#surge does not play any sonic games on principle

[skaruresonic]

The fans: Ugh Sonic was just so preachy.

Sonic filibusters here.

What is this, if not preachy?

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I mean obviously he's supposed to be the good guy, so any uncomfortableness I feel here and any way I feel like Sonic's choices are framed as being why some other people have shitty lives is just bad writing because he is obviously supposed to be right always,

No, it's bad writing because it's OOC and implies an uncharacteristic moral authoritarianism on Sonic's part if you think about it.

Nobody said Sonic should be "right always." But nobody wanted him to continuously fuck up and obdurately shoot down any and all criticism of his choices by puffing up his "principles" as all-important, either.

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Ian Flynn, using Kitsunami to say the (barely even at this point) quiet part even louder:

So you agree: Flynn is using Surge and Kit to broadcast his personal views on Sonic, rather than exploring the characters' personal psychologies in a more organic manner. They aren't characters to him; they're mouthpieces.

And just because you make your point louder than last time doesn't mean you were retroactively right.

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Hey it's almost like ever since the Mr. Tinker event we've been purposely running with the critique of Sonic as being more selfish than he appears.

Why, exactly, did this need pointing out? Anyone who's played the games could tell you that Sonic can be selfish sometimes. He's neither wholly selfish nor wholly selfless.

This doesn't require a seven-year-long doctoral thesis on a "dissemination" of his character based on erroneous assumptions, which is pretty much what the book is attempting to do.

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Sonic is upholding a system of Eggman v Sonic that currently benefits him

1.) Ian himself pointed out that vtuber!Sonic said if Eggman were out of the picture, he would continue to seek adventures elsewhere. So this is false on that basis alone.

2.) How does it benefit Sonic to "keep" Eggman "around"? And why does the culpability lie with Sonic for "upholding the system" and not with Eggman for establishing it in the first place?

You're framing it as though Sonic has a choice in the matter, and that he's actively deciding not to kill Eggman because of some selfish desire for thrills.

Which... is a huge reach, tbh, in addition to erroneous because it's not like Sonic hasn't tried.

The likelier explanation is that Eggman is good at escaping, because in the games, Sonic pulls no punches. He repeatedly leaves Eggman behind to die or otherwise suffer because he doesn't care about the doc's welfare.

Besides, Sonic is under no onus to make Eggman see justice. That's why GUN exists.

3.) >>character is described as being "like the wind" >>accuse him of "upholding a system"

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but this characterization makes no sense. Isn't he right for the things he did?

Again, nobody said he was in the right for his mistakes.

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and he's attached enough to Eggman that he'd rather Eggman pretend to be a good person than be stuck in prison for life. He doesn't even quite practice what he preaches.

That's not even true within the context of the comic, because Sonic does in fact threaten to lock Eggman away forever in issue 23:

The games have never purported to portray Sonic as a completely perfect character, let alone a hero. Games!Sonic does not define himself as a hero:

While he may be an inspirational character, he's far from perfect. He, too, is fallible, suffers from moments of self-doubt, and makes mistakes:

Moreover, Sonic isn't some repressed individual suffering from moral or emotional cognitive dissonance. He's simply what he claims himself to be: just a guy who loves adventure.

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We are trying to show that the current hero v villain system and Sonic's recklessness currently affects some people poorly and that Sonic isn't a perfect hero.

Tbqh this is a really cynical view to take of the series as a whole. Sonic isn't omniscient, and it's a little unfair to expect him to be.

Sonic's recklessness does affect others in the games, which is why Tails is shown paying for it when he gets nabbed by the Deadly Six in Lost World; something Sonic pays for dearly when the planet is nearly drained of energy.

We don't need Lanolin sneering that Sonic "doesn't care" about the common man for... what, exactly? When he does everything within his power to stop calamity whenever it arises, sometimes to the point of exhaustion?

When Tails calls him their "shining hope" in Forces?

What, precisely, is it about Games!Sonic that is so deficient that IDW needs to manufacture "depth" for him by pretending he does things he doesn't do in the games?

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Up to this point, characters have criticized Sonic for not killing Eggman or the Zeti or what have you and it feels like kind of a moot point because Sonic the Hedgehog isn't going to KILL anyone.

That's... straight-up untrue. Sonic has killed before and will do so again if necessary.

Sonic has left Eggman to die many times over. In explosions, in various voids where time and space no longer mean anything, in painful situations like being electrocuted or even subjecting him to a fall from a lethal height.

The fans: Ugh Sonic was just so preachy. I mean obviously he's supposed to be the good guy, so any uncomfortableness I feel here and any way I feel like Sonic's choices are framed as being why some other people have shitty lives is just bad writing because he is obviously supposed to be right always, but this characterization makes no sense. Isn't he right for the things he did?

Ian Flynn, using Kitsunami to say the (barely even at this point) quiet part even louder: Hey it's almost like ever since the Mr. Tinker event we've been purposely running with the critique of Sonic as being more selfish than he appears. Sonic is upholding a system of Eggman v Sonic that currently benefits him and shuts down talk of how to improve the current system because he likes his own personal enjoyment and he's attached enough to Eggman that he'd rather Eggman pretend to be a good person than be stuck in prison for life. He doesn't even quite practice what he preaches. We are trying to show that the current hero v villain system and Sonic's recklessness currently affects some people poorly and that Sonic isn't a perfect hero.

[bunnymajo]

The IDW Sonic cast & Sonic Frontiers: A silly mini fic

Surge & Kit drop in the middle of station square, the streets completely empty aside from parked cars

Surge: *kicks over a parked mini van* Hahaha, guess it’s my city now!! 

She continues breaking some windows and other light property damage but no one really comes out and stops her. 

Surge: What gives??

Kit: ...maybe it’s because the new game came out? Everyone’s too busy

Surge: I don’t care how fun the new “God of War” game is, hmph. guess I’ll take this closer to home 

Kit:...uh...

Scene change to Tangle & Whisper’s treehouse bungalow, Surge busts through the front door. Tangle, Jewel & Whisper are all playing Sonic Frontiers on a big screen TV, the PS5 version, it’s Jewel’s copy.

Surge: Sup losers?

Whisper: Don’t talk to me.

Tangle: Surge, I told you you’re only allowed here during company parties. Here, you and Kit can have this trail mix I made if you go away *hands her a bag of trail mix with her tail*

Surge: *grabs it and stuffs it in her pants pocket* damn, I can’t believe you’re all really playing this baby game.

Jewel: The story’s actually pretty good, did you want to come ov-

The entire room: *intense glares*

Jewel: o-or not...

Surge: Hmph, I’ve got better things to do than to hang out with cub scouts looking at a screen running around in circles

Tangle: really? *gestures to Kit with her tail*

Kit’s playing a tiny portable version of Sonic Frontiers on a modded Switch that Tails built him for games, He’s trying to hide it behind his ears

Kit: Uhhh the company sent me a copy to review! I can explain!

Anyway the lowest rated score for Sonic Frontiers was written by Surge & Kit. 

[mobius-prime]

232. Sonic the Hedgehog #164

The Darkest Storm (Part Three): Downburst

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: James Fry Colors: Jason Jensen

With Naugus and Mogul having teamed up, backed up by both of their respective groups of minions, the Freedom Fighters' task to get the Sword and Crown of Acorns back has just gotten a lot harder. Fiona calls out to Sonic that she wants to finish this quickly, and Sonic takes his chance to quip in Sally's direction that he never disappoints a lady, "present company excluded," a comment which just exasperates her though he merely notes in reply that he's just happy to see her back out in the thick of things once again. Sonic and Elias charge Mogul, distracting him and allowing Sonic to grab the crown off his head, but when he tries to give it back to Elias they're both shocked painfully by a surge of energy from the crown. Mogul gloats that the Source has been permanently corrupted to only respond to his own influence, and Sir Connery, outraged, charges forward to engage Mogul in single combat. I can't stress enough that at this point, someone's weird horse fetish (looking at you, Fry) is on full display, as Connery's clothing is strategically damaged to show off his rippling bicep muscles and the manly glare he gives Mogul as he strains to thrust his sword in his direction. It… lacks even the slightest modicum of subtlety. Sonic tries to rush forward to help, but Mogul traps him in a fist made of rock, ensuring that he and Connery can duel it out one on one. However, it turns out Connery didn't even need Sonic's help anyway, because he's got a cool magic sword and the power of righteousness on his side!

With that, Sir Connery's body disappears in a puff of ash, leaving his empty clothing tatters behind. Merlin sadly informs everyone that he used his own life force as a conduit for the energy surge that was able to destroy the sword and crown at once, eliminating the final remnant of the Source of All from this world. A furious Mogul tries to insist he still holds immeasurable power even without the sword, but a voice suddenly booms out over Knothole from the sky, claiming that it does as well. Eggman's fleet of airships has arrived, and within an instant, they blast every member of the opposing team - Mogul, Naugus, the Destructix, and Uma's children. The Freedom Fighters are left shocked at the sudden and total annihilation of their opposition, and prepare for a battle, but turns out they needn't bother.

Look at it, indeed! You would be a complete fool not to attempt to do so at this very moment, when Knothole is vulnerable and its fighting force is already exhausted. But, of course, if Eggman enacted a sudden and decisive victory over his foes right now, then we wouldn't have a comic, would we? And so, Eggman willingly falls victim to the most fatal of villainous flaws, and leaves, intending to return soon on his own terms when conquering Knothole will actually present him with a bit of a challenge. The Freedom Fighters are left to clean up the mess left behind, and give what's left of Sir Connery a proper burial in Knothole's small cemetery. Elias tries to say something in remembrance, but finds that the grief is a bit too much.

Sonic's words reinvigorate Elias, and he gives an impressive speech on the spot, stating that Knothole and its kingdom will aspire to be as brave as Connery was in his final moments, and that his Sword of Light will be passed down the Acorn line as the new royal heirloom. Man, all this would be way more inspiring if Sir Connery appeared in more than four issues and had any personality traits beyond "medieval-esque knight." Sonic, Merlin, Tails, and Knuckles all walk together, discussing how even without the Ancient Walkers, they still have their three chosen successors - Aurora, Athair, and Merlin himself. Their spirits are raised by the thought, but darker things are going down back in New Megaopolis.

…you know, the Egg Grapes may be horrible, awful torture devices and all, but I can't say I really feel bad for anyone stuck in them right now. Well, maybe Uma's children given that apparently they're all still just acting on instinct from their mother's imprinting, but hell, they threw their lot in with Naugus, so I can't really bring myself to care that much. Eggman leaves the room… which gives Anonymous some time to ruminate. You see, their plan went exactly as they hoped, with the sole exception of Sonic's survival. Eggman is now the ultimate power on the face of Mobius, poised to be able to truly win this war and take over everything. A silhouette reminiscent of Robotnik appears on A.D.A.M.'s screen… and the voice of A.D.A.M. quietly reveals himself to be Anonymous, orchestrating everything while hiding in plain sight. That's right, A.D.A.M. has been Anonymous all along! If this seems kind of out of the blue and like it wasn't really planned from the beginning, well, that's because it wasn't. Apparently Romy Chacon had originally intended for a resurrected Robotnik to be Anonymous, but clearly that didn't pan out, and Ian decided to make it A.D.A.M. instead. Far more interesting for Eggman to be betrayed from within, if you ask me, and furthermore, I'm glad that they haven't actually brought the original Robotnik back permanently. It's not often a series' main villain actually dies for real, only to be replaced by someone even worse - I feel like it would just cheapen things to suddenly bring back the original Robotnik for some more shenanigans.

(Unnamed Story)

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: Tracy Yardley! Colors: Josh & Aimee Ray

What? Again?! Yes, just like before, we have another unnamed story! Now, given what the name of the story preceding it in the previous issue was, we can easily deduce that the name of this story was meant to be "Sonic Riders (Part 2 of 2)", but the title never actually appears anywhere in the story itself, so out of principle (and spite) I'm leaving its name blank here. Sonic returns to Knothole after his encounter with the Babylon Rogues, battered and exhausted from having lost his fight with them. Tails and Knuckles are concerned, but he brushes them off, saying only his pride is truly wounded and revealing their plans to attack Knothole tomorrow.

Again, I have to point out how strange and out of nowhere all this is, given that in the game these three only get into Extreme Gear riding in the first place after entering Eggman's competition. Like, Tails just suddenly made some airboards at the exact same time that the Babylon Rogues showed up on boards of their own? Suuure. Well, using them to allow the other Freedom Fighters to keep up with Sonic is a good idea at least. The next morning finds the Rogues waiting in the forest outside Knothole, wondering if Sonic plans to show up, though Jet is certain he won't given how badly they beat him yesterday. However, of course he chooses that moment with Tails and Knuckles in tow, and a furious Jet begins to race with him, planning to trash Knothole purely on principle now and determined to prove that he's the fastest thing alive, not Sonic. The six quickly pair off with their respective foils, with Knuckles and Storm trading punches, Wave and Tails trying to outfly and outsmart one another, and Jet and Sonic focusing on pure speed. And then… it ends! Again with this lack of closure, Ian! The final page even invites readers to "play Sonic Riders on your favorite console" to find out who wins this race, despite such a "race" never taking place in the game.

The good news is that after this arc, Ian seemed to have realized how disappointing and odd these non-adaptions are, and in future issues dropped them in favor of non-canon pre-adaptions called "In Another Time, In Another Place" that essentially act as short ads for upcoming games. These take place, as the name suggests, in an alternate reality much closer to that of the games, and as such aren't considered canon within the preboot universe, thus this blog won't be covering them. That said, as I mentioned before, altered versions of some games are considered to have happened at some point within this universe, such as both Sonic Rush games. Sonic '06 is a particularly interesting case, as while Ian apparently confirmed that it did happen in the preboot 'verse and small references to characters and locations from the game are included in future issues, the very nature of the game's storyline means that everything that happened in it was erased from the timeline regardless. This does mean, however, that Silver, arguably the most important new character to be introduced in said game, exists in this universe, though we won't be seeing him for some issues yet. Don't worry though - when he does appear, he really shines!

[mobius-prime]

231. Sonic the Hedgehog #163

The Darkest Storm (Part Two): Onset of the Squall

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: James Fry Colors: Jason Jensen

So Mammoth Mogul is back. Not only that, he's not restrained by any more Ancient Walker curses, given that the Ancient Walkers are now super dead. The Freedom Fighters, Merlin, and Sir Connery surge forward immediately to attack, but Mogul releases a concentrated blast that knocks half of them out, including Elias, from whom he takes the Crown of Acorns without a word. Meanwhile in New Megaopolis, Eggman is trying to ascertain if the Egg Grapes have been shut down successfully, unaware that Anonymous has used the breach of dimensions to release another key player into all the chaos.

Ugh, not Naugus again! I gotta say, he's one of my least favorite villains in the comics. M tries to zap him, but, quickly figuring out she's a robot, Naugus freezes her in place with his elemental magic. He informs Eggman that he intends to come back to kill him eventually, but first, he plans to reunite the Sword of Acorns, which the children of Uma Arachnis have so graciously given him, with its counterpart back at Knothole, teleporting away in a flash. But, hey, listen. No one, in all this, ever thinks of the poor folks stuck in jail cells while all the fighting is going on outside. Let's check on Knothole's prisoners, shall we?

Oop! Things just got a lot crazier. Naugus and Mogul are ready to go at each other, and the Freedom Fighters and their allies get ready to attack the both of them, wanting to get both the sword and the crown back on principle now despite no longer being able to use them to save the Ancient Walkers. Nack, after picking his jaw up off the floor, realizes that this is his chance to escape prison when no one else is looking, and easily squeezes through the bars of his cell. Man, whoever built Knothole Prison is so fired. Nack says that on his way out he plans to "hit the kitchen" and leave his previous weasel allies (from the Sally kidnapping plot) a "gift," which is pretty vague and doesn't seem to mean much until you learn that Ian's intention with this line was to imply that he straight up murders the other weasels during his escape. That's right, kills 'em in cold blood! I don't know what he needed to get from the kitchen to carry out this murder - knives? a heavy pan? a makeshift bomb hastily assembled from a pressure cooker? - but yeah, the guards definitely came back to their posts later on to find three dead-ass weasels lying in pools of their own blood inside the cell. That's… actually super messed up, man. I can see why Ian wanted to leave that line vague.

While the battle rages on in Knothole, with Naugus and Mogul fighting each other while the Freedom Fighters contend with the Destructix, A.D.A.M. lets Eggman know that he's managed to find out who's behind the dimensional breach in his Egg Grape Chamber - Anonymous, of course. But that's not all! Though he still doesn't know Anonymous' true identity, he's found out that none other than M has been collaborating with him! M stutters and tries to deny it, but A.D.A.M. plays a recording of her conspiring with Anonymous - whose form is blanked out on the video, as before, though it does bear a strange resemblance in shape to the original Robotnik - to destroy Eggman and rule in his stead.

I'm actually kinda sad to see her go. I always kind of liked M as a character, and apparently so did Ian, but Sega forced him to kill her off. It's actually kind of interesting, though, how actually upset Eggman is about all this. I mean, his words ring a little hollow when he's just brought Snively back as his henchman once more, but like, he did literally consider M to be his daughter, if only a twisted facsimile of one. You can tell ordering her to self-destruct actually hurt him on a personal level. As A.D.A.M. sends a cleaning bot to burn M's remains, Eggman mutters to himself Deku-style, thinking through how Naugus seems to have his powers boosted by using the Sword of Acorns. He reasons that if he gets the crown as well he could be a genuine threat, and decides he must go to Knothole and stop him, coming up with a mysterious "contingency plan" at the end of this train of thought…

As Naugus and Mogul continue to magically battle it out, we get our first inkling of the fact that "Ixis" isn't actually a first name. In fact, it's a title - denoting someone who's mastered the "Ixian" magicks of this world. Naugus gloats that he's perfected these magicks with his crystalline powers, but Mogul does the verbose and villainous equivalent of chuckling and saying "cute," claiming to be even more well-versed in Ixian magicks. While the two are distracted with their fighting, Merlin and Sir Connery leap in to try to grab at least one of the Source of All artifacts, but the two see their attack coming and fling them away, with Sonic and Knuckles having to jump in to catch them. However, when they return to earth they find a stunned Naugus questioning Mogul on his claims of knowing Ixian magicks. Mogul smugly explains that thousands of years ago, he studied and perfected magic, eventually founding an order of fellow magicians who followed his teachings. They were all wiped out a very long time ago in a forgotten war against the "Albion Knights of Aurora," but Mogul himself survived, and now informs Naugus of his true name, long since forgotten - Ixis Mogul.

Well, this whole situation just got a lot worse…

Sonic Riders (Part 1 of 2)

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: Tracy Yardley Colors: Josh & Aimee Ray

Already we've come to another one of those weird not-adaptions, this time for Sonic Riders. Unlike the Sonic Rush "adaption," however, this one doesn't have anything even slightly to do with the events of the game - literally the only correlation is the Babylon Rogues and the Extreme Gear being there, and the latter isn't even called Extreme Gear. Jet the Hawk attempts to steal a mechanical part from Eggman's base, but is easily captured by his Egg Pawns and brought back to a cell. Eggman deduces that Jet was planning to use the part to upgrade his board, and Jet replies that things have been hard for him since he left "the Armada" (remember that name for later). Eggman, however, is less upset about Jet's attempted theft than he is impressed that he was traveling as quickly as Sonic on his board, and offers him a deal - namely, that if he goes after Sonic and gives him hell, he'll let him go and forgive the theft. Of course, Jet being the arrogant brat he is, agrees, eager to prove to Sonic that he is in fact the fastest thing alive, and hoping to bring along some friends to help him demonstrate this…

The next day, Sonic is running through the forest after the Freedom Fighters' sensors picked up the approach of intruders, and runs straight into Jet, along with Wave the Swallow and Storm the Albatross. When Jet mockingly shows off how fast he is on his board, and states that he plans to go trash Knothole, Sonic follows, attempting to fight the three of them. However, despite his speed and fighting prowess, he's simply no match for three speedy foes.

Keep in mind, the game is about Sonic entering an Extreme Gear contest run by Eggman for Chaos Emeralds, and competing against these three along the way. It's a racing game, after all. I realize that given how different this world is something like that can't really easily be replicated, but still, this is vastly different from the game - so different that it feels weird even giving it the name of Sonic Riders. That said, I do appreciate how the art style for this two-parter replicates the unique style of Sonic Riders' art, foregoing traditional shading and inking in favor of the games' trademark diagonal shading and flatter colors. It’s a really cool art style, and interesting to see it integrated into the comic, if only for a couple stories.