Sonic the Hedgehog IDW/Current Western Comic Megathread

Honestly, the split is idiotic. It's like saying the Mario in Super Mario Brothers 1 to 4: Super Mario World is a different Mario to the one in Super Mario Galaxy, because that Mario has blue eyes and longer limbs compared to SMB Mario's shorter limbs and black eyes.

"It explains why characters look so different" so does advancing in age. And the Sonic Adventure cutscene uses modern models because it saves on memory, nothing more. Unless you expect me to believe Tails had the Jet Anklets he found in that game when he first met Sonic?

Regardless of my opinion on the world split, it's a shame we won't see Mighty and Ray in the comics. I like the duo and hope they can make their way in at some point.

 

I don't think the timeline split is sussed out enough yet to really treat Mania like another dimension, despite what Sonic Team has said. It's more like Dragonball and DBZ/Super at this point. Toriyama could go back and make more Dragonball stuff, filling in gaps in time haphazardly (kind of like Super is doing), and still be tonally distinct, yet part of the same, yet different Goku we've had since his bro from space showed up.

 

I'm not saying that the split doesn't exist, I'm saying Sonic Team doesn't know what to do now that they've said this has happened. They could change it all up again next game, and we'd be back to square one with this headache. Getting a consistency out of them is nigh impossible, so before we try to understand what they're trying to achieve, I say just wait for the next game to find out what the hell timelines are anymore, and let ol' green eyes and pals do their thing for a while in the comics.

 

I'm not a big fan of the Modern/Classic dimension split or the 2 earths that's going in the modern games. It just complicates things more than it should.

Saying that I don't really care at the end of the day because one day there's going to be a game where Classic Sonic is going to go back to being younger Sonic, animals and humans are going to be shown living together and the moon is going to be destroyed again.

 

The story and character profiles in the limited edition Sonic Mania Introduction Manual (this is the best picture I could find online) suggest that Sonic Mania is Sonic's next adventure after Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Mania also takes place after Sonic CD, but if 3&K is the most recent adventure, then CD would have to take place between Sonic 1 and 2. In Mania, Eggman has to locate/make contact with Metal Sonic on Little Planet, which further suggests that this is the first time Metal Sonic has been seen since Sonic CD, therefore before Chaotix. The Sonic Mania Plus web manual says that Mighty and Ray joined Sonic on a previous adventure. The Art of Sonic Mania book is even more specific, saying that the last time Mighty and Ray saw Sonic, they were escaping from Eggman Island. So SegaSonic the Hedgehog has happened already, but, like Sonic CD, it would have to take place between Sonic 1 and 2 if Mania is Sonic's next adventure after S3&K. The Sonic Forces JP website confirms that Classic Sonic has already teamed up with Modern Sonic before, so Mania also takes place after his participation in the events of Sonic Generations.

With all of that in mind, the Classic Sonic timeline would look something like this:

Sonic the Hedgehog
SegaSonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog CD
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (Sonic & Tails story)
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (Knuckles' story)
Sonic Mania [Plus] (Mania Mode)
Sonic Forces (Classic Sonic visits Modern Sonic's world)
Sonic Mania Plus (Encore Mode)
Chaotix
Sonic the Fighters
Sonic 3D
Sonic R

Sonic Generations is a bit of an odd one. We don't know which points in time Classic Sonic and Classic Tails were pulled from, but they already know each other. Classic Eggman is abducted from the end of Sonic 2, which complicates things further. Either way, as far as Classic Sonic is concerned, it's an adventure he had some time before Mania, and everyone looks to have been returned to their proper point in time and space afterwards.

SegaSonic and Sonic CD can happen either way around. The Game Gear games are trickier to fit in. The story in Sonic & Tails 2's manual ignores Sonic 3 completely and treats it as the first time Sonic and Knuckles have met, so they were probably intended as an alternate universe/storyline even back in 1994. But Fang is certainly a character who exists in the world of Sonic Mania and Sonic the Fighters, regardless of whether or not Triple Trouble/S&T2 is canon.

 

That timeline looks pretty legit, but I think a couple tweaks are needed.

SegaSonic the Hedgehog before Sonic the Hedgehog, since the Sonic 1 manual mentions Sonic having encountered Eggman before. It also makes more sense imo considering how Sonic doesn't fight Eggman in SegaSonic.

This next one is pretty nitpicky. I would place 3D Blast not only before StF, but also concurrent with Chaotix. That sequence probably matters little though.

This whole divide being official now has me thinking about Adventure's placement now. Is it conclusively the start of the Modern era now? As in it cannot be considered a finale to the Classic series anymore. Or is it the dividing point? Where SA closes out the Classic chapter, and SA2 opens up the Modern.

 

Fairly certain we're supposed to be talking about the comic rather than timelines, which has a thread somewhere on here.

So how about that [inlinespoiler]Neo Metal Sonic reveal[/inlinespoiler]? I like how it tied into Forces and I wonder where they'll go with it...

 

About the reveal:

Spoiler

It wasn't really a surprise because it was either going to be Neo or Eggman Nega. And it did not help that the reveal and fight was basically a repeat of Heroes.

But I do like that it tied into Forces and explained why Eggman had to resort to using a Phantom Metal Sonic.

And it seems the story is heading into making Sonic and his friends protect Eggman from Metal so that's going to be interesting if it happens.

I just hope they actually keep Eggman good for a bit instead of the cliche of him faking it till Metal achieves his plans.

 

I finally caught up with issue 7. The reveal was kinda interesting, but more importantly...
My god, the art is so fucking good. The actions scenes are so dynamic, it's probably my favorite issue so far.

 

Spoiler

Not quite, I'm pretty sure this is the first time in official media we've ever actually seen Neo Metal Sonic himself fight. All he does is vogue and pretend to be Eggman in Heroes before he transforms again. It was a great fight too, this comic's finally ramping up.

 

Ramping up? I honestly think it's going nowhere. It's horribly written and nearly copy/paste issue-to-issue. I've read a lot of first issues and by god this start has been awful. Especially with how disjointed issues 6 to 7 are. I'm glad Flynn is getting a lot of work, but you can really tell this book is not his main priority at the moment.

I'm okay it the first 4 being as copy/paste as they were. I'm sure there was a rush on them to get hype up after the long hiatus that was. Issue 5 was a huge let down being the same as the first 4. Issue 6 was a nice change of pace, story was led into well, and there was a defined conflict. Issue 7 was back to: Meet new character (BUT THIS TIME THE NEW CHARACTER IS A VILLAIN HOLY SHIT), fight badniks, villain say "drats... foiled again." And hey guess what?! Issue 8, we get to meet Silver. Anyone think they'll say "Long time no see." Then, liberate a city while not progressing any actual plot like literally every issue before it?

It's getting old.

 

Spoiler

I was hoping for a Super Sonic vs. Neo Metal fight at issue 12, especially when it obtained the Data of the entire resistance during the scuffle; only to be saved by Eggman at the end.

 

Spoiler

The fight between Sonic and Neo was really well made.

Looking forward to the next issue.

 

#9's out.

Any opportunity for Blaze to be a badass is welcome, even if it's only on secondary fronts. The idea of Neo just bolting wings onto Angel Island is hilarious in of itself. And quoting What I'm Made Of?

Spoiler

 

IDW Sonic will be published in French by Mana Books on October 25th !

Other link.

 

has there been any SJW or "Wokeness" being injected into the comic lately? I ask because of a video I came across.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6riTyRMMSU

 

Let's not talk about that; otherwise, we get another "Gator revolt" on our hands.

Lets go with this instead:

 

Gator revolt? I must have missed that.

but seriously, If IDW sonic is going down the road that kills comic book stores, I'd like to know.

 

You'll find the comics 9 issues in don't have any of these political views "injected" into them. Having read the article used in the video, the writer comes off as a massive shit-stirrer looking to rile up controversy. It is not worth acknowledging. Enjoy pastel animals fighting over magic jewels.