Well that's it... The Sonic Readthrough is over. In the last several weeks I have read 150 issues of Sonic (counting the 8 issues of Sonic Universe), from issue 101 to 242. So... Now the question is... What did I think of everything I read? Brace yourselves... This is my longest journal yet.
Honestly? It was REALLY, REALLY, REALLY good. All of it. No matter how much I complained, I enjoyed almost every issue I read (save for a select few which I will discuss). The thing is, that once I gave up reading Sonic after issue 100, I moved on almost exclusively to manga and superhero comics. Sonic the Hedgehog is closer to a fantasy comic than anything else that I can compare it to. There are superpowers and heroes, but it has such a different flavor than anything put out by Marvel or DC, and it's refreshing to read.
It's time for a bit of a story. When I was a little kid, I had to have my tonsils removed. My parents promised me they'd get me anything I wanted when I woke up from my anesthetic. What I asked for was a comic book. The first comic book I had ever had... and it was Sonic the Hedgehog issue 3. From that point on, every month until issue 100, I bought the comic and delighted to read it. I followed it through its gradual change from a gag-based comedy comic to a quite serious action-based series and loved EVERY SINGLE PANEL. Sonic the Hedgehog WAS my childhood. I didn't choose the username Supersonic250 for no reason.
I stopped reading in issue 100, because the writers had promised that Sonic would propose marriage to Princess Sally. Instead, we got a quite horrible milestone issue where nothing happened except that a minor character, Nate Morgan, was roboticized. A few issues later, they began a TRULY horrible parody of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (the original, NOT the version with Rocket Raccoon!), and I lost all interest in reading it altogether. Then I came under the misunderstanding that Mina Mongoose had caused Sonic and Sally to break up (although they DID break up for real), and I was done. I didn't even bother to keep up with events in the comic for years.
Then I met some friends who slowly began to tell me about the stuff I'd been missing. I didn't want to read it anymore, because I was still quite angry about my misunderstanding about Sally and Sonic's breakup. But a seed of curiosity had been placed, and I kept finding myself musing on coming back. I knew a website that is the biggest Sonic archive on the net, that has LITERALLY every single issue of every single Sonic comic and every episode of every TV show.
Finally, I was in a livestream with Norithics and some of my friends, and I finally couldn't hold off any longer. I made the promise to read EVERY issue I had missed. And now, I have. I can easily say that Sonic is one of the best comics I've ever read, and I'm back to being a die-hard fan.
Now... Since I've read literally every issue of the main series EVER (between my original fandom and my Epic Readthrough now)... I guess it's time to give my opinions on the highlights and lowlights of the series. The best and the worst.
First off, let's talk about characters. A LOT of people ask me who my favorite character is... And believe it or not, it's actually NOT Princess Sally... It's Sonic himself. It was Tails who actually made me a furry in the first place (being my first crush ever), then Amy who was my first girl-crush (back when she was named Rosie the Rascal), but honestly, it's Sonic himself who's kept me reading since issue 3. I love the character as he's written by Archie. Compassionate, cool, great sense of humor, and kick-butt fighting style.
...Admittedly, Sally IS my close second. Other characters I love are Bunnie, Nicole, and of course Tails.
Worst characters are easy. There are three of them: Mina Mongoose (DUH), Tommy Turtle, and the Forty Fathoms Freedom Fighters.
Now, I've ranted ad nauseum about Mina Mongoose, so I'm going to try HARD to be calm and logically state why Mina is the worst character in the Sonic canon. I will try to keep it brief too.
Mina was introduced as an unnecessary love interest for Sonic in issue 76, just after Robo-Robotnik returned and took over Robotropolis once more. She was portrayed as whiny, cowardly, helpless, and useless... But the only appeal she had was that she had super-speed. Her personality consisted of only one motivation: "I love Sonic."
Contrast this to Amy Rose, who is courageous, kind, a little whiny, but a hero through and through. Her motivation initially was "I love Sonic," but developed into a desire to be stronger and able to save her friends.
Contrast this also to Princess Sally, who is a well-rounded character with multiple motivations, a deeper personality than just one trait, and is capable of actually sustaining a conversation with Sonic about things other than "I adore you."
Over 125 issues of the comic, Mina is still the same cowardly, helpless individual she was introduced as. The writers emphasize over and over that she is NOT a Freedom Fighter, and she is useless in an emergency... But they keep putting her into the comic over and over again. And here's why:
She's a stupid scapegoat. I don't mean "stupid" as in that's a stupid idea, although it most certainly is; I mean that when the writers want to instigate drama by having someone make a boneheaded move, or do something that no intelligent character would ever do, they pull out Mina Mongoose to make it. And this is a mark of BAD WRITING, when you have to bring in an unnecessary character to serve a purpose within a story, when other BETTER characters can serve that same purpose.
The Princess Sally jealousy plot, for example. Instead of bringing in Mina to act as a Mary-Sue and annoy the readers... Have Sonic and Bunnie grow closer and seem romantically interested in each other. The whole plot began before her marriage to Antoine, so it would be plausible. It would also add even more drama since Sally and Bunnie are best friends, whereas Sally has been consistently portrayed as despising Mina.
Using her in the Nicole plot was COMPLETELY pointless and just there to induce anger. The fear of Nicole was already established... Just have Naugus enchant the Council members rather than bringing HER in to act as a scapegoat for the whole thing. This would also make the Nicole in exile arc a LOT easier, and not require Mina doing an about-face in characterization and apologizing for something she MEANT to cause. And yes, I'm still irritated that Mina has not received some sort of punishment for her actions in nearly dooming New Mobotropolis by allowing Naugus to take over.
In essence, Mina is a bad Sonic fancharacter IN the comic. She's put in there to have a romance with a character who ALREADY has an established romance with someone else. She has no personality traits that are even LIKABLE, much less admirable. She's shoved into our faces CONSTANTLY when we'd rather see her written out of it... And she's completely, utterly, unnecessary. And even WHEN the writers try to fix things by introducing a new romantic interest for her to get her away from Sonic... They do it by making a character that's just as unlikable as SHE is. All the hallmarks of a bad fanfic character.
If I ever get hired by Archie Comics as a writer (and I DO want that), the very first thing I do will be to have Robotnik successfully assassinate Mina, which is actually in character for him, since he's established as having tried to do it several times before. Then she can serve a REAL purpose in the comic: A shock death meant to demoralize the Freedom Fighters.
Anyway, moving on: Tommy Turtle is ALMOST like Mina, but where she's hate-inducing, Tommy is bland. Ken Penders, 117 issues into the comic, decides to introduce the character of Tommy, who supposedly is a childhood friend of Sonic and Sally... Although they never ONCE mentioned him in the entire series. ~_~;
Penders has to REAAAAAAAAAAAALLY force Tommy into continuity, using shoehorns, grease, and everything he can to shove him in there... and he fails. Then, the character serves NO purpose... Not ONE... for the entire rest of the series. His only trait (never mind his personality, his only CHARACTER trait), is that he's kidnap bait, getting kidnapped DOZENS of times more often than even Princess Sally is.
LUCKILY, the writers realized how unpopular this character was, and how much the readers were getting sick of his blandness being shoved in our faces, and Ian Flynn made it his first priority to kill Tommy off at first convenience. THANK GAWD.
The REAL reason Tommy was introduced was for Pender's insane idea to make Rotor the Walrus gay. He failed, since any clues to that were so subtle that they could be ignored, and Archie and Sega would NEVER have let him do it anyway.
And third, the Forty Fathoms Freedom Fighters are hate-inducing for the fact that they're REALLY unfunny joke characters and are occasionally shoved in our faces when we'd rather just forget they exist. Nothing more sinister than that.
*****
Now... Let's discuss the story itself... What issues did I love, what did I hate?
Going in chronological order, it's best to start with the Mecha Sonic saga. This was the story-arc that truly cemented for me that Sonic had completely left behind its comedy roots, and had taken on the tone of SatAM. In this story-arc, Sonic proposed getting himself Roboticized, while wearing a "Neuro-Overrider" that would allow him to keep his free will intact, so that he could defeat Robotnik. The other FFs refused to let him (and rightly so, as the Neuro-Overriders were notoriously buggy and non-functional), but Nack the Weasel knocked him out and took him to Robotnik... Who promptly roboticized him anyway. This series can be seen as kind of a distant precursor to the current Mecha Sally arc in a way. This was TRULY well written, and a tense, dramatic series.
After that, comes one of... if not THE best story arc in the comic's history. End Game. During a routine attack on one of Robotnik's facilities, Sally is climbing a wall... Only to find Sonic ready to meet her at the top. The hedgehog cuts the rope, and kills Sally. The REAL Sonic is heartbroken when he finds out, and is framed for the murder. Put on the run, Sonic is forced to clear his name and face off against Robotnik's most devastating weapon ever: The Ultimate Annihilator, which would completely erase its target from existance... That target being Knothole Village. This led to Sonic 50, which I will gladly defend as possibly the best issue (if not, one of the top 3) in the ENTIRE SERIES. Sonic and the original SatAM Robotnik fight to the death. No weapons. No fancy giant mechs. No Super Sonic. Just the hedgehog and the madman and in a brawl only one would walk away from. In the end, Sonic survived, and Robotnik was killed. Of course, there was a happy ending, as Sally turned out to be comatose, and we got a Sleeping Beauty ending (and one of the best moments in the comic's history with Sally and Sonic's first kiss).
Honestly, you can pretty much count upon every 25 issues, the Milestones, being a GREAT issue where something big happens. Most of the milestones are here in my list of favorite issues (50, 75, 125, 175, 200, 225).
After that comes a world-travelling arc. Normally, I have to be honest. I don't give a crap about world-travelling story-arcs. There are only three locations on Mobius anyone cares about: Knothole/New Mobotropolis, Robotropolis, and Angel Island. I really couldn't care even a LITTLE about any other locations.
However, that said, this 25 issue story-arc DOES bring us some of the BEST issues in the history of the comic: The first appearance of Ultra Sonic and Hyper Tails for one... And the first appearance of Turbo Tails against Mogul for another (as part of the Chosen One arc). BOTH of these were AWESOME.
Another great issue was the one where Sonic used a Super Chaos Emerald to save the world from some time-twisting anomaly, and transitioned from his Classic appearance into his Modern appearance. Don't have much to say other than that.
This brings us to the return of Doctor Robotnik (a.k.a) Eggman in Sonic 75. Let me state right off the bat: I refuse to call him Dr. Eggman. He's Robotnik. Always has been, always will be. Eggman's an insult to him.
Anyway, Sonic 75 is the issue that made Robotnik a THREAT again, as we get to see a Robotnik who has WON in his universe... Who has roboticized or killed every living being on the planet.... and that makes him SCARY. AWESOME issue.
To be honest...... That was the last good issue for a considerably LONG while... None of it was BAD, mind you, but it was mostly just good. Not spectacular, not awesome... Just good.
The next GREAT issue is Sonic 108, where the Original Dr. Robotnik returns... and is immediately killed forever. The issue has no consequence at all, but is REALLY fun.
Hearts Held Hostage was a story arc in 122-123, where Princess Sally gets kidnapped by Nack the Weasel... And FINALLY, FINALLY ends the Mina-Sonic-Sally love triangle once and for all. Mina gets heartbroken as Sally and Sonic declare their true love for each other, and then Mina takes a bullet in the back and is almost killed. I'd say that spells a great story to me! ^_^
...But seriously, outside of my fanatical hatred for Mina, the issues are REALLY good.
And that arc led straight into Sonic Adventure 2.5 in issues 124-125... The Xorda attack. These are some of THE best issues of the comic, PERIOD. This is TRULY good writing. It reveals the TRUE history of Mobius, has SPECTACULAR romantic moments, and basically one of the biggest battles in Sonic history. Just GREAT.
Issue 130 began the "Home" arc. This was REALLY good (if a little too fast-paced) as Sonic returns from space and is immediately faced with the biggest fight yet. This arc also contained one of the best Son/Sal moments in the comic history upon Sonic revealing to Sally that he was still alive.
Issue 144 has, quite frankly, a HORRIBLE main story as it's the end of the Mobius 25 Years Later arc (which I will discuss later)... but it also contains what I maintain is THE. BEST. STORY. IN. THE. COMIC. Love and Loss. I gushed about this comic over and over throughout my Readthrough and I'll do it again. THIS IS SPECTACULARLY emotional, and BEAUTIFULLY written. I don't care what you do, FIND THIS ISSUE AND READ IT NOW!!!!
Again, 146 is a lame issue, with NOTHING interesting... EXCEPT for the beginning of the Nicole arc in one of the backup stories, as Sally and Nicole "switch bodies." As I've said, anything involving Nicole is automatically a good issue.
151 is notable, AGAIN, only for its backup feature. "Stargazing" is the first appearance of Nicole the Lynx... and it's in a SPECTACULARLY touching story, emphasizing her friendship with Sally and the growth of her character out of being merely a datapad.
152 is actually a scary issue as Bunnie is almost assimilated into ADAM by the Nanite City. I REALLY enjoyed this issue because it was so much darker and more horrifying than Sonic usually gets... And also did have a SLIGHT mind control element.
166 and 167 were Mobius 25 Years Later 2, the second arc. As I said... I will discuss Mobius 25 Years Later 1 later... at length. HOWEVER, THIS arc was the redemption for the TERRIBLE first arc. Only two issues long, more happens in this story than in FOURTEEN ISSUES of the first arc, and it's all AMAZINGLY well-written. I can go on and on about how good this arc is, particularly in the characterization of Sonic as being more than just a snappy, snarky hero. He shows REAL emotion in this issue, as he has lost his children, his wife, his kingdom, EVERYTHING. REALLY good.
168 and 169 were notable for being both the ADAM arc, which was good because it killed off Tommy Turtle (thank you, Ian Flynn. Thank you). However, 168 also contained a story about the death of Antoine's father which was touching and deeply sad. I recommend that issue highly.
174-177 is a LARGE story arc involving the Marriage of Antoine and Bunnie, leading straight into Sonic's greatest defeat, the destruction of Knothole, and the creation of New Mobotropolis. SO much happens in these issues, and it is ALL awesome.
178-179 is the House of Cards arc. It... is a mixed bag, because half of the story is actually EXTREMLY good, but the other half is some of the worst crap I've read in this comic. The GOOD stuff is a bad*** brawl between Sonic and Tails as the tension that's built between them over the years finally breaks. It is not just a great fight scene, but also brings up every issue in their relationship and leads to them becoming closer than ever.
185-186 is the infamous Mammoth Mogul mind control story arc. Do I NEED to say why this one is one of my favorites? Really? I mean... Just come on. X3
199-200 is an EPIC brawl leading to the defeat of Dr. Robotnik and his breakdown into complete insanity. The battle is awesome, and the ending is actually surprisingly not quite as triumphant as you'd think it would be, considering how awful they make Robotnik's defeat seem. It's actually kinda gut-wrenching.
Issues 208 and 209... Iron Nicole. Nicole. Mind control. Awesome bad*** fights. I don't think I really need to say more on it.
Issue 222 is one of the SINGLE best Sonic/Sally issues EVER, as well as a highlight of Amy Rose, as Sonic and Sally go on a date for the first time since their breakup... And Amy Rose runs interference to let them get some peace and quiet. This issue is one of my favorites EVER, and if you're a fan of Amy Rose and want to see how to write her RIGHT, rather than as a bimbo who constantly nags Sonic? THIS IS HOW IT'S DONE!!!
Issue 225... The death of Princess Sally and beginning of Genesis. READ THIS ISSUE. That's all I'll say.
Issue 226-229... Genesis. If you ever imagined what a Sonic SatAM platformer video game would be like, if it had actually been done right? Read these issues. They're AWESOME, and lend further credence to the idea that Sega should just do a full reboot of the Sonic video games and institute the Archie canon into it.
Sonic 230 and 231... The birth of Mecha Sally. These issues broke my heart, but they are SO good... Save for the little teeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeny-tiny detail that THEY DEROBOTICIZED BUNNIE!!! ><:;; *Takes a deep breath.* ...I'll talk about THAT later. Honestly, REALLY good save for that bungled bit.
I would be remiss to not mention the two story-arcs of Sonic Universe which I read and ABSOLUTELY adored. The first is Mobius 30 Years Later, which introduced the world to the loli- and shotaliciousness that is little Sonia and Manik Acorn... And YES, in case you are wondering, they WILL appear in one or two stories of mine at some point in the future. Me and my cubophilia. ^^;;
Outside of that, it featured Lara-Su being bad***, Jacques and Belle who somehow inherited their mother's robotic limbs (which STILL doesn't make sense to me), and Tikhaos... Which is going to be my answer to anyone ELSE who nags me to bring Tikal into one of my stories to have sex. I'll bring her in as a gigantic world-destroying monster. X3
The second arc is the Dark Mobius arc, which featured everything from mind control with the prelates... To a DBZ-style city-destroying fight between Silver and Enerjak... to absolute, heart-wrenching tragedy with the death of all the Dark Mobius Freedom Fighters, leaving Jani-Ca and her father Knuckles the last living beings on all of Mobius. As the name implies, this arc is DARK and tragic, but honestly one of my favorites.
And that's it! Those are all of my favorite issues!
*****
So, I talked about the best... What do I think were the WORST issues or stories? Well...
Let's start off with any and every issue featuring Mina Mongoose as either a main character or plot device. Doesn't matter what, the comic automatically sucks. As I said above, her character is not only completely unnecessary, since other characters could serve the same purpose and do it better, but also INCREDIBLY irritating.
But if we're going to talk SPECIFICS... Issue 100 was a milestone in name only. NOTHING HAPPENED in this issue. NOTHING. We were promised the engagement of Sonic and Sally (we got something similar a few issues later when Sonic became Sally's consort, but we were promised this as a BIG event!!!), and instead we got a bunch of mindless fight scenes, the death of some minor characters no one liked, and Nate Morgan got roboticized by Robotnik... And THAT was supposed to be our big, momentous occasion? What a gyp!!!
Mobius 25 Years Later (the original story-arc) was EXCRUCIATINGLY bad. It represented EVERYTHING that was wrong with Ken Penders as a writer. If Sonic 50 was his high point, the pinnacle of his career as a writer, this was nearing his lowest. By this point he'd lost his mojo. This story is representative of all of his worst qualities as a writer: his lack of any idea how to pace a story, focusing too much on Echidna fan-wankery and politics, and not enough on moving the plot along; his lack of any idea how to develop character; his lack of any ability to properly foreshadow; and his just general dissolve into a narcissitic d-bag. Now, I DID talk about this before, but I REALLY need to examine this closer, just to emphasize how BAD the comic arc is.
The point of a future-arc is to foreshadow the events that will occur later in the comic. The OTHER point of a future-arc is to examine the characters and the choices they've made and show how they've changed the world they're in and how they've been changed by these choices too. This story arc served neither of those purposes.
First off, the MAIN CHARACTERS OF THE COMIC, Sonic and Sally, don't even appear... AREN'T EVEN MENTIONED... until more than halfway through the arc. And yes, I think I've proved by now that Sally IS the second main character behind Sonic. This story arc lasted from issue 131 through 144. You go for over SEVEN issues without seeing them.
Which brings us to our SECOND problem... And the BIGGEST problem with the story arc. NOTHING. F***ING. HAPPENS. AT. ALL. NOT. ONE. THING.
The entire series from beginning to end is nothing but TALKING. Not a single punch thrown. Not a single energy bolt fired. NO ACTION AT ALL. For FOURTEEN ISSUES!!! Now, admittedly, there's a time and place for drama that doesn't involve action. Every narrative has to have lulls where characters discuss issues. But this entire ARC is a lull!!! We're TOLD the world is coming to an end, but we don't get to SEE it. No explosions, no spatial warps, nothing. Instead, the characters just argue back and forth about what to do over and over. We don't get to learn ANYTHING about the state of the world outside of the Echidna capital. We don't get to learn ANYTHING about the history of the world outside of some vague crap here and there. Thus, this arc fails at the second purpose of a Future-arc... WORLD BUILDING.
Even THIS wouldn't be such a big deal except for the THIRD problem... NOTHING IS ACCOMPLISHED. No plots are resolved. No issues dealt with. We get a lot of talk and debate, but NOTHING happens at all. I think the reason the arc ended as it did was because Archie finally yelled at Ken Penders for wasting so much time with TALK that they forced him to end the arc prematurely. Seriously, for all the INTENSELY boring Echidna politics (the entire arc is just Ken Penders doing more and more Echidna fan-wankery), not one thing is settled.
Which brings up the FOURTH problem... One of the purposes of a Future arc is to show how the characters have changed over the years... but we don't even get THAT!!! Yes, the characters have nifty new designs, like Knuckles' cybernetic eye, and Rotor inexplicably becoming an old man when he should be in his early forties (seriously, what is WITH that? Rotor's supposed to be only a year older than Sonic!), but WE DON'T LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT THEM!!! We don't learn why Knuckles and Sonic have this feud going on. We don't learn why Sonic and Tails had a falling-out... and for GOD'S SAKE, WHY IS TAILS MARRIED TO SOMEONE TEN YEARS OLDER THAN HIM WHOM HE HAS NEVER EVEN SPOKEN WITH?!!!!
*Takes a deep breath.* ...Fourteen issues of absolutely NOTHING but boring, unnecessary politics and talk. I'd say that about qualifies this arc as one of the worst ever written. The worst part was that this arc was supposed to have a PREQUEL called Knuckles: 20 Years Later. ..........If THIS arc had this much Echidna politics... I get a headache just imagining THAT story.
HOWEVER... Ian Flynn took this horrible story-arc and revitalized it ALMOST perfectly. As I said, the second M25YL arc and M30YL arc were AMAZING. Absolutely GREAT. I would (and gladly WILL!) read them again and again... Save for the fact that Tails and Mina are still married and have a son named Skye. *Glares at the kid with murder in her eyes....*
The House of Cards two-parter was actually a mixed bag, as I said. HALF of the story was SPECTACULAR. The OTHER half was rage-inducing. The other half involved Tails' idiot parents trying to assassinate Elias and causing a civil war. These characters are quite possibly the stupidest characters in the ENTIRE SONIC CANON for their actions in this story-arc, and it BAFFLES me how they didn't get executed for treason. I LOVE the Sonic vs. Tails part of this story, but the other half I HATE with a passion for how BAD it is.
In the last two journals, I discussed Bunnie's deroboticization and how badly handled it was. I can't add to my rants on it, but I will reiterate how poorly this story-arc was done, and that the idea of deroboticizing her in the first place IS F***ING IMPOSSIBLE!!! Why didn't they crystallize her and change her power-set or make her a mindless slave of Naugus? THAT would have been better than writing her out of the series!!!
Which brings us to the penultimate in crappy Sonic stories... Sonic 134. The infamous breakup. UNLIKE M25YL 1, where I didn't properly go through and explain each and every reason why it sucked; with 134, I covered it pretty much completely in my review. I don't have much to say other than that I refuse to accept this issue as canon, and Sonic and Sally broke up for different reasons. The story only works if Sally suffered SEVERE, DEBILITATING brain damage before the issue started. It is a TRULY wretched piece of writing (with surprisingly good artwork, to be fair).
.......Which brings us to the worst Sonic comic ever written... And no, it's not Sonic Live (which was bad enough that Linkara reviewed it), but something far more heinous. It isn't just the worst Sonic comic, but THE WORST COMIC I'VE EVER READ. Drumroll please?
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..........................................................AND THE WINNER IS SONIC 150!!!
Seriously, who DIDN'T see this coming? I maintain that this issue is the reason Ken Penders REALLY got booted off the comic. I'm pretty sure he got fired for it.
Okay, remember how earlier, I said that Archie's Sonic comics are famous for the Milestone issues, where something HUGE happens each time? The Death of Robotnik, the Return of Robo-Robotnik, the Xorda attack and almost-death of Sonic, Sonic's greatest defeat and the destruction of Knothole, Robotnik going insane, and the death of Princess Sally leading into Genesis. You can count on Archie to pull off something AMAZING every 25 issues.
.....Except with issues 100 and 150. Issue 100 was only offensive to ME because of what was promised and what didn't happen. It was an okay issue outside of that. But issue 150 is heinous. It's not only a bad milestone, it's a TERRIBLE comic.
In the primary story, we get an issue where Sonic, fresh off his break-up with Sally, begins to speed-date every single girl in Knothole, including a heartbroken Bunnie, leading along Amy Rose, flirting with Fiona Fox, spending time with Mina... and just generally acting horribly out of character and horrible period. It, of course, turns out that it's Anti-Sonic (the future Scourge) pretending to be Sonic to screw with him.... That's it. That's the whole plot of the primary story of the issue. That's all. No plot developments... No foreshadowing, just Anti-Sonic being a douche.
That would be bad enough... But it's the backup feature that is literally causing my ears to ring with barely contained rage as I type this. Now... I've said it before. The rant has gone down into infamy. But I please ask you to brace yourselves for the horribleness. The sheer terror. The ugly, stupid, and miserably retarded...
And what makes it INFINITELY worse is that this issue was the culmination of about ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY ISSUES OF STORIES!!! The Chosen One story arc began somewhere around issue 30 or so. It had been hinted, mentioned, name-dropped over and over for ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY ISSUES. This story is the longest subplot in Sonic history... and to reach such a HORRIBLE anticlimax with TITAN TAILS, rather than coming up with something GOOD...
I can't even TELL you how angry that makes me. I know I've been playing it up for comedy, but this issue was INSULTING on a deep level, not just as a Sonic fan, but as a fan of comics, and someone who studies narratives for their school career. It was a gigantic middle finger to those who wanted this story arc to actually MEAN something. And to boot, they hit the giant big red reset button at the end of the story, making it so none of it happened....
And that's it. The Chosen One arc pretty much ended there, only brought up once more during the ADAM arc. Ian Flynn has promised Titan Tails will never be seen or mentioned ever again, but that's little solace.
As mentioned before, one of my life's ambitions has been to become a writer for this comic. If I EVER get the chance... If I EVER get my wish... I will give everyone the Chosen One arc they deserve. It took me TWO MINUTES to come up with a better idea for a story. *Sighs in disgust.*
*****
So now that I've talked about the past, what do I think is coming in the comics?
I've made a couple of predictions before in the past few journals, but I think I'll elaborate on them now.
First: Regarding Mecha Sally. There's no doubt in my mind that issue 250 will see the end of that, and the return of Princess Sally... in her new design. I hope they TWEAK the new design to include her cheek-fluffs again, because it just doesn't look quite right without them.
However, what worries me is that issue 250 is also the beginning of the MegaMan crossover... and if Archie does something boneheaded like having MegaMan involved in the solution to the Mecha Sally problem, that would be even WORSE than deroboticizing Bunnie or Titan... you-know-who. There's a rule I once stated in a guide I wrote to writing fanfiction. Admittedly, I broke most of the rules of this guide in the past, but this one I've never done. IF you need to bring in characters from another unrelated series to solve a scenario in your own story... You've done something horribly wrong.
Mecha Sally began in Sonic, and she is Sonic's true love. If ANYONE other than Sonic himself is involved in deroboticizing her, then the story has gone off the rails, since the ONLY way this story works is to have him have the victory of restoring her. And yes, I'm saying if TAILS is responsible for deroboticizing her, that's a bad thing. It HAS to be Sonic for this plotline to work. This is HIS quest, HIS responsibility.
Second: Silver's traitor. There are only three characters that make any sense... Silver himself being the unknowing traitor, having been manipulated by Mogul in the future (who isn't as reformed as he appears to be).... Or Hamlin of the Council of Acorns, who's a former Freedom Fighter, and a prime candidate for BEING the traitor since he's done nothing but try to screw over the FFs. ...Or Bunnie Rabbot, for reasons I'll explain next.
Third: Bunnie Rabbot. My prediction: She's gone to meet with her uncle Beauregard of the Sand Blast Egg Legion to have herself Legionized, without the mind control or brainwashing elements. She'll show up dramatically one day to save the FFs from some situation, and she'll have her robotic limbs restored. This, in effect, would make her technically the traitor, but not the one who'd be ending the world.
Fourth: This is just me and it might be REALLY wishful thinking, but I keep seeing hints of a Rotor/Nicole romance beginning. *Shrugs.* I like the pairing, and if it becomes canon, you can guarantee I'll be squeeing quite happily.
Fifth: The Sonic/MegaMan crossover: ...Honestly, I think it's a terrible idea at this point in time, and should have waited a year or two, until we DIDN'T have such a massive story-arc going on as the Mecha Sally plot. The only thing this can result in, is either delaying Sally's deroboticization, or WORSE, having MegaMan INVOLVED in it. Both are gonna make me angry. Outside of that, I think the crossover will be entirely inconsequential. It will change nothing, accomplish nothing, and unless it's handled REALLY well, will be a waste of time. ...And I'm saying this as a fan of BOTH Sonic and MegaMan.
And Sixth: Sonic Universe 50. Sonic Underground: Epilogue. *Sighs and takes a very deep breath...*
Who asked for this?! Who said, "Gee, I wonder how Sonic Underground would have ended?" NO ONE LIKED THE SHOW. NO ONE. There's a REASON it got cancelled in ONE season, because people HATED it with a passion (me included, obviously)! Most fans refuse to even acknowledge the series existed and are trying to FORGET about the abomination! Why waste a milestone issue on THIS piece of garbage that no one cares about?!!!!
*****
Honestly, I have big hopes for the future of Sonic the Hedgehog. You can officially count me back in as a member of the Sonic Fandom once and for all. As I've said previously, I am changing my SS250 Sonicverse stories to incorporate all the elements of the comic up until recently... and once Sally is deroboticized, I will probably update again, so I can include her new design and any other changes.
I'd like to thank Norithics for inspiring me to go through and read the entire series and catch up once and for all... I'd like to thank Lonewolf23k and FireMario86 for putting up with my constant blathering, nagging, and chatting about this series as I went on and on, rediscovering my love for it... And I'd like to thank all of you, my dear readers and fans, for sticking with me through this! Here's hoping you'll love everything I have in store for you in the future!!!
Normally, I'd sign off with my usual "Rock on, guys and gals." But I think it's more appropriate to quote something else for today's sign-off...
I decided to post this as a submission on top of everything else. This is long enough and contains my thoughts on EVERYTHING I've ever read about Sonic the Hedgehog. I hope you enjoy reading it, and take my recommendations.
I am honestly surprised. I have never really given the comic a chance but you have honestly gotten me very interested in reading it. It is a good review and I am very glad i read it through.
I am honestly surprised. I have never really given the comic a chance but you have honestly gotten m
Let me put it this way. It has its flaws... but they're rather rare, and most of them are just MY nitpicks. If you're sick and tired of all the horrible, toxic crap that Marvel and DC are putting out and want to read something that is LEGITIMATELY FUN, this is the comic.
