#even the Wisps went from a one-and-done gameplay gimmick to a full-fledged piece of the world and that's really cool

[rancidrubysoho]

i think part of what makes the IDW Sonic supporting cast so endearing is how well they fit into the franchise as a whole. like the Archie Sonic characters were created by and large to match the SatAM continuity, which was created by and large to give context to things happening in the games because it was made at a time when audiences knew shit from fuck about these characters or their world... so those characters kinda retroactively just don't mesh with the games at all. they're adjacent to an adjacency to the main franchise, so trying to imagine them existing in the tone and context of the modern games doesn't line up.

but then you look at the IDW characters, and they are entirely, wholly made to fit into the same mold and world as the games without being redundant expies of existing characters. Surge might be "another rival to Sonic", but she fits a narrative purpose Shadow, Knuckles, and Metal Sonic completely don't; the stories you can tell with Surge and Kit are unique to them, and no other characters would fit those roles. same with Tangle and Whisper; they make the world feel lived-in, remind you that things are happening and having an impact on people whenever Sonic and co. aren't onscreen.

they also have that quality that Pit has in Smash Brawl, where they feel like they have this super storied history and evolution over the course of years that we just didn't get to see. until i actually read IDW you could've 100% convinced me the IDW-originals were all updated versions of forgotten side-characters from spin-off games like Dark Brotherhood or Rivals, and i think that says a lot about how well-conceived they all are.