LogiTeeka

Is it bad if I say I PREFER the earlier issues?

 

Of course not. There's nothing wrong with one's preference.

 

My problem with them is that they were trying to appeal to two completely different depictions of the series and not really doing their own take at it. For something meant to tie in with the SatAM series, it didn't do either; even after the series was canceled.

 

They were probably better off doing their own thing.

I figured the Archieverse was called "Mobius-Prime" because it's the main source of the all the American canons that take place on Mobius (SatAM, Underground, ect.) spawn from. (I don't include AoStH, on account of it being fictional.)

 

I mean, the SegaSonic universe takes place on Earth (or a place similar to Earth). So it wouldn't be called "Mobius"-Prime, would it? Judging by it's appearance and overall setting, it's either a future Earth or one of the many alternate Earths.

 

Also, in the "Genesis" arc, Dr. Eggman tries resetting Mobius-Prime back to it's pure basics with a Chaos Emerald. The result was a world eerily similar to the SegaSonic world. And since Sally, Rotor, Antoine, and Snively (and also Bunnie and Julie-Su) were also present, it could hint that they themselves also exist in the SegaSonic universe.

A single "shadow world" can be intresting. What I am against is there being... http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Sally_Moon, especially to level of cheapening the overarching story. I have strict personal "don't be lazy" policy with my own writing, and a "don't use alternate universes" rule.

 

That was long ago, back when the comic was still trying to find new ways of continuing after the "Endgame" arc. Most stories involving the multiverse were stupid and pointless. The only one that had any real impact was the Soniczilla story, due to Sonic having to fight and kill an alternate doppelganger of his own father in a Robotnik-themed robot suit.

 

I feel you both on the Moebius/Scourge thing. You guys might like my upcoming story, let's just say, in a spoiler free-fashion, I do some intresting revisions to Flynn's ideas (I feel I can get away with more than the poor guy for one thing: seeing how SEGA is always breathing down his neck, making sure Sonic can't truly progress as a character nowadays (be defeated, retreat, fail, realize his faults), he always has to come out on the tip top, unlike in Satam where he could, at least in some aspects, fail (losing Kat, Ari, ect.), feared failure (like in Sonic's Nightmare), and had a broader arc.

 

Sega may have a constant surveillance on the comic, but Sonic occasionally still has some character development. In issue 236, he was giving away to his depression and considering giving up. Sure, it lasted for a brief moment in one issue, but it still showed that Sonic is capable of having conflicting emotions despite the constant mandates.

This game is simple. You ask a question about a plot point, issue, or anything that left you confused or nit-picking from the original series. Then, everyone else tries to come up with an interesting, exciting, and intelligent answer for it. It's not a game about criticizing - it's all about improving.

 

 I'll go first.

 

In a world where the majority of the population is Roboticized, why does Robotnik consume so much resources and builds so much industry? What needs are being met by all this industry in a world with only Robians (who don't sleep, eat, drink, buy yo-yo's, ect.)?

 

For Robotnik to fully conquer Mobius, he must build more factories to expand his military forces in order to secure certain parts of the planet which he hasn't conquered yet. He might've taken over one major city, but that doesn't mean he possesses the whole world. There might be other kingdoms and nations left to conquer. He just hasn't got the time due to his current obsession to wipe out the Knothole Freedom Fighters once and for all.

 

Oddly enough, "Sonic Underground" answered the next question. In the series, Robotnik is a money-grubbing tyrant who collects taxes from wealthy politicians and aristocrats to build his industries; promising them better security. And in exchange, he leaves them unroboticized. If he were to roboticize them, he may lose a hefty supplier and all the profits would he handed over to the next inheritor (who may or may not be allied with the resistance).

 

SatAM never bothered to answer that question, but since I view "Underground" as a spin-off series, the explanation still works by my book.

 

Now here's my question:

 

Sally received a message from her father and found evidence of him in Ironlock Prison while investigating the Dark Swamp in "Sonic Boom". How can that be when her father was sent into The Void way back in "Blast to the Past: Part II"? Also, why was the cell booby-trapped? And what was the deal with that robot disguised as a monster?

 

I can think of a few explanations, but I'd like to hear from others first.

The Crossover has a few moments but the whole story was easily summarized in the first issue.  Then it got stretched to what...12 issues?  Sigh.

 

At least the crossover arc took its time developing the setup. I can't imagine how rushed it would've been had it all took place within a few issues. All the hype surrounding the story would've been for hardly anything.

 

the crossover sucks in my book

 

Out of all the crossovers Sonic's been in before, this was by far the best. Not only did it meet expectations, but it told the story rather decently. Not perfect, mind you, but it was entertaining while it lasted.

It be interesting to see some new characters, even if they're replacements. I mean, it worked for Bow the Sparrow and Thorn the Lop in the Mercian Freedom Fighters.

My only question is, who would replace Lien-Da? She was sorta unique, being one of the higher-ranking villains (alongside Eggman, Mogul, and Naugus) that was female. I guess Regina could replace her, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

If you compare designs, you'll see that that's happened over the years too.

But it wasn't a major redesign.

It was merely Bunnie getting long hair and cowboy attire.

How does that even remotely compare?

Actually, they're quite different. Her origonal SatAM design is smaller and more chibi-ish compared to her modern design. Since the modern Sonic style is iconic to most fans, it makes sense for the characters to adapt to that style. Otherwise, they'll feel out of place.

Also, I find it a bit hypercritical to accuse the SatAM cast of becoming stereotypes when they already were stereotypes. Sally's an 80's/90's action girl, Antoine's a cowardly French soldier, and Bunnie's a southern belle with a thick accent. If that's not stereotypical, then call me a cab.

Ian's fan comic didn't put Julie-Su in a favorable light....

However since his fan comic was an ultimate dimension where almost none of the characters acted like their comic/SatAM/Game counterparts, I wouldn't exactly say he hated them.

Also the comic put Fiona in a very favorable light and yet he apparently hates her too.

I don't think he hates Fiona because he gave her an awful lot of character development early on in his run, even if was for the evil side.

I can't say the same for Sally since most of her screentime was mostly being Sonic's arm candy, being a boring diplomat and having a pointless love triangle with Sonic and Khan. Not to mention he only gave her that screentime to make her contrived roboticized/weaponization have any tragic credibility.

He admitted that personally on his forum.

Sally's had that depiction ever since SatAM's 2nd season, when she became more Mary-Suish due to her over-favoritism by Ben Hurst. And her boring diplomatic depiction was derived from Penders' and Bollers' writing, who made the comic far too political for a kids comic.

Personally, I think Sally's best depiction was in the SatAM pilot episode and the earlier issues. There, at least, she was sassy, sarcastic, feisty, and a bit competitive; which made her relationship with Sonic more reasonable and fun to watch. But ever since she became more serious in tone, the rest of her personality disappeared and her competitive relationship with Sonic was forgotten; reducing her to Sonic's default girlfriend for unexplained reasons.

Although, I will say I am a bit surprised Ian hasn't put Fiona in his latest story. I thought for sure she'd play SOME role here.

Eh, maybe he isn't because he wants to give that attention to his 2nd favorite female character: Amy Rose.

I can see why. Amy hardly did anything in the previous writers' stories. She was mostly reduced to a background character with hardly any role to speak for (similar to Rotor and Bunnie in the 2nd season). I mean, she's a major character in the games, so why not include her more often?

You talk to anybody and they'll claim that Flynn hates everybody. He must hate St. John, he revealed him to be a villain (which was a stupid move). He must hate Rotor, he got injured and couldn't do crap. He must hate Antoine, he's currently hospitalized. He must Fiona, he made her turn evil. He must Sally because she was Roboticized.

For crying out loud, this is just getting repetitive.

If Ian doesn't hate her, he obviously doesn't like her much then. You mind explaining to me then why Julie-Su gets so little screentime, especially considering she's one of the more credible heroines of the series?

And please, all writers have characters they love, like, dislike and hate. It's part of human nature.

It's for that reason why I laugh whenever I hear people say Ian is very unbiased as a writer. Uh, no he is not. He has his favorites and those he doesn't care too much for. Even those issues he tries to give minor characters more screentime, most of them feel pretentious at best because when it all comes down to it, the characters you love are the ones you're going to give the most attention to and those that aren't will get shoved into the background and maybe get a line or two at best.

Yeah, Ian doesn't like some characters (who doesn't?), but that doesn't stop him from at least trying.

Heck, one of the characters he dislikes, Marine the Racoon, is from the games. He finds her way too annoying and hyper, and he wasn't that pleased when he had to include her in some of his stories. But wouldn't you know it? Once he got down to write her dialogue, he ended up enjoying it. And in the process, her scenes are considered some of his best work. He still dislikes her though, but as a character he loves to hate.

I think the reason why he hadn't use Fiona is because of time constraints.

Eh, maybe... not sure. But that probably is the most valid explanation. With him showing so much favor to the game cast now, maybe he didn't want any comic characters stealing their spotlight.

I mean, it's so obvious Ian is making Tails and Amy the stars next to Sonic in this stupid arc.

That wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the fact they DIDN'T EARN IT.

You know, this kind of scenario ironically feels like one of those stories about a diabolical mother or father who want their little darlings to be the stars of a play, so they sabotage the better actors through injury, slander or whatever it takes to get them shoved aside in order for them to get the part.

Call it a crazy theory all you want, but Ian intentionally rigged this story for their benefit.

But then again, what makes the SatAM characters so special? The fact that they're from another media that people have found memories of? They're just as Mobian as everyone else, so why should they get all the focus? One of the common criticisms I hear from fans who hate the comics is the lack of their favorite game characters, since the SatAM/comic characters steal the spotlight most of the time. Sure, the Sega cast can't develop beyond their game portrayals due to Sega mandates, but that doesn't mean they can still have some charisma and leading role of their own.

SatAM might've been the main influence for the comics, but the games themselves were also the main focus. Heck. SatAM's purpose was to promote the Sonic games, just like the comic. It's a bit hypocritical to accuse the comics for being similar to the games when SatAM itself was just as commercially tied (e.g. Sonic Spinball in "Game Guy").

Personally, I think the whole Endgame saga was just as confusing and convaluted as the current saga. Slueth Dog's betrayal leading towards the Endgame saga was just as pointless as Nicole's banishment. The fact that Uncle Chuck was a robian was proof enough for Geoffrey and Draco to suspect he was a traitor, so there wasn't any need in adding Slueth to the mix. And Dr. Quack's involvement further complicated things.

Honestly, I think Ian meant something about us remaining mature towards the issue. Unfortunately, it seems like most are throwing a temper tantrum. I understand that these characters meant a lot to people, but everyone's reacting like it's the end of the world. It's 2012 all over again.

Funny, not that long ago, people hated characters like Geoffrey St. John and wanted him to be killed off. And when that time came, people start complaining about it. Let's face it, the Sonic fanbase is way too fractured to be satisfied with anything. It's damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Sonic X was originally made for teens and up. The fact 4Kids thought they could make a kid's version of it and succeed was nothing short of ludicrous.

Actually, it's considered a kids' show back in Japan. Sure, there was more violence and swearing in the original dub, but that's normal for most children's shows over there. What's normal for them could be offensive to us, and it's often censored out whenever it's aired over here.

Stuff like Sonic yelling "Shit!" and flipping the bird and jokes centered around Rouge's breasts are kids stuff there. Even brutal violence is allowed at times (but nothing too extreme or overly gory).

Personally, I think the kiss scene was worsened by how painful the game itself was. I mean, both "Sonic Adventure" and "SA2" had rather embarrassing moments, but that didn't destroy the games' reputation because the good elements outweighed the bad.

"Sonic '06", on the other hand, was chock-full off game-breaking glitches, painful gameplay, half-finished levels, bland/annoying characters, and a story with more plotholes than swiss-cheese. With all the complaints the game got, I think the kissing scene was made an even bigger problem that it normally would've been had the game been better.

Man LaserX5, you're really agressive towards Ian.
And besides, this comic is generally aimed at kids. It's not like they're going to say "hey, there's older people reading this, so we should attract them too!" while it's fine as it is.

LaserX5 hates Ian

I have to agree. It's alright if you don't like Ian's writing for various reasons, but once you start disliking/hating something up to a certain degree, you try looking for minor things nobody else considers important just to further your points. In other words, you're just looking for excuses to continue your complaining.

I guess it helps to be a more thankful person. I myself hate certain things as well, but I also try looking for things to please me as well. For example, most find "Sonic Underground" to be a lackluster show with various flaws, but I still enjoy it for its memorable characters, interesting setup, beautiful backgrounds, and its occasional surprising episodes. I can say similar things about "Sonic Heroes", "Sonic Unleashed", and "Sonic and the Black Knight". They all have their flaws, but nothing's perfect. It's how people continue to complain about these certain things without giving a single complement that really drives me up the wall.

rant rant rant rant rant rant

rant!

rant rant?

rant rant rant.

rant.

The Sonic fanbase in a nutshell, my friend. "Abandon all fun ye who enter here."

I talked to a friend of mine about this who isn't a sonic fan. He told me that if a comic has to make a character last longer by changing their entire appearance then its jumping the shark.

Was it "jumping-the-shark" when Sonic changed into his modern design when he made the transition into 3D?