Sonic's WORST Rival - Scourge the Hedgehog

[@Lowart]

Hey there, folks. As always, thanks for watching the video! I hope you enjoy it. Also, if you want to check out any of the original music I made for this one (or my other Archie Sonic videos), you can find that on my side channel here: www.youtube.com/@LowartsLounge I will be uploading the Scourge music there soon. Check out IanWaffles as well! He wrote this video (as well as all the other Archie ones) with me, and did about half the narration for this one. Heck yeah. kzbin.info Also, thanks to MANSCAPED for sponsoring today's video. If you're interested in their stuff, you can get 20% OFF + Free International Shipping with promo code "LOWART" at mnscpd.com/Lowart Thanks again! Have a good one!

[@Rako250]

I’m HERE

[@Vieislost]

Could you do one on the pokemon adventures Manga, that book is even more insane than this comic

[@ByrneBaby]

will we get a video on the Gamma/Omega scene and Team Dark as a whole being the best Team Dark? Or just Archie Omega being the best Omega in general?

[@Funtime_x]

Can we get a archie sliver?

[@hoobadoobamaster8551]

@PrettyAverageArtist wha- dude there like the same person ...how can you even sexualize these guys their skin and bones

[@AkuTenshiiZero]

I just like how Scourge is like all the toxic parts of Sonic's personality amplified. The ego, the bravado, the need for constant action and combat, all stuff that is part of who Sonic is but usually tempered by his good nature and heroism. But take that away, and you have this massive asshole.

[@astuteanansi4935]

"All it would take is a bit of selflessness... a little bit of decency... and you'd be just like me."

[@XenoJehuty84]

Another thing about Scourge that differs him from Sonic is while Sonic spent the majority of his life surviving against Robotnik then later Eggman's takeover of his home; Scourge came from a Mobius that did NOT have a Great War or takeover by a vile tyrant. He's just a POS gang thug who has super speed, and thus he got his butt whupped everytime he had a direct fight against Sonic, a battle hardened veteran. When he got his 'power up' and became Scourge and not just Sonic with shades and a punk jacket, he got more strength and durability, but his ego got worse, which in the end helped set up his fall. For all his bluster of conquering his own planet, said planet had went through a period of peace and was mainly de-militarized, so whoopie do, you beat a planet not ready to fight a super-powered hedgehog. If he tried that against Eggman he'd lose within a week. I had to laugh at the end of that arc when even after getting his super upgrade, once again Sonic's wealth of experience trumps his quick power grab, as our main Hog deduced given how 'Moebius' inverted things compared to his Mobius, instead of being 'refreshed' after his transformation, Scourge was left weakened after his Anarchy Beryal power up wore off, leaving him open to get taken down. While the comic set up his eventually return after the Zone-Prison arc, and sadly it's rebooting, then cancellation ultimate killed his return, I would expect Scourge would continue to lose because no matter how much he raged against it; he really was just a wannabe poser compared to Mobius Prime Sonic; or even several other of his multiversal counterparts.

[@donathan2933]

@@XenoJehuty84you described him perfectly

[@ditto7047]

​@@XenoJehuty84 Adding onto that, remember what happened when he had to fight Metal Sonic? He pretty much immediately hit a roadblock until he stopped trying to do the "lone strongman" thing and called the Suppression Squad for backup. The moment he was faced with something actually capable of standing up to him, he folded.

[@LordEmperorBoss]

I mean Sonic still is a bit of an asshole. Just one with a shred of compassion and decency. But again, without those he’d just be Scourge.

[@SamLabbato]

I like how some random fan was like "read archie sonic" and years later he's still covering them

[@leonardodelimaferreira8509]

Just to show how much iconic this mess really is lmao

[@hype5456]

Which is neat since barely anyone talks about Archie Sonic as a series and only focuses on the power scaling

[@robertlupa8273]

@@hype5456...is that _really_ still the case? -_-

[@hype5456]

@@robertlupa8273 back then? It was pretty much what everyone would talk about Archie Sonic, no one really talked about the comics take on the character or it's own cast and world. Most of the time people cared about how strong Archie Sonic was. Even outside of that no one really talks about Archie Sonic but only do because of Ken Penders

[@nmr7203]

@hype5456 People actually did talk about it, but it was usually to make fun of it or vaguely imply that Sega should based games off of it.

[@Pikatwig16]

So, here's something at least worth a passing mention. While Ian Flynn never got to put this to paper, he did have some ideas for Anti-Shadow. His name would've been "Sparkles". And that just cracks me up.

[@chatd20061]

He could've named this "Anti-Shadow" the name "Reaper"

[@fanatic100and2]

I think something like glare or bright would have done the trick

[@autobotkirby1up]

@@chatd20061 I'd say have him refer to himself as Reaper but have his actual name be "Sparkles"

[@warioskapelli3100]

Omg..."Project Sparkles" 😂

[@jacklansdale77]

Tbf in anti world project shadow probably failed

[@LordLucario12]

Also I just realized how fucking perfect it is that Scourge is literally "born" on Sonic's birthday. Even when trying to escape the shadow of his Prime self, he just can't

[@sp4c1ng_0ut8]

Fucking losing it at this, how dare you???

[@user-p421]

And appeared four years later in comics.

[@Gaia_BentosZX5]

To add insult to injury, he was minted and sold as an NFT while his heroic counterpart got a new lease on life with a Visual Novel series (the Big's Fishing Adventure Trilogy and Murder). Sonic For Hire? Nah, Scourge For Hire would be more accurate. An evil version of the protagonist that wanted nothing to do with Fate, who had other plans. He was effectively replaced by Surge, which was icing on the cake since Scourge was born out of an ironic twist: During the Comic Book Speculator Boom, Archie wanted to regulate the comic book industry (but didn't know how), but it felt like his very presence was putting the Comic's Code Authority, Archie's OWN creation, through the ultimate stress test to see what the hypocrites could get away with. @@user-p421

[@FritzyBeat]

My favorite aspect about Scourge isn't the fact that he can say to Sonic "All it takes is one bad day, and you'd be just like me", many villains and anti-heroes that acted as the antithesis of the hero have been able to say that over the years. The best part about Scourge in my opinion, is Sonic can tell him "All it would take is a little bit of selflessness, a little bit of decency, and you'd be just like me", and that affects Scourge. Because the one thing Scourge fears most is being seen as just another version of Sonic from just another reality of Mobius. Having a villain that plays into the whole "the evil version of the hero" trope but who fears being like the hero more than the hero fears being like him is something I can't recall being done nearly as often, and it's a big part of why I always enjoyed him in the comics when he came up.

[@carso1500]

Scourge is what Sonic would be if he was a lesser being

[@sakaiclips]

Right

[@joetie7516]

Damn that's actually really good.

[@MrOzzification]

Yeah it's a very effective dynamic. Sonic's retort stings more because Scourge is insecure about himself. His greatest fear is everyone realising he's not the big shot he parades himself to be. He desperately tries to prove he's not just a lesser Sonic doppelganger but the real deal. Sonic sees right through that and basically tells him "You're a failed version of me." Scourge's line is externally focused. That all that separates them is circumstance. "It just takes one bad day". Sonic's line is internally directed. "you could be me but you're the problem. You've failed yourself" which is a lot more damning.

[@sarafontanini7051]

i love that aspect of scourge, how he's a deconstruction of the evil counterpart trope

[@jocosejpeg]

"What you see is what you get: just a guy who loves adventure!" Scourge is someone who took that first part of the quote and twisted it. He made himself as outwardly flashy as possible in the hopes that others WOULD perceive him the same way he presented himself: as a powerful king who merits fear and respect. Sonic doesn't have a facade to uphold because he really IS just a guy who loves adventure, through and through. For Sonic, "What you see is what you get" reflects his honesty and self-acceptance of who he is. He's not superficial. Scourge IS the facade. He's the mask Moebian Sonic hides behind. And every time someone looks past it, he breaks, because "Evil Sonic" is a desperate loser and he knows it. His self-reductive thinking bleeds out into the way he views Sonic's allies (and even his own) in a lot of the stories he appeared in. For Scourge, "What you see is what you get" is a testament to how shallow his worldview is.

[@McKnighty]

Scourge is my favorite Archie character :)

[@Mr.EME.]

I loved your comment pal

[@CometX-ing]

I disagree with the idea that Scourge is a facade. You get exactly what you see, and evil inverse of Sonic. He's the most powerful thing in his home universe but unlike Sonic he is driven by ego. A desire to prove his superiority through strength. Sonic isn't truly beaten until his will is broken and he no longer wishes to fight, Sonic doesn't desire peoples respect. Scourge demands respect and is beaten the moment you refuse to give it to him either by showing you fear him or submit to him. In that way, Scourge isn't a facade he's exactly what you'd expect him to be.

[@stellarmelody2784]

​@@CometX-ing he still a facade scourge is not that powerful but he is an arrogance then sonic, it's the opposite sure everything you said was correct he use fear to respect him, he is that unfreedom I don't remember what the other words to describe but he is the bullies that demanding force them to do on his side sonic is about freedom with free will work together as team of friendship then been force with fear, I just put this with extra word

[@XenoJehuty84]

A well said analysis, Scourge is truly a poser punk who literally came a world devoid of the horrors Sonic and the Freedom Fighters had to endure as children, and fighting for their very survival. Meanwhile, while we got some crumbs of a lonely childhood, Scourge still didn't have a war looming over his head, and selfishly admits he probably murdered his own Father, and then helped Alicia (Moebian Sally) depose of her Father so they could basically put their gang in power with impunity within Mobotropolis. The scene he had with Sonic's father Jules really sets up how much of a coward loser he is, who ultimately let his pettiness utterly CONTROL him, than keep it under control. I'm sure if we did get his return after the Zone-Prison arc, he'd once again be his own worst enemy and probably, eventually cheese off the Destructix into abandoning him, and maybe even Fiona who at times, we saw signs of 'buyers remorse' for her siding with him.

[@xelldrk]

The irony of Scourge being a worst rival is that he's not only a bad version of Sonic, but he's also BAD at everything else. Like Sonic is so good at being a hero, that the reversed version of him is a villain that sucks as a villain, a failure, as how a mirror works with reversed reflection

[@yellowstarproductions6743]

Àgreed

[@InktheImpassive]

Bruh, imagine if his speed is also inverted.

[@sclarinet9088]

@@InktheImpassivewould that mean everything around him goes slow while he’s normal speed or another take “unstoppable force meets immovable object” like sonic pretty much has infinite speed. What if he has infinite mass. (Not smart enough to figure out the applications but it’s there)

[@umbrafrfx6701]

​@@sclarinet9088 nah actually infinite mass for scourge would be badass that nigga would actually be a scourge if he was basically a walking singularity, the man would bend light and would basically be a living breathing blackhole, from the little I know ab physics

[@kingbash6466]

I love how brilliant it was changing Scourge from blue to green. It not only makes sense from an in-universe perspective since absorbing massive amounts of chaos energy can turn some characters green like Knuckles, but it also works on a thematic level since he's an opposite version of Sonic, he has green fur with blue eyes to counteract Sonic's blue fur and green eyes.

[@SteveCrafts2k]

Isn't green also the color of envy?

[@afrosamurai64]

@@SteveCrafts2kenvy or greed

[@normalgraham]

I mean, yeah. That's why they did it. Did you know they also colored Shadow black because he was supposed to be a dark reflection of Sonic? Did you know that? Of course you did, that's why they did it.

[@isauldron4337]

Ashura bug inspirrd

[@MushroomyPlayzYT]

@@isauldron4337 Nah I’m pretty sure Surge was

[@st4r64]

Like, Scourge is a piece of shit, but he's so iconic

[@agentkryptoninja5044]

Such a fun piece of shit

[@RadikAlice]

An asshole you can't help but love

[@sharaheartsixx]

RIGHT?!

[@mrmelonman2893]

He's goated

[@fordgt5383]

ikr, much like the Joker, Scourge is also someone who's a complete POS, but also incredibly fun to watch

[@mylem6234]

That line “it’s because all it would take is a bit of selflessness… a little bit of decency… and you’d just be like me” always made me think of Scourge ever getting a redemption arc of some sorts. It would be quite interesting to see him becoming a better person instead of a whiny but cool bad guy.

[@manoftruth0935]

Scourge has a problem with being compared to others. First it was his father, then it was to Prime Sonic. He never wanted to be compared to others, and that made him lash out and turned him into a massive asshole. Anti Mobius is where a lot of inhabitants are opposite in some way from Prime Mobius. Not all are morally opposite from prime, some have never had events happen to them, or some has different events happen to them. But we never did see an Anti Fiona… and perhaps that’s why Scourge stuck with her, and she to him. Both never wanted to live to standards others set for them. If anything could’ve been done had the lawsuit never happened, Scourge and Fiona would’ve likely become mercenaries working for the highest bidder, but Scourge would’ve found a compassionate heart along the way, and Fiona learning regret to how she treated those who tried to help her and make up for unknowingly leaving her behind that once fateful day.

[@sarafontanini7051]

@@manoftruth0935 honestly there's a tragedy in how fiona sticks by scourge, despite how poorly he treats he, how much sticking with him has made her lose a lot of things, and we're never really told WHY she's done this, why she continues to make herself suffer because the sonic who hit on her once turned out to be a different dude.

[@__-be1gk]

The pain of being obsessed with writing characters like Scourge but needing heroes for them to interact with

[@esteban8471]

I think the key is acknowledging how insecure characters like Scourge are. They seem strong when they're on their own turf but they start to crumble the second someone refuses to give them what they want, and that is control of the situation. Scourge is essentially a bully with super speed.

[@PikaPenny17]

I mean, you don't NEED to have them interact with heroes. Villain vs villain is perfectly acceptable.

[@RushWheeler]

Same with what LuigiDough/Pikachu said, you can add in a rival villain who's actually competent and the Scourge-esque character is trying to compete with them to prove that they're actually worth fighting against. A great example of this type of character is Killer Moth's relationship with the rest of Batman's rogues gallery in DC Comics, where Killer Moth's whole character arc is him trying his hardest to become Batman's greatest villain and doing everything to show that he's better than all those other villains, from having his own batcave to even his signature Moth-signal, until he realizes that despite everything he does to make himself seem more significant than all of Batman's other enemies, he's really just nothing more than a parasite.

[@Maxiom5]

Once I was prompted to draw a Sonic OC and as a joke I drew a green evil sonic with a leather jacket, not knowing it was a real character.

[@yellowstarproductions6743]

Cool

[@silverthecatastrophic5270]

That's amazing

[@Cheryskul]

LMAO

[@society7394]

He’s the best evil Sonic we’ve ever gotten in terms of feeling like a complete antithesis to Sonic, where Sonic is self-confident and a healthy ego, Scourge constantly has to validate himself because of his complete lack of self-confidence that he has to cover up. Scourge is too insecure to become a good person, because in his eyes that would get rid of his individuality, and only distinction from all of the other Sonic’s across the multiverse.

[@Gendotherendo]

Tbh.... he's not wrong in that he wouldn't be any different any other good sonic if he would turned good. I feel like the multiverse aspect, which is just existential and cosmic horror, is a big contributing factor.

[@KeyboardKlutz_0]

This is how you do a cringe character right. He's just strong enough to be threatening, yet just overshadowed enough to not be the focus.

[@Nehfarius]

He has all the power a serious villain might want, but he manages to be mid despite it.

[@MrOzzification]

​@@Nehfarius He could have all the power in the universe and still end up mid. Because all his insecurities and obsession to "be" Sonic out of fear of just being another copy, is a perfect recipe for self-sabotaging behaviour.

[@alexbaribeault]

​@@MrOzzificationSo many parrallels can be drawn between him and Reverse Flash. It's so cool

[@Colddirector]

@@alexbaribeault IT WAS ME SONIC.

[@guythatdosethingssometimes2651]

I love Scourge so much. He's like a shadow that completely owns his edgy bad boy existence. He's just so charismatic and in your face personality that it's hard not to get rapped up in his antics.

[@stevensmith1031]

The Scourge/Jules story is genuinely one of the best backups in the series

[@Future_Vantas]

Love the emphasis on Jules being a war veteran. Dude has seen actual combat, actual danger, its why he's still a robot in the first place. So he knows that this hedgehog is not a real threat, just an angry child throwing a tantrum.

[@donathan2933]

@@Future_Vantasfacts 😂

[@taecampus]

Gotta wonder if Jules ever mention that scenario to Sonic before the reboot. "Oh, hey son! Forgot to mention; evil you stopped by for a visit. "

[@hoobadoobamaster8551]

​@@Future_Vantasdidn't...didn't he kill knuckles in his verse and straight up enslave everybody in his verse Pretty sure he's a bigger problem

[@Freedmoon44]

​@@hoobadoobamaster8551part of the story has Jules implying that even if he wouldnt win against Scourge, Sonic would be *very* upset and go after Scourge

[@zeppelin7342]

When you really think about it, Jules may as well be the biggest chad in all of Archie Sonic He tells Robo-Robotnik/Eggman to lay his hands off Sonic Talks down to Scourge like he's nothing And successfully tells Naugus to f*** off He stands up to three of Sonic's biggest foes with nothing but an iron-clad resolve to stick up for his son

[@Delmworks]

Game sonic is determined simply because he’s him, the protagonist Archie sonic is determined because he got it all from his dad

[@minimalbstolerance8113]

Well, Jules was a war hero during the war between the Mobians and Overlanders. He probably saw some shit in his time. "I've survived sitting in a trench under heavy artillery bombardment with no reinforcements or resupply for weeks on end. Compared to that, a cyborg copy of the fat git who my boy defeated, a green loser with twice my son's ego and none of the skills and a mutant wizard who's slowly turning into crystal and going nuts doesn't even rate! "

[@xist2inspire613]

Sonic's retort to Scourge's "One Bad Day" taunt is awesome because it perfectly outlines Scourge's place in this world, and what we, the readers, are supposed to learn from his character. See, Scourge isn't there to just to be a rival, nor a parody of the "edgy self insert." Yes, he's literally "Evil Sonic," but unlike "Evil Superman" and characters of that ilk, he's not there just to make the hero (and reader) ponder existential questions like "How far is too far?", "What would it take for me to snap?", and "Does my moral code even really help make things better?" No, Archie Sonic keeps it short and simple: You can be awesome. You can be cool. You can have friends who will care for and help you. You can be a hero. However, if you're mean. Rude. Selfish. Uncaring. Cowardly. Arrogant. Always looking for the easy way out. If you're any, or all, of those things, then you can have all the confidence and style you want, you'll still be a loser. Uncool. Cringey. Alone. A villain in someone else's story, if not your own. And when you do eventually lose to someone who embodies even just a few of the positive traits that make people like Sonic...Sonic (because one day you absolutely will), it'll be the most humiliating thing you can possibly imagine, completely shattering, even if only temporarily, the false image others have of you...and that you have of yourself. In world where we've had several decades of people focusing on the "coolness" of villains and little else, freaking Archie Sonic cuts through all the crap and tells us exactly why the villains aren't cool...while also telling us what they would need to do to truly be cool.

[@fightingmedialounge519]

Honestly, that was the purpose of most evil variant characters initially.

[@hiddenthunder1395]

I mean, that's basically a lesson behind Killing Joke - if it takes "one bad day" to break you then you just a whiny prick who took an easy way out. Batman even offered Joker to stop his crimes and get help at the end when his plan failed, only for Joker to refuse, because he can't admit he's wrong.

[@Mongoosesummoner]

​@hiddenthunder1395 To be fair to Joker, after all the horrific things he's done, becoming sane would be the absolute cruelest thing you could do to him. We've seen that the few times he was forced into sanity. A sane, rational man being forced to live with the fact that he's killed God only knows how many people. That's honestly not something most people could live with. Joker refusing help wasn't just the easy way out. It was self preservation.

[@chrisparker7844]

That's my favorite comment

[@cyberninjazero5659]

​@@MongoosesummonerEh, I get that point, but I think the trend, with "Joker is sane, he just fakes insanity/manages to get away with it" makes more sense and has more behind it. I really like the Mask of the Phantasm origin for Joker and how it neatly ties in with his Redhood backstory. Joker is already sane (but sociopathic) he's just an evil sadist

[@k2thaizzale]

I adore Scourge. He is no joke my favorite character in any of the comics. Even though from an outsider's point of view he seems like a cringey recolor OC... well, actually they're right! He's the CRINGIEST recolor OC, and he ROCKS because of it. Love Surge as well, glad she's carrying on the horrible green gremlin rival torch, but it's hard to match the complete loser dork idiot energy Scourge constantly radiated.

[@inksinkanimates8921]

HELL YEAH! Scourge is just a great character that's UNMATCHED in sass at this point, and he's an ever bigger troll than Sonic 😭

[@Natboy129]

same here!

[@itzelfranco1310]

Yeah, he has this energy of loser dork idiot who deserves to suffer because his own actions that you simply can’t let him suffer to much time 😂. It’s crazy , but i love to see Scourge fail and lose as much i love see him achieving his goals and i’ve fucking hate him and his stupid glasses if he was portayed either as a cool villian or as a lame idiot. Kinda understand what the hell Fiona saw in him

[@bobaorc7839]

I used to think he was unironically cool back when I used to RP sonic as a tween. "SIGH IF ONLY MY OCS WERE AS COOL AS SCOURGE" and now looking back that is objectively hilarious and a bit cringe-inducing to think about.

[@Chriso22]

Same

[@somebodyrandom27]

Scourge feels like a brutal deconstruction of the concept of an "evil reflection". He doesnt just invert Sonic's values and morals. He inverts ALL of his positive traits into negative ones. Including his quick wits, his determination, his bravery and his confidence. Even the love of his friends and family. The result is a dim-witted cowardly bully who is painfully aware that he is nowhere near as cool as he tries to be. Who drives away or kills anyone close to him. I think that adds a really interesting layer to him. Scourge might be everything that Sonic isn't, but Sonic has everything that Scourge lacks.

[@sp4c1ng_0ut8]

I wouldn’t describe him as dim-witted, he at the very least proves that he capable of thinking ahead in case of failure with the anarchy beryl I’d say it’s more of a situation where his ego/insecurity blinds him to otherwise obvious things

[@romanplays1]

@@sp4c1ng_0ut8 hes essentially sonics negative traits without the positives. all the intelligence. need for action. and bravado of regular sonic. without the good heart and heroism to temper it

[@sarafontanini7051]

exactly, this is what makes him great. Originally he was played fairly straight (Just...very low stakes and pathetic, because he debuted during the more comedically toned era), while as scourge he's a decontrstuction of his own premise. He shows what someone who found out they're 'just this one guy if they were evil' and how they;'d feel about it.

[@DissedRedEngie]

scourge, the definition of "go off queen, but we still gonna humble you".

[@kaialone]

I like how he even forced his own gang to all change their image and go by different names and, like having Evil Tails go by "Miles" and such is actually p fun from a writing perspective I kinda feel Evil Amy/Rosy the Rascal has aged the worst outta the Scourge adjacant characters, like, she feels the most like a character specific to that era and all, but not like, overly disruptive It's fun to see how traits of both Scourge *and* his gang were kinda repurposed into Surge, like people pit those two against each other but they both work for their own reasons

[@bowserbreaker2515]

That was amazing. This video really shows off the idea that Scourge is just a punk that needs to be justified. He's nothing more than a bully. A loser. Yet he does have a presence, he is charismatic. He is a guy that wants to be at the forefront. But even when he became invincible, the super-powered king was beaten by something better he couldn't be. A hero. Scourge is super evil, and I like it. He could be good, but he's so down in the dumps he's nothing more than awful. But there's one line you didn't show that I love. "I'm just Sonic the Hedgehog at his full potential." In a way, Scourge still views himself as the perfect version of Sonic. The very man he hates. How fascinating.

[@RosheenQuynh]

He's haunted by Sonic but won't admit it. Meeting him absolutely broke him to his core

[@bowserbreaker2515]

@@RosheenQuynh Meeting him where? I'm assuming when he was defeated.

[@RosheenQuynh]

@@bowserbreaker2515 I meant for the very first time, sorry

[@bowserbreaker2515]

@@RosheenQuynh I guess it did. But it just added up over time until he became a broken, mean, insecure, bully.

[@RosheenQuynh]

​@@bowserbreaker2515 Yup, very, sadly true

[@misterzygarde6431]

If by some miracle Sega gets back the rights to all the lost Archie characters and decides to use them. It would be fun if they decided to use Scourge and the Destructix first. Especially if they established them by beating the tar out the Deadly Six while roasting them.

[@ShineDark]

I would love to see that, honestly.

[@erugurara8235]

Sega still has the right to the SatAM characternad has never done anything whit them.

[@HellsChef45]

I've had this idea in my headcannon for a while now. IF somehow Scourge and the Destructix were to ever come back to Sonic cannon they would definitely beat the stuffing out of the Deadly Six.

[@JDxY-2]

Same

[@TheDoomsdayzoner]

That miracle can only happen if Ken Penders either gets his life subscription expired from old age or finally lets go and sells them.

[@Netherwolf6100]

The thing I like most about Scourge is, while yes, he's all of Sonic's worst qualities without the heroism, that's honestly what drives his personality in a way many don't talk about. Both Sonic and Scourge have this intense desire for validation and to be the center of the universe. They want attention, they want recognition, they want people to know who they are in every aspect of the word. The difference is, by helping others, even when he'd rather be doing something else, even when he's annoyed, even when he doesn't fully trust someone, Sonic has become a pillar others rely heavily on. They *NEED* Sonic and this grants him the attention and validation for his actions. Everyone listens to, relies upon and looks up to Sonic for his actions of being a hero. He's garnered his fame by helping. Scourge on the other hand, is wholly selfish in every sense of the word. He wants people's attention, but he harms others in order to get it, putting the fear of God into them and betraying them when its convenient. Because of this, people fear and know who he is, but no one respects him and are quick to turn on him because they know Scourge would do the same. This means while he does get attention, he can never maintain it because everyone, including his own allies, see him as someone who's unworthy of their respect, unlike Sonic. Its an interesting dynamic how wanting the same thing, but taking wildly different approaches can result in different endgames. Sonic gains his attention by helping, thus everyone needs him. Scourge gains his attention by harming, so everyone hates him.

[@fightingmedialounge519]

Sonic generally doesn't desire validation.

[@donathan2933]

@@fightingmedialounge519yes but he can be an attention hog at times. The difference is he knows how to manage it healthily

[@cooltiger2439]

The thing is, the idw run explores how sonics methods arnt all that harmless ether. The fact that the world needs sonic means the minute he's not there or falls short , everything comes down. It also hints at the idea that sonics recklessness often leads to collateral damage. Even when he wins, it's not always a clean win.

[@sb14andmore50]

​@@cooltiger2439Firstly, yeah, look at Forces, once Sonic "died" everything went downhill from there, secondly, nobody said being a hero was easy nor was it safe for anybody around you

[@cooltiger2439]

@sb14andmore50 it feels like you are both agreeing and arguing with me at same time. I'm getting mixed signals.

[@esteban8471]

Scourge walked so Surge could run. And considering how well she's running, Scourge's walk wasn't half bad.

[@somedudewhodraws9377]

Yeh but Scourge was just a bully who killed his own father while Surge was kidnapped and brainwashed into hating Sonic by Dr Starline. Thats pretty fucked up u gotta admit too.

[@donathan2933]

@@somedudewhodraws9377yes. But you can’t deny she took some inspiration from Scourge. Even their color scheme is the same

[@Bobtheamazinggod]

@@donathan2933while Surge definitely took inspiration from Scourge, her design is actually mostly inspired by the sonic ashura glitch!

[@tailsfan10]

THIS! Both characters are references of Ashura, the glitch from Sonic 2. Scourge was the first, but he doesn't look nor is much to make up to be a reference. Surge performed better and even takes a more direct design reference of Ashura. All the more to prove how it was thanks to Scourge's cringy existence to create one of the most greatest antagonistic rivals in Sonic comic history

[@TeamReArise]

@@donathan2933 there’s no denying inspiration, but color scheme wise Surge is lighter while Scourge but other than that their origins are different but both are based on the Sonic glitch in Sonic 2. Scourge is what happened if Sonic was evil while Surge is a rival bent on replacing Sonic.

[@McKnighty]

Scourge is my favorite Archie character. He’s also the most popular Archie original. I love how he steals the show every time he appears. I love that he’s basically Sonic’s Reverse Flash. I love that he’s self destructive, but never loses confidence. Sonic doesn’t have a social life in the games or other media. No family or anything really. Scourge goes after his friends, his family, pretends to be Sonic to take advantage of his fame, and steals his girlfriend. What other Sonic villain does this? Scourge offers something unique than Sonic’s other adversaries, because he just wants to ruin Sonic’s life.

[@Morgil27]

One detail I absolutely love was during Scourge's backstory, he says he got bored with peace and grew restless, leading to him eventually sliding down the evil path. Then think back to the main comic post-Endgame. Without Robotnik to fight anymore, Sonic was also growing restless and angsty, rebelling against authority figures. If Naugus hadn't shown up and given him a new villain to fight, he could've easily slid down the same dark path as Scourge did in his world.

[@sp4c1ng_0ut8]

AND THE COMIC LITERALLY CALLS THAT EXACT LIBE OF THINKING OUT BY HAVING HIM FLASHBACK TO SCOURGE’S WORDS

[@Morgil27]

@sp4c1ng_0ut8 why are you shouting?

[@donathan2933]

No way. I never thought that. Nice attention to detail 👍🏾

[@AFeralTrout420]

That's so TRUE though

[@zombifiedpariah7392]

I guess Scourge had a point after all. Lol

[@diamonddust4486]

I was wondering why we got to Scourge but you didn't talk about him... Gotta say, I love how the official Sonic recolor gets the same kinda respect in-universe that most Sonic recolors get from the fans.

[@proyOFC]

i love how there's a valid explanation to why scourge is the way he is, so different from Sonic's personality while sonic had to deal with a lot, overcome challenges, get smarter, find new ways to get stronger scourge just.. threw that all away he just beat everyone to the ground and never got to learn anything it isn't just personality issues and i love it it shows the TRUE problem of being a villain: you get no chance to learn

[@Morgil27]

Out of all the characters who were lost during the grand reboot, Scourge was the one I missed the most. Ian Flynn really knocked the ball out of the park in making the old evil twin cliché actually interesting.

[@donathan2933]

Yeah. The reboot didn’t hit for me cuz it removed so many original character and lore from the Archie comics

[@hoseinbmr3449]

weird how scourge is both lame and cool at the same time as Jules said scourge is just a coward , as sonic said scourge is just a bully yet scourge pretends to be the coolest character of all time and you know what ? he has so much fun with it that i want to believe his lies yeah he is not cool really but i want to think he is cool and enjoy his existence

[@Mr.EME.]

I'd like to add my personal thoughts about the "bad day" panel. Ignoring the fact that is a reference to "The killing joke" , Scourge is in a certain way right and wrong at the same time. If you look at Sonic's story, you will find nothing but bad days. However, Sonic became a hero. Which makes me think, what was Scourge's bad day? Thanks to the story with Jules, we acknowledge that that day was the same for both of them. The day they loose their parents. While Sonic's parents and later Chuck were took by Robotnik, leaving him behind with Tails and a group of good children with the same heroic motivations as him, Scourge was VOLUNTARILY abandon by his parents (damn, he doesn't even mentiones his mom). There was no Robotnik to blame, there was no ultimate goal, and most important, no one to lift the ego he shares with Sonic. He was left with a buch of little bullies, in a corrupted kingdom, where the only way to justify your non-wanted existence and make the others respect you was to drag them to your feet. Basicaly, what I want to say is that, the reason of why one of them is the Hero of Mobius and the other the Conqueror of Moebius is THE SAME. Scourge really represents every bad part of Sonic and he truly is one of the best villains in this franchise 💚

[@Mr.EME.]

PD: We can the see the part where Scourge IS RIGHT in that line. When Sonic start loosing those who were with him since the beginning, he star acting... More violent

[@makotominamoto3247]

If you make a video for your channel that talks about Scourge, I suggest you add a dialogue or reflection like the one you just wrote. In my opinion, I think it would be something that would contribute a lot to that hypothetical video. ¡Saludos!

[@Mr.EME.]

​@@makotominamoto3247lo tomare en cuenta, gracias 😁

[@fightingmedialounge519]

It's a bit up in the air whether scourges parents abodened him or neglected him.

[@Swordkiller55623]

ngl, Scourge is a character that I love merely because of the idea of "What if he actually learned? What if he tried to be better, but everyone else beat him up because of it? Could he even change if he ever got the idea to do so in the first place?" like imagine what happens after that last issue. His crown: destroyed. Integrity: Gone like how his footing slipped on the puddle of water below. Feared nature: nonexistent. At that point, he's revealed to be all that he ever was...someone that just wanted validation and went the completely wrong way about getting it. No bravado left to hide it and not a shred of the false confident shield he puts up to hide what he truly is. Sonic is confident, arrogant to an extent, but with the power to back him up, but Scourge is timid, puts up false arrogance but without the power to back him up. A mirror in every single way, including their own strengths and weaknesses. Honestly? I would love to see an issue where it shows what happens to Scourge in that aftermath, where he's having to truly comprehend and confront the truth that Sonic puts right in front of him. Would it kill him through his gang rising up and defeating him, or would he find a way to be someone else like Fleetway Super Sonic had? Idk, you guys tell me.

[@L0rdOfThePies]

I kinda like the idea that in this hypothetical, scourge feels regret after his takedown but his own mistakes have piled up too high. , he avoids his lackeys knowing it wont be good but he is killed, kinda like scar from the lion king where his allies turn on him immediately. more tragic considering he had the epiphany that he could possibly do better but simply the hole he dug for himself was too large to climb out of

[@Swordkiller55623]

@@L0rdOfThePies Exactly! You could even have Sonic try his best to help out knowing that Scourge wants to do better but doesn't know how while his friends would be like "Dude, he's too far gone." On top of that, there would be no way that his lackeys wouldn't see the blood in the water and pounce, and after all the time that Scourge was taking them down, they wouldn't even hesitate to take them down.

[@fightingmedialounge519]

Technically he does appear again after his loss to sonic.

[@sintheemptyone8108]

I could just as easily see him double down on his negative tendencies to the point of self-destruction and emerge at the other side of that lust of power a chillingly callous & cold-blooded character. And the key to letting that monster out of its cage would be Dr. Finitevus himself, as I'd consider him to be the kind of guy who would do anything to see Mobius fall to ruin.

[@lucasmartinez5703]

I think he'd either slip into a greater evil or kill himself.

[@gaddiusgaddium9082]

SO GLAD Scourge is getting his roses. Probably the best Sonic Villain to never get in any games. I really hope they revamp him for a game, soon. Terrible character, great design. Him and Surge were special.

[@Future_Vantas]

Fun fact, Scourge's design is based off of a Sonic 2 glitch, Ashura.

[@scientistservant]

Sadly I don't think he'll ever appear in a game -- he was made for the comics, and especially with Archie Sonic cancelled and Ken Penders "owning" Scourge/Evil Sonic, the character's basically stuck in a limbo.

[@LoliconSamalik]

@@scientistservant Funny, because by legal technicality, Penders doesn't own Scourge. Flynn does.

[@DataDrain02]

​@@scientistservantYeah, Surge is the closest thing you'll get to him. And besides a... VERY similar name and design. She's nothing like him. Aside from ONE commonality. Escaping Sonic's shadow.

[@TheJacksontoy]

@@DataDrain02I actually love how when Surge is first introduced in the IDW comics, you think she’s just going to be Scourge 2.0 - a generic bully and nothing else. But then halfway through her mini series you find out she isn’t just some Sonic ripoff and is actually a deeper and more complex character than Scourge ever was. In a way that’s fantastic, she basically accomplished in three appearances what Scourge couldnt do throughout the Archie comics - become her own person.

[@JessieTheNobody]

NGL, I've always loved sore loser characters who think they're the hottest shit bonus points if they're copying the protagonist of the story. It's always fun watching somebody talk a big game, fail to prove themselves when people don't play and come back just to do it again. It's such a fun character trope and Scourge has so much charm of just being super powerful, badass and a total dickhead but always eating shit and never learning. I'd genuinely be so insanely excited if he returned somehow whether in a game or something.

[@CarolinaSportz]

Scourge has his own identity. You almost forget he's an alternate universe Sonic.

[@Padovanm125]

I love that Super Scourge’s eyes are now the same color as Robotnik’s.

[@terrycornelius4]

His color palette basically gets swapped - the greens become the blues (eyes) and the blues become the greens (fur).

[@OceanFragments]

His DNA was lost in a flash of cosmic light, a quiet punctuation to a universe that went on without him, but I like to think maybe his spirit got a bit of redemption within Surge, reborn as a proper and respectable antithesis to the very meaning of Sonic's life philosophy. No longer simply evil for the sake of evil, but railing against the Blue boy's living hypocricy and still being rad as hell doing it while really having nothing to prove. She doesn't want to BE him, she simply wants to remind him that his mistakes will now haunt him, and that's just awesome.

[@Naxal710]

One of my favorite things about the change from Evil sonic to scourge is that it really helped define him as a character and branch out to different things! Before, almost every issue he was in, it was the same tired story: Everyone thinking Sonic is being a jerk, cause "Whoopsie-doodle! Evil Sonic took the regular Sonic's place again!" The color change and scars ment that that was NEVER happening again, and as a result, the team could tell Infinitly more interesting stories with him!

[@300fusionfall]

Let's fucking go man Scourge is like my favorite comic only character

[@ZeeecksLegends]

If there’s anything I would take from any of the non canon material and make it canon, it would be Scourge. He just steals the show anytime he’s on panel. It kinda upsets me that we’ll never see him again

[@Mr.EME.]

Before anyone says "Surge" she is a complety different kind of villain, she doesn't get the amount of interesting interactions with Sonic. She isn't here to make Sonic question his morals, she isn't here to do anything memorable, she is here just to be a Scourge wannabe, to surffer, and be a victim of EVERYONE

[@haha_hollie]

@@Mr.EME. she is here to make sonic question his morals, that's like the entire point of her character if you actually read the comics that she's in lol

[@Mr.EME.]

@@haha_hollie that's the point, she she can keep saying how stupid Sonic is and he will never change, not even think about what she says. She and us will continue to question him, and he will keep looking at her above his shoulder and tell her how dumb she is. Even whe everybody knows he's wrong

[@haha_hollie]

@@Mr.EME. did you actually read the overpowered arc, where he directly apologizes to surge and surge deliberately passes up the opportunity he gives her to change? or do you just get all of your fuel for discourse of this comic off twitter and not bother reading it?

[@sp4c1ng_0ut8]

@@haha_hollieI’ll argue that while Surge _is_ there to make Sonic question his morals, it’s definitely *not* in the same way as Scourge. Surge serves as a visual/physical representation of Sonic’s mistakes, or what she believes them to be; his inability to end a fight once and for all, the parts of him that make him a hero. She serves as a method to make Sonic question if his actions are as moral as he wants to believe. At least that’s the idea she was introduced with. Scourge, meanwhile, is meant to be a reflection of his _non-heroic_ traits. Sonic’s ego, his impulsiveness, need for freedom and speed. As Joker-esque as the quote is, Scourge was right; All it would take is one unfortunate event, and Sonic could be sent tumbling down a road oh so similar to his. Hell, the comic writers even bring up that very idea in a later issue, flashing back to that exact scene. Surge acts as a window for Sonic, letting him see the effect his actions have on others Scourge acts as a mirror for Sonic, letting him see the effect his actions and attitude have on himself Sorry if this make zero sense, it’s 5am and I’ve been up all night

[@mariatukoroma3900]

DUDE IAN WAFFLES COLLAB IT'S BEEN A YEAR THE RETURN IS ELITE❤

[@KirbySonicTeam]

Funny thing is I’ve been hiding here the whole time haha I play some characters for the line reads in every video and I co write the scripts. Thanks for the enthusiasm!

[@mariatukoroma3900]

@KirbySonicTeam OH, it's so good to see you again man,glad you're doing well.

[@KirbySonicTeam]

Thank you!

[@themissingbits6375]

You guys gave the Mean Green the evil justice he deserves. Big Respect.

[@JodiGeo]

I believe Scourge was an attempt to fix the character of "Evil Sonic" since he was introduced as a main-stay villain

[@JetZV]

Not-so-fun fact: the Suppression Squad (yes, that's the name they went with) originally had its own version of Bunnie named Buns on the team... Who was kicked out of the group and left for dead by Scourge after contracting NIDS, the Sonic universe equivalent to AIDS. The same thing Maria had.

[@viniciusc9004]

How the fuck did maria get aids?

[@fightingmedialounge519]

She appears later on.

[@JetZV]

@@fightingmedialounge519 Yeah, in that cool blue Omega exosuit.

[@sarafontanini7051]

Buns in a way shows how Scourge and his gang COULD change if they wanted, if they wanted to truly avoid being "sonic and friends but evil". But they'll never change, either cause they're too cruel, too ambitious, too selfish or too deep in denial to change.

[@Gaia_BentosZX5]

The worst part? This guy was created during the Speculator Boom. HE'S A LEFTOVER after DC and Marvel's own big multiverse event since that was the MO for comics at the time. You aren't valuable until you have at least one multiverse story in your collection.

[@Scorbunzx]

I wonder how a meeting with scourge and surge would go with how similar they are?

[@themenacingsloth]

Apparently Ian Flynn said she’d hate HIM even MORE than regular Sonic. Based on that info, there’s also a video that shows how that introduction would go

[@matthewsimpson5529]

Scourge is everything Surge hates about Sonic without any kind of redeeming qualities. She'd fucking DESPISE Scourge

[@panthekirb7561]

Two crappy characters meeting wow!!!

[@ShadowyKatz]

She'd probably beat the crap out of him, or attempt to, not sure who'd win in a no-holds there. Like half of Surge's issues stem from her not knowing who she is and here comes this guy who knows exactly who is and is still a whiny little bitch about it. It'd be on-sight.

[@anexplosion5436]

I remember a fanfic, called derutcarF, that's a big crossover of literally every different sonic media, has the two meet. At first, they team up to be douches... then someone mentions that Scourge is an anti-Sonic. Surge pauses, recognises that Sonic would never have caused what happen on purpose... and so this one *absolutely would have.* She promptly attempts to kill him. It's great!

[@blobbem]

Scourge, as stupid as he was conceptually speaking, quickly became one of my favourite characters in, not just the Archie comics, but in all of the Sonic series. There's just something so endlessly entertaining about a villain to Sonic who is as-- no, _more_ egotistical than Sonic is. The best way to describe Scourge is that he's a "lovable shitheel." And that arc where it devolves into a giant battle royal between all the different hedgehogs was hilarious and amazing to read. I'm sad that he's gone, but at least the spirit of him somewhat lives on in Surge in the IDW comics. Surge has her own thing going on, but just like Scourge, she quickly became a favourite of mine.

[@jmc5661]

"It was me Sonic." Scourge probably

[@Comkill117]

The fact Silver’s first appearance is a joke just to make Scourge look even worse is perfect.

[@ArnoldStark123]

I'm really glad this guy is making videos like this because with me and my team working on a massive big Sega project that celebrates Sonic and Sega entire history by having Sonic along with new characters as part of his team fight against villains and teaming up with heroes from every other piece of the Sega verse scene videos like this keeps giving me more ideas for episodes so if anyone wants to check out my team's cartoon please do keep on the lookout 👀

[@ancientking224]

Okay this was funny to watch. Back when first read Archie Sonic Scourge came off as powerful, taking on Sonic and Shadow at the same time and always giving Sonic a run for his money. Looking back on it after a recent reread I agree with you, Scourge is fun and a rival to Sonic physically but never had the mentality to truly be a rival.

[@mikeneill7328]

2:50 can we all agree that, "Who I Am," is up there among the greatest Sonic songs?

[@BlahBohogun]

Scourge is the single most consistent connical charcter in the sonic comics and that magical.

[@Trivial_Man]

Connical? Did you mean conical? He isn't especially cone shaped, but I don't know what other word that typo might be trying to convey

[@lgill6710]

I just finished ALL of Archie Sonic yesterday and honestly, I kinda miss how crazy it got

[@donathan2933]

Same. The lore and story elements differed so much from the games and I liked that. Unfortunately, all of that was lost when the Archie comics got rebooted

[@lgill6710]

@donathan2933 very true 👍

[@starlightrose3237]

he may be a lame recolour, but i've always loved him lmao. he leans further into that 90s edge than sonic does. plus we basically got him back but better in the form of surge

[@mittag983]

I'm sorry but Surge is not a better version she's a whole different character no antithesis and lookalike of Sonic no more which just is charmless imho

[@eliasmullen1088]

Scourge is pretty much a parody of Sonic himself.

[@donathan2933]

I agree. He started out as a parody than evolved into a fully fledged character

[@eliasmullen1088]

@@donathan2933 true dat

[@MasterChef1957]

5:00 we reached peak fiction with this line we have a evil sonic with a oc like backstory with the broly ass green hair and scar across his chest quoting the fucking joker this is peak fiction

[@triledink]

The only part people hate about scourge/evil sonic is how is Ken able to copyright sonic with a leather jacket and boots and call it his own. Scourge can't be Ken's character. Its like if I put Mario with a different hat and clothes and called him my OC and demanded payment if nintendo would ever use him in a game. The IDW version of scourge is a modified version of him as Surge. (by modified I mean electric) I still can't believe til this day that ken owns Scrouge as a character.

[@Mr.EME.]

He doesn't, is as simply as that. He belongs to SEGA, as any other character he created, he even admited that if Sega had do anything when he began with the lawsuit, he would lost

[@Trivial_Man]

Nah, fuck Sega and fuck Archie. You can fault Ken Penders for a lot of stuff, but taking ownership of characters he created instead of giving them up to a faceless organization is a good thing. Other writers and artists should be so lucky themselves. He's kind of a hack and I think his ego is inflated, but if nothing else I respect and admire him for trying to reclaim the legacy he built and actually getting it

[@donathan2933]

@@Trivial_Manhell nah fuck Ken Penders. He can’t even write his own characters well. Ian Flynn was the reason Scourge became such a memorable character

[@asioca1992]

​@@Trivial_Man he killed an entire comic franchise because he got mad about Sega using female echidnas. Nothing about him is worthy of praise, especially when he only owns the characters through a technicality that manifests through sega's indifference and archie's incompetence.

[@Trivial_Man]

@@asioca1992 Archie killed Archie Sonic. Ken just happened to be the rope they hung themselves with. If they were incompetent enough not to have contracts with their employees then they were a ticking time bomb until something exposed their negligence to Sega. If anything you should be happy that it was Ken who ended up causing the trouble and burning his own bridge with Sega instead of someone like Ian accidentally stumbling into it and getting blacklisted just because of the association. And for better or for worse a lot of them are his characters. He came up with them and wrote their stories. Sure they live with Sonic, who Ken definitely did not create, but they belong to Ken as much as any Sonic OC belongs to the 14yos on deviantart that thought them up. I think some sort of middle ground where both the creator and company owner of a character each had some stake in them and had to work together to create media starring them would be better than this all-or-nothing approach to ownership that currently exists, but if that isn't an option then (like I said) I'll side with the individual retaining control every time as a matter of principle. I don't think Ken is a great guy or a great writer, but it is still good that he owns his dumb red aliens instead of Sega.

[@blur8163]

I got that “Hedgehog Havoc” issue at Toys R Us when it first came out, probably my favorite issue of Archie Sonic, still have and enjoy to this day

[@compassrose1466]

I love how it went from “oh look evil sonic Oo scary” as a joke in the original series and then Ian comes in and goes “nah being that mfer back we’re going to give him a reason to be evil and never live those grudges down” and it’s genuinely so fun!!! Down with the cringe era and give me more Scourge villains who don’t give AF

[@celandine_petals]

I love every single one of your archie sonic videos so much omg, I've watched every single one at least three times and it never gets old. I've always adored the anti-mobius gang more than anything while reading the archie comics. Not just Scourge, but every single one of them, how they mirrored the Freedom Fighters. Where Buns' condition lead her in a world of Anti Mobius, Miles' attitude about his nickname and being "the sidekick", the chemistry Alicia and Patch actually seem to have compared to Sally and Antoine that never worked out. I've always hated how Patch was ignored as an antagonist, given that his arc is one of the most hated arcs in the comics (because "it no longer feels like sonic" and "love drama" and how Patch wasn't even supposed to be there originally, it's a ling story). But I've always loved Patch as the antagonist in the arc where he got to replace Antoine. He's subtle, he's scheming, and he had an _influence_ . Despite being thrown on mobius against his will, he collected himself and set a goal, and not one person among the people who grew up with the real Antoine cracked his act. I love how he's an actual threat, how his thoughts are clashing with what he's saying, how he carefully approaches Sally's weaknesses and uses them to his advantage. And the thing that messed it up for him was a small act made on impulse, the moment he lost just a tiny bit of caution it was over for him. And yet, his influence remained undeniable. Death of Armand, such a prominent character, left a huge mark on the characters and the story. And yet again, in contrast to Sonic and Antoine, Scourge does (or at least did) consider him a rival. It's so overlooked how capable he is I can't- I understand the Suppression Squad or Patch personally aren't fit for a whole separate video, but if a video on archie side characters is ever coming it would be so neat to mention them!!

[@sarafontanini7051]

I actually thoughtt hat arc sounded super cool when i read about it. Its fun to have a story not focus on sonic and isntead be about someone else. I also like how Patch was likely one of the first to suffer Scourge's attempt to make his universe 'different', much like scourge having his ability to pretend to be his good counterpart taken away.

[@KeroKaminaX]

I’ve been waiting for this video for so long, Scourge was my absolute hyperfixation when I first got into Archie sonic in highschool (which was right before the megaman crossover)

[@kingofthe_humanz8285]

scourge was always my favorite sonic rival becase he is THE perfect antithesis to sonic. hes unoriginal, hes lame, he tears people down to lift himself up, and hes just... a pathetic person overall and in that he is everything sonic is not. he's a total tryhard and its perfect. he even somewhat mocks the fandom's need to make coldsteel the hedgehog esque OCs. and even though scourge is arguably stronger than sonic physically, and actually gets the upper hand on him pretty often, sonic beats him because sonic knows himself. sonic stands up to so the impossible to help people and get validation because of it, scouge would do it to get validation and people spite him because of it. his jailbreak arc is one of favorite arcs in all of archie sonic because he takes a page out of sonic's book and tries to connect with the destructix, in his own... deconstructive and evil way. he validates all of them and they all come to respect him as a leader. his entire persona was trying to escape being "sonic but evil" but ironically, the more he acts LIKE sonic the better things go for him. also hes like, THE funniest character in the whole comic lets be honest. his one liners are actually comedy gold, especially his interactions with sonic. i especially love the "miss me scourge?" "no...?" -gets his shit rocked- I love green sonic and his cool fangs. (his design is honestly really good all things considered)

[@sp4c1ng_0ut8]

“his jailbreak arc is one of favorite arcs in all of archie sonic because he takes a page out of sonic's book and tries to connect with the destructix, in his own... deconstructive and evil way. he validates all of them and they all come to respect him as a leader. his entire persona was trying to escape being "sonic but evil" but ironically, the more he acts LIKE sonic the better things go for him.” YES YES YES I’m so pissed we never got more of this arc, because god what I wouldn’t give for it I love the idea of Scourge’s attempts to connect with the Destructix being a gateway to actually caring about them (Not that he acknowledges it, not even to himself). The idea of Scourge becoming more like Sonic over the period of time that he isn’t interacting with Sonic is so interesting to me Not that he would become a good guy or anything, but rather him being willing to put actual effort into relationships, him using methods other than fear and violence to achieve goals, him getting some weird form of character development Only for that to be thrown away once he inevitably interacts with Sonic again. Because he _will_ interact with Sonic, and he will be called out on his change in attitude And the idea of working so hard to get away from Sonic’s image, to prove he’s more than just the “evil Sonic”, only to become even more like him? It would crush him

[@kingofthe_humanz8285]

@@sp4c1ng_0ut8 we really were robbed by the comic getting discontinued his original team was already beating the freedom fighters pretty badly even with scourge being abusive to them, imagine if he actually used proper teamwork in a rematch, FF might actually lose at that point. Imagine if scourge's "big plans" involved trying to make up with the suppression squad and forming a bigger team then jumping freedom HQ and doing a proper invasion of mobius. he might do some crazy stuff and use the master emerald again too and we could have seen something like super sonic vs super scourge. Fiona's arc was pointing her towards potentially betraying him again so how would he stick it out on his own? imagine if he tried coming to sonic at his lowest point and they both try conivincing the other to join their side again and one of them actually folds. imagine if turned good and his super form was yellow like normal again, showing his reformation. or maybe he'd stay purple and betray sonic or somethin UGH THERE WAS SO MUCH THEY COULD HAVE DONE there was so much potential we'll never get to (canonically) see

[@saidi7975]

Scourge IS the perfect mix of Negaduck and Lobo... I love him ! Sure his start as anti-Sonic was mediocre but going green made him one of my favorites.

[@Voidhog7173]

I realized how Scourge is basically inverted when it comes to his colors, his fur is green and his eyes are blue and Sonic's fur is blue but his eyes are green, such a great detail

[@bazzjedimaster]

I like Scourge for the same reason I like Ultraman (DC's official evil Superman from earth 3) in that by being the genuine opposite of such good characters makes them by default hilariously cartoony pieces of shit, "they are evil and they love it" absolutely work for this type of character.

[@lozm4835]

Given that Scourge's green form was a half-super state the whole time, imagine if coming out of Super Scourge reset him back to anti-Sonic. That his grand, dramatic 'I'M A GOD NOW' putting him right back to zero.

[@RegisteredFelon-ki8be]

“Okay, new villain, any ideas?” Sega worker 1: What about if we make a time-warping entity who wants total world domination! “Nah” Sega worker 3: What if we create a robotic villain who got tired for working for Eggman, and realized the benefits of being a robot and the cons of being a human! “Nah” Sega worker 2: GREEN SONIC “You are premoted”

[@felixvanvugt8650]

Dude I'm a massive Sonic head and everything but I just wanna say I will forever love your dynamic with IanWaffles in these videos. The story of how you guys met and how much fun you two clearly have making these videos is the friggin best. I always have a massive smile on my face watching these. I think I'm so used to feeling like the internet is just a place full of negativity, that seeing you two come together the way you have and how much you guys genuinely love what you're talking about just... really warms my heart, man. Thanks for the great content and vibes

[@asatowolfe]

Scourge and Dr. Finitevus were my favorite characters in the Archie comics for the longest time. I was very excited when they eventually teamed up since they accented each other a lot, while having completely different attitudes. Scourge was powerful and usually got things done, but not too bright; while Finitevus was intelligent and resourceful (particularly with his command of warp ring technology), but... didn't really get things done. With a mind like Finitevus behind them, the Anti-Freedom Fighters/Suppression Squad/ anyone else with them could have been far more threatening as villains- if he could keep away from the Enerjak angle. But I suppose we'll never know. It's a shame that more didn't come of that partnership before the reboot and departure of the series.

[@ElijahW2003]

I'm just a _teensy_ disappointef you skimmed over the Scourge Zone Jail arc, especially since it pretty much forces Scourge to be without his powers, the thing that allowed him to feel more than he is and push others around. Without them, _he_ gets pushed around, being the whipping boy of flipping _Evil Big._ Without the ability to push others around... he is nothing.

[@alternatelifee]

The fact scourge hit sonic with the one bad day quote is still wild

[@edwarddelacruz3923]

Now THIS is a throw back! I remember picking up the Archie Sonic series years ago at a local now defunct Stop & Shop. I remember getting these issues and I recall being so confused as to who Scourge was when he and the Moebius crew appeared, my head was spinning through it all! I'm glad to see this lil gem popped up on my feed, thank you for covering this.

[@chuckyzrevenge]

So he’s as strong as archie sonic yet is so much in the background that it doesnt matter

[@jamesvivian2855]

Scourge is the perfect example of sometimes you can’t do things half way and have to go totally balls to the wall crazy

[@SophieSquid]

AAAA YES!!! Finally, your promised video on the *biggest* reason I decided to read Archie in the first place! I took one look at scourge in your vids and went, *he rules, I need to know more bout this guy*

[@electricburst0986]

Wish we got to see more of him he kinda reminds me of sonics brother

[@kaialone]

Manic?

[@numerousbees12]

​@@kaialone, the very own

[@stevensmith1031]

THE TRIPLETS BORN

[@numerousbees12]

@@stevensmith1031 , THE THRONE AWAITS

[@charmingmagican9821]

​@@numerousbees12A SEER WARNS OF A DEADLY FATE

[@samuelrodriguez9801]

I think the reason Scourge was so pathetically weak before his mutation was because in his world Rings were harmful so he had no reason to absorb rings while Sonic got more powerful because of the Rings he absorbed. The second reason is because he came from a world of bullies and cowards so he didn't have much of a reason to better himself since there were few challenges in his world.

[@BenersantheBread]

I haven't even watched any of your other videos covering the Sonic comic series because... man they're long. Like, I want to but still Anyway, I just love the sheer petulance of a villain shouting at the hero to pay attention to his showboating when he's winning

[@KirbySonicTeam]

Glad you stuck around for this one! Scourge is super fun

[@themenacingsloth]

0:54 Did they…..did they make a Kill Bill reference wit that quote?

[@manfallingoffaladder]

Scourge has always been one of my favourites from the Archie comics, he was on the cover of vol 192, one of the first ever comic books I got as a kid as well as the volume with "Father and Son". Great video & I'm glad it was recommended to me

[@MmeCShadow]

Not just A Sonic recolor-- the original. Scourge's design is based on a glitch you could activate with Debug Mode in Sonic 2 by placing an excess of a single sprite (usually waterfalls in Emerald Hill Zone) and corrupting the palette. While there were some variants depending on where you did this and what object you used, the most well known (the aforementioned waterfalls) would result in Sonic becoming green with black highlights and blue eyes. He was dubbed Ashura (meaning 'demon') and was a fairly well-known fandom character at the time, fulfilling his role as an evil Sonic. Amusingly not the last time Flynn would base a character on a palette glitch.

[@JapanFreak2595]

Real shame the universe got rebooted before we could see Scourge and his new team post prison break. Even if his motivations didn’t change, I imagine he would at least switch up his methods and become much more effective and competent. Would’ve been interesting to see him be a team player with the Destructix consider all the work he put into winning them over; wasn’t something Scourge would’ve considered to do in the past. It’s a bummer, but I just like ruminating over the potential.

[@therjschannel904]

I feel like the writers took notice of the abundance of edgy Sonic recolor ocs and decided to embrace that notion with Scourge. Think about it; he embodies every aspect of what makes an edgy Sonic oc, and he does it SO WELL.

[@donathan2933]

Exactly 😂

[@GrinceMaster73]

I wonder if his super form’s pitch black eyes and red pupils is a reference to a certain popular Sonic fan character, specifically a hyper realistic one?

[@therjschannel904]

@@GrinceMaster73 mmm- maybe. That would he kinda sick. Black eyes with red pupils surrounded by red lightning perhaps?

[@F1areon]

@@GrinceMaster73 I kinda doubt it; Super Scourge came first, iirc

[@f-zilla7347]

He’s pretty much Ken Pender’s attempt at doing the Sonic version of Ultraman, the evil Superman of Earth-3.

[@burner555]

How did DC comics and (the owners of Ultraman Tokutsaku) deal with that name?

[@macaemeia146]

0:35 it's so weird seeing rouge's sonic heroes design with her usual color scheme, it looks coll but it feels weird

[@YamiNoire]

Scourge is such an interesing dopplegänger, and is really different of the other ones not only in Sonic, but in other videogames. Scourge is always justifying why he *deserves* to be Sonic's ultimate rival. His ultimate nemesis. He's trying so hard to be relevant to Sonic, that after all he's done to archieve this, you start feeling a bit bad for him. Metal Sonic or Shadow the Hedgehog never try to justify their own existence. Heck, other dopples or evil counterparts from other videogames series, like Wario, Shadow Mario, Dark Link, Shadow Kirby, Fake Crash and a lot more like them exist, and are nemesis or allies for their original versions, and still don't think a lot about needing to get the attention or *respect* of their counterparts. Yet Scourge tries to surpass that sentiment, thinks how he *needs* to be his own person but still has the need to defeat Sonic. That us what makes him so unique. Passing from a generic evil version to a character so wacky and edgy but still with some decent quantity of layers is something that I have to give to him (and the writers), I hope he remains as over the top and energetic as always. He's maybe is pathetic, but he's always giving his best

[@Kaito57]

5:15 When a Blue Hedgehog has a better retort than the grown-ass edgelord man in a leather furry suit...

[@RaiginAnimator]

2:45 I KNOW THAT SONG IVE BEEN WAITING TO USE IT IN AN ANIMATION

[@Flemmli1]

Honestly, i love Scourge for many of the reasons mentioned in this video. Maybe it is because I generally connect to characters that have had at least one crappy parent and can relate to wanting to lash out, living a bit through them since I haven't dared to do so, but I love the insight we get into his background. This character makes sense to act the way he does from it and the way it also keeps him from achieving anything, since he is clearly just a teenager with issues he fails to acknowledge and process in healthy ways, holding onto them and taking quick fix solutions that equal to slapping a band aid on a massive gash it isn't going to help fix. He was fun once he had his glow up into Scourge and better writers really brought out his fun story writing potential. It's a shame we didn't get more before the comics were over :c

[@Quickpatch12]

If Scourge did somehow end up in the IDW comics, I don't think Soic would be his main enemy, I think it would be Surge. Surge isn't an evil Sonic, yet she hates Sonic and just wants him dead, because she was made that way, and Scourge I think would hate that. He would view Surge as just some knockoff of himself (which is kind of true in a way) and I think if they did fight Surge would make fun of him telling him "You don;t hate Sonic because of who he is, you hate him because you are something he is not, Nothing"

[@samanthakelly718]

When girls on Tumblr fangirl over "pathetic man" I just imagine it being over this guy.

[@mechajay3358]

If there's that one character in fiction that oozes and embodies douchbaggry, it would be Scourge.

[@alexb7039]

It's crazy how Scourge is a big joke for all of us and yet he's a father-killing, girlfriend-abusing, eye-ripping dictator in his own world

[@sarafontanini7051]

yeah he IS evil after all

[@odd-eyesdragoon]

Super Scourge having the same red-eyes as Metal Sonic, another one of Sonic's counterparts that is envious of him, is such a nice detail.

[@zigaudrey]

I used to think that being a comic book, Sonic has to have a negative universe. This happened to My Little Pony too.

[@rosesske2551]

Transformers has it as well. Though they call it shattered glass(a reference to a the original Star Trek series episode with a similar concept).

[@Chriso22]

you're finally doing a video on my favourite sonic Archie character awesome