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fazar234 · 7 months

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Understanding Lanolin

(First time doing an analysis, so I hope y’all like it!)

Hey all, it’s been a minute hasn’t it?

With Issues 63 and 64 of the IDW comics for the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise having released, it’s caused quite a lot of division amongst the Sonic fanbase, in regard to one new character in particular: Lanolin the Sheep.

And hoo boy, it has not been pretty.

A while back, I sent an ask to a user by the name of @molinaskies (btw go check her out if you’re into analyses of Sonic’s character and Sonamy fanfics!) about her thoughts on Lanolin, and she replied with a post stating why she wasn’t a fan of her character.

Now, I believe that everyone has the right to like, dislike, or be neutral towards whatever or whoever they want, including Sonic characters. If you don’t like Lanolin, that’s totally fine by me and I respect your opinion.

However, due to all the ridiculous hate she has been receiving lately, I feel obligated as a Lanolin fan to state my own reasoning and analysis behind her character. As such, this post will be meant to serve as an understanding towards Lanolin and her character.

Now, before we go any further…

This is not meant to come off as forcing my opinion onto molinaskyes or anyone else! We all have the right to our own opinions, and we should all be allowed to like/dislike whatever characters we want to! This is just a post stating my opinion and reasoning behind Lanolin, nothing more, nothing less!

Alright, with that out of the way, let’s begin!

Who is Lanolin?

To put it short, she’s a sheep from the IDW comics who started out as a background character in the form of another Restoration volunteer and eventually worked her way up to the rank of a primary protagonist in Issue #57, taking on the role as leader of the Restoration’s new task force, the Diamond Cutters.

Her first ever appearance in the comics is Issue #2, where Sonic and Amy are doing a formidable job defending Riverside Village (Lanolin’s hometown), which is being hoarded by badniks, until Lanolin runs in, informing them of an incoming army from the west. She’d then help evacuate the citizens into the bunker and assist in taking down the army.

Since then, she’s made plenty of background appearances throughout the comics, helping citizens, taking care of various tasks at Restoration HQ, or just chilling (which, given her character, is pretty rare).

Lanolin’s Flaw

Fast-forward all the way to Issue #57, where Lanolin gets her chance in the spotlight, and from there, along with further issues, we get a better look at her character.

She gets startled quite easily, doesn’t approve of recklessness, and prefers to operate with a proper plan. She also has a more stoic and serious personality compared to the other characters, which I feel is a nice change of pace, and can come off as bossy to others (which I’ll dive more into later.)

She wasn’t like this in her previous appearances before 57, and I believe the reason can be attributed to the trauma the Metal Virus, as well as other minor disasters seen in the comics had on her. She doesn’t want anyone to feel scared and helpless again, which is why she formed the Diamond Cutters, and why she doesn’t seem to take well to things going wrong.

In Issue #58, she looked defeated because of the scouting of Eggperial City going wrong, and in Issue #63, she snapped at Sliver because of the training mission getting out of hand with the boulder incident (more on that in a second.)

Lanolin doesn’t know how to adapt to the unexpected, and it’s a flaw she’ll need to overcome in the future, or she may meet the same fate as a certain platypus.

Lanolin’s Perspective

Now then, onto what I’ve been wanting to talk about most: her actions and perspective in 63 and 64.

In the past three issues that have released thus far, we, the readers, have full knowledge of everything that’s been happening.

We know that Mimic has joined Clutch and disguised himself as Duo the Cat to infiltrate the Restoration and join the Diamond Cutters, so that he could get close enough to get revenge on Tangle and Whisper. We know that he sabotaged the team’s training session by kicking Silver (which Whisper managed to notice) and causing the boulders and the flood. And we know that he made Silver look bad by falling off the chair he was controlling and made it look like he had attacked him.

But Lanolin doesn’t.

From her perspective, Duo is just a new recruit who wants to make a difference and is expected to make a few mistakes. She sees him as someone she used to be. It’s why she took Duo’s side in Issue 63, when Silver accused Duo of ditching him while he was struggling to restrain the Giant Chopper from consuming him whole, because to her, Duo had only been to overwhelmed by the situation to do anything, and from her view, Silver was the one responsible for the accident, someone she had expected better control from, given his experience.

Now before you all go “OH WHAT DOES LANOLIN KNOW?! SHE’S JUST A NEWBIE AND SILVER’S THE EXPERT ON PSYCHOKINESIS! HE SAVED THE WORLD MULTIPLE TIMES!” Yes, we know he’s more talented than everyone gives him credit for. But Lanolin doesn’t. She doesn’t share the same history with him that everyone else does. If she did, she’d know that Silver would never lose control that easily unless something (or in this case, someone) sabotaged him, thus leading her to also suspect Duo.

And the same applies to 64. Lanolin asked Silver and Whisper for proof, they only responded by trying to assault who to her, was just an innocent individual who felt helpless and scared, something she never wanted anyone to feel. From her perspective, a powerful psychic and an experienced mercenary were accusing a new recruit of being some shapeshifting murderer, without even bothering so much as to offer a tad smidge of evidence that Duo was indeed a shapeshifting murderer.

And before you go: “WELL THAT DOESN’T EXCUSE HER ATTACKING WHISPER AND HER ATTITUDE!” Whisper literally made the first move by grabbing Lanolin’s arm! She was simply trying to defend herself and be rational, stating that they needed to talk about her problem as a team! As for her remark calling herself a soldier, this is one of her flaws, her bossiness, coming into play here! She’s not a perfect person, none of them are! She’s a flawed character, who’s experienced in certain aspects of leadership, but is still new to being a hero.

Silver accusing people at random isn’t anything new; we’ve seen it before in Sonic 06 and the Traitor Arc in the Archie Comics (which I personally haven’t read myself), and the reason why Whisper was too quick to act was because this is Mimic, the guy that killed the closest thing she had to a family! You really think she was just going to stand there and let him do it again? Yes, she should have acted reasonably but she let her emotions get the better of her. And it’s because of that that Duo was able to remove any suspicion.

And before you ask “WELL WHY DID LANOLIN VOTE TO KICK SILVER OUT BUT NOT WHISPER?! SHE ACCUSED DUO TOO!”, I beckon you all to look at this scene here.

Duo tricked everyone into thinking that Silver was the one who attacked him, not Whisper. Had Whisper been with Silver, it’s likely she would’ve been kicked out as well.

A villain’s plan to manipulate can only work if someone’s fallen for the bait, and Lanolin is indeed one of those people. I imagine once he gets caught, Lanolin’s gonna learn from this and she and Silver will make up and all will be good.

Lanolin and Tangle

One more thing that people’s miscomprehension has annoyed me about: the dynamic between Lanolin and Tangle.

In @molinaskies' post on Lanolin, she stated that Lanolin has an objective problem with Tangle and would go as far as to replace her. And I’m going to try to not sound too harsh here, but NO? SHE DOES NOT??

In Issue #58, Tangle was the one to comfort Lanolin when she felt defeated during the Eggperial City mission, and in Issue #59, Lanolin nearly sacrificed herself to save Tangle from the dimensional traps! And that whole gag with the pong-pong ball and Lanolin swatting it away in Issue #62 was literally just that: a gag! Lanolin definitely gets irritated by Tangle, but she doesn’t outright hate her! Would someone who wants to replace a teammate nearly get themselves killed to save said teammate?!

Conclusion

Wow, that was longer than I imagined.

I’m sorry if I ever came off as harsh during my analysis, but it just irks me that most of the fanbase won’t bother trying to see scenes from different perspectives, and it feels like they don’t tolerate flawed characters at all.

In the end, though, you’re all free to like or dislike Lanolin if you want. Everyone has the right to their own opinion. But at the very least, you should learn to properly comprehend perspectives and realize that none of these characters are perfect.

I hope my analysis brought you all some insight, and I’ll catch you all later.

#sonic the hedgehog #idw sonic #idw sonic spoilers #amy rose #lanolin the sheep #tangle the lemur #whisper the wolf #silver the hedgehog #clutch the opossum #mimic the octopus #duo the cat #jewel the beetle #sonic the hedgehog analysis #idw sonic analysis

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essycogany · 2 months

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Sonic’s been more acceptable to hugs in canon. Specifically with Tangled and Amy. He also has small examples with the Wisps as well. It makes me think after Sonic Forces where Sonic’s had no contact with ANYONE for 6 months, he’s grown to like hugs A LOT more.

Before Sonic Forces:

After Sonic Forces:

Before Forces Sonic politely pushes the Wisps away from him for some personal space. While after Forces he greets them with open arms. This gives off the impression after disasters like the metal virus or Frontiers where Sonic couldn’t even high-five his friends, the blue hedgehog grew to be more physically affectionate towards his friends. I guess Sonic decided it was something he wanted to appreciate while he’s able to.

Makes you really wonder how those obstacles might’ve permanently affected him. To be fair those situations including the one with Surge, did a total number on the guy in some fashion. We were told about it more then shown in Forces but it still counts.

Or maybe I’m looking WAY too much into things. It’s your call!

#sonic the hedgehog #tangle the lemur #amy rose #surge the tenrec #sonic colors #Sonic rise of the wisps #sonic forces #sonic idw #sonic frontiers #character analysis #sth

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scribbsrambling · 6 months

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A small compilation of Espio not being a “physical affection” guy /lh

(+brief analysis)

Awkward with hugs, and after a successful mission he sits at a distance from his team, but is still notably content.

Headcanon, it’s not that he simply “doesn’t like physical affection,” but that for him, being in the mere presence of his friends is all he needs to feel their love and anything more is just overwhelming for him😭

Also, Vector and Charmy don’t try to pull Espio in or anything like that

even after the Metal Virus, they respect his boundaries and understand that Espio just sitting closer to them shows how much he really missed them💚💜🧡

#quick character analysis #cool ninja spy -> is overwhelmed by hugs /a😭💕#espio the chameleon #team chaotix #vector the crocodile #charmy bee #idw sonic

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molinaskies · 8 months

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This cover is so important.

This is one of the retail incentive covers of IDW Sonic issue 1, 5th Anniversary Edition, illustrated by Adam Bryce Thomas and coloured by Reggie Graham. When I look at it, something about it tells a story to me, and that story is beautiful.

Sonic and Amy are at the Riverside Romp with Cream and Vanilla, but the rabbits are clearly giving them some space while doing their own thing.

Riverside is the town where Sonic and Amy meet for the first time in the comic series. The archway that holds the sign is also one of the decaying legs from Eggman’s crab mech, the first mech they fight together. Riverside is incredibly symbolic to them both, like how Never Lake would be in the games.

Their journey started rocky at Riverside. They couldn’t see eye-to-eye and had different approaches to how they both could help restore the world after the war. And yet, they still fully respected each other, dishing out compliments and praise and a desire to work together (in different ways). Amy even professes her love for Sonic and vows to him that she never wants to change him, and he bashfully asks her to stay with him in return. They cared for each other, loved each other, immensely then, and now, they’ve chosen to return to Riverside stronger as a pair and as individuals.

Sonic and Amy spend their day together, but they’re both their own people. Amy fawns over the sweets and the loving decorations while Sonic ogles a chilidog. They both indulge in their interests, but close together. One doesn’t need to be exactly like the other, and neither of them want that for the other. As long as they know the other’s there and always will be, that’s all they need. Being their own people despite their connection is what strengthens their bond, because the admiration they have for each other and their differences is so high.

But then, they still want to be together. They dance and cheer with interlocked fingers while sparks fly between their hearts. Cherry blossom petals sway around them, delighting in new beginnings and young love. Sonic and Amy compliment each other, bringing out the brighter sides of theirs souls. Amy’s having the time of her life, living in the moment knowing that Sonic is there with her now and always. But, beautifully, Sonic’s living the moment with with her, taking in her excitement and beauty. He usually doesn’t allow himself the pleasure, but he can’t help it, now.

Sonic and Amy have such a deep understanding of each other that it transcends language. They are in love, and I am in love with them.

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vesko-does-things · 2 months

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…okaaaaay...unpacking this because….look at it.

A refresher for those of you who aren’t completely brain-rotted like me; this interaction takes place in the midst of the IDW Metal Virus arc. This is after Sonic tries to redeem Metal.

Now onto my thoughts.

Sonic is exhausted. He lacks sleep from having to continuously run to fight off the metal virus but he’s still takes the time to talk to Metal. Why? Because he cares. He cares about Metal even after Metal goes back to Eggman.

I think it’s clear that Sonic still wants to help Metal. His comments are far too petty for him to not. I think he could be throwing out Gemerl and Omega’s names to show Metal that he would be welcomed if he were to turn over a new leaf.

Sonic sounds hurt. He sounds like a bitter ex in all honesty.

I think another detail that’s nteresting is how Sonic is upset, yes, and he calls Metal out for running back to Eggman, but he doesn’t blame him. Even when it can be inferred on Sonic’s part (and aswe know) that Metal was the one that caused Eggman to regain his memories and start the Metal Virus.

Metal is, although only partially, responsible. But Sonic doesn’t blame him for it. He blames him for turning him away but not for causing the virus.

You could take that as Sonic not realizing metal inadvertently caused it, but Sonic isn’t stupid. I think he knows.

But why not mention it? It would be so easy to pin the blame on Metal. So why doesn’t he?

I think it’s partially Sonic knowing what it feels like to have the blame thrusted on him. He’d been facing a lot of flack from the resistance over the virus, but I think there’s more.

I think Sonic knows how dependent Metal is on Eggman. That’s his father. Metal runs back to Eggman because that’s all he knows. And I think Sonic sympathizes with that. Even if he wishes Metal would change (change for him) he can’t blame him for going back to the guy.

Tl;dr, Sonic is in love with Metal, you can’t prove me wrong.

#metonic #sonetal #sonic the hedgehog #metal sonic #sonic idw #character analysis #Sonic is in love with him I swear guys #I’m not crazy

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soundtestmenu · 2 years

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I thought about something in IDW Sonic I would've made into a headcanon but it turned out to have some mildly definitive evidence: I think Whisper might use her Wispon as a mobility aid.

She appears to very casually lean on it at times, whether through force of habit or pure necessity. She seems able enough most times to move quickly, but it's possible that she exhausts easily from overexertion (I ought to know, I deal with a similar problem) and benefits a lot from using it as a cane of sorts — funny thing, considering it's shaped like one.

There's more than just that, though; Whisper was the Scout of the Diamond Cutters, which means she aided from afar rather than being on the front line of battle, usually staying in one place during a mission. Considering the nature of the team, it's possible this was an intentional choice on the part of Smithy (or whoever else the leader could have been) to accommodate for Whisper's disability by putting her finer skills to use with long-range cover fire.

(Claire mentions that Whisper "always hangs back", further supporting this idea)

Mimic even points out, perhaps insensitively, that she was never really able to operate well without the help of others, and outright calls her use of the Wisps a "crutch". Lot of nerve, that guy.

Again, Whisper seems to hold herself well enough, but she also literally falls over when startled by Tangle and having displaced her Wispon to the side, after a very surely physically taxing mission:

(Even Orange Wisp, the one she's been with the longest, seems visibly worried...)

Whisper may very well be (to my own short knowledge) the closest thing we have to a canonically physically disabled Sonic character, which is extremely notable in a series where almost every main or side character has superpowers. I know she's in the mobile games and probably just moves really fast like everyone else but those are hardly canon to anything, especially not the comics.

Either way, I will choose to believe this, both because I don't doubt that it was at least somewhat intentional and because it's just fun to think about things like this. She's even autistic, too. Best character

#idw sonic #whisper the wolf #character analysis #sonic #a little food for thought to tide you over till issue 50 tomorrow

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hishighnesstheprincess · 1 year

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So, uh. Detail I noticed on my umpteenth reread of the metal virus arc

This is the first time Cream interacts with Whisper at all. Cream wasn't involved in the Metal Sonic arc, and during the metal virus arc we only see them in the same issue this panel is from. Hell, I'd argue that there's a solid chance Cream doesn't know anything about Whisper. Not her name, not her bond with Tangle, and most definitely not how devastating it would be for Whisper specifically to lose ANOTHER team mate. And Cream has just lost her own mother, and both of the Chao she considered friends. She arguably has less than Whisper, who still has her wisps at the very least.

But. She sees this girl over twice her age, in tears from losing someone. And she goes and sits with her. And maybe Cream doesn't have the words to comfort her at the moment, but she sets with her anyways.

So she won't be lonely.

And later, we get this beautiful scene.

These are the first words we ever see exchanged between the two of them. But Cream is able to understand Whisper right away, and convince her to not enact a (very deserved imo) revenge against the person who took away their loved ones, whether through wild incompetence at best or callous indifference to life itself at worst. And she still gets through to Whisper, simply because it's the only chance they have at not being alone for the rest of their lives.

But in the meantime, while they wait for a solution, Cream and Whisper wait together. Just so they can be a little bit less lonely together.

#these animals make me so FUCKING SAD #sth #prin posts #sonic posting #analysis posting #idw posting #idw 24 #idw 25 #whisper the wolf #cream the rabbit #ivo robotnik #e 123 omega #wisps #that hug. that fucking hug #hhhnggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh #metal virus arc my beloved

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sparkles-rule-4eva · 2 months

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Hello there, love your blog, it's one of my favourite ones, I had a question... I read a comment that said Amy is no longer interested on Sonic anymore and that this is shown on frontiers, that they will make their own paths and lives, is this true?

Hey, anon! I'm glad you enjoy my blog! 🥰💙

No, no, Amy is definitely still madly in love with Sonic 🤭😁 The main reason she's been acting more tame and not so open about it is really just due to character development/maturity. According to Sega, "she's not [physically] chasing after Sonic anymore, but he's still #1 in her heart!" 💙🩷

Sonic Frontiers actually has a decent amount of Sonamy content, but moreso if you squint. 😁 First of all, it tends to address the situation more from Sonic's end, in his moments of saying romance-coded things like "Wish we were sharing an umbrella, Amy," and "Amy, I should've made up my mind sooner." 🥹

Sonic has always been shy about his feelings and therefore never said anything about said feelings to her, and he's more of an "actions speak louder than words" type of guy, but as she shared her desires to share her love with the world, he worried a little that he may have lost his chance. However, Frontiers also makes clear that his friends' plans to go on their own paths were not permanent. Especially seen in Amy's case when she told Sonic her plans, and Sonic replied, "I'm sure you'll do great. I wanna hear all about it when you get back!" 💙

As a bonus, the Final Horizons update treated us to a bit more Sonamy content as well. 🤩 In a conversation between Amy and Sage, Sage identified Amy as "the one who admires Sonic." Amy, with a bit of her younger behavior slipping out, replied with no shortage of sass, "Oh. And are you a fellow admirer? Hm?" 😂

There were a few conversations between Sonic and Amy, during one of which Sonic tried to tell Amy to take care of herself as well as the Koco. Amy ruefully retorted that she could say the exact same thing back to him. Sonic admitted that she got him there, and confidently stated that they would get through this together.

And of course, after all this, my favorite Sonamy moment of the whole game. After everything was over, his friends were restored, and he reunited with them.

The way Amy laughed and practically launched herself into his arms, Sonic's surprised little "oh!" but the way he welcomed the hug, and kept one arm around her as he high fived Tails and fist bumped Knuckles. 🥰 First of all, it's so obvious Amy had been dying to do that the whole game, and we can imagine it was tough on Sonic to be touch-deprived for an extended period of time once again (after the Metal Virus).

I think the main reason Amy didn't run to hug him when he freed her was because she immediately saw he was somehow struggling and likely didn't want to hurt him. (But then realized she wouldn't have been able to touch him, anyway. 🥲) Although it would've been kinda funny if she HAD tried to hug him and just fell straight through. 😂

I think it's worth noticing that Sonic has had this response to Amy's hugs several times lately. Instead of avoiding them, he lets her hug him and actually puts an arm around her in return. I've got a couple more examples from IDW.

Anyhoo haha, I think I got a little carried away. 😂 I hope this answers your question! Thank you for the ask! 💙

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic #sth #amy rose #sonamy #sonic x amy #sonic x amy rose #sonic frontiers #sonic idw #idw sonic #ship analysis #sort of haha #anonymous asks #asks answered #sonamy analysis

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noeggets · 25 days

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Noeggets has a lot of deep thoughts about Shadow's characterization

it's so sad that Shadow was only a project to gerald, like we all joke /think that Shadow was "part of the family" but he was only a cure to Maria, that man was not as good a person as we think he was IM NOt SAYING HE WAS BAD but i usually see him depicted as super super kind to Shadow but i was reading the lore of SA2 and watching an analysis video and if the president never asked him to make whatever he asked him to make Shadow very well would not have been created.

It's so dark and so sad, like he manipulated Shadow when he went insane how do you think it feels to Shadow to know the person who made him didn't truly love him? like neither of the things that created/help create Shadow really truly loved him, he's only a cure, he's just a thing to reach immortality, he very well could be immortal himself, Shadow i don't think he can die cause he was created to not be able to catch any disease and be immortality it's self.

How do you think that feels? to just be a thing? Biolizard is just a failed attempt at making Shadow based on Chaos, those Chaos things in the ARK are failed attempts at Shadow also based on Chaos, i never knew this until i read the wiki 2 days ago SA2 has such a dark story i feel so bad for Shadow

re-thinking what i used to think about IDW Shadow lemme explain

And now that i know all this about Shadow the way he acts in IDW makes a little more sense to me, we all thought he was stupid when Sonic said "don't touch those zobot guys you'll turn into one" and Shadow was all "yeah, i dont care this wont effect me" HE WAS LIKE THIS FOR TWO REASONS

he was mad at Sonic cause his whole thing i want to achieve world peace i already talked about how IDW Shadow doesn't have as much compassion as the Shadow we all know from any other game but this is Eggman we're talking about, with everything Eggman's done up to this point do you think Shadow believes there is any good in him when he rarely does anything good Shadow has seen? Time eater, Sonic unleashed, Shadow is not ignorant to Eggman waking up a monster inside the planet everybody whether we seen them or not knows sonic unleashed happen, Sonic brings up sonic unleashed in IDW so it canonly happened. i remember reading that Knuckles and Shadow were gonna be in Sonic unleashed and if that's true SHADOW IS AWARE OF THIS

Eggman is a threat to the world to Shadow but he allowed the doctor to be cause Sonic keeps him check, Sonic is starting to be "unable" to keep him in check from Shadow's view, Shadow was there in forces, he witness what Eggman did to greenhill, he fought infinite who is a merc hired by Eggman mercs off people, Shadow is trying to save people that's his whole thing. After what happen to Shadow in Episode Shadow in forces do you think Shadow would hold any sympathy for Eggman the next time he physically see's him? After what he did to the world, after what he did to Omega? right in front of his eyes? Using Infinite to corrupt Omega and scare him Shadow cares about Omega that's his friend i had a point but i forgot it dang it anyway Shadow was in the war,

i remembered it a little bit i think i think i was gonna say something about when GUN sent Shadow to rescue Omega idk i haven't touched forces in sometime, and Shadow didn't come back as well as Omega. Eggman immobilized Shadow Shadow does not think the world is safe with Eggman around i think that was my point i don't remember...

ANYWAY that's why when Shadow came to see mr tinker he was pissed that Sonic allowed Eggman to be, this is dangerous to Shadow. when Shadow was getting mad at Sonic cause Sonic was preaching let Mr. Tinker live Shadow was thinking about the bigger picture: This man is terrorizing people and the only way to keep everyone safe is getting rid of him, this may be the only chance we get, but he let him live because Sonic explained that Shadow did bad things in the past as well so does that mean Shadow gets to go down with Eggman?

Shadow was mad at Sonic and the mess he made, Shadow was being compassionate i just didn't see it or understand it until now, it shocked him greatly when he was consumed by metal virus because he truly believed he could not catch a disease, this is a disease, so he wasn't being stupid i will admit he should have been more cautious not to put it to the test if it would work on him but Shadow was so sure he couldn't catch it, cause he believed he can't catch any KNOWN diseases this was a new disease his body wasn't created to understand therefore it works on him.

We thought SEGA didn't know what they were doing when they were writing IDW Shadow BUT THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING people probably don't even care or remember about when that issue came out and everyone got so mad that Shadow was written "wrong" and being "stupid" but now that i have a understanding i think understand what he was doing and his thought process.

Shadow is moving up on my favorite list for this i feel so bad for Shadow F in the chat for Shadow his story is so sad like really. also heres an old thing i did that's really valid now

#shadow the hedgehog #sonic idw #Sonic #sth #character analysis

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k4txlulzz · 20 days

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idw dislikers wont like this but it must be said my friends . . .

idw sonic is not a huge departure from the original character 🤷🏻 quite the opposite: he is very much still faithful to his ways

all ian flynn did was make sonic more complex: expand upon his philosophy and beliefs and that can be understood if you actually read the comic carefully

i would go on a rant but this reddit comment explains it extremely well

aaand you might also wanna check out this incredible video to understand idw sonic's philosophy more

youtube

#sonic #sonic comics #IDW #sonic idw #sonic rant #kind of ??#maybe i'll actually write a full analysis on this #in defense of idw sonic #i am an idw sonic defender till i die tbh #Youtube

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redinahedge · 5 months

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I want to talk about IDW Sonic

Mainly, his characterization.

IDW is canon. There's no getting around that. It takes place directly after Sonic Forces and because of that, Sonic's characterization is pretty important. Soo, how about we explain Sonic's character in the games? Sonic is a free spirit. He doesn't care whether what he does is right or wrong, he simply does things his own way. Always off to go on another adventure and have fun. He's snarky and has a big ego, but loves his friends and cares about the world around him, always willing to do the right thing. Freedom is his game, and he can't stand when it's restricted by anyone. He's a shonen protagonist in every sense of the word, but he has this flair to him that makes him so much fun to watch. So why do people hate his depiction in IDW? everything seems in order-

...he's stupid. He's fought this guy for so many years, knows he won't accept, but he offers? When has Sonic ever tried to reason with his enemies? Sonic isn't some Christ-like "I forgive you," figure, he's supposed to be living his own way! Not bound down by a moral code! ...Except no. Sure, it's on full display in IDW but this has always been a part of Sonic's character. Need I remind you of a very iconic scene, one where metal is IN it?

When you think about it, the same thing is happening in both scenes. Sonic is reaching out, trying to get humanity out of the robot until... he slaps his hand away, and departs. One melting into lava, and the other to his master. Sure, the Sonic OVA isn't canon. I know that. But it's also an early example of what his character was like before Sonic Adventure. Sonic has a tendency to befriend old rivals after them turning around. Knuckles, Shadow, Gemerl, etcetera. He even asks metal later why he can't be like the other robots -

And I saw a post that says this goes against when he said to honor his decision. Not only is this kind of hypocritical given that the main point of contention is how forgiving he is, it's also completely ignoring the fact that he realized because he was so merciful, all of this happened. He blames Starline for putting Eggman back on the path, he blames Metal, hell, he even blames Tails at one point he's stressed, he's slowly becoming a zombot, the world is borderline ending and... it's all his fault. He's not used to that, so of course he's going to put blame on those who he let go. To be fair, a similar thing happened in Lost World as well, Sonic kicked the Conch out of Eggman's hand and let the Zeti take over his fleet, letting them proceed to misuse the Energy Drainer Eggman had made. In my opinion, these are too different situations. In one, he's undoubtedly in the wrong. There's no one else he can blame. What, is he going to blame the air for kicking it out? In IDW, yes he's at fault, but there's many more factors. Starline's hypnotherapy, Metal's return, etc. In Sonic's eyes, he didn't do anything wrong by letting him be free, but the circumstances made it a mistake. Does that make him putting the blame on others right? No. But that's not what I'm getting at, my point is that it's not out of character. If anything, his character flaws here making him more interesting to watch in my opinion.

Ah yes, Sonic morally grandstanding to Surge So out of character Sonic would never do this. I'll concede that this is very wordy and a bit pretentious. But is it truly out of character for him? If we look at what he's saying itself, and his entire philosophy, everything kind of falls into place and explains itself. Cut down it's essentially: "Hey, I enjoy life. I want you to as well. That's why I don't want to fight. Wanna start over?" This has happened so many times. Same as last time, he's done this same song and dance so many times. This is even more similar to his past encounters than the situation with Metal was! "Sonic isn't a pacifist" Is a big argument I see about this as well. While I don't consider him a complete pacifist either, I believe he wouldn't unless he absolutely has to. In Black Knight, he understood there was no other way, and slayed the king. Every other time, there has been another way, and thus he had taken it. I'd even be willing to bet it's IDW itself that made him reevaluate how much he resorts to violence. Meeting Mr. Tinker caught him off guard, and he had to think about it before deciding to let him go.

He reevaluated his stance that day. That's why he's so much of a "pacifist" now compared to earlier. This experience is the reason. He's seen the good in Eggman now. He's seen that they can change and do the right thing. He wants to see them go down that path, and the world is making him pay for it every day. I actually really like this direction for Sonic. I understand not liking it, it is different, but I think it works well. IDW is honestly probably one of my favorite interpretations of the character. Idk how to close this so

sonic is cool i like the comics k byee

#Sonic #Sonic the Hedgehog #IDW #Sonic IDW #Sonic character analysis #Sonic IDW Comics #Sonic comics #Ian Flynn

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von-studios · 10 months

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No wait, but this needs to be talked about-

Okay, so I finished watching Sonic prime (IT WAS GREAT 20/10) but I saw a TikTok that was like basically showing how 95% of the time Shadow is very stoic and serious which like yeah he is BUT HE'S COCKY ASF. Like even if you don't look at him in the comics he's cocky in the games and shows too, and I feel like no one BRINGS IT UP???

#shadow the hedgehog #shadow the ultimate lifeform #sonic and shadow #sonic the hedgehog #archie sonic #sonic adventure 2 #sonic idw #sonic prime #sonic prime analysis #sonic prime netflix #sonicidw #sonic prime theories #sonic prime shadow #sonic prime spoilers #idk #i just feel like no one talks about how cocky he actually is lol

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essycogany · 8 months

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Rare But Not So Rare Sonic Moments. Character Analysis.

Crying

A weird topic I’m more then happy to discuss.

Mandate: “Sonic’s not allowed to get overly emotional.”

I’m starting to think the mandates do break in a few instances. This one specifically is something I’m quite interested in because this is probably one of the rarest emotions Sonic displays. Getting sad/emotional.

Hopefully this essay will be a positive outlook on the mandate.

(Despite being a discussion about negative emotions.)

Examples Of Sonic Getting Emotional

I might not include everything, but the examples I have knowledge of will be stated. If you have anymore examples, I’d love to see them.

SATAM: Sonic cried when he and the Freedomfighters had to leave his Uncle Chuck in Robotnik’s lab.

Archie: The times Sonic cried/teared up was when the weight of a situation got to him, when something tragic occurred and all hope was lost, or when he was filled with joy after those instances ended. Those moments like others, didn’t go too far. (For the most part)

Pretty sure he never out right sobbed.

Underground: I think Sonic only cried when he was a little kid.

Correct me if I’m wrong.

X: In episode 52 Sonic allowed his tears to shed with his head turned away from us. He and Chris ran one last time before Sonic left through a portal to go home forever. It obviously crushed him even if we didn’t see his face.

Boom: Sonic cried/teared up in two episodes of the show. First when Tails was reminiscing about the Tornado and noticed Sonic wiping his eyes. Sonic replied, “What?” Then he, Knuckles, and Tails all cried when they thought the baby they took care of was gone. Also, in Archie when Stick’s rock friend broke or “Died,” everyone in team Boom morned it. Sonic included.

IDW: Sonic shed tears in the Scrapnick Island Issue. Even if it was “Mecha Sonic’s” tears I’ll count it anyways because it’s a good loophole and it came out of Sonic’s eyes.

Movie 1: It’s implied he indeed cried during the baseball scene. The sources being a deleted scene and story-board of the film.

Prime: This doesn’t really count, but Sonic teared up in the first episode when he was held captive by the Chaos Council and had light blasted in his eyes, when he was in darkness. Then Sonic actually cried in episode 7 when he ate a seadog. Either because he was home-sick or starving.

(In the last episode of season two it’s implied he might cry in the next episode. Especially with the shot of him looking on the verge of tears and then covered his eyes in the background of the last shot, but we’ll see.)

By the way. You can see the instant improvement from episode 1 to 7 of the tears animation. Just thought I’d say that.

My Overall Thoughts

Hold on because this is going to be a long ride.

First thing I’d like to discuss is the mandate itself.

I personally don’t believe it means, “Sonic shouldn’t cry.”

(Which has been stated a bunch)

If that were the case, I don’t think this majority of moments (specifically the recent ones) would’ve happened. I think the mandate meant Sonic couldn’t and or shouldn’t go too far with his emotions. I don’t think the mandate existing makes any since, but I won’t get into that.

My point is, Sonic can cry, just not in an overly dramatized way unless it’s done for comedic purposes.

(I say that because of Sonic Boom and the 7th episode of Prime examples. Which are obviously not meant to be taken seriously)

My opinions on Sonic crying.

It’s not necessarily needed, but I don’t mind if it’s done well. I do believe Sonic shouldn’t go too far unless the situation does.

One Issue in Archie when Sonic’s entire life was basically ruined, is a good example. If you’re going to have such calamities happen to him, especially since he has zero ego or mask to hold onto, I think it’s a fair enough scenario for him to react as drastic as his misfortune.

But I believe if he were to cry in something like the Metal Virus. (Just for an example) it could be like how Espio teared up after Vector’s sacrifice.

Crazy idea. Let’s talk about Shadow for a minute.

Shadow is one of the most stoic characters in the entire franchise. He barely smiles, gets excited, or displays any overly positive emotions. While Sonic rarely cries, gets angry, or shows any harsh negative emotions. Shadow and Sonic are opposites because of that.

Sonic’s overall a positive and outgoing guy who wants to keep moving forward. Whenever he has the time to worry, he runs. Faces his problems head on. Sonic only let’s a small amount of his true emotions out when helping someone else. In general Sonic’s a pretty optimistic character.

Shadow on the other hand is a reserved and serious guy. Who wants what’s best for the world too, but in a more calculated and planned out manner. But for some reason, in Sonic Adventure 2 after Amy encouraged Shadow to save the world, (Which reminded him of Maria’s real wish) He sheds a tear.

I repeat. Shadow is the most stoic character in the entire franchise. Who rarely shows his emotions. And yet he cries.

Why can’t Sonic? To be fair, Sonic usually doesn’t have time to think, let alone worry about how he feels. But if Shadow himself can have a short moment of releasing his emotional baggage, why can’t the blue blur?

Is Sonic even as happy as he let’s on?

I’d say he’s genuinely happy half of the time. Then the other half Sonic’s internalizing everything negative in him. Everyone knows Sonic’s overall upbeat, but we’ve seen plenty of times (In the Metal Virus specifically) when he’s thinking, or enduring the chaos around him, he doubts himself. Sonic has these insecurities and emotions he barely let’s anyone see.

Besides Issue #24

Even in Sonic Prime while Sonic shows the most guilt, sincerity, anger, fear, and sadness in the show. He sometimes still puts on a front and acts like everything’s fine.

Sonic Unleashed I’m pretty sure was the first and only time we’ve seen him mope for a minute. All because Amy didn’t know who he was. So, he does have some level of insecurities lingering every once in a while.

Can Sonic crying even work?

How I interpret him crying is when he’s alone. Some people theorize in certain instances like SA2 and Unleashed with Shadow and Chip’s sacrifices, he cried a little. I’m fascinated by this idea. I believe it’s the most in character way to let him cry. Maybe even something like X when his face isn’t shown, but you know how he’s feeling.

Even if we do see Sonic’s face, him crying or tearing up could be shown without being over the top. Normalize it in a way that doesn’t fly off the handle. His expression could have a hint of frustration, anger, or exhaustion. Crying is normal and I don’t see Sonic crying as out of character because it’s been done plenty of times.

It’d be nice if it happened in order to make Sonic feel more believable and sympathetic. As long as the dude’s not on the floor whaling, I’m sure it can work.

Final Thoughts

There are other ways to show Sonic’s emotions. Again, crying doesn’t have to happen, but it does help the writing feel less unnecessarily limited of what kind of emotions can be displayed on this character.

Though there are benefits too. Like finding fun loopholes or small animated details like in IDW and Prime. Sonic not crying so much makes the times he does (or may do in the future) feel earned and impactful. The examples before prove it can be done without taking away what makes Sonic who he is. It just needs to be subtle, quiet, and quick. (Or humorous) Depends on what you think.

At the end of it all, Sonic’s a tough hedgehog. Him shedding a few tears won’t ever change that.

Stay Creative! 💜

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elizabeths-dumbassery · 1 year

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I will never stop talking about this issue. This is the one that got me to be like "Holy shit, I wanna keep an eye on this character"

This is what started getting me wanting to do a character analysis on her

As I'm binge reading for final notes on her character I cannot stress enough how much the story can portray grief and breakdowns.

Just- ugh good job those who made this issue I cannot stress how much this one is in my top 5

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molinaskies · 6 months

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Sonic is not an indecisive character, by any means. He'll mull over something sometimes, but once he makes up his mind, it’s very hard to sway him because he lives by his way (his own way). If there is something he doesn’t agree with or doesn’t want to do, he straight up won’t do it.

That said, a huge part of Sonic’s character is acquiescence.

Sonic is good to go with the flow. He doesn’t always need to be in charge. He doesn’t always need things to go his way or according to a plan. And most importantly, as a character who talks a lot to avoid actually saying anything, his actions really do speak louder than words.

So, what’s important to understand is that Sonic goes along with things—even things that don't always come naturally to him—not because he feels obligated, forced, or pressured, but because he’s a more willing participant than he wants to let on.

Why? Because it’s easier to let the water flow when someone else opens the floodgates.

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scribbsrambling · 1 year

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IDW Sonic Fun Fact #505:

Whisper the Wolf is canonically incapable of catching

A FREAKING BREAK

look, I get it, Sonic guys aren't meant to change or develop far from the tropes they represent, but GEEZ ya don't gotta traumatize her every time, I'm pretty sure she's set for the rest of the continuity

don't get me wrong, I too(for lack of better words) enjoy characters suffering, but

if it's the same character, every time, back-to-back, it's gonna loose its affect

#quick character analysis #if we could just send whisper to the sol dimension that’d be great #idw sonic #sonic the hedgehog #whisper the wolf #tangle and whisper #sonic comics

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