#I could barely get through SatAM either though

[speedbooster]

Journey through Archie Sonic - Introduction

I promised this over on webbedphantom, and I'm sticking to my word. I'm going to be reading the entirety of Archie Sonic, from the main book, the original mini-series, and the numerous spin offs (minus Knuckles, I'll be saving him for later), tackling one issue every day I can.

To preface this, I've barely read any of this comic. I checked out a few issues after the reboot, I read the Sonic Adventure adaptation, and I actually bought both issues of Mega Drive when they came out. But it's been so long that I don't remember much. All I do know is what I've learned from lowart's retrospective on the series, which is what got me interested in checking it out again.

I've also barely seen the cartoons it was originally based on. I did see a few episodes of SatAM when it was on Netflix, but I never got very far because of two reasons; I didn't like Sonic's voice and the mohawk was weird. That's it.

I will eventually watch it, especially with the fan-made season 3 around the corner, but for now, I'm just gonna stick to the comic.

With that out of the way, let's get started.

Sonic the Hedgehog Mini-Series #0 - Feb. 1993

To start off, I'm not going to spend too much time summarizing, because that's kinda boring. Mainly, I just wanna give my thoughts as I read through it, make a few jokes here and there, and give my overall opinion at the end.

First, the cover. It's honestly kinda charming. The colors are nice, the idea of them running out of the tv is creative, and I like seeing the designs from the games... even if it's only for this cover.

Now for the plot. Basically, Robotnik chases Sonic for a bit, he gets away and goes back to base, and that's... honestly it for part one.

Because yeah, it's split into four different parts, telling two different stories, with some little gag pages thrown in here and there. I assume this was done to keep the ads from interrupting the action (I can't say for sure, because the scans I have don't have any ads), which if that's the case I can respect that. As a kid, it was always a little annoying to have the story be put on hold for two pages so I could be shown a photoshopped image of Mr. Fantastic holding a glass a milk.

As for the actual comic, well it's definitely interesting.

It's weird that he can talk, but at least Caterkiller is introducing himself politely before he tries to commit murder.

I said up top that I wasn't a fan of the mohawk Sonic was rocking in these days, but... honestly, the art here kinda makes it work for me. Still not my favorite, but it's consistent, it's cutesy but not overly so, and it works well for what they're going for; A comedic book for kids that's combining the premise of SatAm with the humor of... Adventures. Albeit, not as unhinged as that could be-

Here Sonic has gotten back to Knothole, the hidden base of the Freedom Fighters, and we're introduced to the whole gang, including Sally who is... this.

I have no idea why she's like this. I think it's because her design hadn't been finalized by this point, or the team was only given early production material from SatAM, but either way it's weird seeing this bizarre palette swap of her, and without her jacket. Though I'm aware that wasn't apart of her design for a good while, even in the cartoon.

Sonic, I don't think that's how that works-

Oh man, he really ate it there. Though, I gotta admit, it's cute seeing this version of Tails, before he was the kid genius with some confidence issues. He's the little brother of the whole team, who looks up to them all, but especially Sonic, and wants to be like them. It's really endearing.

... I can't decide if "Trickle Down Technology" is stupid or not. I mean, it sounds stupid but... it's decent wordplay? I think?

Now onto part 2, where the team deals with the leak and stuff. Though we start off checking in on Robotnik and-

I shocking love his desk. Like... oh my lord, everything about this desk is gold. It's so cartoonishly evil, and the "Rights Violated While U Wait" sign definitely got a chuckle out of me.

And this is the source of the leak. Weeping Willow Trees... I have no words, I think the concept speaks for itself-

So Robotnik finds them at the edge of the forest and Sonic taunts him to get him to focus on chasing him, which works but... I don't think this art was meant to be seen up close...

I hate this. He's a conehead with no eyes and a moustache that looks like little wings. I hate that I zoomed in on this why did I do this

... you ever just tell a joke and no one laughs, so you just keep repeating it until someone reacts?

Yeah, I feel this.

So Sonic books it to the well to grab a power ring he hid there, which he then uses to do-

... I don't even-

Like... why? How? Huh??

This might just be the stupidest thing I've ever seen. And I kinda love it??

I still hate that the badniks can talk, but like... That buzzbomber is gonna die for that joke. Like there is no way he lets him live after that, right?

... anyway Robotnik gets away, so Sonic and the gang plant new trees to make the willows stop crying. And I will admit-

This makes me smile. I'm a sucker for puns.

But that's the end of the first half. Now it's time for a few gags before we move onto the next one.

Here Sonic shows off how fast he can go, and... first of all, nice pun.

But secondly, is he supposed to be winking?? Because it kinda just looks like he got something in his eye, or they forgot to draw a pupil, or color the other eyelid blue or something, because this just looks... wrong.

Next a page entirely dedicated to this pun. And honestly... it was good until I read Sonic's last line. "OAK-Kay" is pushing it even for me-

Lastly, we have a page showing off the various badniks, but I couldn't help but notice this;

This is cursed. Why does he have normal eyes?? And look at that face, and his flesh colored bolt-ear thing??? I hate it???

Now onto story 2, where they show how Robotnik took over the world... kinda?

Oh he's coming.

Also there's something powerful about this image without context. It haunts me.

Anyway, Sonic is heading over to his uncle's chili dog stand, who just got an order for 200 chili dogs that Sonic is going to deliver.

Meanwhile, this is being hung on the wall outside;

Another Cursed-Botnik, but again I love how cartoonishly evil this sign is. "Have Fun, Go To Jail." If this man even sees you smiling, he's having you arrested. It's so over the top, and I love it.

Speaking of which, that's exactly what happens while Sonic is away. Uncle Chuck gets arrested for smiling, and has... the dumbest revelation.

If you know him, and you know his voice, then you really should've seen this coming. Heck, the address Sonic is delivering the Chili Dogs to is a Robotnik Inc Factory!! You only have yourself to blame, Chuck-

So Sonic delivers the dogs, and the chicken robot tries to kill him as payment, so he decides to rush back to check on his uncle. And-

This editor's note got an audible chuckle out of me. That is so clever!

This... is an expression. I'm tempted to make this a reaction image for the heck of it.

This is the end of this chapter, but again I gotta point out the signs. Man just decided to dump toxic waste here just because he could, and-

LOOK AT HIM GO

I wish I could enjoy something as much as this guy enjoys dancing in the flames over here. He is having the time of his life rn

Anyway, Sonic immediately takes them out, including the chill one which... what the heck man??

And decides to rush back to the factory to confront Robotnik, while making a little reference to another speedster.

Cheap, but it made me smile. Sue me.

Sonic runs into Sally, who introduces herself as a princess and tells him how her father was taken too. And Sonic-

Doesn't give a damn, wow. That is harsh-

"Sorry Girlie, but I don't believe you, nor would I care if I did, because my problems come first."

Honestly... I'm okay with this. It was jarring at first, but this is the closest we get to an origin story as far as I know. He's not really "the hero" yet, so it's interesting to see him be a bit more selfish.

So Sally convinces him to help out, and we get this little exchange;

... I can't decide if this is funny or stupid. And yeah, I did kinda reference this on Sonic's bio, but I didn't know THIS is where that came from. Or more specifically, how they introduced that.

... I mean, it's kinda funny out of context, but in context its... I honestly don't know-

Here we see Robotnik's army of supposedly roboticized townspeople, but I guess the artist didn't get the memo?? Like they're clearly not robots??

... okay, nevermind. Robotnik actually likes being called fat. Props for the body positivity, I guess.

... y'know, I think this is the first time I've ever seen a speedster make a tornado... and run on top of it. Like how does that even work??

Anyways, that's it for Issue #0. Overall, it was more enjoyable than I thought it'd be, and actually got a chuckle or two out of me which I did not expect.

Definitely not going to be going THIS in-depth for the rest of these, this was way more work than I thought. I'll just give my brief thoughts, and maybe rank each issue as I go? Idk I'm kinda making this up as I go along.

If you have any suggestions, leave 'em in the replies I guess-

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - One Angry Princess

There’s two halves to this episode. The first is a well constructed, if over simple, mystery for the kiddos to solve. The other is a failed attempt at being ‘deep’ and ‘mature’.  

Summary: Attila is finally opening up his own bakery, but people generally don't want to stop by because of his scary helmet. The next day, Monty's Sweet Shoppe is destroyed, and Attila is arrested. He is about to be banished from the kingdom, but Rapunzel makes an appeal to investigate the matter further. 

The Episode is Meant to be a Homage to 12 Angry Men, but Misses the Point of the Original Film

So for those who haven’t seen the movie, (though really you should) 12 Angry Men is about a jury trying to decide if an accused person is guilty of a violent crime. At first the evidence seems clear, but one lone juror refuses to vote guilty until the evidence has been gone over again. One by one he convinces the other men to vote not guilty as they each have to face they’re own personal biases.

Sound familiar? 

In the show Rapunzel is the sole believer in Attila’s innocence despite evidence to the contrary. She insists on investigating herself while challenging everyone else’s personal biases. 

The difference?

12 Angry Men is a hard hitting look at how privilege, prejudice, and cognitive bias can interfere with the American judicial system. None of the jurors are named, but they are all middle class, presumably Christian, white guys. And that is the point. They are all different from the accused; a young, poor, arguably non-white teen (the play is intentionally vague about the kid’s race so that you can slot any minority in there) who has a history of getting into trouble. If you were to change the ethnicity, race, gender, class, or age of any of the 12 characters then you would suddenly have a very different story. It’s their backgrounds and pre-formed opinions that inform their decisions. Even the main protagonist is not exempt from re-examining his own personal biases. 

Meanwhile the writers of Tangled: the Series are too busy showing off how clever Rapunzel is to actually deal with the themes of injustice and bigotry that they added in themselves in the first place.

Rapunzel Knowing Attila Before Hand Weakens the Message

In 12 Angry Men none of the jurors know the accuse. In fact, they can’t know him. It’s against the law. In order to have an impartial jury, no one can have any ties to either the defendant or the prosecution, and they must not have knowledge of the case or have had specific experiences that might cause them to be biased or unfair. 

Rapunzel being Attila’s friend means that she already has her own bias and an invested interest in making sure Attila goes free. She’s not acting out of the simple goodness of her heart here. She’s doing something that directly benefits herself. 

I don’t expect a children’s fantasy show to recreate the US judicial system with all of the complexities there in, but I do expect it to uphold it’s heroine as the selfless person it claims her to be. Yet the show constantly undermines this supposed character trait by only having her help the people she befriends, and only if that help doesn’t require anything emotionally challenging or mentally taxing from her.   

How much more powerful would this episode be if Rapunzel was defending a stranger or someone she actively disliked? Imagine if it was Monty who was being accuse and Raps had to swallow her pride in order to do what is right. But that would require the show having Rapunzel actually learn something instead of placing her on a pedestal. It would also mean giving Monty a reason to exist rather than keeping him around to be a convenient red herring.      

Rapunzel Shouldn’t Have to Prove Attila’s Innocence 

Rather than have a courtroom drama the show opts to have a ‘whodunit’ story instead. This unfortunately gives the implication that Corona’s judicial system runs on a ‘guilty until proven innocent’ mantra, which is backwards to any humane legal system. ‘Innocent until proven guilty’, ‘reasonable doubt’, ‘due process’, are the cornerstones of our modern social ethics. 

In 12 Angry Men, we never find out if the accused actually committed the crime or not. That is because his actual innocence isn’t the point of the story. It’s about whether or not the system is working like it should or if it’s being compromised by human error. 

Once again, I don’t expect a recreation of the US judicial system, but if you’re writing a story for a modern audience then you need to reinforce modern morals. Simply crouching Corona’s legal system as ‘of the times’ or ‘fantasy’ while ignoring why we no longer have such systems in place reduces the story to puerile fare. 

It also means that show’s writers didn’t put enough thought into their world building. 

No One Calls Out the Obviously Corrupt System 

The show has interwoven throughout its ongoing narrative themes of classism, injustice, abuse, and authoritarianism, but then fails to follow through on those themes by not having any of the protagonists actually examine any of these issues. They just sit there in the background, even as the show tries it darndest to present Rapunzel as an arbiter of reform. However a person can’t bring about change if they can’t even admit that there is a problem to begin with.   

In this episode alone we have

Banishment is considered a reasonable punishment for an act of vandalism. A crime that is usually considered only a misdemeanor unless the damage goes over a certain amount. Keep in mind that not even most felonies would be given such a punishment in the real world

Introduces the prison barge that regularly carries away convicts. In the past ‘undesirables’ would be shipped off to prison colonies as a form of persecution. Attila and every other person we see subjected to Corona’s legal system are of a lower class. 

Many prejudge Attila based off his appearance, lower class, and past upbringing. However, it is either Attila who is expected to change or Rapunzel who is expected to win people over. At no point is anyone told that they shouldn’t be prejudiced to begin with. 

There is no judge, jury, or lawyers. The king alone decides the fate of criminals, the Captain is expected to be the both the prosecutor and the ‘executioner’, which is a conflict of interest, and the defendant has no one to represent them unless they so happen to know a kind statesperson. Meaning you have to be either rich or well connected in order to even have a chance to defend yourself. 

Oh and there’s this...

Uh, yeah you do. You’re the flipping king. You make the law. You’re the one to bring charges against Attila, and nearly every other criminal in the show, in the first place. 

The show constantly wants us to view Frederic as simply an everyman who is only doing his job, but he’s not. He’s a ruler and as such he has powers and responsibilities that no one else has or ever will have. The series gives both him and Rapunzel all of the privileges of being in charge without holding them to account for the consequences of their actions. 

By not pointing out how wrong these actions are, the show winds up avocating them instead. When I call Tangled the Series authoritarian, this is why. Because authority is never questioned even when clearly wrong and nepotism is presented as the solution to conflicts as oppose to being the problem itself.

The Show Introduces Complex Issues but Then Oversimplifies the Conflicts Surrounding Those Issues

The creators of the show have constantly declared that the series is ‘not for kids’. That they were shooting for an older audience than the pre-school time slot they were given. Now ignoring the fact that Tangled was always going to have a built in audince of pre-teen girls and ignoring that children’s media can be mature, TTS lacks the nuance needed to viewed as anything other than a pantomime. 

As stated before, this episode alone ignores the very real issues interlaced within the conflict in order to give us an overly simple mystery that anyone over the age of five could figure out.  

It’s frustrating to watch the show constantly skirt towards the edge of complexity only to see it chicken out and go for the low hanging fruit instead. As a consequence the series winds up being for no one. Too shallow for adults and older teens, but too confused in its morals to be shown to small children and younger adolescents. 

I wouldn’t recommend this show to a parent, not without encouraging them to view the series either before or alongside their child in order to counteract it’s ‘lessons’ and I know parents within the fandom itself who’ve stopped showing newer episodes to their kids; stating that they want their child to be old enough to point out the harmful messages to before doing so. 

Once Again No One Learns Anything 

Rapunzel doesn’t learn that the system is flawed. Attila doesn’t learn to open up to people. Nobody learns to treat people with respect and to not judge others based on appearances alone.

The whole point of the episode is to just show off how much ‘better’ Rapunzel is than everyone else. The show constantly feels the need to tear down other characters in an effort to make its favs look good as opposed to just letting the mains grow as people. 

Conclusion

Tangled the tv series is no 12 Angry Men. It’s no Steven Universe/Gravity Falls/Avatar:TLA/She-Ra/Gargoyles/Batman:TAS either. It barely reaches the same level as the likes of DnD, Sonic SATAM, or Voltron. Interesting ideas but poor pacing, build up, and lack of follow through, with some naff decisions thrown into the mix bring things down in quality. And unlike the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon from the early 80s, TTS lacks the benefit of being a pioneer in the field of animation, where such flaws are more forgivable. 

[nuttyrabbit]

So, I just finished up my Forces AU. Here’s the entire cast:

Heroes:

Sonic the Hedgehog: Takes after his games self, is the wildcard and ‘The Hero’ of the Resistance. Best friends with Miles ‘Tails’ Prower and Amy Rose, and good friends with Ovi and the group of fighters. Is rather polite despite living with his uncle. Loves adventure, is terrified of being restrained by anything—this includes greedy billionaire sons and bratty princesses. Tries to be friends with everyone, but people like Antoine can get on his nerves. Descendant of Soundbreaker the Blue Ancient.

Miles ‘Tails’ Prower: Takes his Adventure self, where he wants to showcase to everyone that he too, can be a hero. Is ‘The Inventing Hero’ of the group. Is shy around new people, but is a brave soul. Can get scared sometimes, but is quite brave in fighting. Tends to overexplain certain things and can accidentally spill into when cornered. Best friends with Sonic, friends with everyone else. Descendant of Twist the Yellow Ancient.

Knuckles the Echidna: Takes after his Adventures/Sonic 3 self, where he’s a goof ball that’s able to think things through, but also a bit rough around the edges. Called ‘’The Guardian’ of the group, and is the main Resistance leader out of everyone. Is more of a ‘set traps, and wait’ kind of guy, which is why his plan—“Operation Big Wave”—ends up falling through. Is intelligent enough to understand that people need to be guided in these trying times. Descendant of the Red Ancient of the Knuckles Tribe.

Amy Rose: Takes after her Adventure Self, where she decides to win Sonic on her own merits. Loves adventure and sweets, and hopes that Sonic can see her as his most prominent friend. Is ‘The Heart’ of the group. At first, she didn’t like how Sally treated Sonic, but after Sally mellows down and she realizes why Sally act the way she does, they become good friends. Best friends with Cream. Friends with Sonia and Ovi, too. Descendant of Bloom the Pink Ancient.

Jullian ‘Ovi’ Kintobor: Is a lot younger than this Fleetway/Sonic Bible counterpart. Considered ‘The Runaway’ of the group. Loves being with members of his crew, and does not realize the importance of personal space. Will recognize it with Sally, whom he has a sitcom type enemy relationship with. When not trying to co-lead with Sally, tends to get lonely and will try to hug anyone who gets near him. Has a load of gadgets that allows him to keep up with Sonic and the rest of the group. Likes anyone in the group. Descendant of Knight the Orange Ancient. Replaces the Custom Hero.

Princess Sally Acorn: Takes on a modified version of her SatAM self. Is head strong and stubborn when she can be, which clashes with Ovi and Sonic at points. Her ability to lead is second to none, which helps that she’s a princess of the Acorn Kingdom. Is ‘The Princess’ of the group. Is not fast, but carries with her an advanced AI computer called ‘Nicole’ with her everywhere. Best friends with Bunnie, friends with Sonic, Tails and Sonia, and eventually becomes friends with Amy and Ovi. Likes Lewis. Descendant of King Alluminous the Auburn Ancient.

Bunnie Rickshaw: Takes on her Archie self. Was originally not robotomized, but became able to lift 5X her weight when Ovi and Sally managed to hack the machine she was in. Is brave despite it, and while she wishes to be not robotomized, prefers her powerful capabilities. Considered ‘The Weapon’ of the group. Best friends with Sally, and has an attraction to the swordsman Antoine. Also, friends with Sonic, Amy, Tails, and Ovi, and hopes everyone gets along soon.

Antoine DePasseur: The no-nonsense swordsman of the group. Uses his portrayal in Archie. Called ‘The Swordsman’ of the group. Tends to dislike Sonic and Ovi’s plans, and is usually the one to denounce them. In truth, can get easily spooked if you try hard enough to spook him. Likes Ovi, Sally, Sonia, and Amy, despises Manic and Sonic.

Rotor Aiviq (Eye-vick): Takes his post-reboot Archie form. Called ‘The Weapons Expert’ of the group. Formerly son of the Cheftian named Tundra Aiviq, he left his father when the man demanded perfection from him. Likes Ovi and Manic, and finds Tails to be the better inventor than himself. Tends to suffer from an inferiority complex, thanks to his upbringing. Also likes Sonic, Sonia, Amy, Sally, Bunnie, and Antoine. Best Friends with Lewis. Descendant of Flow, the Purple Ancient.

Lewis Porker: Takes his StC self. Called ‘The Voice’ of the group. Tends to be the shyest of the group, staying away from people like Ovi and Sonic. Has no combat experience, but makes up for it in being the ‘eyes to the sky’ for everyone. Prefers Sally and Amy’s gentle voices over the rest o the group, and considers Rotor his best friend.

Johnny ‘The Lightfoot’ Casey: Takes his StC self. Called ‘The Frontman’ of the group. The kindest of characters behind Sonic, and bares no ill grudge against anyone. Uses a bo-staff in battle, and tends to use energy kinesis to blast away anyone. Is the oldest of the group, and the literal grandpa watching over everyone.

Techno the Canary: Takes after her StC self. Called ‘The Researcher’ of the Group. Is more closeted than either Rotor or Porker, and tends to be dismissive when working on her projects. Will hang out with Amy, Sally, and Bunnie, and finds Nicole a fascinating computer does not get along with Sonia.

Shortfuse the Squirrel: Originally ‘Shorty’, Uses a modified version of his StC self. Once a thief that tried to mug Sonic and Tails, became a ‘participant’ for the Cybernik project by Grimer and Aperis to create a robot more powerful than the current Badniks using live Animayans for batteries. Instead, he became fused with the suit, and became far more powerful thanks to them. Lashes out at everything and is cynical, and has shouting matches with Bunnie with how they treat their condition. Is ‘The Cybernik’ of the group. In a will they won’t they with Techno.

Sonia the Hedgehog: ‘The Master of Stealth’ before Espio joins, and ‘The Elegant’ after, she’s one of three wealthy people that joined the Resistance out of her own violation. While she does not like dirt or messiness, Sonia eagerly joined when she found out that she could help them fight back. Is a huge fashionista, and loves Tails and Amy to bits. Descendant of Soundbreaker the Blue Ancient.

Manic the Hedgehog: Called “The Thief”, he’s the one person that’s able to enter and exit Dr. Eggman’s bases with all the stolen loot not even Ovi can afford. Major goofball despite his appearance, and is excellent with kids. Loves Tails to bits, but finds that Amy not in love with him is sad. Annoys Antoine for the heck of it. Descendant of Soundbreaker the Blue Ancient.

Shadow the Hedgehog: The Ultimate Lifeform, partner to Rouge and E-123 Omega in GUN, and the oldest known Resistance member (Johnny’s the second oldest). The edgiest of edgy that had ever edged (just don’t tell him that. He’s not too keen on being CALLED ‘edgy’). Likes kicking people’s butts and making sure they stay down. Tries to mentor Ovi, though he wonders if he’s trying too hard on that front. Is taken out just two months before Sonic and Ovi are.

Rouge the Bat: The Spy of the group, and the best thief all around Earth (don’t say that to Manic, though). Pesters Knuckles about his position, and demands that he try to act like a better leader. Likes jewels of all kinds, but would abandon them when there are more pressing matters at stake.

Cream the Rabbit and Cheese the Chao: A young rabbit girl (and chao) who got caught in the war when trying to find her mum. Hates violence, and wants the war to end, but knows that fighting back is necessary for an edge to come through. Ends up fighting the big fight along with the rest of the group later. Friends with Amy and the girls, and good friends with the boys too.

Team Chaotix: Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, and Charmy the Bee are the three detectives of the group, having been called in when Dr. Eggman had ended up wiping Sonic and Ovi off the face of Earth for 6 months. Vector is the brains of the group, directing everyone where they need to go; Espio is the ninja of the trio, and Charmy’s their mascot. Each one fights darn well for the circumstances. Vector tends to never leave his music behind; Espio’s a full-on ninja nerd, and Charmy’s the bratty kid.

E-123 Omega: A robot that formerly guarded Dr. Eggman’s ‘secret treasure’, before defecting to GUN because it hardly ever saw any line of work. The most no-nonsense of the group, nd the most trigger happy against anything deemed “Eggman-level threat”. Does not like his creator, Dr. Eggman.

Silver the Hedgehog: Telekinetic Hedgehog from 200 years into the future; having been brought back in time because his homes suddenly became ruinous. Wants to change it and make it right, founding the Resistance in the first place. Has a pretty tough time with Infinite and Cypress at first, eventually learns to fight back. Is not known whom he descends from, if at all.

Sticks the Badger: Uses the modified version of her Boom personality. Called ‘The Wild’, Sticks loves anything shiny and will instantly become friends with anyone who has shinies. Lives in the woods, and is highly fearful about learning anything more complicated than a calculator. Likes hanging out with the girls, and Allegro.

Perci the Bandicoot: From the Boom series, Perci is a kid from a family of bandicoots that defended Bygone Island for generations. However, the constant apathy of the villagers to her successes—to the point where it’s outright mocking—lead Perci to leave to find if she really wanted to defend her people or if they really cared. When the attack on the Kingdom of Acorn happened, she leapt up at the chance to defend it. Became fast friends with Sonia, and is called ‘The Scorned Hero’ by the group. Really likes fixing things, not necessary the builder. Descendant of Tyler the Lavender Ancient.

Lyre the Snake: A former mercenary turned hero when she found out about robotomization and the effects it can cause. While interested in the paycheck afterwards, Lyre isn’t keen on allowing injustice to occur on the planet, and will fight back if she has enough evidence. Called ‘The Turncoat’ of the group, which she objects to because ‘It’s Snake discrimination!’. Loves being loyal to people, even when they don’t trust her. Has a slight complex about her being a snake. Descendant of Lyric the Green Ancient.

Allegro the Dragon: No-one knows where this little dragoness came from, nor why she attached herself to Sonic, Sonia, and Manic. Only the medallions on their hoops can fully know for sure. In either case, Allegro gets along with everyone in the Resistance, and actually likes getting belly rubs. Called ‘The Guardian’ of the group, can become giant and protect anyone near her masters against anything that aims to harm. Makes ‘Gebwah’ noises when speaking. Will eat anything, including food that has become mouldy.

Villains:

Eggman Empire:

Dr. Eggman: The elderly man with a plan, the one who will rule the world and create Eggmanland. Grandson to Gerald Robotnik and second cousin to Maria, plans to branch off from Sypress and eventually take control. Has 300 IQ, and an obnoxious manchild with a narcissistic streak.

Aperis: A robot created by Dr. Eggman as his thesis project, and one of his most prized models. While not a fighter, Aperis is the baseline model for the Project Sonic series robots, and has been very active in making sure that they’re all obedient to the Dr. Not too keen on the more rushed out models (Badniks and the Egg Pawns), but has a soft spot for those Dr. Eggman creates by hand (E-Series, Omega too). Like his master, despises Sonic. Also despises Orbot and Cubot, but only because they were his first and second final projects for Dr. Eggman’s classes.

Orbot and Cubot: Two robots that work for Dr. Eggman. While both are the comedy duo, Orbot knows when to shut up. After Dr. Eggman reprogrammed them so that they wouldn’t snark and point out his failures, they’ve been making sure most of Dr. Eggman’s bases are spick and span and taking care of the Dr. Orbot is the straight man of the two, while Cubot is the dolt.

Egg Bosses: The dozen of high commanders under Eggman’s control, each commander commands over a specific region on Earth: northern oceans, southern oceans, North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Oceania, the Poles, Africa, the Skies, and the magical.

Metal Sonic: Dr. Eggman’s ultimate Anti-Speedster weapon, made to be able to chase after Sonic without exploding for too long. Wants to become the true Sonic, making this robot the most wildcard of Eggman’s troops. Eventually breaks off to become Sonic through his own means.

E-Series: Dr. Eggman’s elite soldiers, each one hand-crafted and engineered to command a specific type of fleet. When Sonic Heroes rolls around, the Doctor eventually scraps the project when too many of his elite turn on him. At least Aperis hasn’t turned on him yet, nor Project Sonic…

Infinite: Dr. Eggman’s newest right-hand man. A former jackal mercenary of the Jackal Squad turned robot, wants to see the world in ruin like he saw with the Phantom Ruby. Becomes overly cocky and edgy over time, thanks to his crew’s defeat at the hands of Shadow and his own defeat. It isn’t until he gets Sonic down and Ovi traumatized that Infinite becomes overly obnoxious and a bully. Tries to break free like Metal Sonic did, but fails.

Cypress: A time traveler 200 years displaced; wants to see the Eggman Empire come to fruition in it’s prime. Does not get along with Infinite, and is more level-headed than the two. Eventually must run back to her present, bringing Silver along with her. Looks oddly like Maria, even though she’s been dead for 50 years. Likes Dr. Eggman, and would do nothing more than to make him happy.

The Pack:

Sleet the Wolf: The main Bounty Hunter, and the leader of the Pack. Hates Infinite to an absurd degree, because of the brat’s sadism over competence. Cunning and sly, he’s the one holding the group together after kicking Infinite out. Nearly gets killed by Infinite for kicking him out of the pack.

Dingo the Dingo: Nobody knows where he came from, nor what’s his real name. Even the Pack themselves don’t know what he is. A ferocious beast able to take on multiple forms, seems to have some sort of connection to Ovi. Pretends to be stupid for the sake of it, wants the Phantom Ruby to revive his people.

Medjed the Jackal: Formerly part of the Jackal Squad, became the go-to tech expert when his former partners were kicked out of the mercenary group The Pack. Tends to look half asleep, in truth the best computer hacker in the world. Is usually grumpy, but wistful about Infinite.

Nichi the Coyote: A blacksmith from Japan that became a mercenary when his business was hit with hard times. A master of all types of weapons, Nichi knows the way of the sword and is callous to the point of nearly killing Sonic when he’s on his side. Not someone you’d want to cross. Usually calm unless pissed off.

Callie the Ethiopian Wolf: A young female who joined the Pack because of Sleet, whom she likes. Is excited for fighting Infnite in his new form. Likes to fight in general, and doesn’t buy that he’s—well, invincible. Likes to fight people taller than her.

Mac the Jack Russel Terrier: A tiny man who wants to snipe as many as he could get. A Former GUN agent that got fired for his excessive use of ‘shoot first, ask questions later’. Likes the sounds that a gun makes, and hopes to one day snag the Fastest Thing Alive with a gun.

Other:

GUN: The United Federation’s own command force, lead by Commander Towers. They sent Shadow, Rouge, and Omega into enemy territory earlier, before having to transport non-combatant humans and animayans away from the fighting.

King Nigel Acorn: The king of the Acorn Kingdom, and Sally’s father. Tries to fight against Eggman, only to end up in Null Space thanks to Infinite blindsiding him.

Aleena the Hedgehog: Former hero of the world, now someone the Resistance relies on for plan making. Oddly, she seems to look at Sonic, Sonia, and Manic oddly…

Slipstream the Hedgehog: Husband to Aleena, and the cockiest hedgehog in town. Seems to have the same look for Sonic, Sonia and Manic like Aleena does.

Harold Kintobor: Father to Ovi and the CEO of Knight Tech. Pays GUN, Eggman, and The Pack to find his son, accidentally giving Dr. Eggman enough funds to plan his takeover of the world.

The Phantom Ruby: A gem misplaced in space, which instantly disabled the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald with it’s powers. Able to conjure reality-warping illusions, and can jump anyone within range to other locations instantly. Like the Master Emerald, there seems to be something inside it…

[pixelgrotto]

RIP Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog comic (1992-2017)  After 25 years and nearly 300 issues, Archie’s long-running Sonic the Hedgehog comic was officially cancelled earlier this week. The writing’s been on the wall for a while now, since the comic went on a forced hiatus several months ago and none of the creators were allowed to publicly discuss it due to ongoing negotiations between Archie and Sega. But this Thursday, the book’s final fate was declared, and it looks like the Freedom Fighters - who once announced that they could handle anything - couldn’t quite beat the threat of cancellation. A lot of people dunk on the Archie Sonic comic for being overly convoluted, going through some pretty low points or appealing primarily to furries, and all of these things are kinda true, except for maybe the furry one. But warts and all, Archie Sonic is a glorious beast of monstrously complex proportions. First of all, let the fact that Sonic holds the record for having the longest-running North American comic for a licensed character sink in. Seriously, this series ran from 1992 to 2017 and nearly reached 300 freaking issues. In a time when most comics from Marvel and DC can barely reach double digits before either being renumbered to generate a temporary boost in sales or flat-out cancelled, Sonic the Hedgehog kept chugging along, stealthily reinventing itself from its original status as a slapdash funny book to an ongoing saga that manifested lore so deep that it warranted the release of an entire encyclopedia to help people keep everything straight. 

What’s even more interesting is that Archie Sonic became the one place where you could still see characters carried over from the DiC Saturday morning Sonic cartoon show, which was produced in 1993. The show, affectionately dubbed SatAM by everyone who watched it back in the day, frankly doesn’t hold up that well and is a good example of nostalgia goggles at work. It had an incredible theme song, though (SONIC! HE CAN REALLY MOVE! SONIC! HE’S GOT AN ATTITUDE! SONIC! HE’S THE FAAAASTEST THING ALIVE), and the show did do an admirable job of developing a backstory for a mascot who, at the time, had no characterization other than the fact that he was fast and collected rings. SatAM fixed this by putting Sonic in the surprisingly dark world of Mobius, a place ruled by Dr. Robotnik, a dictator who had “roboticized” the population by turning them into droids. It also gave the hedgepig a variety of characters to play off of, like Princess Sally, Antoine the cowardly French fox, Bunnie the half-roboticized rabbit and Rotor the walrus. Along with Tails, this lot was collectively referred to as the Knothole Freedom Fighters.  Archie Sonic got its start telling stories with the Freedom Fighters while they were still on air, and even after the show was cancelled, the comic continued using them, essentially turning itself into season three of the cartoon. As the decades passed, the SatAM characters and story threads evolved and changed in wondrously unexpected ways - Sonic and Sally fell in love, the original Dr. Robotnik was killed and replaced with a robotic version of himself from an alternate dimension, Bunnie and Antoine got married and Mobius was revealed to be a future version of Earth that was attacked by the Xorda, aliens who had unleashed gene bombs on the planet, mutating the wildlife into anthropomorphic animals. (This was my goddamn favorite batshit crazy bit of Sonic comic lore ever.) Furthermore, the comic increasingly began introducing more elements from the actual Sonic video games, which had finally developed deeper stories of their own thanks to the advancement of technology. So you had stuff like Sonic and the Freedom Fighters teaming up to fight Perfect Chaos and meeting Silver the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat. It was an unusual, unique combination of Western and Eastern concepts melding together in one pictorial arena, and it made Archie Sonic feel special. 

Speaking of the games, the book was also special because it damn well carried Sonic’s presence in North America during the years when the blue guy wasn’t starring in many video games (the Sega Saturn era) and couldn’t star in any decent video games (the Sonic ‘06 era). Even when Sega was releasing shovelware that damaged the brand, Archie Sonic kept pumping out issues, and its sheer determination to keep going won it legions of dedicated fans. Many of these people, including myself, got stuck on the comic at a young age and stayed long-term. I personally started picking up issues in 1994 or 1995, so basically only three or so years after the book was out. I think I was seven years old. A few years later, I got a subscription and had the comic delivered to my mailbox every month. (I still remember my first issue - it was number 41, when Sonic, Sally and that douchebag skunk Geoffrey St. John went to the Zone of Silence to rescue King Acorn.) The subscription continued until I was in college, and only ended around my junior year, when I forgot to renew it because I was too busy applying to go abroad after graduation. 

In short, I subscribed to a periodical about a damn blue hedgehog for a large majority of my life. Even when I stopped regularly reading around issue 180, I always kept abreast of the book’s developments (like that crossover with MEGAMAN!) and told myself that I’d eventually catch up on the stories I missed, likely in the excellent Sonic Select and Sonic Archives trade paperbacks that Archie was publishing. And there were tons of others like me. The Archie Sonic community is such a vibrant one, filled with 90s kids who grew up on this book and even older folks like the crazy Dan Drazen, a 60-something librarian who wrote the most detailed (and overly picky) online reviews of every issue. Many of these fans went on to work for the comic at one point or another, like the incredible Dawn Best and fan favorite Ian Flynn, who swooped in as a writer in the late 2000s and saved the book when it was suffering from a spell of plodding stories. For a lot of us, Archie Sonic was the preferred Sonic canon, and we got pissed when Sega pulled awful jump the shark moments outta their butts - like having Sonic hook up with human princesses in his broken 2006 game - when there was a wealth of solid lore in this weird little comic coming out in America that they always seemed content to ignore.

In fact, the only time Sega really paid close attention to the book was when Ken Penders launched a lawsuit against it, which may have been a contributor to its eventual cancellation. People better than me have already scripted lengthy writeups about Mr. Penders, and I encourage you to read this extremely in-depth take on the whole fiasco, which is a bizarre tale of copyright arguments and delusions of grandeur worthy of any John Grisham novel. But in a nutshell, Ken was a former writer who helped guide Archie Sonic away from simple gag strips and into the realm of full-on adventure tales. His control over the book was major until he was fired, and a few years later, he went on a vehement quest to prove that he owned all characters he had created while working for Archie, including series mainstays like Julie-Su, Knuckles the Echidna’s girlfriend. He ended up suing Archie multiple times and won on legal loopholes, which prompted him to start attacking the book’s current team while declaring that a buttload of barely-related story concepts were his. He also tried suing Sega when Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood came out, claiming that the enemies in the game were too similar to ones he had whipped up. Archie eventually had to come up with a plot device to kill off (trap in another dimension, really) all of the characters he had created during his tenure, and eventually they instituted a full reboot to wipe continuity clean and remove all traces of the lawsuit from history. Unfortunately, the legal issues did some pretty heavy damage to Archie’s relationship with Sega, who were reportedly pissed that the American comic company had let things get so screwed up. And I don’t blame them. To the Sonic fan community, Ken Penders is largely loathed as a megalomaniac who sabotaged a long-running comic for personal gain. But he doesn’t deserve all of the blame, and he did put out some good stories in the day before going bonkers. Archie’s also at fault, both due to their not-so-great freelancer deals as well as their incompetence at handling lawsuits. (At one point the company even fired their entire legal team and hired new attorneys, yeesh.) In recent years, Archie also seems to be terrible at handling their finances, even though they’re currently spearheading Riverdale, a successful show on the CW that’s made all of their high school characters into hot, emo Millennials. (I call it the “Archie Sex Show” in my head.) I’ve heard rumors that company management wants to streamline their output to ONLY focus on Riverdale-related stuff, and seeing as how the Ken Penders business was a tremendous waste of time that ripped some large holes in their relationship with Sega, it only makes sense that both companies would decide to part ways.  So where do we go from here? Well, it was suddenly announced today that IDW Publishing would be the ones picking up the Sonic license for a relaunch of the book in 2018. IDW’s a fit place for Sonic, since they currently publish the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles…which Archie once owned the license for. (Funny how these things go in circles, eh?) Unfortunately, I have a feeling that the current arc that was going on in the Archie books - a charming retelling of the Sonic CD story - is going to go unfinished, and I’m also fearful that we’ll be saying goodbye to the DiC Freedom Fighters. I’d LOVE to be proven wrong, and it would warm my heart to see Princess Sally, Bunnie Rabbot, Antoine, Rotor and Nicole survive a change in publishers. But since Sega’s never “officially” acknowledged those characters in a game (except for Sonic Spinball, which was made by an American studio and doesn’t really count) they’re likely going to be classified as expendable cannon fodder that are no longer relevant. There is some hope, though. Perhaps a miracle will occur and IDW will have the good sense to re-hire guys like Ian Flynn or maintain some semblance of the continuity that an entire generation knows and loves. Until the day we know for sure arrives, I’ll just have to re-read my old issues, revel in the glory of covers drawn by SPAZ, laugh at insane crossovers like the time Sonic met Spawn, and remember an era when a hedgehog with attitude and his Knothole friends kicked Dr. Robotnik’s butt and brought me twenty plus years of wonderful adventures.  For Mobius! For freedom!

The header image of the Archie Sonic cast was drawn by darkspeeds and found on Deviantart. The cover images are just a few of my favorites from the days when I was subscribed to the book, and were taken from Comic Vine and Cover Browser.