Sonic. The Good, The Bad, and The Stupid.

Well, I just got the newest Sonic the Hedgehog comic book.

THE GOOD

They got a new artist, and he does very nice work. Especially the pics of Sally, Bunny, and Robotnic. Plus the continuing story of the Great War, which is telling us just what happened between the mobians and the overlanders. (humans)

THE BAD

Robotnic is back... Well, this seems to be a step backward to me. In fact, the title of the story is "Business as Usual". Robotnic is Roboticized now, so Sonic can destoy him over and over and over and they can just say he transfered his memory to a new robot before destruction. Though his different robot versions give him interesting new looks. (Wonder why he would pick a body that is intentionally fat if he built it himself.) Then again, this version of Robotnic is the most threatening to date.

THE STUPID

Back at the Redwall thread, somebody gave a URL to a site that had info about a Redwall cartoon. (I just finished Redwall btw.) I found on that site what appears to be a new Sonic cartoon called "Sonic Underground" Here is the only info I could find on this site:

On the far-off Planet Mobius, Sonic the Hedgehog is reunited with his long-lost siblings, Sonia and Manic. Together, they form a band and fight to overthrow Robotnik, the evil genius who rules the planet and has outlawed everything fun or creative, including music. Robotnik was warned that Mobius would one day be ruled in peace by a committee of four: Sonic, Sonia, Manic, and their mother, Queen Aleena.

To prevent this prophecy from coming to fruition, Robotnik knows he must capture not only Aleena, who is in hiding, but also Sonic and his band. There's never a dull moment as this supercool trio searches for the queen and attempts to reinstall her as the rightful leader of Mobius.

Well, as my topic states, STUPID! Sonic's mom is not the queen! It seems to completely forget Sally and the rest of the Freedom Fighters! Sonic getting some siblings might be a good idea, but not in place of Sally, Tails, and Bunny!

You will also notice it said " Robotnik, the evil genius who rules the planet and has outlawed everything fun or creative, including music." This was a warning bell for me, makes it sound like music is a big deal to the story. (It does call them a band.) Whereas freedom and survival seem to be much more important to the previous series.

Anyway, what do you guys think?

Sincerely,

Chip Lundsmark aka The JediChipmunk

Chipper
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I've actually seen Sonic Underground. Trust me. I know. It's worse than it sounds.

I'm also a subscriber to the UK Sonic comic (rather imaginatively called 'Sonic the Comic'), but I'm considering canceling; they used to do four inspired new stories each fortnight, now they just do one average new story and three repeats from past issues.

Sadly, it seems that the comic book is a dying art.

Knightram
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Chipper said:"They got a new artist, and he does very nice work."

Yeah; Fry did better than I expected.

BTW, he's also pencilling the Stone Cold Steve Austin comic--hmm, wonder if Strider knows?

"Robotnic is back... Well, this seems to be a step backward to me. In fact, the title of the story is "Business as Usual". Robotnic is Roboticized now, so Sonic can destoy him over and over and over and they can just say he transferred his memory to a new robot before destruction."

This kinda sets the stage for an adaptation of the game Sonic Adventure. (Why else did you think they went to all that trouble to give Sonic his new look? ;)

"I found on that site what appears to be a new Sonic cartoon called "Sonic Underground" "

There's been a -lot- of talk in the Sonic fandom about that. It aired in France months ago and is supposed to air in the U.S. this fall. General consensus was that it -stinks-. Did you read a copy of Sonic Super Special #10? Archie wrote that off as "just another alternate dimension" thing (thank goodness!)

Kat
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Re: Sonic. The Good, The Bad, and The Stupid.

Sally, Bunnie, and the rest of the Knothole gang weren't forgotten about, Chipper. They're just being ditched. It's best to treat Sonic Underground like it is presented in Sonic Super Special #10: As an alternate Mobius where alternate things happen.

As for Robotnik's appearance, the studious reader will not that Robotnik--Mach 2 currently resembles the Dr. Robotnik in the Sonic video games (also known as Dr. Eggman in the Japanese versions). This has very obviously been done to appease SEGA, and I find it very convienent that we are just about to slide into a very lengthy adaptation of the new Dreamcast game, "Sonic Adventure."

I'd have to disagree on the drawing, I much prefer the way Sally looked in Knuckles #29 to the way she looks in Sonic #76. But I guess beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, except where Robotnik is concerned!

One thing really frightens me about the direction the Sonic books are headed: Karl Bollers has basically granted himself a license to do whatever he wants to the Sonic universe (at least whatever he can get away with). Robo-Robotnik (Robotnik--Mach 2) can be destroyed and reassert himself indefinitely. And if things ever get too messed up, the original Robotnik can always come back (they've still left that possibility open). It could end up like that season of Dallas where everything got so screwed up the writers ended up making an entire season just a dream!

One other thing bothers me too: Sonic and Knuckles mistrusted each other for years, but finally buried the hatchet and became friends after "Endgame." One should also remember that Sally urged Sonic not to fight with Knuckles on several occasions (including the Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles Special and the S&K Mecha Madness Special). So, of course, Sally breaks off her friendship with Knuckles at her earliest convenience. This is leadership in the true Dilbert fashion--I inspected Sally's hair closely in the last pages of the book to see if it was turning black and pointy.

Another fine example of that timeless phrase "Do as I say, not as I do." Then again, given her father's poor leadership abilities, I'd say that's about par for the course for the Acorn family. And here I was hoping that Sal would've been a revolutionary. She could make a darn good one with people like Sonic and Bunnie to back her up. They're rather passionate about fighting for their cause!

I think I'm kind of rambling on now, so this is a good place to stop! But everybody think about all the stuff I just said, 'kay?

Chris
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Mach 2???

I wonder if someone slipped up on that. The second version of something is called Mark 2, while Mach 2 means "twice the speed of sound".

I dunno, can this new improved robotnik run at over 1,200 miles per hour?

B^D

Karl
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Karl S. said:"I dunno, can this new improved robotnik run at over 1,200 miles per hour?"

I don't think so. Looks like K. Bollers messed up yet again.

Kat
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Hey, Chris!

Did you read Dan Drazen's review of Sonic #76?

And I agree with you about Karl Bollers, the guy who gave us (ugh!) Nate Morgan ;P

Kat
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Hey yourself, Kat!

Nah, didn't read it yet. In fact, I haven't even read Sonic #76 yet. I bought it, I just haven't read it. I only read Knuckles #29 yesterday (I had read the Sally coloring sequence earlier, and that's why my comment appears on it in Dan's review--it infuriated me so I strongly suspect Ken suppressed the urge to insert a "Princess Dye" joke out of respect for the dead).

Isn't it just so wonderful to know we only have two issues yet before the Sonic Adventure adaptation comes? Looks to me like it will be four months of mind-numbing crap! It angers me that they're using up two issues of Knuckles on it, because that book is presented so much better. I've been very pleased with the past 5 isuues. But since Knux is about to go bi-monthly, I feel like I'm losing hope. Hey! Is anyone else out there worried about the fact that they ALREADY have plans for Sonic #100? This means that we are basically going to be strung along, and if any of the stories between now and then take too long to tell, they'll have to rush through some other stuff. I really wish they would distance themselves more from the video games. The Sonic in the games and the Sonic in the comic have almost nothing in common except name and appearance.

I've been worried about the state of the Sonic books ever since the Sabrina crossover. As far as I'm concerned, the fact that somebody even presented this idea is a bad joke. The fact that the person who submitted it wasn't laughed out of the office is an even worse joke. And the fact that the whole thing ever saw print and is now a part of Sonic history is, well, a joke on us!

I do, however, retain hope. It is my fond hope that someday, the REAL Robotnik will return, and everything will return to normal. There will always be, however, mistakes we are stuck with:

Mistake #1--Nate Morgan--Nate just doesn't fit into this Brave New World. Speaking of which, I thought Sonic and the gang were supposed to be boldly exploring a world like none of them had experienced before. It seems to me they are rapidly exploring a mundane new world and that Bollers is taking us place we've already been before, in some cases more than once! But I digress, let's get back to Nate. As far as I'm concerned, there's only room for two Overlanders, Robotnik and Snively. Snively is comic relief, and Robotnik is the malevolent evil force. Having an Overlander of purity only serves to diminish the other characters. Besides that, Nate rarely does anything all that important, as far as I'm concerned.

Mistake #2--Prince Elias--Don't get me wrong here, it's not that I think Elias is such a bad character. I actually think he's a pretty cool guy. Unfortunately, he doesn't quite seem to fit in. I was perfectly content with Queen Max and Princess Sally, these stories didn't need another royal person coming along to mess things up. Don't they know what happens when you have too much government?!? Of course, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Elias is actually a robot. Perhaps his mission is to ascend to the throne and reconquer the kingdom for Robotnik. There is evidence to support this theory! Remember, originally, the Sally we now know and love was supposed to have really died from her fall in Sonic #47, this Sally would have been a robot duplicate. The Powers That Be nixed Ken's original plan on that one, but who's to say it completely died? Also, the Prince has been away since just before Robotnik took over, Robotnik could have roboticized him as a young boy. And finally, we now know the Robo-Robotnik extracted the memories of the organic Robotnik, so he could easily know that Elias as a robot and this is all part of his plan. Of course, I could also just be a paranoid lunatic!

Mistake #3--Changing Sonic's and Robotnik's appearances--This served no purpose whatsoever, all it did was change their appearance (for the worse, as far as I'm concerned). Although I'm sure they were under a lot of pressure from SEGA to do this, I just don't understand what purpose it served other than to carry us ever farther from the old SatAM series. That's one giant leap backwards where I stand, but I guess some people prefer it. At least the people making these books do!

Chris
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more ranting

I'm -still- waiting for KtE #29 to come in the mail, but I got StH#76 a few days ago. It was okay--nothing that I'd e-mail myself about, though.

"The Sonic in the games and the Sonic in the comic have almost nothing in common except name and appearance."

Definitely!

"As far as I'm concerned, the fact that somebody even presented this idea is a bad joke."

Isn't Mike Gallagher infamous for bad jokes? ;D

All kidding aside, I agree with you.

"Mistake #1--Nate Morgan--Nate just doesn't fit into this Brave New World. Speaking of which, I thought Sonic and the gang were supposed to be boldly exploring a world like none of them had experienced before. It seems to me they are rapidly exploring a mundane new world and that Bollers is taking us place we've already been before, in some cases more than once!"

[nods]

I couldn't have said it any better myself. Also, Nate was the one who got rid of Naugus, not Sonic. Plus he seems to have replaced Rotor...plus he's credited with the creation of the power rings. And, like Drazen once said, he seems to be little more than a walking plot device. All of that just doesn't sit well with me. Nate just smells too much like a "Mary Sue" character to me.

"Mistake #2--Prince Elias--Don't get me wrong here, it's not that I think Elias is such a bad character. I actually think he's a pretty cool guy. Unfortunately, he doesn't quite seem to fit in. I was perfectly content with Queen Max and Princess Sally, these stories didn't need another royal person coming along to mess things up. "

My sentiments exactly.

"The Powers That Be nixed Ken's original plan on that one, but who's to say it completely died?"

On the one hand, Elias was Bollers' idea, not Penders'. On the other hand, Penders -does- consult with Bollers...

"And finally, we now know the Robo-Robotnik extracted the memories of the organic Robotnik"

Er, I think you should read StH #76...

"Mistake #3--Changing Sonic's and Robotnik's appearances--This served no purpose whatsoever, all it did was change their appearance (for the worse, as far as I'm concerned)."

And as far as I'm concerned, too.

"Although I'm sure they were under a lot of pressure from SEGA to do this"

They certainly -are-!!

[Looks around for Penders' post on that subject--then remembers that she didn't _save_ it!!]

"I just don't understand what purpose it served other than to carry us ever farther from the old SatAM series."

I think that's the purpose SEGA's people had in mind ;(

"That's one giant leap backwards where I stand,"

Same here. It might cause me to drop my subscription!

Kat
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Hey? What's so bad about Nate?

Well, I agree on almost every point, except one. What's wrong with Nate Morgan. Quite a while ago I wrote a letter and asked, "just why does every human have to be evil?" I like the guy, though I can see you point about not having seen Rotor in a while. The fact that he is an old man and not a kid keeps us from labeling him as a "mary sue" character.

As for Sonic's appearance, I think his eyes changing to green because of that emerald isn't a bad thing, but the statement that his shoes now have buckles because of it is absurd!

The Sabrina and Sonic crossover, skimmed through it at the store, put it down, and backed away quickly...

I have no qualms about Prince Elias either way. At least he solved the problem of King Acorn wanting Sally to marry Antoine! (shudder) They should expand upon Antoine and Bunnie more too. If they get married, then even if Elias turns out to be a phoney, the King can't order Sally to marry him.

Sincerely,

Chip Lundsmark aka The JediChipmunk

Chipper
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Er, hold on...

Chipper said:"The fact that he is an old man and not a kid keeps us from labeling him as a "mary sue" character."

Hold on! In what way? Keep in mind the -Writer- isn't a kid, either. ;)

The way Nate got rid of Naugus was lame. Sonic & Tails got their clocks cleaned by that wizard--and yet Nate takes him out with his eyepiece which oh-so conveniently had a small Power Ring in it. Furthermore, the business with the Power Rings makes him seem more important than Uncle Chuck (who was once shown making a power ring in an old issue)--and make Chuck seem like a complete nobody. And who just happened to conveniently point out a space shuttle when the Freedom Fighters found out about the space platform? Nate. The fact Nate's on good terms with King Max doesn't help, either.

Kat
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Keep on Ranting!

Don't get me started on King Max, Chipper! He's made a lot of dubious decisions in his lifetime. Personally, I don't think that he trusts Sonic, and that is the cause of some of the problems. I think Max resents the fact that Sonic has basically been the one who has saved the kingdom several times. Sonic defeated Robotnik (the original). Sonic defeated Ixus Naugus. Sonic brough Nate Morgan back. Also, I don't think he appreciates the way Sonic has put his hands on his daughter. I mean, way back in the both classic and controversial "The Ultimatum," when Sally alluded to the fact that she might possibly maybe be thinking sometime in the not too near future of maybe talking to Sonic about getting married, maybe, Max launches into this tirade of how it is completely out of the question. Now, bear in mind that he wants Sally to marry Antoine, as the Source dictates. Call me crazy, but if you want someone to do something,

screaming and yelling at them is usually not the best way to motivate them. Perhaps of Max had used some more creative parenting, he would've said something more like, "Well, honey, I was hoping that you would consider the young D'Coolette boy as a prospective husband. The Source did reccomend him, after all."

Granted, Sally still would've said something to the effect of, "Yeah, right, I'll talk to him about it; right after I send in my application to join the Robotnik Fan Club." But at least then the two of them wouldn't have been on such horrible terms for all that time. I strongly suspect that Max gets his parenting tips from Haven, that's the only explanation I can think of! It was about time Sally read her father the riot act in Knuckles #29, now I just wish some of the other Mobians would! Or else someone really needs to found the Foundation for the Abolition of All Monarchies. I could see Bunnie doing that to protect Anotine from being stolen! In the meantime, Sally could found the National Organization for Women (Mobian Chapter).

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a feminist, but no one tells me who I have to marry!

What was my original point? Oh yeah! King Max! I think I liked it better when he was still a crystal, at least then his irrational behavior as explainable! Of course, I still don't really understand his recovery, so what does it matter, right?

Chris
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minor correction & stuff

Malachite said:"Sonic defeated Ixus Naugus."

Er, technically Nate defeated him with his little, magic eyepiece.

But I see your point.

However, this barely begins to explain Max's attitude. Heh, maybe he -did- learn his parenting skills from "the old farts at Haven". :D

" Of course, I still don't really understand his recovery..."

Me, neither. I quit trying to figure it out a long time ago. ;P

"It was about time Sally read her father the riot act in Knuckles #29"

She did? Man, I -really- need to get a copy of that issue--a _lot_ of people are talking about it!

Kat
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Well, you're right about the Naugus thing, but what I meant was that Sonic is generally given the credit.

As for King Max, I basically think he's just there to rile everybody up every now and then. But I is becoming feasible that at some point, he may become an antagonist to the other characters. One can only hope! Until then, let's just leave him ranked up there with good ol' Geoff. After all, everybody hates him!

Chris
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He's an unwelcome -upstart-!!

When Nate first appeared in the comic, I thought this apathetic overlander might contribute something -interesting- for a brief time.

He seems to have become part of the Major Cast now,-- to the point of displacing some characters who used to have major (or at least reoccuring) roles! It seems, to me, that he has practically taken over the book. Does anybody else here feel that way?

Kat
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He is?

Stuff said by Kat in " "

"He seems to have become part of the Major Cast now,-- to the point of displacing some characters who used to have major (or at least reoccuring) roles! It seems, to me, that he has practically taken over the book. Does anybody else here feel that way?"

Taken over the book? Kat, he got two panels at the bottom of one page in the last issue, how is that taking over? He gets about as much page time as Elias, which isn't much.

And I may be wrong, but I think the reason we are not seeing Rotor is because he left to go search for his family in the arctic. (That was a few issues back.) Maybe we will see him soon in a back-of-the-book-filler-story soon.

"The way Nate got rid of Naugus was lame. Sonic & Tails got their clocks cleaned by that wizard--and yet Nate takes him out with his eyepiece which oh-so conveniently had a small Power Ring in it. Furthermore, the business with the Power Rings makes him seem more important than Uncle Chuck (who was once shown making a power ring in an old issue)--and make Chuck seem like a complete nobody. And who just happened to conveniently point out a space shuttle when the Freedom Fighters found out about the space platform?"

The eyepiece was a hidden weapon, and a quite clever one I think. Lot better than Sonic's

run-around-the-bots-and-melt-the-sidewalk thing we saw last issue. You do have a good point about him finding the space shuttle, but they needed to get up there somehow.

"Hold on! In what way? Keep in mind the -Writer- isn't a kid, either. ;)"

The writer isn't a kid, but I kind of doubt he is an old man too. Nate seems like a senior citizen to me.

"The fact Nate's on good terms with King Max doesn't help, either."

Very True...

Sincerely,

Chip Lundsmark aka The JediChipmunk

Chipper
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Chipper said:"Taken over the book? Kat, he got two panels at the bottom of one page in the last issue, how is that taking over? "

Okay, so perhaps I exaggerated a little. Still, he has a habit of popping up a lot. Have you read the previews for Sonic #79 (the beginning of the Sonic Adventure storyline)?? Nate plays a -major- part in it.

"And I may be wrong, but I think the reason we are not seeing Rotor is because he left to go search for his family in the arctic. (That was a few issues back.)

That's just an excuse Bollers used to write Rotor out of the book ;P

"Maybe we will see him soon in a back-of-the-book-filler-story soon."

I seriously doubt it, especially with the Super Specials in jeopardy of cancellation.

"The eyepiece was a hidden weapon, and a quite clever one I think"

Clever? It reminded me of Cyclops' eye beams.

"Lot better than Sonic's run-around-the-bots-and-melt-the-sidewalk thing we saw last issue."

Well, yeah, -that- was kinda lame, too. :D :)

"Nate seems like a senior citizen to me."

True. He has to be if he's been around long before the Great War. Age isn't a factor when it comes to whether or not the character is an upstart.

Kat
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The End of the Dynasty?

Does anyone else feel like the Acron Dynasty is going to come to an end soon? I don't know about the rest of you, but I can smell the scent of death all over it. They've been challenged by everyone over the past years! The Overlanders, Robotnik, Ixis Naugus, Mammoth Mogul, and now Robo-Robotnik. Not only this, but the Floating Island has now turned it's back on them. Max and Sally aren't getting along, so it's suffering from internal conflict. And the Queen certainly won't be making any royal decisions anytime soon. Elias may be the only one that can help at this point, but he's been away from home for so long..........let's face the facts, if it weren't for Sonic, they Dynasty would have collapsed already. But even with Sonic's help, I don't see how they can last much longer!

Chris
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Malachite said:"Does anyone else feel like the Acron Dynasty is going to come to an end soon? "

[::Kat raises her hand::]

" They've been challenged by everyone over the past years! The Overlanders,Robotnik, Ixis Naugus, Mammoth Mogul, and now Robo-Robotnik."

Quite true. But they're still alive--er, for the moment.

"Max and Sally aren't getting along, so it's suffering from internal conflict."

Absolutely!

"And the Queen certainly won't be making any royal decisions anytime soon."

Yeah--unless she miraculously comes out of her coma soon.

"let's face the facts, if it weren't for Sonic, they Dynasty would have collapsed already"

Maybe. Hmm, perhaps this is one reason he (King Max) resents Sonic so much... (?)

Kat
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They may be holding on for the time being, but I think they are in serious trouble. The Brotherhood of Haven said it perfectly. Basically, because the Acorn family is unwilling to change the ways of their society and the way they wage war, they are doomed. That's why the Bortherhood rejected Sally's proposal of an alliance in K29. Frankly, I don't see how the FF's can win against Robo-Robotnik unless they're willing to fight as dirty as he is. He has far more advantages over them than the original Robotnik ever did, most notably he's got the Robians working for him now and he can access any info they might have. The Kingdom is in no position to fight a war. And since Knothole's location is not unknown to Robo-Robotnik, they aren't too secure. This is classic writing: The Bortherhood is trying to force Sally and

her family to look at the world in shades of grey, but all Max and Sally can see is black and white. But I feel that soon, they are going to be forced to either surrender or start fighting in ways they'd rather not, and that's when the real fun will begin!

Chris
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Sort of how Sisco did in DS9.

Chipper
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Agreed, but...

...what confuses me is the fact that Sally resorted to "fighting dirty" in the Mecha Madness story arc (when she ordered Rotor to roboticize Knux to fight Mecha Sonic), and yet is unwilling to even _consider_ Spectre's suggestion.

What's up with that?

Kat
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Loose Continuity

Gee, the subject really says it all, doesn't it Kat? I can't think of much to add to it, except maybe this: Sal could've felt that it wasn't so bad to roboticize Knuckles for a skirmish, but she's not about to stoop to robotnik's level for the duration of a war. Clearly, she saw that option as a "When All Else Fails" tactic.

The amusing thing is, I can't picture Sonic making all that big a deal of it. After his "Fight to the Death" at the end of Endgame, I think it was pretty clear that Sonic had reached the breaking point. Clearly, "The Ends Justify The Means" should become a major debate for the characters in this book. But that might make it a bit too dramatic for SEGA's tastes......

Chris