#like we remember Merlina right. and Shadow and Silver and Blaze and Knuckles and and and --

[twipsai]

i feel like ppl are very quick to say IDW made Sonic softer, and while i do think he had a bit of rudeness in the 2000s that he doesnt really have overtly anymore, i dont think hes any more willing to forgive people than he used to be, its just that IDW is putting him in messier situations

[twipsai]

well you have successfully opened the floodgates so! here we go, lets do it to it, time to jam and juice, and whatever else that guy says (also sorry this took so long, i had other things to do that were apparently more important than analyzing that blue hog). this might be a bit messy, i made a bit of an outline of this earlier but these are just my thoughts more-or-less off the cuff.

so, my thesis statement, if you will, is that Sonic isnt really softer or more forgiving or anything in IDW, but hes put in messier situations that bring out that side of him more often.

now, i can go on all day about all the rivals Sonic has befriended over the years and how each of them display how Sonic really does not care when they turn good and just rolls with it, not holding their past against them in the slightest. he doesnt bat an eye when Shadow runs in to defend him and Knuckles from the Biolizard in SA2, he helps Blaze out when the pressure of guarding the Sol Emeralds makes her crack, and fights along side Silver even though he was trying to kill him for the entirety of 06. Sonic doesnt really care about peoples actions in the past, and never has, as long as theyre willing to change and right their wrongs.

and, maybe even more importantly, he wants everyone to have the chance and the freedom to change.

(note: this scene happens after Metal almost floods Planet Freedom with lava)

Sonic struggles with this a lot. on one hand, he absolutely despises how there are some people in the world that will destroy just to destroy, who will hurt just to hurt. but, on the other hand, he also believes that the past is irrelevant to ones present and future, and that anyone (yes, anyone) can change -- for better or for worse

"Sonic reached out to save me before I fell to Earth from the ARK. If I hadn't waved him away, Sonic would've fallen with me. But his determination in trying... I'll never forget that."

he doesnt fight for justice. i feel as though i need to emphasize this. Sonic does not fight for justice. he fights for freedom. he doesnt want to play executioner, he doesnt want to force a persons life into one path, he wants everyone to be able to live life to its fullest, their way, their own way.

"My sorrow at its ruin runs deeper than the depths of the underworld. Do you not understand?" "No! And I don't want to!"

i feel as though i hear the biggest criticisms about IDW during the overpowered arc, when Sonic is desperately trying to help Surge and get her to stop destroying everything around her, including herself.

and, i think it's really telling that in Scrapnik Island, the short story that takes place directly after issue 56 (you know, the one where Sonic gets cooked with 1,000 volts directly to his neck) and realizes he cant help Surge, that nothing he does will fix what Starline has done to her...

...its telling that in that story, he is so sickeningly desperate to help Mecha Sonic.

he wants, with all of his heart, for everyone -- EVERYONE -- to get the chance to grow, to change, to laugh and cry and run and be whoever they want to be. to live. hes more overt about it in IDW simply because hes being put in more complicated situations, situations that challenge this morality (which, i think that it succeeded in this, considering how much discourse there is about Sonic's morality), that make him really have to question if what hes doing is the right thing. we see it with Neo Metal, the Metal Virus, Mr. Tinker, Surge and Kit -- hell, even the Deadly Six directly make him question this!

its not a perfect line of thinking at all, i wont pretend that it is, but hes definitely always been like this. i remember a while back on twitter (dangerous territory, i know), people were saying that Sonic, as seen in IDW, would have tried to "talk it out" with King Arthur in satbk,,, sorta completely ignoring the fact that he helped Merlina, who manipulated him from the very start and tried to take over the world, and even comforted her at the very end when he knew she needed it.

there are probably at least 10 more examples of the point im trying to prove (i can think of 5 off the top of my head), but i dont want to reiterate what ive already said. Sonic represents freedom, the present, and change. he will fight for these indiscriminately.

"sonic just wants to be best friends with his enemies"

WRONG thats only in the idw comics. extremely loud incorrect buzzer.

[birdsareblooming]

Sonic may actually be lost royalty

I keep going down these rabbit holes I shouldn’t go down BUT! Although this theory is one that I don’t fully believe in (unlike the infinite/solaris theory and the chaos emerald theory) I still have a good argument that I want to talk about very bad.

I also tried to make this as short as possible but there’s a lot of ground to cover, but at least it’s not the infinite/solaris theory. But I have a TLDR at the end.

[Spoiler Warning for Sonic and the Black Knight]

let’s start with a ✨numbered list✨

1. Blaze the Cat

Blaze is the biggest caveat for this theory, but I think it’s best to start with her.

Now, firstly I need to clear up some things.

[Eggman: My world...]

[Eggman Nega: and my world...]

[Eggmen: are in a manner, inextricably linked!]

[Blaze: Like two Eggmans?]

Part of the Blaze’s world is that it’s a parallel universe. Parallel Eggmen, Parallel emeralds, Everything else that isn’t stated outright. Like how Tails and Marine are definitely counterparts. Seeming as Tails came from South Island and Marine came from southern island, Tails is definitely based on a kitsune and Marine, in theory, based on a tanuki. 

And, although not stated completely, Blaze and Sonic are universal counterparts.

[From Sonic Wiki: Blaze was designed as a charater who was equivalent yet and alternate version of Sonic’s character.]

Much like the Sol and Chaos emeralds, Sonic and Blaze are a mirror version of one another, although slightly different.

Alright, now that we have that out of the way:

Looking at the connections between the others, Sonic and Blaze seem, a bit too different.

The Sol and Chaos emeralds fulfill the same role, although their different appearance, and have a similar story.  Tails and Marine fulfill the same role, although their different appearance, and have a similar story. The Eggmen fulfill the same role, although their different appearance, and have a similar story. 

Blaze and Sonic fulfill the same role, although their different appearance, and have a... completely different story. 

Blaze was born to a royal family, and set to protect the Sol Emeralds and the Jeweled Scepter as her birthright, and it’s somewhat hinted that her powers may also be a birthright. Sonic, on the other hand, has no known past, and seems to have just run into the Chaos Emeralds by accident. 

You could claim that Blaze does take on the role of both Sonic AND Knuckles, which is fair and stated on the wiki, however Knuckles is also never stated to be any kind of royalty, and certainly doesn’t have that kind of past, his past being one of the more tragically alone ones. 

And here’s something interesting.

Time has warped our vision of Blaze. We all know her as “Princess Blaze the Cat.” But from watching Sonic Rush, her opening game... she is never mentioned to be a princess until the very end.

[Burning Blaze: As princess, it is my duty to protect the Sol Emeralds...]

From what I remember, this is the FIRST mention of her royal status. 

From this game’s viewpoint, they reveal the mirror status of the dimensions. They then show both Blaze and Sonic having mirror super transformations using their emeralds, highly implying that Sonic and Blaze were mirror versions. (also this was implied already by just Blaze’s shoes.) and then it’s revealed that Blaze is royal, and a princess. 

So if she’s the mirror of Sonic, what does that mean for Sonic? Especially right after showing the two of them being, well, mirrors.

2. King Arthur

SATBK is much less transparent about the counterpart universe thing.

Now this is an alternate universe, set up by Secret Rings, and surprisingly not just a story Sonic told as an elaborate excuse.

They don’t hide obivous Sonic characters being put into roles, and their in these roles for a reason.

Blaze and Silver as Percival and Galahad, the knights who quested together for the holy grail. Knuckles as Gawain literally only because of “Gawain and the Green Knight” But I respect that so much. Jet as Lamorak because of Lamorak’s fiery temper and competitiveness.  Shadow as Lancelot because he’s the “closest knight to the king” stated in game (👀) Tails as a Blacksmith because that’s p much the medieval version of a mechanic. Amy as the Lady of the Lake because like. Fuck she’s the most powerful one there. (but seriously, in forces she’s shown to be the most level headed leader and strangest, especially in Sonic’s absence. As well as “sensing” that he was still alive and having a past in tarot.) And Merlina as Merlina because... well that’s a whole other theory.

(all my theories are being brought up in the post. like i know the first two were expamples of theories I fully belive in but damn this is like a avengeners, ok,)

But Sonic as King Arthur makes sense when it’s revealed. Although he wasn’t anyone’s counterpart in Secret Rings (because secrets rings was confused as hell) He is in this game, and as the ring leader of everyone following him in SATBK, it makes sense. 

Although something that was never brought up...EVER is the Knight’s backstories, which are EXTREMELY important not only in Arthurian legends, but for the knights in Sonic lore. All of the knight’s mentioned backstories are important to their character, in both contexts. Although their never brought up.

*DEEP BREATH* Alright. The similarities between Sonic Character/Knight backstories.

Shadow and Lancelot have pretty simmilar backstories when getting down to it. Shadow/Lancelot were both raised for greatness, but still outshined by Sonic/Arthur. Although remaining loyal to them, even if for Shadow it’s only in times of need. Shadow doesn’t want to admit he’s a supporting role to Sonic, although Sonic generations kinda throws that Idea out of the water when Shadow cheers Sonic on while watching from the sidelines, much like early Lancelot.

For Blaze and Percival, in multiple interpretations Percival is of noble birth. Upon meeting Sonic’s Gang/The Knights, Blaze/Percival get’s inspired by their heroics and eventually joins them.

“Lancelot and Percival prove morally superior to Gawain who follows the rules of courtliness to the letter rather than the spirit.“ Is an actual quote from Wikipedia. Although it is VERY hard to find a concrete backstory for Gawain other than “separated from his home”, I think this proves enough. As well as the Gawain and the Green Knight story (in which Gawain tries to slay the green knight and then he picks up his head and says “see you in a year” is pretty representative of Knuckles constantly breaking the master emerald in a comedic light.) 

Lamorak/Jet are known for challenging Arthur/Sonic to competitions. 

Galahad/Silver are searching for an object/person aided by Percival/Blaze

So now that we’re all good, do you see the similarities between part one.

Although everyone else has given backstory similarities, Sonic is given none, seeming as, as far as we know, Sonic HAS no backstory.

But isn’t it interesting that King Arthur’s backstory is being lost royalty? And the secret son of the king? Wack.

3. Sonic Fucking Underground

Now, most of you are probably unfamiliar with Sonic Underground. Good.

If you’re not, you watched it as a kid and you’re nostalgic, and let me tell you I watched the entire show recently and it’s not as good as you remember.

But Sonic Underground’s quality and history could be a post on it’s own, it doesn’t matter here. What matters is the plot:

[From Sonic Wiki: Sonic, Sonia, and Manic are the children of Queen Aleena, the rightful ruler of Mobius and are pursued relentlessly by Doctor Robotnik and his bumbling bounty hunters sidekicks, Sleet and Dingo. As infants, the siblings were separated and placed in hiding to fulfill a prophecy made by the Oracle of Delphius (a spoof of the Oracle of Delphi of Ancient Greece) that the triplets would grow up to find their estranged mother, overthrow Robotnik and take their places once more as Mobius' rightful rulers.]

FORGOTTEN ROYALTY YOU SAY.

Now, Sonic Underground is VERY SEPARATED from Sonic Lore, and nothing has ever taken from it besides Manic appearing in some comics, although from what I know he’s never mentioned to be Sonic’s brother. So This is the part I always take with a grain of salt, however;

4. In conclusion/TLDR

We have Two Instances of Sonic being lost Royalty (One in a separate reality and one in a separate continuity) We have Two Instances of Dimentional Counterparts of Sonic being Royalty (Blaze and King Arthur) We have zero given backstory for Sonic We have Three instances of Sonic, or a counterpart, being royalty

And from what I remember hearing, three’s a pattern.

[ghostmeep]

are you going to make a post on why you think sonic isn't to blame for letting metal go? i'm curious on your thoughts on it

Ah, I’m guessing you are referring to my little side note I made in my Sonic feels guilt post 

Well, tbh that sentence was less of a ‘I’ve got a lot of important things to say about this matter’ and more of a ‘I’m trying to not get off topic’ - but I’m up for expanding my thoughts on it. Don’t expect ground breaking points tho haha

Disclaimer, this is way less fact driven than my other post about Sonic feeling guilty in the Zombot arc. It’s more speculation with not as much direct support from canon. But if you are cool with that, read on

Anyways, so to first clarify what I want to try and express in this post:

I do think that the current arc is a direct result of Sonic’s actions and I’m not trying to disprove that Sonic is to blame here. He is to blame when all is said and done, but it isn’t like he single-handedly caused the Zombots to spread? I just think people are shitting on Sonic just a bitttt too much 

But, I do think that Sonic’s actions were in character enough to forgive. A bit of a stretch here and there, but enough to let it pass imo

———–

I’m going to first talk about Sonic letting Eggman free even though you only asked about Metal because the two kind of goes hand in hand.

And here I ask everyone to let go of their beyond the fourth wall knowledge. Forget about how you know the franchise as Eggman and Metal Sonic are antagonist and there is no way Sega would change them.

Try thinking about it from Sonic’s perspective and think of Eggman as a real person - meaning someone who can change and grow, because all people can - I’m not saying all people do, but it is possible

.

So we look at Eggman’s situation. At first Sonic was super suspicious and wasn’t willing to trust Eggman and thought it was an act.

But the more time he was with Mr. Tinker the more he had to accept that Eggman really did have memory loss - and guess what? He was right about that part at least. 

In that moment of time, Eggman was truly different and didn’t remember any of his past doings.

In that situation, wouldn’t it have been a little harsh to imprison him? Or kill him? I dunno, if Eggman never remembered and could live the rest of his life peacefully as Mr. Tinker, wouldn’t it be okay to let him? – Forget about what we know happened later on and just think about it from that situation in time. 

If Sonic just threw Eggman to prison at this point, I feel like that would have been more out of character for him. More harsh than I would have expected him to be. Because, for all his cool guy attitude, Sonic is a nice, caring guy. 

And it wasn’t like Sonic was the only one who wanted to give this chance to Mr. Tinker. Shadow was the only one he had to really convince.

Everyone else was on-board more or less?

They all deferred to Sonic’s decision, but if they had a problem with it they would have spoken up. Or tried to persuade Sonic against letting Mr. Tinker free. It’s because they agreed, at least on some level, that they just went with what Sonic decided to do. Espio took some convincing, but again, not all that much. Barley any at all. 

And then the town mayor put in his two cents - so everyone pretty much came to a mutual agreement, no? it’s a bit much to say it’s all on Sonic for letting Eggman stay as Mr. Tinker

( That is to say, I’m not saying that it was wrong of the characters to blame Sonic. The characters did trust Sonic to make the right decision, so when it proved to be the wrong one, and with all that is going on and everyone running on emotion, it makes sense they would turn on Sonic. Because Sonic did have the final say, and as the ‘hero’ who everyone looked to for guidance he did let everyone down in that sense. It was his responsibility to bear. Fair or not. ) Us as readers shitting on Sonic though is a bit different. We can absolutely say it was a stupid decision and I’m sure all of us called it that Eggman would return, but in universe, there is enough to support Sonic’s decision. So I wouldn’t call this Sonic grabbing the idiot ball, since it does adhere to parts of Sonic’s personality as we know it. 

Anyways, back to the Mayor being up for letting Eggman stay. We can see that Sonic still has some doubts and is unsure what to do at this point. 

He’s still thinking about it, and while it’s likely he would have reached the conclusion of letting Eggman stay anyways, there is something that pushes him to make that decision. That cements in his mind that Eggman is gone for good.

Because when the Badniks invade the town and Sonic rushes to confront Eggman he sees –

Eggman trying to protect the children

This is the moment that convinces Sonic the most, I think. Because when the going gets tough is when people’s true colours start to emerge. And Mr. Tinker did what he can to protect the children, despite being scared. There is no way Sonic can throw him to rot in a cell after that

I also want to point out that even Rouge, who doesn’t have the hero persona like Sonic does, even she thought it would be for the best to let Eggman free as Mr. Tinker? Why else would she even bother giving a tip to the Chaotix knowing that Sonic would likely come to this decision?

And it isn’t like Sonic just made the decision to let Eggman roam free and washed his hands of the matter. We see his doubts when Eggman Land is mentioned and he says himself how he’ll definitely be stopping by

So Sonic is aware of the dangers, and he is also planning to stop by and check up on Eggman himself. Sounds kinda fair to me. 

So hopefully it’s clearer from this that letting Eggman free isn’t really the most unbelievable thing to do, it made enough sense for people other than Sonic to be on board of it at least.

And Sonic even managed to convince Shadow. Yeah, Sonic is dumb stubborn so trying to change his mind would have been difficult, but the same goes for Shadow, right? But Sonic managed because what he said made sense at the time. There is logical thought to letting Eggman free and that is why he was able to convince everyone.

Of course, now everyone regrets it because it led to this disaster, but point still stands that at the time it didn’t seem like a bad idea. 

I’ve got no good counter for why Sonic and co. didn’t leave someone to look after Eggman just in case tho. 

The best I can think of is because to them, Eggman was the ‘big bad’. After all, how many disasters didn’t start because of Eggman in some way? Not really any. 

So since they deemed Eggman was a non-threat maybe they just assumed it would be safe to leave him here? Because without Eggman, who would they have to worry about? Any new villain that would pop up would be a threat to the world sure, but no threat in having Eggman restore his memories. It’s hard to imagine a situation where a new villain takes the time to help Eggman regain his old self in-between destroying the world…

Because, let’s be honest, I don’t think anyone would have ever thought that there was an Eggman fanboy on the loose. 

So they likely deemed that there was no need for a bodyguard when they thought there was nothing to guard from. 

.

Now for Metal Sonic.

Okay, so this is a little harder to defend because, well, oof Sonic you really dropped the ball here. But I can still say it’s kinda in-character?? It’s pushing it, but I don’t think it’s so out of nowhere to the point where I think Sonic’s characterization was ruined from this moment.

After all, we’ve seen Sonic show compassion to previous enemies, right? He’s pretty much known for making friends out of enemies, honestly.

So Sonic’s forgiveness definitely doesn’t come from nowhere, at least. We’ve seen Sonic’s willingness to give people multiple chances before

Seriously, which of Sonics friends didn’t start out as the antagonist? 

We have Knuckles, Shadow, Silver, Blaze, all who I won’t talk about much since I’m assuming everyone knows their stories.

But we also have other games showing Sonic’s forgiving side. 

In Sonic and the Black Knight, we saw Merlina pulling Sonic from his own world, just to trick him, and then attempt to make her world never changing (thus killing innocent souls). And at the end, all Sonic did was give her a flower and tell her to live life to the fullest in the time we have. 

And yes, you can make the argument that the people who Sonic forgave weren’t inherently bad people, just people led astray, but that’s also the point? Sonic believes that everyone has good in them – that no one is inherently all bad – even Eggman and Metal Sonic. 

You can make the argument that Metal is programmed to be evil by Eggman, but hey, weren’t Gamma and Emerl too? And yet they turned out good. 

So we do have proof that Eggman’s sentient robots are capable of changing sides. And with Eggman out of the picture and not able to influence Metal negatively, Sonic probably saw this as the perfect chance to let Metal find the good in himself. 

And yes, Metal is at a bit of a disadvantage because he is programmed to be forever loyal to Eggman, but 1) Eggman is no more as far as Sonic is concerned. So that ‘loyalty’ is a moot point. Because Metal is basically loyal to a person who doesn’t exist anymore. 2) just because you are loyal to someone doesn’t mean you can’t come to disagree with their actions. 

Metal can still learn about what is good or not even if he is programmed to be loyal to Eggman. And I think that is what Sonic was going for.

Look at Metal Sonic’s situation

They let him go, but it’s clear that he wouldn’t have been any danger to anyone. It doesn’t seem like he was fixed enough to even get close to Sonic’s speed like he normally could, and he had all his weapons removed by Tails. 

So the only one who could have made him dangerous again would be Tails (which wasn’t going to happen) and Eggman (who, as far as Sonic knows, is still Mr. Tinker)

Metal Sonic really wasn’t a danger to anyone.

Yeah, Sonic could have at the very least done a quick check on Eggman to make sure that everything was fine and he was still Mr. Tinker, but Sonic just left Eggman - what, a day or so ago? What are the odds that something happened in just that amount of time? And what are the odds that the village looked for Sonic for help at the moment he was at Angel Island?

And again, to Sonic, Eggman was the ‘big bad.’ With him gone, Sonic probably got lulled to a false sense of security. 

So it makes sense to me that Sonic is willing to give these risky second chances because he is pretty confident that Eggman, and thus evil geniuses that could rebuild Metal, are not a problem anymore.

So, Metal is not dangerous, and as far as Sonic knows, won’t be able to become dangerous. The world is rebuilding itself and it seems like they’ve finally come at peace. 

It’s the ideal situation for Metal to change. Because remember, it is possible for Eggman’s robots to be good. 

So from that line of thinking, letting Metal go isn’t all thattttt bad? Hindsight is 20/20 so it’s easy to say Sonic was wrong to letting Metal go, but at the time Sonic had at least some reason to risk it.

Sure, Sonic could have taken a bit more precaution, like maybe follow Metal to keep an eye on him, but being Mr. Free-As-The-Wind, he probably thought letting Metal go to do his own searching would eventually lead to triggering a good change – and it would all end well. After all, it is unlikely that Metal would change in the presence of people he deems as ‘enemies’ – so Sonic was likely hoping Metal would run into a more neutral party who would nudge him in the right direction. 

Also, with Sonic running around as much as he does, he probably figured that he would run into Metal sooner or later and be able to check on his progress. 

Too bad Metal tracked down Eggman instead. 

So yeah, still rather stupid – and careless, but I can see some reasoning behind it. 

It’s not too hard to imagine Sonic being over-eager to have all the danger behind him, and he wanted to wrap things up in a nice neat bow asap, so he rushed things too much. 

He seemed really ready to get to the whole ‘relax with no worries’ stage at least. 

So Sonic jumped the gun. Not exactly hard to accept for the fastest thing alive. 

I’m going to add this point in too — but let’s not forget that this takes place after Sonic Forces. Even without the English version’s unnecessary add-in of saying Sonic was tortured for six months, Sonic was still at the very least held in captivity for six months. And then immediately had to go and take up the mantle of being people’s hope ( in Tails’s words ) and win a war for everyone that has been going on for far too long. I don’t think you can really blame a guy for wanting peace so badly after all that. 

.

And just going to insert one more point about whether Zombot arc is all Sonic’s fault or not that people are going to hate me making, but Imma do it anyways. This isn’t my main argument, at all, but I just want to include it anyways. 

Because if you want to be super super technical. If you will allow me to be nit picky here…

It’s not really his fault. 

Yeah, he let Eggman free, and thus he was easy to kidnap. Yes he let Metal free, and thus was able to help Eggman recover his memory. Yes and yes.

But, my girl Tangle made valid points too. 

And I get it. This is kinda a dumb argument, because the point is is that Sonic should have taken measures to prevent Starline from being able to restore Eggman and Sonic should have prevented Metal from even being able to reach Eggman to get re-weaponized. Yes. But still. 

Are we really going to hate the fact that our Hero character tried to make the best out of a situation? Sonic wanted the best possible outcome to come true (For Eggman and Metal to find purpose in life that was good) and when he saw an opportunity for it to happen, just within his reach, he took it.

Yes it was reckless. Yes it was stupid and idealistic. Yes, it was naive, but Sonic, with all his good heart, just wanted a happy ending for everyone. 

It just sucks that there are people like Starline and Eggman who chooses to be bad, even when given the opportunity to be otherwise. But bad people existing, who choose to bring chaos and destruction, isn’t Sonic’s fault. 

Because Sonic is responsible for his actions, yes. But Starline, Eggman, and Metal are responsible for their own actions too. 

.

Well, I guess I already made my points that I wanted, but because this post is obviously not long enough, I’m going to keep going. (I just can’t stop once I’ve started, so bear with me as I go on semi-tangents from the original question) 

I’ve seen some people say how if Sonic didn’t let Metal Sonic go Eggman wouldn’t have remembered his old self — but we don’t know that???????

Sure, Metal Sonic was the last straw that allowed Eggman to remember – but it’s not guaranteed that Eggman wouldn’t have remembered without Metal.

It’s obvious that Starline wouldn’t have given up on Eggman, at least. Who knows what measures Starline would have taken to get Eggman back to all his glory. And well, he was making progress in restoring Eggman. Super slow progress, but progress nevertheless.

And this point I’m about to make is a bit of a stretch, but I want to make it anyways because I think it’s interesting to think about 

But look at what the badnik makes with the bush? It’s pretty much Sonic’s head. And, while sure it doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but it could also mean that Eggman’s subconscious is at least starting to get hung up on Sonic again? Because out of all the things the badnik could have made, it’s Sonic’s head.

And we saw when the town’s doctor tried to see if Eggman really lost his memory, we see him using a blob that looks awfully familiar

Again, it doesn’t really prove my point in any way, but I just found it a kinda cool connection. Because we’re shown that a hint that Eggman is returning evil again is showing signs about his obsession with Sonic, and that obsession is peaking in here, if ever so slightly. 

So we could say that it was only a matter of time for Eggman to return to his old self, and the trigger could have been anything if not Metal. It probably wouldn’t have happened as quick, but it likely would have happened eventually.

One more thing I want to about Sonic’s decision to let Metal go. – I don’t think Sonic made that decision behind anyone’s back. 

I’m not going to go into the whole ‘no one disagreed with Sonic’s decision so it’s not like Sonic is the only one at fault’ point I made with Eggman here, because it doesn’t hold the same truth to it for this. Because I do think in this instance letting Metal go was 100% Sonic’s decision, and 100% Sonic’s responsibility to shoulder, but saying Sonic did this behind everyone’s back is a bit much.

When he meets with Knuckles again, Knuckles says how Metal is trashed

At this point I think I’m the only one who thought this, but I took Kunckles’s words as ‘Metal is in trash condition and not a threat’ not a ‘Metal is in the trash and offline’ 

Because otherwise it seems a bit weird for that line to be included but have no reaction from Sonic? Not even a side eyed glance of guilt or a sweatdrop or a small ellipsis bubble from Sonic indicating his silence on the topic under Knuckles’s first speech bubble. Absolutely nothing is given. 

And I guess I wouldn’t put it past Sonic to omit details from his friends if he thinks it’s for the best, but it is just strange how we didn’t get any indication of Sonic choosing to omit details here when it very easily could have been shown.

Then when Silver and Sonic faced Metal, there is no surprise from Silver. No indication that Silver wasn’t already aware that Metal was out there somewhere.

And I doubt that absolutely no one thought ‘huh where did Metal’s body end up’ If everyone wasn’t aware about Sonic’s plans. It seems like it would have been an odd thing to overlook, since Metal is known to be resilient. You would think someone would have wondered what happened to it if they were being kept in the dark. 

.

And my very last point in all this huge mass of words – the biggest reason I am okay with Sonic letting Eggman roam free without supervision and Sonic letting Metal Sonic go, is because Sonic is showing signs of learning from his mistakes

(yes, I’m reusing the same screencap in the same post shh) 

Sonic says how believing that everyone has good in them came to bite him in the end and he regrets it

It’s why I can’t really get mad at Sonic chasing that idealistic happy ending for everyone. Because in order for someone to be less naive, they need to face reality first. And oh boy, has Sonic been facing really harsh reality one after another since this arc began. 

Now, it’s too early to tell if IDW will let this lesson stick, but here’s hoping. The fact that Sonic has been so hung up about his mistakes makes it seem like he’ll learn from this whole thing.

And isn’t that nice to have? A character making mistakes and then learning from it. I feel like it’s so rare to have that I’m willing to forgive idiotic decisions if it leads to character growth and the promise of this similar situation not happening again. All IDW needs to do is not brush everything that has happened and Sonic’s guilt under a rug to be forgotten and things will be fine. 

I’m not saying I want Sonic to never give second chances ever again, but showing a bit of hesitance next time would be cool. And definitely never showing Eggman and Metal such leniency after all this. 

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And with this being my second post supporting Sonic’s actions now, I just want to clarify that it’s not like I think this arc is without flaws. I’m not trying to hype up this comic to be this amazing and perfect thing. There are a lot of issues I have with this arc, and the fact that at least half of my points I made in this post was from speculation means that there were too many holes in the storytelling. 

But, while I do see plenty of flaws with the comic, I just don’t think it fun to constantly negatively criticize something I’m reading. If I’m reading something it’s because I’m enjoying doing so, so I don’t want to be bogged down by focusing on all the holes in it. I’ll just recognize the flaws for what it is, maybe come up with a theory or two to make things easier to swallow, and move on. It’s how I enjoy reading, but I know it’s not how everyone likes to go about things and that’s fine too. 

[trinketprince]

Analyzing the IDW Sonic Issue #24 cover

Cause it actually gives us a pretty good insight on which characters will/allowed to appear in this series! (or at least I assume)

Ok so just to give some general context, Ian Flynn has said in a previous interview that classic era characters won’t appear. IDW Sonic, (at least for now, is strictly Modern Era)

So we can expect to not see these following characters in the IDW Sonic comic-verse for a good while.

Classic Versions of Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Vector, Espio, Charmy, Eggman and Metal Sonic

Segasonic the Hedgehog (Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel)

Sonic the Fighters (Honey the Cat, Bean the Dynamite and Bark the Bear)

Sonic Triple Trouble (Fang the Sniper/Nack the Weasel)

Tails’ Sky Patrol (Carrotia, Focke-wulf, Bearenger, Witchcarter)

Sonic R (Metal Knuckles, Tails Doll) 

Silver Sonic

Battle Kukku Empire (XV, Speedy and Doctor Fukurov)

Chaotix (Heavy and Bomb)

But in IDW Sonic Issue #3, Sonic mentions The Hooligans, so at the very least they can mention the existence of classic characters. 

But this restriction of characters does beg the questions though? What is and isn’t off limits in IDW Sonic?

Apart from Classic Universe, there are three other universes that come from the sonic games. Boom Universe, (though quite loosely-considered as a universe) Storybook Universe and (a more sketchy, loosely considered as a universe) Chronicles Universe.

In the case of Boom!Sonic, given the design of Sonic and the rest of the cast, we can outrule Sticks the Badger and Lyric from appearing, not sure if they’re allowed to reference them though. 

In the case of Storybook!Sonic, they’re allowed to reference the storybook games (as shown in IDW Sonic Issue #16). However using characters such as Shahra and Merlina is also unclear (but I’d guess they won’t appear).

In the case of Chronicles!Sonic, given the whole Ken Penders thing, I bet that Shade and the rest of the characters won’t even be given an allusion to.

Well how about one-off characters? Characters that appeared once or a few times in Sonic’s adventures?

Well, this is where this cover helps! See, as of the current issue, IDW Sonic Issue #22, a generous amount of characters has appeared.

The Main Cast (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy)

Returning Cast from Forces (Wisps, Vector, Espio, Charmy, Shadow, Rouge, Omega, Silver)

Antagonists from Forces (Eggman, Metal Sonic, Orbot, Cubot)

IDW exclusive new characters (Tangle, Whisper and her former Squad, Rough, Tumble, Jewel, Dr. Starline and others)

Returning cast not in Forces (Cream, Vanilla, Cheese, Chocola, Gemerl, Blaze, The Babylon Rouges (In a spin-off comic))

Returning Villains not in Forces (Zeti)

That’s almost everybody we see in this cover... except for a few characters.

That’s right, some previously unseen characters like Big the Cat, Froggy, and Marine the Raccoon of all characters, are seen again.

In Big’s case, it isn’t as jarring. He was bound to appear sometime, being apart of Team Rose, appearing in Sonic Adventure, his role in the Sonic games is far too big to skim over. In fact we actually may have an idea on where he is in the current arc. In IDW Sonic issue #22, page 5, we see a speech bubble, “Froggy?! Where are you?!”.

While Big is not explicitly shown in the actual issue, he is most well known for this phrase and his love and concern for Froggy, his pet frog. This suggests he may be present in the Restoration HQ...

... His fate, however, whether he got infected by the metal virus or not is undetermined. 

After scanning the room for people who has not been infected Gemerl stated that every one in there are already in different states of infection. So unless Big has somehow escaped (which to be honest, his character seems to be the type to pull surprises)...

... Big is already infected and left behind with Vector, Charmy and Vanilla.

Now for Marine. Blaze originally came to Sonic’s dimension because she felt something was wrong. 

She is introduced to Tangle as a princess from another dimension who wields the Sol Emeralds. She eventually joins the fight against Neo Metal Sonic and taking back Angel Island. 

At the end of IDW Sonic Issue #12, she says her work is done and decides goes back to the Sol Dimension.

In the Sonic 2019 Annual Issue, there is a story that involves Blaze visiting Silver’s Garden. 

And according to David Mariotte, the 2019 issue takes between issues #12 and #15. So Blaze was still in Sonic’s universe until at most before the Metal Virus arc started.

In the Metal Virus arc, Blaze is absent, most likely already having returned to the Sol Dimension. So with the appearance of Marine, does Blaze return back to Sonic’s dimension in this arc? Does she bring Marine along? Why?

And the presence of the Babylon Rogues and Jewel in the cover coupled with the solicitation description for IDW Sonic Issue #24:

“The Last One Out" As the Metal Virus spreads, Tangle's hometown of Spiral Hill Village stands as one of the last strongholds of the uninfected. Sonic, Tangle, and the remaining heroes of the Restoration make a stand, but will it be enough?

And the fact that the last time the Rogues and Jewel were last seen was during the jewel heist at Mineral Museum suggests that they will appear there once more.

Does the appearance of Marine, who’s only appearance in the game series is Sonic Rush Adventure, and the Babylon Rogues, who only appeared in the Sonic Riders spin-off games, suggest that other one-off characters will reappear in this continuity? Like Tikal and Chaos from Adventure, Elise from 06 and Yacker from Colors?

Speculation:

Yeah remember when I said that Big is the type to pull surprises? I bet that in a later issue it will be revealed that Big got on the ship safely. However, Froggy is infected, Big, who cares for Froggy too much, couldn’t bare to leave him behind. I mean, that one throwaway dialogue could be a clue for what’s to come. He compromises the safety of the ship, spiraling the mood of the heroes down further. I think that someone of note is gonna get infected, other than Big. And that would send Cream’s mood to be even more desolate. 

It can’t be Tails cause he’s working on the cure, he’s got plot protection cause he needs to bounce back from his mistake (dropping the cure, and it’s incomplete). Sonic is plot protected as well and Knuckles is on Angel Island. Espio needs to avenge the Chaotix so he has a flimsy plot shield. Tangle is needed because something is definitely gonna happen in Spiral Hill, where Jewel is currently in, so she’s protected. 

I think it’s Amy. Just think about it, she’s one of the main 4, she’s the head of Restoration, she’s been doing so well, handling everything that comes at her, She is the face of the restoration and who many people rely on. She is Cream’s role model. And she promised Vanilla that she’d protect Cream. When you take her away, everything seems more hopeless and desolate, one of the main pillars of the sonic franchise has crumbled, and now the metal virus seems more dangerous than ever.

It can also be Whisper, Whisper and Tangle’s spinoff series ends exactly before issue #23 will come out. And in the spinoff, one of it’s main themes is the friendship that Whisper and Tangle have. They’ve become close to rely on each other. And as much as I hate to think it, Whisper may be “fridged” to boost Tangle’s desire to save her friends in issue #23. A setup for issue #24, where the metal virus goes to Spiral Hill, where Jewel is. 

Now why am I mentioning Cream’s role here? Well it’s because Cream is the hidden star of this arc. Think about it. Charmy’s infection is the catalyst for Sonic to check up on Cream and her family. Gemerl’s main purpose is to protect Cream, and he is currently the protector of the uninfected, given that all other “protector” characters, are currently unavailable (Sonic is infected, Shadow has turned, Silver is busy, Blaze is not yet there, Omega is ripped, Vector is infected, Amy will soon turn). Chocola and Cheese, her friends, compromised Tails’s cure. Vanilla turned in front of her eyes. So many of the events are centered around Cream, and there will definitely be one more catalyst for her big role.

Enter Marine and Blaze. Cream is friends with Blaze, finding friendship with one another in Sonic Rush. And in the cover, we can see Cream holding hands with Marine. There will definitely be an interaction between the two of them considering that 

All characters in the cover are posed in a way where all interactions have meaning. (Babylon Rogues are together, Chaotix are together, Dark are together, etc.) Why pose Cream and Marine like this when they’ve never interacted before?

Both are related to Blaze in a way, mayhaps a humorous introduction may happen between the two “Oh Hello Ms. Blaze!” “I’m her real bestfriend!” etc.

If Amy does turn, Cream, for once in her life will be alone, Amy is gone, Vanilla, Cream and Chocola have turned, and if I’m right, Big is already infected as well. Even the more minor friends she has like Sonic is infected, Tails is busy, Knuckles is MIA and Vector (Sonic Riders), has already turned. Blaze will be the only person left, a sister figure that Cream can cling onto.

And as a final catalyst, A few more people will get infected, whether it will be Tails, or Sonic or Blaze, I can’t guess. But what I will guess is that Cream will definitely have a big role in this arc’s ending.

Aurgh! I’m just so excited for the upcoming issues, and seeing this cover definitely made my brain churn!! 

[crusherthedoctor]

Crusher’s Sonic Intelligence Tier List 2.0

Last year, I made my own estimations on where the Sonic cast would rank from an intelligence standpoint. For the sake of keeping up to date now that Mania and Forces have been released, I wanted to go back to it for the sake of adding a few characters who weren't featured the first time around. I also wanted to change a few placements on the list in light of the characters’ portrayals in Forces, as well as just having some second thoughts about them in general. Note that this is still a game-centric list, so no characters from SatAM/Archie/etc.

Do you agree with this list? Disagree? Feel free to elaborate on your thoughts either way. :)

GENIUS TIER

Dr. Ivo Robotnik/Dr. Eggman - Most people would argue that Gerald Robotnik should be higher than him, since the doctor himself held his grandfather in high regard in Adventure 2. Thing is, Gerald's long dead, and Ivo himself has made a great number of breakthroughs and achievements SINCE Adventure 2. Regardless of where you stand on the subject, Robotnik is indisputably the greatest living genius in the Sonic universe.

Professor Gerald Robotnik - That said, Gerald was a very gifted man to have created a lifeform like Shadow, as well as other accomplishments like the Artificial Chaos and the Space Colony A.R.K. Especially when you remember that he lived during a time in which the world as a whole was far less advanced.

Miles “Tails” Prower - How many kids do you know who can create different types of highly advanced contraptions and vehicles like it’s nothing? Let alone fake Chaos Emeralds?

VERY HIGH TIER

Wave the Swallow - Her engineering prowess speaks for itself.

Rouge the Bat - Comes with the job. An expert in infiltration and hacking, a master of deception, and an expert treasure hunter. Given how she explained Soleanna’s monarchy system to Shadow at the drop of a hat, that would also indicate she’s well read and has a good memory.

Blaze the Cat - More to do with implication, but she did once ask Tails if he could build a device that scans and analyses plasma and electromagnetic signals, in a tone that implied she knew what she was talking about.

HIGH TIER

Sonic the Hedgehog - Being able to avoid obstacles and fellow citizens with no issue at such insane speeds would imply that Sonic has a sharp mind and thought process. He’s also been shown on numerous occasions to adapt very quickly to unfamiliar situations, and his advice is usually profound in it’s simplicity. He can be pretty sly with his battle strategies as well when he puts his mind to it.

Shadow the Hedgehog - He doesn’t always have it right, but most of the time he’ll figure out what’s going on pretty quickly. Ever since the Black Arms incident, he’s also been wise to villainous trickery.

Erazor Djinn - Played his cards right from start to finish. Didn’t really make any stupid decisions, and made dastardly efficient use of what he had to work with, particularly his complicated relationship with Shahra.

Metal Sonic - Another one born out of implication, but given how he was created to be a match for Sonic in every way, I would assume Metal is just as clever as the real deal. He was pretty sharp in the OVA at least, and he had quite a few strategies to throw at the player in his Mania boss fight, including summoning a bunch of Silver Sonics to distract you with.

Merlina - She managed to keep Sonic distracted from her plan, all the while doing a competent job at portraying herself as a helpless bystander.

Heavy King - He was wily enough to try and steal the Master Emerald specifically when Knuckles wasn't guarding it. And it’s possible that he got Heavy Rider to keep Sonic and Tails busy so that they wouldn't intervene either. Too bad for him that Knuckles walked in at the last moment...

Zavok - He had a simple plan, but it was an effective one. He was also good at rolling with the punches whenever things didn’t go his way, and while Master Zik was the one who actually came up with the idea of turning Sonic into a robot, Zik himself estimated that Zavok would have probably came up with the idea on his own accord sooner or later anyway.

Vector the Crocodile - Despite his occasionally bumbling attitude, he’s still the brains of the Chaotix at the end of the day, and his deduction skills have proven to be accurate most of the time. Note that he suspected early on that the person guiding them in Heroes was Robotnik, and he also suspected early on that someone was pulling the Time Eater’s strings. Both of these predictions turned out to be correct.

AVERAGE TIER

Amy Rose - Can be ditzy at times, but she tends to have a good amount of common sense, and despite the lack of focus on it, her skill with tarot cards would add further evidence to her being far from stupid. She's also skilled in sussing out people's emotions and feelings even when they’re strangers to her, and as of Forces, she's now had experience as a resistance leader. With the latter, she's implied to have been reasonably competent in that occupation.

Knuckles the Echidna - He may be incredibly gullible, but he also knows a lot about ancient history, and like Rouge, he’s a very skilled treasure hunter. He was also the main leader of the resistance in Forces, although it seems Amy did most of the actual field work in that regard.

Espio the Chameleon - Maybe he should be higher, but we haven’t really seen much to know for sure with him...

Black Doom - Doesn't do anything especially idiotic (or at least not when it doesn’t involve the in-game AI, that’s another story...), but he can be oddly naive for someone so powerful and ancient. His dialogue in Sky Troops heavily and hilariously suggests that he doesn't know what lightning is.

E-123 Omega - For a robot who likes to use brute force to solve his problems, he has shown to be aware of the thoughts and feelings of those around him, especially when it comes to Shadow.

Marine the Raccoon - She was able to create a decent ship in spite of her boisterous personality.

Cream the Rabbit - Naturally her youthful innocence makes her a little naive, but she’s still prone to surprising moments of insightfulness, such as when she's explaining the concept of sadness to Emerl.

Big the Cat - Some fans (and Bioware) might think he should be lower, but one of the themes with Big is that he’s simple, NOT dumb. Given how we’ve seen him do things like piloting the Tornado - a plane he was unfamiliar with - without any obvious trouble, he's more on-the-ball than most fans give him credit for.

Silver the Hedgehog - Despite his incredible powers and competence with using said powers, he’s proven to be a bit foolish, and doesn’t often plan things out that well. That said, he seems to have gotten his act together somewhat by the time of Forces.

Infinite - Not a moron, but often too careless for his own good and usually bites off more than he can chew because of it. His use of the Phantom Ruby also tends to be very basic and thuggish, compared to the more elaborate and cunning ways Robotnik makes use of it.

Captain Whisker - Goofy, easily distracted and tricked, yet surprisingly effective at making getaways.

LOW TIER

Jet the Hawk - He probably isn’t that stupid overall, but aside from his legitimate hoverboard skills, his arrogance makes him out to be a bit of a fool more often than not. Usually more bark than bite. (Also, he doesn’t seem to realise that being the fastest on an Extreme Gear doesn’t mean you’re actually faster than the guy known for being the fastest thing alive on foot.)

Sticks the Badger - Some of her conspiracy theories can be correct, but she tends to be very... behind on things otherwise.

Charmy Bee - He has to be somewhat competent to still be working with the Chaotix, but he’s generally an airhead.

VERY LOW TIER

Storm the Albatross - Clueless individual in general. Mostly a yes-man through and through.

G.U.N. Commander - “I'm going to get revenge on the guy metaphorically responsible for killing Maria by joining the organization that actually killed her.”

INCOMPETENT SWINE TIER

Eggman Nega - Doesn't understand that by using time travel to wipe his ancestor out of existence, he would be wiping himself out of existence too.

Mephiles the Dark - Doesn't know what a straight line is.

[crusherthedoctor]

Crusher’s Sonic Intelligence Tier List

Lately I've been making up my own tier list in regards to how intelligent the Sonic cast is, as it's an interesting thing to think about in my opinion. So now that it’s done, I'm gonna show my list to you guys and see what you think. Obviously not every character in the game universe is listed since that would take forever, and there were a few other characters who I wasn’t sure about.

What do you agree on? What do you disagree on? Or do you have your own intelligence tier list you would like to share? All responses are welcome. :)

GENIUS TIER Robotnik - Obviously.

Gerald - I realise that Ivo himself considered Gerald to be the greatest mind there ever was at the time of Adventure 2, and yeah, I can see why. However, I think the doctor's own achievements - and the sheer amount of said achievements - have surpassed his grandaddy's by THIS point in the series at least. (Also, Gerald's dead, so it doesn't matter either way.) All the same, Gerald was a very gifted man to have created a lifeform like Shadow, as well as other accomplishments like the Artificial Chaos and the Space Colony A.R.K. Especially when you remember that he lived during a time in which the world as a whole was much less advanced.

Tails - How many kids do you know who can create different types of highly advanced contraptions and vehicles like it's nothing? Let alone fake Chaos Emeralds?

VERY HIGH TIER Wave - Her engineering prowess speaks for itself.

Rouge - Comes with the job. An expert in infiltration and hacking, a master of deception, and an expert treasure hunter. Given how she explained Soleanna's monarchy system to Shadow at the drop of a hat, that would also indicate she's well read and capable of remembering a large amount of info.

Blaze - More to do with implication, but she did once ask Tails if he can build a device that scans and analyses plasma and electromagnetic signals, in a tone that implied she knew what she was talking about.

HIGH TIER Sonic - Being able to avoid obstacles and fellow citizens with no issue at such insane speeds would imply that Sonic has a sharp mind and thought process. He's also been shown on numerous occasions to adapt very quickly to unfamiliar situations, and his advice is usually profound in it's simplicity.

Shadow - He doesn't always have it right, but most of the time he'll figure out what's going on pretty quickly. And since the Black Arms incident, he's also been wise to villainous trickery.

Erazor - Played his cards right from start to finish. Didn't really make any especially stupid decisions, and made great use of what he had to work with.

Metal Sonic - Another one born out of implication, but given how he was created to be a match for Sonic in every way, I would assume Metal is just as clever as the real deal. He was pretty sharp in the OVA at least.

Merlina - She managed to keep Sonic distracted from her plan for long enough, all the while doing a competent job at portraying herself as a helpless bystander.

Zavok - He had a simple plan, but it was an effective one. He was also good at rolling with the punches whenever things didn't go his way. Definitely the most intelligent of the Deadly Six. (Aside from maybe Master Zik, but that's up for debate.)

Vector - Despite his occasionally bumbling attitude, he's still the brains of the Chaotix at the end of the day, and his deduction skills have proven to be accurate most of the time. (Note how he correctly guessed that someone was pulling the Time Eater's strings.)

AVERAGE TIER Knuckles - He may be incredibly gullible, but he also knows a lot about ancient history, and like Rouge, he's a very skilled treasure hunter.

Espio - Maybe he should be higher, but we haven't seen much to know for sure...

Amy - Can be ditzy at times, but generally has a good amount of common sense, and despite the lack of focus on it, her skill with tarot cards would add further evidence to her being far from stupid.

Marine - She was able to create a decent ship in spite of her boisterous personality.

Cream - Naturally her youthful innocence makes her a little naive, but she's still prone to surprising moments of insightfulness.

Big - Some fans might think he should be lower, but one of the themes with Big is that he's simple, not dumb (something Bioware clearly forgot, despite hyping their Big up as being more intelligent than SEGA’s Big). And given how we've seen him do things like piloting the Tornado - a plane he was unfamiliar with - without any obvious trouble, he may be more on-the-ball than most fans give him credit for.

LOW TIER Jet - He probably isn’t that stupid overall, but aside from his legitimate hoverboard skills, his arrogance makes him out to be a bit of a fool more often than not. Usually more bark than bite.

Silver - Despite his incredible powers and competence with using said powers, he's proven to be very foolish, and doesn't often plan things out that well.

Charmy - He has to be somewhat competent to still be working with the Chaotix, but he's generally an airhead.

VERY LOW TIER Storm - Clueless individual in general. Mostly a yes-man through and through.

INCOMPETENT SWINE TIER Mephiles - Total muppet.