#because so many idw criticisms don't seem to explore the problems deeper

[semi-sketchy]

You know I said this on Twitter, but I think it bares repeating.

I think a lot of the arguments of the Sonic IDW comics lose nuance and frankly this recent debate about "there being too many OCs" is no different.

I don’t mind them adding OCs or even giving them some story focus, it’s just how they’re doing it that kinda bugs me. The great thing about Sonic being a static character is it more so focuses on how he influences others, (i.e. Tails, Amy, Blaze, Merlina, Chip, the list goes on) yet here it really feels like Sonic doesn’t matter. You could replace him with just about anyone and the OC’s journey wouldn’t change.

He’s essentially a background character in his own comic that features arcs revolving around the OCs rather than just including them. Surge is the obvious and most recent example. It is not every arc or issue, there are of course game character-centric storylines, although these OC driven ones have been cropping up more and more recently as they continuously expand the cast. There's a lack of balance between new and long-time characters.

These OCs are starting to feel like writer’s pets with how much they’re overshadowing the game cast rather than building from them, thus missing what makes a new Sonic character compelling. It’s not being Sonic’s new friend/rival that’s interesting; it’s seeing how he inspires them.

Many of these OCs that seemingly interact with Sonic and co. frequently don't appear to have that strong of a connection to them. Add that with their growing amount of story focus to establish the new characters, then yes, I agree there are too many OCs in the IDW comics.

There's also some arguments about how it's demeaning to call the characters introduced in IDW, OCs. OC stands for "original character" and these characters are original to the comics. OC is the proper term for them. It's only the stigma many people harbor towards specifically fan OCs that makes some perceive it as a negative term.

TL;DR: The conversation about the focus on OCs in the comics is missing the point when the issue more so lies with how they're being used and introduced. It rarely circles back around to the game cast, who the book is supposed to be about, leaving them with minimal ties to the series they supposedly belong to. Also OC is not an offensive term.