WB The Keeper Of The Cosmic Icky Stick And Your Friendly Neighborhood Goofus! :O) James Fry Explains Mina The Mongoose's Speed **slaps forehead** I have NO IDEA why I didnt think of this before......I already knew this and it still never hit me. :P This was in response to the mailinglist reviews. Anyway - here's what he said: From: DV8Fry@aol.com Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2000 13:27:58 EST Subject: Re: Misc. Sonic #90 comments Message-ID: <76.534d6f2.27515eae@aol.com> Um... not surprisingly, many of you are overthinking this whole Mina thing. She's not a robot, and her speed did not come from contact with Sonic, at least not the way you seem to mean that. Mina is (we probably didn't make this clear enough) a MONGOOSE. That's it. That's why she's fast. Them critters are awfully speedy here in the real world; we wanted Sonic's potential new love interest (that's right) to have something in common with him that Sally didn't; bam! She's a mongoose. As to why she'd never run that fast before, think of it as being like that X-Men style "super-powers-not-manifesting-until-the-onset-of-puberty-or- extreme-imminent-danger-or-both" kinda thing. Yes, this opens up several 55-gallon drums of worms. Like, say, why was being attacked by Swat-Bots sufficiently traumatic to bring out Mina's hidden talent, but her family being Roboticized wasn't? Or how about this: to what degree would any of the other characters mirror the abilities or tendencies of their real-world animal counterparts? Is Mina the first? I dunno. I just draw the damn thing. [...] FRY2K Well it makes sense. Mongeese _ARE_ naturally some of the fastest creatures in the world. They have to, to be able to tackle snakes as well as they do in RL. Ever seen Chuck Jones' "Rikki Tikki Tavi"? To be honest I do sorta like the natural bit better than the queries I had come up with myself Its better than the whole PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWERS bit. ^________^ Ah well - sets my mind at ease. ^^ Now about this new love interest thing.... ------ Vortex Representative of the S.P.A. I loved Rikki Tikki Tavi And that dose makes sense, but not as much as it should. There are 2 main reasons people overlooked that. One most people I know have no idea what a mongoose is. Second sense when have any of the sonic creatures acted like the creature they are? Sonic is a hedgehog, not a creature known for its speed. It's just that the comics and the games never really stay close to the original creature. They stay similar but not anywhere near what the creature is really like. ------ Vector Mad Scientist & Game Music Fan Heh. Quote: I dunno. I just draw the damn thing. [...] FRY2K I like that response. :P Umm, it sorta makes sense, and sorta doesn't. Like Vortex said, Sonic characters rarely have many traits that have anything to do with their species. The only examples I can think of are Espio and Charmy. I actually LIKE it that way. But this opens up another prob. She isn't as fast as Sonic, is she? If she is, then doesn't that mean all the mongooses are? And what about cheetahs? Anyway, I actually like the relationship idea, sorta. I don't really think they need to have one, but from what I've heard, I like Mina more than Sally or Amy. Unlike Amy, she doesn't sound ditzy, and unlike Sally, she isn't royal and actually looks quite SegaSonicish in style. It's not having original chars that I have a problem with, I'd just like to see some style consistency. :P ------ LianneKa Echidna Knux Nut & Animation Fan Re: Ooohhhh Actually, according to some UK Dreamcast Magazine (DC-UK? It wasn't official) Hedgehogs, in the fret of danger, run like the wind. and are really fast. Knuckles is a great digger, as is a real Echidna. Although in the real world, Foxes don't fly (the kitsune ledgends may though), and most probably eat hedgehogs and echidnas, also cats, and wouldn't mind mauling a man either ------- Joey McKlay Sonic HQ Staff Member Superhero- The Mongoose Hasn't anyone heard of "The Mongoose", a Marvel Comics character? He is easily the most LAME character in any comic, and I think he appeared in the 50's somewhere. He was this guy, who when dying, gets mongoose blood put in him to somehow keep him alive. And of COURSE, this makes him as fast as a mongoose! (Duh, of course it would!) So...he's fast...that's his power...*cough*THE FLASH*cough*. Oh well, they killed him off eventually. Man, did he DESERVE it. :P ------ DC HQ Forum Guest What I have to say... From the start I was a little suspicious that Archie might try to make Mina Sonic's girlfriend, they just made her too much like Sonic even from the start IMO. Anyway, I might tolerate this for a while, but I will NEVER except Mina as Sonic's girlfriend. Unlike Vector, I don't see a problem with Sally being royal, probably because she does not look, or act, too royal in my view. ------ Usa chan HQ Forumer My opinion on what might happen... Okay, here's my two cents on Mina possibly being Sonic's girlfriend. In a way I hope it happens, because think about it this way: Sonic is no longer going to wait around for Sally (because we all know she'll end up with you-know-who again), and it would be interesting to see Sonic gain another inerest for someone else. Now before you all flame me, my other opinion of this is that if Mina becomes Sonic's girlfriend, IT WILL ONLY BE TEMPORARILY! They may have a relationship for a while, and then somehow they'll break it off (Sally also did that to you-know-his-name in SSS2 ). It would be interesting to see this experimenting on the characters, so I have no complaints. ------ DC HQ Forum Guest That is about how I feel about this... whole Mina issue, on one hand it might be interesting for a while, but on the other if Sonic and Mina do become some kind of couple, I would say to Archie something like, PLEASE brake them up soon. ------ Bumper347 Sonic HQ Staff Member Chee... what a dope I am... Now what didn't I think of this.... I feel like a bloody idiot. Natural skill... Mina's not quite the first to show this side of the character off either. In addition to what the others have already mentioned, Rotor has shown obvious walrus-type resistence to cold temperatures, and has shown strong swimming in accordance to his race. I love what Fry said at the end of it though. Bumper ------ LoneWolf23 HQ Forumer "Um... not surprisingly, many of you are overthinking this whole Mina thing. She's not a robot, and her speed did not come from contact with Sonic, at least not the way you seem to mean that. Mina is (we probably didn't make this clear enough) a MONGOOSE. That's it. That's why she's fast. Them critters are awfully speedy here in the real world; we wanted Sonic's potential new love interest (that's right) to have something in common with him that Sally didn't; bam! She's a mongoose. As to why she'd never run that fast before, think of it as being like that X-Men style "super-powers-not-manifesting-until-the-onset-of-puberty-or- extreme-imminent-danger-or-both" kinda thing." Who did Fry pay to get that answer, Nate Morgan? That sounds worst then most Voyager plot resolutions. "Oh, she's a Mongoose, so she just tapped into her "Previously Unknown Natural Super-Speed" to escape those Combots. And that "Potential New Love Interest" line only shocks me as a sign that the Archie writing crew doesn't seem to think highly of the readers... "oh, and in case you hadn't realized, Mina's going to become Sonic's new potential love interest." WELL DUH!! Like we readers didn't see the huge effin' hints back in Sonic #76! Maybe, just maybe, if Archie had handled the matter with a hint of subtility (such as having Mina become friends with Elias or the like), maybe more of us fans would like this turn of events, as having Sonic and Mina suddenly get interested in each other (though there would've been hints in previous books), which would only add Soap-Opera like drama to the book. But, unfortunetly, the writers at Archie wouldn't know a subtle plot development if it drove a Tank through their office, with a bull-horn yelling out "LOOK AT ME, I'M A SUBTLE PLOT DEVELOPMENT!!" Worst yet, regarding this whole unsubtle, carefully choreographed mess of a plot-line, is that it required the key players, namely Sonic and Sally, being written so completly out of character as to make them mere shades of themselves. For just about the past 25 issues or so, Sonic's been a moping mess, crying about poor lost Uncle Chuck, while Sally's been pacing back and forth around her reunited family, wondering "what to do, what to do?" with each problem... Those are not the Sonic and Sally I learned to love watching SatAM and reading early issues of the Sonic books. Where is Sonic's rebellious, spirited but noble attitude? Where is Sally's determined confidence and courage? Apparantly, those weren't need for the purposes of these new stories, so Ken Penders and Karl Brollers conveniently neglected them. This isn't quality writing. ...This is barely adequate writing. Good plotlines happen because of how a character's personallity would react with a certain chain of events, not in spite of it. The Sally I knew and loved in both SatAM and early issues of Sonic was not the kind of woman to just bow her head and go "Yes Father" whenever he said something she disliked. She would have confronted him about it, and "Damn the Throne and the Inheritance!" if he didn't like her Attitude! The Sonic I know we all know and love wouldn't just mope around at the thought of his Uncle Chuck back under Robotnik's control, before stealing the Sword of Acorns' behind everyone's back. He would've called for a reunion of the Whole War council, told everyone of what he'd realized, then suggested they try to use the Sword of Acorn to somehow restore Uncle Chuck. And when King Acorn would've spoken against it, then he'd have told off the King, with Sally supporting Sonic during the whole darned debate! And even then, if the King had refused, Sonic wouldn't have done anything behind anyone's back. Sonic still has his Integrity. ...Not that Sonic wouldn't still get blamed for stealing the sword when it suddenly disappeared, stolen by someone else (Uma Arachna, anyone?), thus forcing Sonic to go get the sword to clear his own name again, with Sally holding the fort and buying him time back in Knothole, which would create a plotline similar to the one currently hacked up by the Archie team right now. But then, what do I know? I'm not a highly paied, professional writer like Ken Penders or Karl Brollers. Oh, and just so you know, I am now firmly in the SatAM camp again... Sonic and Sally 4-Ever! ------ Usa chan HQ Forumer WOW!! You know what I like LonwWolf, to make a story have a plot. Hey, YOU should write for the book, since you have so much creativity and great ideas. Do you write fanfics? ------ Sz 3 Sonic HQ Staff Member AMEN! I believe that accurately depicts my stance what LW just said... =P -Sz ------- ------- ROUND 2 ------- ------- IanJFlicky Insane Ruler of Flicky Island Wow, James Fry laid the Smackdown! [Ian note: Just putting this here for any one who doesn't get Ron's mailing list, or whoever's too lazy to look at a news site that will probably have this in a matter of hours: here's a transcript of the RDB mail, along with my wacky side comments] Ho-tay. Drazen wrote [about Mina]: Drazen: Face it, someone (Fred Gabrie, I'm guessing) pulled that one out of thin air because it was alliterative. Fry: Wrong and wrong again, Sparky. Mina was always intended to be a mongoose, hence my remark wondering whether or not we made her species clear from the beginning. In point of fact, she was a mongoose before she was named Mina. The character was originally named Chloe, and changed to Mina at the 11th hour because so many of this book's female characters' names end in that "long-e" sound: Sally, Bunnie, Rosie, Amy... you get the idea. But the mongoose thing (clearly labeled on the character-design sheet Spaz sent me), the super-speed and the maybe = girlfriend thing have all been part of the plan for ages. I'm not saying stuff never gets made up on the fly, just that this certainly isn't one of them. And, BTW, Jonathan is now my new best friend. Way to leap to the old guy's defense, JG. When the Commissioner needs us, your seat in the Frymobile is ready and waiting! [Ian Note: Dub has a new best friend. Awww. ^_^] Old, cranky and out of patience, FRY2K [Ian note: Nice sig you got there, Fry.] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Ian note: The next part is from another email] So. Drazen also wrote: Drazen: We fans (at least those of us who slammed on the brakes when Mina turned on the thrusters) don't ask for much when we hand over our two bucks a month to read Sonic. We want entertainment, sure, but we want it in a coherent form with logical continuity, believable characters, and (if it's not too much bother) a certain pride of craftsmanship. The fact of the matter is that you, Karl, Ken, Ron {Lim} and the rest of the creatives are going to have to fight to maintain our allegiance every time you put pen to paper or sit down at the keyboard. Fry: You realize, of course, that much of what you say you expect is highly subjective. As in, you want what you think of as logical continuity and believable characters. *snip snip* And we're trying to give you what we think of as same and hoping there are sufficient areas of overlap to keep most readers happy and buying the book. That's how this works: we tell the stories that we want to tell and that we hope you want to read. Even when we make a choice that seems potentially unpopular, we hope that, given enough time, we'll win you over. If there's a way to keep everybody happy, I hope someone has bottled it. If there is a universal or objective standard for this kind of thing, I never got the memo. As for pride of craftmanship, I daresay everyone who works regularly on this book has that by the bucketful. You're more than entitled to dislike what we do, of course. But snide insinuations that we're unconcerned about the quality of our work, that we're just going [through] the motions and collecting a (small) paycheck, well, that's just wrong. And mind-meltingly petty. [Ian Note: Ouch, "mind-melting". That stings...] Drazen: I've never thought of (mongooses) as being all that swift. The only thing I think of when I think of the species is their legendary enmity for all things serpentine. Fry: Hm. Well, yeah, there is the snake thing. But is there anybody else here not hip to the mongoose's speedy characterization? If not a real-world consideration (let's all go to www.nature.ca/notebooks/e...goose.htm, shall we?) , RDB note: which says they're "agile" and "quick", but doesn't really imply they're capable of sustained high speed ala cheetahs (and yes, I know their endurance isn't that great either...) But I doubt hedgehogs are all that quick either, so I'm willing to let the "speedy mongoose" part go as part of IOACB (it's only a comic book); I'm less thrilled about the deliberate dumping of Sally (even if only temporary) as his girlfriend and giving her replacement super-speed just to make her a better match for Sonic... But I suppose this is still better than Ken's Original Plan for Sally (though it wouldn't take much IMHO...)... *snip snip* Fry continues: there's certainly precedent in fictional contexts, including but notlimited to Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (thanks, Jon). C'mon! Let's see a show of hands. Mongoose = fast. Who's heard this before? [prepare for another neat sig] Hacking it out just to upset Dan, FRY2K [Ian note: hmm, Fry really anwered all of our questions. With a vengeance. ^__^ ...Though I really like Mina (at one time, she was my favorite new character), I must agree with Ron when he says that using super-speed as an explanation for a pairing of her and Sonic. I really wonder how this will all turn out. Hmmm..] ------ WB The Keeper Of The Cosmic Icky Stick And Your Friendly Neighborhood Goofus! :O) **sigh** Times Are Tough. ^____^ Doesn't he just kick ass ^^ I'm wondering if he's gonna go off on my review though ^^ I _was_ kinda miffed at the time..... :P **marks Fry off of his boot off a cliff list..........FR NOW !!!!!!!!!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA !!!!!!!!!!***