LogiTeeka

Lupe has some unique attributes which made her somewhat interesting, but nothing compelling. In SatAM, she was pretty much an older-version of Sally Acorn in terms of personality: strong, confident, level-headed, tactical, ect. Nothing we haven't seen before to set her apart.

In the Archie series, she was given a bit more to go with. She was a bit more stubborn and slightly on edge (maybe a bit unpredictable), and was also a proud mother (one of the few additions I liked from Penders). Not a whole lot to make her an additional cast member, but it did make her more distinguishable. We still have yet to see what her reboot incarnation will be like.

For my series, I made Lupe much more memorable as a character. The problem I had was trying to find a suitable role for her to play in the series without making her seem repetitive or pointless. In the end, I settled with her being a wondering shaman/sorceress who aids the Freedom Fighters by providing them with advice, spiritual training, or sending them on magical quests (similar to Yoda or Rafiki). And for personality, she could be slightly quirky or sassy, but still highly respectable. And maybe a Spanish accent for a bit of flavor.

Oh. Well, no I don't, but it's not in the writing staff's control. These are Sega mandates. As I said in my post, is the reboot the ideal Sonic comic book I'd want to read? No. Sega's mandates are bad enough, and I'm also not a fan of many of the decisions Ian's made. I really don't like them trying to merge Snively and classic Robotnik (or SatAM Robotnik to people who didn't grow up on the comic) into one character. It does a disservice to both characters. Just have Eggman be that comic's Robotnik, and keep Snively as he was. (I also don't get why he can't still be Robotnik's nephew if Sonic can still be Uncle Chuck's nephew, but that's just nitpicking.) I thought having Muttski become yet another Tails recolour with dog ears was also a terrible decision, it's cringe-inducing for me. If you're going to completely spit on the character, why include him at all? It'd be more respectful to just not use him. And the fact they're all drawn the same way is another thing that bugs me. I don't mind the Freedom Fighter redesigns in theory (Sally wears pants, oh horror,) but I hate how they all have to look like Tails in a wig or with different outfits or colours. The reason all the characters in the games are based on the same two or three models is to save time and money on rigging/modelling. But the comics cast aren't in the games, so they don't have to play by those rules. Yes, they need to look like they're a part of the modern Sonic universe, but characters looking like they belong in the same world and all of them having the exact same model are not the same thing. Look at the Disney film Tarzan for instance. Professor Archimedes and Tarzan are drawn in the same style, they look like they belong in the same world. But they look like completely different characters with different body types, facial construction, builds, and attitudes. Sally as she is now is Tails in a wig with a vest. But with all that said, in terms of the storytelling, dialogue, etc... the comic is a lot better than I expected it to be. The stories work and the art is well done for what it is, despite my grievances. So in general, good show Ian. It's not the ideal Sonic comic I'd want, but you're never going to please everyone.

Honestly, I think Sally's older design looked much more like a Tails clone before the reboot. The furry cheeks didn't help either. At least now, I can tell them apart by their faces.

So it's okay for the game cast to share common traits, but not the comic cast? If they're to fit the style, they need to take some influence from their appearances. But none of them are outright clones either, they're still identifiable by their key characteristics; Sally still has her facial markings, vest, and red hair; Antoine still has his sword and pointed snout, Rotor is still large, but in a different way to help separate him from Big the Cat; and Bunnie still has her erected ears, robotic parts, and jumpsuit.

Even the game characters have slight differences in body shape. Amy's body is more pateate compared to Rouge's larger, more curvaceous shape; and Blaze's body is less rounded and more flat-chested. Likewise, Sonic and Espio's bodies are more lean and streamlined compared to the barrel-chested Knuckles (to a degree) and Vector. If anything, it's the children (Tails, Cream, Marine, Charmy) who tend to have identical-looking shapes; which makes sense since they haven't matured yet.

Since SatAM Robotnik is now off-limits, it makes sense for some of his traits and elements to be reused for a character closely associated with him, since he's still allowed to appear. And from what I can tell so far, Snively's current depiction could be an interesting step in his development as a character; starting out as Eggman's lackey and eventually becoming his own villainous self.

Also, Sonic is officially no longer Uncle Chuck's nephew in the new universe. Chuck is described as being an uncle-figure to the Freedom Fighters, which is why they call him that. Same thing goes for Sonic. One could imagine that they're still related, but it can't be stated outright.

And honestly, I kinda like the new Muttski. Sure, it's an odd change, but honestly, how does it butcher the character when he hardly had one in the first place? At least this version has the potential to be an interesting character. Heck, from what we know from his backstory so far, he was close friends with Tails back when Dr. Robotnik/Eggman invaded Mobitropolis.

Good grief. As if Penders couldn't get any lower than this.

There are so many things wrong with this cover:

* It treats the death of Sally as if it weren't anything traumatic. A major character whom many grew up with gets axed off and he makes a joke about it.

* It resorts to making a joke about a then-current, real-life murder case. And in a kid's comic, of all things!

* Also, is that shark lawyer (referencing Johnny Cochran) purposely colored black? Oh boy...

Which isn't bad for the crossover no, but for Mega Man and Sonic's main storylines it's another frustratingly big interruption.

Despite the lengthier story, the crossover itself will only last as long as the previous crossover (or possibly even shorter); which is around 3-4 months. That's also about the same length as an average storyarc.

I would like get the Script of this...
By the way, that pitch reminded me of Sonic Live for some reason...

It should. That's the exact same television that appeared in the issue.

Wow. And I thought his "Lost Ones" trailer was bad.

This was just uncomfortable.

I kinda wish we got to know Lazaar better. He looks human, but not quite... Is he an Overlander, or an elfin wizard? And what terrible things did he commit in the past which he now regretted? Heck, why was he put to sleep for all those years anyway? And why a computer?

A theory of mine thinks that he could've been one of the apprentices of Mogul during the Forgotten Wars, enslaving the primitive population and using them for magical experiments; but he started having second thoughts. When he fought back against his master, Mogul put him to sleep and sealed him away. But HIS apprentice, the Guardian, continued to protect him over the centuries; constructing various traps and obstacles around his master's resting place to prevent anyone from harming him. However, he remained oblivious to his master's change in heart and allowed passage to anyone who wished to continue his evil work as long as they didn't harm him.

On the contrary, I thought the background art for SatAM (as well as "Underground") was superb. The atmosphere is radiant (especially during the scenes in Knothole Village) and it's fun looking for all the hidden little details throughout the backdrop. I'm also impressed that some fans were able to construct a map of the village, using backgrounds from the show as a reference. In many ways, the backgrounds themselves completely outshine the show's overall animation quality.

I wish I could say the same for the character designs, though. While the designs of the Mobian residents look fine on their own merit, their realistic style clashes heavily against Sonic's cartoonish design. In fact, Sonic was the only Mobian character (aside from Uncle Chuck) to have an abnormal color scheme while every other character in the series retained the realistic color of their real-life species. The only time Sonic didn't stick out like a sore thumb was during the pilot episode, where every other character had a more colorful, cartoonish design.

"The one show that got everything correct." Eh?

 

Not to seem intrusive, but not everything in the show was perfect. Some character portrayals got worse as the series went on (succumbing to Flanderization), some plots went nowhere, and some ideas weren't implemented well into the series. While I admire the effort and dedication put into the series' direction by its creators, it isn't as perfect as most claim it to be. Not to mention the show is somewhat dated by today's standards.

 

That's not to say I dislike the series. In fact, I enjoy the series full-heartedly; but even I will admit its flawed in its directions. I like the the series so much, I acknowledge and put up with its problems whenever I watch it.

 

Also, I'm getting pretty sick of the whole "Sonic isn't for kids" argument. Many fans were kids when they first watched the series because they were in the target demographic at that time. But as time passes by, we grow up and our perspective of the world changes. And oftentimes, the shows we grew up with get dated because we're no longer within the age of the target demographic. And honestly, I wish people would stop calling family shows/movies "adult" because that's not what they're targeted primarily towards. Shows and movies like those are meant to attract audiences of all ages; and throw in everything those demographics find enjoyable. For example, compare something like "Care Bears" or "Die Hard" with something like one of the many Pixar films. "Care Bears" and "Die Hard" have aspects that pander towards specific age demographics which the other won't find appealing; whereas Pixar films have colorful characters, gags, and lessons to entertain/educate children, some jokes and profound themes for adults to ponder over, and scenes for the elderly to enjoy (whichever that is). Now THAT'S a definitive family movie.

 

With that in mind, SatAM is definitely a darker series compared to something like AoStH or "Sonic X" (in some aspects). But what makes it appealing, even by today, is its wider target demographic. It takes itself more seriously and had profound lessons, but also has enough fantasy/sci-fi surrealism, colorful characters, and humor to entertain younger watchers. That, by all means, makes it a family series.

Funny, this seems like the perfect time to bring up a little theory of mine.

What if I told you that most continuities in the Sonic series were possibly alternate timelines? It may sound like a stretch, but it could work.



P.S. The one listed "Adventures" isn't AoStH, rather it's the short-lived French comic "Sonic Adventures".

I doubt that's the case... mostly. With the exception of the game cast, SatAM cast, and Ian-created characters, nearly every non-Penders character is off-limits till they can verify which characters they can still use.

Sega of America had hopes of incorporating the Freedom Fighters into the games back in the 90's, but the one game which they were suggested to star in (Sonic X-treme) had numerous technical and production problems. So many, in fact, that Sega decided to leave gaming production to the Japanese development team. Thus, every game since then has reflected the Japanese canon, while the former American canon slowly faded away.

However, with the recent announcement of "Sonic Boom", a new American canon is underway. And considering its SoA that's allowing the Freedom Fighters to keep on fighting, there's a better chance for the SatAM/Archie characters to appear in the show than with anything produced by SoJ. Heck, the show's creators did state that other characters will be returning alongside newer ones, and Archie is apparently working on a comic book tie-in for the series, which could mean something.

I have spoken to J Axer, and while he is legally obligated not to divulge details over the company, he told me in more or less words that it was the worst company he has dealt with in the industry. Akin to a meat grinder.

That's pretty much every industry in a nutshell really. You have people who work there and like it, those who put up with it and don't mind it, and some who can't stand their conditions at all. It all depends on their personal tastes and how they felt they were treated.

But that's not really the problem concerning Sonic's overall quality. The comic suffers mainly from having too many "cooks in the kitchen". You have Ian writing down a basic storyline, Mike and Paul's contributions, and both Archie and Sega to overlook the final project to top it all off. What works for one person might not work for others, and considering Sega's tighter grip on the series now-a-days, most stuff we want to see probably won't happen because it doesn't fly well with them.

If they were to give the license to another publisher, they would have to fallow their conditions to a tee as well. And since SatAM is no longer the direction which Sega wants to go, it most likely won't have anything to do with it.

I still wonder if Robotitization has been retconned or at least being placed into the far background. Robotnik using flesh and blood and pure robot toadies? And has anyone else taken note that other than those who remember the old timeline remembering Sally being a robot robotization is not being talked about. Unless someone can show me proof that it is still being talked about other than in regards to Sally I think Robotization might be gone with Mobius.

No need to worry. It still exists.

My proof: In issue 253, Axel the Water Buffalo mentions a rumor to one of his soldiers that Eggman has somehow got the roboticizer working again, hinting that it was out of commission for a while and might be coming back in full-force soon.

So yeah, the roboticizer is still around. Whether or not it fully roboticizes you is anyone's guess. It could be like Eggman's machine which the Zeti use on Tails in "Lost World", where it only makes them cyborg (similar to how "Underground" depicted it) instead of a complete robot. The threat is still there, just different.

Also, at least when he was Anti-Sonic, the character had an excuse, he was Sonic from a dimension where the heroes were villains and vice-versa. Scourge is just a lamer recolor of Sonic who takes on the "Bad Attitude" traits from Shadow. His design is lazy, his appearance is pretty much the same as every "Cinos" in existence, and other than being an "Evil Sonic" for the sake of being a "evil Sonic" he still has no personality. Yes he's slightly more of a creative idea, but everything now is "just cuz" instead of "just cuz he's from the Anti-Mobius"

When you put it that way, both concepts sound incredibly dull; the original "anti-Sonic" being a pathetic attempt at an evil Sonic, and Scourge, while a better attempt, was still the lame idea he started off as.

But if that's the case, who's the "better" anti-Sonic?
Shadow? Nah, he's just a misguided rogue who happens to look like him.
Metal Sonic? Uh uh, he's more of an obstacle than an arch-rival.
Jet the Hawk? Pfft, he wishes.

Really, when you get down to it, there isn't a lot of options. Seems like Scourge is the ideal choice.

Considering the universe which the Archie comics takes place is called "Mobius Prime", I guess that makes the SatAM universe one of the many variations spun-off from it. So basically, the Archie Mobius is the source of all the American continuities (even perhaps the fictional AoStH*).

However, Mobius Prime is only one of many versions of Sonic's homeworld which exist throughout the multiverse. You also have Earth (SegaSonic), Planet Freedom (the OVA), and other versions of Mobius located in separate dimensions (Sonic X and the Fleetway comics). Considering their completely different histories, it's safe to say that they don't share the same multiverse that Mobius Prime has.

What's also interesting to note is that the Archie comics is the only Sonic series to acknowledge the existence and make contact with other continuities (e.g. Archie Sonic has teamed up with the Sonic Underground once, Archie Shadow had an encounter with the cast of "Sonic X", Robo-Robotnik is hinted to be the SatAM Robotnik, and the SegaSonic world is said to be the original reality which Mobius Prime stems from. And according to Ian, one of the universes caught in the battle between Nega and the Zone Cops is the Fleetway universe).

* = I don't count AoStH as an actual universe, on account of the final episode implying it was all fictional.