#sonic is my favorite character and i still get excited about seeing him despite the fact that hes guaranteed to be in everything

[sonknuxadow]

why do some shadow fans act like shadow is this obscure character who never appears in anything and any mention of him is a huge surprise. hes literally one of the most well known characters in the franchise and appears so often its not surprising at all when he gets mentioned or its confirmed that hes gonna be in whatever new thing is coming out? what planet are you guys living on

[artificialchaoscola]

This makes me so ill.

Like omg how do I explain myself.

"Sonic as the Moon" propaganda grows but BESIDES THAT...

I talk about Sonic and Shadow a lot but Knuckles has almost always been my favorite Sonic character. So the whole annual showing him just thinking about his life and how grateful he is for his purpose, his friends, etc. just.... that shit hitting. I love when they use quiet moments to show us the type of character Knuckles is, it's just so fucking good. And I loved him comparing himself to Sonic and acknowledging that despite his life not being full as many adventures, he's still lived fruitfully. Like omg idk guys we Knuckles fans get crumbs and I'm just so happy...

And don't even get me started on the four them sitting together at the end. I'm just htnkjerfmwdlofri. For my fic, part of why I'm excited for chapter 19 is because it's going to have Tails, Knuckles and Amy having bit of a talk... And I just love these four together so much that putting them in a situation where Sonic isn't acting right HURTS, so reading this portion of the annual just had me smiling. Who threw Found Family into my eyes I can't see aaaaa--

[piko-power]

idk what to post so here's me getting excited over an animated hedgehog lol

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 so far is VISUALLY STUNNING. The lighting, the animation and SFX, just, BEAUTIFUL ON SO MANY LEVELS.

Everything about the trailer blew my mind, but I will do a post about my thoughts and theories on it later on. For now I wanna talk about the Blueberry Muffin himself.

Sonic in the movie looked GREAT. He got a small upgrade compared to how he looked in both Movie 1 and 2. (Especially Movie 1)

But he's still the goofy, heroic dork he is, and I'm SUPER EXCITED to see my boy again!! 💕

I don't know what else to post, so I'm just gonna gush over some of my favorite (which I'll admit, are almost every shot of Sonic in the trailer. Just wanna admit that, right now XD) shots of the Blue Devil.

I will do another version of this but with Shadow, but that'll be in the future. Shadow looks INSANE in the movie, so of COURSE I will lose my mind over his design once the post comes out lol

But right out of the gate, we got a really cool shot of Sonic running through a log, I think? Absolutely love the blue glow emitting the entire dark interior. And it gave Sonic a nice glow, too.

I love how determined he looks here, too. There were some scenes in the trailer where it looked like Sonic, Tails and Knuckles were racing each other. I think it's really adorable that the Wachowski Bros. spend time together by just racing through the woods outside of their own house.

This shot looks like Sonic might be in the lead.

Tom: "It hasn't always been easy, but it can't change who you are *points to Sonic's heart* in here."

Sonic: "Yeah. In my lungs."

The pure innocence from this hedgehog is killing me 😭

This is probably after the race? Idk when this is taking place, after all, all we got is a trailer. But I'm just spitballing here, but this is definitely another scene in the series where Tom gives Sonic some profound words for him to remember by.

But anyways, I love this shot of Sonic. You can already tell there is some slight differences with how he looked in the first film and the second film, which I kind of already freaked out over on this post here lol.

His expression complete with his line is just the perfect mixture for this shot. It describes Sonic to me. He's got a heart of gold, but at times he can be just a little confuse but still got the spirit.

He's just a child 😭

Here we got Sonic casually breaking the laws of physics just to grind on a tree branch, because he's just that cool.

Now this shot here? PROBABLY ONE OF MY FAVORITES.

Sonic is up in the air, twirling around with a huge smile on his face 🥺

He is having the TIME of his life. He is just so happy AAAAAAAAA-

Also, I love that Sonic's body, mainly his chest, has become a bit more puffy (since the Knuckles show anyway), but he still has that bean shape in certain shots lmao (Got a bit of Classic Sonic in there since day one XDDD)

I mean, come on. Look at his cheeks and tell me he don't have any baby fat anymore? He's still small! He's still squishy!! 🥺

Anyways badass Blueberry. EPIC callback to the beginning of SA2, only this time Tails and Knuckles are along for the ride. (also love Tails' expression as he jumps off the helicopter.)

I love this particular shot a lot for some reason XD

Knuckles really wants to fight Shadow despite Sonic not wanting to. He wanted to handle Shadow just by talking things out (clearly he has not met the dude) and Knuckles is over here ready to throw hands.

Sonic looks very annoyed here 🤣

I'm just so happy to see Sonic and Knuckles together on screen again after the Knuckles show. I fell in love with their dynamic ever since. Sonic and Tails' bond is truly special to me, but it's Sonic and Knuckles' bond that means SO MUCH to me, and I SERIOUSLY need to write more about these dorks.

This is the face of a hedgehog who was NOT prepared for the horrors that is Shadow the Hedgehog and maybe bisexuality. XD

Pissed off Blueberry.

Sonic is one of those characters where they rarely get upset or angry, but when they, it's badass and genuinely terrifying. I am NOT ready to see Sonic get so upset in this movie.

I know shit is about to go down in this movie, and I know Sonic is probably gonna go feral when it does. And it won't be pretty.

He is NOT happy at all. But at least here he looks kind of pouty.

It's kind of funny XD

"Here. Take my stupid strand of magic hair, just make sure you clean it when you're done. >:("

"What did you do?"

Yeah, no, he's furious. It's actually scary seeing Sonic like this. I have seen pictures of Sonic in rage mode in the comics and yeah, you can say that Sonic's about to reach his limit, if you know what I'm saying. (btw best moment in the Archie comics hands down)

Okay, one last image, I PROMISE-

THIS ONE, is my favorite out of all of them. Everything about this shot is just... I... don't even know how to explain how much I love this.

The lighting. The intensity of this whole scene. Sonic's anger. His powers going up to 100.

Yeah, this movie is gonna drive a little crazy. :)

Of course I'm just getting started on my Movie 3 hype rambles lol. Don't want this post to be too long or annoying-

I'm just so happy to see my comfort character back in action. I'm so happy that EVERYBODY'S back! I CAN'T WAIT DUDE!!!

[marinaiguess]

some thoughts evoked by the poll thingy with blaze being in the finals. It’s not about the polls, I do know these are for funsies and stuff, the thought occured to me though because of it. 

I think blaze is a very mistreated and underrated character. 

Wow, okay, that was loaded. Still stands though. I guess I have none other than SEGA to blame, but either way, I do wanna analyze her journey in the franchise and also share my thoughts along the way. 

Blaze the cat had a great kick-off at the beginning of her career. What better way to introduce her than have her as a playable character alongside the main character in an exclusive game for the massively popular at the time, Nintendo DS. Sonic Rush sold more than a million copies and even though it was a pretty great game, it did more than that: it took care of Blaze. It established her character, her background, her story, it gave her an entire character development arc. What was there not to love about her? Sonic’s rival at first, a girl who could keep up with him in terms of speed and power, a princess from another dimension who could also control fire, having her own set of emeralds of which she was the guardian and even her own super form. So many things to consider. All those things were what made her super likeable back in 2005. Fans were actually obsessed with her. And they needed more. So, SEGA had to do something about it.

Here comes Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), changing quite a few things that we already knew about our favorite blue speedster. Possibly changing the entire franchise irredeemably. You already know where I’m going with this. We’re introduced to a new character, Silver the Hedgehog. Everyone is excited to play through his story and, right off the bat, we meet his company: Blaze. Everyone is cheering beacuse Blaze! She’s here, in a 3D game! Soooo, Silver is a character from Blaze’s dimension? Wrong. They’re from the future. Maybe Blaze’s dimension is from the future? Wrong. Blaze and Sonic don’t even acknowledge each other when they eventually meet, acting like they’ve never met before, like Sonic Rush never happened. Okay, fine, it can’t get worse than that, right? Wrong. 

Blaze, for the entirety of the game is treated like a cosmetic, acting solely as Silver’s sidekick, or even as his mentor if you will, and nothing more. We rarely see through her and her thoughts and we’re given little to no means to understand her character. For some people, Blaze was a newly introduced character, since not everyone knew her existence from a year prior. What they get is not the powerful princess we met in Rush, the one who understood the power of friendship and used it in her favour despite her bad past. No, what they got in 06 was a side character, merely existing to give Silver advice and suggestions for his own journey, which she follows no matter what path he chooses to take, even if she disagrees or is not entirely content with it. 

Her limited screentime used for fan-service purposes ended with a bang. Despite this huge journey of giving Silver a purpose (or helping him fulfill it), Blaze was the one who saved the future by using Chaos Control and sacrificing herself in the process, turning into a sort of Burning Blaze as she ascends to the sky. The only reason I felt bad about it was because I knew who Blaze was supposed to be, Blaze to me was the character introduced in Rush. But, given all the info from this specific game, I wasn’t really attached to this Blaze, I had no reason to. Her story felt too blank in comparison to everyone else’s for me to feel the impact of her death. I can understand Silver’s pain though. 

Which doesn’t matter in the end because the timeline is erased. 

So, does that mean Sonic 06 never happened or that it’s not canon? Nope. Everything happened and everything is back to the way it was. Except that the future is saved. How do we know? Sonic Rivals and Sonic Rush Adventure happened. 

I will stick to the latter for the time being. Sonic Rush received a not so commerrcially successful as its predecessor sequel, picking up from where it left off. Kind of. The game released in 2007, a year after 06, the events of which were never to be brought up again, at least until Generations (2011). So, as you’d assume, Sonic and Blaze act like 06 never happened to them, continuing their story after Rush’s events. This game gave more in-depth character development to Blaze, who strengthens her bonds with old and new friends. It doesn’t really matter though because this game didn’t sell well, meaning not a lot of people bought it. Basically, no one knew that game existed so they were wondering what the hell happened to Blaze. Was she dead? Was she from the future? Was she from a different dimension? Would we ever see her again?

Uncertainty prevailed and after SEGA realized how bad of an idea it was to release 06 at its terrible state, they decided it would be best to pretend like it never happened. Iizuka (if I’m not mistaken) when asked in an interview, said that the reason Sonic and Blaze didn’t recognize each other in 06 was “amnesia”. Which doesn’t answer anything and I believe an official answer right now would differ a lot from that. Blaze went on to be a playable character in a few racing games, she got a few cameos. 2009, she appears in Sonic and the Black Knight as Sir Percival. Once again, it doesn’t change anything because, this is a storybook game and doesn’t take place in the in-game universe (this is the arthurian kingdom/world/universe).

Many fans theorized that 06 happened before Rush, making Blaze die in 06 and being transeferred to a new dimension while she had used Chaos Control, forgetting about the past, hence why she didn’t know Sonic in Rush. This was further supported by the fact that Blaze and Silver didn’t recognize each other in Sonic Colors DS (2010), meaning they had forgotten each other. Blaze forgot about 06 and traveled to a different dimension and Silver was affected by the timeline erasure. Sounds pretty solid, right?

Sonic Generations (2011). Blaze is there because she is still relevant and a beloved character to the franchise. No one knows how she got there and no one explains it but no one cares, she’s there to celebrate Sonic’s birthday, the Sonic she knows through the Rush games. But stuff happens and she gets trapped, alongside many of Sonic’s friends, into this ‘white limbo’. Sonic saves her...from Crisis City. Which is a stage from the future of Sonic 06. You may think “okay, maybe SEGA just wanted to pay tribute to 06 as well.” and that would be fine, if it weren’t for Blaze stating that she “never thought she’d be here again.” She remembers 06. Theory debunked. This is never mentioned again, in any game ever. It is still canon however. 

After that, she appeared in Team Sonic Racing (2019), taking 8 years to appear in a game again...despite it being a spin-off. Nothing happens there really, she’s just there to talk to Silver and Amy who she races against for some reason. 

She does appear in IDW, and we now know that the comics are canon to the game timeline. And, I gotta say, I like her there. She hasn’t appeared many times but the writers made those times count. (I think it was Ian who wrote her all of those times, so yeah). 

To put it simply, Blaze is a lost opportunity. Talk about having a rough transition into 3D (hehe). SEGA could have used her in many ways and I think they were intending to, they were preparing her for something big. But they didn’t handle her as they were supposed to and this leads to where we are, where Blaze only appears in spin-offs and the comics, as if they are afraid to bring her back in mainline games. They could really capitalize on her character, if used correctly. They could use her as a playable character that uses the boost formula, as a character that has a super form. They could use her world to introduce new level designs, avoiding using Green Hill over and over again, right? 

I don’t wanna see her standing on the sidelines, doing nothing. I don’t want her purpose to be mentoring Silver. I don’t want her legacy to be Sonic 06. I don’t her to appear only in dire situations (even though, now that I think about it, she didn’t even appear in Forces despite there being a literal war in Sonic’s world). I don’t want her character development to be forgotten and erased. She was a girl with a unique personality that now feels empty, as if she hides behind the face of being a princess from another dimension and nothing more, barely being Sonic’s or Cream’s friend. Mainly focused on the games right now. 

It is said that Blaze is one of the fan-favourite characters of the franchise. But I don’t know if that’s correct. Because I’m not sure if people are a fan of who she is now, of who she is in their minds, or of who she is supposed to be, best depicted in the Rush games. Personally, I believe Blaze still has a lot of uncovered potential that they could take advantage of, so that they can show to everyone who Blaze is supposed to be. Strong and independant, her own character, her own hero.

Hopefully, we get to see more of that in the future. She definitely deserves it. 

[welcome-to-green-hills]

I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT THIS CHALLENGE-

The Movie Series means so much to me. I've been a Sonic fan for more than 10 years. It's one of my personal favorite franchises but in the last couple of years in the 2010s, it was hard for me to enjoy literally anything if no body likes anything. Unfortunately it's still like that, but back then, it was BAD.

Then the first news for the first movie came to public and despite everyone's worries, I was EXCITED AS FUCK for the movie. I never even heard of Ben Schwartz until I heard he was gonna voice Sonic and the instant I looked up a clip from DuckTales and Rise of the TMNT, I fell in LOVE with his voice and his outstanding voice acting. (That dude is responsible for me becoming a fan of DuckTales, TMNT, Randy Cunningham, etc.)

The first trailer, the manhog one, kind of made the Sonic fandom a laughing stock for months. I honestly didn't think his design was that bad (Before I saw the redesign anyway lol) but I was excited for the movie regardless.

But DUDE... Nothing could ever make me fall in love with the franchise again, let alone replace a favorite version of Sonic of mine, than finally seeing Sonic Wachowski's new look. I never squealed so hard on my life.

Seeing the movie at theaters meant a lot because it was the first time I've ever been to a real movie theater since I was 2 or 3. I was nervous because of my sensory, but it won't stop me from watching the Blue Devil on screen. (My dad got me some noise cancelling headphones but they didn't even fit me that well so I just watched movie 1 and 2 without them and it surely was an experience. It wasn't until he got me much better sports professional ones when we went to see the Mario Movie on IMAX. Nice save dad. XD)

For a long time, I watched this movie every single day the moment I got it on Steelbook. I just love everything about it. How relatable it is, the dynamics between characters, the FX and CGI, the acting/voice acting from everyone, the story, everything.

This movie holds a special place in my heart, including Finding Nemo and Lilo and Stitch because they all have thing in common: found family.

Blue precious characters feeling lost in a big world finally finding something they found home, and said home loves them back. 💕

But I never realized how much of this version of Sonic mean to me until the second film came out. I think it changed my life forever. XD

...Actually, yeah, no, I DID changed my life. That wasn't even a joke.

Everything I loved about the first movie got doubled in the second movie. Every second on screen was a joy to watch. Especially the entirety of the third act. Besides the Rise of the TMNT movie, this is one of my favorite Ben Schwartz performances. He knocked it out of the park.

The second film helped me through a lot since post-pandemic. I mean the Sonic franchise alone helped me a lot, but the Movie Series especially. (I call it the Movie Series because it's more than just the movies.)

The Knuckles show was great. It wasn't what I was expecting but I had a lot of fun watching it. I kind of wasn't expecting some Whipple family drama involving Wade's dad since that side-plot was similar to what I'm going through. (Though the difference between Wade's dad and MY dad is that mine really cares about us and we're still getting along. XD)

People have the right to feel however they wanna feel towards anything, but no one's feelings on anything can be the same as mine.

I love the Movie Series so much. It helped me through tough times and it helped me get back in the fandom fully. I am planning on getting AO3 sometime around summer, and I'll be writing a lot. (Hopefully lol)

The Blueberry Muffin is super important to me. There is no other Sonic like him. I thank the whole Movie Series for helping me throughout this decade, and Sonic Wachowski for not making me feel alone. (Including you, Mystery.)

Ohhh❤️🥹❤️

Thank you for sharing this with me. And thank you for feeling comfortable and happy enough to share this with me.

[steeltwigz]

use this ask as an excuse to talk about maria robotnik :D!! love to see what you have to say :]

THIS HAS BEEN IN MY INBOX FOR SO LONG IM SO SORRY DHDJDN

Sorry this became kind of just a rant of me doing weird speculations UHM. Dhdndbdb

Maria is just sooo. Everything about her is so compelling to me! The way she's treated as secondary in her Own Story. Even when we're supposed to be thinking about her, Shadow or the ARK is always looming just slightly in the background. She exists in this vacuum of being one of the most important and recognizable human characters in fandom, yet we barely know anything about her! She's related to THE main antagonist and we've heard him talk about her maybe 4 or 5 times. She's a ghost and a martyr and a sacrifice and another name on a list of tragedies and Shadow's sister and Eggman's cousin and a sickly little girl and the catalyst for So MUCH Sonic lore. Everything we now about her, how she acts and why, what she was like, how she felt about her family and the ARK, is determined Mostly by fan interpretation (as far as I know. I mean, she was in Archie as a ghost or hologram or something, but I haven't read that far yet). Even still, the interpretation from fans seems to be always the same! That she was courageous, curious, reckless and active despite her illness. She sought out danger and excitement even if it meant she might accidentally hurt herself. Often times I see Shadow being written as the voice for reason, instead of her! They also agree that she inherited the Robotnik family trait of being intelligent and inventive (something that's actually actively supported by Sonic Channel artwork featuring her reading or excelling in classes). Fans like to think that she wasn't helpless, despite what her game writing would imply, and they kind of reject the notion that she was a perfect young girl who was quiet and polite and attentive which imo is the exact Opposite of what SEGA seemed to want for the character. I really really like this!! It's so fascinating to me how everyone seemingly agrees on these traits despite how little we know of her. What caused that? Coincidence? Did the way Sonic X rebooted Maria with the character Helen affect anything? Fans have given her so much more depth and I love to see it!!!

I want to know so MUCH about her. What was life like on the ARK, where are her parents, what's the Robotnik family tree look like, etc.? We know so Much about every other character, we kind of take it for granted I think. We know most of their favorite foods, songs, colors, flowers, bands, activities, weather patterns, where they live and who they live with, what they do for a living, what their daily routine is like. We even know some of their favorite Gaming Consoles!! But for Maria we get Nothing! Does she even like the color blue? How does she feel about the ARK? What's her favorite movie, song, food, animal? Does she like bugs or reptiles? Does she talk to the other scientists on the ARK? If so, what about? Does she like them? Do they like her? What was her relationship with Commander Towers, and why do we rarely see them mentioned together? When Shadow was created, did she start avoiding Towers, or were they never great friends? What books does she like to read? What's her favorite genre?

She's also just so tragic in a way that's so. Gets me ILL when I think about it for too long. She was Never going to reach the Earth. Did she know? Did she lay awake at night and think about it? She's so so optimistic and hopeful, I don't want to think she ever let herself give up on that dream tbh. And if GUN successfully shut down the ARK without killing her, would she have survived the trip back to the planet? She HAD to live on the ARK for a reason, and the government knew that. Was her death something they had already accepted as collateral before even stepping foot on the ARK? Did the soldier that shot her see her as a dead girl walking? Was the plan always to kill her as a way to make Gerald vulnerable and weak, and the soldier only thought about it enough to recognize it as himself taking the opportunity where he could? Did anyone else develop NIDS before or after those events? Did a proper cure ever develop? Did the citizens of the Earth ever do anything to honor or acknowledge the ARK tragedy? Did GUN ever formally apologize? Is there a monument or something out there?

And about her death! Did the Robotnik family ever find out she died? How long did they have to wait until they got confirmation? Did Maria ever get the dignity of a proper grave and funeral? How long did that take? Was she religious? If so, which religion? Shadow the Hedgehog (the game) is steeped in nods and references to Catholicism, was he Catholic? Was Maria? How did she feel about her religion? Would she have got along with Sonic and Co.? How would she feel about Eggman?

And she was like. Always going to be Shadow's Sister or The Sick Kid. How did that affect her? She's got the Secondary Character To Her Own Life and Doomed By The Narrative swag and it leaves me BEGGING for more information. We can learn a bit about her from Shadow, and assume some things about her based off the way he acts, but a story focused on her specifically would be so so interesting to me.

And about Shadow! Does he ever visit her grave? In Sonic X uncut, he makes a grave marker for Molly, someone who was a lot like Maria too. Did he do that for Maria as well? And if Shadow and Emerl were made "with her soul" or whatever, how much of them are traits of hers? If Gemerl was reprogrammed to be like Emerl, is he similar? I don't know how Maria acted, but I know Gemerl's personality well. Was Maria like that too? How far can you abstract from the original before there aren't any original traits left?

Anyways. Idk. She's so so cool to me. She can be projected on in basically any way becuz of how Little we actually have confirmed about her which is cool too!! Idk what SEGA's obsession with making little girl martyrs is, but I think all of them are cool. Thank God Helen didn't kick the bucket too, idk how many Maria clones my emotional state can handle. If Tikal is the original little girl martyr, would that make Maria a Tikal clone..... Much to think about!

[theramblingsofadork]

I got dragged back into the Sonic franchise recently. Some kid had a comic for sale at a garage sale and I picked it up because I love comics, and have always liked Sonic!

Well, turns out I got the beginning of the Metal Virus arc! Where a certain shadowy doctor makes his second appearance.

I’m one of those people who loves me a good villain. Needless to say, the art style and his introduction had me hooked. He practically dragged me back into liking Sonic by the throat.

I have now almost completely caught up in the IDW comics, with The Metal Virus arc, Bad Guys, Imposter Syndrome, Overcharged, and Scrapnik Island being my favorites of the lot. /Spoilers for the above below the cut!

It’s been so fun. I love the art style, I love the characters, I love the world they’ve built. And maybe I’m in the minority, but I still freaking love Starline, even after everything he’s done.

I was afraid they might cop out on his character in the same way Star Vs did to Toffee: Introduce a fascinating new villain to almost rival the main villain, then completely butcher his potential. As we started to get into Bad Guys, I feared this would be the case, particularly since Zavok and Mimic figured him out rather early.

But THANK GOODNESS, he actually showed to have a brain and recognized his mistakes!

Needless to say I got even more attached to him. I respect me a thoughtful villain.

Is he absolutely horrible in canon? Absolutely. Surge and Kit’s existence is proof of this. And I can understand why people don’t like him.

But, in typical me fashion, once I have a favorite character, I don’t let go. I love this stupid platypus to death, and gosh dangit if I’m not going to do something with him.

IRONICALLY, despite the fact that I just said i love him as a competent villain, I decided for my story that he wasn’t always that way! What’s the saying behind making AUs and ships? You want to see the characters happy?

Well, Starline is no exception to this rule. While I’m still working out the bugs (I started my AU/early canon story, so some things clash with him personality wise by the end of his saga-(they really seemed to drop the suave, poised doctor aspect really quickly, didn’t they?) I have a whole early history with him and my OCs being friends. (Because I need fluffy before the angst and trauma that follows of course.)

I’ll leave that for another post though. This is just to kind of introduce how this obsession started.

And going six weeks strong, it shows no signs of stopping. (Though I actually haven’t slept well in the entire six weeks because I’m so excited, so that sucks xD but that’s why I’m starting this blog now. Maybe being able to share about it will finally help me sleep. 🤣)

Stay the course! I’ll see you all in the next one.

~Writer

[darkqueenofshadows85]

Sonic Heroes (2003) Story Review

Disclaimer: I will be judging this game by the plot and writing, not the gameplay.

Introduction

Greetings, mortals! For today's review, we'll be looking at the cheesy but endearing Sonic Heroes.

This is a new series of mine, in which I’ll be going into slightly more detail about my thoughts on the main series Sonic game storylines, and why I think they're either well written and engaging, or an absolute trainwreck (or somewhere in-between). I’ll be giving my stance on the character portrayals, visuals, soundtracks, voice actors, and what themes/messages they had to offer. Keep in mind that these are just my own personal thoughts. Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions!

Anyway, let us begin! ^^

Plot

Neo Metal Sonic goes against Dr. Eggman, bringing Team Sonic and Team Rose to him under the impression that it is Eggman, while Eggman sends the Chaotix Detective Agency after Neo Metal Sonic. Also, Rouge finds Shadow in a pod locked up by Eggman guarded by E-123 Omega. Rouge awakens Shadow and the two reprogram Omega and form Team Dark to join the other three teams on their own. Meanwhile, Neo Metal Sonic is copying data from each of the teams for his plan.

Characters

I think the relationship and dynamic of the four teams all seem like good friendships.

Team Sonic, consisting of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles, are friends who know how to work together. Sonic is mentoring Tails, and Knuckles seems to be the older brother figure of the group, which is nice.

I find Team Rose's relationship to be very wholesome. Amy is still a good character, despite her moving towards the crazy fangirl trope when it comes to her crush on Sonic. She was willing to help her friends, Cream and Big find their missing pets, which was nice of her. She’s still helping others and I like that. Big kind of had the mentality of "protect at all costs", which was nice, since there was a tiny rabbit on the team. Cream was caring, and kind of seemed like the most concerned in the group.

Team Dark is easily my favorite out of the four teams. I love their dynamic and friendship, it's a very comforting and exciting trio to see work together. I love watching them work together as a team and see how they love and care for each other despite their hard pasts. Regardless of how much Sonic talks about friendship and teamwork, ironically, Team Dark seems to be the one where the characters are the closest. Their relationship truly brings out the best in Shadow, Rouge and Omega.

I've always loved Team Chaotix's dynamic. They're such a hilarious and awesome team. In Sonic Heroes, they're a struggling detective agency who are barely capable of paying the rent, and are willing to take on any commission they come across, and throughout the story, they often find themselves getting in comedic shenanigans. Each member contributes something to the group: Vector is the muscle and comic relief, Espio is the calm, cool and collected ninja and Charmy is the eccentric, excitable young kid. For me, Team Chaotix’s misfit personalities and dynamics with each other is one of the biggest reasons why they’re amazing.

Metal Sonic was at his PEAK in this game, achieving a new form, Neo Metal Sonic. Neo Metal betrayed Eggman, locked him up, and analyzed data from the heroes and the aquatic god of destruction, Chaos (via Big's pet Froggy, who was mutated by Chaos in SA1). Neo Metal, with all his newly acquired power, plans to overthrow the world after transforming into his best form yet... Metal Overlord. This game highlights how ambitious he is. He wants to crush Sonic and rule a robot kingdom. The dialogue also tells us how insecure he is too. He isn't a mindless Badnik. He's adapted over time, and now he's definitely a three-dimensional character. After the battle, he admits defeat. Even with all that data, he's no match for teamwork.

It's a shame he never became as big of a deal after this game, as he had regressed into a mindless, subservient robot henchman in all of his subsequent game appearances. Yes, he was kind of the main antagonist in Sonic Free Riders, but that wasn't a main series game.

Visuals

I think the visuals look amazing by 2003-2004 standards. They really make sure that when the characters emote, you know what emotion they are conveying. In my opinion, Sonic Heroes has the best presentation out of the entire Adventure Era.

Soundtrack

I consider this game's soundtrack to be my third favorite in the Sonic series next to Sonic 06's soundtrack and Shadow the Hedgehog's soundtrack. The main theme, Sonic Heroes is really good. I really enjoyed all four of the team themes. We Can (Team Sonic's theme) and Follow Me (Team Rose's theme) are really good, and This Machine (Team Dark's theme) and Team Chaotix (Team Chaotix's theme) are two of my absolute favorites. Also, What I'm Made Of is an absolute banger.

Voice Acting

I must say, the Adventure Era voice cast had significantly improved by the time Heroes came around. In fact, I would consider their voice work in Heroes to be their best performances yet. Ryan Drummond (Sonic) sounds very energetic and lively. William Corkery (Tails) is often criticized by many, with some even considering him to be the worst Tails voice, but do keep in mind that he was only nine years old when he voiced the character. Scott Dreier (Knuckles) has improved since SA2. David Humphrey (Shadow) once again does a great job, and Lani Minella once again nails Rouge. Jon St. John did an amazing job voicing Omega, making him sound robotic, but still very threatening. Jennifer Doulliard once again does a good Amy, filled with passion and a girly attitude. Sarah Wulfeck makes for a good Cream. Jon St. John voices Big as well, and he sounds just like he did in SA1. Marc Biagi (Vector), Emily Corkery (Charmy) and Bill Corkery (Espio) all did a good job voicing their respective characters, and Deem Bristow (Eggman) does a good job as well. This was his last acting performance before he died in 2005, the same year SEGA decided to replace the cast with the 4Kids voice cast.

Theme/Message

While Heroes does have a different plot and story from SA1 and SA2, I think Metal Sonic still fits the Adventure Era's overall theme of things returning from the past that you cannot run away from any longer. He was last seen in Sonic CD, so he would want revenge for being left on Little Planet (well, Sonic 4 changed that, but that game didn't exist at the time).

Conclusion

Overall, I find Sonic Heroes' story to be quite entertaining. Sure, it does have a more basic narrative compared to its predecessors and the games that immediately followed, but it's still well-written and very enjoyable in my opinion.

My final score:

4.9./5 (Good)

[egg-emperor]

What was your first and favorite sonic game? How about least favorite? My guesses are: Spinball for first, SA2 for favorite, 06 for least favorite.

My first Sonic game was Sonic Heroes and I'm also admittedly biased because I've also always said that it's my favorite Sonic game. And yeah, it's not the perfect game because I don't even like how they handled my favorite character when they tossed him aside, but the fun level designs, gameplay, music, and characters in it made the game an enjoyable first impression to me and made me want to get into the series. Especially the small amounts of Eggman included because seeing less of him but liking his design and the small moments of him and his mostly off screen involvement in Chaotix's story made me want to see more of him.

When I replay Sonic Heroes annually I still have a blast to this day, the slippery controls can be annoying for everyone but it doesn't stop me from having fun and beating the game, so it doesn't make me dislike replaying it. (I also LOVE Secret Rings, so bad controls never piss me off much - except for the physically painful to play Free Riders lmfao) The story is simplistic but that's okay and the only part I have really big complaints about is how they did Eggman dirty. But I still have a lot of love for the game overall and it's very special to me, and yeah nostalgia definitely plays a big part in it because I have very special memories with it.

I'm also biased with Shadow 2005 being my second favorite because of it being another of the first games I played about the same time I played Sonic Mega Collection on the PS2, I got to see a lot more of voiced and animated Eggman than Heroes (I still love classic Egg in all the games I played in the Mega Collection but my fascination turned massive crush developed from voiced and animated modern especially lol) and even despite the game also doing him dirty especially in three endings, he had moments and dialogue I adore and I have very special memories. Eggman had wasted potential in the Shadow androids concept and manipulation of Shadow but I loved the ideas and some of his scenes, attitude, and performance from Mike Pollock.

If I hadn't played Heroes and Shadow 2005 first, Adventure 2 would be my favorite Sonic game and that's why it's third on my five favorite games. I love the gameplay, the story telling, the characters, ALL THE EGGMAN and his super fun gameplay, the amazing exciting villainous moments from him, and Deem Bristow. 🥰💜💕💖💗 And Adventure would be my second favorite game for very similar reasons. I have tons of love for and have put many hours into both over the years. Sure, they're very popular choices but I'll never feel that the games are overrated, I think they're both such loved games for good reason. The whole Adventure era that I consider being from Adventure 1 to Shadow 2005 is my favorite.

As for my least favorite - I'd say it's pretty much a tie between 06 and Rise of Lyric. I've replayed 06 many times for a laugh but there's always suffering involved too and I don't feel I've been too harsh on it to this day - except for 06 Eggman because movie jimbotnik was so unsexy and bland to me that the first time I replayed 06 after watching the first movie, I was like wow why did 06 Eggman suddenly go from a weird looking stranger to me that I couldn't see as Eggman to being so sexy and lovable and so Eggman way more than jimbotnik could be to me? 😳 lmfao the gameplay is boring and frustrating to me except for Egg Wyvern and it's so not because of Eggman or anything hehehe 😍 ahhh so gay 🙄 Julian shut up shsjfbsmgnskh And most of the story is meh Idc save for a couple of moments and any time Eggman speaks because I'm biased and lovestruck lol. And it has pretty CG cutscenes and a pretty slapping soundtrack, I can give it that at least alongside Eggman. But it's not enough to say I like the actual game when the gameplay is not fun for me unless I'm laughing at how bad it is.

But the reason I tie it with Rise of Lyric is because I can also be biased about the Eggman moments (like he's funny and fruity and I like Mike Pollock's performance but his actual role in the story was pretty bad and I'm not as big of a fan of an Eggman that doesn't have a balance of funny and more serious and villainous, he was really just funny) but I don't like literally anything else about the story, the humor was more cringe than any Pontaff jokes ever were, the soundtrack was so forgettable, the cutscenes were poor in quality, it's sooo boring to play even when it was two player with my bro, and I got just as frustrated with it as 06 for some level and gameplay design choices.

I could also put Shattered Crystal and Fire and Ice as being amongst the worst too but I don't care about them enough to rate. The Boom games just really didn't need to happen as a whole lol. And I also found them so boring I gave up on them and just watched on YouTube instead and thought yeah these games aren't worth beating to me. So I don't think I've played enough to fully rate them but I'd say they're amongst the worst, meanwhile I've beaten 06 and RoL so I feel like I actually can there.

[ordinaryschmuck]

Why I (Want to) Love Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Salutations, random people on the internet who most certainly won’t read this! I’m an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons. I also LOVE the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Whether as a kid, or an adult pretending to be a kid, this franchise is one that I’ll always revisit no matter how old I get. So when I heard that a new version of the series was coming out in 2018, titled as Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I was excited about it. Then I watched the series...and most of that excitement went down the sewer drain. 

Don’t get me wrong, there were some elements that seemed like there was some definite promise for a good series, but other aspects...I’ll have to explain. 

But keep in mind, I am going to be spoiling a lot about the series. So if you haven't watched it yet, I highly recommend you do so to form your own opinions. Because while it may not have grabbed me as much, that doesn’t mean the same can’t be said for you. With that out of the way, let's get started with--

WHAT I LIKE

The Animation: If anybody ever tells you that Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has awful animation, they are objectively wrong. Rise of the TMNT has some of the best, if not the best, animated fight scenes I've seen from any action series in recent memory. Probably because the show understands the number one rule of action animation: Good animation is a requirement. Not an exception.

For an action-oriented animated series, the audience needs to feel the impact whenever characters punch, block, or dodge in each fight. Yes, even dodge. Because if you can feel even the tiniest gust of wind that passes by a character's face after a punch, then you know the animators are doing something right. And trust me when I say that is present in the majority of most fights in Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Are there moments when the movements are slow and rigid? Yes...during the dialogue and comedic scenes. Moments where good and quality animation isn't really all that necessary. You see this same technique in most modern anime: The animation is rigid and cheap for the dialogue-heavy scenes so the animators can give extra attention to the epic action set pieces. Not a single person complains about this happening in their favorite anime of the week. But when Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles does this, apparently it's a bad thing? Explain that logic to me!

The animation is phenomenal in this show. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise because those people are either blind or insanely stupid. Either works.

It’s Pretty Funny: And that's about it. It's nowhere near one of the funniest shows I have seen, and previous iterations of the franchise did a much better job at balancing humor and heart, but Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles did a great job at getting a laugh out of me from time to time. It has a very random sense of humor that works well with its manic energy, similar to what Star vs. the Forces of Evil did early on in its first season. Even if one joke fails, about ten more take its place, most of them funnier than the others. There may be an occasional issue where a joke spoils a dramatic moment, but Rise of the TMNT is one of the few shows where that issue doesn't happen often. Besides, the series sets itself up as more of a comedy than other reboots and reiterations, so it wouldn't look good if it wasn't funny. Thankfully, it is, and in a way, the show is a success because of it.

It Tries to be Something New: This is what I respect most about the series. The downside about a reboot is that writers have to find a way to tell the same story but with adjustments that make it seem different. That's the same way Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles operates as a franchise. The original concepts of the stories and characters are always iconic, and I'll love them with my whole heart, but I will admit, there's a point where the same thing over and over again can be a little tiring. Then there's Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which makes changes where other shows would ask "why," this is the one that asks "why not?"

Why not change the personality and backstories of characters that still fit with the spirit of the original?

Why not change the genders, races, and possibly sexualities of these iconic characters?

Why not make something new?

Now, some have argued that the show is a little too new. Which I can kind of see the point of. After all, what's the point of changing characters and concepts so drastically when you could just make an original series? But even then, most of the changes are pretty clever, that I think it’s worth remembering for future iterations. Like making Casey Jones a female. Casey is a gender-neutral name, and I legitimately thought this series would do it for that reason alone. So I feel bad that the writers never got a chance to allow the series to reach its full potential with ideas like this due to Nickelodeon screwing them over (Seriously, never pitch a show to Nickelodeon. It rarely ever works out, and it's not worth the risk). I can see how these ideas could result in an incredible show that might cement the series as one of the best iterations of the franchise. But I can't base a story on potential. I can only judge what I see, and what I see are brilliant changes that impress me from time to time.

The Creators Are Still Fans: Despite making something completely different, you can tell that everyone working on this show loves TMNT as the rest of the fans do. There are dozens of references to previous versions littered throughout the series. Whether it's shoutouts to the 90s cartoon to bringing back voice actors from the last one, there are moments where the crew behind the series emphasizes how much they care about the franchise. There are also times when a reference has such a deep cut to it. For example, the series has the previous VA for Splinter to voice the current version of Shredder. I shouldn't have to explain how that is a brilliant idea, especially given Shredder's relationship with Karai...which I can't fully explain due to it spoiling TMNT (2012). This might be a whole new experience, but it is clear that history is not ignored when it comes to Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The Cast is Colorful: It's not precisely a diversity win to have half the Turtles voiced by black VAs, but it is unquestionably some good sign of progress. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are...accurately what they are called. So they are not defined by the skin tone of the VAs themselves. So having half of them be voiced by people of color makes me hopeful that maybe future reboots would consider more colorful castings. Hell, maybe one day we'll have a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot where all of them are POCs, to the point that we'll have an all-Asian casting for these timeless heroes (which makes way too much sense to me).

And it's not just the casting of the turtles that impresses me. Because the series making April O'neil black is an idea that I'm more than ok with. It's implied that she's black in the original comics by Keven Eastman and Peter Laird, so it works as another deep-cut reference that proves how big of fans the crew is. Plus, who cares? I mean, if we're still having issues of changing the race of a character who was originally white, all I can say is grow the hell up. You can complain if they don't grab you, but if the issue is because of one decision that shouldn't negatively affect anybody, I don't see the problem. Besides, at this point, a character being white is basically the base plate for someone in the future to change their race at another time.

Also, let’s give the people behind the casting a pat on the back for casting Asian VAs for characters who are, well, Asian. It’s the bare minimum of common courtesy and avoids the trouble of having white VAs do asian accents that have become quite culturally insensitive nowadays. So it’s a pretty cool decision if you ask me.

Diversity is never an issue, especially since representation always matters for people who demand to be heard. It's definitive proof that anybody can be anything, whether it's a hero in fiction or the voice of that hero behind the scenes. And you can't really do that when everyone is so white that it's blinding.

Donatello: This is the best character in the series. Not only because Donatello has the most consistent personality (more on that later), but also because I'm a sucker for the cynical super-geniuses. These types of characters always have a quick and dry wit that never fails to get a laugh out of me, and this version of Donatello became my favorite just for that factor alone. Most of the credit goes to Josh Brener, who does a phenomenal job at his performance and comedic delivery. As for the emotional bits, he's...fine, but the drama isn't the show's best strength anyway, so it doesn't matter as much. Because the fact that it's Donatello who earns the spot as best character in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot is an impressive feat in itself that any criticism offered for him is moot in the process.

WHAT I DISLIKE

Leonardo: I'm willing to make half of this a personal issue because I have grown to despise Ben Schwarts in the last four years. No offense to the guy, I'm sure he's a really great person in real life...but he has done nothing but play the same character in FOURS YEARS! Whether he's Leonardo, Dewey Duck, Sonic the Hedgehog, or even M.O.D.O.K.'s son (yes, that's a thing), Ben Schwarts has practically played the exact same character each time. The highly energized, dimwitted, and egotistical character who slowly tries to learn to be a better person in the end. AND SOMETIMES, NOT EVEN THAT! I'm sick of it, as it always breaks the immersion of the series as all I hear is Ben Schwarts and not the character he's voicing. But it's not just the voice behind Leonardo that frustrates me. Because the thing is, I can see how this version of him can be incredible.

It doesn't take a genius to know that this version of Leonardo is meant to be more childlike and carefree so he can morph into the more mature leader we all know and respect him as. The issue is that the writers barely do anything with that idea. Sure some episodes make this Leonardo more like, well, Leonardo, but they're far and few between the ones where he's the same Ben Schwarts character that I've grown to hate. Even when he is at his most Leo-like, as seen in the episode "Man vs. Sewer," it's so drastically different from how he usually acts that it feels less like character development and more like inconsistency. It's a shame too because I really love this idea. With a little more polish, it could work out. As is, it's just a huge chunk of wasted potential.

Raph’s Too Good of a Leader: This is a similar issue to what I've mentioned about Leonardo. Because, again, I love this idea. Raphael, in multiple iterations, complained about how he should be the leader and just as frequently learns why the job rightly belongs to Leo instead. So starting with this role reversal should be a well-executed idea that gives Raph what he wants while eventually giving the fans what they want. And it would be if not for the fact that Raph seems to be too good at his job.

I get it. If Raphael was too incompetent, the turtles would have gotten nothing done, and it would get too tiring too quick as Leonardo constantly proves why he should lead and why Raph should follow. This actually happens from time to time, and it is already tiresom. The issue is that the intention was to make Leonardo the leader in the end. So why spend so much time showing how Raphael is capable at the job and barely any time showing why Leonardo is a better fit? There are even times when Raphael seems like he really is a better leader than Leo, which I feel as though it is contradictory to the point the writers are trying to get across. In the end, it's nothing more than another really great idea met with insanely poor execution.

Master Splinter (Early Season One): ...Did anybody like this version of Master Splinter in the first half of season one? Because this character was atrocious, especially compared to the previous Splinter from TMNT (2012). We went from what is easily the best interpretation of the character to what was, at the time, the worst. He was lazy, selfish, and emotionally distant with his sons to the point where he only acknowledges them by the color of their bandannas. I understand that the writers needed a more comedic version of the character due to leaning extra hard into comedy, but I don't think I laughed once with his antics in the first half of season one. Thankfully, he's been gifted with a softcore reboot during the second half and onward. This Splinter is awesome, serious, he works well as a straight man, and he has a backstory that's easy to follow while still being kind of heartbreaking. It's a tremendous improvement from what we've been given, but it still doesn't change how downright painful he initially was. I won't complain about the results, but I do have the right to complain about what we got beforehand.

Characters are Inconsistent: A common complaint you'll hear about Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is that the main characters are the same. That's not true because there are definite differences that separate each one apart from the other...the issue is that the writers are not consistent with those changes. I've touched upon it with Leo, but the truth is, everyone in the main cast suffers from inconsistency with their personalities. If Raph is supposed to be the meathead with a good heart, why are there times when he acts like the smart one who occasionally enjoys violence? If April is supposed to be as wild and carefree as the rest of the guys, why are there episodes where she seems to be the sane one? If Mikey is supposed to be kind yet somewhat stupid, why are there episodes where he's selfish and more intelligent than Leonardo? Even Donatello, who is the most consistent out of the whole cast, still suffers through moments when he isn't as clever and cynical as he usually is. These inconsistencies are annoying, and at times, it feels like their personalities are dependent on what the writers need for a joke or for the episode. Characters are the most essential aspect of any story for any medium. If audiences don't care about the characters, they'll find it hard to care about anything else. And how can we care about anyone if we're not one hundred percent sure what their personalities are in the first place?

The Pacing: I sort of expected this when it was announced that this reboot was swapping the franchise's usual half-hour runtime for a ten-minute one, but in all honesty, it isn't that bad. It is slightly fast at times, but that's just as quick to get used to. However, there is one strange phenomenon about this show that I can't let go of.

You see, this series somehow has worse pacing with extended episodes and specials than it does with its usual ten minutes. I don't know how this is possible either. Because despite having as much time as the writers want to establish each plot point, it still feels like they fly through them a little too fast than they regularly would. It makes no sense, but it's constant in every extended episode, especially the series finale (which, to be fair, is partially Nickelodeon's fault. AGAIN!). So keep that in mind when watching.

The Characters Are TOO Overpowered: It feels weird complaining about this. Because making the characters capable of doing anything and surviving much more leads to some of the most epic action sequences in animation history, not just the series or the TMNT franchise as a whole. Despite that, though, there is one crucial thing that is always missing from those fight scenes anyways: Tension.

To fully explain why tension is required in action, I'll have to use Samurai Jack as an example. You see, the titular character can, at times, be just as invincible as these versions of the Turtles and survive even worse. But regardless of him being victorious after nearly every episode, no matter how high the deck is stacked against him, there was always a sense that he fought hard, literally and figuratively, for those victories in the first place. Jack losing articles of clothing or getting cut up gives the illusion that he might not win in the end. He still does, and he always does, but showing the audience that he can and will get hurt makes seeing that victory feel earned. The only times the Turtles, April, or Splinter get hurt is either for comedic slapstick or because the story says so. This is why I consider Shredder destroying the lair is the best fight scene in the entire series. The second he starts destroying their weapons, it gives the tension required to believe maybe, just maybe, not everyone will make it out alive this time. Because if the characters aren't careful, they will face intense consequences as a result. Thus making an adrenaline-pounding moment in the process. Unfortunately, this is the one and only fight scene where that happens. Every action set piece is still epic, don't get me wrong. But there's a reason why writers make even Superman seem less invincible than typical in a fight.

Baron Draxum: THIS is the biggest issue that I have with the series.

As a villain, I didn't give a s**t about Baron Draxum. He was a dull antagonist with a generic evil plot, but other than that, he was perfectly serviceable for a series like this. Even getting a few chuckles now and again...but then the writers decided to make him REDEEMABLE!?

This guy?

The maniac who wanted to commit genocide on human beings, all because of insufficient proof that they'll do it to his species first?

Didn't we already learn how that's awful reasoning after Steven Universe?

Actually, that's not fair...because Steven Universe has a better explanation behind wanting to redeem the Diamonds than Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles does about Baron Draxum! And I'm not kidding! For Steven Universe, the characters believe that it's better to end things peacefully than killing anyone, even if they're the worst criminals. It's a flawed mentality, sure, but it's one you can grasp and understand. What's the reason for redeeming Baron Draxum? It's because he's the reason why Splinter and the turtles are a family...F**k all the physical torture Splinter went through on top of the social ostracization he experienced because of it. No, no, it totally validates the decision to forgive and forget...Oh, wait, no, it doesn't. BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE INSANE!

Who in the f**k honest to goodness thought that would be a good idea? I'm all for finding silver linings in a bad situation, but that is just flat-out lunacy! Because it's the equivalent of saying, "Yeah, this person was a complete a-hole, but they're still the a-hole that made you who you are today." But that is a very dangerous lesson to preach to kids. Because here's the--Hey *snaps fingers* Here's the thing: If a person treats you like garbage, you don't owe them anything for who you are. It's one thing if a person inspired you or cheered you on, but if someone basically ruined your life and physically harmed you and others, don't forgive them. They don't deserve it. ‘Cause f**k Baron Draxum. And whoever thought this was a good idea, you seriously need some help.

Man, is this how it feels to be Lily Orchard? IT SUCKS!

IN CONCLUSION

And that's what I think about Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. 

It's a fantastic series! I just like everything except for the execution of ideas, most of the characters, and the overall pacing of it...that means it's not a good series, is it?

Yeah, it's a real shame that I don't like this. Because I want to. I really want to. The pieces are there, and I can see how this could be a great and memorable version of a series I loved since I was a tater-tot myself. But I don't. I'm sorry, but I just don't consider this to be an A+ series. It's a solid C, for sure, because it's mostly just style with very little substance. I still respect the amount of effort everyone put into this reboot, but for me, it just never had its chance to fully rise to the occasion.

[bewaretheidesofmarchyall]

Dream SMP Good Omens AU Part 3!

There’s another chapter of the Good Omens AU! This one is Bedrock Bros, it’s on AO3 here, but also below the cut

Technoblade was determined not to care about Tommy. He lost that particular battle.

-----------------

"Let me get something clear. I'm not sure why you're here, or what you're planning, but I haven't survived as long as I have by giving strangers the benefit of the doubt.". Technoblade paced around his opponent, making every word clear.

"You may have been able to pull the wool over Phil's eyes, but I see through this whole game. 

You think you can show up in our home, learn our secrets, and report back to your boss, right? 

Well, mark my words: I'm going to find out your plan, I'm going to track down the guy you're working for, and I'm going to get you out of our lives.". He glanced back.

"Are you even listening to me?".

The opponent stared blankly at him through crib bars. Technoblade folded his arms.

"I'm starting to think you might actually be a month-old baby.". Phil walked into the room, looking exasperated. 

"Techno, are you interrogating the child again?"

"Listen, this orphaned child is hiding something, I know it."

"He didn't crack the first seven times you tried this. Just give it a rest, mate."

"I think I have the perfect negotiation strategy this time."

"Which is?"

"The threat of violence. Allow me to demonstrate.". He removed a sword from the wall and held it over the crib.

"Who do you work for?". Tommy looked at the blade like it was the coolest thing he'd seen in his young life and reached for it. Techno held it out of the child's reach. 

Phil, unamused, swooped in, took the sword out of his hands, and half-led half-pushed him out of the house.

"I think that's enough for today."

"But-"

"Nope!”

"Just promise me you won't trust him."

"I already don't, but it's my job to keep Tommy away from danger, and I think a sword qualifies."

"I wasn't going to stab a baby. It was an intimidation tactic, I was intimidating the baby.".

Phil apparently thought that was a ridiculous thing to do, and he closed the door, leaving Techno on the porch.

The new neighbors were out in their yards. 

The surly one two houses down with the business suit flipped him off as a way of greeting, while the strange guitar guy waved cheerfully, "accidentally" pointing a garden hose at the businessman in the process. 

Technoblade hadn't bothered to learn either of their names. He neither liked nor trusted them, but they weren't the most important issue at hand. 

No, the most important thing right now is figuring out how to end the Tommy Problem, so me and Phil can be unbothered and safe. I look after my family and no one else.

His days of living in our home are numbered.

-----------

Now, knowing your enemy is crucial to any conflict. 

So, when Technoblade wasn't maintaining the old secret identity, exercising Steve, or looking after his collections of books and bones, he was gathering intel. 

Unfortunately for him, babies were perhaps the most boring creatures in existence. 

They couldn't speak, they couldn't move around much, they didn't have any kind of personal philosophy to argue against. 

Even after two years of gathering information, he wasn't able to learn much about the thing's strengths, weaknesses, and motivations besides the basics:

Strengths: Phil's protecting him and might be a bit attached.

Weaknesses: A literal baby, untrained in combat.

Motivations: ??? An enigma.

He was a patient man, but two years of learning nothing was testing his patience. This was the only reason why he agreed to look after the toddler for an afternoon.

------------

Phil dropped Tommy off at Techno's house with very little prior warning. 

Techno hadn't been expecting to ever have to look after a toddler, even for a couple of hours, and he reacted to the idea with reluctance.

"Why can't Wilbur do this again?"

“Because I’m leaving to go look for him. I had a concerning phone call, and Wilbur might be in trouble with the law or something worse. It’s a long story, but could you please watch Tommy for a little while?”. 

Technoblade tried not to show his distaste for the idea of babysitting, and agreed. 

All I have to do is keep him alive and unharmed for a couple of hours, hopefully learning more about what he is and why we have him. I can do that.

As soon as Phil left, he found a notebook and pen. He was going to take copious notes to make this worth it.

-------------

1:32 PM: The kid has just been released into my house. He immediately tried to fall down the basement stairs. I stopped him, but he's on the loose again.

1:45 PM: Note to self, add Unlimited Energy to the strengths column.

2:00 PM: Another round of are all children like this, or is it a supernatural thing! He apparently has the capacity to scream for five minutes straight without breathing. This is because he's upset that I won't let him on the basement stairs, which he has decided is the best part of the house because I don't want him there.

2:04 PM: On the loose once more.

2:15 PM: It's like someone released a miniature earthquake into my house. This thing is chaos incarnate loose on the mortal plane.

2:28 PM: he may or may not have a knife

2:29 PM: Crisis averted, he does not have a knife anymore.

2:33 PM: It has now been over an hour. The child is alive, my sanity is not.

2:46 PM: Steve likes him. He's an impeccable judge of character most of the time, wonder what went wrong. This would be kind of sweet, if it weren't for the fact that Phil might see that I googled if polar bears ate children.

2:47 PM: Just to clarify: Steve has not eaten the child at the time of this entry.

4:19 PM: You know what really annoys me? The voices haven't helped at all with this. I'd assume one of you would have some helpful advice, but it's just "blood for the blood god" and "E". I know that I didn't become the blood god by saying "Yeah, that seems like a reasonable amount of blood", but there are other things in life.

4:23 PM: I think I finally figured out something. The kid likes fire and (again, is that normal for human children??) and I'm exploding things at a safe distance. He's entertained, I'm getting rid of my spare Molotov cocktails, this is fine. 

-------------

Techno put the notebook aside and lit another fuse. 

He looked up to the window, where Steve was curled up around Tommy, stopping him from going anywhere. 

He casually got out of the way of the explosion, let it happen, and ran back to the window nook in the house. Tommy was still grinning and staring at the crater in wonder.

I'm not completely failing at this.

At that moment, the doorbell rang.

Techno wasn't planning on answering it, but a certain guardian demon walked unsteadily into the house anyway.

Wilbur looked somewhat dazed, like he'd been through hell and back in the last three hours. One of his hands was hidden in his coat, but Technoblade was pretty sure he was covering a wound.

Tommy looked even more excited about seeing him than he was about the explosions, and he ran over, clinging on to Wilbur. 

Despite the state he was in, he smiled down at the toddler.

Techno waited to the side for an explanation, not sure of the right way to ask someone if they'd been in an alleyway shootout recently. 

Eventually, Wilbur looked up.

"If you see a man in a sonic onesie, kill him on sight."

"Heh?"

"Just some advice. Anyway, thank you so much for taking care of Tommy for these couple of hours, but I'm back."

"Wilbur, from what I can see you're going to pass out in five minutes. You're not going to look after a toddler."

"Excuse me, I haven't slept since the 19th century and I'm not starting now."

"What?"

"Ignore that. I sleep as much as humans do. The point is, I'm here to relieve you from your post.". 

Technoblade thought about it. 

On the one hand, the chaos gremlin would be removed from my house. 

On the other hand, it's just my luck that someone only shows up once I figured out how to kind of deal with the situation. 

Also, that guy's at least on Death's lawn if not his doorstep.

"I don't need you to swoop in and take the credit, but thanks. I've been handling this just fine on my own.". A puzzled expression flickered on Wilbur's face, but he eventually nodded.

"Fine. I guess."

"When you pass out in three minutes, try not to do it in the potato garden or the bush."

"Not going to do that, but sure thing.". With that, Wilbur slowly got Tommy to let go of him and left into the evening. Technoblade turned to the child.

"Alright, let's explode something else."

------------

A little later that night, a voicemail was sent to Phil.

"If you're still looking for Wilbur, you can stop. He's back, and he's not dead. I mean, he's not exactly dead. 

Apparently, he got into a gunfight with Sonic the Hedgehog. He's in", and there was a muffled crash, followed by a long sigh from Techno as he stared at the wall in disappointment.

"He's in the bush. Please collect him. Also, please collect your actual child, he's tried to chew on a skull. Thanks.".

--------------

Since the first time looking after Tommy hadn't been a complete disaster, Techno didn't object when he was needed again. 

After all, the more he learned, the more he theoretically grew closer to bringing their lives back to normalcy. 

So, he was like 8% of Tommy's childhood. He was no Wilbur, but the kid was still part of his life. 

Little traces of Tommy were everywhere in his house, except for the basement, which remained under lock and key. 

The walls were scribbled on, the fridge raided too many times to count, and action figures hidden in every corner.

Whenever he got the chance, he'd find a way to test the kid for some kind of supernatural ability. 

So far, Tommy was able to leave salt circles, touch iron and silver, didn't care when he cooked eggshells, and could absolutely enter places without being invited (in fact, that seemed like his favorite thing to do).

Technoblade was certain that Tommy wasn't human, but he had to admit that the likelihood of him being a spy was slim. 

He seemed like a perfectly regular child, or as regular as the circumstances allowed. 

Techno had met his share of liars and actors in his day (hell, his neighbors fit the criteria), but he'd never come across anything that could tell a lie that convincing.

-------------

One would expect the years to fly by for someone like Technoblade, since he'd seen so many of them. 

However, time had never sped or slowed for him. The years always felt like the exact same length of time.

Still, it was odd how fast Tommy grew up.

The years still felt like plain old years, no faster or slower, but it was a surprise when Technoblade realized that the kid was seven already.

----------------

Tommy liked comic books where the heroes won, so Techno hadn't expected him to like Greek myths. 

He'd only read them to him because he'd been demanding a story, and it was either the book of mythology or Sun Tzu's The Art of War. 

Seeing as Tommy was a second-grader, military tactics went a bit over his head.

"So, Hades decided to let Orpheus leave the underworld with Eurydice under one condition: He couldn't look back to see if she was following him. If he doubted the gods and looked behind him before they both reached the sun, he would lose her forever."

"That's dumb."

"The gods don't like being doubted."

"If he goes into the underworld to get her back, they should be able to leave without some trick!"

"Yeah, the gods are also jerks sometimes.". Tommy curled up on the couch, trying to turn the page to find out what would happen next. 

Techno had hoped that a story would calm him down, but his energy seemed even higher than before, since he was invested in the plot.

"Do they make it?"

"We're getting there. Orpheus walked back through Hades-"

"He walked through Hades?"

"Hades the place, not Hades the god. He named his kingdom after himself."

"That's not a good way to name a kingdom. I wouldn't want to live in a place named Tommyland, even if I did have a country. I should have a country."

“Tommy, you don’t want to run a government.”

"It isn't a government if it's all me!"

"That-That's absolute monarchy. That's worse."

"If you could, would you clone yourself? I would. I'd have a clone country."

"Do you want to find out what happens next in the story or not?". Tommy quickly nodded, and let Techno continue.

"Orpheus walked back through Hades, not knowing if Eurydice was behind him or not. He walked through the Elysian Fields, and the pits of Tartarus, and the endless wasteland of the shades of Asphodel."

"What's Asphodel?"

"Asphodel is where they put souls who weren't good or bad, but just kind of there. It's like the ancient Greek version of purgatory. They just stand in a meadow for all of eternity there."

"Sounds boring."

"It is. Anyway, Orpheus walked through all of Hades's kingdom. He could only hear his own footsteps and his breathing, and had no way of telling if Eurydice had followed. 

When he crossed the river Styx, he asked the ferryman if there was anyone behind him, but Charon refused to answer him. 

He got to the other side of the river, and all he had to do was walk through the tunnel to the surface."

"So he makes it?"

"We're getting there. Orpheus was almost to the surface, when things started to go badly for him in a special way. See, most Greek heroes are stopped by their hubris, but-"

"What's hubris?"

"Overconfidence. Arrogance. The type of person who'd try to take things from the gods instead of asking."

"Like Wilbur!"

"Exactly like Wilbur. But Orpheus was just built different. 

Instead of being overconfident, his fatal flaw was doubting too much. He trusted no one, especially not himself. 

So, just as he was about to step into the sun, he turned around to check if Eurydice was behind him. 

And she was. She'd been behind him the whole time, but when he gave in to his doubts and turned to look, she disappeared forever.". Technoblade closed the book. Tommy was quiet, picking at a loose thread on a cushion.

"Is that it?"

"Yeah, that's basically the story."

"That's not fair. He goes down into the scariest place in the cosmos to get back the person he loves, and then loses because he turns around a couple feet from the finish line?"

"He gave into his fatal flaw. That's how most of these work."

"Hades probably knew that was his fatal flaw. And he chose that test to make him lose.". Techno blinked. He'd never thought about it that way.

"I mean, that's probably true. Like I said, the gods are jerks.". Tommy seemed disappointed by that, slumping and burying his face in Steve's fur.

"Do any of these have happy endings?". 

Technoblade looked through the table of contents. 

Achilles dies. Jason dies. Bellerophon dies. Atalanta got turned into a lion. Heracles and Icarus and Meleager all die. Even Theseus dies in disgrace. Seems like everyone dies, except-

"Perseus turns out okay.". Tommy brightened up a bit at that.

"Can you tell me about him?". 

Technoblade found the right page and began telling the story of the man who got to go on a quest and survive. 

The whole time, Tommy had his head on his shoulder, staring at the illustrations. Techno's arm fell asleep after a few minutes, but he neither noticed nor minded.

---------------

If anyone asked Techno if he cared about Tommy, he'd laugh in their face.

Of course he didn't! There was still a plan to get rid of him, it was just....delayed.

Once he grew up and went to college, he'd technically be out of the house. Which meant that the plan would still have paid off. Still a partial victory on his part.

Anyway, he'd say in very clear terms that he didn't care about Tommy. He was just some kid.

A kid that spent a lot of time at his house. A kid that he'd seen grow up. A kid that obviously cared about him.

The same kid that he taught how to throw a punch when he got into a fight at school, and which heroes corresponded to which constellations, and to call him whenever he needed help.

He'd say that he didn't care about that kid. But, out of the many liars he'd met over his long life, he was one of the worst. 

And when Phil called him with a plan to make sure that Tommy stayed safe, he agreed, even though it would inconvenience him a fair bit.

Because above all else, Technoblade looked after his family.

[josie-effortposts]

The Woman Who Fell to Earth

I stopped watching Doctor Who in 2013 after the 50th anniversary special. Up to then I was deeply obsessed by its reams of stories, hidden subspaces and detailed production histories. It wasn’t just entertainment, it was a case study in a massive shared universe, and a direct function of the times and places it had been written. 

It’s never been very controversial to anyone I know to dislike Moffat’s run of the show, and as it drew to a close everything that followed seemed pretty well-telegraphed: Chris Chibnall would become the head of the show, it wouldn’t be very good, reactionaries would blame bad writing on a female Doctor while plenty of others would just lost interest, the ratings would drop and the whole show would become less culturally relevant. It was a Cassandra truth.

But that said, I still wanted to try it. I watched a bit of the Twelfth Doctor and had mixed feelings, and when I watched the first episode of the Thirteenth I found myself taking notes on it. So, without a lot of structure, here are my thoughts.

1. New Who treats first episodes as very important, the first moments that we see new Doctors and their statements to the world. Call it a modern tradition - where “Robot” and “Time and the Rani” play the change for comedy before jumping into the week’s adventures, “The Christmas Invasion” and “The Eleventh Hour” are primarily statements of continuity. By Twelve’s first outing the villains themselves become metaphors for change, and now Thirteen delivers a brief speech about deciding to become different while paying respect to the past.

2. Speaking of that speech, I feel like there must have been an earlier draft that connected the plot to these metaphors a lot better. The villain of the story keeps pieces of his past triumphs with him at all times, but these trophies are body parts taken from the dead, and they disgust the Doctor. At least Twelve’s flesh robots were stumbling towards eternity.

The villain as a whole is just what you’d expect from a low-grade Doctor Who monster, I guess. He’s supposed to be on a hunt, which sounds really cool, but this consists entirely of him walking places and murdering random bystanders by touch. He’s not keeping the masquerade up or succeeding in his goals by doing this, and the rest of the story implies that he’s at least shrewd about getting what he wants. The Doctor’s complaints against him center on him being a cheat who can’t do the hunt fair and square and on his desecrating corpses, but she never seems very angry at him over murdering people. 

The idea of the Doctor stopping a proper hunt actually sounds interesting to me, especially as someone who sat through all of DWAD’s The Most Dangerous Game. There’s a lot of suspense in dealing with an intelligent, directed killer with a small number of targets, be it in Predator or Day of the Jackal, and a villain that stalks, hides or sets up ambushes could be easier on the budget. Or you could keep the villain the same but add a second member of his species to the setting and have them in competition, conflict on conflict. (That sounds like it’d make a good module for TIMELORD, actually...)

3. The Doctor feels simplified. I don’t mean the new personality of this incarnation, although I think the slight amnesia-until-climax is a bit forced. There’s just stuff that comes off wrong. For instance, things are outlawed in “every civilized galaxy” and the villains traveled from “five thousand galaxies away”. Despite ostensibly going anywhere and anywhen, the show’s always respected some species of distance, in that going far enough away or leaving the universe itself is a pretty big deal (especially since so much of it sticks to Earth). This line could’ve been any distance and nothing else would’ve changed, but it kills the idea of space - how can galaxies be civilized? It feels like the setting is shrinking - the word just sounds big and spacey, and this is the part where the Doctor says that something’s out of place, so big, spacey words go there.

This probably sounds nitpicky, but it feels lazy. Where Davies and Moffat both repeatedly made the Doctor or companions into the Most Important People in History, Chibnall seems to take it as read that the Doctor can just do stuff as the plot demands it. The climax involves her making a jump over a dangerous drop to the gasps of all assembled, but her first appearance is after an even longer fall where she breaks through the ceiling of a train car and isn’t even scratched. She "reformats” a phone into some kind of tracking gadget with six seconds of thumb typing and builds a new sonic screwdriver out of random scrap, which then solves basically every issue in the story. And, naturally, she can pinpoint things from a billion light-years away.

My favorite Moffat story is probably “The Eleventh Hour” because it presents the Doctor with a genuine challenge at his most vulnerable. If he had his regular tools handy then it would’ve been a much more straightforward Doctor Who story, but there’s no time to stop and build a new sonic screwdriver, because people are going to die by the time he’s finished. I wish more modern stories had that.

4. I can’t tell how I should feel about the side characters here. Not the companions, although it feels like Chibnall looked at RTD’s companions and thought “why not bring the entire family along?” There’s just this odd tension in characterization between comedy and drama for them, and without a very detailed soundtrack it’s hard to tell what emotions the script’s trying to go for.

One of the hunter’s victims has spent years trying to find his missing sister after another hunter abducting her. Instead of any resolution coming to that story he just gets murdered without ever knowing what happened to her and then the Doctor commandeers his workshop. (It’s even made clear that these human trophies are all still alive, just “in stasis”, so there’s no reason to think they couldn’t save her and presumably several others.) Meanwhile one of the main characters suffers a short fall and dies, taking up most of the final act with a funeral despite us hardly knowing her.

Other victims are worse. A man throws pieces of his salad at the monster for no discernible reason - he doesn’t even seem drunk, and then he dies as the hunter crushes that salad underfoot. A security officer gives a heartfelt goodbye to his family and tells them what a lucky granddad he is, then walks offscreen to be murdered. Neither of these scenes had to happen, and both together don’t even fill a minute of the runtime, so what was the motivation? The first is at least charmingly odd, but both of them feel like bizarre, extremely cheap set-pieces.

The soon-to-be-trophy himself listens to positive affirmations in a crane, then shouts them as he’s being chased. “I’m important! I matter!” The implication would seem to be that this is goofy behavior, and yet the things he shouts are in some ways the themes of the show. Is this self-critical deconstruction, unabashed humanism poorly delivered, a running gag?

5. The other half of a new Doctor, classic or modern, is this shedding of old things. Not always in terms of showrunners, but sometimes in attitudes or fans. The change from Six to Seven was motivated by a desire to change the tone of the show, for instance. Nowadays this is reflected a lot by the fandom - every Doctor has newcomers who jump back out because they don’t want their hero to be replaced, but the jump to Eleven confronted a lot of younger fans with this for the first time. Then Twelve culled some fans who couldn’t stand the Doctor being old and unkissable, and now Thirteen’s wiped out her own contingent of grognards who think the Doctor being a woman is a radical idea invented in the last three years.

That said, I’m not a fan yet. Some Doctors I don’t like as much for aspects of their characters, particularly Five, but Thirteen just doesn’t feel Doctorly. (To be clear, neither did Twelve.) I grew to enjoy Matt Smith’s performance where I thought I wouldn’t, and I’ve found a lot to like in every Doctor, but for some reason both of them still feel like actors playing the role to me, where Unbound Doctors and Mark Kalita have captured whatever the core is.

6. I feel like I’m getting old. So much of the beauty of Doctor Who just feels transparent now. After Moffat the maximalist decades of worldbuilding can never convincingly pretend to add up to a coherent universe and they can’t escape into the freedom of canon-indeterminacy any more than they already have. Even Big Finish, which I used to adore, feels strangled by a mandate to realize and box-set every possible combination of whatever actors they can summon from the show, no matter how many tedious hours they have to fill with cardboard characters and back-of-the-napkin monsters.

There’s no excitement in the adventure for me, because I know the route and the destination. And I don’t know if that’s Doctor Who being formulaic or disenchantment from seeing the patterns too much, or some personal lack of spark and imagination. I feel like there must be some drive I don’t have, one that would re-energize my own perspective in the face of concrete understanding, that would see it as a good thing that I understand another layer of what I enjoyed so much without sacrificing that enjoyment. But if it’s there, I just don’t see it.

But hey. While there’s life, there’s...

[bigherosixfeels]

Hiro The Villain REVIEW

I think it's safe to say that Momakase is on the "Would Adopt Hiro" list now.

The episode begins with Gogo, Wasabi, Honey Lemon and Fred going up against Momakase and what appears to be a sidekick. After a great fight sequence, the sidekick turning on her and Honey removing their mask, they discover that her partner in crime is Hiro. His friends obviously want an explanation as to why he decided to team up with her. The story begins two days prior when Momakase escaped from prison (again). Not being able to scan for her, the team agrees to risk night patrol despite to police being after them. Although Hiro and Baymax fail to find her right away, Momakase patiently waits for Hiro in his garage. She blackmails him into helping her steal something, threatening to reveal his and the rest of the teams' identities if he doesn't cooperate. With a lot on the line, Hiro reluctantly obliges.

Later on, Momakase reveals that they'll be stealing from Yama's headquarters. She needs a genius level of expertise to get past high-tech security cameras and gives him two days to find a way to do so. Hiro demands to know what she's stealing, unwilling to help if it could harm people, but Momakase insists that he'll just have to trust her. While messing around with sonic waves, a quick visit from Fred in regards to fixing his Fredmeleon suit inspires him to use the Flexible Display Technology. Once he meets up with Momakase, he reveals that he designed a mask. Both of them wear one and between the invisibility and Hiro's sonic waves destroying the cameras, they get through the building with ease.

In Yama's office, Momakase finds what she's looking for; a pair of swords. Before they leave, Hiro questions why she wanted to steal them since she has graphene blades. She reveals that they're a family heirloom. Her father traded them when gangsters threatened her family and she had been searching for them her whole life. They're all she has left of her family. Ultimately, Hiro understands her motives, knowing how important holding onto that memory is. Unfortunately, Yama, who was recently let out of jail early in exchange for information on Momakase, catches up to them. Luckily, with the ability to turn invisible, they knock him and his goons down and make a quick escape. They arrive in an alley where the rest of Big Hero 6 (minus Baymax) corner them. This is pretty much where the episode began, so the episode skips through the majority of the fight scene. Hiro has officially gotten his friends up to speed. The police have unfortunately gotten closer to them all, but Momakase decides to lead them away so Hiro and the others can get away safely. Hiro refuses, not allowing her to hurt anyone, but Momakase says she won't...this time. She then takes off, letting the police chase after her. Our heroes are able to safely make it to their headquarters. The others are grateful that Hiro went through such lengths to keep their identites a secret. They all feel secure believing that their secret is still unknown...

...Except Super Sleuth Megan Cruz spends this episode digging further into her Big Hero 6 story. In the beginning, she's about ready to call her news story quits. However, Hiro accidentally tells her information that leads to her discovering more about the team. She goes around San Fransokyo, interviewing Krei and Granville since multiple occurrences with Big Hero 6 have happened at Krei Tech and SFIT. Both refuse to give her any information.

Meanwhile, Chief Cruz conducts an interview with Callaghan for his investigation on the team. Thankfully, our origin story villain reveals nothing as well, telling Cruz that he's wrong about Big Hero 6 being vigilantes. Later on at home, the Chief and his daughter voice their frustrations about not getting answers. Curious about what was said during Callaghan's interview, Megan takes her dad's phone. After hearing her father mention a fire at SFIT, Megan does some research, immediately discovering that it was the fire Tadashi perished in.

By the end of the episode, her conspiracy wall is complete with multiple strings of red yarn connecting to a photo of Hiro.

Things I Liked:

The entire opening scene was amazing! It draws you right in from the beginning.

“And that’s why Krei wears a cow costume every Mother’s Day.” I’ve mentioned it before, but I really need a full story on this.

Fred comforting Baymax even though he doesn’t feel emotion.

Hiro mentioning to Megan about Krei being poisoned by Momakase unintentionally benefiting her investigation.

Callaghan’s alias Yokai finally being mentioned in canon!

I’m going to mention this now, but something I really loved is that this episode mentioned a lot of call-backs. Both from earlier in the series and as far back as the movie. The way it was done was great!

All of those Employee of the Month photos. The one of Hiro with the cow costume. All of the ones of Judy. The Buddy Guards are on the wall the most out of everyone. 

That small moment where Hiro looked at Tadashi’s hat before going on night patrol with Baymax!!

Low battery Baymax wanting to start a tickle fight with Hiro

After seeing Momakase in Hiro’s garage, Hiro’s immediate concern was about Aunt Cass

Momakase’s blackmail was very clever

Both Krei and Granville not telling Megan anything about Big Hero 6

Hiro refusing to help Momakase if what she plans on stealing could hurt people.

 Chief Cruz’s interview with Callaghan. I had no doubt that he’d be unwilling to provide more information to Cruz. He handled the whole thing very well and it makes me like his character even more.

Hiro’s sonic waves

As much as Chief Cruz annoys me, him putting his police hat on Megan’s head was adorable

A new Tadashi photo!!.....BUT AT WHAT COST

All the Tadashi, Obake and Karmi mentions. I miss them all so much.

Hiro and Baymax making dinner for Aunt Cass!! Yeah, the combo was definitely unsettling, but that’s so sweet!

THE FAMILY HUG

“Your friends and Aunt Cass trust your instincts. So did Tadashi.” MY HEART

THAT HUG BETWEEN HIRO AND BAYMAX I’M SOFT

The masks Hiro designed making it so both him and Momakase could sneak in Yama’s headquarters undetected!! Brilliant!

The animation during this entire scene was phenomenal. It was really cool to see outlines of Momakase as she would beat up Yama’s goons

Hiro and Momakase honestly make a great team!

Momakase stealing swords which belonged to her family.

Hiro sympathizing with her

Momakase: You do good work. Hiro: Yeah I do.

Hiro trying his best to jump from building to building

MOMAKASE LEADING THE POLICE AWAY FROM THE TEAM SO THEY COULD GET AWAY FROM THE POLICE SAFELY!!!

The others being grateful for Hiro doing what he did to keep their identities a secret

Megan has figured out Hiro’s identity

Things I Disliked:

You know, I really don’t have a major dislike for any particular moment in this episode. Both of the plots were both incredibly intriguing in their own ways. While the A plot left me extremely satisfied, the B plot leaves me excited for what will come next. Everything about this episode flowed wonderfully together. Momakase has been one of my favorite villains and in my opinion this was her best episode yet. This episode made me enjoy her character so much that she might as well be tied with Obake for favorite villain. It was also great to see Megan dig really deep into figuring out who Big Hero 6 is. In the end, Tadashi was the final piece that connected all the dots to Hiro which was really well done. Also, not that I’ve had anything against this arc, but the episode really made me love where the second arc of Season 2 is going. This is definitely one of the best episodes of the season and the entire series so far. I’m blown away by this episode.

On a scale of 1 to 10....I’d rate Hiro The Villain a 9.7!

[dieviskais]

and i oop

so  i’m  gonna  take  a  moment  to  gush  about  silver   &   just  some  personal  stuff   ,   because  i  probably  won’t  be  able  to  write  any  of  my  replies.   silver  is  my  favorite  sonic  character   &   so  it  really  does  put  a  smile  on  my  face  whenever  you  say  you  guys  like  my  portrayal  of  him   !   i’ve  spent  months   &   months  working  on  him   <3   !   &   in  advance   ,   i  apologize  for  the  lack  of  writing   &   continuously  asking  for  opinions  on  my  portrayal  without  doing  much  fdkslajfkdsf

i  was  so  worried  to  begin  silver’s  blog.   when  i  first  came  to  the  sonic  rpc  a  year  ago   ,   i  wasn’t  all  that  confident.   i  made  gadget’s  blog  first  as  a  fail  safe  to  be  honest.   i  liked  his  design   &   considering  he  was  a  blank  slate  character   ,   i  had  free  reign.   for  months  i  kept  thinking   &   pondering   &   working  on  his  character   &   tried  to  sculpt  something  special   &   unique  for  everyone  to  enjoy.   it  wasn’t  until  i finally  started  being  comfortable  with  writing  gadget  did  i  think  to  myself   ,   you  know  there  isn’t  that  many  active  silver  blogs.   which  is  where  the  start  of  my  original  silver  blog  began.

suffice  it  to  say   ,   i  felt  out  of  place.   my  only  experience  with  sonic  was  a  couple  of  spin  off  games  like  sonic  fighters   &   the  like   ,   &   sonic  06  being  the  only  games  i’ve  really  known.   at  the  time   ,   nintendo   &   pokemon  in  specific  really  consumed  all  my  interests.   still   ,   despite  06′s  flaws  i  stilled  loved  it   &   i  really  loved  silver   !   which   ,   is  why  i  was  scared  to  write  silver  in  the  first  place.   not  only  has  silver  himself  in  recent  years  been  watered  down  to  uwu  baby   &   incompetent  without  someone  there  to  hold  his  hand   ,   but  a  lot  of  what  i  saw  from  the  fandom  also  adopted  that  mindset  for  silver.   which   ,   sucked  for  me   ,   because  i  loved  06′s  version  of  silver  a  lot.   i  remember  when  i  was  first  writing  him   &   all   ,   even  though  i  had  these  headcanons   &   this  about  page  detailing  all  this  different  stuff  about  him   ,   it  felt  like  in  my  own  writing  i  was  just  selling  myself  out   &   writing  him  like  the  baby  the  fandom  wanted  out  of  him.   it  was  really  rough   &   tiring.   it  wasn’t  until  around  the  time  i  made  his  second  blog  did  i  really  break  away  from  that   &   portraying  him  how  i  wanted  to.   which   ,   even  then  i  still  wasn’t  all  that  free   &   felt  like  i  was  holding  myself  back   ,   but...

with  my  return  to  the  sonic  rpc  after  months  of  mia   ,   here  i  am  with  my  own  portrayal  of  silver.   something  inspired  from  06   ,   but  something  unique   &   special  to  me.   giving  him  layers  upon  layers  upon  layers   &   fleshing  out  his  character  in  a  different  perspective.   as  well  as  just  taking  his  character   &   pushing  it  further  to  add  an  even  more  interesting  take   ,   the  concept  of  silver  being  this  time  deity.   while  i  may  not  be  the  most  super  active  writer   ,   please  know  that  i’m  super  ecstatic  with  writing  silver.   his  aesthetics   &   overall  character  fits  nicely  together  with  my  style  of  writing   &   it  makes  me  super  happy.   while  it’s  always  a  bit  of  a  hassle  to  reply  to  things  due  to  me  being  specific  with  my  writing   ,   being  able  to  writing  not  just  his  aesthetic   ,   but  whole  surreal  vibe  as  a  whole   ?   it’s  a  wonderful  experience  to  say  the  least.

there’s  so  much  to  my  silver   &   it’s  fun  to  just  write  it  out.   even  if  it’s  only  ever  just  tiny  bits   &   pieces  in  my  writing   ,   just  being  able  to  read  through  some  of  my  old  writing   &   seeing  all  the  little  sprinkles  of  who  he  is  just  makes  me   :).   in  his  presence   ,   there’s  an  odd  feeling  of  tension   (   but  nothing  too  drastic   ,    but  it’s  there.   something  just  underneath  the  surface   ).   his  psychokinesis  gives  him  this  aura  that  simply  makes  it  known   ,   he’s  here.   it’s  unsettling   ,   because  compared  to  the  peaceful  presence  that  he  gives  off  in  his  voice   &   dialogue.   sometimes  he  says  things  that  are  vague  or  something  is  just  a  little  off   ,   but  there’s  always  that  small  smile  on  his  face   ,   that  tired  look  in  his  eyes   ,   there’s  always  that  peaceful  tone  in  his  voice.   he’s  patient   &   calming   (   but  his  eyes  are  always  looking  into  the  distance   ,   his  eyes  are  always  lonely   ).

but  what’s  off  putting   ,   is  that  he  knows  something  you  don’t.   what  gives  him  weird  vibes  is  that  when  he  talks  to  you   ,   there’s  a  look  in  his  eyes  that  says  i’ve  accepted  your  death.   what’s  strange  is  that  he  always  seems  to  come  around  when  it’s  a  little  too  convenient  for  him.   like  he  already  knew  where  you’d  be   ,   where  you’re  going   &   what  you’re  doing.   yet  he  simply  acts  like  he  hasn’t  got  a  clue.

upon  all  of  that   ,   he’s  still  silver.   he’s  still  that  last  bit  of  hope  a  world  on  fire  still  left.   he’s  the  remains  of  a  desolate  land   &   he’s  the  survivor  of  a  bleak  future.   he  still  seeks  his  own  justice   &   every  once  in  a  while  there’s  still  a  glint  of  hope  in  his  eyes   (   like  he’s  a  torch  just  barely  lit   /   but  the  fire  still  blazes  no  matter  how  small  it  is   ).   he’s  still  just  a  bit  playful   &   warm   &   despite  everything  that  he’s  been through   ,   he’s  still  himself.   

yet  there’s  something  that  hides  in  the  shadow  of  his  smile   ,   on  the  tips  of  his  quills   &   fur.   an  anger   &   frustration  that  resides  in  him.   he  was  just  a  child  when  the  fate  of  the  world  was  burned  into  the  palms  of  his  hand.   he  was  a  child  when  he  had  to  learn  to  fend  for  himself.   he  was  still  an  innocent  youth  when  his  angel  wings  were  torn  off  his  body.   his  childhood  is  in  the  ashes  of  the  flames  he  constantly  had  to  extinguish  every  day.   the  smell  of  something  burning  reminds  him  of  home   (   but  it  was  never  home   ).   he’s  not  free   ,   his  wrists   &   ankles  are  cuffed   ,   he’s  a  prisoner  of  fate.   no  matter  what  he  can’t  seem  to  save  his  world   &   it  frustrates  him.   his  entire  life  all  he  ever  did  was  try  saving  this  world   &   it  always  ends  in  disaster.   &   in  his  frustration   ,   he  constantly  goes  back  in  time  to  destroy  his  decaying  world  himself.   leaving  nothing  in  his  path   ,   until  he  tires  himself  out.

&   he  repeats  the  cycle.

since  silver  has  repeated  these  timelines  over   &   over  again   ,   he’s  gotten  lost  with  his  path.   like  he’s  simply  a  ghost  in  time.   he’s  not  tangible  with  the  worlds  he  sees  before  him.   he  constantly  tells  himself  that  he’s  not  apart  of  their  life.   it’s  why  it’s  difficult  to  get  close  to  him.   even  when  you  think  that  you  are  getting  close   ,   there’s  still  a  billion  more  layers  guarding  his  heart.   he  holds  a  heavy  burden   ,   that  he  can’t  simply  find  himself  getting  comfortable  with  letting  anyone  get  close  to  him.   despite  how  touch  starved  he  is   ,   he  continues  to  ache   &   keep  to  himself.   burning  the  bridges  before  they  can  cross   (   because  all  he  knows  is  to  burn   /   destroy   ).

but  enough  about  that   ,   i  can  go  on   &   on   ,   but    !   i  really  just  want  to  say  how  happy  it  makes  me  to  anyone  that  would  take  the  time  to  read  my  ramblings  at  all   :’)   !   i’m  constantly  thinking  about  silver   &   my  other  muses   &   i  really  put  a  lot  of  heart  into  creating  a  unique   &   fun  muse  to  write  with   !   as  well  as  making  sure  that  he  feels  real   &   consistent  to  how  i  want  to  portray  him.   all  while  crafting  it  all  into  this  very  extra   &   pretty  imagery  in  my  own  writing  style   !   it  means  a  lot  when  i  hear  that  you  guys  enjoy  him   &   i  want  all  my  mutuals  to  know  i appreciate  you  all  as  well   !   &   i’m  just  as  excited  to  keep  working  on  silver   &   hopefully  staying  for  as  long  as  i  can   <3   !

[mobius-prime]

208. Sonic the Hedgehog #140

Return to Angel Island (Part 3): How Many Echidnas Does It Take to Protect a Master Emerald?

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: Jon Gray Colors: Jason Jensen

So! We didn't forget that Lara-Le was pregnant a year ago, did we? Knuckles is completely stunned at the sight of his baby brother, and carefully hands him back, asking what his name is.

Honestly, this series of panels alone is enough to sell me on Jon Gray as an artist - I don't think anyone else could have pulled off this joke as well as he did. Anyway, yeah, this is in fact the Mace we briefly saw in StH#132, so clearly once he grew up he also agreed that Kneecaps is a horrible name and started going by Mace instead. That night, the echidna refugees all set up tents for Knuckles and his friends, but Knuckles is reluctant to accept the hospitality, still disturbed by everyone's reverence for him. He leaves, and Sonic is confused about his attitude, which Mighty says is likely influenced by the way everyone treats him differently after coming back from the dead. This draws a parallel in Sonic's mind between Knuckles' situation and his own with Sally, which I'm honestly surprised hasn't really been explored as of yet, considering it's one of the main things they currently have in common. Knuckles heads to the Hidden Palace, but ignores both Finitevus and Lien-Da when they try to ask him what he's doing, instead going straight for the Master Emerald in the chamber beyond. There, he sits just far enough from it that the pain doesn't affect him, and reflects on his choices up till now.

Okay, first of all Knuckles, we already established that you hardly came back for egotistical reasons. You fully accepted the fact that returning from the afterlife would have consequences, and came back anyway to save literally everyone on the planet from being sucked into a black hole. I'd say that's a worthy goddamn reason to go against Aurora's warnings. And second of all, Archimedes?! Dear lord, it's been… what, sixty-six freaking issues since we last saw you! Why do you look so evil there? Like seriously, it's a weird design choice, because when I first read this I was worried that Archimedes was being mind controlled or had gone evil or something, but I'll spoil it right now for you that he's totally fine and his excitement over his predictions being true is completely benevolent. I'm honestly sad that we haven't seen him in so long, because I actually quite like Archimedes, and enjoyed the larger role he played in earlier issues, particularly throughout a lot of the KtE series. He's been relegated to barely more than a bit part at this point, even though he and Knuckles seemed to be building such a good rapport when they first met.

Anyway, General Kage contacts Eggman to inform him of the invasion of one of the prison camps by Knuckles and his entourage, and Eggman becomes angry, telling Kage to work harder to root the disturbance out and get things working more smoothly on the island. M, repaired by now and with a fresh coat of "makeup," suggests that she go to Angel Island to oversee things, but Eggman vetoes that, right as they walk past a room ominously labeled "Snively Processing Lab," with a horrifyingly familiar silhouette inside being experimented on. It's clear that in the year that has passed, Eggman has reduced Snively to nothing better than fuel for his experiments - we've only seen him one other time since Sonic returned, and he seemed utterly terrified of his boss. Given his hatred of his uncle, and how this version of Robotnik is even more brutal than the original, I feel genuinely bad for him. Eggman reassures M that he knows just how to fix things on Angel Island, and goes to release someone from a prison pod in his base, equipping the mysterious prisoner with a control collar to ensure total obedience…

The next morning, Knuckles is awoken from where he passed out in front of the Master Emerald by Julie-Su - apparently, their double agent in the dingoes' ranks has contacted them with Locke's location, and so the full force of the Dark Legion, as well as Knuckles and all his friends, all make for the base in Dingo City where he's being held, with Espio surprisingly swearing up a storm as they take the Legion's hovercraft. As they race to the rescue, we finally get a clue as to where our favorite dingo has been all this time! How ya doing, Harry old boy?

Oh, gee, not so good, I see. The general is distracted from Harry dropping his breakfast in a fright by a call from Eggman, who tells him that if Locke isn't going to give up the information, it's time to cut their losses and "terminate" him. However, at that exact moment, the cavalry bursts in and begins beating the dingo sentries into the ground.

Knuckles immediately rushes to get his father down, and despite his rough treatment Locke is relatively okay, if weak. Kage tries to get back up, but Sonic and Knuckles merely grin at each other and punch him right back into unconsciousness. However, before they can congratulate themselves too much, Eggman projects his face as a hologram at them, as he is wont to do, and gloats that Locke was only one of his methods for finding the Master Emerald. While they've been busy in the city, Eggman has sent someone else to attack the echidna refugees' camp… and it's none other than Hunter from the ending of the KtE series, powered up and ready to wreak havoc once more!

Mobius 25 Years Later: A Difference of Opinion

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Steven Butler Colors: Jason Jensen

In stark contrast to the sense of fierce camaraderie born of fire that Sonic and Knuckles share in the previous story, here we get to finally see their older counterparts interact one on one and be all hostile for no reason. Well, actually, we do get a reason. Knuckles finds Sonic lounging outside on his nightly walk, and invites him along for a chat, with their wives secretly watching from the windows and hoping they'll be able to work things out. Sonic is apparently skeptical of Rotor's claims of approaching armageddon, while Knuckles is more inclined to believe him. Sonic is then forced into some contrived dialogue that conveniently leaves him free to explain in detail exactly what caused them to start hating each other so much. Instead of typing out a summary here, I'm gonna go ahead and let the comic explain the whole thing for me, so you can see for yourself how much this sucks.

This… this is literally the worst thing we've seen so far. Okay, okay, maybe not the worst - Sonic trying to drown his own son really takes the cake - but it's up there. This entire backstory is built entirely on the idea of Knuckles literally trying to rewrite reality in the middle of an out-of-nowhere god complex and then facing absolutely no repercussions for it afterward aside from the loss of an eye. This is the reason that Julie-Su is missing her cybernetics - because sometime in the past, Knuckles, without even asking her what she wanted, took them from her, simply because he apparently thought she'd be better off without them. And now, he still considers Sonic to be the bad guy of the story, because Sonic had the nerve to consider Knuckles trying to reshape their entire world the way he liked it to be a threat to their continued peaceful existence. And as far as Knuckles losing an eye as a result, all things considered, that is not bad at all. I mean sure, losing any body part sucks, but in this universe one can be outfitted with various cybernetics that are better that the original organic part they're replacing, and as Sonic points out, the technology exists to just give him back his organic eye with no lasting side effects. Furthermore, Knuckles also seems put out that Sonic prevented him from becoming a Chaos-Emerald-powered god, even though literally not that long ago we just saw how badly things turn out when that happens! You freaking died, Knuckles! I can't even begin to put my disdain for this backstory into proper words, it's so bad. Like, there's not even one single thing I can pin down to explain how bad it is - it's just a jumbled mess, and such a disappointment. I mean, all this time I've been pointing out how out of character it is for Sonic and Knuckles to hate each other, but since we didn't know why they hated each other there was always the chance that later on the story would finally reveal to us the real reason for their enmity, and that it would change everything, revealing some unknown details that explained everything we've seen and made it totally believable. This story not only failed to do that, it has actually done the opposite, making their rivalry less believable and making Knuckles feel just as out of character as everyone else so far. Like, I'm seriously surprised that Kenders would do this to his favorite character in the series, because it just makes Knuckles seem so unsympathetic and unlikable that it basically renders a lot of his character development up till now seem totally pointless. Like, just… why?

[animatedminds]

Sonic! He Can Really Move

So, the Sonic movie has turned out to be rather decent. Not surprising, given that the buzz way back before the redesign was that the plot was good, it was just the visuals that needed divine intervention, but having seen it myself and being such a huge Sonic fan that I myself have a dream of pitching a Sonic television program one day, I had to see it for myself... and I was not disappointed. I’ll try to keep them down, but this is a reaction/review and will have the occasional spoiler. Keep warned.

First and foremost, the basic plot is very ubiquitous Hollywood cliche. You know the one: rather than adapt the actual story of an animated/video game character, the studio puts in a plot where said character is forced into the “real world” and has to have an adventure with a mundane everyman, wackily upending their lives. On a bare bones level, there’s not much new about the plot: if you’ve seen Smurfs 1, you’ll probably know what the progression is going to be. However, whereas most other versions of this plot are evidently rooted in a lack of respect or faith for the source material beyond brand recognition, the opposite could not be more true for this movie. For one, there is an actually well constructed reason for this plot to be taking place (in fact, if not for a couple things I’ll mention later and - most notably - the way the plot ends, I could even buy some of this story actually having taken place in the games’ backstory, and given that SEGA is pushing the “separate human and animal world” concept for Sonic with dubious claim that they’ve been doing it all along, it’s possible - in fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if this plot was actually SEGA’s idea), but even that works primarily because of the second point here: that the movie is still from Sonic’s perspective - still Sonic’s story - all the way through, which is unique for this setup. The human buddy has a plot, a pretty engaging if textbook one, but it’s a subplot made to better characterize him. His plot is still largely filtered through Sonic’s perspective (and Sonic’s through his, to some extent), making the whole kind come of as a bit different than usual - especially since Sonic is so endearing.

I’ve seen him described as “obnoxious, but in the endearing way that a child can be,” which is pretty accurate. He’s definitely written as younger than usual, still getting used to himself and the world, treating everything with a wide eyed ignorance but a strong sense of idealism that makes him fun to watch no matter how cocky he is. Something especially that hit me is the way he views the world: despite my use of “mundane” earlier to describe the human world here, something I despise about a lot of media today is the narrative that if you’re a regular person, you’re a nobody who exists to get out of the way of the somebodies of the world - that normalcy is the anathema to the exceptional. It’s something I’ve come to dislike about The Rise of Skywalker more and more as I think about it, and it’s pretty much everywhere in fiction. But not here. You’d expect an adaptation of Sonic to be arrogant and disdainful of others - he’s not like that in the games at all, but adaptations love to change him into that kind of character. But here? Sonic loves being able to do anything. He loves doing the cool stuff, he loves doing the mundane stuff. He treats sitting on a barstool or sitting around eating donuts with the same excitement as riding a motorcycle, and is portrayed as someone enjoying life for the first time.

He reminds me a lot of characters like Wander or Snoopy, who symbolize how true freedom is the ability to experience everything you can and delight in all of it, even if it’s something other people would dismiss as beneath them. And this ideology was a very good idea: it’s one of the main things that makes Sonic so lovable here. Without it, he may well have come off as far more annoying.

Carrey is fantastic as Eggman / Robotnik (and yes, he is referred to as both). They nail the ‘silly, but not at all harmless or unthreatening” angle that makes games Eggman such a great villain - he’s highly dangerous and also a delight to watch. Plus, ideology wise, he is the opposite of what I’ve just described: he considers himself above normal people, openly disdains people who just try to live their lives and succeed on their own, and believes the world belongs to him because he’s exceptional. He’s a perfect contrast to Sonic, and he only gets more and more awesome as the movie goes on. My favorite shot in the whole film is a bit towards the end where he unveils an entire weapon system on Sonic, and the shot goes red as lights and klaxons fire up, with just his evil grin in the center. I can’t resist a good villain shot.

Other stuff. Sonic is fast. Incredibly so. This isn’t the games’ momentum based Sonic who has to build up to top speed, has relatively normal reaction times and only goes a couple hundred miles per hour once he gets there. This Sonic is more akin to Fox’s version of Quicksilver, or the Flash: able to think faster than a drop of water can hit the ground, and move accordingly. This was clearly put in for humor and setpieces, but... it’s not the best idea imo, as super-buffing a character for a gag tends to. It kind of undercuts the idea that Sonic is ever in danger, since in the action scenes he’s always running slower than we’ve seen him go in other scenes. And he’s already pretty strong in comparison anyway: this Sonic has electric charge powers that give him a super mode capable of seriously incredible damage, with nary a Chaos Emerald in sight. At this point, I’m half expecting him to be revealed has a Captain Marvel-esque “absorbed an Emerald’s power” backstory in the sequel.

And yes, I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a sequel. This movie has two - count ‘em - two obvious sequel hooks, and is making bank. SEGA rolled out the mat for this - there’s even a SEGA specific movie studio intro, which gives off the impression they’ll be doing a lot more adapting in the future (how about a decent HOTD movie?).

And TBH, I wouldn’t mind at all. There’s a lot to be unexplored. Sonic’s world is very empty thus far - the movie canonizes certain areas as having been in other regions (Green Hills, as apposed to Green Hill, in human world for example - whether the name is an intentional nod to the Game Gear version or just a coincidental twist is unknown. Mushroom Hill, or something similar, is meanwhile in a completely different region), plus we get blips of echidnas and maybe even myth arcs, plus a certain character that only pops up in the Stinger.

There’s a lot to look forward to, and as a Sonic fan I’m pretty here for it. Here’s hoping it can improve on what it’s done so far and be even better in the inevitable #2. But as for me: recommended.