The Philosophy of Sonic the Hedgehog - Sonic Speed Reading

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We've finally arrived at IDW Sonic's 50th issue, and WOW is there a lot to talk about...but also I want to give a MASSIVE thank you to my dear friend @ChannelPup for editing this beast. Be sure to check out his channel and our Sonic podcast @sunsetcity
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[@GameApologist]

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[@TOG633]

yoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[@thunderman4412]

Here before it pin

[@Normanstudi0s]

Hello Nick! I know you most likely wont respond but I have a cool sonic Thing for you to check out. Not me trying to say Watch all my Videos but I made my own Sonic series. Its still in the Making and i would like for you to check it out! not all the videos but at least Either Season 2 episode 2 or Season 2 Episode 1 i would highly recommend for you to watch it. Sure its not the BEST sonic Things But It brings back Old characters that's been Forgotten Such as Sally or Scratch and Grounder! In my Personal Opinion, I think i made sonic better. Again you Don't Have to watch it But i recommend you do! Thanks For Reading.

[@channelonflameblasts4936]

I need a hair cut

[@reilorenzogamer5007]

I Dont Know What Is Happening In IDW Anymore

[@p4rsa378]

Seeing eggman physically defeating someone, fighting without any robots was the greatest thing I’ve ever seen

[@beywheelzhater8930]

My boi really beat Starline both physically and mentally to the point that Starline just ended up standing there as a city crushed him Starline has actually been confirmed to be dead btw, the only way for him to be made not dead is if there is enough demand to shadow the hedgehog style death recton him

[@sonicstar917]

Kind of odd for a villain who, according to the writer, "never, NEVER has a solid plan." Flynn basically told us he doesn't play the games without telling us he doesn't play the games.

[@beywheelzhater8930]

@@sonicstar917 no one brought up Flynn, please go vent about your dissapointment elsewhere

[@sonicstar917]

@@beywheelzhater8930 He's the one who wrote this issue, and who said that Eggman NEVER has a solid plan. It's not disappointment; it's pointing out an inconsistency.

[@maxspecs]

I’d hardly call getting his city taken and losing 2 of his stronger mechs a solid plan. He took a gamble on Starline’s mental state and it paid off. After that, it was just having countermeasures to Starline’s usual tricks and being more in shape.

[@KSKY2012]

Ah, yes. This one. The one were Dr. Eggman scared me to my core once again. When he just stood up from the rubble and towered over Starline, it was official. Eggman is one of my absolute favorite villains, Top 5, hands down.

[@SirenRunner]

Couldn't of said it any better

[@KingRumar]

That fucking smile…

[@Springlolbit]

Who’s the first?

[@NewSkater3000]

are there really 2 idiots in this one account

[@anthonytonythegeek5561]

Agreed with that, and the scene where he literally just slammed the monotreme bastard into the rubble was amazing!

[@Pogbirb]

Eggman doesn't seem to hate the mr.tinker times he had, he treats it like "temporary retirement", claiming it was relaxing. His acknowledgement of belle was really nice, not too much, and not too little. Classic eggman style.

[@maxspecs]

He clearly has a soft spot for Belle, and is content with letting her do as he pleases, as long as she’s happy. If that means he has to fight her or she wants to stop him, he’ll do it, but he’s not going out of his way to deal with her.

[@Marxy-]

"She was tough, but I don't see how anyone could survive that." _Said the guy who survived falling to Earth from a goddamn _*_space station_*_ in Unleashed._

[@rynobehnke8289]

He also says this knowing that her "creator" just recently survived being hit by a avalanche, that Shadow to whom he compared her to survived fallowing from a the arc while being entirely drained of his power AND who is friend with a Echidna that also survived being burred under tones of rocks (by a purple cat from another dimension) Sonic jumping to conclusions here is just a bad excuse as to why Surge can remain free for her revenge in 3 issues from now.

[@chaosprog2341]

Well as far as Sonic knows she might not be that durable like him.

[@rynobehnke8289]

@@chaosprog2341 While he can't know should he still check. I mean she was build to beat him so he really should expect her to be a but more durable.

[@blazicgd]

So did shadow after all

[@beywheelzhater8930]

@@rynobehnke8289 to be fair the whole collapsing city thing did kill said creator so there is that, like it's been confirmed that unless there is numerous fan requests to dust off Starline's coffin like they did with Shadow after Adventure 2, Starline is actually just dead If you can survive a blow in the sonic universe or not is entirely dependant on what the writers are feeling atm

[@fun-epersonnproductions4002]

I think that current IDW Sonic is much closer to his characterization from Japanese manuals for the classics. The 90's sass, attitude and jokestery were largely injected into him in the American localization.

[@Vrabsher_-Supreme_Perhinther-]

I still prefer the American localization .

[@smileyfaceproductions7477]

@@Vrabsher_-Supreme_Perhinther- Yeah, it definitely fits his character more compared to the Japanese localization. Not to mention because of all his attitude, it makes the moment's in which he is nice and highly-compassionate stand out much more. Which is why a lot of people like the AOSTH and SATAM characterizations of Sonic compared to the official material.

[@Vrabsher_-Supreme_Perhinther-]

@@smileyfaceproductions7477 Yeah , because Sonic in the US and the Fleetway comics had more soul and wasn't a husk of something .

[@gonkdroid5851]

I miss sassy sonic

[@smileyfaceproductions7477]

@@gonkdroid5851 i do too.

[@phantomstrider]

Honestly, this is one of my favourite interpretations of Sonic. As you say, it feels like a seasoned Sonic that has been through 30 years of adventures. Yes, he makes morally questionable decisions in the amount of villains he spares. But his constant need to question his own compassion is part of what makes him fascinating. Personally, I'm interested in seeing a Sonic who can shoulder 30 years of danger and still find a smile. Not continually seeing a 15-year-old re-imagined for each generation.

[@PhysicsGamer]

Same here! I've really been enjoying this version of the character that Flynn's put together, which really makes me optimistic for Frontiers. For a while now I've noticed Sonic moving towards a more mature, philosophical type of outlook. Not just in Flynn's writing but Sega's more generally. At a minimum they've moved him away from the outright "it doesn't matter/now what happens/but I will never/give up the fight" of the Adventure games, which I wasn't sure I'd like. After all, what's Sonic without that flippant sort of optimism he's had since the '90s? A lot of people have complained about how edgy Shadow the Hedgehog was (myself included), but my bigger complaint was always the overwhelming blanket of cynicism that underpinned all that edge. Sonic has always been an edgier series, but the main character being so utterly optimistic has always helped counterbalance that. Fortunately, it seems my worries were unfounded. This more philosophical Sonic has in no way discarded his optimism, just become less flippant about it. Perhaps one could say he *cares* more, in a way, or at least is more committed to acting to make sure his optimistic worldview actually occurs. Less "it'll all work out so long as I just keep going" and more "yeah, the world can be unfair but that just means I need to fight all the harder for a better world". Or perhaps "people are generally good, so I expect that good thing X will happen... but since I'm one of those good people I have a responsibility to help make sure X will happen". It's a very metamodernist take, really. Instead of rejecting a dichotomy of good vs. evil (postmodernism), it acknowledges that those can be meaningful and even "legitimate" (for lack of a better word...) categories in the right context. All the while not falling into conventionally modernist "the hero is the hero and therefore their actions are heroic, while the villain is the villain and therefore their actions are villainous" types of traps. Essentially the fact that "good" and "evil" are subjective doesn't mean we can't identify good and evil actions. After all, the very definition of subjective means that the one speaking fulfills the need for a subject of the sentence - "I think X is good" is a complete moral statement once X is chosen.

[@koshkacat1871]

At this point I just headcannon the idw characters as being a bit older, just for like- my brain to understand things better ;-; Im tired of seeing him be described as 15 when in the comics he gives off like late teens vibes to me

[@sonicANDtailsfan157k]

@@PhysicsGamer what?

[@PhysicsGamer]

@@sonicANDtailsfan157k Was there something in my post you found confusing or...?

[@sonicANDtailsfan157k]

@@PhysicsGamer to many words make brain go nuclear 🧠☢️💥

[@33pandagamer]

I feel like the philosophy Sonic has in IDW is the philosophy that he always had. In Sonic and The Black Knights, the entire time Sonic is battling Merlina, he is trying to convince her that she should enjoy life no matter how fleeting it is. That yeah, it's sad that things can't last forever, but that's why we need to cherish them in the time we do have. Even back in SA2, when Shadow turns to the good side and tells Sonic that he'll distract the biolisard while Sonic and Knuckles stop the chaos emeralds, Sonic doesn't question Shadow. Sonic trusts Shadow even though they had been enemies up until this point. Sonic to me has always been trusting of his enemies, as if he is just waiting for the moment when they stop being evil and become his friend.

[@goldenboybenny7511]

black knight actually disproves this sonic killed King Arthur before he even knew he was a illusion so as far sonic knew he was killing a real person and afterwards he celebrated his victory. That really doesn’t line up with sonics current characterisation.

[@kian7406]

If we use sonic and the black knight as an example then we see sonic forgive and inspire not only merlina but also the knight of the round table. In the same game tho he knows when to put his foot down and he ain’t naive. The moment he found out that king arthur was a corrupted and oppressive being, sonic was down to stop him

[@Dr.PaiPai]

Black Knight Sonic literally went in to kill King Arthur before he knew he was illusion. So Black Knigbt Sonic doesn't agree with IDW Sonic's with the whole freedom thing where you can do as you please and suffer barely any consequences.

[@kian7406]

@@Dr.PaiPai well in black knight, wether he is an illusion or not, sonic knew he was corrupted and couldn’t revert so sonic had no choice but to kill him.

[@Snaaaaap]

Sonic's loophole to his ideals is he can kill you in self defense. Lol. He won't feel guilty if you try to take his life when evil. Those who abuse their freedom don't get to have it.

[@Dgero]

Hats off to Eggman for being the MVP here, my boi knew every single one of starline’s steps since he wasn’t so focused on Sonic

[@edwintrinidadperazacaraban4650]

Like a villain said: "i win, I WIN! AND YOU!?... you !din'd even started the race¡" I dont remember how said tough.

[@beywheelzhater8930]

Eggman outplayed Starline so hard that Starline actually mental breakdowned himself into actually dying, like, it's been confirmed that unless they end up pulling a shadow and dusting off that coffin for fan-based backlash that Starline actually did just die here

[@Dgero]

@@beywheelzhater8930 Honestly I feel like either they’d probably bring him back to explore more of his more questionably ethical projects or have sonic or crew try to find answers in Starline’s work maybe to get find answers on who Surge and Kit were

[@1KamaronConClase]

After a lot of Starline spotlight, the Eggman scene was brilliant. That smile in the dark is the creepiest, love it.

[@arctictropic1147]

This is why I love Sonic in this comic series. "He's not perfect" He's not the end-all-be-all protagonist that has no flaws. Sure he's not weak, he has friends, and everything seems to go his way most of the time, but his philosophy is his character flaw. He knows it's not perfect, but he's not gonna give up trying. He wants to see the best in people just the same way people want the best in Sonic. This way of thinking is his flaw, what creates a bigger problem, and that's fine. A perfect mary-sue character is not needed. He's a hero, yes, but he's still young and growing, and I'm sure his philosophy will continue to be tested and maybe even alter at some point further down the series. Thank you so much for highlighting this

[@jamesorozco8480]

I'd like to also put out a point that in black knight sonic is kinda like the younger version of the one in IDW to me, where he is happy to be seen as the bad guy as long as he does what he things is right Like the lyrics in doesnt matter, place all your bets in the one you think is right. its your choice

[@kian7406]

Sonic was never a perfect hero tho lol. He isn’t your stereotypical hero and their are big figures against him. Wether it be the eggman empire, GUN or a whole world sonic doesn’t care because he is a natural free spirit who goes his own way and doesn’t care about image. He puts what is right above all else, not for the sake or heroism but because he has a heart of gold and takes action on his worries. The reason people don’t like idw isn’t because of this. It’s because sonic is naive and puts the freedom of others at risk for the naive hope that irredeemable villains like eggman can change.

[@alexanderadams9058]

Great point. Also they nobody can "highlight" a comment. You can only highlight a comment when clicking on a notification about said comment. Sorry if that's a bummer but this comment is still great!

[@fightingmedialounge519]

That's actually pretty stereotypical for heroes kian cosindering how many superhero stories have them fighting againts the government for what they think is right. What normally makes sonic different from other heroes is that he doesn't really go out of his way to look for criminals, and his actions are based how he feels in the immediate situation rather than coming in with a clear moral code.

[@kian7406]

@@fightingmedialounge519 normally stereotypical heroes are sort of lawful good figures such as superman. Sonic is more chaotic good. He doesn’t care for laws and doesn’t fight on behalf of someone for honour pr heroism. He is just doing what he feels like, fighting for the freedom of others rather than what it considered right by other people

[@SuperSonic68]

I'm just glad that, after the Meta Era, it's looking like we're about to get an in-game Sonic that, at the very least, HAS a code of ethics. HAS a philosophy. HAS a character. It may not be the character you grew up with in the 90s, or 2000s, but at least he is one again.

[@kian7406]

Sonic has always had a philosophy since day one and it’s been consistently. The idea of freedom was in the classics, in adventure, especially in the story book games and even in Colors. He has always had a consistent character at his core but it’s just a matter of if the writer truly understands what this philosophy means and if t he writers knows when sonic has to put his foot down

[@playerback7722]

Yep

[@Sylocat]

@@kian7406 I regret to inform you that Sonic the Hedgehog is a fictional character, not a real person. And the franchise from which he originates has quite possibly the least consistent writing of any work of fiction since the Bible.

[@kian7406]

@@Sylocat lol no. It’s writing is very consistent in Japan but western media sometimes mistranslates, misinterprets or completely changes stuff. Since day one sonics philosophy was being free to take action on your worries and this was literally stated. Just look at the Japanese boxart quotes or manuals or literally the theming in the game itself and how it’s often brought up throughout games

[@Sylocat]

@@kian7406 For most of Sonic's history it's been co-produced by the Japanese and American branches of Sega to largely equal degrees, so I don't buy that the Japanese writing is the "original" or "true" version of the character. And even if I did, the Japanese writing isn't consistent either. For as much as I love Shiro Maekawa, he definitely leaned hard into the wisecracking snarkitude that the western translators had supposedly made up out of nowhere. Sonic's Japanese dialogue in SA2 sounds very different from SA1, it's just easier to not notice because of the reduced focus on Sonic himself in those games.

[@DamashiTheKaotic]

This is my favorite incarnation of The Blue Blur. He's nicer than most incarnations, but he's not flawless, he's not always right, and he doesn't always communicate his thoughts in the best way. Tails vs Kit is the perfect example of this. Tails ALMOST gets Kit to stop fighting, but the way Sonic treats Surge never even comes close to getting her to change her mind, in fact it only enrages her more. Every blow he lands, every snarky comment, every attempt to get the fight to end without bloodshed falls flat for her. More importantly, for me, while Sonic's philosophy isn't treated by the book as being 100% right, it's also not 100% wrong either. Theres alot of nuance in this portrayal that hits me in ways that SATAM, Archie, and others never did.

[@standard1703]

I think the issue doesn't really lie within his morals moreso than his execution on them. I agree with him for the most part and follow his ideology of freedom and doing what you think is right, but when he acts on those morals he does a pretty piss poor job ngl

[@standard1703]

He treated Surge like a workout rather than an actual threat or a person suffering, especially while she was opening up to him about her past and why she's fighting him. You can give him the benefit of the doubt because she is just another stick in the mud to him, or that it's not his job to be her therapist and he isn't obligated to hear her out, but he could've approached the situation a little better than how he handled it

[@frankspick7544]

​@@standard1703 i mean there could be just he fought people who tryed to play that card before the sob story and all that

[@LeavanDragon]

@@standard1703 honestly this is a good point and do a very large degree, has always been like this. I can't really remember a time sonic entertained am opponents sob story or ideology besides Blaze, and that was simply due to them pursuing the same outcome. For sonic, his fight with is like no different than his fights with Shadow, Jet, the knight of the roundtable or metal sonic. I mean let's remember in heroes, he even gladly called Metal to challenge him again.

[@FrancisTheBerd]

I still kinda miss Jackass sonic sometimes but at least this sonic is well written

[@johnsullivan9064]

My personal opinion on whether or not Sonic is in the right or wrong in not "dealing" with his enemies; and other heroes for the matter, goes like this. Sonic is under no obligation to KILL these people. Sonic is under no obligation to being the world's Savior. Sonic, is under no obligation to be... A HERO. Sonic's only obligation is to be himself. He is a free spirited person that helps people. He's a individual who stops bad people sometimes. The villains may see him as a hero. The people may see him as a hero. Hell, WE see him as a hero. But does Sonic? I would say no. Sonic is just a good person. To the innocent and the guilty. And that's where the problem with people analyzing him as a hero comes into play. What people wanted when they demanded Eggman die, wasn't for a hero to save them. They wanted bloodied minded vengeance. Are they wrong for wanting it? No. Are they wrong for wanting Sonic to do it? Yes. Why? Because they're not strong enough to do it. They're afraid to do it. They don't want Sonic to be himself, they want Sonic to be their weapon. Their tool. And this is wrong with fiction and reality. The PEOPLE, are constantly looking for heros, idols, leaders, and villains to be manifestations of their desires and when the succumb and take on that role, the people turn on them. Because no matter how much the people want it, the truth is they never understand fully what it is they ask for and the truth scares them. Sonic isn't a bad hero for letting the villains keep living. He's a GOOD person for not giving in to either them, or to us.

[@dragonquest8ftw1]

strangely enough, the reaction reminds me of something out of Persona 5 that from an outside perspective I thought was ludicrous but seeing it in this instance has been a shocker. People don't want to make the hard decisions and they never will, they just want to pass the blame onto someone else so they bear the responsibility and blame should they fail. They all go on and on about Sonic being the one to deal the blow but I guarantee if any of the mindless audience was handed a sword and told to execute someone they'd shit themselves and shrivel.

[@KavinCatastrophe]

I love this. This is exactly how I feel to. Sonic could have just as easily ignore everything but he chooses to help people because he a good person and people mistake that as it his job to be their Hero and do what the people ask.

[@kian7406]

You hit the nail on the head with most parts of this one pal. I agree. The first ever glimpse of sonics characterisation was the Japanese boxArt for the first game which had a quote from sonics perspective saying something like “if you want to do something, do it right away, do it when you can. It’s the only way to live life without regrets” Sonic doesn’t care about image since he is a free spirit and doesn’t care about heroism or duty either. If he sees something he doesn’t like such as oppression, he will take action to help nature and the innocent people around him. It’s a selfless and confident philosophy that makes sonic a cool character imo

[@zac.t3975]

I agree with everything you said here. Sonic is just a guy, who stops evil whenever he can. Even if it's not about killing, it's not his call to just throw people in jail or kill them, as Sonic himself is not authority.

[@bluestar5812]

Perfect analysis. Sonic always been like this in the game's canon. His theme on SA1 even says "I won't give in, won't compromise [...] I doesn't matter who is wrong and who is right".

[@chiharris2810]

I feel like because the definition of cool is always changing, alot of Sonic fans struggle to come to terms with each current iteration's version of Sonic. I like the more "superhero" take on Sonic lately, it feels way more dynamic and honestly him having a rouges gallery instead of just facing random kaiju monsters every game is good. But I will admit that I miss some of the attitude. That being said though, the definition of cool changes alot, and in that sense this is the current definition of cool, someone who is understanding and compassionate. Just look at other protagonists in recent media, even things as old now as Aang in Avatar the Last Airbender.

[@kian7406]

Sonic was meant to transcend cool tho to make something timelessly cool and he did that. His urge to live life to the fullest and go on adventures, sheer confidence or attitude even when everything is bleak and especially the pure heart of gold and drive to help others are things people look up to hence what makes him cool. As long as sonic embodies these traits along with the spirit of freedom, he will always be timelessly cool…

[@macjohniezuhaeus316]

Honestly I like the current version to an extent sure I do miss the attitude a bit but I do think that this sonic justifies that by being the oldest version of sonic so far and that he has changed getting rid of some of his attitude and giving more compassion and look how many enemies or people he had to fight that later turned into allies like : Knuckles, Shadow, Silver, Blaze, Gemmal, Chaos, Omega and Gama they all at one point had to fight sonic (with the exception of Omega and kind of Gama but they were still part of Eggmans group until Rouge and Amy changed their minds) and now without those characters you could pretty much call Sonic dead. So I can see Sonic reflecting on that and saying I gotta make more allies then enemies.

[@kian7406]

@@macjohniezuhaeus316 sonic still does have attitude tho? His confidence and self motivation have no limits and he constantly has the drive and willpower to take action and stand up to evil anywhere with a cheeky smirk on his face. He is only really serious when someone he knows his hurt or when he is overwhelmed like in metal virus. It’s just that his attitude is presented like the games and not the flanderized and misunderstood egotistical version from Archie, boom or satam

[@macjohniezuhaeus316]

@@kian7406 Yeah I can Agree on that

[@Sylocat]

@@kian7406 When was Sonic "meant" to transcend cool? I don't think Sega has ever displayed much interest in that.

[@yuxaredd]

Honestly making sonic be so willing to forgive and forget seems insane until you consider knuckles, shadow, blaze, gamma, silver, and so on and forth Either that or mandates

[@ashuraomega7113]

This Sonic is just a hypocrite when it comes to who and who doesn't get second chances

[@kian7406]

Sonic is about freedom. Once the threat is neutralised sonic will give them a chance to rebound and change towards the light. Eg Chaos, knuckles and merlina. But sonic also understands when the villian can’t change. He understands when he has to put an end to them to ensure the freedom of others. He isn’t naive when it comes to this and will know when he has to kill for the peace of the world even if seen as wrong by others. Eg King Arthur, eraser jinn and he even TRIED to do it to egg man.

[@yuxaredd]

Is he? It’s pretty rare for him NOT to give people a second chance. Can’t think of any examples in the games or IDW Comics

[@maximoomega3691]

@@yuxaredd *cough* erazor djinn *cough* *cough*

[@yuxaredd]

@@maximoomega3691 to be fair the “giving everyone a second chance” philosophy seems to stop at gods

[@Smhedgehog]

I feel like no matter how much Sega tries to make Sonic perfect, he will always be imperfect, whether he's an absolute jerk like in Fleetway, or a super goody-2-shoes in this series, he'll always make mistakes, and he'll always fix those mistakes, that's who Sonic is to me

[@kian7406]

Was that what he is meant to be tho? Sonic does have his flaws like recklessness, over optimism and sometimes fear or water but they are nothing that needs development. Sonic was meant to be written as some kind of “super human” that barely makes any mistakes and can be a figure people look up too. He is often at odds and his ideals or lifestyle can be challenged but he will always stick to what he thinks is right and won’t budge. This is what makes him cool.

[@robertwyatt3912]

He’s not a goody-two-shoes any more than he was in literally any other piece of media.

[@restlessdreams5327]

Sonic isn't meant to be perfect and I don't think Sega is trying to make him perfect. I don't see him as being any more "goody-too-shoes" than most incarnations. He lines up well with the games. He won't go out of his way to kill someone but he will if he has to and he won't save an unrepentant villain from their own self-made demise. Ian Flynn himself has said that you don't have to always agree with Sonic. The series points out the flaws with his philosophy but Sonic is stubborn. He's a static character who changes others. Sonic, himself, even knows there are consequences to being so forgiving but he's not one to change his ways because other people disagree. Never has been.

[@AutumnCrusader]

Absolute jerk is a bit harsh Fleetway Sonic cared deeply about his friends and the world, as seen in his actions and thought bubbles He was just emotionally stunted enough to not be able to express that properly

[@kian7406]

@@AutumnCrusader compared to the kind hearted game version, fleetway kind of is a jerk but yeah I agree. People take fleetway out of context to make him extremely unlikeable

[@Soulferno]

One of things I think people seem to misunderstand about Sonic as well as how he's being characterized in the IDW books is that even in official canon, Sonic is described as a free spirit that hates injustice and wrongdoing. I think he is naive and cocky but not in the sense that people seem to think. Sonic only shows Eggman mercy when he knows he's got him beat but in the comics you can tell that Mr. Tinker really opened his eyes to the possibility that even the most far gone of people can change as long as they show the capacity for it, no matter how small. Even his first confrontation with Eggman in the Metal Virus saga showed that there is something good there within Eggman even if he chooses not to act on it. He may be an evil genius but he's not entirely unreasonable when you consider the history. Sonic is virtuous and free and just wants others to be as free as him. He won't force it but as he said to Surge, if they choose to be foe rather than friend than he'll do what he has to do because reality dictates that there are consequences for such actions and Sonic has learned and understood that he'll have to be the one to dole them out. He saw Metal Sonic being nothing but a slave and Eggman having shown he can be a force for good, but when they turned back, he lived with those consequences and now doesn't hesitate to make the choice to fight the ones who won't change because that's just the natural way of things. Sonic isn't a hero nor is he bad. He's just a dude trying to enjoy his life with his friends and home. When others seek to disrupt and destroy that, he steps in to fight. I think Ian got it right with this iteration. Sonic is a kind yet free soul but he's not above putting people in their place. After all, he basically made an embarrassment out of Surge because people also conveniently forget that Sonic is a lot stronger than people give him credit for

[@KraziShadowbear]

Agreed. 👍 Part of this reminded me of the storybook interpretations of Sonic in Black Knight and Secret Rings. The lines of "Everyone should be free as the wind and as free as me!" and "I'm here to help everyone who can't help themselves." come to mind, at least for me personally.

[@rynobehnke8289]

See the over all problem here with all of this is continuity. Sonic letting Metal go was dumb from the very start because Metal told Sonic in no uncertain words that Eggman programmed super obedience into him. Because Sonic never told Tails about removing this from metal was any hope he turns his life around moronic from the start because Metal made it clear HE PHYSICALLY CAN'T. Sonic not killing also doesn't mean he has to let Eggman go. With in this continuity did he aid Knuckles in throwing the Skunk bros into prison and wasn't complaining when Tails and co did the same to Zavok and Mimic. And sending the Deadly 6 back to the lost hex were there lift for hundreds of years makes it a pretty safe bet that without outside intervention are there stuck there and't can't cause any harm. So for this version of Sonic it makes no sense to let Eggman go over capturing him and throw him into prison were he can reflect on his life without the hope to conquered the world . And finally Sonic left Eggman for dead so many times in the games (and don't even try arguing against that Sonic feared for his own life with Colors Black hole and the vacuum of Space is a real thing so leaving Eggman stranded in space or the moon is just as deadly) that saying he wouldn't allow Eggman to die is just silly. Even with the Mister Tinker thing did Eggman's entire personally needed to be flushed down so seeing that as an option without having to effectively kill Eggman as the person he is is almost impossible. Sure Sonic is willing to give many villains that showed that there maybe something good in them a second change and he is certainly not blood thirsty murder machine but that doesn't mean that doesn't mean Sonic has to always stop at just giving the villains a slap on the wrist.

[@nehen2225]

@@rynobehnke8289 Sonic telling Tails to remove the obedience command would be him forcing Metal into changing, what Sonic hopes for is for Metal to change by himself and also because Sonic still sees him as a rival, Metal is everything that Sonic isn't, he is there to challenge him in everything and making him choose the good guy path by force would be Sonic admitting defeat to Metal and Sonic, just as you know, has flaws and that is why he lets his ego and cockyness get in the way of the most effective methods, and it's not like the comic just lets him get away with it, those things come back to bite him. You don't really think that Ian would let this slip by with all the characters and stories hes been coming up with? Also the reason Sonic doesn't does that to Eggman isn't because he doesn't wants to but because Eggman always has a plan under his sleeve, the guy thinks of everything and is always 3 steps ahead of everyone, part of why this isn't seen so much in the comics is because they have to always do damage control thanks to the game writers the reasons to why Eggman isn't in "jail" can be perfectly explained, he is not someone you can just run up to and stop, he is always prepared. Also as to why Sonic doesn't kills him but let's him to his demise is simple. Sonic won't kill Eggman, he won't take his freedom away, but he will not save him either since his choices are what led him to those situations, he chose the be the bad guy and he will get the ending that he deserves, but not by Sonic's hands, it will be done by Eggman himself, that was his decision.

[@rynobehnke8289]

@@nehen2225 But that doesn't make sense. Not only because the Super Obedience was added latter one making it in your little comparison more akin to a brainwashing device that would be removed. But again Metal in no uncertain therms told Sonic that this new code will prevent ANY rebellion against Eggman meaning if he doesn't want to remove it he may as well destroy metal as there is no changing him ever by the very logic how this works. You have to argue that Sonic is stupid enough to not know how a machine works to justify this. Also this changing of program IS EXACTLY WHAT TAILS DID TO GEMERL yet Sonic doesn't seem to have an issue with that one ether. And it "coming back" means nothing because him doing it that way in the first place is out of character Sonic ether left Metal defeated in the dust (Heroes) or utterly destroyed him (CD, 4, Rivals 1, Mania, Forces). And Sonic in the past also was also always very happy to get rid of any form of Mind-control which again Metal's new super obedience compared to Metal's true self that developed between 4 and Heroes is. So fallowing your logic should Sonic have let Tails also remove it so that Metal can true be free. Except for the part were Eggman was on his own defense less against the entire cast during the end of Issue 32 and they all just let him go (even Espio who earlier argue he should be killed out right) rather than grab him and throw him into prison along side Zavok. Eggman the previous issue even complained about lacking resources so all he would have is Metal Sonic to save him and just stopping Metal Shouldn't be to problematic given that they can prepare for him. Or how about during the first issue of Zeti Hunt were Sonic was just randomly confronting Eggman and he could have chased after him and beaten him and than drag him to prison. More over even if Sonic didn't have a way yet its still something that really should have been mentioned during Surge and Sonic's debate on morals that there are other ways but death to contain Eggman And this should also have been mentioned if the comic really wants to have this debate as you know it could make Sonic seem like a hypocrite. (also worth noting that Sonic is also okay with potentially killing someone when the world it self is at stake like with Emerl or Solaris. As this would certainly make the point a bit more nuanced and accurate to the lore)

[@Soulferno]

@@nehen2225 I'm glad someone else put it into words because it can get tiring and time consuming to write these long responses. But you pretty much hit the nail on its head with these points and it's a prime example of how often people don't get Sonic's character despite game inconsistencies. The storybook games give us true insight on Sonic's motives to do good and how he likes to handle situations. You would think long time Sonic fans would appreciate Sonic getting some shine to his character rather than being super jokey in game and the butt of everyone's jokes outside of em

[@travisherndon94]

I love this issue it was worth the wait and delays I like the three fights we got between Sonic and Surge, Tails and Kit and Eggman and Starline. I really liked the back and forth between these characters, from Tails genuinely wanting to help Kit with Kit opening up a bit ( and if the covers for issue 51 is anything to by were going to see more). To Sonic's go with flow attitude with Surge and the fact that he's giving Surge both a beatdown but at the same time giving her a chance to stop and be cool. Showing while yes he let's Eggman or Metal go he does believe in second chances and that experience of giving second chances to people does have it's positives in the form of Knuckles or Shadow. Then there's Eggman and Starline we see that Starline just wants some acknowledgment from his idol but Eggman couldn't care less but he does pay attention to Starline just not in the way Starline wanted. Now for the ending is Surge dead? I doubt that as for Starline ... I can see two ways with him either he's not dead but just in "comic book hell" till he's back in a another storyline later on or they actually killed him off and if that's case I applause you writers. But overall good chapter 10/10 and I can't wait for the next issue sorry if this really long just had a lot to say lol.

[@rossjones8656]

Don't forget marlena the sorcerers. There are some villain that has reformed.

[@Megaman12Protoman14]

Surge definitely isn't dead. Imposter Syndrome points too much to her surviving with only some scratches and maybe a bruise or two. Starline though, Ian has confirmed that the intention was for him to die. He'll only come back if there's enough demand, but I hope he's left to end on a high note for his character's arc.

[@skyray16]

@@Megaman12Protoman14 Also we already have synopsis or both issues 53 and 54 and they spoil her return

[@Megaman12Protoman14]

@@skyray16 Dang, I was hoping they'd wait a little longer on her return, but I guess that’s more something you see in weekly updating stories like manga and webcomics.

[@PhysicsGamer]

Ian's confirmed (on his podcast, the Bumblecast) that Starline is, at the moment, considered "dead for real". At least by him, as far as authorial intent for the issue is concerned. But he also is fully open to the comic bringing him back if there's fan demand for it.

[@kian7406]

“Sonic is so kind at his core that it hurts. Kindness isn’t just making a show of how virtuous you are for lending people mercy; it’s aligning your actions with your words, making decisions out of compassion and pragmatism. It’s putting your foot down, not tolerating injustice or oppression in the naive hope those who choose to partake in them will somehow magically see the light.” That’s a quote from someone which explains the hate towards idw sonic as a character. While I do enjoy idw sonic, the criticism definitely is valid imo and does have some great points Sonic DOES put freedom above all else and has made peace and forgave merlina, chaos and even knuckles after he makes sure there not a threat but he knows when he will have to put his foot down for the greater good as shown with King Arthur and his lack of empathy for eggman. In short, he definitely has a heart of gold since day 1 but he ain’t naive and will know when he has to put his foot down.

[@maximoomega3691]

This whole "Sonic's moral code" should have never been brought up in the first place Ian should have just wrote stories where Sonic and eggman battle and eggman gets away simple as that like the old days it's that simple this never needed to be addressed

[@kian7406]

@@maximoomega3691 agreed. While I do think sonics character should be challenged to make an interesting narrative, idw does it in the wrong way by flanderizing sonics heart of gold to naive compassion. Sonic would give a character like surge a second chance after he makes sure she’s not a threat but eggman? Nah, sonic knows that eggman turning good is as likely as it raining chilli dogs and he knows that mr tinker is a different entity at this point. He wouldn’t put countless people in danger for the naive belief that ‘he can change’. Sonic and the black knight is a perfect example of how to challenge sonics character without flanderizing it. Sonic doesn’t care about honour because of his free spirit which is juxtaposed by the honour bound knights of the round table so sonics mindset is often challenged. In the end, sonic sticks to his beliefs but highlighting and challenging sonics selflessness, rebellious and free spirit in such a way is very compelling

[@maximoomega3691]

@@kian7406 exactly. Sonic isn't a hero or anything but he will help people and do the right thing most of the time he isn't stopping eggman because he's a hero he's stopping him because he personally doesn't think what he's doing is right Sonic calls out BS when he sees it and to him eggman is full of BS Sonic will even be a "villain" if he thinks what he's doing is right and if the person he's fighting against is wrong.

[@Mike16192]

Part of me believes that this whole Sonic's morality thing will lead into an arc where they will address this at it's worst.

[@supergamerboy1177]

Even though by that same logic sonic should put down eggman because he did some horrible things like blowing half the moon Threatening Amy’s life in adventure 2 and tried to take over the world, chaos from adventure 1 did some damage and might have kill some people in station Square yet sonic still tried to help him regardless, also the same people who have problems with this version of sonic are the same people who will cherry pick out of context panels from the comic all the time, also the same people who say but what about eraser Jin and King Arthur and dark Gaia first both eraser Jin and dark Gaia can’t die they are immortal one was simply sealed away so no one can find him and tried to free him the other was knocked out and put back to sleep and King Arthur was an illusion and was never alive but hey people can have their opinion feel free to disagree

[@DarkAngelBluejay]

Ian came out and said Starline's fate was sealed the moment he chose to try and surpass Eggman. Also, I really feel there's more to Eggman's reaction to Belle interfacing with Metal. I really feel that he's going to be using that connection against Belle and friends.

[@invisanon]

Snively sitting in an Egg pod: “First time?” Ian does such a great job writing Eggman. Literally anyone who allied themself with Eggy whether it be for personal gain, idolizing him, or just trying to get an upper hand on him is just a pawn or as he put it in Archie playing the game.

[@videogollumer]

I mean, that was kind of obvious, considering that he was only doing it to help and humble Eggman in hopes of standing by him as an equal. It's like Eggman said; he doesn't share, period.

[@technicolormischief-maker5683]

That comment Eggman made about Belle directly interfacing with Metal’s code has me concerned. There’s no way that doesn’t affect her somehow down the line.

[@zaidtate4093]

I like how despite Eggman getting His memory back, He still somewhat cares for Belle like She’s His daughter.

[@animezilla4486]

Yeah I got to admit I was surprised at that

[@Makorze]

​@@animezilla4486I could also be him impressed with how she bypassed Starline's hack on her own as well as repairing Metal.

[@CrasherLIX]

The line that I absolutely adore in this issue is when he says that he has seen many enemies come around, because it is true. Knuckles, Shadow, Blaze, Silver, they all started as enemies and then turned into great allies, I think the mindset this sonic has is not just some idealist version of himself but also a direct development from what he has lived trough. If Shadow can see the truth and come around, why wouldnt Surge be able to do that? Or metal? Or Eggman?

[@videogollumer]

Knuckles, Blaze, and Silver were NEVER EVIL TO BEGIN WITH! How many times do people need to be reminded?!

[@PhysicsGamer]

@@videogollumer Yeah, that's the point. All three of those were more or less simply mistaken as to the facts of the situation (well, plus Blaze had to be convinced Sonic was worth working with if I recall correctly). Once the misunderstanding was out of the way, Sonic was 100% down with forgiving them completely.

[@blazicgd]

Surge can't because she didn't have a Maria to remind her that there's good in the world

[@videogollumer]

@@PhysicsGamer Exactly, but there's NO misunderstanding regarding Eggman or Metal Sonic! He's known them far longer than the rest of his enemies, as well as most of his friends! He KNOWS they're evil! He KNOWS they've had several chances to stop being evil, and that they haven't taken so much as one! He KNEW that Metal Sonic did take it when he refused it; he should have known better that to deliberately let him get away. It doesn't matter that Eggman was Mr. Tinker. It doesn't matter that Sonic didn't know about Starline. It doesn't matter that Tails had only restored Metal's primary systems! He should have known Metal would still try to pursue his purpose after he was boasting so much about how he's loyal to Eggman when he was Neo Metal Sonic! As long as Metal was free and still had that ambition, he was a threat! Sonic should have known better. Just because he lost his Neo abilities, including his ability to speak, did NOT mean he was just going to abandon his goals! As for Eggman, there was no excuse for letting him go after the Metal Virus. He went off the deep end, he took the last page out of his grandfather's book, and was willing to destroy the world he's been trying to conquer just so he could get back at Sonic! He can't be left wandering free in the world! Precautions NEED to be taken to prevent him from doing something like that again, or worse!

[@videogollumer]

@@blazicgd But she DOES have a KIT who cares about her.

[@Gat720Dua]

Props to the artist making Eggman genuinely creepy, it's stuff like this is why he's one of my favorite video game villains.

[@crosssans6133]

Those "Sonic Speed Reading" series is Perfect for watching at night

[@kian7406]

For real 👌

[@TheGstar-bz9qf]

Yh it's honestly the best.

[@technicarrow7044]

Should do a speed reading for every issue cause I can’t offer the book

[@Springlolbit]

And if I don’t wanna read

[@quintencornelissen2274]

Watching at midnight since i cant sleep

[@alexsanderivan6511]

I gotta say, I really enjoy the IDW Sonic. As an aspiring writer myself, I think that, considering the frankly absurd amount of restrictions Sega puts on the writing in this character, Ian and his team did the best job possible with whatever space they had

[@animezilla4486]

Quick question do you think Belle and metal Sonic are going to have this brother and sister relationship

[@ghostrider4109]

Eggman being ultra smart big brain is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I need more of it

[@El_Mince]

The last time Eggy was this terrifying was four years ago when he pissed on the moon

[@BlackFlash09]

I think the real problem is that everyone relies on Sonic too much. They look to him to decide what's wrong or right. And most people think the right thing to do is to kill the bad guys. Most people don't even think of another method to pacify villains. No one else steps up to eliminate the villain when they're actively being evil. And no, you don't need the FFs to make that decision for Sonic. Any other game character would have their own opinion on how these matters should be handled.

[@kian7406]

Character don’t really look for sonic to decide what is right or wrong tho? This only happened like once and it was in sonic X and sonics response was something along the lines of ‘whatever makes you happy’. Sonic isn’t the authority of what’s right of wrong since the thought of any title of hierarchy is antithetical to his character and this is just fan’s misinterpreting him imo

[@BlackFlash09]

@@kian7406 Moreso the readers, friend. Point is, both readers and characters call Sonic out for not killing the villains. But what's stopping others or people of authority from offing the villians? It's the same situation with Batman. Readers say Batman is letting more people suffer and die by not killing the Joker. But what's stopping an officer from killing the Joker? What's stopping a judge from deeming Joker unfixable and sentencing him to death? Not everything is the hero's responsibility.

[@SonicGurl82]

@@BlackFlash09 That is honestly true. I can’t help but agree with your statement because in the end: The Hero’s Job is to protect and save people, not to be the judge, jury and executioner. That is literally the people job. For better or for worse.

[@BlackFlash09]

@@SonicGurl82 Couldn't have said better myself.

[@atpsoldat6108]

@@BlackFlash09 FUCKING THANK YOU. Too many nerds(and some in-universe character, looking at you Jason) just keep on blaming Batman for the whole Joker situation. Why is it that the Gotham police is corrupt in almost all department except on the treatment of Joker? Why does the justice system keep on sending him back to that cardboard asylum when they should have given him the chair a long time ago? Why does Batman have to be the sole guy on fixing Gotham? They blame Batman for this issue yet they can't bother to clean up the city themselves without relying on the Dark Knight.

[@lokomotion726]

Eggman was a badass here. The shadowy rise from the rubble with that iconic smile, showing Starling how he couldn't compete with him, and then SLAMMING the foolish scientist into the ground as much as he deserves. I'm so glad the glove is FINALLY away from Starline. I only just realized how well Eggman's design looks in multiple positions, in silhouettes, and how well the general shape of Eggman can be simplified for more impact. Fuckin badass.

[@julien2983]

this has been such a storytelling accomplishment within the Sonic universe, I'm so excited for the future of this series! hope it lasts even longer than Archie

[@Rabbitearsblog]

Me too!

[@EggFighterXB-]

I wouldn't expect that considering IDW's financial situation... Let's just say they are going the way of Starline

[@Mewatron]

Dude Thank you. This is the first issue I’ve read for myself and if it wasn’t for your series I wouldn’t have experienced the masterpiece this comic is Thank you

[@nuteniumtokyo7172]

Personally I love Sonics characterisation in this comic run hes what I wish the games would show him to be. I get the vibe that this hegdehog and the "guy who loves adventure" are one in the same. And while I do hope to see a little bit more of a snarky attitude from the blue blur in the future I'll still be very satisfied should I not see that.

[@johanroyce6324]

While I like the characterization of the character, I hope that in the future we get a scenario where a problem is Sonic's fault and he can't fix it no matter how hard he tries. The reason I say this is because Sonic bases his philosophy on the fact that he will always come out on top in order to fix his mistakes; so what happens when he is unable to and has to live with the fact that he failed everyone.

[@PhysicsGamer]

@@johanroyce6324 That would be a great time to bring in the other characters, honestly. This issue already had Tails shown to be far more capable of deescalating the situation with Kit as opposed to Sonic who just... was utterly unable to do anything except enrage Surge further and further.

[@nuteniumtokyo7172]

@@johanroyce6324 sounds neat

[@mr.skateandwatch]

Before they fought, surge didn’t have a reason to hate sonic since she never encountered him. Now that she finally meets the blue blur, her unfound hatred is now abundantly warrant. Not justified, but warranted nonetheless.

[@blackkitty369]

I love how Eggman was not only physically intimidating for a moment with his Joker smile but in intelligence as well. His battle with Starlight was so satisfying! 🔥

[@dextra_24703]

The thing about starlines death is that they can just say he survived that and Surge has been said to revive/survive mortal wounds.

[@Richforce1]

In my headcannon Starline survives but is captured by the Sonic crew and denounced once again, this time for the motivations that made him look up to Eggman in the first place. After he's told the people don't want what he's giving, they want peace, his breakdown goes from self-loathing to raging saying "If that's what you all want then go right ahead and lock me away forever! You and the rest of the imbeciles who live on this planet can all have your peace AND LEISURELY ROT IN IT!"

[@arieson7715]

"Somehow, Palpatine returned."

[@cay7809]

Ian said that he dead

[@linkthepringlesman3951]

It’s a comic book. He’s as dead as a comic book character gets: dead for now.

[@dextra_24703]

@@linkthepringlesman3951 there was that robot version of him in the egg cave, there could be something with that

[@Marmarmargier]

This shows again why Eggman is my favorite villain. A perfect mix of seriousness with funny lines here and there, just, perfect

[@Paur]

When it comes to the no-kill rule, writers tempting to tackle need to learn this one simple fact. The best move, is not to play. If you don't bring it up, the audience generally won't think about it and accept that universe for what it is good or bad.

[@lynxfresh5214]

Agreed, especially in franchises where the goalposts are constantly moved and centralised around the main protagonists morality instead of the world's (just like Sonic). Plus I feel like folks are jumping the gun between those who want villains locked up/punished (actual long lasting consequences for their actions) and those who want villains to be killed (since they'll never stop killing innocents if set free).

[@videogollumer]

Yeah, pretty much. If it wasn't brought up when they were sending the Deadly Six back to Lost Hex, I wouldn't have been mad. I mean, they're at least doing SOMETHING about them, so it's not what they're doing that bothers me; it's Sonic's overly cocky attitude in the face of lives being at stake! "Nyeh! I won't sacifice my ideals out of fear.". Pah! He wouldn't be saying that if Zavok had Tails in one hand and Amy in the other ready to snap their necks!

[@justynhill4814]

@@videogollumer- that’s why Sonic does his best to avoid those scenarios or else we get a injustice Superman situation.

[@ToastyRoyale]

Still hope this doesn't mean the true end of Starline. I know he's SUPPOSED to be dead, but the character is SO GOOD. I'd really like to see such a flamboyant and calculating villain return, maybe as a cyborg like Dr. Zachary from the Fleetways?

[@SoulXCross.]

I literally agree with everything you've said. Ian's run on Sonic has by far been the most enjoyable for me, even more than the old Archie's comic.

[@panchosweb1022]

I love this Issue. I like that Sonic talk about his philosophy of life. The problem with this kind of product is that you cant kill any charscter or make a depth change. But here the writer gives a deeper mining to Sonic actions. He explains the way he sees the world. And i like that. Makes the story more real, more intense.

[@Flower_Mom]

I can understand having gripes with this iteration of Sonic, but it seems like some people are really reaching for reasons to hate IDW and Ian Flynn. It's almost like that's become their personality. I've seen the same people who foam at the mouth over Sonic not killing Mr. Tinker and say Ian makes him too merciful also claim that if Ian wrote SA1 he would have had Sonic murder Chaos. If the supposed issue is Ian makes him too merciful then why are you also claiming Ian would make him a cold-blooded murderer, while also bringing up evidence from the games themselves that Sonic shows his enemies mercy?

[@Dr.PaiPai]

I fully understand Sonic not killing Mr.Tinker. He was eggman with out his memories was essentially a different person. But the whole freedom of choice thing where people like Eggman can do as they please and the only consequence he suffers is lose to Sonic. This guys actions have caused suffering and destruction. He blasted the planet in u unleashed, this possibly leading people dying or becoming homeless due to tumours and earthquakes. It was his fault station square was flooded and so on. And the only consequence he suffers is losing to Sonic. He runs away, comes back, fights Sonic, loses, leaves and raises and repeats. Eggman at the very least needs to be locked away. Sonic should see the obvious cycle that only leads to people being affected. Eggman also attempted to rob the entire world of free will with his brain control scheme in Sonic colors. Sonic's far too lenient.

[@Flower_Mom]

@@Dr.PaiPai I suppose I understand where you're coming from, but does Sonic even have the authority to put Eggman in jail? I think I remember he was put in jail in Archie but that was only because in that iteration there was a king who could order Eggman to be imprisoned. Maybe some other law enforcement character could arrest Eggman and toss him in jail but I don't think that person should be Sonic. That, to me, feels like turning Sonic into too much of a vigilante.

[@Sylocat]

@@Dr.PaiPai Sonic probably agrees with you that Eggman should be locked up! He just, y'know, hasn't exactly gotten much of an opportunity to do so since the Mr. Tinker arc.

[@Dr.PaiPai]

@@Flower_Mom Bro. You seen what Eggman has done? Sonic should be commended if he gets Eggman locked up. And if he doesn't have the authority to do so, he can get someone who can. Shadow literally works for G.U.N

[@Flower_Mom]

@@Dr.PaiPai Does Shadow still work for G.U.N.? I thought it was retconned that he doesn't at the same time it was stupidly retconned that he doesn't consider the rest of Team Dark his friends.

[@kingofflames738]

IDW Sonic feels like Sonic grown up. You can still see the old sass bleeding through from time to time, but there's a lot more maturity in the way he does everything. Basically this isn't _the_ old sonic, its _an_ older sonic.

[@videogollumer]

There's NOTHING mature about treating civilians and like your Hit Points!

[@yaminogame]

I really hope we get Starline back after awhile. I really liked him as a villain. The single golden rule of comics “No Body, No Death” So the door is open for him to come back later. As far as Sonic’s characterization is concerned, I was completely fine with it. Sonic highly values freedom. If there is someone who will do what they can to restrict that freedom, or forced their will onto others, he chose to use his abilities to take up the fight. No doubt he enjoys the thrill. Him and Eggman have a somewhat co-dependent relationship. Sonic loves to fight so he won’t be bored. He enjoys the challenge. Seeing what Eggman cooks up next is exciting. Sonic is not a saint of course, but I still defend his decision to let Mr. Tinker live a peaceful life. Starline was a wild card no one saw coming and was the main reason Eggman returned and the metal virus was a thing. Sonic makes mistakes but he will do what it takes to make things right for his friends

[@yexe9129]

Ian confirmed he dead. But, enough demand and he'll return.

[@seratope]

People are probably going to come dig up his grave and get his cool science shit (maybe do the whole "we can rebuild him, make him stronger" routine) but I don't think he himself will return

[@nstar674]

The philosophy Sonic states feels in line with his character to me. I mean, could he be sassier and more impatient? Sure. But I like sonic the most when he's talking about living life in the moment and finding happiness. It reminds me of sonic in the storybook games, which in my opinion is the best he's ever been written.

[@AnglesSol]

I love how intimidating Eggman was. Just the way he was framed made him look so cool.

[@ShaleNinja]

This is a fantastic analysis of a fantastic story. Honestly, I've not felt that level of satisfaction from Sonic media since Mecha Madness back in the day, although the shine of THAT has long since worn off. It really did feel like the OG cast were at their absolute finest for all the reasons you touched on, but by far my favourite part was seeing Eggman throwing hands himself rather than hiding behind a tonne of tech. Literally one of the most satisfying things I've seen in the broader franchise in years. After so much "hurr durr goofy Eggman dumb" tripe over the years, it's delicious to witness a truly capable, actually intelligent Eggman fuelled by something a little darker, yet a little bit more personable somehow...but without the descent into madness that shows up a whole lot in fanfiction as people overplay their whole hand. This is by far my favourite rendition of Eggman. When it comes to Sonic, yeah, I have to be honest...this is one of my favourite renditions in a very long time. He definitely smacks of someone who has literally lived through *so much*, somehow survived, and now his confidence and cockiness is fuelled by experience rather than ego. As someone who started with this franchise back with the original Genesis game in the 90s, and as someone who has also seen some shit and grown up, it's deeply cathartic to see a Sonic that actually responds to his environment rather than being a dumb joke vending machine for eternity like the mainline games. He's matured, he's tempered, but he hasn't forgotten who he is. It is maybe a 5-10% overcorrection to be honest, I prefer my Sonic rep to be a little spicy, but not to the point of being a bully himself; Sonic at his best isn't above being petty and perhaps a little mean at times, but like Eggman ragdolling Starline with his bare hands, I feel it works best when it's used sparingly. I saw someone else touch on this in the comments, and I fully agree. There's a duality here between what the world wants of Sonic, and what Sonic thinks of himself. The villains, the world he exists in, and our world all look to him to be a hero, as a vessel of carrying out the common intent and "doing the right thing". The audience, both in his world and ours, readily projects their own intent onto him and judge him for it, but he has very few people in his closest circle that recognise the way he sees himself: he's an individual, a free spirit, and he kinda just wants to sensation-seek his way across the world but keeps getting sidetracked. He just happens to basically be a demigod in a teenager's body and mind, with a strong and self-aware moral code - it makes him public property, whether he wants it to or not. He's forced into the role of hero, whether he wants it or not. In that alone, I would 'explain away' some of the squeaky-clean in IDW Sonic as this; he's aware of how he's perceived, and as much as he wants to fully and freely self-actualise, there is the weight of obligation on him. If anything is clear, it's that he's not a great communicator, and has no idea how to actually verbalise any of this - but he shows it. The other Sonic renditions maturing into something that looks a bit like this guy? Yeah, I can absolutely see it. His portrayal would be vastly improved with a bit more sass and perhaps a bit more pushiness, but considering the mess that most Sonic renditions become, I'll happily take this more measured and self-aware Sonic.

[@Aflay1]

Kitsunami is an admittedly awesome name.

[@sonicfan2486]

Basically... To Surge-- She thought she was Unleashed Eggman Land Hot Dog Missions. To Sonic? She was just a level in Forces.

[@HunhowsShadowStalker]

While Starline is definitely confirmed dead according to Ian on Twitter, Surge has survived and escaped, according to the preview pages for Issue 51. Probably due to her having an enhanced strain of the Metal Virus that revived her from what should've been certain death. As for Kit going unconscious, anyone else hear the Windows shut-down tune in their head as they saw that?

[@maximoomega3691]

Oh I thought this was gonna be the Klonoa speed reading but this is good too. But just know that you don't always have to make Sonic videos we're always satisfied with the videos you make

[@GameApologist]

Klonoa is still coming, Pup is just MUCH faster with editing than I am.

[@maximoomega3691]

@@GameApologist good to know

[@arctictropic1147]

As much as I don't want you to overwork yourself with the Sonic readings, it would be hypocritical of me to I say I was not waiting for this video for a long time. This issue was the climax that the Sonic franchise needed, and a fresh take on how serious and heart pumping the Sonic lore can be.

[@leritykay8911]

This is my favourite iteration of Sonic. He feels like the same character from the Adventure games, and such, but he also feels more matured, from everything he experienced.

[@thatoneguy4452]

Never got the impression that Sonic was intentionally sparing Eggman in their battles. I don't think Sonic would go out of his way to kill when unnecessary, but games like Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic and the Black Knight show that Sonic isn't against killing.

[@ChaddyFantome]

Black Arms are just kind of mindless monster aliens. Black knight, Sonic actually stops Gawain from killing himself.

[@thatoneguy4452]

@@ChaddyFantome They're still living creatures. Stopping someone from killing themselves, is a completely different situation.

[@ChaddyFantome]

@@thatoneguy4452 @That One Guy so are ants and mosquitos, but I doubt you or I have much problem smacking or stepping on em. I don't think Sonic or the series views things like the Black Arms as anything more than basically mindless monsters. I also don't see how stopping someone from killing themselves is completely different. Mind explaning?

[@thatoneguy4452]

@@ChaddyFantome I'm not Sonic, it doesn't matter what I would do. If Sonic was against killing, then he should be against killing the Black Arms. Also, they're obviously not just mindless if they can coordinate attacks and man machinery. Honestly, saying that Sonic just viewed the Black Arms as inferior and used that as justification to kill them, makes Sonic look worse. Can you explain how stopping someone from committing suicide relates to a willingness to kill?

[@ChaddyFantome]

@@thatoneguy4452 Sonic isn't against "killing". He isn't a pacifist. he doesn't kill people because he views them as sentient beings with lives ahead of them worth living. I don't see how Sonic viewing alien monsters as alien monsters makes him look bad. Are we gonna call him a bad person for bopping badniks next?

[@mechajay3358]

Personally, I felt that the IDW Comics have done a solid job with Sonic's character. Also it was cool af seeing Eggman give Starline a beat down.

[@patrickcarter2829]

"Freedom is the ability to do as you please, it does not mean you are free from consequences." I think this is a good summation of what Sonic thinks, as it correlates to how he is being recently portrayed.

[@videogollumer]

No, he doesn't seem to think that at all; otherwise, he'd make the smart decisions of putting Eggman in prison and leaving Metal Sonic deactivated.

[@patrickcarter2829]

@@videogollumer yes on the prison, although, would that really hold him? He's one of the smartest individuals on the planet, it wouldn't hold him for long. Deactivating Metal would strip him of his own freedom.

[@videogollumer]

@@patrickcarter2829 If Sonic leaves Eggman running out and about when he has the power to stop him, that's Sonic's fault; if Eggman breaks out of prison, that's the prison staff's fault. Who would you rather be at fault?! So would putting Eggman in prison strip him of his!

[@patrickcarter2829]

@@videogollumer Prison doesn't strip you of your freedoms (at least in my country). It mostly just limits what you can and cannot do: you can still move about and eventually be released (although, no one really lives for 100 years nowadays).

[@videogollumer]

@@patrickcarter2829 "It mostly just limits what you can and cannot do"; that's literal what it means to strip freedom. Still, I guess I got a little of topic; I mean, since when does Metal Sonic have people's rights anyway?

[@Subpar1O1]

This comic makes Eggman a threat again and I love that so much

[@rosalesandy1r]

It’s funny my idea of Sonic was like “blue fuzzy animal beats funny egg shaped guy” a rip from Chariii5, but nonetheless Sonic over years has changed and I’ve seen how we got sassy Sonic and then cringe Sonic onto very Heroic Sonic. But I feel like I was on ship rocking back and forth with each iteration of the character, and in IDW, tho it may not be canon or is guess we’ll see 😅, IDW Sonic has got to be my favorite and stable version. His ideals are consistent from issue #2 and I get it that’s it’s for an audience of +10 but this feels like a Sonic who has experienced everything from the games to now. It feels like this is our more mature Sonic after years of adventures and the way he is written honestly excites me, cuz I know that it’s a version of the character that feels like he’s truly grownup with us over years. At least that’s my opinion lol wbu all you guys?

[@KavinCatastrophe]

Dude your summary on sonic Morals is Amazing. Yes this is a different interpretation of Sonic. Sonic is constantly going to keep changing. I love the morals he has in Idw as it not to different from the games. But people clearly missed the Archie Sonic and being a Hero doesn’t make it a law where you have to do thing a certain way to get things done. This is what Batman has always been trying to preach in Injustice. You either can be a Hero who just stop the Bad guy or a Hero who kills them. But either way your always going to be wrong because a Hero isn’t a Job it a Choice. Sonic chooses to be a hero through his moral Code just as Spider-Man chooses to be a Hero through his Moral Code. Not every hero follows the “With Great power come great Responsibility” Saying. This is why always love your videos. Keep up the great work.

[@kian7406]

“Sonic is constantly going to keep changing…” No not really. The classic Japanese manuals were evolved for sonic adventure. Sonic adventure was evolved for the storybook games. The 2010 games are mostly consistent in the Japanese version to what came before. Sonic has always been more consistent then people take him for. It’s just that different canons that misinterpreted the character like satam or boom cloud peoples judgement

[@macjohniezuhaeus316]

I also thing that this version of sonic balances this version of Eggman as through his eyes he wants to take over everything so he can mold it into the perfect would he wants like durring the zombots arc but sonic wants everyone to have freedom in their choses

[@videogollumer]

Spider-Man doesn't LET Rhino, Carnage, and Electro get away if he can help it. Like Sonic, he would prefer to help his villains reform; but Spidey is a realist. He's not going to let them run around and cause mayhem if they refuse to change there ways.

[@videogollumer]

@@macjohniezuhaeus316 Oh, please, he didn't care about that! He just wanted to F with Sonic's head! That was his primary motive behind it; you can tell by how haphazardly and aggressive he designed it.

[@kian7406]

@@videogollumer have you played a sonic game? Sonic knows egg man won’t change so leaves him for death in space multiple times. He has shown that while he would like for eggnan to turn good, he knows it won’t happen so doesn’t care for his well-being. Sonic will only let them go if he is 100 percent sure they have changed. The knights of the round table were loyal to a bad extent and they pursued the evil wished of king arthur but sonic knows deep down they are not evil so let’s these ‘villians’ so let them be free after king arthur is gone instead of punishing them

[@infiniteoctopaw]

29:58: THANK YOU! I can’t tell you how tiering it is to be called a psychopath on Twitter. I don’t want a blood bath, I’d just don’t like the weird framing of Sonic’s morals in practice. And the repetitions nature of this same story beat we’ve been getting since issue 6. Almost 5 years of it. Especially in a book that is all to happy to show you civilians in parole during things like the Yeti’s rampages and the people they ABSOLUTELY killed. And now with surge as a character made to embody this criticism. I adore Surge, I love her and she is on the fast track to taking my favourite IDW character spot over Tangle. I can see a lot of potential for her to go back to starlines original plan and try and supplant sonic as the worlds hero. Once she get over her baggage with people, I can easily see her because something of a peoples hero. One who puts a focus on saving lives. And stands as a foil for sonic because she’d make for a actual anti-hero that IDW Shadow is failing miserably to be. Someone who has the potential to push sonic into PROVING with action that his ways work rather then just telling like he’s been doing during all of IDW. Regardless how they play her, if she says evil or not. I’m excited for her and Kit. I have a problem with sonic and if they are going to insist on repeating this all again I at least hope he actually proves her wrong instead of just lecturing. Sonic is 100% aloud to be wrong, to bad the books framing never lets him be wrong. One of the covers of issue 50 has Sonic talking down to her framed like he was a anime villain. They should have kept that as how Surge was seeing this vs how sonic sees himself with the heavenly sunbeam spotlighting his wisdom. Idk, it just feels like with Sonic’s morals in the comic, they wrote themselves into a corner and instead of just moving on they keep going back to it. It feels weak. Because they keep having the native prove him wrong over and over but also never acknowledge it. It’s weird. I want Surge to hurry through her world hate because that also just feels like something tacked on to make Sonic artificially have the moral high ground even tho everything else she said was spot on. We’ve NEVER had a rival character have such a sold reason to hate sonic, I genuinely don’t want her to be added to sonic’s friends. I think she has enough of a reason to justify not forgive Sonic even if she somehow comes to a point with being ok with him around. And all that is just super interesting and subversive. It would be like getting the best of both worlds with Metal Sonic and Shadow. A freed rival (like Shadow) who hates everything about him (Like Metal) and someone who could challenges him with what it means to be a hero out of obligation and duty rather then for fun. Because if we can’t have ether why not the best of both.

[@lynxfresh5214]

Bruh... expecting any respectful discussion on Sonic Twitter is folly my dude unless you're posting toxic positivity, stale memes or Unleashed cutscenes, 9 times out of 10 you'll get cancelled, ratio'ed, gaslighted, strawmanned, etc into submission for even being slightly critical.

[@thatgamerguy9680]

I took the whole cliff top scene as a call back to how Shadow was literally above Sonic on building because he was the stronger one. So I saw it as a reference. Literally having a monologue of the stronger ones views. So j don't mind it to be real.

[@jamiemanning4944]

Thank you! I really loved how these comics portray Sonic as a character!

[@gp-1542]

Surge gives a long monologue about how she’s gonna destroy everything Sonic: *who are you?*

[@johnathan7313]

So the sonic I grew up with was sonic x on 4Kids, and I’ll be honest, this sonic feels very similar to how he was in that show, granted people have problems with the show, such as eggman being to silly and the whole…Chris situation, but ignoring those two parts, I really like how sonic is portrayed, it’s not perfect, but there really is no perfect way of doing sonic to where everyone is gonna be satisfied anyway.

[@magmarxiogaming6717]

watching eggman completely drop starline's ass just solidified eggman as one of the best fictional villains of all time

[@joey-jw3rj]

I enjoyed this issue. A satisfying end to Starline while also seeing Surge and Kit finally duke it out with the duo that they've been raised to destroy. I do agree with the stance on Sonic in the IDW comics, sure there may be better interpretations of the character elsewhere, but This is indeed a version of Sonic who has a lot of experience under his belt between this entire IDW verse and the past games, but is still flawed. Sure I think there should come a point where Sonic may need to take a different approach to his philosophy, but him believing that his enemies can change for the better is consistent with his past experiences, between Knuckles, The Heavy King, Chaos, Shadow, Omega, Gemeral, Blaze, Silver (I know 06 isn't canon but remember the Rival games exist), and Merlina. I can accept Sonic leaving Eggman alone in Windmill Village because at that point his mind was wiped thanks to the Phantom Ruby, he had no memory of his past actions, and No one accounted for Starline coming in and trying to restore his memory. Sonic letting Metal Sonic go was indeed very questionable, even if the latter was its own person, but we most likely wouldn't have the Metal Virus story now would we. I do appreciate that other characters call Sonic out on his actions with Sonic doubting himself from time to time, Dude shouldn't run around in his own echo chamber, he reflects, he ponders, he thinks back to what others have said to him, he had a minor PTSD moment when Zavok warned him that his compassion will be repaid with more death and destruction (At least that's how I saw that panel.) Sonic isn't perfect, he's going to keep making mistakes the same way he's going to stay true to what he believes in, he has gotten other enemies to change, he's going to keep trying. My gripes with Sonic's portrayal here is that I feel he does too much, like the traits he has aren't bad traits for him to have but some of them are traits that his other friends were known to have, Amy was more of the Compassionate one that felt that everyone had the chance of being good, Not a bad trait for Sonic too but the writers can tone that side down a little and apply it more to the character it came from. I don't see Sonic being much of a leader or a planner either, Like issue 26, it makes sense for Sonic to be the one to give tips on fighting the Deadly Six since he's the most experienced one in that field, but why have him decide who would be best to go into battle? He makes decisions like sending Gemeral (A Robot) going Solo against a Super charged Zeti, or sending The Babylon Rogues to go against Master Zik, who has Telekinesis. Tails or Amy would've been the better planners there. Overall, There are some bad/odd writing choices all throughout so I won't go as far and say Ian Flynn is a perfect writer (As glad as I may be that he's writing the story for Sonic Frontiers, it's still the first Sonic Game he's writing for so there's some Cautious Optimism), but he understands Sonic pretty well and I do hope we get more moments of Sonic's Philosophy being put to the test and being questioned by others, maybe by some of the more legacy characters, and hopefully more moments like the one between Sonic and Tangle in Issue 24 where he gets a much needed pep talk/reminder that what he does has an impact on the bigger picture overall. We could be getting more of this stuff very soon as Surge is not done for just yet, She wants more Power and she's dead set on burning everything and everyone tied to Sonic to accomplish her goal.

[@CometX-ing]

I like issue 50 well enough, artistically it definitely delivers. ABT is still probably the best IDW has for action and seeing the fight between Surge and Sonic and Starline and Eggman is definitely cool. Eggman has some great moments here and the comic really does a good job at displaying just how menacing he is. There is plenty good about this issue and let it be known that despite my criticisms of IDW overall, I don't dislike everything it tries to do and Ian is definitely a good Sonic writer. That said, this issue also had a lot of not great in it and the discourse around it (as muddled as it has become) is kinda indicative of that. So I'm gonna lay out my core issues with it that mainly stem from the Sonic and Surge fight (of course.) Surge for one, honestly feels like a step down from the Surge that we have gotten up to this point. Sure, she was furious at Starline for robbing her of her past, and that is fine, the issue stems from her being obsessed with Sonic's morality. The way she acts in the comic feels extremely different from how she acts in Imposter Syndrome, blaming Sonic for her existence and sounding as if she didn't want to exist. Before, even after learning the truth, she still was cocky and smug when it came to fighting Sonic. There was never any indication she had some personal gripe with him not killing the doctors. I don't really like the direction she took and it made her into a less fun character. There's nothing wrong with giving her a degree of sympathy, but this feels like Ian forcing her to care about something she didn't before just to keep bringing up Sonic's morality, which itself is another issues. I'm gonna preface this by saying no, I don't want Sonic to kill anyone, its foolish to expect that and its unfitting for the setting to have him just merc Eggman. BUT Sonic's morality isn't something that needs justification or explanation. The games don't have Sonic justify why he spares his some of enemies because after a point it becomes impossible to defend (also because of metatextual reasons that have no real narrative justification). Ian's focus on Sonic's morality has made it so that Sonic at best looks extremely dumb/naïve with his reactionary mindset to handling threats. The Metal Virus and Surge/Kit came into existence completely under his nose, so him choosing to react after things have gotten beyond his control is hard to justify. What's more, game Sonic isn't against killing, so Ian treating him like he is is just weird. He didn't try to reason with Shadow, Knuckles, Silver or really any of the enemies he had who became good, they all changed on their own. Sonic's only instance of talking his enemies down were Merlina (after she was already beaten) and Chaos (in a way) but both of those characters, unlike Surge, had goodness in them. Sonic didn't try and talk down the Zeti when they justifiably wanted revenge for being made slaves, he fought and beat them without a second thought. All this to say that IDW Sonic's morality and Ian's desire to place a spotlight on it only serve to hamper the issue and the comic as a whole. If this were a comic able to actually tackle these kind of moral issues then it would be fine, but it isn't so there is no point in bringing it up. Its an admirable effort to try and give Sonic more nuance, but the way Ian is going about it doesn't work for the comic he is writing. Lastly there's Belle, who for the sake of keeping it short, continues to be a character who is both uninteresting and a complete mystery as to how Ian actually plans to handle her plot. The desire to "free" Badniks is still a pointless one and only raises more questions than answers. Her naivety is honestly second to Sonic's as she wants to help robots like Metal Sonic who are literally just evil. She just feels like such a nothing character. Some mid video remarks: Side note, how the hell does Sonic think that killed Surge? Shadow fell from space and lived. HE has fallen from space and lived. I think a better way to have Surge and Sonic fight would be to (as was seemingly being set up in Imposter Syndrome and was kind of touched on here but also kinda buried under the whole morality thing) is have Surge retain her cocky attitude, no focus on Sonic's morals or any of that. Surge's focus is entirely on her single reason for being, to destroy Sonic. She comes in cocky ready to kick Sonic's ass, but as the fight progresses and she is overwhelmed, the cocky façade breaks and the desperation comes in she realizes she can't beat Sonic, and by proxy her whole reason for existing is torn down. Can we really say that Mr. Tinker is proof that Sonic is right to spare people? Mr. Tinker is literally an amnesiac Eggman. Not a naturally reformed Eggman. Literally Eggman with brain damage. I also am pretty sure Belle predates Sonic finding Tinker.

[@corydk4834]

Agreed. I’m starting to get a little bored of the same character being a misunderstand robot. Like I understand the writers can’t do anything creative with the characters outside of creative design, but it’s starting to get annoying. Like I understand Sonic’s older story telling was iffy at best, but I missed when they took risks. I get they gotta sell to kids, but all the characters feel like they’re already starting at the end of Flanderization.

[@KraziShadowbear]

I think I get where you're coming from and I'll admit while thinking it over again, it is a little frustrating, but at the very least we got to see "this" version of the character. My reasoning for Surge is that she reasons within herself that Sonic's technically the one who made all this happen. Ever since the classic games, it's always been Eggman Vs Sonic. And eventually other characters joined the cast. And the world grew bigger. Other enemies and allies appeared on the horizon, claiming to be the "solution" to Eggman's incompetence and Sonic's will to stay alive & stay good/not kill. Starline was one of those people. And because of his efforts to impress and prove to Eggman that he had a better plan, Surge and Kit were robbed from wherever they once existed and made into living weapons for Starline. If Sonic had killed off Eggman or Starline long ago, this may never have happened. I'm not a writer, so I probably got something wrong here or missed something. (P.S. The desire and will of the fans brought Shadow back to life from his fall in SA2. Also, SEGA probably chalk up his survivability to his alien physiology. And it's pretty obvious that Surge and Kit can't die as shown in the tests that Starline conducted on them in Impostor Syndrome. She's not dead, but Sonic doesn't know that and thinks she's actually gone.)

[@Mepphy99]

Shadow was somewhat in the super form and Sonic was in the werehog form so... they had a Power up? xD

[@PhysicsGamer]

Surge was pretty explicit in Imposter Syndrome #3 that she had a grudge against the whole world, including Sonic in particular. "If we don't get a past, they don't get a future". Surge very much blamed Sonic at least in part for what Starline did to her. Specifically for having given rise to a world where people like Starline and Sonic endlessly struggled against each other instead of the conflict being resolved one way or the other. Hence her call for Sonic to "kill him _or_ _surrender"._ She didn't really care which, since she'd already resolved to destroy both of them. I think it's really interesting that Sonic wasn't able to reach Surge even slightly. She is a reflection of him in so many ways, all the way down to her "don't care what others say is good or bad" mindset. Yet Sonic was baffled at her furious response to his empathy and acceptance. Sonic was able to understand what she was saying, but not the underlying reason she was saying it. The problem for Sonic is that Surge is not Scourge. That famous and absolutely awesome exchange between Sonic and Scourge where the latter ripped off the Joker's "one bad day" line only for Sonic to turn the tables with his own, optimistic version? That was some of the best character-definition-through-banter I've ever seen. A quote from a great blog: "Scourge read The Killing Joke and was like “wow, this Joker guy really gets it.” The Joker is his favorite movie" Scourge saw Sonic's kindness, decided it was just naivety, and defined himself as the exact opposite by embracing cruelty instead - something Sonic pointed out was at least as naive when Sonic himself was a direct counterpoint, which cut Scourge's worldview out from under him by attacking the very basis of his self identity. Surge, meanwhile, saw Sonic's optimism, decided it was just naivety, and defined herself as the exact opposite by embracing _cynicism_ instead. In a strange, "instead of seeing a glass half full or even a glass half empty, decides the empty space means nobody ever really cared about water" sort of way. Having Sonic confirm to her face that he's totally fine letting evil run around since *he'll* be there to oppose it didn't cut Surge's worldview out from under her like it did for Scourge, but instead validated her worst assumptions. That Sonic's heroism is at best pointless and at worst malicious, that Sonic is making the world worse by stoking conflict, that Sonic obviously doesn't actually care what happens to the people hurt by his foes.

[@reggierocks9488]

This series isn't why I subscribed, but it's one of the tens of reasons why I'm still subscribed. Keep up the good content my man. 👍

[@isplat927]

Funnily enough, has Eggman actually used those goggles until this moment? He sorta just has it in his head which is fine and all, sorta completes his design but it's nice to (at least for me) see his goggles be used.

[@xraiderblack1850]

Once before in the cutscene before Cosmic Fall in SA2 (That's all I got tbh lol)

[@larakneip6820]

I really enjoy watching these speedreadings. They are so relaxing to listen to

[@TanicthePorcupine]

It's interesting, the criticism I kept seeing the most toward this issue wasn't that Sonic was too lenient or kind, or not snarky enough, but that he was not being kind enough, and was being too much of a jerk. I've seen "Ian made Sonic an unlikeable asshole" thrown around a bunch. Guess it goes to show you can't please everyone.

[@lynxfresh5214]

Nah... if any character fits that description it's IDW Shadow; *Was almost immediately hostile to Sonic when he tried to stop him from killing Mr.Tinker (which was caused by Shadow jumping to conclusions about Eggmanland). *Caused Neo Metal Sonic to reach his final form (despite knowing he can copies abilities and jumped to the conclusion he wouldn't able to transform). *Got infected and turned into a Zombot despite been told by Sonic how exactly the virus works and how to fight it off (again he jumps to conclusions, this time believing he would be immune to the metal virus). *Outright ignores his teammates in need (oh right Team Dark doesn't exist nor are they friends in IDW because "guidelines") and he needs to be emotionally blackmailed by Rouge in order to help save innocent people from an avalanche (good job keeping your promise to Maria about protecting the people). I don't even hate IDW Shadow but it's a shame he's been straight up character assassinated by Sega and the writers can only do so much to soften the damage (I believe Ian Flynn implied he really dislikes how he is "made" to write Shadow in IDW hence why he doesn't appear that often anymore, despite being the second most popular character in the franchise).

[@TheDoomsdayzoner]

That moment when Eggman smiled about the fact that Belle interfaced with Metal Sonic's code directly.... I smell a Chekhov's Rifle smoking....

[@fireboltchamploo7620]

Sonic was meant to be a good hero in virtue and beliefs, not necessarily actions and execution. He was created to be a radical rebel, to have a distinct personality and belief in freedom. It's probably difficult to write for him since he's essentially going to be a flat character with the same 90s bad boy energy that he has had for literal decades and can't have any drastic changes to his character or surroundings since Sega will get Archie flashbacks.

[@videogollumer]

That first sentence is literally the definition of self-righteousness.

[@PuddleOfCats]

I kinda love this chapter because its sorta like a philosophy fight like something you'd see in MGRR, I genuinely expect surge to return and go "you know what, I wasn't the best at explaining my stance before" and then wins [for a short while]

[@lynxfresh5214]

Ha! As if IDW would allow Sonic to lose to a new character but nice comment tho.

[@animarthur5297]

I never, ever expected Eggman to finish Starline off with a melee attack of all things. No tech involved; just a grab on the leg, and a brutal slam to the ground.

[@animarthur5297]

I thought the doctor's main weakness, besides his overconfidence and lack of foresight, was his weak physique - that he was completely reliant on his tech, and powerless by himself. That couldn't be further from the truth, apparently

[@animarthur5297]

That slam was hilarious; now i actually want to see Eggman throwing hands more often

[@cameronhumphreys2309]

I do miss Sonics anger. At times during the Archie run you could feel that rage propel sonic faster and faster. It showed that Sonic desperately needs his friends to keep him for going over the line. Some of my favourite moments came when Sonic ended encounters with sheer intimidation as the villains realise what fighting a Sonic that doesn’t pull his punches would mean for them.

[@NotPrincessElise]

I really enjoyed this issue. I think the characterization of everyone was on point. Apart from the drama of Sonic's philosophy. That Eggman scene really made me cry. Finally seeing Eggman as a serious villian who was actually paying attention to Starline is brilliant. That frame of Eggman in the shadows with just his smile, shook me to the core. I felt for Starline in that moment, I even liked him. Pretty Big Oof that's he's gone. 👀

[@manosdaskalakis4452]

That's the eggman I love. This issue is literally great

[@BigBoyFargo]

I think that this interpretation of Sonic is really cool, and your note on Belle being a result of his willingness to forgive hit in just the right spot. A protagonist having an imperfect moral code allows for some very interesting stories, and now that such code has been thoroughly established up to the present issue, I think it should be explored in new ways. New things should come to challenge Sonic to see how he would react to something he may have pause to consider, or lead into a charater arc for supporting cast members such as Shadow, or seeing Belle continue on her new goal to repair deserted badniks. It would be a shame to see this potential be left in a thematic cycle lile this, but I presume that we'll see Surge again, and see more new characters in future issues, so there's plenty of room to live up to it. Excited to see more! And I hope I dont have to wait too long to see Surge again, cuz she's another fantastic new entry to the roster!

[@tuxedeoboi9155]

As soon as this comic came out, I have waited in anticipation, honestly your one of the few sonic reviewers that have a pretty balanced outlook, love this channel and I look forward to all your content 👍

[@Shizukanexen]

It's because of your videos that I got into the IDW comics. Thank you so much. My copy of issue 50 just came in the mail. This is the most excited I've been about sonic since Unleashed.

[@metageek7878]

I feel like Sonic could keep his morality by at least locking them up, actually making an attempt at reforming them, but perhaps his love of adventures is a problem, his challenges come at huge costs to the common people. Honestly want surge to at least shift to neutral, maybe be interesting if she's gunning to kill Eggman and sonic tries to stop her and him... I just want her to grow and learn in ways the main cast aren't allowed to

[@lynxfresh5214]

Nah... Shadow already fits the neutral anti-hero niche in IDW (I know it contradicts his entire character and lore but that's how Ian is "forced" to write him in IDW). I just hope Surge and Kit develop into being their own stable characters, it'll be all too easy for them to fall into the common tropes and then bleed into background like so many other Sonic characters over the years.

[@jaketylenol]

In game cannon Sonic literally let Metal Sonic go at the end of Sonic Heroes….that’s my whole point as to why this criticism bothers me. If the villain isn’t a monster, he’s always been open to just knocking them over somewhere. Even in 06 when he fights Silver with no context he just beats him up and lets his guard down to try and talk it out with him. Sonic Riders literally has Eggman dead to rights at the end of the game and doesn’t kill him. Sonic ZG finds out Eggmans responsible for everything and doesn’t kill him before leaving. Like I don’t know why this shit is new to people is my issue

[@Rusty_Spy]

My only gripe with IDW Sonic is how invested he is in "rehabilitating" Metal. It feels too much like the writers trying to push his "give everyone a second chance" philosophy to the point where it makes no sense. Metal is still a threat even if he has no weapons, he is still evil, and Sonic letting him go back to Eggman and not at the very least locking him up if not outright destroying him is practically out of character for him. It made sense for Tinker because by all rights he was an innocent man, but at no point is metal never shown in a state where he could potentially be good and regardless of the few good sentient robots that exist, metal is still a robot and Sonic shouldn't have any qualms about destroying a robot as deadly as metal

[@patrickcarter2829]

I always assumed Sonic's philosophy is more, "Freedom is the ability to do as you please, it does not mean you are free from consequences." This seems to line up well with his IDW interpretation.

[@videogollumer]

Agreed! It's because he let him go that Eggman came back in the first place! He and Tails are in for a rude awakening; but at least Tails questioned before and after doing the repairs!

[@jaredtherock5692]

Glad to see a new speed reading and I'm most excited about that Klonoa video coming soon!

[@insertnamehere1398]

Man starline was such a fun and unique villain. Not only having a very different vibe to eggman, but also having the unique situation to fanboying over him and just wanting to be like him.. it’s sad to see him go so early into this comic’s lifespan… they better release a new main villain because rivals don’t really count

[@ultradarkbeastmode3983]

Considering that Kit has some DNA from Tails, He is now Tails's Brother.

[@Hyperdragon1701]

I would like to point out that Eggman letting Belle go is absolutely a ploy. Knowing Belle used herself as a Router for Metal, Eggman noticed that he could reverse that connection to at the very least spy on Sonic and the Crew.

[@KingRumar]

Heeyyy new video, just in time for work! I love listening to your videos as I work

[@Subject-36]

I love how his new base is the Crimson Tower, a reference to Sonic Riders ZG. Nice touch, Ian

[@michaelcarlton1484]

90s Sonic is the worst one BECAUSE it was a misinterpretation of Sonic's character established in Japan. Sonic has always been a character who lives in the moment and is willing to let people make choices for themselves. You can see this as early as Sonic Adventure. (And frankly, the fact that he and Knuckles became best friends, much earlier than that.)

[@videogollumer]

Wonderful! KNUCKLES WAS NEVER EVIL TO BEGIN WITH! He became friends with Sonic because he helped him take back the Master Emerald, after Eggman revealed that he manipulated him!

[@callanevermelt6392]

i've waited for a while to heat you talk about this chapter I got into this comic, thanks to you and this is bar none, the best sonic comic ever.

[@jeannesery9936]

I love this series so much I watched this the first 23 seconds

[@EYYYYYJustin]

Eggman in this issue man. He showed the new kid on the block not to mess with the OGs

[@TheDoomsdayzoner]

Sonic giving Surge the reverse version of the Polnareff Stairs moment is quite interesting. Heck, he even copies the pose there. Why is it a reverse - because instead of showing his opponent dispair, like Dio did, he is trying to show her hope.

[@PhysicsGamer]

I'm really enjoying the contrasts between Surge and Scourge, honestly. Scourge saw Sonic's kindness, decided it was just naivety, and defined himself as the exact opposite by embracing cruelty instead - something Sonic pointed out was at least as naive when Sonic himself was a direct counterpoint, which cut Scourge's worldview out from under him by attacking the very basis of his self identity. Surge, meanwhile, saw Sonic's optimism, decided it was just naivety, and defined herself as the exact opposite by embracing _cynicism_ instead. In a strange, "instead of seeing a glass half full or even a glass half empty, decides the empty space means nobody ever really cared about water" sort of way. Having Sonic confirm to her face that he's totally fine letting evil run around since *he'll* be there to oppose it didn't cut Surge's worldview out from under her like it did for Scourge, but instead validated her worst assumptions. That Sonic's heroism is at best pointless and at worst malicious, that Sonic is making the world worse by stoking conflict, that Sonic obviously doesn't actually care what happens to the people hurt by his foes. In the end, Surge can't allow herself to let go of the fragment of self-identity that she managed to put together after Starline's brainwashing since she's terrified of where that would leave her - no past, no present, so how could she have a future? I'm really curious what she's going to do next, and where the writers will take her clash of perspectives with Sonic next.

[@justynhill4814]

@@PhysicsGamer- where is the bs about Sonic not caring coming from?

[@PhysicsGamer]

@@justynhill4814 I'm saying that's what Surge decided Sonic was saying, not that's what he actually was saying. Sonic *obviously* cares... but Surge, in the middle of her identity crises fueled meltdown, wasn't going to be able to understand that.

[@justynhill4814]

@@PhysicsGamer- sorry I’ve been in a constant debate about this subject so I’ve gotten a bit sensitive.

[@hagusbristol7346]

That was such a cool comic. I really loved the story. I hope they keep doing such a good job

[@bubbleboi1122]

You're the reason I know anything about idw and omg it's fantastic. Thanks Nick, keep it up :)

[@krika1119]

We know for a fact that once Kitsunami wakes up from...whatever happened to him and is told about Surge, he'll probably tell them about her insane healing factor that makes anything fatal simply just a painful experience she can walk away from not too long after. Like seriously, there's a reason why we got to see that power of hers prior to that; so that we KNOW she'll be back one day

[@sh21dow]

The entire time i was reading the issue, i was thinking:"i like to see what game apologist is going to say about this"

[@SoranotRoxas]

FINALLY!! Been waiting forever for you to cover this lol 😆. Nice to see you back at it dude 👍

[@superspider64]

man the way Sonic just freaking blips when surge grabs him at the start of the fight and the way we see tails just get dragged away by an offscreen Kit was amazing