Metal Virus: Epilogue & Overview | Sonic Speed Reading

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It's finally over. The metal virus has been purged, but at the cost of Sonic himself. How do his friends pick up the pieces and move forward?
This is the FINAL episode covering the metal virus saga. I cover the last few issues and share my overall thoughts. Hope you enjoy!
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[@gibosgibnon7909]

*“EGGMAN PULLS OUT A GLOCK AND TRIES TO ICE TAILS”* this has made my day

[@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32]

_wasted_

[@Benjamin-hi1ni]

*Da** son, where’d ya find this?

[@lucascalderon9377]

10/10

[@soundcloud-Dude1045]

Eggman with a gun

[@DxrkSpxce]

And the music even changes lmfao

[@dorkork]

Eggman doesn't take shit from no one anymore, he pulled put a glock on Tails, best moment of Sonic

[@flutedude8680]

That part got me

[@Deoxys_Used_Mimic]

Remember when he held Amy at gunpoint in SA2?

[@TheFrantic5]

And held the rest of the cast at gunpoint for a flying carpet at the end of Sonic Riders.

[@KavinCatastrophe]

Eggman: Don't Make me get all Gangster up in here. You be Trippin if you think you can take me on. Tails: Eggman....Just ....Just Stop.

[@Nel_Annette]

Basically a "YOU'RE not my rival; fuck off!" XD

[@markmorales7958]

22:06 Not the first time Eggman pulled out a gun in this franchise. -SA2 on Amy -Lost World on Tails and Sonic Edit: -Riders on everyone discovering the Ancient Babylon Treasure This egg shaped madman is packing more heat than Shadow has in his game!

[@lightgivemepower6425]

And in Sonic riders

[@jackhumphries1087]

Dr Roglocknik

[@SebePlays]

@@jackhumphries1087 lol

[@IronSK]

Eggy has a pistol? It wouldve saved his ass so many times if he used it more

[@UltimaDoombotMK1]

*insert that one scene from the Snapcube SA2 Fandub where Eggman threatens Amy with a gun*

[@foxtrap86flame]

Eggman: This invention I call the "Egg Shooter!"

[@BComet]

The Egglock

[@lonelywolf5659]

@@BComet eggman takes out the gun oh that's adorable hold it sideways oh shit.

[@michaelcarlton1484]

He threatens to use it in SA2 and Riders.

[@charismaentertainer1657]

Fun fact: the warp topaz still exists after the explosion . Ian was going to destroy it but sega told him to keep it in tack. It’s now just floating around in space.

[@mediamuncher6982]

Nea

[@KavinCatastrophe]

Infinity Gauntlet Anyone?

[@hamstersandwich9917]

Swag? You mean Sega?

[@charismaentertainer1657]

@@hamstersandwich9917 yes I meant sega

[@etherealhatred]

Saga

[@vladneves7456]

22:08 and for his neutral special,he wields a GUN Edit:lol thanks memo hammad for pointing out the error in wield

[@ultimatewolfgaming4171]

"Take ONE MORE step forward and I'm poppin' one BETWEEN HER EYES." -Alfred Coleman, 2016.

[@NewSoupWiiHii]

i knew that meme was coming

[@luigideathstare110]

"Get TF out or I'm gonna shoot Amy in the f**king face! I swear to god! I'll do it you b****, GET OUT!!!"

[@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32]

Gun truck?

[@acethehunter7898]

We will use the power of friendship and this gun I found 🤣

[@tapsnake3824]

Legend says knuckles is still saying any minute now

[@sonicplays8740]

Agreed, I guess he will say it in any minute now...

[@Eldoofus]

Why did they dislike it? Knuckles said Sonic would be back any minute now and so he did.

[@ahmed199gamer8]

@@Eldoofus I think you didn’t get the joke

[@Eldoofus]

@@ahmed199gamer8 I was referencing the comments who ask why people dislike a video when it delivered exactly what the title promised, not that I really have a whole lot against the joke, but oh well, a real party pooper will occur any minute now

[@mistersp3753]

This story arc did justice to so many characters. Tails was shown appropriately as a smart little hero. Cream has never been better as a character, depicting her emotional support and her brave spirit. Vector looked like the leader he's supposed to be and went down like a boss. Metal Sonic was deadly efficient, and at times showed he had his own personality. Tangle was a great team player and fought right until the end while still staying positive. Whisper showed plenty of emotional growth, culminating in what was likely the low point in the entire Metal Virus Saga. Espio proved how well he could fight on his own while still carrying his teammates in spirit. Amy boldly took the burden of responsibility through the entire arc. Silver was ultimately the big hero in the end, teaming up with a revitalized Sonic to take down the virus, and later subduing Zavok. Knuckles showed the faith he had in Sonic by going fist-first into the face of an immediate threat. Sorry, Shadow fans. Better luck next time.

[@Mepphy99]

"Any minute now..." Knucles hoping Sonic returns, man that's so good

[@kronosbach5263]

Shadow needs a friend, Sega I beg you drop the no-friend bullshit

[@wilfredperez7467]

😭

[@vivalaglavii6736]

@@kronosbach5263 I think I'd be funny if we got the Shadow everyone loves with a friend that's just as edgy as he currently is, just to see the way they'd play off each other

[@Keegstar]

@@vivalaglavii6736 give him an infinite with no phantom ruby, that sounds fun!

[@bella_daze3092]

Ya know- I cried when Silver’s world was restored. That poor hedgehog has worked so hard for it and it has FINALLY payed off. If we get the see that boi again I would LOVE that 🥺

[@smashmaster521]

Give it a week or two and it will be ruined again.

[@techstuff9198]

I want to know why it stayed ruin after Forces but got fixed after the zombot virus was removed.

[@benogle4951]

Just wait until Sonic black shows up

[@jackhumphries1087]

@@techstuff9198it actually was fixed after forces, during the neo metal arc silver says that the reason he came back from the future after the war was because “when I got back, the eggman empire was gone, but so was everything else” except for sparse metallic plant life, he’s describing the world devastated by the metal virus, which eventually, due to the unsustainable nature of the virus explained by eggman towards the end of the metal virus arc, was left empty after all the zombots disintegrated.

[@mau2172]

They took omega's body again. Can't have shit in Sonic's World.

[@cake2943]

can't have robots on Modius

[@ManiacX1999]

So... What's your profile picture from?

[@hashi.]

Eggman took back what belonged to him

[@RamuneRabbit]

Careful, we can't have Eggman being like Dr. Wily and his fascination with Gutsman now. ^_-

[@KingKlonoa]

I completely understand the stuff about Sonic, but I guess the way I see it: Sonic will never change his mind about this. That's just who I think he is. He will never not be able to see the potential good in people, even if he might not be RIGHT in all cases. Hopeful to a fault, I'd say. But I don't think I could accept him any other way. I think Shadow serving as the opposite side to this argument would have been great, as you said. I'm actually kinda upset now that you've brought it up, because it would have been perfect. I always liked how Shadow and Sonic came to blows at the beginning of IDW. It was one of the only points at which Shadow felt naturally annoyed, and it came from a moral disagreement between the two characters about how to handle Eggman. Ugh, whatever. Don't want to bang on about Shadow. Good video! Agree with pretty much everything!

[@theowolfendale7675]

Like Goku, but not braindead

[@KingRumar]

We can always take the Batman Begins approach. I won't kill you but I won't save you. It is Sonic afterall and Dr. Eggman is here to stay. I can't see them ever getting rid of him. Whenever Sega gets tired of Dr. Eggman, he only becomes a plot device while the real threat shows up.

[@theowolfendale7675]

@@BrakSplash Goku actually hasn't killed out of anger, he's only really killed out of necessity except when he was a child. actually come to think of it, most of his body count comes from him as a child - as an adult he has only *DIRECTLY* killed 4 people as of right now and because it means the end of all life on earth or the universe. Though he thought he killed Frieza in their first fight so that kinda half counts? Goku almost always tries to let the villain go for the horrifically selfish reason to have fun fights to get stronger. He has no idea of the repercussions of doing that, actually indirectly being responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Namekians as letting his rival Vegeta go free lead Vegeta to go kill said Namekians. Despite the franchise being known for "haha dragon boll undo death", those Namekian's never get revived and can never be revived under normal circumstances unless Goku and Vegeta learn to breathe in a vacuum while carrying the jumbo dragon balls, or they spend hundreds of years making wishes on the home set. Multi-Resurrection can't be done after 1 year of death, they're dead for good unless they do it individually. Sonic just can't justify killing people, which makes sense if you're a good person and he does sort of acknowledge the repercussions and that they're on him.

[@ScarletStarManor]

Sonic is essentially SEGA Goku, and I love that about him

[@KavinCatastrophe]

@@theowolfendale7675 Sometimes i think Zamasu was right about Goku. His Constant Need for Battle has Brought nearly the Destruction of tje Universe so Many time. He definitely no Hero but he the Best we Got

[@trishaholder3779]

Y'know if I had a nickel for every time Sonic ended up in the Sol Dimension, I would have two nickels. Which isn't a lot but its weird that its happened twice.

[@JohnTK]

Finally, a reference I understand.

[@michaelcarlton1484]

Three times if you count the dimensions temporarily fusing during Rush.

[@megasora4]

@@michaelcarlton1484 4 if you count generations time field. since blaze is in that game and water palace is a playable stage from rush in the 3ds port of the game.

[@YourUncleBenis]

@@megasora4 The first Rush takes place in Sonic's dimension, so Water Palace is there.

[@megasora4]

@@YourUncleBenis as stated by Micheal, rush one was a fusing of the realms. if we count them fusing for the tally, then water palace in the 3ds port of generations would count since its a time bubble of that moment. Thus making it 4 times he has technically entered her dimension.

[@TOG285]

This entire metal virus saga was some of the best writing i've seen in the series. I'm honestly glad IDW comics exist.

[@smashmaster521]

Outside of Shadow's characterization, although that was more SEGA's fault than Ian Flynn's.

[@moosesues8887]

Jojo!!

[@Bentus0000]

Somewhere...in another dimension Mr. Tinker and Mr. Needlemouse are having tea and are the best of friends

[@TheOGLegoGuy]

The name is Mister Hedgehog, needlemouse is actually just a translation error

[@bezhfezh]

@@TheOGLegoGuy I'm just gonna ignore that

[@0009rekcurTkcuF]

Hehehe needlemouse hehehe

[@mistersp3753]

The Ohm-Egga mech. Designed to measure up the Resistance and CRUSH IT! Yeah, engineering pun!

[@friskycalibri2293]

O-Megg-cha.

[@gabbpolicarpio1236]

I call it the Egg 0-Mecha.

[@simpster2122]

Ʊ is the symbol for Ohms, which measure electrical resistance. E-123 Omega is resistant to Eggman, therefore Omega resists eggs. Ʊ🥚🤖

[@ultimatewolfgaming4171]

If you were going for an engineering pun over an egg pun, wouldn't OmECHa better fit?

[@TonySpike]

This was architect levels of punnage my freind 🤣 (rce ref .....cos someone wont get it)

[@travisherndon94]

Man I laugh my ass off seeing Eggman pull out a glock

[@JPlaysGames312]

For me, the strengths of this story vastly out-weigh the weaknesses it may have. This arc finally made me wake up to Ian Flynn's writing. I've vastly underestimate Ian's skill to tell stories, and if this is how good his stories can get, it is a true shame that he is no longer the lead writer for the IDW comics, I will be so sad if the comics cannot live up to the standard Ian left with this story

[@ImVeryMuchBored]

Ian's not going away forever, just FYI. He's just not going to be the sole head writer anymore, with Evan Stanley taking up the role alongside him, by the looks of it, they're going to swap in and out between story arcs.

[@KavinCatastrophe]

@@ImVeryMuchBored Evan For the Regular Day to day Storytelling. And Ian will be For the Sonic Big Events. Like How Marvel and Dc do every few Years.

[@WhiteDragonCM]

"Sonic didn't warp into the sun, he warped into the Sol dimension" O.o .. the sol dimension, so the sun dimension? Sol means sun so in a way, Sonic was teleported into the "sun" XP

[@vivalaglavii6736]

Warp Topaz is apparently just a confused GPS

[@deepblueking5245]

Imagine if he accidentally send the virus to that dimension

[@ultimatewolfgaming4171]

Hey, uh, this just in. One of the Warrior-Wolves received a message from Ultra-Wolf which he received via a transmission from his sub-universe's Sonic who got this message from a distress signal sent out by the Blaze from the Sol Dimension branching off of their sub-universe that a bunch of metallic goo was raining from the sky, and as it touched certain things, it would spread and start turning things metal, and that several civilians have already been turned. Judging by what I was told about how this thing acts, the other Ulti-Wolves and I's encounter in a DIFFERENT sub-universe, (where I surprisingly enough was the only one infected, getting jumped by a being resembling most Shadows, and later using the powers of the Wolf Crystals (which are the Canine version of Godstones, which are similar in simple concept to the Chaos Emeralds), in an extremely similar way to how they were used here, except splitting me into to versions of myself, one fully infected, but still somehow retaining control, and one uninfectable version, which acted vaguely like those infected, and judging by how similarly the stuff acts here to in these other instances, I can safely assume that the metallic goo raining down on Ultra-Wolf's sub-universe's Sol Dimension is this 'Metal Virus' stuff that Sean (Ultra-Wolf's equivalent of Tails at first glance, except with extreme power that not even I can attain, and being the one to save ENTIRE TIMELINES at times) says that he helped to deal with months earlier, and is actually how he and Ultra-Wolf first met. This past experience explains how well they handled the rest of the Ulti-Wolves' encounter with the stuff. We were unable to do much to save that sub-universe, as we left as soon as possible after I managed to somehow fuse back with myself, thus curing me somehow, but we are going to try to save Ultra-Wolf's.

[@0009rekcurTkcuF]

@@ultimatewolfgaming4171 ok first of all what, second, this is the KZbin comments section not a fanfic site

[@aggressivelymediocre350]

10:31 This panel honestly looks like it captures the moments before Blaze badly sprains her left ankle. Ouch, those heels.

[@fort2558]

we all know why shadow was not at that party he would have WRECKED that robot just as fast as sonic

[@Mepphy99]

Actually ... Omega Is his best friend Maybe *the real Shadow* would have been a bit startled and worried to destroy him

[@fort2558]

@@Mepphy99 tails said that omega was not the actual robot itself and just covered by omega so still even then it would have ended early due to his presence

[@Mepphy99]

@@fort2558 oh yeah i forgot

[@fort2558]

@@Mepphy99 kinda sad how characters as strong as sonic have to have something to keep them out the plot silver lives in the future blaze in an entire different dimension but shadow needs to be a loner to keep him out the way

[@Mepphy99]

@@fort2558 i mean this Is Sonic's story After all But they Just could experiment a Little

[@mistersp3753]

Nice to see Blaze's dimension AND a good future for Silver. This gives me hope that they might be bold enough to give a name to Sonic's world. Sega isn't going to do it.

[@Eminster]

For what reason exactly

[@mistersp3753]

@@Eminster it would help people care a little more about 'Sonic's World' if it had a proper name. They could just call it Mobius like so many others still do, or they can call it something similar. Like Helix, or another loop-based name

[@Biostar96]

Verdict still out on that. Apparently they were originally going to show more detail to Silver’s future but Sega told them to keep it more vague.

[@zigzoinks5493]

Wait what? What was wrong with Mobius?

[@DarkshadowXD63]

@@zigzoinks5493 I thought Mobius was under Penders's control

[@shonenbois]

Respect to the Artist who drew that Jojo Scene between Sonic and Eggman

[@Blurro]

Adam Bryce Thomas is by far the best IDW artist so

[@vivalaglavii6736]

I didn't even notice until he mentioned it

[@MrJoeyWheeler]

Ian Flynn really needs to become head writer for Sonic Team. Then we'd only have to worry about the programming parts.

[@Eldoofus]

that, and the restraints Sega would put to him.

[@ItzMisterBlitzer]

@@Eldoofus He's done this well with restraints

[@stopmotionmangemantproduct1111]

Lol this aged quite well my guy still keeping my expectations low but you know what I mean

[@MagoDraws]

about that

[@jannicgoldfu1049]

Eggy pulling out a gun is somehow the funniest thing to me

[@Joyoboyogomu]

I really want Ian to be the main writer for the games. I just want our characters to feel like our characters again :(

[@rehmanmir7865]

Evan Stanley is pretty great with the characters so I have faith that they’re in good hands

[@chrange9714]

@@rehmanmir7865 For the games though?

[@rehmanmir7865]

@@chrange9714 I'm dumb lmao, I thought this commenter was referring to Ian stepping down from the comics. What I said applies to the comics, she ain't writing for the games lol

[@ultimatewolfgaming4171]

Get Cristian Whitehead and his team on design and gameplay and I think that it could put the original 5 (including Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles, and Sonic 3 & K as all individual games here), the Adventure Games, AND Sonic Generations all to shame. Maybe even Sonic Mania, who knows, the 9 of them are all about as good as one another. (Beat all but Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2. Haven't touched the first one yet but I think that I am a quarter through the Hero Story in 2.)

[@ultimatewolfgaming4171]

@@rehmanmir7865 Also Ian Flynn is a girl? Ian just sounded like a guy name to me.

[@BDeerhead]

Sonic writers: "They're Chaos Emeralds. We ain't gotta explain shit!"

[@masternilla6652]

Yea because they are just emeralds with power of nuclear power plants per emerald

[@MattAnd]

I find the morality point interesting actually, mainly because I can see fair reason for letting Eggman live - with that simply being that the characters know how to handle him and he acts as the top dog of villains, meaning he's some variant of the lesser of two evils. Eggman's flawed, as pointed out in the comics, and is always beatable because of it, but he also tends to keep other villains in check. In this arc as an example, Starline and the Deadly 6 would have been much worse threats without Eggman's interference (i.e. stopping Starline doing proper experiments, or being vital in allowing the good guys to win). Yes Eggman tends to set the ball rolling on most problems, but its fair to say Starline and other villains would enact plans even without him around, just look at Metal Sonic in the first arc, and when Eggman does carry out plans on his own they always have some key weakness that can be exploited. So yeah, I could see that argument being made, and in some ways I think was part of the point of this arc, intentionally or not.

[@aurorablaize]

Bad Guys pretty much shows this. For all of their ambition, Eggman keeps them in check more or less. Going back to the morality part though, I can see where Sonic is coming from. Eggman is fucking brilliant as hell and Mr Tinker showed exactly what a good Eggman could do. It's really hard to ignore that. Of course there's also the fact, which compounds this even more, that this is the darkest version of the character ever. Yes, Julian was dark over in Archie, but even he didn't want complete destruction of the world. Games Eggman doesn't either really. IDW Eggman doesn't give a shit.

[@vivalaglavii6736]

@@aurorablaize I mean... Kinda? Eggman did want to control the world this time just like he always has, so I'm not sure I'd say if he's okay with letting the world get destroyed, but as someone who's more than aware of other dimensions and planets with sentient life I do wonder if he would care if the world would end.

[@Eldoofus]

@@vivalaglavii6736 that's probably like replacing his robots; he easily could and would if he had to, but he just doesn't want to go through that hassle.

[@lonelywolf5659]

@@aurorablaize BT dubs he destroyed the planet in Unleash drained all the life of the out of it in lost world. Destroyed time and space twice in 06 and Generations. Try to feed chao too Ifrit and Almost destroyed 2 dimensions multiple times. Is in re route reality in Advance 3. so yeah the game one does a lot of destruction.

[@aurorablaize]

@@vivalaglavii6736 He started out with wanting to control the world, but he flat out said that if he couldn't control the zombots that he would just flat out leave the planet and not give a damn. Probably because he knows there are other planets/dimensions out there.

[@johnman8398]

Unironically one of the best sonic stories ever made. It's a miracle Ian is able to come up with genuinely engaging stories with the limitations he has. I keep saying this but he NEEDS to write for games somehow.

[@Anonfaulty]

Couch

[@azuroslazuli6948]

He’s writing Sonic Frontiers. 😱

[@johnman8398]

@@azuroslazuli6948 I had almost lost hope and now I'm very excited.

[@bagelgod946]

31:37 metal sonic has had so much potential as a character and I hope they explore it. He’s always seemed like he though he was the true sonic ever since CD and calling sonic metal sonic and his lonesome copy in heroes helped cement that. And I really want to see more of his identity crisis.

[@onile425]

It's sad that they retconned his sacrifice in Sonic Rivals 2. That sacrifice made the character go full circle. It showed that he was a hero.

[@fort2558]

@@onile425 eggman reprograms him so it makes sense

[@SeanGokuu]

I never would have thought about the Master Emerald thing you mentioned. I always just kinda saw it as the glazed mcguffin that neutralizes the other egg mcguffins

[@brucesshipyards744]

Man that Sonic amnesia 'side plot' was way too quick. Its such a good premise, and unfortunately they can't do it again and explore it.

[@Greyhoundsniper]

Shadow: hey, that's my line!

[@FrostTheHobidon]

It’s funny that Crystalmaiden77 say that Ian Flynn Doesn’t care about Sonic Characters. Yet Ian Flynn has written Tails characters why better then Sega.

[@FrostTheHobidon]

@Alec Jackman 58 (STUDENT) I’m not, it’s just something I know she would say.

[@fort2558]

@Alec Jackman 58 (STUDENT) said the guy who bothered to make this comment

[@fort2558]

@Alec Jackman 58 (STUDENT) i know but if you wanted to get that point across you could have made your own comment instead of replying to someone else who is simply pointing out a fact

[@Mrsonicteam121]

22:08 Eggman ain't choose the thug life, the thug life chose Eggman

[@TehJellyLord]

The comic just proves to me that Ian Flynn deserves to write for the games. Even with the limitation on the characters placed by SEGA, he can still write something that feels Sonic in every sense.

[@aidanhammans9337]

Considering that Rouge could lie on top of the master Emerald and not turn into Super Rouge, I think you need a chaos power adaptor to use the master Emerald as a stand in for the 7

[@nicholasnwagbara1333]

Maybe, but using chaos power, let alone super forms, seems to be voluntary. Even with all seven emeralds and enough rings Sonic has to activate his transformations.

[@aidanhammans9337]

Tell me then why Rouge didn’t try using the Master Emerald when it was right there. My theory makes sense

[@nicholasnwagbara1333]

@@aidanhammans9337 Maybe not everyone has a super form. If Rouge can't go super why would she try?

[@alexandercorbett1147]

@@nicholasnwagbara1333 I usually think that myself. I always thought that Sonic, Shadow, and Silver were the only characters that have super forms just by using the Chaos Emeralds, and Tails and Knuckles get their own super forms using the Super Emeralds (which also allows Sonic to transform into Hyper Sonic). Nobody else has a super form for some reason, unless they use the Super Emeralds is pretty much what I think.

[@rollingthunder7978]

@@alexandercorbett1147 But doesn't Knux have a superform and a hyperform in Sonic 3&K?

[@mjefferson3223]

My head canon for how silver time traveling is he has a time stone

[@archmagetyler]

Either that or a mini time-sign

[@Panther-chan]

He did in the Archie comics and used a unique skill called Chronos Control. Was quite a cool way to make them important again actually. I have a feeling that they wouldn't let that be the case in the IDW comics though, since he lost it after the reboot.

[@archmagetyler]

@@Panther-chan eh, you never know.if sega allows them to use metal sonic, then sonic cd stuff isn't entirely off the table.

[@GrumpySylveon]

And the fandom says that Sega forgot about G.U.N!

[@michaelcarlton1484]

I don't buy into the "two worlds" thing and personally just see the human and animal "worlds" as separate continents/countries, which would be why G.U.N. isn't exactly relevant.

[@yaminogame]

Man. What a wild ride. I cannot wait for the next speed reading video. You make them so fun 🤩

[@mostafaz0097]

Metal virus got my head spinning

[@KavinCatastrophe]

Zavok get Up after A Super Sonic Attack. Wheatley: YOUR STILL ALIVE!!! YOUR JOKING YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME

[@johnman8398]

14:35 Tails in forces is just consistent with how he's been interpreted since 2008. That's not to say how he acted in that game was particularly good but it's not something that came outta nowhere in forces it's a problem that originated much earlier on.

[@lordpillows762]

in forces it was just too straightforward, on the games that came before it that wasn't so obvious, so it felt sudden

[@dantemustdie00]

@@lordpillows762 Yeah him, cowering to Chaos 0 of all things was the lowest of the low Tails could go.

[@chrange9714]

@@dantemustdie00 He had even legit fought Chaos 5 in Adventure who's way bigger than 0.

[@woobgamer5210]

It's sad how Tails hasn't done any full involvement to the adventure in the games since 06.

[@whiteninji352]

@@chrange9714 I think you mean Chaos 4

[@quantum1189]

I still believe that the friction caused by Sonic's speed was what was keeping him 100% uninfected and that Sonic figured that the sun's heat would be too much for the virus to handle and with no chance of adapting to it.

[@rehmanmir7865]

When I was in middle school quite a while ago, I loved reading EvanStanley’s Sonic fan comic: Ghosts of The Future. She has a great way of writing the characters and I’m very eager to see how she continues to write for the story

[@Filipe1020]

Imagine if SEGA makes a game about the metal virus? If done right it would be a really dark Sonic game

[@KavinCatastrophe]

Hey Shadow Whatever you do. Don't use Chaos Control to Teleport to Eggman Escape Ship

[@gameringly8916]

Chaos control can only be used when the plot demands it.

[@smashmaster521]

Shadow: I DO WHAT I WANT!

[@sirnutaku7716]

22:15 I was not expecting Eggy to pull out the glock, that caught me off guard

[@mediocrehyper7358]

I’d love to see a prequel game or comic where silver meets blaze and it’s canon instead of 06, kinda like sonic rush but with blaze and silver or something

[@yoshifan2334]

At this point it seems like they’re sticking to rush as Blaze’s origin and just ignoring egg man Nega, and silver is just staying as being from 06 post time reset minus Blaze, so it barely even counts as headcanon to just say rush is Blaze’s origin to the wider canon

[@mediocrehyper7358]

@@yoshifan2334 ya but it’d be fun to see rush blaze meet a silver that could remember 06 cause of time reasons and sometimes because of the slip of his tongue forget it’s not the blaze he knows, and then we could get more blaze and silver without lore people ripping their hair out

[@michaelcarlton1484]

@@mediocrehyper7358 The way I've always interpreted it is that Blaze was brought to Silver's future by the Sol Emeralds since there was a threat to the multiverse (Solaris). Since Blaze, Silver, etc. weren't directly linked to Solaris being blown out like a candle, they were affected by the reset. Unlike Sonic who does have a strong sense of "something happened here, but not sure what", Silver and Blaze only have minor bouts of Deja Vu when they interact or are reminded of the erased timeline. In Sonic Colors DS, their first official meeting, they fight together and state that it feels familiar, leading them to have fun at the amusement park together. In Sonic Generations, there are a few hints of Sonic 06 that appear and both characters react to it. Since they've felt familiar around each other, having unknowingly known each other for much longer than they are aware, they are very close friends, which is very fitting. One is from another dimension and the other is from a possible future. Space and Time.

[@mediocrehyper7358]

@@michaelcarlton1484 that could be possible, but if they made a prequel game along the line of what I said, but only do I think it’d be pretty cool, but they could do a lot more with the pair without people having to think about a bunch of head cannons, also I don’t 100% understand what you said so I may have taken it wrong

[@MrSkysenGames]

Sega's insistence on being vague about the Sonic universe and even the planet bugs me, likely for a lot of the reasons as everyone else. Which is one of many reasons why I liked the Archie comics, because they at least said "There's a Sonic multiverse. Here's some 'what if' potential!" Different looking map? Eh...universe 534! I also question Silver's time travel and Good Future stuff. What are the conditions of his birth? Could a change happen and suddenly be blips out of existence mid-adventure? For all the good that's come of some of these stories and writing, the Sega restrictions absolutely make it feel like a majestic beast behind a cage. A few rules away from something even more awe inspiring.

[@johanroyce6324]

Personally I want a situation where Silver's future is a mess and even though he fights many villains in Sonic's timeline, his future is still a mess and he begins to panic trying to prevent the incident (whatever that may be) that left his world in ruins. In the end he comes to the realization that if he wants to fix his world he shouldn't be trying to change the past. True change doesn't come from changing the past or relying on future generations to solve the problem, it starts in the now. He sees how Sonic and his friends keep trying to make their world a better place with every passing day and maybe with a lot of hard work and collaboration with people from his own timeline he can make his world a better place.

[@MrSkysenGames]

I'm a bit hazy on Silver's timeline beyond "Everything went to crap." Didn't evil win? How many people are still alive? Depending on the situation, there may be little point to fixing the now if past mistakes did too much damage. I get what you're saying with the "Let's work for a brighter tomorrow," but...uh...his time is pretty bleak and lifeless for him from what I've seen.

[@johanroyce6324]

@@MrSkysenGames I agree with you as sometimes there is no fixing it. But we have no idea on how Silver's world works and what is it about his world that he is willing to back in time to save it. We as the audience are never shown the world of the future and have no reason to care about it being in ruins. My idea is just one of the many directions the comics could take if Sega was willing to go the extra mile an expand the Sonic world.

[@MrSkysenGames]

Yeah, I'd like it if Sega would go _any_ distance to expand the world. It's kind of all over the place with sometimes humans, sometimes all animals, sometimes fantasy world, sometimes realistic. Classic Sonic is another timeline? Another dimension? Like...pick a lane, Sega, or explain us a multiverse, because nothing makes sense. Original game trilogy + Chaotix had a timeline, but after that? *~arms up~* Who knows! Mario has had bumps over the years, but still explains its game worlds in a way that links most of them together. Example: We know SB3 was a play. They explain this. MegaMan is basically a continuous timeline, easily followed, and given plot later on. Even _Zelda_ had a divided timeline given to us(for better or worse). Sega can't even name the planet. Closest we get to consistency is, with the utmost irony, the Chaos Emeralds. The Golden McGuffin. The cure-all. Deus Ex Gem, in both comic and game. ...Know what? I'm on board with your idea, but with a twist. Give us a Silver game, _maybe_ bring in the others for flavor, but make it something like Dark Cloud, where you go around rebuilding villages to progress plot/save the world. That could easily be pushed into a comic mini-story as well, in the event they retcon the ending here.

[@chrange9714]

@@MrSkysenGames How I think Sonic's world is structured right now is that in a part of the world, you have where cartoony animals live and in other parts, the humans live. Angel Island and the Lost Hex are still in the sky. Not saying this to excuse SEGA's vagueness, just piecing it together as is. Classic Sonic is past Sonic. The whole retcon of "he's from another dimension" is so stupid and if actually the case, negates the whole story with Classic Sonic in Generations. The game is all about time travel for crying out loud. Generations is even referenced in a joke in Forces, basically confirming that it did in fact happen. If SEGA was smart, they'd drop the retcon. It makes no sense and was just thrown in.

[@kingbash6466]

As a fan of Blaze since Rush, I’m glad we got to see more of her dimension. We even got to see her palace.

[@johnman8398]

25:34 Ok to be fair it's not batmans fault the justice system keeps joker alive if anything it's gothams fault, he hands them joker on a silver platter and they just lock him up.

[@lonelywolf5659]

Exactly but people don't call out Gotham city They just call out Batman because reasons

[@turb0717]

I love how Eggman has a gun with a flashlight on it thats amazing

[@Blurro]

That wasn't a flashlight lol that was the blast from the gun He didn't show it but the next panel it vaporised a massive round hole through a building

[@ace-wombo-combo]

22:08 Eggman really did pull out his secret invention

[@TheDarkFuryKnight]

I think the comics should be canon and an extra thing for fans

[@Game_Hero]

That would limit their potential, they'd be chained to whatever happens in the games.

[@KronosSion]

Mr. Tinker told us something that the games rarely, if ever, bring up. That somewhere inside of Eggman, is a decent human being. Sonic almost got through to him in that moment where he reminisced about being paid with pies and being surrounded by the laughter of children. Robotnik didn't even flat out deny *wanting* it, he just moved on to another topic of conversation or cover-up.

[@Scorpionspear77]

Omega’s line before blasting the big mech is awesome- “Unleashing stockpiled wrath!”

[@pa1719]

I totally forgot about Eggman pulling out a gun on Tails lmaooo Thank you so much for these videos, I had a lot of fun listening to your thoughts on the story!

[@dagoth-ursbeekeeper9119]

22:06 easily my favorite part of this whole reading

[@inkbagz3455]

Eggman really pulled out a Glock-19 holy shit

[@truemetalsonic]

i hope we get a video on Metal Sonic oneday so we can have 20 minutes of nerding out. with shipping returning to normal, i hope the Sonic volumes come out quicker, currently ive read nothing past the metal virus ending but ive seen that puppet girl for months.

[@ultimatewolfgaming4171]

YOU WILL NEVER BE THE REAL SONIC, METAL!

[@yuxaredd]

always nice to see a new one of these.

[@alexrowe7063]

22:07 according to the theory of the multiverse there is a timeline where Eggman flat out caps tails.

[@RenSenpai7]

I forgive you…. For being so GOATED I break my fingers to click on your video as fast as possible

[@djdrizzy9139]

I was so glad to see Blaze back; I missed seeing her during the entire arc! I was hoping to spend more time with Blaze, but it's better than nothing I suppose.

[@CathakLinari]

Rouge's pasted on smile in the group hug is a mood, and probably my favorite bit of art so far

[@YamashitaKoikeDS]

They should do "Into The Sonic Verse" issues where they bring back the Freedom Fighters, Snively and Scourge from alternate dimensions since they briefly show off Blaze's and Siver's

[@IcyWind14]

Can't do Scourge without incurring Penders' wrath.

[@ultimatewolfgaming4171]

This sorta already happened the first time the other Ulti-Wolves and I fought against the Feline King, who was possessing Tronsdeltador, who was possessing my version of Anti-Wolf, who I deemed as the Anti-Clone, a similar title to the Ulti-Clone, which is the title I granted Wolf 2, both given after their help in defeating the Feline King. So anyways, Wolf 2 were busy finding the first Ulti-Wolf to recruit into our Multiversal Liberation Force, which would later be known as the Council of Canines, which would turn out to be Ultra-Wolf, along with his best friend Sean, who had extreme powers that no Ulti-Wolf could even dream of having, with these powers not even known to himself. We went through multiple sub-universes, but Wolf 2 decided, "Hey, since we are here, why don't we recruit this sub-universe's versions of these characters as extra backup." On top of hiring heroes, we would also try to convince their enemies into helping us as well. A few Eggmans (Eggmen?) joined us, but the rest escaped, and later joined with the Feline King, being met with the "promise" of still being able to do whatever after the multiverse has been enslaved. This culminated into a big sort of crossover event of sorts culminating at the end where many, MANY versions of all sorts of characters on both sides in a massive war that would threaten the entire multiverse's relative freedom. We came out on top, as you can tell by not being forced to work for an unknown entity with very little food or water, and no shelter, until you perished. Even the little kids would have been forced to work, even the ones who couldn't would be forced to, you get the idea. But still.

[@tomdrawsstuffs6092]

@@IcyWind14 that bastard is still a problem for sega

[@johnnygyro2295]

​@@IcyWind14 True, though maybe they could resolve the plot of whatever the deal was with Naugus' dark god Ixis?

[@GatorOne-in7hk]

Wow. Just, wow, I loved this story. Some of it was a bit challenging to experience, like Shadow being an idiot and just how far the drama went for such a long period of time, but the writing of the characters was absolutely top-notch! I LOVED seeing Cream and Gemerl in this story since I loved Sonic Advance 3 as a kid, and their arc did not disappoint! Starline, MAN, he is a great new side villain! It’s great to see someone that isn’t a good guy point out Eggman’s greatest flaws. He’s just an overall fascinating character. The Deadly Six were utilized very well too, as their fights acted as the culmination of our heroes’ growth. And Silver, after years of being bashed by fans, FINALLY got to prove himself by going Super alongside Sonic and destroying the Metal Virus with him! The payoff at the end of this whole thing was just so satisfying. This is the kind of story that moves and inspires me to write my Pokémon fanfiction. Well DONE, Ian Flynn! Thank you for everything!

[@budgoodrich6000]

Dang fine video. As usual. Thank you for all of your hard work my man.

[@godofirrelevant]

It was a long wait for this episode, but it was worth it. A fantastic story. I can’t wait to see what you have in store and what IDW has planned for stories.

[@XavTag_7]

I love this series you’ve been doing

[@hamstersandwich9917]

Despite my gripes with the story I still think it was one of the best narratives the franchise has yet to offer, it raised the stakes in interesting ways, introduced different ideas that I didn't consider and made me enjoy being in this world and at the end of the day, isn't that what every good sonic story has to be?

[@gameringly8916]

I think the robots super forms is just having a large overflow of energy to enhance themselves instead of actual chaos energy.

[@ZenoDLC]

Or, y'know, chaos energy is easily converted to normal electricity

[@ultimatewolfgaming4171]

The Chaos energy gives out the excess energy.

[@thedarkest9]

This has been one wild ride! I’m going to share this channel with one of my friends who read through the Archie comics.

[@Joshua-tn6rs]

Watched all of these. Love them! Keep them up!!

[@hitmiccs]

Thank you for the Speedreading Series, I enjoyed every video so far and the Metal Virus Saga had me hooked like nothing else. Couldn't click fast enough as I saw the video, keep it up, man, you're doing great work. Now enjoy your vacation :)

[@napalmwolf1728]

22:07 dude has an army of killer robots and machine, but when he pulls out that Glock I’m sweating

[@mistersp3753]

Hope you had a fun vacation!

[@kintallo5617]

Just want to say in regards to the art, the mouths on Sonic characters look so much better when its in the center of their muzzles instead of on the side like in the games. Oh, how I wish Sega would stop doing that. I thought it was fine in the Adventure games.

[@Elyseon]

Jewel is about as adorable as Amy, Tangle and Whisper.

[@SamWeltzin]

Ian Flynn seems really fantastic under heavy restrictions. He's also done a pretty good job with the Tales of Aether comics so far, and he had to put an entire character backstory into four issues. I wonder how he'd do completely unrestrained.

[@hanezutchins2786]

The dude's a national treasure.

[@tlkfanrwbyfan8716]

The best stories have some restrictions. Heroes like Superman can be interpreted as boring because he has no limits and often has to be poorly written or out-haxxed just to lose, which turns into “I can do this!” “But I can counter that!” “Well, I can counter THAT!” which is rarely ever enjoyable.

[@smoothie7362]

this was a great series and brought a lot of great ideas i’d like to see in the games. Like metal working with sonic, that’s been something i’ve always wanted to see

[@El_Mince]

9:16 Sonic made a good future in: Crisis City Zone

[@ultimatewolfgaming4171]

Sonic has made a good future for: Silver's Eternal Suffering Zone.

[@El_Mince]

@@ultimatewolfgaming4171 nice

[@Kaiser00Wilhelm]

When you said the words Tails and stealth in the same sentence, I immediately pictured a codec conversation with Sonic as Snake and Tails as Otacon, and I'm like, "Sega make this game and TAKE MY MONEY!"

[@misterzygarde6431]

I think that it would make sense for people to want Eggman's head after this, imagine an antagonist who not only wants Eggman to die, but to suffer all the way through. Especially if it was a Windmill Village resident.

[@Blu_Moon_VA]

7:12 "You may know everything I'm going to do- Wait a minute, no you don't."

[@Yuti640]

i literally died after seeing Eggman pull out a gun and Sonic being Dio

[@hanezutchins2786]

I lost my shit. Looked weird in the middle of a chicken plant, laughing my ass off

[@mrboojay]

Great video as always, hearing your take on these and you narrating them is a lot of fun to listen to, I very much appreciate the work you put into them. I very much enjoyed this arc. To me it flowed well (most of the time) yeah the emeralds at the end again is like, whatever, but I really liked the rest of it. I liked seeing the drama the characters experienced and how that stuff was wrtitten and presented, as well as the consitency in it. Something I can't comprehend, no I don't know how many others feel this way, but as a kid, I was able to recognize good drama, decent writing, and could tell when being talked down to and underwritten to. Why can't these kid mediums (that aren't super young geared) recognize that kids can enjoy and understand a good story and they can tell that you aren't writing well or holding back some just because you're a kid? So seeing something like this is refreshing and I appreciate it, and I know I would have as a kid if I had these. Yeah I agree with the Eggman v Sonic resetting to the status quo, but what you gonna do? Se La Ve. Also another "yay Tails being written better in this comic". :P

[@StarGaleSky7]

The use of the Office Space soundtrack elevated you from awesome to astronomically awesome. Anyways, I subscribed after watching your Why Sonic Matters video, and I'm always honored to hear you present such deep, analytical insight on all things Sonic, with an obvious, passionate love for the entire series. You should be proud of yourself for sharing such enthusiastic zest and thought provoking analysis on the blue fictional hedgehog. I am glad I found this channel.

[@skygamer3440]

I loved this final issue because it was keeping me on the tips of my toes. i thank you for reviewing this issue, because i only seen the metal virus sage but did not see this one yet. so i thank you very much ;)

[@hankj.wimbleton438]

22:08 To be fair,Eggman has to rely on such Technology as he’s only Human and doesn’t have much fighting experience without his machines,while Shadow is a Skilled Fighter and has some insane combat capabilities.

[@ninjawaver]

This was by far the best Arc in the IDW series so far. It was dramatic, emotionally heartbreaking, and impactful. Every character getting infected was gut wrenching, ESPECIALLY Cream. It was even sad how Victor and Tangle got infected. Sonic being exhausted and tired of running also put a dramatic spin to it. And seeing Knuckles and Tails and everyone else about to get infected as Sonic and Silver goes Super was CRAZY. This arc still gives me chills. Definitely awesome!

[@IceyBro136]

If this Arc was turned into a game, I feel like it would be nice to unlock the comics as you collect red rings or something. It would let you experience the story through both the game and reading through the plot points as they were originally intended to be experienced. Because lets be honest, as much as a game based on the arc would be really good and enjoyable from both a game play and story perspective, they would probably tone down some parts and make a lot of Zombification happen off screen. If anything, I think a game version would probably be more akin to what Dragon Ball Z Kakarot was to DBZ in general. I mean, Sure the story is there but you have limited playable characters, the ability to grind to make yourself over powered, Food which can make fights easy and even missing story beats like Vegeta's final flash (while not important to the story as a whole it went to show that cell even though stronger was not invincible to a powerful attack and the he was a reachable goal for our heroes).

[@thisiscontent6085]

Do sonic speed reading on tails gets trolled

[@mkthedj1006]

Yes

[@Poezick88]

Dude that was cool that you did that little tribute to Spaz. He is one of my favorite sonic artists too. I have a print of sonic 175 with his signature framed. Great video as usual

[@stormblitz979]

Everyone gangster till Eggman FREAKING PULLS OUT A GLOCK

[@efanalexander]

22:08 that caught me so off guard

[@osmanvaquiz3080]

22:06 EGGMAN PULLS OUT A GLOCK AND TRYS TO ICE TAILS

[@Jeykit0]

22:08 ah yes what a classic move the when Eggman pulls a gun out

[@ansrfururactions]

22:05 "eggman pulls A GLOCK AND TRIES TO ICE TAILS" I'm dying!

[@Dan-do2pl]

*Damn eggman rlly pulled out the 9*

[@dwreanchinotan]

Thank you for covering these.

[@eatmyshortsproductions]

If they actually ended up making the metal virus a video game, from sonic being tired, to tails being brave, all those character arcs could throw sonic's franchise back up there with the big leagues.

[@nicholasnwagbara1333]

Sonic Outbreak, anyone?

[@smashmaster521]

Unfortunately, that requires SEGA to actually put effort into making a Sonic game, and they're no longer capable of doing so.

[@eatmyshortsproductions]

@@smashmaster521 True

[@chrange9714]

@@smashmaster521 That's not even true. They're perfectly capable, the just need to get of their asses and do it.

[@chrange9714]

@@eatmyshortsproductions No it isn't.