Captain Sorzo

Sea3on version:

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Seems legit.

I'm impressed. It actually looks even worse than I had anticipated.

As for Knuckles' design, it seems vaguely familiar, and yet I can't quite place it...

http://24.media.tumb...nsvazo1_400.png

In many ways, I'm actually glad that the show ended on a cliffhanger. The idea of the story being unfinished encourages the audience to give the series greater thought and consideration, in turn leading to a greater understanding of the wealth of depth it holds and in the case of many a desire to explore and expand that world and its themes and characters through writing.

If its lasting impact on the community is as strong as I believe it to be, the cliffhanger did more good for SatAM than an official third season (released without hiatus) possibly could.

Stranger more or less nailed it. All forms of magic in the show can be seen as metaphors for the strength of the soul, with the Power Rings essentially helping to manifest and strengthen one's essence. The Deep Power Stones did the same thing on a greater scale, hence why on a literal level they share the same type of energy.

So in the case of Uncle Chuck, it's a matter of his spirit being empowered to the point that he can overthrow the control of roboticization. There's no solid literal explanation, but when viewed in a metaphorical light it is thematically consistent with the rest of the series.

Killing off important, non-villainous characters is much more problematic in long-running series with no forseeable end, such as the Star Wars Expanded Universe. The short-term impact of a character's death must be weighed against the fact that everything written in the future won't be able to make use of that character. If the series only has one author, this can be carefully controlled. In multi-author affairs, however, the decision by one person to kill off a character could very well negatively impact the stories of others.

Many franchises try to work around this by bringing back dead characters, thus cheapening death as a narrative tool. DC and Marvel comics are both notorious for doing this. Even the death Stranger just alluded to was undone in the next film. Yet the alternative, going forward for years without a great character just because some author wanted short-term shock value, is not much more appealing.

As such, authors involved in such long-running series should be exceedingly careful when deciding whether to kill off a major character. It can be well done, with meaningful impact that outweighs the loss of the character, but most of the time it just is not worth it. There are plenty of alternative ways to create drama and compelling conflict without giving characters the axe.

Honestly, if Sea3on Animated was given high enough production values, along with the return of key voice actors (Soucie, Cummings, Adler, and Paulsen), while retaining full creative freedom, it would likely turn out nigh perfect. SatAM serves as a far stronger foundation than any other continuity (I'll admit to not being familiar with StC, but what little I know doesn't sound terribly interesting), and the comic has already ironed out the numerous issues of the original series.

Would it please everyone? Absolutely not. But at this point the Sonic fanbase is so disparate that no single thing possibly could, especially in terms of narrative. Would it serve as more effective advertising for Sega than other options? Probably not, at least directly. A focus on objective quality rather than wide appeal, however, could eventually gain a wider support base, with people looking into the show not because it has Sonic, but because it works so well in its own right. This in turn would generate greater interest in the rest of the franchise.

Loath though I am to bring up FiM, I believe its popularity worked on a similar level, at least among audiences beyond the target demographic. It gained fans not because of the attached IP, but because people started enjoying the show for its own merits. This in turn led to greater consumer awareness of the overall IP.

That's not to say I'm trying to directly compare SatAM to FiM. The latter is simply a noteworthy case study of an approach that could possibly justify Sea3on Animated being produced over something else more similar to the games.

Well, bugger. I was going to upload my comments as a Word file, but FUS won't allow it. Massive post it is, then. More general feedback will follow soon.

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Sonic had never ran so fast in his life. He had always had something to run to, and he always ran fast. But not THIS fast.

In the first sentence, replace ‘fast’ with an adverb, such as ‘quickly’ or ‘swiftly’. The rest of the paragraph feels awkward and perhaps unnecessary. Consider revising those two sentences or omitting them entirely. At the very least, italicize ‘this’ rather than typing it in all caps.

This was because he had no idea what he was running towards. But he still had to find it. Tails' birthday (add) was a few hours away, and he still couldn't find him a present! He had searched across the entire planet for a great gift for him (omit) and still couldn't find something good (consider adding ‘enough’ to the end of the sentence; given that that would be redundant with the last sentence in the paragraph, it might just be better to end the sentence with ‘...and still couldn’t find anything’)! He searched for tools to help him with his machines, but he seemed to have everything he needed. He searched for toys and games, but everything was either too expensive, or not cool enough. He couldn't find anything that he thought was good enough to give to Tails!

The repetition of ‘He searched’ works well here, adding emphasis where it should. Noting that Sonic searched the entire planet is a rather clever turn of phrase. For any other character, it would be obvious hyperbole. Yet Sonic’s speed makes a more literal interpretation plausible.

There were only three things that Sonic loved more than anything else in the world: Chili Dogs, Kicking Eggman's Ass, and his little bro, Tails. So you could see why Sonic was so concerned about finding him a present.

The use of profanity here and in other parts of the story is unnecessary. It accomplishes nothing save feeling forced and immature. If used at all, it should be sparingly and with appropriate gravity. There should be weight to its use, with the profanity drawing attention to the forcefulness of a statement rather than itself. Even then, it would feel out of place in a Sonic story in almost any context. It didn’t work in Shadow’s game, and it doesn’t work here. Besides, Sonic himself uses the word ‘butt’ over ‘ass’ anyway, as with the nickname ‘Robuttnik’.

Cut the second sentence in the paragraph and expand on the first instead. Also, neither ‘Chili’ nor ‘Dogs’ should be capitalized here (nor should ‘Ass’, for that matter). Finally, note that the second sentence should not be written in second person. Never use the word ‘you’ in writing outside of dialogue.

Finally, just before dawn, Sonic had almost given up. He knew he had to get him (add the last letter, though the typo is rather humorous), something, but he had no luck finding the perfect gift. Looking around, he found one store that he had missed. A small Chinese antique shop, in the middle of an alley. Sonic walked in without thinking, hoping that something inside would be perfect for Tails.

Inside were several trinkets, statues and who knows (replace with ‘knew’; stay in past tense) what else, all covered with dust and cobwebs. Sonic could've sworn that he had seen the (add) place in one of the billions of scary movies he had watched. At the back of the shop, (omit) was a very elderly young (omit unless you’re going for a paradox, in which case this needs explaining) man, Mr. Wing, who was peacefully dusting off an old chess set, while a little boy, his grandson, sat bored.

The hyperbolic use of ‘billions’ here feels unnecessary. It’s not adding any particularly meaningful emphasis and just comes across as awkward. I recommend replacing it with ‘countless’, ‘many’, or something similar. There’s nothing objectively wrong with it, mind you; it’s just one of those issues I can’t quite put my finger on.

There’s a shift in narration type here that shouldn’t be present. Everything previous is tight third person, meaning that it’s essentially from Sonic’s perspective. Yet here the narration is omnipresent, identifying Mr. Wing’s name and the fact that the boy is his grandson. Don’t have the narration tell us this directly. Instead, have the characters introduce themselves through dialogue. Alternatively, Sonic could deduce that the boy is Wing’s grandson by observing physical similarities between the two.

Sonic walked carefully to the desk, making sure not to break anything.

The last half of the sentence is a nice bit of subtle, character-driven humor.

"Excuse me, sir?"

Mr. Wing remained silent.

"Can you help me, (add) sir? I was in the neighborhood, and I was kinda hoping to find a gift for my brother."

Still no response.

"He's really into machines, and inventing, and I was hoping you'd have something that would interest him."

Silence.

Having asked three times, and gotten no answer, he consulted the boy.

"Hey kid, is your grandpa alright, or something?"

"He just likes doing his work. He doesn't like being disturbed."

"That helps a lot."

While one doesn’t always need to qualify dialogue with ‘Sonic said’ or something similar, I find it a good idea to do so for sarcastic statements. Adding something like ‘Sonic sighed’ or ‘Sonic replied dryly’ after “That helps a lot” would help. That’s just a personal preference, however.

Suddenly, Sonic heard a thump from the corner of the store. Looking in that direction, he saw a dusty old wooden box. Moving towards it, he opened (add) the box, and came across something he had never seen before, in all of his adventures. Now, (add) Sonic had met lots of strange creatures and people in his journeys. A powerful monster made of water, a flying creature that loved ice cream, hell, he had even met his younger self!

Replace the commas (save the one after ‘hell’) in the last sentence with semicolons. Replace ‘hell’ with ‘heck’ (see comments above).

But he had never seen this.

In the box was a small creature, with long ears, stubby arms with tiny hands, brown and white fur, and a patch of white fur around it's (replace with its) right eye. It seemed to like Sonic, and started singing.

"Woah!", (I believe this comma should be deleted; at least, that’s what grammar check is saying. I can tell something should be done about it, though I must admit that the usage of commas in dialogue has never been a strong point of mine) he said with excitement. "What is that?"

The boy responded, "A Mogwai. He does that sometimes."

Sonic closed the box and returned to the desk.

"That thing is awesome! Tails will love it! I'll take him! How much?" Sonic said, whipping out a whole lot of money he had (add) saved for Tails' gift.

Replace ‘a whole lot of’ with ‘the’. If you want to emphasize that the amount of a large one, also add ‘sizable amount of’ or something similar.

Mr. Wing finally spoke. "No."

"W-what?" Sonic replied. "Come on, I'll give you 500 bucks for him!"

"No."

"You don't understand! That's the perfect gift for my bro! I can't find anything else to give him!"

"I'm sorry. Mogwai not for sale."

The boy quickly cut in. "But Grandfather, we need the money!"

"Mogwai requires great responsibility! I cannot sell him for any price."

Mr. Wing walked away and through the back door.

Sonic sighed. "I guess I'll have to settle for a gift card. Man, he'll be pissed." He walked off when the boy grabbed his arm.

Revise the first part of the last sentence into ‘He was walking off when’.

The use of ‘pissed’ is problematic, and not just because it’s a crudity. Portraying Tails as angry paints him in a negative light and feels out of character. Having him be disappointed would be more fitting.

The boy whispered, "Meet me around the corner in an hour."

Sonic nodded with confusion, but complied. In an hour, he was waiting around the corner, where nobody was at. He was anxious, as the sun was rising while he was waiting. The boy came running to him with the Mogwai's box.

The phrase ‘where nobody was at’ is very awkward. Replace it with ‘which was deserted’.

 

I kid, I kid. Anyway, I'm in the camp that Mobius shouldn't be tied to Earth at all. Trying to force a connection feels contrived regardless of the approach, and it doesn't add anything particularly meaningful from a world building standpoint. Having sentient, anthropomorphic analogues of Earth species isn't going to make sense anyway, so it's better to not dwell on it and let suspension of disbelief handle the rest.

 

I thought it added an interesting aspect to the overall premise. I mean, Mobian society is basically a prosperous utopian culture being threatened by Robotnik and his industrial corporate empire. Most people like to imagine the future like Mobius, all green and natural; while Robotnik's empire represents the greed and corruption of the past. It's basically new age vs. old age respectively.

 

Interesting that you put it that way, as my own conception is essentially the exact opposite. I see in Mobian society romantic fantasy. Castles, kings and princesses, wizards, all of it is often associated with a sort of mythic past, most notably Arthurian legend. Robotnik, by contrast, embodies modern industry, centered around efficiency at any cost. In struggling to overthrow Robotnik, the Freedom Fighters are in a sense attempting to validate the existence of romantic ideals in the face of today's cynical world.

Tolkien explores something similar in The Lord of the Rings, with Isengard embodying a more modern, industrialized world threatening to overtake a romantic fantasy world. SatAM just takes the concept much further, allowing Isengard to win, so to speak, and placing this conflict at the core of its narrative.

In fact, he kinda looks like Naugus. Doesn't he?

And now I have a mental image of Naugus taking a bubble bath. So much for getting any sleep tonight.

Regardless, this hideous abomination is what always comes to mind when I think of Underground extras. To be fair, it's from the first episode. It's possible the series improved as it went on...though given I only made it through a handful of episodes before giving up, I don't know.

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The Power Rings harness the same form of energy used by the Deep Power Stones, which are magical. This implies that Uncle Chuck found a way to tap into an existing source of power and did not create one.

I strongly suspect that Sea3on will touch on this matter soon, given the developments thus far, especially in the current chapter.

I was under the impression that Knothole was a shelter set up for refugees in the event the war took a turn for the worse. Keeping its location secret from the military, and by extension Robotnik, makes sense, as any knowledge they held was vulnerable to interrogation in the event of capture.

As for why Robotnik doesn't just bomb the Great Forest or use some similar method of mass destruction, part of it is a matter of pride. He wants to defeat the Freedom Fighters directly, on his own terms, rather than having to resort to something more impersonal. Snively has similar reasons in Sea3on. Though more willing to do whatever it takes, he ultimately wants to prove to himself that he can accomplish what his hated uncle could not and thus places similar limitations on himself.

The main reason, however, is once again more thematic than literal. The core conflict in the series is in many respects one of freedom versus enslavement. Roboticization is the embodiment of the latter, not death. For evil to win, the heroes must not be conquered only physically, but mentally and spiritually. Only by truly breaking them can Robotnik achieve total victory.

This is also why Robotnik only attempts to kill using firearms as a last resort, preferring capture and Roboticization. Though it would provide more satisfaction than a weapon of mass destruction, even direct killing is insufficient to truly defeat an opponent.

While we're speculating, it's important to consider the message on the scroll Knuckles gave Sally:

Chaos is Power.

Power Enriched by the Heart.

Power forged by the Fires of Time, shapeless as Wind and shifting as Water.

Power to enlighten. Power to be feared.

Power beyond Judgment.

Chaos is Power.

Sally notes at the start of Chapter 4 that the scroll refers to seven different kinds of power stemming from Chaos. The capitalization of the scroll's text presumably indicates what these kinds are. Heart, Time, Wind, Water, and Judgment are clearly among the seven. That leaves Power, Fires, and Enriched, one of which is not among the seven.

Power fits the syntactical format of the clear five, but the list refers to different kinds of power, so including power in general as part of the list makes little sense.

Fires is directly associated with Time, while Enriched is linked to Heart. Enriched is odd in that it is a verb, while the others are all nouns. Enrichment is also a more abstract concept than the others mentioned; it is difficult to conceive how it might be embodied.

Of the three in question, Fires seems the most likely to be one of the seven, leaving it down to Enrichment and Power.

When these eight things are compared to the items seen in today's page, a number of connections are obvious. Time corresponds to the Time Stones. Wind refers to the Wind Crystal. The Deep Power Stones could fit with Power, of course, but I can also see Heart working, given that they were largely a metaphor for inner strength.

Lazaar's computer doesn't have an obvious correlation with any of the eight. I can see Judgment arguably fitting, however, given that it was associated with evil and forbidden knowledge.

I suppose it's also possible that Chaos is one of the seven, with its representation being a conventional Chaos Emerald. The green object in today's page could be a roughly hewn one.

Yet another possibility is that the Deep Power Stones could embody two of the seven types, as they are drawn separately on today's page, while the Time Stones are drawn together. That could mean Power and Heart, but I'm starting to think that Power is not one of the seven. If the Deep Power Stones do represent two concepts, their opposing natures are likely the key. They are capable of incredible destruction, which would tie in strongest with Fires, though Judgment is arguably another possibility.

My current speculation is ultimately:

Chaos - Chaos Emerald

Judgment - Lazaar's Computer

Wind - Wind Crystal

Time - Time Stones

Fires - Deep Power Stones (Jagged configuration)

Heart - Deep Power Stones (Smooth configuration)

Water - Unknown greyed out object at the bottom center of the third panel

If you haven't read Sea3on, which is hosted on this site, start with that. In my eyes, at least, it's the definitive continuation of the series.

Beyond that, I recommend pretty much anything by Gojira007 (author of said comic) and FreedomFighter4, though I haven't read all of the latter's stories yet.

Gojira's pieces tend to be broader in scale, covering the war between the Freedom Fighters and Robotnik while still focusing heavily on character exploration. His work, though emotionally intense, is no more graphic than what was seen in the show.

Freedom's pieces tend to be even more character driven, with less focus on external conflict and minimal action. As a word of warning, her work definitely skews more toward the adult side of things. Nothing too graphic or explicit (again, based off what I've read so far; I haven't read her darker material yet), but a lot of it definitely falls under PG-13 or even R territory.

Both are surpremely talented writers whose work is consistently captivating and moving, using SatAM as a foundation and expanding upon its characters and world in incredible ways. Sally in particular is simply unparallaled under either pen.

http://sonicsatam.com/sea3on/?p=14

http://gojira007.deviantart.com/

http://freedomfighter4.deviantart.com/