Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)/Headscratchers

• I heard somewhere that Anonymous was originally meant to be the original Dr. Robotnik. Is this true? If so, does anyone know why the editors didn't use him in the end?
  • I've heard that one, supposedly that was where Karl Bollers wanted to take it. I'm not sure, but I think it was kind of a hectic period in the comic's history — in between Anonymous' introduction and later reveal, the book changed editors, its main writers took to feuding, Ken Penders derailed one of Bollers' ongoing plotlines and he quit in protest, Ken himself was let go not long after, and finally they brought on Ian Flynn to take care of the mess that'd been left behind. Maybe they just wanted to nuke the whole thing as part of the cleanup phase. Or maybe Ian himself just didn't want to go that route, he's repeatedly said he doesn't like getting into the whole "Robotnik's actually Robo-Robotnik from another dimension" business because it takes too long to explain and is confusing to new readers. But in any case, even if it's true, I doubt it was ever meant to be set in stone.
• Issue 50 revealed that Sonic's dad and uncle were the ones who brought Robotnik to King Max in the first place, having found him and taken him in. Has this ever been mentioned in the book since then? Does Sonic, or anyone else like the Prowers, even know that his own family is ultimately responsible for everything Robotnik has done or caused, such as Sally's current predicament?
• What age group is this for? I would guess it's for younger people, (being a Sonic game), yet, from what I can gather, it inloves stuff like Eggman's descent into insanity. Can anyone eloborate?
  • Target age group is probably the under-12 crowd. It does have older fans, but it's not aimed at the adults and the writing usually isn't too complicated or heady for the kids to get confused or lose interest. Eggman's descent into madness was, basically, he got defeated one time too many and turned into a frothing madman who lost conception of time. Then he "reasoned himself back from the brink". Not exactly an in-depth overly complicated examination of psychology going on.
  • The love-triangles and things like Tails' resentment of Sonic for going out with Fiona made it seem more fit for teens at least to me, not to mention the darker elements.
• The immediate aftermath of the Endgame arc (Issues 50 and 51). So Robotnik is defeated and it looks like Moebius is free again and everyone's happy. But how many of the Freedom Fighters turn to Sonic and take the time to say "Uh, sorry we were idiots and believed Robotnik's scam, turned our backs on you and believed that YOU of all people would actually betray us and kill Sally?" NONE. Sonic must be the noblest creature in the universe to not throw their medal back at them and tell them to stick it where the sun don't shine.
  • No kidding. I can understand the Freedom Fighters being confused and upset about 'Sonic' killing Sally, but they just completely accepted it at face value. This is despite the fact that they know Robotnik can make perfect robot duplicates (the Sally mini-series), or Sonic could be brainwashed/amnesiac (in an earlier issue), or it could be a hologram, or a thousand different credible reasons. They were in Robotropolis, for God's sake, and they never assume that Robotnik could have been behind it.
  • If I remember correct the entire endgame arc (including issues 51) was supposed to be, yeah Sally's really dead, this is why I'd say it's a failed Author's Saving Throw.
  • And actually, while we're on this topic, I just remembered Sonic's court case after the Mecha Madness special. They did have a credible reason to doubt him - it seemed perfectly in character for Sonic to run off and try his plan anyway - but they were such assholes about it. Sally was the only one who was all "I really am sorry, but this is the law." while Bunnie was ready to sic a sawblade on Sonic's behind if he stepped out of line. It's like a Goddamn running theme for Sonic's friends to be jerks to him whenever he's accused of anything.
    • Though this seems to be happening less and less, or it's entirely justified (last time I can think of an accusation that could be considered without merit is during the whole pre-Scourge Scourge story around about issue 160, where Scourge (at the time not green, nor scarred but still Sonic's Evil Twin from an Alternate Universe)took over Sonic's life and in essence made him do things out of character, but not so much that people suspected that it was Scourge.
• What happened to the Nerbs?
  • Returned in SU 37.
• What I want to know is just how Nicole isn't in the Uncanny Valley to any of the other people in New Knothole. I mean not too long ago (by the books maybe two years at best have passed) you had the Mobians all to eager to take the Robians and round them up, with the undercurrent of it's not just because the king said so, but, they're creepy. I think this was the only time that the that anything after issue 150 has ever made me leave a dent in my wall.
  • Well for one thing do we ever really see how they react to her? The only people that actually interact with her are the main characters and they all know her very well. Plus there is the whole fact that she saved them and created a perfect city for them to live in and be protected. However in issue 219(most recent as of this writing) Ash and Mina talk about how they have a hard time trusting Nicole since the Iron Queen invaded and turned her evil so this will probably be addressed big time leading up to the 225th issue.
  • It's finally been addressed. Yes, the Mobians in general have always found her a little creepy, but let it slide due to all she has done and continues to do for them. Then came the Iron Queen which really drove home just how much power Nicole actually has in the city, which, coupled with Ixis's influence, pushed that unease into full on fear and paranoia. She's basically a Pariah, now.
• Ixis' manipulations and past history aside, does nobody on the Acorn Council find it oddly convenient that he says King Max turned over his kingdom way back when Max himself is too senile to argue said claim (despite never saying this happened in previous encounters), and he shows up saying he can easily remedy the Nicole problem?
  • The council was pretty much as useless and ineffectual as the monarchy they were supposed to replace, from what I saw. Only a few members who have close ties to the Freedom Fighters - like Rotor - saw through this and tried to fight back, if I recall correctly, the rest decided to take the wizard at his word.
  • Here's another one: one of the councilors is Tails's mother. She should know that Naugus tried to kill her son at least twice before. Why wasn't that alone a red flag to her?
    • Does he have a particular background with Tails? I know Mogul did, but I can't think of much for Naugus... She also would have been several billion light years away at the time, so could only have heard about it long after the danger had passed.
    • Sonic and Tails fought Naugus together in issues 65 & 66 according to this so there's that much.
  • Actually Max outright admitted to it in #53. Sally declared his abdication invalid because he wasn't in a position to make decisions regarding the kingdom at the time, as she herself was acting head and he was trapped in another dimension. The validity of Naugus' claim is verifiable by anyone who was there at the time, so the council isn't forced to go on Naugus' words alone--not to mention the Freedom Fighters can't outright deny it happened without lying. They can only argue the agreement was made under duress or that Max didn't have authority to make it in the first place.
• Okay, so back in the Post-End Game, Ixis really did have a claim over the crown of the Kingdom of Acorn, because Max traded it over for protection in the Zone of Silence. HOWEVER, The Republic of Knothole is a completely different state, crown and nation, Ixis has no claim over it!
  • It's different, but the position still exists, so he does have claim to it. Besides, it's still not a complete republic yet.
• Pretty sure that Naugus has been using his magic to manipulate people and make them irrational. So it'd make sense that the Council of Acorn don't just outright deny him if Naugus is screwing with their emotions and sensibility.
• When are we going see those loose ends about Mighty leaving to find his little sister get tied up? We see him in issue #212 leaving to find her and then we never see him again. Then we see Matilda, who could possibly be his missing sister, but we only see her in issues #217-218. So, is Mighty ever going to find her, or what?
• Why did Amy have Purple Eyes in the early Adventure issues? Everyone else had the correct color, so it can't be due to not having the source material.
• Was there ever an explanation for why the Legion couldn't disable the bombs in their cybernetics after they joined up with Eggman? Or why the Iron Queen had to give them chips to influence said cybernetics with her Magitek? I've heard some Wild Mass Guessing about the latter issue, but nothing I've read has ever explained why they couldn't just turn off the bombs and go on their merry way, or how they missed the bombs, in the first place.
  • It's probably typical Exploding Leash territory. Generally, when that trope is in play trying to remove the bombs will cause them to explode. As for why they didn't notice the bombs, Eggman is just that good.
• Is the Genesis arc of Sonic supposed to be a reboot or what? All the evidence seems to point that way, except that the issue right after the saga has everything back how it was, including Sally being alive instead of killed by can(n)on.
  • The editor describes it as a throwback with a purpose. I think the reboot will be temporary, but leave lasting marks on reality. Like, in example, the zones from the Sonic games might be used more often as locations from now on.
  • It's like the Superboy-Prime cosmic punch from Infinite Crisis, causing many small changes throughout the universe. So far they include the following:
    • All Mobians, with the execption of the members of Destructrix, becoming vulnerable to roboticisation again.
    • The spirits of the beings that comprise Ixis Naugus coming back to haunt him.
    • Alterations to Ixis's magic, causing the complete de-roboticisation of Bunny Rabbot.
    • The disappearance of Eggman's blue chaos emerald.
    • And, of course, the roboticisation of Sally.
• According to a recent interview with the two writers, Ian confirms that Sonic Chronicles was based on Ken's Knuckles comics. So, wouldn't that lend credence to Ken's copyright infringement claim against Archie? And, if so, is Ian correct in saying the most he could get is payment for the use of his characters, and not an actual cease and desist on Archie using them?
  • In the case of Chronicles, that has more to do with SEGA than Archie Comics. Plus, being based on something doesn't necessarily make it copyright infringing. The names were changed, the characters redesigned, or given new purpose. In fact, the thing with the least amount of change was the Twilight Cage and Ken's name for it "the Twilight Zone" was probably more copyright infringing anyway.
• What exactly did happen during the "missing year" that Sonic was thought to be missing? And why do the things Ian says happened during that time feel like Ass Pulls (for instance, his claim that Rotor swore off being a hero after nearly killing his friends with his robots)?
  • Well, the real reason was because a lot of stuff happened in the missing year that didn't make sense in the first place. Ian was stuck with half-assed results of the skipped-year and did the best to fill in the blanks with the page space he was given. (Rotor quit being a Freedom Fighter, but why was not explained until after Flynn took over.) Add in the fact that a lot of the events during the year-skip weren't entirely agreed upon by Penders and Bollers for the comic at the time. (Like Antoine's change being character development or an evil twin.) As for what the missing year was, Sonic was teleported to a distant planet by an alien device, by the time he got back roughly a year had past. During that year, many weird things took place but the basic status quo was unchanged (honestly, more stuff was applied to have happened, but the previous writers couldn't keep it straight themselves).
  • In short, Flynn was given a few piles of crap to deal with and tried to clean it up without focusing to much on it. The year skip was full of potential, but didn't go anywhere because of the previous writers' conflict with one another.
    • I thought Rotor leaving the Freedom Fighters was something Ian came up with. and he was still technically a member of the FF while being part of the Brain Trust.
• So during the whole saga with the Iron Queen, Sally seems to be developing feelings for Monkey Khan. Then at the end of the arc she tells Khan that his people need him and her people need her, and they live too far apart to make it work out. Okay, that's understandable. Long distance relationships aren't always easy and being important regional political figures can't help much. But then a few issues later, Sally is visiting Khan because she needs a friend to talk to, even going as far as giving him a kiss goodbye when she leaves, and she returns to New Mobotropolis via warp ring. What happened to the whole "we live too far apart" deal? How is distance even a factor when you have the technology/magic to teleport to the other side of the world in 2 seconds? To top it off, in that same issue she visits Monkey Khan, Sally goes for a dinner date with Sonic no less than 15 minutes after kissing Khan. Is she just really shallow or has she crossed into Sue-territory?
  • It really depends on how often she has the luxury of using the warp ring. Having the technology isn't the same thing as having the resources to use it all the time. As for whether her latest transgression has sent her "into Sue-territory"--ehh. Seems like either she's always been a Sue and everything she does is potentially outrageous, or she can do no wrong and blah blah blah; this particular complaint doesn't seem to really cover any new ground in that department. Sally's never lacked for in-universe admirers and she's behaved like that before.
• Why the hell doesn't Silver just take his goddamn time? He's failed, what, three times now at rooting out the traitor? Hell, he's probably altered the past so much that no member turns traitor or becomes irrelevant. Seriously, traveling in time damages reality! He should be more careful! I have to say, Mogul was incredibly shrewd when he trapped Silver in the past for screwing up so much.
  • The only explanation I can think up is highly wmg, but consider this; You Already Changed the Past, and Silver himself is the traitor. That's the best I got.
  • For that matter, why not just travel far back enough to stop Robotnik before he can launch his original takeover against Mobotropolis in the first place? No Robotnik takeover, no Freedom Fighters, no traitor. Mogul would have know something like a general time Robotnik rose to power.