the older sibling. And I love that it's Tails and Knuckles who help Ivo to steer the Eclipse Cannon away from the Earth. It would have been easy to just sideline them and have them hope that Super Sonic and Super Shadow could handle things, but that diminishes the value of Team Sonic. The movie made it very clear that their teamwork is what made them so strong and it was through all of their combined efforts that the Earth was saved in the end. Sonic and Shadow could not have done it alone, even with the combined power of the Chaos Emeralds. I feel like a broken record by saying this but it has to be said: Colleen O'Shaughnessey killed it as Tails yet again. Go queen!

This might come as a surprise to some, but the Sonic in this movie is my favorite we've seen throughout the SCU franchise so far. I have heard people criticize that Sonic was a little 'boring' or 'underwhelming' during the first 2 acts of the movie, but I actually perceived that as intentional by design. At this point in Sonic's life, he's used to the whole hero thing. He's saved the world multiple times by now so it makes sense to me that he's become complacent and doesn't really take the time to consider how potentially dangerous a threat can be (I mean think about it, he nearly gets lasered-to-death via the forcefield at G.U.N. Headquarters just because he had to be a silly goof and do a tour of London NOW of all times! Yes it's funny and in-character and I still loved that scene ((and loved that it gave Tails a shining moment to save him)), but c'mon Sonic you almost fucked up the entire plan because you just had to do your goofy thing!). So when Shadow shows up and kicks his ass not once, but MULTIPLE times--and then he nearly loses his father figure TWICE--it serves as a rude awakening. He learns that there is a price to pay for being blasé, underestimating the gravity of a situation and not sticking to a plan, and that's where he dramatically overcompensates and goes on a vengeful arc. And vengeful Sonic is FUCKING. FANTASTIC. I think we as an audience can forget how lethal Sonic can be because he's normally so playful and silly, so to see him lock in and not hold back is actually pretty terrifying (but in a great way!). Ben Schwartz was AMAZING in this portion of the movie. I find him to be one of the funniest comedians on the planet, but I couldn't believe it was the same guy during this act. He dug deep and gave such a compelling performance full of anguish and hatred that I honestly didn't realize he was capable of. But most importantly--he was able to rein it in when it mattered most and Sonic didn't lose himself before it was too late. Sonic is not a perfect character, but one of the things that makes him such a great hero is that he always manages to hold on to the light that's inside of him. I always appreciate Sonic's motivational speeches and I loved that when he's having the heart-to-heart with Shadow, the emphasis is about who you are and the good that comes from the love you have for others. It's heavy and important but was delivered in a way that was easily digestible for younger viewers without diminishing the meaning of the message. However, what I found even more moving in this scene was the moment of silence that Sonic and Shadow share on the moon. It was so poignant and I'm glad they held that moment of stillness and quiet. By the end of the movie, we do get our loveable Sonic back but he acknowledges the mistakes he made and regrets putting everyone in danger because of his reckless decisions. Each movie builds up his character more and more and I think as long as they don't backpedal, Sonic's in store for some incredible things! ALSO! Just like I said with Shadow, I freaking LOVED Sonic's character model in this one! I love that we are seeing him physically growing up and maturing instead of being forever stuck in place (no shade to the games). This character model is SO much taller and stockier than the model in Sonic 1 and is evidence that not only is he emotionally maturing, but he's physically aging up as well. It's just so cool!

I absolutely adored Alyla Browne's portrayal of Maria in this movie! She was so charming and instantly loveable the moment she was onscreen. I've noticed many people highlighting the part where she draws the bunny face on Shadow (which I love) but even the seconds before that where she mocks his scowl INSTANTLY won me over. And she even gets Shadow to smile because of it! The smile is small and only visible for a few frames, but it's there! It was clear that this girl saw more to this alien than a menacing, dangerous little space demon and wasn't gonna put up with his charade. It's no wonder the two of them became fast friends. I don't know about you, but I have been STARVED of ARK Sibling content since Shadow's very first introduction so I was obsessed with every single scene we got of the two of them actually getting to spend time together. I do love drama but so far all we've seen is the ARK tragedy and rarely any of the highlights before that event. Yes the SCU is a different universe, but this filled a hole in my heart that I've been waiting on for years. It did not disappoint!

I also want to highlight Agent Stone. Listen, I've loved Lee Majdoub since Sonic 1, but his character is at his best in this movie. Agent Stone was proper badass in Sonic 3 and proved that he's far more than just a simple henchman. It's revealed that with Ivo sulking and remaining in hiding, Stone has stepped up and is constantly monitoring what's going on in the outside world and immediately jumps into action when he notices the doctor's tech being used by someone else. Eggman wasn't even aware of it and yet Stone is out there shutting it down and bringing back reinforcements to clear Eggman's name! That super suit?? And those MOTORCYCLE TRICKS?? And him dodging a freaking ROCKET like it ain't no thing??? Hell yeah, Stone! Lee Majdoub is so funny and I love how he can be so quiet and stoic around Eggman ( "Resourceful.") but he can also be so over the top like when he's mocking the hell out of Knuckles ("Įt'Ŝ 𝕋𝒽𝒆 ⓖ𝓸Ａ𝐓 𝔪𝕀ŁҜє𝓡!... Relax.") and both just work so well! I think it's further evidence of why he makes such a good partner for Eggman because they're both capable of some intense power but they're also both such weirdos. I loved the amount of emotion and vulnerability Stone had in this movie. He's always had an allegiance to Eggman and even in Sonic 2 we saw how much he missed the doctor while he was away and how enthusiastic he was when he learned he was alive, but it went a lot deeper in this film. We got to learn that there's a much stronger affinity there and Stone legitimately cares about Robotnik and supports him through thick and thin. Personally, I ship Stobotnik, so this movie gave me plenty of delicious food! But even if you don't ship it, I think it was so significant to show the depth to Stone and Robotnik's relationship and I believe that it was Stone's affection for the doctor (romantic or platonic) that ultimately made Eggman save the world in the end. Though I'm still hoping for Jim Carrey to come back, I think they set things up so Stone could take up the EggMantle in a seamless way and I sure wouldn't be mad about it!

[Allow me to pause for a deep inhale of breath...]

Ä̷͇̰̞́Ȁ̷̭̩̰̔͐Ấ̶̝̗̠A̴͉͗A̵̳̠̚ͅA̵̫̋Ḿ̴͕Y̴̨̯̆Y̷͖͍̜̓͝Ỹ̵͍̺͑̕Y̸̜̫̆͋͋Y̶͕̫̱̾̐!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😭💖💖💖💖💖💖😘😘😘😘😍😍😍😍😍😍🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖 My beloved! My most darling angel! My reason for waking up in the morning! SHE MADE IT! Amy is my favorite character of all time and I told y'all I was gonna throw up if she wasn't in this movie, so you'd better believe I SCREAMED when her hammer appeared in the post-credits scene! When she walked up and pulled back the hood of her cloak I was in tears and I was TREMBLING! I'm sure they're going to make changes to her once they finalize her design for Sonic 4, but this reveal was so freaking good and got me so excited for the next movie. Her character model is already so beautiful and I love that they turned the tables and have her rescuing Sonic this time! I cannot wait to see what they have in store!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Metal Sonic was cool too btw)

ACTION - 10/10

TL;DR - Highspeed fun that has you on the edge of your seat for every single minute of screen time!

This movie is NONSTOP. I wasn't bored for a single second and by the time we hit the credits I couldn't believe how much time had passed. Every fight scene was so perfectly choreographed and so RAMPED UP that it had me stunned. There's a joke early in the movie that Sonic/Tails/Knuckles' antics are capable of cataclysmic events but the movie delivers on that promise a multitude of times! From city-wide power outages to mini-black holes to volcanic eruptions, there's no shortage of chaos and action in this movie!

You guys. The first time I saw this movie, I was at a prescreening so I was among critics and people from the media instead of a group of fans. It took EVERYTHING WITHIN ME to contain my glee. I was PHYSICALLY BALLED UP, knees pulled to my chest, palms pressed to my face to try to stay quiet. My heart burst through the roof of my skull! Even when I went to go see it for a fourth time, my heart was still racing. I actually had my friend feel my pulse as proof. This movie just gets you so excited it's insane!

The fact that the movie BEGAN with Shadow's breakout... god bless it. God bless everyone who worked on it. It was so intense and heartpumping! And I loved the choice to have little-to-no music during Shadow's fight with the soldiers. It just added to the tension and didn't give you any hint of when and where Shadow was going to teleport next. This was basically a scene from a horror movie! It set the entire tone for the film and showed that Shadow was NOT to be messed with.

I seriously could describe how much I loved every action scene but I will be here forever so I won't, but I have to say-

THE ✨SUPER✨ SCENES. OH. MY. 🎶GO~~~~OD🎶!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had high hopes and expectations we were going to see Super Shadow in this one, but never in my lifetime did I think we were going to finally see Super Sonic VERSUS Super Shadow!!! Holy hell, what a fight! We get to finally see what two god-mode characters are capable of when they're out to kill each other and aren't showing any mercy. EACH PUNCH LAUNCHING THE OPPONENT ACROSS THE FREAKING PLANET?!??!?? That editing choice in particular is one of my absolute FAVORITE things about this movie. There's a million ways this fight could have been done but showing just how fast and how strong these two are--- even causing the earth to split open and erupt just from one of them pushing off the ground--really shows just how minuscule and inferior us humans are hahaha. We wouldn't stand a freaking CHANCE. AND SONIC PUNCHES SHADOW TO THE MOON?!

ALSO THEY EACH TOOK TURNS PUNCHING THE SUPER OUT OF EACH OTHER!???!!!

I'm having to pause as I'm writing this because even though I've seen this movie four times I'm still getting so worked up just thinking about these action scenes again that I'm struggling to breathe omg

Even better than Super Sonic VERSUS Super Shadow was that final team up. That CLAP and they both turn super had me WEAK. I just about fainted right then but thank god I didn't because that entire sequence was INCREDIBLE. That little exchange of Sonic saying "Ready to recycle some tin cans?" and Shadow rolling his shoulder and saying "Try to keep up" before launching into a flurry of attacks is TATTOOED ON MY BRAIN. It will never leave my mind. It gave us SA2 and MORE. The battle was a masterpiece and it's something that words truly can't describe, you just have to witness it in all it's glory. I will never be normal about that fight scene.

One more moment I want to highlight because it shows action in nontraditional ways -- I am infatuated with the way they depicted Eggman and Shadow's last moments of saving the earth from the Eclipse Cannon. There was just something in the slow, labored movements that Jim Carrey made to show him attempting to block the explosions with shields, and the quietness of Shadow pushing the exterior of the ship with his hands and the metal is just crushing under his palms from the force. It isn't a moment of fast punches or flashing lights but it was so damn powerful and I absolutely loved it.

VISUALS - 10/10

TL;DR - Stellar effects and cinematography not only make for a delightful experience for your eyes but further immerse us into this fictional world.

WOW! I already touched on this in my above notes but seriously this movie was just beautiful. The character models were so good and felt real despite being cartoons (which goes to show you don't need them to look hyper-realistic to convince me it's a living creature). The lighting and the framing of shots were not only visually appealing but helped further the emotions of the scenes. The neon lights bouncing off Shadow in the rain as he's slowly walking down the streets of Shibuya was a WORK OF ART. Even all the moments of chaos and destruction were portrayed so well and so crisp that not only were they beautiful to look at -- I could actually tell what was going on! I watch a lot of action films and it gets so frustrating when there's so many explosions, lens flares, camera whips, etc that I can't actually make out what's happening. I never had that problem in this movie!

FAN SERVICE - 10/10

TL;DR - No, not that kind of fan service. This was a film FOR the fans!

I already said that the cinematic universe is clearly separate from the game universe. However, there were so many delightful little treats for fans of the games that felt like all the creators of this movie reached out and hugged me and said "This is for you!" BLESS! I won't list out all the Easter eggs and scene-recreations because there are too many, but man the joy I felt in sitting there and thinking "I KNOW THAT REFERENCE!" was healing to my soul. I figured "Live and Learn" was going to show up in some way because we heard the tune in the trailer, but I didn't realize how often and in how many different ways it would play throughout the movie! Starting out the movie with a memory of Maria playing "Live and Learn" on the guitar had me clutching my chest and I knew I was gonna be emotionally wrecked by this film! I loved the orchestral version of the song during the final battle which took an already badass theme and made it even more epic, but I do love that they included a snippet with the original lyrics too.

I don't know why people get so upset with these movies not being 100% like the games when it's clear that the people who work on these movies care so much about the games and want to reward us fans who love the games, too. Think about the scene where Shadow goes to push the Eclipse Cannon and he removes his inhibitor rings. That was specifically for us fans. The movie never explains what his inhibitor rings are or what they do or why he's removing them. Not knowing what the inhibitor rings are doesn't detract from the movie--but if you play the games you KNOW the significance of that moment. That was written and animated FOR YOU to enjoy. What's not to love about that???

DRAMAAAA~

Again, I know these SCU movies are marketed as family films and are more aimed for children, but I love that the movies are evolving and 'maturing' over time instead of repeating the same simple formula of some children's movies. With each Sonic movie that comes out, the themes and story are getting deeper and heavier without losing it's whimsy and fun. It's done in a way that feels like a natural progression and growth and I don't think the heavier subject matter will deter anyone who watched the previous two movies.

⭐BONUS POINTS!⭐

This is a hot take and I know many people are gonna disagree, but I was so pleased with there being LESS focus on the humans in this story (minus the Robotniks+Stone, of course). I do not care about the Wachowskis. I do not care about the Whipples. I understand why they were initially in the movies and I understand that Sonic considers the Wachowskis as his parents now, but I don't go to these movies to see the humans attending weddings or doing other sideplot shenanigans. I'm here for the aliens, damn it! So to have the humans' appearances mostly diminished to scenes that specifically related to the main plot was a huge relief to me!

THANK YOU SONIC 3.

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I could talk endlessly about this movie and even though I've written what feels like an entire essay there's still tons I'm leaving out, but to try to move this review along I'm going to move on to the negatives. Again, none of these below items were enough to ruin the movie for me and individually they aren't even worth a full point as far as a review. But ultimately these are things that I couldn't shake after watching and it's why I felt I had to dock the movie a single point in total.

EDITING WHIPLASH

I've already complimented this movie by several of the editing choices that were made, but there's one moment in particular that totally took me out of it and I'm sure you can guess what I'm going to say... Yes, it was the frequent cutting between the Super Hedgehogs and the Robotniks. Don't get me wrong -- individually these scenes were great. Ivo versus Gerald was hilarious and I did enjoy it and yes it was important to the plot -- but how DARE you interrupt my Super Sonic and Super Shadow fight with mustache wrestling! Whiplash is the best word I can use to describe how I felt in this moment. Sonic and Shadow fighting all of the robots and lasers to get to the Cannon was so dynamic and so intense and so spectacular, that when it suddenly cut away to Eggman getting spanked by a giant mech hand, I felt like I just got slapped across the face. My heart had just been racing so fast and then you cut away? Then I'm starting to calm down and just enjoy the Robotnik fight for the silliness but then it cuts BACK to the epic power of Sonic and Shadow --- and you do it AGAIN?! It just killed me!

I saw an edit somebody made where they spliced all of the super fight scenes together and removed the Robotnik fight and as you can imagine, it was infinitely better. You actually had the time to be fully enraptured by the battle and get to absorb every awesome second of it.

The Robotnik fight was still necessary (and yes, even the way they killed Gerald was hilarious to me and I still laugh even now) but they really should have edited this part of the movie better in my opinion.

PLOT HOLE -- ARE WE MISSING PART OF THE SCRIPT?

Although I think the writing for this movie was overall great, I felt there were key elements missing from the G.U.N. plot line that was meant to drive the narrative. This led me to think... was there a deleted scene and the filmmakers thought nobody would care/question it? Here are the things that I felt the movie did not clearly address:

1: Why are Team Sonic and Commander Walters close allies now? G.U.N. and Walters were previously antagonists in these films. Yes, at the end of Sonic 2 Commander Walters gives up his goal of capturing Sonic, but surrendering isn't the same as forming a partnership. Why is Team Sonic on-call for G.U.N. missions at Walters' requests all of a sudden? Then there's the scene in the Chao Garden. Why do Team Sonic and Walters meet up without anyone else from G.U.N. knowing about it? Why does Sonic trust Walters more than the rest of G.U.N.? I understand Sonic is a hero and especially in these movies he likes to see the good in people, but throughout these movies Walters ALWAYS lies. In Sonic 2, not only does Walters/G.U.N. fabricate an entire wedding as a sting operation to capture Sonic, but Walters lies when he claims that G.U.N. was formed because of Sonic's misadventures in San Francisco. In Sonic 3 we learn that G.U.N. was around for Project Shadow in the 70s. Nobody calls him out on this. Even in the Chao Garden scene, Walters is lying to Sonic about Shadow's history! He tells Sonic that Maria was killed in a terrible accident and Gerald was blamed for it. It was no accident! Soldiers showed up with guns and when Walters tried to stop them, they said "We have our orders." Sure, shooting the canister of chaos energy was not the intention and so the explosion itself was an accident, but those soldiers had every intent on taking Maria and Gerald out (if not Shadow as well). I'm sure Walters left that detail out to keep Sonic from asking further questions, but that makes him all the more of an unreliable storyteller and someone Sonic should NOT trust.

2: Why doesn't Walters trust G.U.N.? When Walters is injured in the Chao Garden attack, he gives Sonic one of the keys to the Eclipse Cannon and tells him that Sonic's the only person he trusts to keep it safe. Walters is the commander of G.U.N. -- surely he would trust a member of his team to hold onto the key, right? And if he doesn't, WHY? If you watched the Knuckles series then you know that there are indeed rogue members of G.U.N., but people watching the movie don't know that. Walters telling Sonic to keep the key safe from everyone suddenly puts Sonic on heightened alert and makes him believe he can't trust anyone, but we aren't given a reason why. Even if Walters simply had a line saying "I worry there's corruption in G.U.N." then I would have been satisfied.

3: Why is Team Sonic stealing the second key? Once the Team learns that there is a second key to the Eclipse Cannon and that the Robotniks are planning to steal it, they devise a heist to steal the second key themselves. Why? Walters didn't tell Sonic about a second key or tell him to retrieve the second key. Doesn't that mean Walters believes the safest place for the second key is where it's currently stored: at G.U.N. headquarters? Team Sonic knew Robotnik was en route, so the wisest option would have been to alert G.U.N. so they could heighten security and be on the lookout (which turns out, they already were). Again, all of this would make sense if Sonic was given an explicit reason to not trust G.U.N. and was specifically told to keep the keyS away from them, but at this point he went from trusting them to suddenly trying to take both keys from them. I loved the heist scenes and I don't want them removed, I feel they just need justification.

4: What is Director Rockwell's problem? It's clear that Rockwell is not a fan of Team Sonic (some people just can't trust aliens) but it seemed her character was going a certain direction and then just... stopped. After Walters is killed, the first thing she does is check his pocket for the key. Surely Walters would have known that Director Rockwell would have checked his pockets, especially since she was in Tokyo at the time of his death, again going back to my question of why he wouldn't trust her to retrieve the key instead of handing it over to Sonic? I was fully expecting a reveal of her being a rogue agent, especially because Team Sonic was still trying to take the second key even after the Robotniks had been thwarted. Think about it -- G.U.N. has stopped the Robotniks (and Team Sonic) from stealing the second key. That was the whole point, right? So why is Tom now trying to take the key FROM Rockwell? Isn't the key safely where it belongs and the Robotniks are supposedly in custody? So again, was there a reason Rockwell wasn't meant to be trusted, but we just don't know? I really felt like she was being set up to be a villain, but it led nowhere.

Now a lot of the elements I just addressed can be inferred and we can use context clues to guess, but I think it's the writers' job (especially in a family film) to make it clear why characters are making the choices/decisions they're making, at least by the time you reach the end of the movie. I know some stories are more ambiguous than others, but to me it felt like something was missing. I guess we'll see if there's anything hidden in deleted scenes.

FINAL THOUGHTS

As a whole, I absolutely loved this movie and I am so thankful it exists. I can't wait for Sonic 4 and I hope it receives just as much hype, love and attention that this movie did! If you read my entire review, thank you! I hope you enjoyed it, even if you didn't agree with all of it :)

[murdercide626]

Regarding Gerald in Sonic 3

(SPOILERS!!)

I've been thinking about how Gerald Robotnik was depicted in the third Sonic movie, and I have some observations.

I'm sure some fans have been comparing Gerald as shown in the film versus the games and taken note of not only how much sillier he is in the movie, but also how he's depicted as being considerably more villainous.

There are a couple things to consider though. In the games (especially since Shadow Generations) the majority of what we see of Gerald is from before the tragedy on the ARK and losing Maria, and we only get brief bits of him after he lost his sanity.

However in the movie it's the exact opposite situation. Almost everything we see of Gerald in the film is after Maria's death and he's clearly lost his sanity. Not only that, but because Gerald in the film never got executed, he spent many decades in a prison cell, stewing in his despair and rage, becoming more and more bitter and deranged while also extending his lifespan to an unnatural length by dosing himself with chaos energy from Shadow's quill.

But you might say, "Gerald in the movie only saw Shadow as a tool and didn't love him." While there's evidence of that being true in the present day, there's little to suggest that's the case in the very brief bit we see of Gerald in the flashback he's shown in before Maria's death. I personally think Gerald did have a fondness for Shadow before the tragedy, likely through observing Maria's close friendship with him. When Gerald retrieves Maria and Shadow to flea the facility he refers to them both collectively as "children", meaning he possibly had a similar fondness for both of them. I think that after Maria's death though, Gerald's slipping sanity, disillusionment with humanity, and obsession with avenging Maria's death, probably made him lose sight of the love he once had for Shadow.

And there is even evidence of the same thing happening in the games, with Gerald treating Shadow as little more than a tool for his posthumous plan for genocidal vengeance, which would have ended with Shadow's death too. Gerald even tampered with Shadow's memories of Maria to ensure he'd carry out his plans.

There's also evidence in the games of Gerald having an ego similar to Eggman's, shown by him modeling the ARK to resemble his face. Gerald even sheepishly confessed in his journal he was being self indulgent when designing the ARK. So it would seem in the games Gerald does possess at least some of the negative traits shared with his grandson, though he's self aware of these flaws and tries to suppress them. Gerald in the movie however is at a point where he's way past caring, since he's already decided to destroy the earth and everyone on it, so he's just letting his freak flag fly. lol

So if Gerald hadn't been executed in the games, who knows how he might have turned out. Gerald being executed was probably a mercy, really...

And it should also be noted that Sega themselves even considered resurrecting Gerald as a villainous character in the early production of Shadow's solo game.

That actually brings me to another thing I was thinking about while watching the movie. In Sonic 3, they repeatedly emphasize how similar Eggman and Gerald are in appearance, quirks, skills, and even wearing near identical outfits at the end. Sonic even collectively refers to them both as "Eggmen".

This stood out to me because it reminded me of the Rush games where Eggman teamed up with Eggman Nega, a character that was near identical to Eggman, but having a greying mustache and a darker, more twisted personality.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I've had a theory that the scrapped plot point of resurrecting Gerald as a villain is what led to the creation of the Eggman Nega character. So seeing Gerald as depicted in the movie was like seeing it all come full circle. lol

But anyway, yeah, this has been another stream of consciousness rant from me. Maybe you got something out of this, or maybe not. Oh well. lol

And just to make myself clear, I am NOT trying to argue that Gerald is a bad person in the games (at least before Maria died). If what I said came across like that, then I'm sorry, but that was definitely not my intention.

[descendant-of-truth]

On principle I don't really like the idea of Sonic being sent after Shadow at the request of G.U.N for two reasons:

It robs us of the god-tier cold open of the original game where Sonic busts out of a helicopter to escape arrest

I always loved the setup where Sonic and Shadow meeting was pretty incidental - neither of them had any idea who the other was, but Sonic thought Shadow was impersonating him on purpose while Shadow just thought he seemed fun to mess with

But depending on what the surrounding context is, I can see how the movie could make this plot point interesting in a completely different way that still complements these versions of the characters, even if I don't prefer it to the original.

So, some ideas:

G.U.N has been the villain of the last two movies, so in order for Sonic to be working with them, they must have a pretty good deal for him. My guess is that they promised to leave him and his family alone - no more schemes, no more kidnapping, nothing of the sort - on the one condition that "Team Sonic" helps them deal with Shadow.

This would already function as a narrative parallel to Sonic enlisting Robotnik's help later for the same thing. The name of the game becomes "we don't like each other, we're enemies, but we need to work together to deal with this guy because he's too powerful," which becomes a triple threat if the whole cast including Shadow gets to team up at the very end to save the world

I think it would also be very fun if Sonic is trying so hard to talk things out with Shadow in large part because he heard that there was another hedgehog on the loose, and wants so badly to be friends with someone like him that it takes at least one full-blown beating before he gives up on that idea

(The other reason he keeps trying is "it worked on Knuckles" of course)

Now, this puts Sonic in a fascinating position, particularly when using the game as a frame of reference. SA2 was very straightforward with how it presented its conflict at first: you have a Hero Story and a Dark Story, and as such you're primed to think of everyone on both sides as either being good or bad.

And most people, I think, were inclined to play the Hero Story first; it's the one with Sonic in it, and the select screen hovers over it by default, too. It tells a very simple story of Sonic and friends stopping Eggman's (admittedly very threatening) evil plan, developing some new rivalries along the way.

It's already a little bit of a twist for Sonic and Knuckles to have formed a respectful relationship with Shadow and Rouge by the end, since you see them as villains initially, but they still remain antagonists. Rouge returns the Master Emerald pieces, but she's still working with Robotnik. Shadow thinks Sonic is pretty impressive, but he still tries to kill him to stop him from saving the world.

But then you get to the Dark Story, and then the Final Story, and you think, oh. It's really not that simple.

For starters, you get to see more of Rouge's bond with Shadow. There's some conflict inherent to their relationship because Rouge is a spy and is only here to get information on Shadow, but after he saves her life, there's a definite shift to their dynamic. There's something genuine there, even if it doesn't get a lot of screentime dedicated to it.

But most important to the story is what we learn about who Shadow is, in part through his interactions with Rouge.

Shadow is cunning and ruthless - heck, his goal is to literally blow up the world. But whether out of compassion or survivor's guilt or both, he can't let Rouge die, so he saves her and then lies about his motivations for it to seem colder than he is.

And even though the things he's doing are definitely bad, his motivations are famously sympathetic; he wants revenge for his best friend, a young girl who was killed by the G.U.N military during a raid.

(It was implied that there was some sort of brainwashing done on him by Gerald after Maria died as well but that part of the story is incredibly vague)

By the end of the game, Shadow comes into his own as a hero and helps save the world instead of destroying it. And suddenly it makes sense why the stories weren't called Hero and Villain, because neither Shadow nor Rouge are especially villainous characters; Rouge is selfish, and Shadow is driven by grief and hatred, but they're ultimately kind at the end of the day. Both of them find people to care about - each other, as well as Knuckles and Sonic respectively.

But y'know, there wasn't a lot of ambiguity about who the heroes were in the Hero Story itself. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are pretty clearly The Good Guys, and nothing they do is really questioned because they're always fighting The Bad Guys.

So what I'm seeing here is an opportunity for Team Sonic to not be totally in the right for once. Yes, it's good to stop Shadow from going on a rampage and destroying the world, but look at who they're keeping for company here. G.U.N? Robotnik and Agent Stone? As if either of those groups are trustworthy enough to not stab them in the backs as soon as it's convenient. As if they're not going to find some way to exploit Sonic for their benefit.

And frankly, Shadow is totally in the right to hate G.U.N, and Team Sonic for working with them. Given that his backstory seems to be largely unchanged, it's kind of impossible not to be on board with him fighting the protagonists at least a little bit.

Besides, I don't think it's a coincidence that Shadow is doing the wrong thing for the right reason, while Sonic is doing the right thing with the wrong people (and maybe also for the wrong reason). That has the potential to be very clever if executed well.

I can only imagine the dawning horror on Sonic's face as he realizes just how much he's not on the right side of this conflict; when he learns about what happened to Maria and everyone else on the Ark. Especially if Tom's family was involved in it, like the current popular theory going around.

Also, last-second realization: what if there's something more to that line from Tom, "it wasn't always easy, but you didn't change who you are in here"? Most likely it's going to be used as a way to show how Shadow is different from Sonic, because he did change who he was in response to trauma and it'll be really poetic when he "finds himself" again

But also, consider: maybe Sonic does end up changing throughout the movie. Maybe he does something that goes against his core principles in order to get an advantage in some way, and they kind of play around with the idea that Sonic is similar to Shadow in ways that aren't always flattering to either of them. I want those hedgehogs to make each other worse before they get better

In any case, there's a lot of potential here, and I'm very curious to see what they ended up going with

[ziblu58]

My theories for what the themes of the fourth Sonic movie will be based on.

Ima preface by saying that most of my exposure for anything Sonic related mainly comes from the movies although I've been trying to read up on some of the canon lore these past few weeks but I just wanna put out there how I can see the fourth movie playing out.

Throughout all three movies, we've seen Sonic develop in many different ways, however the more a character develops, the more they run the risk of becoming a character that doesn't develop and grow. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but considering that Sonic is indeed the main protagonist of these movies, it's important to have a place where he can continue to grow and develop as the story continues as a way to keep things fresh.

So where I think the themes of Sonic 4 will be based on are "flaws and perfection". In fact, there's already some decent setup for this to be the case based on the post credits scenes of Sonic 3.

The scene in particular that I'm referring to is when Sonic refers to Metal Sonic as a cosplay, even noting that he got a few details wrong, and we see Metal get visibly mad at this as shown when his pupils dilate. Sonic even follows up his statement by saying how "it's hard to copy perfection", referring to himself.

So where can Sonic 4 go with this idea? Well, based on this scene in particular, we can see that Sonic is pretty confident in himself. He's confident in his abilities, his skills, and his powers, and upon encountering Metal Sonic, all he does is just treat him as just a "villain of the week" threat. He doesn't treat him with the same seriousness like he would with Robotnik or Shadow, but rather another bad guy that he can easily beat.

Now from what I know, in canon, Metal Sonic was basically created to be the "better Sonic" by Eggman. A version of Sonic that was made to outclass him in every single aspect.

This is where I think the themes of flaws and perfection could fit in with the movie.

As I mentioned before, Sonic is confident in who he is and his abilities. And in a way, he now sees himself as perfect as he could possibly be after everything he's went through throughout each of the films. But what does it really mean be perfect? Does it mean to be without flaws? Without faults? Or does it mean that you don't have to be perfect in the literal sense, but to embrace who you really are, flaws and strengths combined.

Throughout the movie, we could see how Sonic grapples with the identity of being the "perfect" hero to everyone, especially since he's served as huge inspirations to other characters such as Tom, Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow to be better versions of themselves in the previous movies.

This is also where I think Amy would be able to play along with the themes of the movie. Let's say she has her tarot cards, this could cause her to have an idealistic view of the way the world works. She could think that her tarot cards could provide the answers to the future or something along those lines. And in turn this could lead her to have an idealistic view of Sonic, viewing him as a legendary hero with all these grand acts of heroism that have inspired her to be her own hero and her tarot cards told her that she would meet this hero one day (this is how I assume Amy managed to locate Sonic at the end of Sonic 3).

There was this one artwork by @/Kiioki11 on twitter that portrays how I would imagine the Sonamy dynamic playing out in the movie, with it being something more mutual instead of something one-sided or a "reverse Sonamy" situation, where Amy looks up to Sonic as a legendary hero that she was destined to meet and Sonic, being his cocky self, playing along with it and hyping himself up. Overall I just want them to be silly goobers with one another and to form a genuine bond with each other.

Now as comedic as it may be for Sonic to hype himself up, this actually starts developing an internal struggle for him. Even though it's great that he's looked up to by people and has helped them in one way or another, it can cause him to start feeling that he has to live up to those expectations. And with how high of a pedestal Amy has Sonic on already, something like that could overwhelm him so throughout the course of film, we can see how he can crack under the pressure being the "perfect" hero for his friends since he's supposed to be their leader, he's supposed to be the one who guides them into victory, the one who mostly has the fate of the world on his shoulders.

So when Sonic finally reaches his lowest point during the film, this is where Amy's idealized view of Sonic is finally broken. The image of the "legendary hero" she was destined to meet is shattered, and instead is replaced with the real Sonic. Here she actually gets to see Sonic as Sonic and this time, she's the one who motivates him to keep on going, making it a reversal of the "pep talks" Sonic would usually give to other characters such as Knuckles or Shadow. Despite having had that idealistic view of Sonic now destroyed, her empathetic nature allows her to see past that, especially with everything they have gone through together throughout the film. This is where Amy learns to see Sonic for who he really is and if we're gonna go the romantic route, that small crush she once had turns into genuine love and adoration for Sonic and vice versa.

Now where Metal Sonic comes into play is how he could have what I like to call a "crash out" arc. What this means is that once he finds out he's just a copy of Sonic and not the real deal, this is what drives him batshit crazy to prove he's the "one true Sonic", leading him to become Neo Metal Sonic, essentially representing a Sonic that is "perfect". A Sonic without flaws and is at the peak of both his powers and abilities. So while Sonic has learned to embrace who he really is, flaws and strengths combined, Metal Sonic tries to eliminate the flaws he has to achieve absolute perfection. Also Paramount, please give Metal Sonic a Tai Lung/Shredder-esque battle where he completely mops the floor with Team Sonic, I wanna see him be an absolute beast.

Anyways, that's all I got for how Sonic 4 could potentially play out and how I would like to see some things go. Let me know what you guys think 🫡

[goldninja91]

Sonic Movie Franchise: 2nd Trilogy Predictions

Obviously, spoilers for Sonic 3 inbound. Read at your own risk XD

All righty, everyone out? Good. Now, let's talk predictions! I'm assuming that everyone here has seen the credits scenes of Sonic 3, and I've been cooking up some ideas as to where the plotlines of future movies could go, even without Eggman as the main villain. We can't hold Jim Carrey hostage forever, after all XD

So obviously we're going to get both Amy and Metal Sonic for Sonic 4. The question is, what game plotline will they be adapting, if any at all? Well, here's my theory/pitch for what Sonic 4 could be.

Metal and Amy both debuted in Sonic CD, a game that heavily used time travel in its plot. Given the fact that Metal found Sonic in what seems to be mere days after the Eclipse Cannon crisis, it almost seems to be too fast for him to have just sprung up on his own. We know that Eggman himself was mostly just wallowing in his defeat at the hands of Super Sonic, so why would he have built a mechanical Sonic and not use him at all in 3's events? Furthermore, where did the 'lesser' Metal Sonic drones come from, and how was it that Amy found Sonic mere moments after Metal did?

My theory is that this Metal Sonic was created by some future version of Eggman, potentially from an alternate timeline, and was sent back in time to just after the events of the Eclipse Cannon. And given how experienced Amy seems to be at handling the Metal Horde, it's possible that she hails from this future as well. I mean, I know she's a massive Sonic fangirl, but it's significantly less probable for her to find him in this universe as opposed to someone like Tails.

As for Metal's role in Sonic 4... I personally hope that he ends up being the main villain. He has so much potential to be more than just Eggman's lackey, especially with his story in Sonic Heroes. I theorize that Sonic 4's story could end up being some kind of combination of both CD and Heroes, with Metal aiming to take over Eggman's position of power and copy everyone's abilities, becoming the true ultimate life form. It also seems like they could be taking inspiration from the Metallix from the Fleetway comics, which would also be incredibly cool.

This could also be a 2nd chance to use the missed opportunity that was Neo Metal Sonic, having that be the final form for Metal instead of the Metal Overlord. Although if they wanted to include it, the Metal Overlord/Metallic Madness could be some kind of metallic kaiju that Metal builds himself to fight the heroes while he stays in his Neo form.

And with that out of the way, I hope you're prepared for even wilder speculation regarding the next two movies! XD There was a vague hint about Shadow's origin in Sonic 3 when they mentioned he fell to Earth in a meteor, which looked suspiciously like a miniature Black Comet. I believe that they could be setting up some kind of Black Arms invasion for a more Shadow-centric Sonic 5. The reason I'm pushing this back to a 5th movie is because it would be incredibly difficult to mash both Metal Sonic and the Black Arms into a single Sonic 4. This is also a chance to integrate Rouge and Omega into the story as Shadow's own team, separate from Sonic's.

(Though now that I think about it, if Paramount does opt for a Shadow/Knuckles tv show, that could take its time to focus on a Black Arms storyline instead. However, this is currently in wild unbased speculation territory.)

As for the final movie in the trilogy... I'm honestly not sure. I have two vague ideas as to what the villain could be, as without Eggman as a factor (even with the possibility of an evil future version of him, somewhat similar to Eggman Nega) the options are somewhat limited. My top two picks are either Dark Gaia or Chaos as the final villain, though considering how the movies scale things I think that Chaos could be more likely, as I don't think they'd be quite bold enough to shatter Earth into 7 pieces just like that.

But both of them offer opportunities to explore more alien lore and more things revolving around the Chaos/Master Emerald as well. Another reason I say Chaos is more likely is because while Unleashed has a great story, it's mainly focused on Sonic and Chip as opposed to the more team/family-centric themes that the movies like to focus on. In that vein of thought, the defeat of Chaos with the positive energies of the Emeralds feels more in line with that family dynamic the movies tend to lean towards.

Buuuut those are just my thoughts. What do y'all think?

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Sonic 4 speculations

WARNING! DO NOT CLICK THE READ MORE IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN SONIC 3! I AM SERIOUS. I AM DISCUSSING A MAJOR SPOILER OF THE END CREDITS SCENE. IF YOU READ BELOW AND GET MAD ABOUT BEING SPOILED. ITS ON YOU. DONT @ ME FOR YOU NOT READING THIS VERY BLATANT WARNING

I have some theories on what the plot of the CONFIRMED Sonic 4 will be. See this theory below

HEY, DID YOU READ THE WARNING ABOVE! IF YOU DIDNT THEN ITS ON YOU.

I have a lot of theories on what the premise of the 4th movie could be.

1. Sonic CD inspired Past and Future Gimmick!

Sonic ran so fast in the end credits scene that he not only ended up in New York... he ended up in the future. Where Metal Sonics are the enforcers of the world. Eggman or someone with Eggman's tech (Like Stone), managed to create Metal Sonic. With Sonic not there, the metal sonic's easily took over the world.

Amy, the one we see in the end credits, is actually a FREEDOM FIGHTER. And probably leading it. Sonic of course says he will fix this and save everyone. Cue some reason why he isnt going back to the past right away.... He bonds with Amy and maybe even crushes on her.

Amy explains something about how that after the events of Sonic 3, the explosion of the Super weapon caused a portal to open resulting in a bunch of aliens coming to earth (That or maybe they just started showing up because they heard about sonic. whatever reason). Sonic finds out that Someone made a robot of him and without him there, the metal sonics won. Also there is the Death Egg.

Sonic ends up having a showdown with Metal Sonic Prime/ The OG Metal Sonic at some point and Sonic gets back to his time in which Sonic arrives just in time to fight Metal Sonic Prime again, but back when he was first created.

Day is saved and Also Amy of the Present is there and she finally meets Sonic. Cue Meetcute

2.Sonic Heroes inspired Gimmick

After Sonic 2, a lot more mobians/ aliens actually started showing up all over earth. Some because they heard of Sonic and were fans of the hedgehog (Like Amy). And others because Mobius is in trouble, to ask Sonic for help.

After the events of Sonic 3, its revealed that Eggman didnt die, but was actually sent into a wormhole and sent him to Sonic's homeworld.

Anyway he uses Sonic's Quill to create a new robot. A Metal Sonic. And this metal Sonic ends up learning and becomes sentient. And creates more of himself, he betray's eggman. Now the metal sonics and Neo Metal Sonic, go to earth to destroy Sonic. So that Metal Sonic can be the one true sonic.

Also introducing others like Rouge, Omega, and maybe even Cream the Rabbit

3. A mix of both

So its a Future idea, but with Neo Metal Sonic as the Main Villain. We may even get one of Metal sonic's big forms. Like Perfect Chaos, Super Neo Metal, or even.... the Red one from Knuckle's chaotix.

We also have Sonic meet some cool older versions of cream, big the cat, the Chaotix, and rouge. As well as an older Shadow who helps Sonic out.

These Teams have their own plots and have to help save the future and help sonic go back in time to get home.

Sonic will have his epic climactic battle with Neo Metal who reveals he was created by the Doctor. (either as a fail safe that creates him, he actually survives but metal betrayed him, or Stone created him)

Sonic's lesson in this is more about knowing how to be a true leader.

[tinyfantasminha]

TALK ABOUT YOUR SONIC 3 EXPERIENCE 👹

HHHHHHHHHHHhhhHHHHHHHHHHHH

OKAY before anything else I want to state that I am well-versed enough in sonic lore and I played Sonic Adventure 1 + 2 and watched Sonic X in japanese so I'm VERY biased 😫(also I watched it in the PTBR dub so when I mention dialogues it might not be totally accurate to the original audio BUT I did as much research as I could 😫)

Overall the movie went pretty much the direction I was expecting 🤔it wasn't 100% accurate to SA2 sure but?!? The changes were not bad at all! I remember when I saw the trailers I was a bit doubtful on Gerald being present throughout the movie but he ended up BEING ONE OF THE BEST THINGS OF THE MOVIE OHMY GOD BLESS JIM CARREY 😫 I found myself having a blast of fun and laughing at EVERY single scene of him and Eggman just doing silly (for evil reasons >:)) shenanigans

EGGMAN'S AND STONE'S DIVORCE ARC 💔💔The ''toxic'' yaoi was only a facade..... they were actually just doomed yaoi this entire time 💔

THEY ACTUALLY DID THE ''talk about low budget flights ✈️🙄no food 🍿🍕or movies 🎞️📺💅i'm outta here 😂😂😂🏃🏃'' IM CRAYZYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Tails was OK in this movie, not really as interesting as he was in movie 2 but ooOHHMYNGOODDD KNUCKLCKES 😫😫😫😫😫😫💕 I LOVE LOVE LOVE the movie characterization for Knuckles... the big-brother coded scenes ..... the highlight was definitely the scene when he and Sonic are arguing about the Master Emerald, OML THE TRUST HE HAS IN HIS BROTHER

Ok let's skip to the good part already. SHADOWWWWWWWWWW SHADODWWWWBWHGHHGHDHJFGDFJNJNFD THE INITIAL SCENE WITH HIM KNOCKING OUT THE GUN SOLDIERS AND TELEPORTING I WAS JUMPNIG IN MY SEAT POIUNTING AT THE SCREEN THEY REFERENCED SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG 2005 OPENIGN IM SHITTING MY PANTS I COULD ALMOST HEAR I AM ALL OF ME IN THE DISTANCE OML

Shadow's and Maria's story was done spectacularly. It was SO nice to see how their daily life was..... Maria getting to act just like a pre teen her age, they danced and watched movies together.... 😭😭😭I was almost tearing up at that sequence just by knowing that these peaceful moments would come to an end. Her death was a liiitle different than what we expected yeah they wouldn't just fucking shoot a 12 year old in a kids movie unfortunately but it had the same impact nonetheless and dAAMMN Gerald's absolutely HAUNTED look??! I GOT CHILLS

Okay but hands down the moment that I just can't get out of my head??? ''Oh Ivo... you're no Maria.'' I LEGIT GASPEDDDDDD like yeah I did expect Gerald's plan because that's what happens in canon after all but I was NOT expecting this level of coldness towards his own — and REMAINING — family. Not a twist villain, but a villain with a twist. I may have gotten spoilers for the post credit scenes but I'm SO GLAD I wasn't spoiled for this. (Also me and my friends laughed out loud when he went down like a looney tunes villain 😭)

I was spoiled that Amy appeared in the post credit (the kid behind me was also saying ''oh Amy will appear'' 💀) but UUUHHH IDK HOW I AVOIDED THE METAL SONIC SPOILERS SO I WAS LEGIT SHOCKED. The only time I admittedly screamed in the theater, ''WHAT IS THAT?!? METAL SONIC?!?!!!'' OKAY SO SONIC 4 WILL BE BASED ON SONIC CD IG........... I regretfully am not really well versed in classic Sonic lore BUTTT I WATCHED SONIC OVA A LOT so PLEASE PLEASE if Metal turns out to be the main antagonist in Sonic 4 PLEASE make Sonic OVA references 😭🙏 ESPECIALLY TO ITS CLIMAX...... if you know you know.

AND LAST THING BUT THEY DID IT. TJEY DID IT THEY DID IT IM FUKCCN CRAZY

NOT ONLY SHADOW IS A FEMINIST HE ALSO LOVES LATINAS CONFIRMED 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 GABRIELLA SHOULD KILL THEM BOTH SHES NOT A PRIZE TO BE WON !!!!!!!!!!!! THANKY YOU SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG YOURE THE REAL ONEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

so glad I went with my special shirt for this occasion 🙏🙏🙏 IF NO ONE GOT ME I KNOW SHADOW GOT ME

[semi-sketchy]

Alright, since I'm at that episode, I'm gonna elaborate on my actual problem with Dark Sonic:

To be honest, I don't think there's anything really wrong with Sonic during the episode. He's angry his friends have been hurt by a villain, so he harnesses the power of the fake Emeralds (which he has a physical negative reaction to) and smashes said villain's testing robots to pieces.

I never really considered this a problem. Sonic can get angry, be antagonized, the SA2 Shadow fight in Green Forest springs to mind.

Plus, Secret Rings has Darkspine Sonic, which is about as close to Dark Sonic as it gets. Sharha just died, trading her life for his, he absorbs the Rage, Sadness and Hatred Rings and transforms.

Even after he leaves the transformation, he still seems pretty pissed at Erazor Djinn, with killing Sharha at the top of the list.

So, yeah. It's not 1:1 and I'm not claiming these are the same, X is obviously more exaggerated, but I don't really have a problem with the concept. We can talk about how Eggman comes in, tells Sonic he needs to be better and not let his emotions overwhelm him, but frankly I think that's more of an X!Eggman issue than the transformation itself.

No, my real problem is, and always has been, how the fandom interpreted it. That's it. I've read so many fics, seen so many posts about Sonic just "turning dark" when angry, as if any transformations have ever been purely emotion without an external power-source. (Super requires the Chaos Emeralds, Hyper the Super Emeralds, Darkspine was 3 of the World Rings, Werehog was Dark Gaia energy, Excalibur Sonic was the sacred swords, Wisp transformations needed the Wisps, Super Sonic 2 was Chaos Emeralds + Cyber energy....you get it.)

The way I've always saw it, is yes, Sonic is upset, but he also is being affected by the fake Emeralds.

This is the Discotek translation, I don't know enough Japanese to say how accurate it is, all I know know is "warui" means bad/sick depending on the sentence. An older translation (and the English dub) points to him feeling physically sick around them.

Far as I can tell, he's already reacting bad to these Emeralds on top of being antagonized, so he uses power that's at his disposal does what the villain wants: fuck up his shit.

If the fake Emeralds didn't exist, this transformation wouldn't have happened. Additionally, since X ended and the only fake Emerald in the games was blown up in SA2, it can't happen again. (Unless you write scenario where someone makes fake Emeralds, but that requires writing for the form instead of just slapping it in à la characters in IDW.)

Perhaps I'm being too hard on a lot of kids that never really interacted with the source material and just wanted to write Sonic fanfics. I've read so many that made it quite obvious that the author didn't know anything about Sonic besides he's fast and I'm not really out here trying to say Sonic shouldn't inspire people to create. Never said I hated reading those fics, I got a good deal of entertainment out of them. It's simply this misconception has stretched so far, it's like the original context has been entirely erased.

And that's the part of Dark Sonic that bothers me.

I've seen plenty of arguments for why the transformation was a poor choice and I don't entirely disagree with them. For me, I could take it or leave it. It was a one-off short transformation in an anime where Sonic pretends to be Star Trek for a season, it just exists to me.

Although, it's been awhile since I last saw discussion of Dark Sonic, as a whole it seemed to be a bigger thing in the early 2010s. Possibly because now we have more recent Sonic shows and movies, it's not just X being the latest thing anymore. I certainly don't read fics like I used to, so I'd be surprised if it is still as heavily used as it used to be. Maybe if I get some time, I'll look up some fics and find out.

[heavenlysphere]

Pros:

• SHADOW WAS DONE RIGHT. He’s perfect and lovely and badass. Keanu did an amazing job voicing him.

• Good sneak in scene

• GOOD FIGHT SCENES

• Shadow was more platinum and I really liked that nod.

• Maria backstory was cute

• Fun references. I enjoyed no food or movies

• Beautiful scene on the moon. Made me cry. In fact a lot of Shadow scenes made me cry.

• They put in hot topic and Eggman being bisexual. I don’t think it was intentional necessarily but it was funny.

• Amy in the end scenes!! Metal in the end scenes!! A nice person told me there was more to the end credits and it was.

• Knuckles’s slight edit out of being scared of ghosts in sa2 was a neat nod too.

• Fighters art style was cute and they did the pose.

• I think if we don’t hear Live & Learn again, it was a nice send off.

Cons:

• Too much Jim Carrey. Holy shit it got annoying. Especially the dance scene. Shut the hell up get to the action.

• They didn’t shoot the little girl. Which is fine but they shot a gun that shot an explosion capsule to avoid shooting the little girl. Sort of stupid.

• HOW THE HELL DID HE LIVE FOR 150 YEARS. HE WAS IMPRISONED. THATS STUPID.

• I consider the removal of Maria’s disability only slightly ableist. Granted, her personality before Shadow Gens was littlest cancer patient. But I think it’s kind of integral to the plot. It was fine though because Shadows an alien (more so) in this. I just don’t like the removal of a character’s disability.

• I don’t care if the cop dies. He broke his stupid arm.

• I didn’t care that the GUN general died.

• They just blew up the moon for a reference. Which is a nice reference! But the moon blowing up was a threat. I liked it was there but it was dumb at the same time.

• Win for Stobotnik I guess??? I guess??? It wasn’t entirely impactful. Lonely Eggman was never much my thing. Nor his sacrifice because he already “died.” Given Metal in the end credits I think he is alive and I don’t like the cheapness of doing it twice. Shadow kinda has to be alive because he’s a fan favorite and so is Eggman he’s the fucking villain but it felt less impactful. Still impactful! But lessened. Shadow doing the right thing made more sense than Eggman. He never wanted to do the right thing he just wanted to rule it not go on a suicide mission like Gerald and Shadow.

Over all it made me very happy. And Shadow made me very happy.

[nerditudes]

STOBOTNIK Sherlock Holmes AU-- villains posing as a detective and his roommate. They solve a lot of crime-- but never the ones they commit. Together they frame anyone who grows wise to what they're really doing. Dr Robotnik and Sherlock Stone are quite the duo.

SHERLOCK STONES is a reserved genius. He and his good Doctor, Ivo Robotnik are rommates. Stone has one of the sharpest minds in all of the world. Though there are some who see him as more foe than friend. Stones enjoys playing the violin and the sound of silence.

DOCTOR IVO ROBOTNIK is the talkative, stubborn scientist. He's brilliant but a bit mad, they say. Stones' relaxed demeanor contrasts with the far more abrasive Doctor. He chronicles their adventures and peddles it to the masses as 'official' and 'firsthand' accounts of just how brilliant Sherlock Stones is. He finds the public too easy to manipulate.

IN REALITY they are a criminal duo. Robbing rare artifacts with unique properties-- possibly linked to aliens/higher technology. Some of which involves rings that can send folk to and fro. It seems Earth is considered a bit of a backwater planet to more advanced races. So despite having spacefaring technology

EGGMAN is the mastermind, the foe of Sherlock Stones. Dramatic and determined to see Stones fall-- he poses the greatest threat to the world. He's really only whispered about in criminal circles. More myth than man. His tech is cutting edge. He's got a flair for the dramatic and genius inventions and perfect plans to get what he needs.

AGENT MOBIAN is his personal barista and bodyguard. keeping him safe from the common rabble. Mobian [Agent Stone] helps as a sounding board/punching bag for Eggman-- but it's just what they do in the movies anyway. They find an alien specimen in stasis and decide to try and figure out how to wake him up.

EGGMAN STEALS a series of artifacts and strange items, seemingly unrelated. Can anyone stop him? Stones seems to have gone cold lately-- withdrawing from the public eye as word of his flatmate getting married carries around.

OPTIONAL ADDITIONS/OTHER CHARACTER INTERACTIONS: IN THIS AU

SHADOW is eventually woken up and the two take him in as their successor with their civilian [heroic] identities. Framing him as an up and coming detective found by the two while trying to hunt down the Eggman.

[Feels] Shadow serves as the assistant/protegee of Sherlock Stones and Dr Robotnik. He bonds with Stones over a love of music. Stones plays his violin every night. He seems to warm up entirely and Shadow gets to see the side of him reserved for those moments with Ivo.

[Wholesome] Shadow sees how the two interact. He knows he's their protegee but he finds it odd the two can't see what's right in front of them. He joins Team Sonic in their matchmaking-- perhaps finding his own along the way [cue romcom energy].

[Canon] What'll be canon to the fic-- Shadow knows Robotnik is Eggman and it's all an act. Robotnik sees Shadow as a great tool in orchestrating the greatest finale anyone's ever seen. He has all he needs to complete his plans as Eggman and plans a dramatic send off for Sherlock Stones. The Reichenbach Fall.

SONIC, KNUCKLES, TAILS, OR AMY as the aspiring detectives. Ending up becoming heroes and helping to thwart/fight Eggman. They look up to Sherlock Stones and Doctor Robotnik [for now].

[Feels] They keep getting close to who Eggman might be [he's always running away before he can be caught, leaving some mechanical monstrosity in his wake]. Thankfully these kids are harder to be rid of than your standard shonen protagonist. They keep getting close until one day they witness the fall of Stones-- at the hands of one of Eggman's machines. Shadow gets added to the party, hungry for revenge.

[Wholesome] They see Stones and Dr Robotnik and go 'that's not just roommates' and try to play matchmaker with the two. Comedy can ensue as they keep nearly uncovering who Eggman is for various reasons.

[Canon] What'll end up being canon to the fic-- the trio/foursome come together and make their own detective agency. They seem to be on the trail of Eggman better than even Stones himself! Well-- they say he hasn't been the same since Robotnik ran off to inherit his grandfather's estate. All he does his brood in his flat and play the violin.

[pico-digital-studios]

Into, Across and Beyond!: Character Charts

Today, I'd like to introduce you all to most of the major cast line-up for Into, Across and Beyond!.

BLUR GANG

The Blur Gang is a bunch of multidimensional heroes from many universes all ganged together with the equal purpose of keeping things safe. The members of this team include:

OMT!Tails (the Tails of the Sonic.exe One More Time games by Mr. Pixel Productions)

CR!Sonic (an alternate version of the blue blur by @becdoesthings)

OMT!Mina (an alternate version of Mina from a parallel timeline to Tails)

Mini Sonic (from the Sonic the Hedgehog Parts 1 & 2 game)

Mr. Needlemouse (a cartoon-like Sonic made by @mcgamejolter)

EX!Alice (an alternate version of Xenophanes' right-hand girl by AetherAsterisk) and her robot mech, E4-R6:3

D-Sides Mighty (from the FNF D-Sides mod)

BK!Amy Rose (an alternate role swap version of Amy for Sonic and the Black Knight, conceptualised by @sstorminghearts)

CU!Sonic and CU!Sonia (a father and daughter from the ChaosIIUniverse by ToonsiteComics)

Nine (from Sonic Prime)

Nitro (my own original character)

Antho (from SFG1235's Mobiverse AU)

Ex-Prince Brian (from the Mobius' Freedom Fighters AU by jordangaming101 and @becdoesthings)

Hog the Tenrec (a bootleg Sonic character by Jack Gore on Twitter)

Wacky the Hedgehog (another bootleg Sonic character by danicorelove on Twitter)

Devy the Rabbit (character and sprite by NotSoDevy)

Trip the Sungazer Lizard

QUILL SOCIETY

The Quill Society are a group of multiversal characters responsible for protecting the very fabric of the Sonic and SEGA multiverse. Note in advance that only five of its members are on a bad side, and most of them are solely good. Their members include:

Lost Memory Sonic (from What if Sonic Lost his Memory? by The Sega Scourge)

Amy Rouge (from that Sonic Adventure 2 mod with everyone wearing Rouge's outfit)

Turbo the Alien Hedgehog (that one alien rival from the Fleetway comics)

Fiona Fox

Tekno the Canary (from the Fleetway comics)

Zonic the Zone Cop (from the Archie universe)

CD Alt Ending Sonic (from Sonic CD: Alternative Ending by Lucsan 2015)

Underground Sonic

Emperor Metallix

Errorverse Sonic (from the same AU Nitro originates from)

LEGO Sonic

Sunky and Tlels

Carol Tea (from Freedom Planet)

Sarah Henderson (from the Needlem0use series by ShutUpJojo)

Barry the Quokka (from The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog)

E-21 (a modified robot from the Movie universe)

Milly Prower (by SallyAc63038470 on Twitter; SFW in this AU)

Blitz!Tails (from the Sonic/Avalice Blitz AU by BobTheGUYYYYY on Twitter)

Sonic.RAW (a Sonic.exe character made by randidesu)

Superstars / Discovery Omega Amy

OVA Knuckles

Rob o' the Hedge

Water Sonic (from that one Sonamy fanart based on Elemental; designed by @xblueshin)

Fleetway Amy

Stella Hoshine the Cat

Pana Der Hejhog

Bunnie Rabbot

Nicky Parlouzer

Somari

Warrior Feline Honey

VILLAINS

These are the various villains present throughout the stories. These include, in the Spider-Verse set:

Eggman Nega

Shadow Emerl / Uma Arachnis

Zeera the Zeti

Surge the Tenrec

Johnny the Shark Robot

Snively

Crimtake (the EXE from NotSoDevy's SONIC Lost Drive trilogy)

Gemerl / Anti-Miles

Dr. Beeman (Mr. Needlemouse's arch-nemesis)

The More than One Universe set includes:

Shalian (an alternate version of Toxinfect)

Crossover Realm Corrupt

Talrareth

Animator vs. Animation Corrupt

Richard Ambersilve

Sonath

Curse (my version of the character)

The Into the Sonic-verse villains include, from this list:

Dr. Finitevus

The Super Special Sonic Search and Smash Squad (Scratch, Grounder and Coconuts)

Scourge the Hedgehog

Rosy the Rascal

Walter Naugus

And finally, we've some members of the AU's supporting cast, those being the OMT versions of Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, Sally, Cream and Robotnik, alongside three other OCs of mine, Lucia, Karilvatch and Amelia, and the Mobiverse version of Tails.

Other supporting characters include:

The Errorverse counterparts of Tails, Amy, Knuckles and Eggman

Exeller (from the Spirits of Hell duology)

Team Lilac

Extraterrestrial Encounter Sonic / XE!Sonic and Xenomorphic (this AU's version of Eddie Brock and Venom)

The FNF trio from the Errorverse (alongside Bentonly/Bently Forceloyed and Isabella Fondsmith from New Identity, New Life)

The Prower Kids (Melody and Skye Prower)

The Errorverse's version of Benjamin Fairest/Softie Benji

Fellow SEGA and Capcom characters include:

Alex Kidd

Ristar

NiGHTS

Opa-Opa

Arle Nadja

Billy Hatcher

Mega Man / Rock Light

Over the next days, I'll drop some bios to explain who all these people are and their role in this AU. Do note that NONE of this is canon to the pre-existing AUs or official universes unless their creators deem it as such.

I apologise in advance if your favourite AU or a favourite OC didn't get in, but do know that this is only the surface level of how massive the multiverse can be. And just remember the one golden rule of the multiverse:

In the multiverse, everything is canon!

Yeah, we don't talk about THAT stuff, though.

Sprite credits:

CartoonsAnimate22 (OMT!Tails, OMT!Sonic, OMT!Knux, OMT!Amy and OMT!Robotnik)

Nebula / Cylent Nite (CR!Sonic and Lost Memory Sonic)

Cylent Nite (OMT!Mina, Tekno and Warrior Feline Honey)

jrm10071322 (Mini Sonic)

Octluigi (Mr. Needlemouse base; edit by Pico231)

deltaConduit (EX!Alice and CD!Sonic; edits by Pico231)

Sergey E.S.N. (front-facing Big Arms sprite)

??? (D-Sides Mighty); @becdoesthings (palette changes)

Mod.Gen (BK!Amy, Nitro (edit and design by KoolTimYT, BroadwayBash123 and Pico231), Wacky (edits by Pico231), Fiona, EV!Sonic/Tails/Amy/Eggman/Knuckles, Bunnie, Snively, Scourge, Rosy, Naugus and the Prower Kids)

paveldechev0604 (CU!Sonic; edits by Pico231)

SEGA (CU!Sonia, Crimtake and Shalian bases; edits by Pico231) (SS!Amy)

Deebs and Xeric (Alt Mod.Gen Tails sprite; edit by Pico231)

@mcgamejolter (Custom Nitro, Amelia and Bently sprites, alongside original sprites for AVA!Corrupt and Richard)

Antho and BECDoesDA/JordanGaming101 (sprites for Antho and Brian)

Jack Gore/darck12exe (Hog sprites)

Gavin’s Golden Entertainment (old Hog sprites; tweaks and edits by Pico231)

NotSoDevy (his character’s sprite)

miniluv73 (Trip sprite)

SuperGoku809 (Amy Rouge sprite)

RatherNoiceSprites (Turbo, Somari and XE!Sonic sprites)

khalifax10 and Xeric (Zonic sprite)

Deebs (UG!Sonic and OMT!Sally sprites)

DerZocker (Emperor Metallix sprite)

LegoLoco7 (LEGO Sonic sprite; recreation by Pico231)

Miles The Duck (Sunky and Tlels sprites)

GalaxyTrail (Carol and Lilac sprites)

SFG1235 (Antho, Barry and MV!Tails sprites)

KostyaGame the Fox (E-21 sprite)

JunkeyBot (Milly sprite; edits by Pico231)

Nebula (Super Tails sprite; edits by Pico231)

randidesu (RAW sprite)

Gardow and Overbound (OVA!Knux sprite)

Gabriel_aka_Frag (Rob o’ and OMT!Cheese sprites)

FlewayAmysprite (Fleetway Amy sprite)

TheCrushedJoycon (TTS sprite; edit by Pico231)

MarkeyJester (Pana sprite)

NickyFan7 (Nicky sprite)

Shinbaloonba (Eggman Nega sprite)

Xeric (Uma sprite)

Willosonic (Zeena sprite; disguised form in one mockup based on a sprite by Teh2Chao2)

ManiaMadness91 (Surge sprite)

Lone Devil (Johnny sprite)

mtallic (Sonic.OMT sprite)

Rosabelle (S1 Extended sprite; edits by BECDoesDA and PrimalKoopaPictures)

NotSoDevy and NightAkio (Talrareth sprites)

paveldechev0604 (Original Sonic 1-based sprite; edits by Pico231)

Louplayer (Ohshima Eggman sprite; edits by Pico231)

Tonberry2k (S.S.S.S.S. Squad sprites)

Smoke-the-Pyroling (OMT!Cream sprite)

KoolTimYT (Dr. Beeman and Exeller sprites)

LiefBnuy (SMA Milla sprite)

HyperTails12 and LillyDragon (Carrie sprite)

NICKtendo DS (Time Eater sprite; edit by Pico231)

RaulHedgeBomber (FNF trio sprites’ palettes)

Hyperknux6 (custom NiGHTS sprite)

[randomthefox]

Eggman definitely strikes me as the type of guy who would deliberately deadname or misgender someone solely out of spite. Woke he is not.

For real. No cap, even.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: it really speaks to how completely psychotic the woke morality standard is that they think not using the specific words they personally prefer to refer to them is somehow worse than physical violence up to and including murder.

"Oh sure Eggman will shove a gun into a 12 year old girls mouth and threaten to blow her brains out, and then launch a 15 year old boy into space and blow him into a million pieces with a bomb and laugh to himself after doing it, and then try to murder an 8 year old boy by shooting him to death with an arsenal of mecha weaponry. But he would ALWAYS make sure to ask what your preferred pronouns are and ensure they're respect! And offer to give Sonic top surgery if he notices he was using an unsafe binder! Sure he might blow up the moon and then threaten to do the same thing to occupied cities on earth and indeed SA2 Dark Story ends with him cackling like a madman with the full intention of firing the planet destroying laser beam directly at the planet, BUT HE OBVIOUSLY STILL CONFORMS TO OUR PROGRESSIVE INTERNET POLITICS!"

Even putting aside the COMPLETELY DERANGED moral standards that insisting that a tyrannical murderer would respect preferred pronouns implies: Eggman demeans Blaze for being a girl and tells Tails to man up

Eggman is Problematic with a capital P. He would absolutely be the kind of person to tell someone who is mtf that the only reason they believe they're a girl is because they're a weak pathetic failure of a man but the truth is that's still what they are and they'll never be a real female because their chromosomes cannot be altered. Any insistence to the contrary is acanonical, and frankly idiotic.

Shouldn't you WANT to portray the VILLAIN of the series as evil in as many ways as possible to make him more reprehensible, and thus achieve more catharsis from seeing him defeated by the heroes?? Wouldn't Eggman stating that your sexual organs define who you are and there's nothing you can do about it make a message from Sonic that people can decide who and what they are for themselves all the more powerful? What makes a villain the villain if he ascribes to all your standards and values that you think are morally correct? If Eggman respects everyones pronouns and offers free on the level genital reassignment surgery to everyone in the Eggman Empire, then why would we WANT Sonic to defeat him?

God I just realized the fucking movies "all possible genders" line is probably what fueled this isn't it? People are probably saying that Eggman respects the gender spectrum because Jim Carrey said some dumbass line in a dumbass movie -_- ignoring the fact that game Eggman is not the same character.

("Oh but the Egg memo about calling Sage 'she/her'!" Eggman assigning a gender identity to Sage based on her physical appearance without consulting her on her personal identity preference SUPPORTS my conclusion that Eggman is problematic, he looked at a thing that resembled a female and said that should be called by female pronouns, that's the OPPOSITE of progressive politics you dunderhead.)