The Imposter Syndrome Mini-Series | Sonic Speed Reading

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Sonic's newest villains are FINALLY revealed and...it's another Sonic clone (and a Tails clone to boot how about that.) but while Surge and Kit might feel like something we've seen before, as their tale unfolds we learn there might be much darker truths hidden than they realize. Today we cover the entire IMPOSTER SYNDROME mini-series and follow some of the most interesting characters to come out of IDW Sonic!
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[@jaredtherock5692]

I appreciate that they're called "the glitch trio" makes me realize the fact that Surge and Kit's color palette are inspired by the Ashura and Blue Tails glitch respectively. Man that's so wild

[@notdog6642]

Wait who is blue tails?

[@ultra_lbp]

@@notdog6642 colour palette glitch in sonic 3 and knuckles (I think)

[@stupidenby]

@@notdog6642 in sonic 3 theres a glitch where you can play as a blue knuckles and at the end of the level it will say you're playing as tails

[@Lord_Drogothag]

Don't forget starline is also based off of a glitch from knuckles chaotix

[@MarshmellowTC]

@@Lord_Drogothag right down to his name!

[@RealTalkRicky]

WOW starline really did his homework with these two characters! Surge has lighting powers, Tails has astraphobia. Kit has water powers, Sonic has aquaphobia. Brilliantly diabolical.

[@saffie.taffie]

Yo that’s actually genius!

[@stealthynaxo]

Not only that but since they are parallels to both, Sonic may lower his guard when it comes to Kit (which he did) since he may remind him of Tails.

[@techstuff9198]

Ashura glitch.

[@jamiegioca9448]

Then why isn't it the other way around (Surge being hydrokinetic and Kit having eletric powers)?

[@Lucien_M]

​@@jamiegioca9448probably to cover any weak spots that may appear if Sonic and Tails swap partners

[@dragonborn7955]

The "Ping is" was completely unintentional confirmed by Ian

[@ProbablyAlmond]

Goddammit

[@d-manthecaptain1382]

To be fair, even if it was intentional, Ian would deny it either way, since making a reference to what is technically the word "Penis" could cost him his job, where as feigning ignorance would allow him to have his cake and eat it too. Kinda like in the Forces Prequel Comic where Orbot considers naming The Phantom Ruby "The Anarchy Beryl", Ian said it was unintentional but then why have Orbot reply with "Too derivative."

[@TippedScale]

@@d-manthecaptain1382 I’m confused, why is that name bad?

[@d-manthecaptain1382]

@@TippedScale Oh you mean "The Anarchy Beryl"? Just that it was a reference to the Archie comics after they were canceled in a comic which was meant to be tying into the latest game and the Achie series isn't canon to the games. If my theory is right and that was indeed meant to be a disguised reference I would assume he pretended to not know on the off chance that they'd want him to remove it for the shake of keeping it closer to the games. Or I'm wrong and it's just a big coincidence. It wouldn't be the last time he'd sneek in a reference to the older comics, since issue 4 has Sonic comparing Rough and Tumble to "The Hooligans", a reference to Fang Bean and Bark which out of context would just seem like Sonic comparing them to other more common thugs.

[@cyberfoxvii6253]

@@d-manthecaptain1382 I dunno what Archie thing you're talking about, but I'm pretty sure Orbot meant that "Anarchy Beryl" is derivative of "Chaos Emerald." Anarchy = Chaos, Beryl = Emerald.

[@jphval306]

As a character design concentrated illustration major, I find Surge’s character design interesting in regards to how in a way it feels like I’m looking at a redesigned Blaze the Cat. Both in terms of them having elemental abilities, as well as using those abilities to somewhat help design the character’s clothes. Blaze’s being a warm coat and fluffy socks, and Surge’s being a punk/ electric punk kind of look with the sweatpants, shoes, and rings/ piercings.

[@espinoth9913]

As well as the fact that Blaze is essentially her world's iteration of Sonic, making any parallel between her and Surge all the more perfect. And then Kit's general personality is almost an inversion of that of the Tails to Blaze's Sonic, Marine. Even Kit having water powers rhymes with that due to the overtalkative raccoon's love of the high seas!

[@animezilla4486]

Believe or not Sega one of these characters to be like Android 18 and 17 from dragon Ball

[@LoneKuroRaifu]

@@animezilla4486 Nah, Surge and Kit have waaay more personality than them. Only similarity I think is the robot betraying master cliche.

[@animezilla4486]

@@LoneKuroRaifu agreed

[@Step43099]

@@LoneKuroRaifu nah both androids have personality, moreso after the Cell Saga. Also Surge and Kits origin is exactly the same as 17 & 18s origin, as in Dr. Gero kidnapped the twins and turned them into Androids 17 and 18 minus the hypnosis

[@allmensland2106]

16:09 I like the fact that Surge says ‘sweet Gaia’, since we don’t see things like Gaia or Solaris referred to much these days when they’re meant to be gods

[@ademaulina452]

The Gaias are da sonic equivalent of god

[@ThePreciseClimber]

It kinda makes you wonder where all the Pixar humans went. :P

[@alphawolf7417]

@@ThePreciseClimber that one always confuses me because Chaos was referenced in Forces, and Chaos attacked Station Square, a human city in pretty much every appearance of it.

[@crynosinso8324]

Solaris will likely never be mentioned ever again because of it's erasure from time and space altogether.

[@altercard5389]

Didn't Solaris get erased when the flame was blown out at the end of 06?

[@mistersp3753]

Sonic properties have often been good at using obscure animals for their characters, but IDW has really outdone themselves with Surge's: the tenrec. One species in particular, the lesser hedgehog tenrec, looks and acts like a hedgehog but the two aren't closely related. In a way, this particular species of tenrec could be considered a fake hedgehog, which is a clever inspiration for a Sonic doppelganger. There is also a similar species of tenrec that has spines and a wild black and yellow coloration, but it looks more like a spikey shrew than a hedgehog.

[@anthrax6685]

Not to mention starline is a monotremes like knuckles. Both tails and kit are foxes

[@ademaulina452]

@@anthrax6685 and monotremes are egg laying mammals

[@ShadowyKatz]

It's not really that impressive. Shadow was originally supposed to be a Tenrec. They probably just borrowed that so they weren't making another hedgehog

[@jocosejpeg]

Wasn't there also a tenrec character in post-reboot Archie?

[@ShadowyKatz]

@@jocosejpeg Gold the Tenrec. Didn't have much time to get anything out of that story.

[@anthonyoliver418]

I like how this trio are all abnormal designs compared to most sonic characters, while still looking like sonic characters, giving them a lot more personality, especially for characters newly introduced for this comic series.

[@ThePreciseClimber]

Kit gives off some USA artwork Tails vibes from the Genesis days.

[@boneman9751]

Hits really hard because they take a lot of design ques from glitched characters, their abnormal designs for in their favor because they’re abnormalities in their own right

[@jelm3006]

I like how Starline doesn't find the fact the Surge knows about the memory wipe off-putting in the slightest

[@bumtee1223]

I'm glad I'm not the only person that found that a bit funny lmao

[@marlom7882]

Ikr?! I thought he’d be like “… wait. She knows about the memory wipe? And she’s OK with it????? Tf?…”

[@n.t.w8286]

I hear a lot of people saying Surge is a ripoff of Scourge but I'm pretty sure it was stated that she was inspired by the Ashura glitch

[@thevenomspino]

Both her and Scourge were inspired by Ashura. Though they only really shared the color scheme and they both hate Sonic.

[@TotalWannabe]

@@thevenomspino and they are both copies of Sonic who have identity issues

[@rendumguy7596]

I knew that all 3 were inspired by glitches but then I realized that they're parallels to Team Sonic. Starline and Knuckles are Monotremes, too.

[@BubbyBoy]

I see Surge as a natural evolution of Scourge, who was once just another Evil Sonic, but tweaked by Ian Flynn to give him a bit of individuality. Scourge isnt coming back since technically Ken Penders owns him, even if his contribution to said character is nil.

[@TheFrantic5]

Scourge: Who are you? Surge: I'm you, but written better.

[@KSKY2012]

I love the stark contrasts between Sonic and Tails and Surge and Kit. Sonic is always ready to listen to what Tails has to say, and Tails has always had a confidant personality, at least a lot more confidant compared to Kit. On the other hand, Surge doesn't start listening to Kit at all until later on in the mini-series, and always jumps into things without thinking, while Kit is shy and has little confidence or the ability to stand up to Surge when she says mean things to him. Edit: 21:49 That line from Dr. Eggman: "If I want my enemies last moments to be carousel music and the smell of petroleum-based candy, that's what I'll make happen." For some reason, it made me feel legit scared of Dr. Eggman. I had chills reading that line, and I have no idea why. Maybe it's because the line shows how determined Eggman is to reach his goals, willing to do just about ANYTHING to do that, and that's what scared me. It's just my theory, though.

[@ethanhinton4549]

It's like a worse(as in eviler/more toxic) version of flanderized Sonic and pre-adventure Tails.

[@nellewoodruff6337]

Idk what that says about me then. For some odd reason Eggman's line made me feel super warm inside. Idk I guess I just have a deep respect for villain characters who stick to their evil guns even when its suboptimal, like Doofenshmirtz and his self-destruct buttons

[@yocapo32]

@@ethanhinton4549 You know what their relationship reminds me of? The Fleetway series, where Sonic is a massive asshole who barely even counts as a hero, and Tails is super submissive and completely unable to stand up to Sonic.

[@manosdaskalakis4452]

Eggman is bad to the bone and cruel as hell. This is the Eggman we want and need

[@handlename88]

@@yocapo32 sonic does mature after Johnny's death though (spoiler alert) in fact, when Tails got hit by super sonic's laser beams, he genuinely WORRIED about Tails.

[@kenn_k]

You know, they kind of had years to practice with the Archie series, so these are essentially very refined versions of previous character archetypes, but... God damn, it's all so fucking good this time around. Like, from a game perspective (as of right now, anyway), these characters don't exist... But I'll be damned if they don't feel like official SEGA characters.

[@moosesues8887]

They are in some games

[@Timmothy_plays]

@@moosesues8887 example? you can't just say "They are in some games" without an example.

[@sboinkthelegday3892]

And especially since they had the chance to mull it over since 1991, when Galactus revealed he had brainwashed silver surfer (the 1987 series issue 48). The same series where 6 infinity stones were related to pocket dimensions. And the knuckle-headed Drax the Destroyer was quick to turn even against his own allies and manipulated to do so. Where Thanos had gathered the other five and siphoned off the power from Warlock's sixth to create a giant, synthetic Soul Gem.

[@kenn_k]

@@sboinkthelegday3892 I believe you're lost, my friend. Also, nah, they're not in any games, lol. Tangle and Whisper have made appearances in Sonic Dash, have their own merch, and are likely going to appear in a more mainstream game eventually tho... So I see no reason these characters (Starline, Surge and Kit) couldn't also become canon. Hence why I said, "as of right now." ✌🏼 Honestly, I'd love to see Surge and Kit figures someday. I'm normally not into the "evil twin" thing but I think they nailed it with these two, I love their designs.

[@BBWahoo]

@@moosesues8887 WHERE!? WHERE IS SURGE?!?!?!

[@wildbill7942]

Surge in the family guy death pose gets me every time lmfao

[@romeom4830]

And her just strangling a badnik

[@Cynder2251]

The family guy pose and the fact a motobug laid her out is what gets me laughing like a hyena

[@passingrando6457]

Hey Lois, remember the time I fought Sonic the Hedgehog?

[@sylver_sonic7726]

Love Surge and Kit, the first time in the Sonic franchise that two new characters have become part of my top favourites so quickly. Imposter Syndrome is the best miniseries and the best content we have had in the comics since the Metal Virus. Hyped and excited for #50 and to see what will happen with them

[@duelmasteryuya1205]

I still love Bad Guys a lot because it has Zavok being a leader with wise words but not the tactics, while Starline the whole time is trying to trick everyone long enough to where he needs the tricore in order to escape the situation when needed, and of course all of the bad guys just being bad guys. But I think this is a close second for me. Surge and Kit are awesome! I can't wait to see more of these characters and Issue #50 itself.

[@mr_indie_fan]

Whisper, tangle, surge and kit have become some of my favorite sonic characters

[@theprincess3872]

I really hope Surge stays as a villain for a while, the Sonic villain roster is sadly lacking in female villains and all of the female characters introduced in this comic aside from Surge are on the side of the heroes Edit: For everyone complaining that I'm more happy about Surge being a girl than about her being a good villain, I'm not. It would suck if we got another Zeena as the main antagonist for a while. I'm just happy that we're getting a good female villain for the first time since... Sonic and the Black Knight. Which was over a decade ago.

[@ArtFromHer]

Isn’t it just like… Zeena, Surge, and kinda Wave? That’s it.

[@duelmasteryuya1205]

@@ArtFromHer Sadly I think that's the truth.

[@Null_sys]

Yeah, I noticed it. Outside of Archie, the only female villain I can think of is Merlina Oh yeah, also Wave and Zeena, like the other guy said, but the Zeti are kinda dumb. The Rogues are fun, though.

[@ArtFromHer]

@@Null_sys The Zeti are fine in this continuity, but otherwise yeah.

[@duelmasteryuya1205]

@@Null_sys Oh yeah the female Zeti. She's fine, but not the stand-out character from the bunch unlike Zavok being an alpha male chad amongst the group.

[@Glaceonics]

Honestly, I adore Kit and Surges dynamic, it leaves a LOT of room for growth even beyond their budding friendship the mini series had ended on. I genuinely hope they don't end up just being gone from the series by the end of it all and become reoccurring characters.

[@morphstarchangeling8024]

I hope they stay villains for a while. Not a one and done thing where they turn good.

[@dreamstrider3179]

Ian Flynn is an awesome writer. Everytime he has all these restrictions for his writing he manages to have a fresh interesting story for almost everything he does even when the idea itself isn't entirely original.

[@misterzygarde6431]

I wonder how Surge, Kit, and Starline would feel towards meeting Scourge, Fiono, and the Destructix either facing off against them or either one finding themselves in either of their worlds.

[@maximoomega3691]

Scourge would probably take surge under his wing for a while

[@ShibuNub3305]

I’ve always imagined Scourge and Surge as being extremely Vitriolic brother and sister type figures for each other. It just feels in line for me

[@FrostTheHobidon]

Ian Flynn has answered a similar question to that. Scourge would Hate Surge, all his life is being a knock off to Sonic while trying to be his own person until.

[@tntsonic7482]

Scourge would probably kick all their asses but also feel some respect towards all them for hating Sonic.

[@Michael-bb5dd]

Replace Destructix with Finitevus and I agree on the wondering bit.

[@RubberbandEntertainment]

Starline is by far my most favorite modern sonic villain. He's such a good addition as a villain, ruthless, can hold his own against multiple heros and villains, a genius always planning, messes up in a Sonic villain way but still shows he's nothing to mess with, as far as I can tell there is no changing his status as a villain and I love that

[@PikaPenny17]

Yeah they have changed his status of : alive.

[@Bowl-0f-Soup]

Having a water and electricity combo is so genius, since kit supports surge they can trap someone it water and the lightning will conduct and add a ultimate shock

[@AstroTom]

You predicted how Surge almost killed Sonic

[@Jaymizuband]

I really love the contrast and similarities of these two the Sonic and Tails, to the obvious to the really intricate stuff Forgot where I read this but Kit ability is water which is Sonic’s weakness and Surge has lightning which Tails is afraid of. That’s so cool.

[@aghitsaplane4262]

If I had a nickel for everytime there's been a green sonic imposter I'd have three nickels,which is weird because I'm pretty sure the joke is supposed to be two nickels

[@ManiacX1999]

Who's number 3?

[@Ilikebats123]

Wait 3?

[@mitchellalexander9162]

@@ManiacX1999 Ashura, Scourge, Surge

[@MegaMilesprower]

It's not much, but still off it happened 3 times.

[@Herobrine100x]

@@mitchellalexander9162 Ashura is a glitched Sonic from Sonic 2 for when you place too many waterfalls in debug mode.

[@0127sasuke]

One thing I find interesting about them is how their abilities are basically the weaknesses of sonic and tails... But switched? Sonic famously can't swim. Kit controls the water in his pack. Theoretically speaking, he could drown sonic. Tails is scared of thunder and lightning (according to some sources idk I can't remember). Surges powers are electricity based. Plus she could short circuit any machine tails tries to send out But because of their programming, they're going after the wrong heroes. Surge is determined to beat sonic on her own, who's just as fast as she is while kit is obligated to support her by taking on tails, who could probably hack or dismantle kits water pack let's be real here

[@TippedScale]

Man, I really hope that at some point in the story they actually, y’know, go after the actual people who are weak to their powers and kick their shit in

[@sonicdemon2737]

What I REALLY live about Surge's design, is that she looks like the famous green sonic glitch from sonic 2. Its also useful because yeah... If "someone" tries to sue them over her, they say that she was based off of the glitch.

[@Utfam_202]

Yeah but scourge was also based off of ashura

[@HotPocketM]

what do you mean by someone?

[@sonicdemon2737]

@@HotPocketM Ken Penders.

[@Mepphy99]

@@Utfam_202 yeah but there is no way someone could sue Surge like, She is a punk clichè, how do you sue that?

[@EXFrost]

​@@Mepphy99 ken penders always finds a way

[@SuperGodzilla2]

im loving these new characters. Surge might be a " Sonic Clone ", but i feel she brings something different to the table. cant wait to see where they go with her and Kit.

[@RealWorldGaming]

I can’t really call her a clone since she and kit are technically just citizens of Mobius turned Cyborgs, Their more Replica then anything

[@SuperGodzilla2]

@@RealWorldGaming true

[@RealWorldGaming]

@@SuperGodzilla2 I’m suprised nobody is talking about how Surge and Kit have died multiple times and Starlight keeps reviving them without any care, While you have Eggman who uses animals while starlight would use Mobians

[@SuperGodzilla2]

@@RealWorldGaming Starline is slowly becoming a greater villain than Eggman.

[@RealWorldGaming]

@@SuperGodzilla2 Eggman without the Moral Hugh Ground

[@commonviewer2488]

Kit starts to resemble Evil Tails by the end of this. He's not one for the spotlight, but will take decisive action to get his way, keeping his motives secret.

[@ShibuNub3305]

Imposter Syndrome might be my favorite Mini-series so far, Surge and Kit as characters are great and I’m in love with their designs, especially Kit’s. I was waiting for speed-reading to get up to this point!

[@breakeranimation4146]

I love Kitsunami way too much, though I think it's just because I have a "slight" bias for Foxes. I do love his Character and even a headcannon for him (first tike I've ever said that).

[@nightlypiano4116]

I'm really hyped to see what the mech Eggman hopped into is. Imagine it's the Egg Dealer or something-

[@ultra_lbp]

I'm hoping it's either something we haven't seen in a long time or a new thing entirely

[@jadendafinger]

@@ultra_lbp I hope maybe it's the Egg Bomber from Doomsday Zone. It would be super cool to see it fight seeing as it is basically a modified Death Egg Robot and we only ever see it fly away in space.

[@Mermain123]

i'm hoping it's his walker from SA2 it's manually controlled and doesn't HAVE to connect online i doubt and it would be cool to see it used in the comics

[@kingofflames738]

It's definitely gonna be one of the Death Egg Robot line. Maybe the very first one since out of all of them that one seems like it would require manual control.

[@nightlypiano4116]

@@Mermain123 they brought back Tails' walker, so it'd fit

[@ingothasnolife8040]

I love how all of them are based off of the Glitch characters from every classic sonic game after 1, Surge being the waterfall glitch from 2, Kit being Blue Knuckles, AKA Tails🐦, hence why he’s similar to Tails, and Starline, being well, ******, it’s very cool and I love it a-lot considering I always thought of those glitches as their own characters lmao

[@ademaulina452]

Plus starling is a platypus and knuckles is a echidna which are both monotremes which are egg laying mammals

[@ingothasnolife8040]

@@ademaulina452 that’s actually amazing, I never made that connection lmao

[@breakeranimation4146]

@@ademaulina452 could you explain this one a bit? I think I understand for starline making androids of real people?

[@ZEK-ROM]

I feel like Blaze would complete their little group, an elemental trio! And perhaps they'd be better off in the Sol dimension?

[@BBWahoo]

Bong the Weedhog

[@CarvedDaWarped]

Oh my yes

[@mr_indie_fan]

Nah we need surge to become a big bad, there have been one to many villain redemptions and i think its about time we get a new villain who is unredeemable (beyond eggman, the zeti, starline and metal that is)

[@AlphonseGrayrat]

A moment that still has me thinking was when Surge and Kit watched the videos of how they were manipulated and controlled. Kit says he doesn't want to see more, that he feels bad, but Surge tells him to go on and wants to see where she's from. this makes me think that Kit has not shown any resentment or annoyance at the idea, that like Surge, all his life was stolen and molded, and only for the purpose of following Surge, he still follows her without question, which causes me intrigue, I don't know if he is the real villain who will betray Surge in some way or if instead he accepted what he is now and doesn't care about anything, that's why he follows Surge.

[@JD_Maybe]

I think surge and kit's early relationship was like fleetway's sonic and tail s relationship.

[@jerodsumile2848]

Surge is basically the spiritual successor of Scourge, Blue eyes, green fur, and all. and I'm loving it.

[@ademaulina452]

Both surge and scourge are based on the green sonic flight in sonic 2

[@maximoomega3691]

The fact that they're android's instead of clones is really interesting and unique I do Wonder though who were they before they were kidnapped?

[@maximoomega3691]

@@theradionicrevival8068 dragon ball "androids" because despite having cybernetics inside of them for the most part they're still mostly organic

[@theradionicrevival8068]

@@maximoomega3691 ah ok, so just regular cyborgs then?

[@maximoomega3691]

@@theradionicrevival8068 yes

[@TristanLackey]

I headcanon Surge was some polite farmer girl and Kit was just some bratty kid lol

[@warioskapelli3100]

No clue, but it's BEGGING for a mini series. I'd love to see more of these two.

[@extremmefan7305]

I think Kit may just be one of my new favorite characters tbh. Hydrokinesis, softspoken like my irl self, blue and yellow color scheme, all in one adorable fox (well, kitsune) package? Yes please.

[@MusicKitsune]

Well Kitsunami is more of a Fennec Fox, but yeah He also became my main favorite Character

[@Marshadow01]

The best part about the Pingas joke is that it wasn’t even intentional, as the creator said to someone who alerted them of it on Twitter

[@ZaiDrizzleDrop]

I think its awesome how these guys can make new sonic characters that look like they totally fit in the universe. My favorite is Tangle

[@chi-wind8593]

So, basically it’s like if Gerald was evil from the get go. This kind of makes me think if Shadow was not made to be a cure for Maria. Also, how Belle’s brainwaves are used to make Surge’s and Kit’s personalites. Reminds me of how Maria’s Soul was based to complete Shadow and Emerl. So, people could not use them for evil. Surge and Kit are weapons to destroy Sonic. They did not get this luxury. Let’s be grateful Gerald was a nice guy at first.

[@chi-wind8593]

Also, this could be a reference to Android 17 and 18.

[@SymbioteSpider4736]

That line where Dr. Starline says "The doctor's ping is immaculate" wasn't an intentional pingas joke. Ian Flynn confirmed it. It's still funny Ian didn't notice until people thought it was though.

[@c5l217]

Tbh, at first I wasn't interested in Surge, because I thought she was just an attempt to replace Scourge, but then I watched this and got to know her more and, while I DO still love Scourge, I feel like Surge had much more of a character, not just being Sonic's clone but a unique, fully-fledged character. But im still clinging on to scourge, i just he makes an appearance in the games, IDW comics or any other sonic media, i miss him

[@gaminglulunightmare6092]

Sadly he won't make a appearance because THANKS to Ken Penders he claimed he made Scourage and therefore took him as his own and will basically sue Sega if they attempt to even MAKE Scourge a cameo in a comic or a game. Even though it is proven that Ken made "EVIL SONIC" which was the blue sonic with the cool leather jacket and boots. Another artist created Scourge's design but they weren't really able to fight Ken on this matter so he got to claim and keep scourge. Very sad in my opinion cus I too cling to Scourge myself and I always use to question why Sega doesn't use Scourge as an enemy in their games, etc, etc but once I learned that I gave up on ever seeing him outside of fanmade projects. :(

[@gaminglulunightmare6092]

I must also add that Ken Penders is so bad with his copywrite claims. He tried to SUE the company that made the Sonic movies because there were echidnas that LOOKED similar to his echidna characters. I'm not one to be a judgy butt and dislike people for minor things but Ken takes the cake and makes me REALLY dislike him for his crappy ways and treatment of "his" characters.

[@rodrigosoares8247]

I knew of Surge being a reference to The Asura glitch, and Starline being the Wechnia glitch, but I never heard of Kit being based on a glitch. If that is the case, then which one is it?

[@OssyFlawol]

Kit is based off Blue Knuckles, which makes sense - Kit has that droopy hair that sort of looks like Knuckle’s dreadlocks.

[@prestonchapman4694]

@@OssyFlawol which also make sense bc when you finish a level with that glitch it's a blue tails as well so it kinds combines both of them

[@dprototype6431]

Is it just me or does Surge’s relationship with Kit seem like an exaggerated version of how Sonic treated Tails in STC? Dude was abrasive to Tails in that comic. Edit: He brought that up later in the video, whoops

[@somedudewhodraws9377]

Surge looks beautiful with her hair down and the lack of piercings to be honest. Also Starline has no faith in these 2 clearly if he has to brainwash them fresh out of the tube to get his plans done. These 2 still have free will and can think for themselves.

[@squidge477]

Ian Flynn's ideas translate to the sonic games very well, Surge and Kit would make such great rival fights.

[@zegop5736]

I can imagine a cool boss fight with the two where surge is doing the attacks and kitsunaimi is making various water hazards to avoid

[@mitchellalexander9162]

Only something made of Rubber could Hard Counter that (Or something that doesn't conduct Electricity. EX: -Mr. Fantastic -Plastic Man -Helen Parr

[@Firebyte27]

I think it would be cool if surge and/or kit got a redemption arc involving shadow acting as a mentor. He’d be able to empathize with their lack of memories, and maybe even leave them with the message of his story in both SA2 and his own solo game: the past isn’t what defines you, it’s how you choose to move forward.

[@Vinsesh_]

I’d just really like to say that I love Surge’s design. The colors work amazingly together, she’s menacing but cute at the same time, and her outfit design is nothing short of perfect for the character. Had she been, and I hope she won’t be, on the hero side I would have loved to see her interact with sonic.

[@nightlypiano4116]

I love Starline fighting in his dressing gown lol

[@shellknight1323]

My theory is that Kit/Kitsunami is never using full power as because he's always being pushed out of a chance of doing so. Unlike Surge who is always charged.

[@virtueofdragonsdreamer7783]

4:33 I never noticed how solemnly Kit looks at Tails’ Workshop. It just feels important or foreshadowy.

[@MasterEm243]

Ian Flynn has claimed that Surge is based off of a glitch in Sonic 2 that turned Sonic black and green rather than Scourge directly.

[@TristanLackey]

Surge is based on Aushura Sonic (Sonic 2), Starline is based on Wechnia (Knuckles Chaotix), and Kit is based on the Blue Knuckles and Blue Tails glitch (Sonic 3&K)

[@Mepphy99]

i mean Scourge and Surge are based on Ashura We could Say they are similar, but yeah i love how he can Just "yeah no game glitch" and NoOne can Say shit to him

[@TristanLackey]

@@Mepphy99 ehh Scourge isn't actually based on Aushura exactly, he's just a palette swap of sonics eyes and his fur (since he had to be green from the master emerald powers, they just went and made his eyes blue too) but yeah

[@fordgt5383]

@@TristanLackey ashura had blue eyes and green fur as well, both Scourge and Surge are inspired by that, maybe even Jet is, which is funny considering that all 3 are green rivals of Sonic with blue eyes that never made an appearence in the canon series

[@mr_indie_fan]

@@fordgt5383 sonic riders is canon though-

[@serPomiz]

I agree with the final scourge discourse the "sonic dopleganger" has been used and abused both in the games and in the extra lore. the hedgehog duo, the robot copies, the extra life, hyper sonic, the othe universes sonics and not once beside the opening of SA2 it has ver really been anything but a self contained excuse to accuse sonic, beside the aformentioned scourge (and both emerl and gemerl by tecnicality, but that's a whole other story). havig an 'evil clone' that hvae no setup to be a clone at all is refreshing, honestly

[@anonbefallen4807]

The most intriguing part of this to me is. What is Eggmans reaction to Starlines plan here. Eggman is sadly forced into a static place as he is a game villain but I think that if he were allowed to evolve from this arc, future confrontations between Starline, Sonic, and himself would be so much more intresting. I guess what I'm saying is I want Eggman to LEARN from this. So that he can break the Sonic Cycle on his own without Starline stepping in and doing it. And now that I think about it evolution in Metal Sonic would be nice as well. Maybe recognizing Metals faults because of his confrontational with Surge he makes him better equipped to hand 2 on 1 scenarios? Which honestly it's baffling that he isn't already since he fights Tails and Sonic together all the time.

[@MethodiaLordae]

I love Surge so much it's unreal. I want a bunch of spin offs with this pair.

[@zippyzoom8786]

I reallyyyyyy like surge. her design is so unique and I absolutely love her attitude. when it comes to worlds like this if you want to make a new character/oc they have to be interesting and original and I think they perfectly nailed that with surge.

[@qloktheinvincible]

Making major villain protagonist characters based on Ashura, Blue Tails, and Wechnia is certainly a gutsy choice. Gotta admit it's working pretty well so far and I'm excited to see where they take it from here.

[@mr_indie_fan]

Not only is the story amazing but the title of the miniseries, "imposter syndrome" is amazing!

[@zakuronakashima]

The first thing I see when I see this "Surge" character is literally the Ashura color glitch from Sonic 2. You even used an artwork that straight up is the sonic 2 cover art itself. XD I dont read too deep (HAH) into the background and reasoning of stuff anymore, cuz I dont care for drama that may ensue. However, I appreciate you sharing the little background tidbits here and there when you do these Speed Reading videos. Always a great listen/watch.

[@danjudex2475]

Also Surge sounds a lot like the name Scourge. The free evil Sonic from Pre-super gen wave Archie. Who Ian Flynn created, and was then claimed by Ken Penders. So he probably created Surge to essentially dab on Ken.

[@tonythunder6048]

I’m glad Skourge (I forgot how to spell it) kinda lives on in Surge, the same color, fast like Sonic with a few extra abilities and with a punk like outfit and attitude

[@comiczarro9835]

This is probably my favorite miniseries. Once again Ian Flynn adds more compelling characters to the IDW roster. It is sad tho that great villains like this exists solely in the comics while the games churn out lackluster villains like Zavok and Infinite.

[@mr_indie_fan]

Zavok was an amazing villain in the idw comics, once again proving that Ian does better then sega at writing sonic.

[@mr_indie_fan]

Infinite was lost potential

[@loganrx3049]

I love how their designs represent how Starline wants them to be. Surge has electricity, which overpowers water, and water is what Kit controls. I only noticed that because I thought of Pokémon types for a moment.

[@ghosthugcentral3820]

I kind of want an in-depth look into Metal Sonic in the IDW series. Sure we had Super Metal and Angel Island and all that but Starline is interested in the personality AI of Belle or what her name was. I'm surprised he is never interested or intrigued by Metal Sonic. As we have seen for someone who barely talks he is VERY full of his own personality. His OWN sense of right and what the good doctors army should do. The fact that Starline is more interested in Belle instead of Metal Sonic to me is strange, when it came to basing off personality construction for these clones.

[@theamazingmaymay123]

Ya know, reading the comic myself I get a lot of Fleetway Sonic & Scourge personality in Surge. Like the way she kinda treats Kit matches a bit with how sonic treated fleetway tails.

[@CanterlotCrusader]

All the IDW og chracters are top notch. Surge and Kit easily shoot to the top, being destructive villains, but with a drop of sympathy, as they are artificial monsters.

[@AM-vf6id]

30:20 that line has been over used yet i stil love it "your not even good enough to be my fake" i just love it so much

[@Gum_underthe_desk]

Out of all IDW or sonic comics in general Surge and Kit are my favorite characters to come out of recent sonic content.

[@theodorerigopoulos6509]

Surge and Dr. Starline are the spiritual successors of Scourge and Dr finitevus from Archie comics. 2 of the best Sonic villains that reach their full potential under Ian Flynn but unfortunately they were taken away by Ken Pender. So it's good to see Ian having a chance to reintroduced them as new characters.

[@reggierocks9488]

I have been waiting for this for WEEKS. If I don't stress it enough, YOUR VIDEOS ARE AWNSER AND THEY KEEP GETTING BETTER.

[@thedastardlylizard5944]

I can't help but give Surge a Kefla voice from Dragon Ball. It fits way too good

[@SilverHyozanryu]

I've really come round to love Starling as a character. I enjoyed his introduction, but they've really stuck with him and fleshed him out into an interesting villain.

[@emon6476]

I would absolutely love to see Tails meet Kit and just discuss their situation to see if they can work together

[@serpentmaster1323]

A TENREKCK!! YES YES YES! The first time I ever heard about tenreck I imideatley thought t should be a sonic character the only venomous mamal on earth, most closely related to the hegdehog, yet their family lines diverged all the way back in dinosaur times! What an awesome choice for an imposter villan!

[@rainpooper7088]

There also was a tenrec character named Gold in Archie Sonic. Also, male platypuses are venomous too, that’s what Starline’s heel spurs are based on. So tenrecs definitely aren’t the only venomous mammals on earth.

[@serpentmaster1323]

@@rainpooper7088 Right, thanks, I remember, it was ‘one of’ the only venomous mammals. So glad Im not the only one who knows about them. Almost everything cool on the planet has to be endangered doesn’t it? Also, I had no Idea there was a tenrec character in the Archie comics. Thanks for telling me.

[@Starpotion]

I'm just now realizing the intentional design of Surge being a successor to Scourge; from the name, to the color palette, and being an evil clone. Being able to tie all that together and also make it a reference to a palette glitch in the games is amazingly impressive.

[@t4washere384]

If you have not seen the "The Ashura the Hedgehog Story ▸ From Glitch to Legend" video I highly recommend it. And if people have problems reading mini series to keep up with the main line series, they should not read modern X-men comics, you need to read like 7-10 series to get the whole story. X of Swords was a pain to follow in singles!

[@TotalWannabe]

You should not read modern X-men *period*

[@colen1899]

Surge and Kit origins of them being Normal people then turned into cyborg and turning against the doc kinda gives them a android 17&18 vibe from DBZ. So whens a Sonic version of Cell is going to show up

[@kerbethegodkiller2914]

Is it just me or that weird robot that Starline showed during the flashback looks like one of the metal Sonic designs for Sonic Xtreme

[@Utfam_202]

HOLY- IT DOES

[@Gamer_Dylan_6]

This comic reminds me just how much l love Eggman. He's in no way an idiot, but in many ways he's satisfied with his constant struggle against sonic. It always challenges him as an inventor and keeps him busy. Sure, he hates sonic, but I don't think he would ever want him gone.

[@donathan2933]

you gotta give credit to Starline. he's becoming a more impactful villain

[@STC54Official]

I love how surge has ashura's color pallete

[@natezenith]

Sounds like an intriguing arc

[@ftthecartoon]

Here's my personal theory on Surge's design origin. While the argument could be made that it's inspired by Scourge, I think it also references the Ashura glitch from Sonic 2 in the same way Starline is a reference to the Wechnia and possibly Dr. Finitevus. I don't know if Kit could be a reference to a glitch, but it wouldn't surprise me.

[@rockhistoria2537]

I think kit is a reference to the blue knuckles glitch, with the connection with tails coming from the message "tails has passed" when it completed a level

[@EWOODJ]

**********

[@SonicPAJ]

This was the series that got me back into the IDW comics after the main story slowed down. Growing up I was a Scourge fan, and seeing Surge continue on the legacy of that character with her big squishy asymmetrical expressions has got me hyped for Issue 50. Like many of the other characters in the Sonic series, I didn't even know what a Tenrec was. (Some types look just like hedgehogs even though they are completely unrelated... they DO have sharp teeth IRL.) Both Scourge and Surge are based off of the Sonic 2 "Ashura" glitch. Also, "training" Surge and Kitt (SurKit) by "killing" them over and over again is very similar to how DC's Doomsday (the monster that killed Superman) was created. If you want to see a great comic dub of "Imposter Syndrome" with some brilliant voice work (and my headcannon voices), I'd check out MarioKartGamerDude's dub (still waiting on Part 4): kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6XJcqeMir2Jp9U

[@bats10v]

I'm honestly liking Surge and Kit. I'm hoping they stay independent villains in their own rights after this intro story line.

[@IgnatiusBlaze4]

Hmmm messing with her ear reminds me of that one episode of Sonic X, for some reason after all these years that is the only episode I have committed to memory ever since I watched it when I was younger, and I wonder... is that memory shedding some light and finally being of use all these years later?

[@TheFrantic5]

Every single character introduced in this universe has surprising depth. I like it!

[@victimz0014]

I really wanna see more of these three in the future as a team. Starline already became one of my favorites in the franchise and surge and kit are really cool characters. I will dub them, Team Anti

[@enchilordo8562]

I hope Metal Sonic gets some taste of revenge. I dunno I don’t feel like that loss was entirely fair and MS himself would definitely not let that slide

[@AkiDave]

Pretty Wizard! I wonder if the hydro-man esc manipulation could be a chaos reference.

[@flameflamedramonva]

I love how Starline started ro take more from Dragon Ball like Sonic has always done and now we got a Dr. Gero

[@cjcaliswag]

I appreciate you for these speed readings, I can’t find most of these issues even on IDW’s website. And most of the time I don’t have time to look. Thanks a bunch! SONIC FRONTIERS HYPE

[@nightlypiano4116]

17:05 Surge is in the family guy death pose and it's brilliant-

[@dasirrlicht5415]

Ah, Androids, another cross on Dragon Ball Bingo! I do like the duo. I assume that they will never get their old life back, however. Afteral, their full personality is based on Starline and his schemes. Even when going against their programming, its still only Starline that ever formed their personalities, even if in ways not intended. They are most certainly not whoever the kidnapped people where anymore. So in a way, the Doctor is right: Whoever they where before is... irrelevant. If there was anything special to them before, it would not be irrelevant [Looking at you, disney star wars Reys family tree]. We may learn where they come from, but as a closure for them, not for us. The characters can say goodbye to the life they never get to have, and then go and figure out their own personality, whatever they can build from the scraps of conditioning and new experiences. Anyways, I am interested to see where this gets/got taken.

[@mr_indie_fan]

There not androids though.... Its more like they were mutated with powers.

[@dasirrlicht5415]

@@mr_indie_fan Dragonball Androids are implied a lot of times to be made from real people, if I recall Correctly. Or is that just the abridged version?

[@darienrouse7917]

17:07 I didn't realize Surge got folded by the robots and was in the family guy pose. That got a good chuckle out of me.

[@omega6468]

I'm so excited! You do the best sonic comic reviews!

[@samuelpierce2.088]

Surge gives off big gremlin vibes, and I’m here for it.

[@Redder_Creeps]

Before the video: Ok so, I remember someone in the comment section telling me this is where Starline's character gets even better. Time to see if it's true After the video: Wherever you are, user that told me Starline here got better, YOU HAVE MY COMPLETE RESPECT

[@burnum]

Unless he filed the necessary paperwork to own "Evil Sonic" then no, Ken never owned the character. Regardless, the idea of an evil Sonic was always there to begin with.

[@CometX-ing]

Imposter Syndrome is the most interested in the comic I have been honestly since it started. Surge and Kit are really cool characters and honestly their existence really helps Starline feel like more than an Eggman Jr. I generally don’t have any real criticisms of the mini series and feel like it was the best the comic has to offer. Surge and Kit are fun and interesting characters, and Starline stands out more here than ever. Of course my concerns lie in where we go from here. After issue 50 where will the characters sit? They already don’t want anything to do with Starline and plan to off him and Sonic. Obviously neither will happen, so where do you take characters whose motives are so single minded, even after the truth is revealed they only plan on just destroying everything. Also having Starline lose the one thing that made him stand apart from Eggman would really set him back. Maybe he could go back to rare gems like the Warp Topaz but still. Also, for a nitpick, I don’t really understand how Surge acts after she beats Metal. Being smug is one thing, but she somehow thinks she can beat Sonic alone while also not being able to beat Kit without help. This would be fine if Kit acted on his own and she pretended like she didn’t need help, but she acknowledged that she couldn’t beat Metal without help. It comes off less like she is smug and more like she just completely forgot she asked Kit for help. Also another minor nitpick, but IDW over use of reference poses and lines of dialogue has kinda gotten grating.

[@xbro154ever]

I would love to watch this video, but I want to read the issues first since I pre-ordered the Imposter Syndrome Volume which doesn’t come out until October and I can’t wait to start reading this series from there onward. Your SonicSpeedReading videos really inspired me to want to read on what’s going to happen next so, I’ll wait till October to watch this video and any others that miss out on by that time. Thanks for your hard work Game Apologist!

[@xbro154ever]

One more thing, I’ll just leave a like since you always make great videos even if I’m not watching this one yet

[@duelmasteryuya1205]

​@@xbro154ever It is a good video yeah. I just looked at a KZbinr's content that's dedicated to post all of the issues during the day it comes out. It has no commentary too. Just Sonic music playing in the background while panning over the comic. The name's Silver_Sonic if you want to look at it digitally for free. Just helping a guy out in case you need to read it immediately.

[@SkaiCyan]

My only question is what the heck Starline intended to do about all of Sonic's other friends. Not the least of which include Shadow, Knuckles, Omega and Gemerl.

[@Zicetec2000]

Why Sonic and Tails have already taken them out... and these are supposed to be superior to them. why clutter up with more characters

[@SkaiCyan]

@@Zicetec2000 I'm not saying they should have added all these characters to the story, I'm saying that I don't think Starline properly planned for anyone else. I think he severely underestimates Sonic's friends. Honestly I think you can tell this by how he designed Kit's personality.

[@rynobehnke8289]

Starline was insane enough to believe that Surge and Kit could kill then all. (as clearly shown in the end of issue 4 were Surge clearly plans to do just that) Obviously if the Metal Sonic fight is anything to go by will even Team Rose pill drive them into the ground ones they try.

[@idreadFell365]

Surge is the one that raises aggro while Kit comes in clutch when ever he’s overlooked.