Written by
OK, I'm doing this again. Why? Why the hell not? I like ranting, people like reading rants, since they can be entertaining, so yeah, I'm going to go nuts.
First topic: Milestones.
I'm going to say it now. I hate milestone issues. I don't mind them for the actual anniversaries, like Genesis being used to celebrate Sonic's 20th birthday, but in terms of having major events always happening every 25 issues, it's normally a case of another shock value story on the 5s, and Sonic curb stomping Robotnik as in any other issue on the 0s. As such, they become predictable and boring.
One of the things I love about SatFF is that due to the way we write, we can't do milestones, since if we tried, they'd probably end up being in the wrong part. It means that the plot progresses in a logical fashion, and the characters aren't just waiting for no good reason to act.
This was one of the problems that appeared in the Captain N TV show. The powers that Kevin had been given meant that he could have killed Mother Brain (Yes, that Mother Brain, for those that don't know) any time he wanted, warping in, stopping time, and shooting the bitch, and he even tried several times, but they had to stall it out so the show could keep running. The problem that we have is that the hero is holding off on acting so that major events don't happen too early.
For example, as pointed out, Sonic could have captured Mecha Sally by now. In fact, the moment he got thrown off the Death Egg, any other version of Sonic, be it SEGA, STC, SatAM, AoSTH, or even everyone's favorite cardboard cutout, Sonic X, would have grabbed one of the FF air boards and flown back up to rescue her. But no, Tails and Amy suddenly became blubbering wrecks, so he had to stop and take care of the. And then what? Oh yeah, he had to go and watch Geoff's trial. More on that later.
This is called padding, and this comic has a lot of it.
It happens again in 238. Sonic could easily save everyone, but Tails lets Mecha Sally go because someone might get hurt during the launch of the Death Egg. In other words: Tails lets Mecha Sally go because if he didn't the plot would be resolved. Oh, and I'd like to point out that this is the same robot that had no trouble with Omega, yet she can't beat Sonic or Tails. Guess that plot amour is really strong stuff.
What does this have to do with milestones? Well, it's been long suspected that Sally would be staying as she is until 250, in other words, 20 issues as a robot. Look, when we complained that Iron Nicole wasn't around long enough, this isn't what we meant, Flynn. Six issues would have been fine. Indeed, most arcs in this comic are six issues, and this is a perfectly reasonable length for one. And the last time he tried to do a big, long arc, a lot of fans started to call bullshit. And look, it's another big, long arc, and many more fans are starting to call bullshit. The obvious solution is this: Don't do long arcs, we just start to bitch about them.
In fact, the arc that Flynn is clearly trying to top, Endgame (In other words, Ken Penders at his best), was only four issues long. And yet, people remember it even now. It raised the stakes, things looked bad for Sonic, things looked really bad for Sally, and Robotnik died. And it was awesome.
However, Flynn seemed to be trying to stretch Mecha Sally's arc out to 250. However, as said, the shock value of Mecha Sally has worn off. You see, due to the 'world tour' crap going on at the moment (The FF World Tour arc in SSZ was much better), a lot of old supporting characters are encountering Mecha Sally. And every time it happens, they are shocked. In fact, Mecha Sally is a two-trick horse.
Trick 1: She shows herself to a supporting character, and they are shocked.
Trick 2: She claims that Sonic, Tails, and Amy will not attack her because she is in the body of their friend, and is then shocked when they attack her anyway.
Both of these have gotten old already, and the idea of seeing them stretch out to 250 is painful. This arc is already suffering from Seasonal Rot more than the Johto and Sinnoh arcs of the Pokemon Anime did.
Thankfully it doesn't seem like that will happen. Why? Well, first, the big milestone event for 250 is... a crossover with Megaman. Considering that it's Capcom's character, I'm expecting Megaman's half to be canceled, or the comic to have unnecessary levels of DLC. Joking aside, something like Sally's deroboticization is going to be a major plot point, so will probably have an issue to itself.
Evidence seems to suggest that this will be coming in or around 242. This would make it a full year since her roboticization. Now, Mecha Sally's next mission is to kill her brother, who is part of the Secret Freedom Fighters (Who seem to be wearing really conspicuous glow-in-the-dark uniforms, nice job at being secret, guys), who are chasing Naugus. You know, the same guy who can turn Bunnie's completely mechanical limbs, which are filled with weapon parts into perfectly ordinary organic ones? So let's see about this.
I'm guessing that the Secret FF arc will end on a cliffhanger, with Mecha Sally arriving to kill Elias. The ensuing fight will happen in the main comic, because that's where it should be. During the fight, Mecha Sally will be hit by Naugus' powers of plot convenience, and reverted to normal, just like I said back in State of the Sonic Comics. And if that doesn't happen, she will at least be freed from Robotnik's control.
Second topic: Sonic is a Dick.
OK, so my friend has said that he hates the STC version of Sonic, because the STC version of Sonic is a dick. This is true, but it is actually explained that STC Sonic is a dick because he doesn't take emotional stuff well, and responds to such things as Porker leaving the FF by getting pissed off, because he doesn't know how to express his opinion otherwise. And seriously, the guy has SuperSonic in his head, cut him some slack.
So yeah, STC Sonic is a prick, but Archie Sonic is, in my opinion, even worse.
For example, in issue 178, he catches Rosemary breaking Amadeus out of jail, and tells them that, despite them being Tails' parents, whom the kid has been longing to rescue since forever, that Tails will take his side because Sonic means more to him, What a prick. Thankfully, as he says this, Tails is right behind him, and proceeds to punch the douchebag in the face.
But the dethroning moment of suck hits in Geoff's trial. Geoff's trial is a joke anyway. What was Kranix's line from Transformers?
"Spare me this mockery of justice!"
Yeah, that's the one. You see, Geoff is being tried for betraying the king and putting a maniacal villain in power... by the same maniacal villain that he just put in power. You can see where this is going.
In any case, at one point, Geoff recounts his version of the events surrounding Hershey's disappearance (Flynn has effectively confirmed that he intends to bring her back, so credit where it's due), and breaks down as he tells the story of what he thinks is his wife's death. Pretty sad moment, right? Anyone with a heart would feel sorry for him, right? Right. But not Sonic the Hedgehog. The moment Geoff is given the guilty verdict (And is pardoned seconds later, told you nothing would come of it), he stands up and starts cheering. Congratulations, Flynn, you just made me want to kick the hero in the balls! If anything, considering the recent events on the Death Egg, Sonic should feel sympathy for Geoff, considering Sally's current state. But no, Sonic is apparently an unfeeling douchebag.
Seriously, they made STC Sonic look like a boy scout.
Third topic: Hypocrisy everywhere!
I've managed to work out why Flynn fans don't mind all the hypocritical bullshit in the comic. It's because they themselves say hypocritical things a lot. Mainly praising Flynn for doing the same things that they ranted at Penders and Bollers for doing.
For example, many of them complained about the Sonic/Fiona/Tails love triangle, yet praised the Sonic/Sally/Ken love triangle, despite the fact that yes, at the time, Sonic was a player, and yes, it's established that Tails loved Fiona, whereas, as one of my fellow ranters said, to make Flynn's love triangle work, he had to turn Ken into a "Prince Charming-styled lump of pudding", which is without a doubt the best way I've heard anyone describe Ken since "Arrogant douchebag".
Fourth topic: Why don't you just shoot him?
Seriously, the end of this arc will make no logical sense. Why? Because the Freedom Fighters will let Eggman live. They are contractually obligated to do so. Let's face it, what happened to him in Redemption and Revenge was what anyone with any sense would do. He's crossed the line, and the only smart thing to do is to kill him. This is the point where I will say that they should have kept Eggman as an entity hopping between mechanical bodies. That way, Sonic and co could actually kill him, and he could still come back. The Freedom Fighters have no reason to show him mercy, and yet, I know they will.
Fifth topic: Fiona Fox, and why she is a terrible villain.
Oh yeah, that's right, I'm going there. Again. I'm going to say this: Fiona is to Flynn what Sally was to Bollers. A character that they obviously do not like, and so will be dragged down into the mud to make everyone else dislike her too.
Multiple people have already said this, but Fiona's heel turn wasn't convincing. In fact, the slap was added in as a physical way of saying "This character is evil, and you should hate her", because without it, it would seem that Fiona was tricking Scourge, and pretending to go evil Hell, even with the slap, that idea could still work. Simply say that she did it so that Tails would not follow her and screw up her chances at beating Scourge.
See, even with the slap, it's painfully easy to twist it into a situation where she's still a heroine. That's one of the reasons why it's often the backbone of my stories. It works, it allows me to write crowning moments of heartwarming, everyone seems to enjoy it, and it's easy, and quite honestly, I'm a lazy bastard. Writing a heel face turn should take time and development, and while I do normally make it develop, I can make it happen in the space of two seconds.
Fiona's motives are confusing. Or rather, her lack of a solid motive. The main reason she gave was that she was still sore over being abandoned. You know, despite forgiving him in an earlier issue, and often making out with him since 155. Also, if she's walking out on Sonic over a lack of trust, then why is she going to A) another version of the man she apparently does not trust, who is
formally known as EVIL Sonic, and now known as Scourge, and C) has a track record of being a lying, cheating bastard, who is completely D) UNTRUSTWORTHY!?
On top of that, she has done a terrible job at being a villain. The one time that she doesn't have Scourge helping her, she has to go to Sonic for help. And no, Breakout doesn't count. It's not hard to get arrested. Hell, considering that she left her entire zone and helped Scourge invade it, then she's probably already on the Zone Cops' list of targets. People say that she is more memorable as a villain, but she's completely ineffectual. On the other hand, as a Freedom Fighter, she was pretty successful.
Finally, we have her character arc since 172. She's not convincing as a villain, and we're being left hanging for a heel face turn. I'm going to list the arc to prove my point.
172: Unconvincing face heel turn.
Knuxerjak: Shown being both physically and verbally abused by Scourge.
Bold New Moebius: Self confidence destroyed by Sonic, realizes that she's screwed up. Points to next appearance being the heel turn.
SU15: Heel turn teased, doesn't happen, nothing but fanservice for Fiona haters.
Breakout: Most logical choice to be left behind, since she has no powers, doesn't happen, verbally abused by Scourge, shown forming a bond with her cellmate, proving that she is still not "evil", as opposed to Scourge being an ass to everyone.
The point is, we keep being teased about a heel face turn, and it's not happening. Flynn has even said in the letters page that it is possible for Fiona to turn good again. So, here we have a character who's fall to evil was unconvincing, is still unconvincing as a villain, who has no success as a villain, and her character arc points to her becoming a hero again, or at least an anti-hero, and yet Flynn is still writing her as a villain.
This would be a pretty cool design choice for Sally after she gets restored. Kinda gives you the idea you can never really completely restore oneself after being roboticized...
A Writer\'s Job is to Keep You Guessing.rtf 4.88KB
0 downloadsA Writer's Job Is to Keep You Guessing
