Follow TV Tropes

Following

YMMV / Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW)

Go To

    open/close all folders 

    A-E 
  • Accidental Innuendo:
    • Dr. Starline's first meeting with Sonic in Issue #14 shows that his tendency for Ho Yay isn't just limited to his idol Dr Eggman:
      Dr. Starline: (to Sonic) I wanted to meet you — experience you — for myself.
    • Sonic's, "thanks for putting chili back on my dog, Blaze," remark following his memory restoration in Issue #32, considering that another word for a hot dog sausage is a "wiener", with the implication by association being that the "chili" would thus be an Unusual Euphemism for something else.
  • Adorkable:
    • Silver, with his admiration for Whisper and absolute giddiness to be working with her. He's also easily flustered, as seen when Silver realizes he's making Whisper uncomfortable and his reaction when Blaze finds him gardening in the 2019 Annual issue.
    • There's also Tangle, whose constant enthusiasm and eagerness to be helping the Resistance is downright endearing. That's not to mention her fangirling over Blaze.
  • Alternative Character Interpretation:
    • Eggman's first target in the Zombot arc is Windmill Village, the place where he was given a new home as Mr. Tinker. In his typical cruel fashion, he did so as "payment" for their kindness. Though since his discussion with Sonic later reveals a part of him actually missed being Mr. Tinker, targeting the village may have been an attempt (either deliberately or subconsciously) to burn that bridge and make sure he'd never go back.
    • Were Knuckles and Shadow mad at Rouge taking refuge at the Master Emerald because she was too cowardly to fight, or were they jealous of her declaring the Emerald to be her "one she loves"?
    • Is Dr. Starline simply an Abhorrent Admirer who only admires Dr. Eggman for his legacy and what he believes the mad doctor should be or a psychopathic narcissist (who expects Eggman to emotionally validate him and gets mad when he does anything that doesn't fit into Starline's view of him) whose newfound desire to rule the world is a rationalization to hide an overly elaborate scheme to justify his limerent desire to be by Dr. Eggman's side while getting rid of anyone who gets in between them?
    • Surge and Kit's personalities and their mental issues. Are they purely the result of Dr. Starline's brainwashing? Or did they always have those traits and issues deep down within their subconscious minds, but were brought out to the forefront by Starline's meddling? The comic is deliberately very ambiguous about their true nature and what is, or what isn't the result of Starline, with Ian Flynn admitting that he doesn't really know himself when asked on the BumbleKast.
    • During his showdown with Kitsunami in Issue #50, how honest is Tails being when he compliments Kit’s technology and skill? Is he trying to just talk him down to end the fight in his favor, actually trying to sympathize with him, or both?
    • Likewise in that same issue, Starline's death. Was he too distracted by his Villainous Breakdown to notice the falling debris, or did chose to stay and accept his fate, knowing that if he ever spent the rest of his life trying to topple Eggman, the Doctor will always be one step ahead of him no matter how hard he tries?
    • At the end of Issue #56, Sonic is royally pissed off at Eggman after they escape from Starline's base and only reluctantly lets him go this time, unlike prior instances. Was he merely honoring their truce deal (even though Eggman didn't)? Were he, Tails, and Whisper's Wisps too injured/exhausted to attack Eggman, even if they wanted to? Or perhaps, were Sonic and Tails just too upset about Surge and Kit's Redemption Rejection to bother with Eggman anymore?
    • In Issue #57, Tangle decides to name the new team the "Diamond Cutters", after Whisper's old and more importantly, dead team, which understandably ticks her off until Tangle realises it the next issue and apologizes. What exactly is she angry about regarding using that name? Is it being reminded of her old team? Being named after an ill-fated team which is asking for trouble? A lack of respect for her old team's namesake? Or a combination of the above?
  • Angel/Devil Shipping: Amy/Surge gained some popularity after issue #67, which not only had them interact for the first time ever, but the very first page has Sonic find them having lunch together as if they were on a date (despite Kit also being there).
  • Angst? What Angst?:
    • None of the main characters who became Zombots suffer any psychological damage upon being turned back to normal, likely thanks to them not remembering any of their actions while they were Zombots.
    • Rouge loses as much to the Metal Virus as Cream, Whisper, and Espio do, but unlike them or the other survivors, she doesn't let it bother her and simply reverts to treasure-hunting. When facing down Shadow and the rest of her Zombot-ified allies in Issue #29, she has a "Bring It!" look on her face while the other nine survivorsnote  all have mortified "Oh, Crap!" expressions.
    • Considering how devastated Belle is after learning Eggman is her creator, it's remarkable how quickly and easily Tangle cheers her up. Her alarm when she finds herself in the middle of a wildfire also fades fast despite her pyrophobia.
  • Anti-Climax Boss:
    • Neo Metal Sonic's new final form, Master Overlord. After proving to be a formidable foe in his base and Super forms, Neo Metal Sonic transforms into something that's supposed to be even stronger than the latter. Come the final battle in Issue #11, he's painfully slow, barely shows his newly-attained power, only inconveniences the heroes at worst, takes actual damage from non-Super attacks and is taken out in 14 pages. What makes this even worse is that he holds the Master Emerald, the jewel that surpasses the power of the Chaos Emeralds.
    • Near the end of the Metal Virus saga, most of the Deadly Six become this, especially in Issue #28. Even though the Zeti are empowered by the Chaos Emeralds and command huge hordes of Zombots, all of them except for Zavok are beaten in 1½ issues. Zavok himself is, overall, an aversion, but still suffers this trope to a degree, losing so quickly and easily to Super Sonic that Super Silver literally calls said beatdown "anti-climactic".
    • In the finale issue to Imposter Syndrome, Surge and Kit manage to beat Metal Sonic by working together within the span of a few pages, through merely drowning him in water and electrocuting him. While Metal did start the fight with giving Surge a Curb-Stomp Battle, a number of fans found the fight's resolution to be a disservice on Metal Sonic's part (the discourse surrounding such even leading to him trending on Twitter for a day), as not only does Metal Sonic have more experience in combat altogether, but Shock and Awe powers of his own he could use to counter the pair's strike.
  • Arc Fatigue:
    • The Metal Virus Saga lasted for 21 issues—almost two-thirds of the comic's entire run by the time the Saga was completed—which lasted for roughly a year and a half. This led to heavy fatigue, especially as the storyline constantly gets worse for the heroes while the villains remain nigh-untouchable until the climax. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic further tarnished the arc's appeal and exacerbated the mass-Schedule Slip that started with Issue #11, dragging out the story even longer than originally planned. The fact that the Zombot Apocalypse was only the comic's second major Story Arc didn't help matters at all.
    • The mystery of Belle's origin became this due to the fact that, to anyone who read the series from the beginning, it's pretty obvious who her father is. To the comic's credit, it is heavily implied Sonic knows exactly who created Belle, and the long build-up isn't so much for the reveal but how other characters, especially Belle herself, will react to said reveal. Still, many a fan wished they would get on with it already, not helped by yet more scheduling delays. She was finally revealed to be the creation of Mr. Tinker, Dr. Eggman's amnesiac alter-ego, in Issue #40, a full eight months after her debut in real-time. This has contributed to her divisive status among readers (especially compared to Tangle and Whisper).
  • Awesome Art: HOO BOY. Where do we begin? Let’s just start by saying that Tracy Yardley, Jennifer Hernandez, Evan Stanley, and Matt Herms, other fan favorites return to do the art for these comics. And the results are absolutely SPECTACULAR. Just about every issue and covers are packed to the brim with vibrant colors, highly expressive and well-designed characters, beautifully detailed backgrounds, and just a huge attention to detail in general. Even the detractors of the comic admit it is gorgeous to look at.
    • Tyson Hesse returned from the Archie Comics to do some promotional art and character designs, and his work is about as spectacular as you’d expect.
    • Adam Bryce Thomas returns for Issue #2 to do the sketches, inks, and colors all by himself. The result is nothing short of gorgeous, with sprawling landscapes, a beautifully warm color palette, and some very expressive art and action sequences.
    • All the time Evan Stanley has spent sharpening her skills with her continued work on Ghosts of the Future really shows on her realistically painted covers, which are absolutely gorgeous and jaw-dropping, such as this, this, and especially this, which fooled many people into thinking it was a 3D render when it was entirely painted by handnote .
    • Nathalie Fourdraine's retail incentive covers are highly expressive and boldly colorful paintings. See for yourself.
    • Newcomer artist Aaron Hammerstrom is amazing with a series of covers. Alongside some excellent drawings and pencils, Hammerstrom's work on Cover B of #24 is an amazing piece of pixel art that is a throwback to the Sonic Advance series, complete with a custom Tangle sprite!
    • Jonathan Gray, whose art had a decidedly mixed reputation during the days of Archie for being Off-Model, has created some incredible comic covers for IDW thanks to his intricate use of shading, background consistency, hidden gags, and overall strong use of loads of elements without them becoming overwhelming. Highlights include his covers for B of #14, Cover B of #27, Cover B of #37, and Cover A of #48.
    • Mauro Fonseca's work has been absolutely stellar so far, not only through their work on Surge's design and Imposter Syndrome, but in the second half of Issue #51, they show an absolutely masterful grasp on the titular hedgehog's design, imbuing him with a fresh energy we haven't seen in a long time.
    • Cover B of Issue #59, drawn by Nathalie Haines, is downright gorgeous, where Shadow is surrounded by several Shadow Androids as they try to hold him down. The awesome part about this cover is that it was traditionally painted, taking inspiration from Alexandre Cabanel's "The Fallen Angel" painting.
  • Badass Decay:
    • While Dr. Eggman isn't any less villainous in the comic outside of his Mr. Tinker persona, his more proactive or craftier traits tend to be given a backseat here compared to more recent games. While he made certain to keep his top minions on a leash in Lost World and Forces— and thoroughly studied the Phantom Ruby replicas in the latter game— his more limited testing of the Metal Virus leads to it eventually spiraling out of his control. Oddly enough, Eggman's initial reaction to it going awry is to act unconcerned about it and go off to grab a sandwich, with Starline being the one to call him out on not taking steps to prevent it from backfiring. Later, he's usurped as the Big Bad of the Metal Virus saga by the Deadly Six, for the first time in around a decade game canon-wise. Overall, anyone who preferred Eggman's Villain Decay being reversed in then recent games will likely have some issue with this comic's portrayal of him.
      • This is discussed in BumbleKast (May 3rd, 2021 - Sticks Misses the Apocalypse, 3:38 mark), where when asked on why Eggman didn't plan ahead in the Metal Virus saga compared with his depictions in the 2010s games, Ian remarks that Eggman has never planned ahead in the long run, and all his plans end up biting him at the end, with Flynn citing Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Heroes and Sonic Unleashed. That being said, some fans have still taken issue with this explanation, as some of these plans failed due to outside issues that Eggman couldn't reasonably predict or control.
        PanDulce (KoFi): "Hi, Ian! Some fans and I noticed that Eggman was acting different during the Metal Virus arc, being more careless than usual. Was this because he was still affected by his amnesia episode, a plot device to make Starline disappointed, or just the direction that SEGA wanted with him?"
        Ian Flynn: …It's not that he was any different, I think it's that it was a different context and that Starline was there to point it out. Typically in any Sonic adventure, Eggman does his thing, Sonic interacts with him, tries to stop him, and you're just there along for the ride— you don't ever really stop and think about… just how little follow-through he has with any of his plans. Now, he blows up the Master Emerald to release Chaos, just to feed it more Chaos Emeralds— he doesn't know what that's going to do aside from "it's going to give it more power" that he assumes he'll be able to control, and we all see how THAT went. He launched a missile into the heart of Station Square and went to manually detonate it because it didn't explode on impact. Didn't quite think how far ahead that was gonna go. He single-handedly tears his way through the GUN facilities to grab Project Shadow, and he has no idea what it is. He just knows it's a thing that he wants. Sonic Heroes is all about the fact that he's already lost his own plan! Neo Metal took over before the game started! Sonic Unleashed, he blows up the planet and shoots Sonic and the emeralds out the airlock… except, whoops, he needed all those! Proto-Orbot has a point of saying, "Yeah, you didn't think that through, did you, genius?" So… no, Eggman never, never has a solid plan! it's always a big execution, but he never settles on the details.
        Kyle Crouse: For someone who's supposedly a genius, he sure is dumb.
        Ian Flynn: You-can't-see-the-forest-for-the-trees sort of thing, or rather, the trees for the forest.
    • In a repeat from the Archie Comics, Metal Sonic has also been on the receiving end of this. While not overshadowed by alternate versions like in that run, he's gone from being one of the comic's most formidable villains to suffering from The Worf Effect several times since. By the Urban Warfare arc he's been reduced to being little more than a pushover for the heroes.
  • Base-Breaking Character:
    • The comic's portrayal of Sonic himself has become this as of late, due to his insistence on being more merciful to his adversaries despite the consequences that result. While some fans consider his merciful behavior to be in-character with his game self and have expressed that they'd prefer it to Sonic killing the villains of the comic, detractors of the comic have noted that not only does this lead to things getting worse for everyone involved when the villains are free to hurt people — a fact that Sonic acknowledges but never puts into practice — but that Sonic himself is a hypocrite in that he often shoves the differing views of his friends and enemies aside (and even bitterly chastises Shadow and Espio over such), all while acting especially righteous about his choices and asserting that he wants to give everyone the freedom to enjoy the world. The degree of whether Sonic's beliefs and his resulting actions are justified does depend on the reader, however, and his portrayal in Scrapnik Island has been viewed by detractors as more in-line with his game counterpart, along with the story being viewed as a better-written case of him trying to redeem an antagonist. To a much lesser degree, this version of Sonic also tends to be far more verbose when discussing topics such as his beliefs or morals, compared to how his game counterpart — while also very prone to being talkative — tends to be quick and to-the-point when expressing his perspective on things. Some feel that this makes Sonic come across as more overbearing and patronizing when combined with the other controversial aspects of his portrayal in this comic, though others have argued that his greater quantity of dialogue may simply be a result of working within the limitations of the comic medium. Worth noting is that Scrapnik writer Daniel Barnes has taken note of the former argument.
    • The Deadly Six. While some fans consider their more threatening characterization in the comic as them being Rescued from the Scrappy Heap, others felt their inclusion in the story was forced and are not happy with them usurping Eggman's spot as the arc's Big Bad once again.
    • Belle the Tinkerer suffers from this. Her fans find her sympathetic and likeable, while her detractors consider her to be annoyingly whiny. It doesn't help that the mystery of her origin was dragged out for months even though the answer — she's a creation of Mr. Tinker, Dr. Eggman's amnesiac alter-egowas pretty obvious.
    • Following the establishment of the new Diamond Cutters, some people have felt this towards Lanolin, as she ends up having to take a more strict, leader-like attitude as the group's commander. One half thinks this makes sense and that it's merely natural progression for a strategist character that takes their work very seriously (while also needing to round up the excitable Tangle and bashful Whisper somehow), but others also think that it's weird to have this much authority granted to a rookie with only one mission of note and who happens to be surrounded by characters that are far more experienced and powerful than she is, especially when her treatment of them can come off as rather harsh and disrespectful despite having little cred herself. Still, there are people who think a middle ground is ideal, believing that she brings a unique vibe to the team due to her seriousness, but that her bossiness should be eventually toned down, or at least elaborated upon down the line to make her more likable and less of a killjoy.
      • Lanolin's hopes to militarize the Restoration is an aspect of the character that's particularly divisive among the fandom due to its greater implications. Some think that militarization may be necessary in a world where G.U.N is seemingly out of commission in case of another wide-scale invasion, while others think it defeats the whole humanitarian aspect that the Restoration was built upon and treads too much into Freedom Fighter territory. There is also a third group that defends the idea of a Restoration military if only because of its potential as a morally grey party within the greater Sonic vs. Eggman conflict.
  • Broken Base:
    • The main conflict in the Sonic fanbase ever since the series inception has been how the series holds up against to the old Archie Comics series. While some fans find that the characters and the world being Truer to the Text of the games represents a welcome and refreshing clean slate after the at times very unwieldy and complicated backstory the Archie series had, other still fans misses said backstory exactly because the quirky weirdness of it gave the Archie comics a more distinct and memorable personality from other versions of the Sonic franchise, and they wish that the IDW comics could include at least some of that weirdness. There's also the often-mentioned SEGA mandates, with many under the belief that the restrictions imposed by SEGA (for example, the "classic" character being off-limits) hamper potential storytelling ideas.
    • IDW's characterization of Doctor Eggman and his Fatal Flaw with the Complexity Addiction. The Eggman from the games is quite inconsistent in his appearances (although it can be argued that Flanderization and the tone of each game had something to do with it), but some readers feel that the idea that Eggman never plans ahead is untrue to the character (especially after his last appearance, where he "learned from his mistakes"). Other readers don't mind, because the comic establishes a Fatal Flaw for the writers to work with for a more consistent characterization.
    • Sonic's Thou Shalt Not Kill characterization has caused serious disagreement among readers. Those opposed to this portrayal argue that Sonic's leniency towards the villains allows them to continue their rampages without any real comeuppance, and despite being called out on it both in and out-of-universe, Sonic muses on his mistakes but never actually changes. Those that are fine with it argue that Sonic killing his enemies would be Out of Character and take the comic down a needlessly dark turn. Then, there are some who Take a Third Option and agree that while Sonic shouldn't kill, the fact he doesn't imprison his enemies makes him seem very negligent.
      • The issue is also compounded by the fact that Sonic, despite rarely killing in cold blood, has still left his enemies to suffer or even die in the games, such as how the original Sonic the Hedgehog ended with the player being given the option to attack an escaping Eggman and leave him to collapse into a pit, how Sonic Lost World similarly ended with Sonic stealing the exhaust hose to Eggman's jetpack as the doctor fell back to the earth, how Sonic and the Secret Rings has him curse Erazor Djinn to eternal imprisonment in his lamp before dropping said lamp into a pool of lava, how Sonic and the Black Knight has him respond to the prospect of technically being a knight slaying a king (even before learning of King Arthur's true nature as an illusion) with "guess I can't be the hero every time", and how Sonic Forces to a lesser extent has him counter-threaten Infinite's proposed epitaph for him with one of his own as "[they] might as well make it for the person who needs one".
      • A big one came from how Sonic reacts to Dr. Starline being confirmed dead, with Sonic's reaction to a heartbroken Belle simply being "Big Oof." People have debated over whether or not this is in-line with his character or not. Ironically, both sides use writing from the games as backing for their argument, those for "Big Oof" citing Sonic's dialogue when stopping Gawain from killing himself for his dishonor and those against "Big Oof" citing how he treated Shahra after sealing Erazor Djinn in his lamp for eternity.
    • The art in later issues of the comic has been subject to criticism: whereas some feel that the characters are still generally on-model and expressive, the coloring has been pointed out as coming off as more muted and less varied in hue and the linework has become more uniform, often making characters and backgrounds appear more flat. It's also been noted that the characters have started being referenced from 3D models, thus lacking stylised features for a 2D medium. Some issues also have some panels that make it hard to follow the action.
      • Another recent point of contention is how Sonic's eyes are drawn: instead of using his eye shapes to emote as in the games, he's given a small brow akin to what the other characters have. Some feel this does not make sense anatomically because of how his eyes are conjoined.
      • The way Silver's eyes are drawn is another issue that tends to come up frequently. They're often drawn rounder than they are in canon to better convey his friendliness and innocence, but at the expense of faithfulness towards his actual design, which is supposed to paint him as a more serious character.
    • Whether the comics should be taken as canon to the games or not. The comic was initially considered its own continuity, but later on, the writers confirmed that it was canon to the games after all. Those for their inclusion in the game canon feel it could slot in easy enough, while those against it feel the controversial elements don't line up with game canon, as well as not liking the possibility of needing to get caught up in a whole different medium should IDW elements make a full transition to the mainline games.
    • The Misadventures arc has been subject to debate. Fans like the more "slice of life" pace and being a nice breather after Urban Warfare, pointing to stories like Knuckles' and Cream's as high points. Detractors think that the pacing starts to slow to a crawl, and dislike the Restoration subplot for making everyone dumber trying to catch Mimic note .
  • Can't Un-Hear It:
    • A sector of the fanbase has claimed that they read IDW 30th Anniversary Special with the voices of Martin Burke as Sonic, Lainie Fraiser as Tails, Bill Wise as Knuckles, and Edwin Neal as Eggman, who voiced them in the English dub of the Sonic OVA.
    • In Scrapnik Island Issue #4, Mecha Sonic screams out "I'LL CRUSH YOU!!!" to the Scrapniks who stopped his plan from being completed. Fans of the comic and the fan animated web series Super Mario Bros. Z will likely only hear the line being delivered by Andrew Chandler's performance as Cooler from Dragon Ball Z, as this line for Mecha Sonic in SMBZ was taken from one of Cooler's voice clips from the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series.
  • Catharsis Factor:
    • Issue #25 sees Eggman losing control of the Zombots to the Deadly Six, finally allowing karma to strike him. Plus, Starline’s gambit to take control of the Deadly Six failing, and how he ends up being fired by Eggman, losing his Warp Topaz in the process. After all he had done in bringing Eggman back and bringing in the Deadly Six in the first place, Sonic has no sympathy for him.
    • Issue #27 has Gemerl delivering a well-deserved smackdown on Zeena for making him hurt Cream and then tossing her into a pile of Zombots who infect her as she screams in panic.
    • Issue #29: After running for over a year in real-time and things increasingly becoming hopeless for the heroes, the Zombot arc concludes at last: Sonic and Silver use the Chaos Emeralds and the Warp Topaz to cure all those infected and send all traces of the Metal Virus into the sun.
    • In Issue #30, Zavok is given a well-deserved beatdown by Cheese, Tangle, Whisper, Silver and the Chaotix after his curb-stomp defeat to Super Sonic. Given his actions throughout the Metal Virus saga and his status as The Scrappy among the fandom, it's very satisfying to see. Four of these characters were even controlled by Zavok when they were Zombots, which makes it better.
    • After every contribution he made as a Greater-Scope Villainabuses, deceptions, line-crossing, and all — Starline being served his own medicine by Surge and Kit and curb-stomped by Eggman in their climactic showdown is absolutely delicious to watch, especially for anyone upset about him taking the spotlight away from Eggman. His subsequent despair-filled breakdown and death put the cherry on top.
    • Issue #61 sees Whisper finally get her long-sought revenge on Eggman for killing the original Diamond Cutters: first she clubs him upside the head with her Wispon's cube mode, and later she and Tangle deal the final blow to his city using Sonic as a projectile. Sonic's own unhesitant mercilessness in eliminating Metal Sonic (whom he shoves into Omega's gunfire) and finishing off Eggman's mecha of the week and home base — seemingly killing them, Orbot, and Cubot in the process — is also immensely gratifying, especially for those who think the Blue Blur was previously too soft on his enemies.
  • Character Rerailment: One of the most praised aspects of the comic is how it undoes a lot of the flanderization and derailment present in the games. Some of the characters are improved from the modern games' portrayals.
    • Tails being able to fight alongside Sonic and be proactive again is a welcomed change, and a step up from his unfavorable portrayals since Sonic Unleashed.
    • Knuckles returns to his duties as the Master Emerald guardian, and heavy focus is placed on that role in the first arc, as opposed to the games that heavily toned down his guardian duties.
    • While Zavok wasn't well received in his debut game, there was criticism regarding his usage in Forces (even if that was a phantom) and Team Sonic Racing for returning him as a minion to Eggman despite being enemies. IDW ignores the later game, and acts as a proper sequel to Lost World, with Zavok returning as a proper menace with the use of the Metal Virus.
    • While this is complicated by the fact that Sonic Forces itself had already put Amy in a similar role of being the Resistance's chief operator, some have taken Amy's characterization during Ian Flynn's initial run on the comic to be too akin to Sally Acorn's more strategic and tactical mindset as opposed to her own more headstrong attitude seen in the games (even when acting as a leader), with her interactions with Sonic in issue #2 even having elements of Sally's back-and-forth dynamic with Sonic. Bobby Schroeder of the "Thanks Ken Penders" Tumblr blog especially described the period of Amy's leadership of the Resistance/Restoration as having "the specter of Sally looming over the story" in hindsight. During Evan Stanley's run on the comic following the Metal Virus arc, however, Amy's personality was made more in-line with her game counterpart's action-ready Genki Girl attitude, especially since she was given more ample opportunity to fight on the frontlines by comparison.
  • Diagnosed by the Audience: Whisper is frequently speculated to be on the autism spectrum with her habit of barely speaking and whispering when she does speak, before meeting Sonic and friends she preferred to either work by herself or just with her Wisps, and the way she panicked when her mask was removed was reminiscent of how some autistic people act when their special objects are taken. The way she acted prior to arriving on Angel Island in issue #9 suggests that she might have something akin to agoraphobia. Her trauma (complete with a Freak Out) and how easily emotional she is may hint to post-traumatic stress disorder.
  • Draco in Leather Pants:
    • Like numerous Sonic villains before him, Dr. Starline was able to get himself a pair. A combination of his flashy design, determination, and status as the Villainous Underdog has made numerous fans root and sympathize with him in spite of the fact that he has no real sympathetic points.
      • This was commented on by Ian Flynn on BumbleKast (January 18th, 2021 - "What The Heck?!" Cream the Rabbit, 2021, 39:53 mark), where someone asked what Starline's relationship with Metal Sonic is (where Starline treats Metal as a "it" like with all Eggman's machines), where Flynn had to remind everyone that Starline is a bad guy.
        Waffle Wolfe: "What was Dr. Starline and Metal Sonic's relationship while Starline was working for Eggman? Was Starline jealous that it was Metal who awakened Eggman's memories?"
        Ian Flynn: I don't think it's jealousy as he didn't see Metal as an individual. He sees Metal as a construction. In the same way he would see Orbot and Cubot as constructions. He confided in Orbot, but that's just because Orbot is… kind of personable, and who else is he going to talk to on the Faceship, honestly? He acknowledges that they are aware and active individuals, but to him they are not people, so to speak. They are things that Eggman has created. Wouldn't think to give them any kind of autonomy in that regard. Metal Sonic is fairly… single-minded in a lot of his computations, I guess? Yeah, he kind of lives for orders, and… doesn't think too far outside the box in most occasions. And so, at most, "Starline is a servant of Eggman. Okay, not a threat, ignored. Eggman has given him authority and he's giving me orders. Fine, follow orders." That kinda thing.
        Kyle Crouse: Starline is so rude. How mean.
        Ian Flynn: Here's the thing, I think people are starting to get a little too lost in the affableness and just how charming he can be. He's a bad person! He legitimately idolizes Eggman and all that he has done. Yeah, he's kind of stepped out of his shadow, but that's more to say "look, I can be better than my idol doing what he does". Starline is a bad man!
        Kyle Crouse: There's the reason why he has his own book titled "Bad Guys", because he is a bad guy!
        Ian Flynn: I mean, sure, you can have fun with him, you can love him, but… don't think he's anything short of just vile!
    • Surge has already received plenty of sympathy and desires of a Heel–Face Turn from fans, since it's revealed that much of her bloodlust and Ax-Crazy nature is the result of it being programmed into her instead, often ignoring that she still wants to hurt people and kill Sonic, even if she doesn't know why. Her relationship with Kit is also downplayed by some into a more typical Sibling Rivalry, in spite of the very verbally abusive undertones of it in canon, such as her threatening to drown him with his own tails. Even after she and Kit learn about their origins and choose to betray Starline, she's only slightly less mean to Kit, and she's ultimately still just as misanthropic and dead-set on killing Sonic, Eggman, all their allies and "every stupid city that threw 'em a parade".
    • Despite him being physically unable to think or act independently of Surge, some could put Kit himself in the same boat as well, given that he's still ultimately fine with everything bad that Surge does.
  • Ensemble Dark Horse:
    • One of the background characters in Issue #2 is a sheep called Lanolin, named by her artist, Adam Bryce Thomas. note  She got a following due to her unique and adorable design, which resulted in her becoming a recurring Bit Character that appeared in issues that weren't drawn by Adam Bryce Thomas. She then became a full-on Ascended Extra in Issue #57, joining Sonic, Tangle, and Whisper on an assault of Eggman's Eggperial City.
    • The other members of the Diamond Cutters, despite being long dead by the events of the comic, are popular primarily due to their association with Whisper and her backstory, and being a homage to the Foxhound group of Metal Gear Solid. Some fan works even have them surviving or even flat out avoiding their canon deaths.
    • Although almost everyone knew it wasn't going to last, Mr. Tinker became rather well-liked among the fandom for generally being a wholesome Nice Guy and a mirror opposite of Eggman. It's to the point where some fans even wished the good doctor remained that way.
    • Of all the ruined Badniks found on Scrapnik Island, the Canon Foreigner character, E-117 Sigma, quickly developed into a fan favorite, not only due to being a new installment in the E-Series, but also for being a genuinely friendly Bunny-Ears Lawyer with some rather hammy exclamations, on top of being a faithful Expy to Jurassic Park's own John Hammond.
  • Evil Is Cool:
    • Carrying over from his design from Sonic Heroes, Neo Metal Sonic is back and uses his biodata copying ability to full advantage, unlike in Heroes where he didn't fight in this form at all. Not only that, but he can also go Super, and later goes Master Overlord using the Master Emerald's powers.
    • The glitch trio of Dr. Starline, Surge, and Kit are all this. More can be seen detailed under Draco in Leather Pants, but all three have memorable scenes with each of the characters, with Surge and Kit also being compelling Evil Counterparts to the main duo of Sonic and Tails. Surge's popularity would help in her being added to both Sonic Prime Dash and Sonic Dash in November 2023, making her one of the first IDW comic book villains to appear in a spin-off game.
    F-L 
  • Fanart at First Sight: Pretty much any new characters previewed usually gets some new fanarts on social media of them before their debuts. Tangle was first, followed by Whisper. Then Belle and of course Kit and Surge. Starline and Clutch are the only exceptions so far as they debuted within in the pages of the comic rather then be showcased early.
  • Fan-Disliked Explanation: Flynn's explanation that Eggman lacks the foresight to plan ahead (see the Badass Decay entry for the full quote) has not gone over well with some fans, who have argued that it fails to account for certain factors. For example, Sonic Adventure indicates that Eggman researched "stone tablets" beforehand to learn about what Chaos was capable of (and it's indicated that he similarly researched Gerald's diary and the Gaia Manuscripts), and Sonic Heroes and a Sonic Channel post heavily imply that Metal Sonic himself used "[his] own hands" to evolve into Neo Metal Sonic and later Metal Overlord, with there being no in-game indication that Eggman had anything to do with such. Another argument is that Flynn's own tenure of writing Dr. Eggman during the Archie Comics (where he was intended to start emulating more of his game counterpart's personality) has itself involved cases where the doctor plans ahead: "Scrambled" has Eggman manually pilot a robot he made to be immune to the Iron Queen's technopathy and likewise switches between different backup plans on the fly to successfully beat her and Snively, and the second part of Sonic: Mega Drive has a moment where Eggman uses Amy as a hostage to trick Sonic into giving him the last Ancient Gear he needs.
    • Issue #50 then shows that Dr. Eggman is very capable of planning ahead when he sees the need, as Dr. Starline had to learn the hard way.
  • Fan Nickname: Just as fans called the last comic "Archie Sonic", fans have taken to calling this series "IDW Sonic", both for convenience and to differentiate it from other works called Sonic the Hedgehog.
    • While Lanolin's new rapid-response team introduced in the comics is called The Diamond Cutters (at Tangle's suggestion to name it after Whisper's old group), some fans have called this team "The Neo Diamond Cutters" to differentiate it from Whisper's former team.
  • Friendly Fandoms:
    • Many fans of Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics) migrated to this series due in no small part to the series having many of the same creative staff. There's some Fandom Rivalry, but it's small, and most fans accepted that it wasn't this series' fault Archie Sonic got canned.
    • Since this series has the same publisher as many other well-known licensed comics, fans of other IDW series such as The Transformers (IDW), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW), and even My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (IDW) have welcomed Sonic's debut from the start, and this went a step further when the comic was well-received afterwards. More than a few fans have been clamoring for some sort of crossover between Sonic and any of these other properties. Especially since IDW is a pretty big fan of crossovers and has done quite a few of them.
  • Genius Bonus: Due to the characters being anthropomorphized versions of real-life animals, various characters have traits that reference their real-world counterparts.
    • Dr. Starline's Multi-Tool Heel Spur is capable of delivering a neurotoxin to incapacitate enemies. In real life, platypus have an ankle spur on their back webbed feet with males specifically being able to inject venom with it. While the venom is strong enough to kill smaller animals like dogs, it's non-lethal to humans, but can still cause excruciating pain to incapacitate them.
    • Mimic's entire shtick is being able to turn into other characters. Real-life Mimic Octopus get their name due to mimicking the movements, actions, and general outline of other animals, as to avoid predators.
    • Some species of tenrecs look almost indistinguishable from hedgehogs, despite the two species not actually being related. However, the two do possess similar abilities, namely their spines and ability to curl into a ball.
    • Sonic and Amy have both referenced the fact that hedgehogs are burrowing mammals. The former when Sonic avoids a group of Egg Hammers and ducking into the sewers. And the latter, when Rouge is unable to find Sonic and Shadow following an avalanche, Amy notes the best way to find a hedgehog is to go to the ground.
  • Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Japan appears to adore the comic just as much as the West has as Vol. 1 has been doing so amazingly over there, its Japanese distributor plans on reprinting it to keep up with high demand. Its popularity is especially noteworthy given that Sonic has historically never been as popular in Japan compared to the West.
    • Due to the success of the first Sonic movie the Russian publisher, Eksmo decided to buy the rights for the comics. At first, the audience was dissatisfied with its translation, but a former fan translation group released its better translation of the first two volumes. As a result Sonic comics by IDW became the best-seller in Russia.
  • Growing the Beard: While the first 15 issues or so were criticized for being formulaic, easy to predict, and having no real stakes to speak of, the Metal Virus saga added a genuinely creepy threat, an emotionally-charged plotline, and Sonic showing regret over past actions, which satisfied fans who wanted the comic to be more developed and thoughtful.
  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • The Metal Virus saga's "lowest point" couldn't have come at a worse time in real life, when the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak swept throughout Asia, including Sega's homeland Japan. Not helping matter is that by the time issue #25 and the final arc of the saga, "All or Nothing", started releasing the entire world had at least one case of coronavirus, not unlike how nearly everyone in Sonic’s have been turned into zombies. Not to mention the comic got delayed for three months because of the real pandemic.
    • Dr. Eggman dismissing Belle as his daughter after his memories restored became much more of a sting as in Sonic Frontiers, he got himself another daughter figure with Sage that he truly cared about, essentially ditching his previous daughter in the process.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight;
    • This isn't the first time IDW got a license that Archie used to work on; Archie had published Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures, while IDW had the Ninja Turtles comic license since 2011.
    • During the Worlds Collide crossover, one of the things that caused a falling out between Wily and Eggman was because Eggman tried to kill Dr. Light due to seeing him as a threat to their plans which Wily was utterly pissed about because he wanted to break Light's spirit rather than kill him. In Issue #14 of this series, Eggman gives a very similar rant to Starline about not wanting to directly kill Sonic because he wants to break Sonic's spirit.
    • In Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): 30th Anniversary Special, Tails complained to Eggman on how he never gotten himself a robotic doppelganger in a form of Metal Tails, but instead just a silly Tails Doll. Cut to Sonic Superstars and there's an actual Metal Tails being featured as Battle Mode character.
  • Ho Yay:
    • While no official word has been given on her sexuality, Tangle is commonly interpreted by fans as lesbian — or at least, attracted to women — due to her fascinations with and how she seems to mainly interact with them. With their very friendly interactions in Issue #4, the pairing of Tangle and Blaze (or Blazangle) became popular. Tangle and Whisper's close friendship, and the fact that the duo have their own miniseries, has also made the pairing of them (Whispangle) popular. Issue #61 even snuck in a blurred lesbian flag behind the duo in one panel.
    • Dr. Starline is one of the biggest examples in the whole comic. His obsession with Dr. Robotnik is often seen as at least partially romantic as he's absolutely enamoured with the man. His reaction to Eggman giving him the boot is often compared to that of a jilted lover, Zavok even telling Starline "You don't need him." The Imposter Syndrome miniseries has him take Dr. Eggman's rejection poorly with his resentment of Metal Sonic making it clear that he sees him as a third wheel between him and Dr. Eggman. When he sees that Dr. Eggman still kept the action figure of him, he has a relapse and decides he wants Dr. Eggman by his side when he takes over the world. Issue #50 takes this to it's logical conclusion with Dr. Starline's dialogue showing that he's still enamored with Dr. Eggman. He even tells the mad doctor that he's doing this for him and that he wants Eggman to listen to him for once. Dr. Eggman is merely annoyed and treats Dr. Starline as a clingy Stalker with a Crush, even admitting that he had been taking precautions against him.
    • In Issue #3, there is a moment where Sonic places his arm on Knuckle' shoulder and laughs out, "Oh Knuckles, you're the salt of the earth," to which he is shown blushing in response before moving into battle. It has also been discovered that in the French translation of the issue, Sonic says to Knuckles that he's "the sun of [his] life" instead. Knuckles' reaction is strikingly similar to how he responds to Rouge brushing his shoulder with a remark in Issue #30, leaving some fans interpreting the parallels as him being Ambiguously Bi. This is further believed due to another parallel taking place immediately after Rouge leaves in the aforementioned Issue #30, where Knuckles is left staring at the moon waiting for Sonic to come back, not knowing the hedgehog is in Blaze's dimension. In the JP version of a Sonic X episode, Knuckles is also staring at the moon with Sonic on his mind, though he refuses to admit it to Rouge, blushing through his denial. With Rouge at the scene and Sonic in another dimension yet again, fans have been quick to notice a potential reference.
    • In the Chaos Races and Badnik Bases arc, Shadow catches Sonic, Bridal Carry-style after Starline tosses him from a great height off a roller coaster. Despite only lasting for a single panel, this did not go unnoticed at all.
      Sonic: (with a big, dorky grin) Oh! Hi, Shadow. Nice to see you, too!
    • Tails spends most of his fight with Kit complimenting his abilities, with Kit's reaction being rather...nervous.
  • I Knew It!:
    • Once the comic license left Archie's hands, there was a lot of speculation that Sega would take it to IDW since that company is a haven for comic books for licensed series (Boom Studios being another one). It was soon confirmed not a day after the news Archie had cancelled their own Sonic comic that IDW had become the new home for the blue blur's printed adventures.
    • Most people correctly guessed that the mysterious villain behind the chair at the end of Issue #6 was Neo Metal Sonic disguised as Eggman.
    • Several fans have correctly predicted that Sonic would end up landing in the Sol Dimension in issue 30 upon disposing the Warp Topaz with the Super Warp Portal and disappearing in the process in issue 29.
    • After the news that Classic Sonic and any characters that didn't make the jump to 3D (well prior to Sonic Adventure) wouldn't be allowed to be used for the comic, many guessed that they would likely show up in another book ala Sonic Universe. Lo and behold, it was announced Classic Sonic would get his own celebratory one-shot. Tails, Amy, and Knuckles would follow suit, getting their own specials focused on their classic counterparts.
    • Starline being the hooded figure in Chao Races and Badnik Bases. Even without the Late-Arrival Spoiler RI cover for Issue #35, fans were able to correctly guess his identity with details ranging from the outline of his boots, Rouge recognizing him from her time on the Faceship during the Metal Virus saga, and him glowing the same tri-color scheme as the symbol in the logo of the Bad Guys miniseries that was being published at the same time as the arc in the main book, which was later revealed to be Starline’s Tricore he obtained in that miniseries.
    • Plenty guessed that Belle was a creation of Mr. Tinker (Eggman while under amnesia), which was made pretty obvious due to sporting his dress colors and her mention of finding her "father". Issue #40note  ultimately confirms it.
  • Jerkass Woobie:
    • Surge and Kit become this when it's revealed what Starline did to them. Despite the two being responsible for an entire forest fire, causing a citywide blackout, and maintaining a pretty toxic relationship, they're only the way they are because of Starline subjecting them to psychological torment for weeks on end until their brain rewiring fit to his liking, as well as instilling them with triggers that force the two to succumb to him when they go rogue. Neither of them wanted this fate, and want to break free of Starline's influence and rule together.
    • Scrapnik Island: After his defeat, Mecha Sonic waited and waited for Eggman to come back and give him another chance, only for Eggman to never come and thusly abandon Mecha. This caused Mecha to have extremely low self-esteem. While he was given a new home and purpose by E-117 Sigma, the leader of the Scrapniks, Mecha Sonic believed that the Scrapniks live on false hope. Upon Sonic's arrival on Scrapnik Island, Mecha Sonic starts fighting Sonic again in an attempt to pull off a Grand Theft Me on Sonic, and while the Scrapniks stop it from happening, it establishes a Psychic Link between the two in the attempt. Mecha then lashes out violently at the Scrapniks for trying to interfere, with Sonic being able to hear his suppressed thoughts of rage and sorrow. When Sonic literally kicks the Jerkass half out of Mecha, the latter becomes suicidal, but thankfully snaps out of it when Sonic convinces him that his failures don't define him. He then is Easily Forgiven and shown sympathy by the Scrapniks, which prompts him to cry Tears of Remorse, albeit through Sonic, via their link.
  • LGBT Fanbase: Tangle and Whisper have developed a following amongst LGBT fans due to their close relationship and frequent Homoerotic Subtext with each other, with them being a couple quickly becoming popular fanon. It helps that IDW staff is very open to the idea, with Ian Flynn outright saying that the only reason it isn't already canon is thanks to mandates from Sega/Sonic Team prohibiting romance between main characters.
  • Love to Hate: Mimic the Octopus has gained some fans for being a truly menacing sociopathic Tentacled Terror whose powerful Voluntary Shapeshifting power and skill as a Manipulative Bastard are impressive yet genuinely threatening.
    M-R 
  • Magnificent Bastard: Metal Sonic, having underwent upgrades during the events of Sonic Forces, discovers that the Eggman Empire has been defeated and that Eggman himself has gone missing. Shapeshifting into Eggman and ruling the empire in his place, Metal Sonic leads coordinated attacks across the world while searching for Eggman to have him regain his place as ruler of the Empire. After discovering that Knuckles is on the surface from his observations of Sonic, Metal Sonic takes over the unprotected Angel Island and obtains the Master Emerald, ensuring that he'll be able to negate Sonic's Super form if he tries to use it. Even when defeated, the mercy of the heroes allows Metal Sonic to find the amnesiac Eggman and successfully restore his memories leading Eggman to return to his old ways. After the events of the Metal Virus, Metal Sonic single-handedly buys time for Eggman to escape by lying in wait and critically injuring Gemerl when the latter is about to apprehend Eggman. Proving to be as cunning as he was during Sonic Heroes while maintaining his loyalty to the doctor, Metal Sonic shows why Eggman views him as his greatest creation.
  • Memetic Badass: While she's had this reputation before, Vanilla the Rabbit's status as this is reinforced thanks to this comic, establishing some traits that emphasize her having a steely disposition past her pacifistic nature compared to past media. This includes being able to go full Mama Bear when the Metal Virus hit, supported by her being able to put the fear of god in Amy Rose, Rouge the Bat, and even Rough and Tumble, with only a sly smile or her cutting words, without needing to raise her voice. Since she's the mother of Cream, a notorious Game-Breaker that has a similar memetic badass status in the games, it's likely not a surprise.
  • Memetic Mutation:
    • Overly Excited SonicExplanation 
    • British SonicExplanation 
    • Jokes about Dr. Starline being a henpecked single father having to deal with two bratty kids came to fruition the moment Surge and Kit were revealed, with some even joking that it was his attempt to one-up Eggman and Metal Sonic. It eventually became phased out with time, however, when the third issue of Imposter Syndrome revealed that he kidnapped the two back when they were normal people and forcefully brainwashed them into becoming his cyborg minions, effectively stripping them of whomever they used to be and turning them into his own personal Sonic and Tails.
    • "Big Oof."Explanation 
    • HE SAID THE THINGExplanation 
  • Mis-blamed:
    • Shadow's characterization as an loner arrogant rival with temper problems, which many remark is similar to Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z, has been believed to be a result of SEGA mandates, following a secondhand statement made on Reddit regarding what Ian Flynn intended for Shadow's actions in issue #19— namely that Shadow was originally supposed to remove his inhibitor rings and unleash his full power against the Zombots, leaving some to believe the original plan was that Shadow would do so upon being infected to buy everyone else more time as opposed to letting his own arrogance take control. In 2022, however, Flynn has clarified that the only real change SEGA asked of him to make for that issue was to have Shadow not remove his inhibitor rings before fighting against the Zombot horde, indicating that Shadow was always intended to lose as a result of his own arrogance.
    • Omega's characterization with him saying quippy one liners was blamed by some fans as Flynn trying to make Omega into a "meme lord". In general, Omega has always been a hammy character barring one exception, (heck, BioWare turned him into an expy of HK-47 in their game), with his debut making him say one-liners like "WORTHLESS CONSUMER MODELS!" while smashing Eggman's robots. If anything, Flynn's characterization in IDW is toned down from the more comical Archie version of Omega, who was more cartoonish.
    • Amy's proactive role in the series as leader of the restoration has been critized by fans as Flynn's using Amy as a Suspiciously Similar Substitute of Sally Acorn from the Archie series. While there is some truth to it (Write What You Know is in full effect here), Amy's role is a side effect of her characterization in Sonic Forces, where she was one of the leaders of the resistance.
    • On the flip-side, the Deadly Six's inclusion was seen as some members of the community as Sega forcing the characters into the narrative. Ian Flynn, in multiple BumbleKast videos, confirmed their inclusion was his decision as a way to raise the stakes of the Metal Virus arc, as the Zeti's technopathy made them the best narrative choice for the control of the Zombots.
    • While Ian Flynn and other writers may or may not be blamed for certain developments, it's worth noting that they don't have absolute complete control like some will lead you to believe, and Sega still looked over and approved of the stories that have been published so far, meaning whatever part in the controversial elements the writers may have, Sega isn't completely innocent, either, since it ultimately went through because of their decision to allow it.
  • Moe: Due to just about every character having their fair share of Adorkable moments, along with the way they are occasionally drawn, there are more than a few instances where EVERYONE can be seen as this. Comic-exclusive characters such as Tangle, Whisper, and Jewel tend to get these reactions the most from fans.
  • Moral Event Horizon:
  • Narm:
  • Never Live It Down: Lanolin will probably not let fans forget the poor treatment she gave Silver in Issues #63-64, which ultimately led to him geeting booted out of the Diamond Cutters. Now granted, she is not the only character who grabs the Idiot Ball in that story, but many consider it extremely odd how Lanolin, a highly inexperienced soldier, completely dismisses Silver, an extremely powerful psychic and renowned hero of his own, as if he were just an incompetent klutz.
  • Nightmare Retardant:
    • Big's and Charmy's Zombot forms, at least appearance-wise. Ditto Cheese and Chocola, whose infected states look no worse than the average Dark Chao.
    • Cover D for Issue #50 has a few horrors here and there, but is otherwise a cheery and colorful work of art fit for a Milestone Celebration.
  • Older Than They Think:
    • Like in Sonic Forces, the comic having Sonic's world be separate from the human world seen in the Adventure games has raised a few eyebrows. However, Ian Flynn explained out in a Q&A that, even though it's never been brought up in-game, the "Two Worlds" canon has been part of Sonic's official lore since Sonic Adventure. He also pointed that this is why Sonic X also separated Sonic's world and the human world.
    • The explication as for why some of the Wisps are still present in Sonic's world was first officially stated in the story mode of Sonic Runners (which admittedly wasn't taken as canon at the time, being a mobile game and all, and was ultimately delisted from mobile stores after a few years).
    • Metal Sonic stated that after the events of Sonic Heroes, Dr. Eggman repaired Metal Sonic and removed the rebelliousness from his coding, this was first stated in the official Japanese website SONIC CHANNEL, explaining that after Heroes, Metal Sonic was 'punished' by Eggman by having his AI chip reprogrammed to return him back to the status of the loyal and obedient robot.note 
    • The Metal Virus Saga involves Sonic being affected by a technology-based virus which is slowly turning him into metal. Roboticization was a frequent concept used in the cartoons and Archie comics, the main difference being it happened immediately. In fact, during a brief period in the Karl Bollers run of Archie Sonic, Eggman was able to robotize anyone if he touched them, akin to King Midas from Greek Mythology.
    • This isn't the first time in the franchise Sonic's friends have been turned into zombies.
    • Vanilla and Cheese have been turned against Cream once before, when Boom-Boos possessed them in Sonic X Issues #13-14.
    • At the climax of the Metal Virus saga, Sonic seemingly vanished after he destroyed the Metal Virus when the Warp Topaz exploded, but later returned alive and well. Something similar happened in the Archie comics in Issue #125, when Sonic seemingly sacrificed himself to destroy the Quantum Dial, but later returned alive and well. Unlike in Archie, however, where Sonic was flung into the far reaches of the universe, and spent an entire year trying to get home, while everyone else believed him to be dead, IDW's Sonic had him land conveniently in Blaze's palace in the Sol Dimension (albeit with a brief case of amnesia) where he quickly recovered and returned home, and a few characters expected that he would return eventually.
    • Shadow's Suicidal Overconfidence already existed in the games. He goes to fight Mephiles in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), trapping himself in the future without a way to return back to the present. He went straight into the shark's mouth and was lucky Omega went to save him, but even then, he couldn't have known Omega would show up. The main difference is the framing, where Shadow's recklessness actually bites him in the butt here, whereas this trait is rarely touched upon when it shows up in the games.
    • Sonic's Thou Shalt Not Kill attitude towards his enemies is not purely an invention of this book. Contrary to popular belief, Sonic's generally been willing to let his enemies go when they're no longer an active threat, such as letting Eggman fly away in shambles following the Egg Viper fight in Sonic Adventure. The main difference, however, is that the comic's version of him tends to more strongly emphasize it— while letting Metal Sonic go was what he did at the end of Sonic Heroes, it was when Metal had already been shut down and left to the mercy of other characters (such as Shadow, Omega or Eggman), in contrast to how this comic had him and Tails repair Metal enough for him to escape back to Eggman's base.
  • Opinion Myopia: With how well-received the comic was, especially coming off the Archie comics' untimely cancellation and the polarizing reception of Sonic Forces for its story and presentation, fans have been known to feel very strongly about the IDW books and viewing them as some of the franchise's best content in years by that point. While it is true that a number of the IDW comics' critics have been known to be veteran Archie fans agreed to be judging the book and its fans out of bad faith and a need for attention, fans of IDW have been infamous for frequently subjecting anyone with strong criticisms of the comic to sizable and very loud amounts of backlash. It got to the point that Daniel Barnes, the writer of the "Scrapnik Island" miniseries and other minor stories in the IDW comics, has said on multiple occasions that fans should not get so upset towards negative opinions given toward the book, and that people should be free to criticize the book as strongly as they wish so long as there's no personal attacks towards the team working on it.
  • Pandering to the Base: Blaze's inclusion in the Neo Metal Sonic arc can be viewed as an attempt to respond to those who complained about her absence from Sonic Forces, but even then her only major contribution to the arc at large is to destroy half the Egg Fleet as her Burning Blaze self, despite being beckoned to Sonic's world by the Sol Emeralds as if it was an urgent task. To use Silver as a contrast, his own role in Forces was that he knocked a Phantom Ruby prototype off of Infinite which the Avatar eventually used to turn the tide of the final battle, and his presence in the Neo Metal Sonic arc itself was meant to foreshadow the then-upcoming Metal Virus arc, in which his most major contribution of using his psychokinesis to help Sonic eradicate the Metal Virus was also one that only he could have pulled off, in contrast to how Blaze's role in the first arc was to functionally act as the team's extra powerhouse against Neo Metal Sonic's scheme.
  • Rescued from the Scrappy Heap:
    • The Deadly Six were widely despised by the fans for being generic, one-dimensional villain stereotypes without any real character behind them. Prior attempts to rectify the situation were undermined by limited screentime or storylines that didn’t fully justify their presence. As villains in the comic proper, however, they're written as being far less comical and considerably more terrifying as they usurp control of the Metal Virus from Eggman and become the new Big Bads of the arc. As seen with Base-Breaking Character, however, their shift from comedic to serious isn't universally agreed upon, and some readers still dislike them regardless.
      • Zavok especially has gotten this, thanks to the Bad Guys miniseries putting more focus on him as a character and allowing more emphasis on his cunning side.
    • In the first few years, The IDW version of Shadow was widely derided for Executive Meddling causing his anti-hero traits to be exaggerated, leaving him a straight Jerkass without his likable traits, along with oft hitting him with The Worf Effect such as when his Suicidal Overconfidence gets him turned into a Zombot. This resulted in the authors shelving him until the mandates were loosened. The Urban Warfare arc saw him portrayed as more level-headed and less antagonistic, while being more than capable of backing up his boasts of power, which was received more warmly in comparison.
    S-T 
  • Salvaged Story:
    • IDW as a story feels like its author, Ian Flynn, trying to fix how the characters were portrayed in Sonic Forces.
      • Amy and Knuckles, while still keeping their role as leaders of the Resistance, slowly return to their established characterizations in an attempt to combine both roles. note  Tails likewise returns to his independent role, after Forces portrayed him as scaredy.
      • Metal Sonic and Zavok, two characters that were cloned by Infinite in Forces, receive a lot more focus in the comic. With Metal Sonic, the story explains what happened to him, since Forces decided to use a facsimile instead of the real deal or other Sonic doppelgangers, and expand on both Eggman and Metal's relationship; with Zavok, Flynn fleshes the character out and returns him to his original characterization of a dangerous enemy to both Eggman and Sonic, and make him join a group of villains like Forces led people to believe. Time will tell if this applies to Chaos in the future.
    • Blaze was announced to appear within the fourth issue of the comics, after having been absent in Forces, which the comic takes place after.
    • Issue #7 is one for Sonic Heroes in that The Unfought Neo Metal Sonic and Sonic actually have an awesome one-on-one fight.
    • The entire Metal Virus Saga seemed to be a clear effort to give Cream the Rabbit much needed focus after being one of few noteworthy characters left out of Sonic Forces, being replaced by the Chao (and Omochao) in Team Rose for Team Sonic Racing without even a namedrop in the story, and overall being one of the most Out of Focus characters in the franchise as of late. Cream's bravery and heroism being brought up by other characters and actively shown as well as her getting to fight Zeena and Zavok in Issue #27 and Issue #30 respectively might also be an attempt to refute the common perception of Cream being a weak and useless character. Ian Flynn had also received criticism from vocal Cream fans during the Archie Comics for underutilizing Cream after her introduction, particularly in the reboot, which would make the Metal Virus arc three levels of a saving throw for Cream's character.
    • Silver as a whole has been much more competent, but Issue #29 has him finally go Super again after over a 14-year absence, showing just how powerful and intricate his psychokinesis is, and being integral to stopping the Metal Virus.
    • Issue #31 has Shadow reflecting on his actions from the Metal Virus saga, and acknowledges his poor judgment in ignoring Sonic's advice resulting in him being infected. Despite actually being a watered down version of what was originally intended, the scene still goes a long way in addressing the controversial nature of said actions among the fanbase.
    • The heroes' battle with Eggman in Issue #32 can be seen as addressing lingering complaints about unfavorable recent depictions of Sonic's friends in the games. Together, the Restoration, the Chaotix, Cream, Cheese, Gemerl, and Rouge put up a spectacular fight against a huge Eggman mech powered by Omega and do a real number on it, without help from Sonic or other powerful allies such as Knuckles, Shadow, Silver, and Blaze. Although Eggman eventually gains the upper hand, the heroes ultimately hold him off just long enough for Sonic to return and free Omega, who himself then gets chance to shine as he finishes the job.
    • Two of the major criticisms of the Metal Virus saga, as stated above and below, were the excessive length and excessively downer tone for the majority of it. The first arc immediately after it, Chao Races and Badnik Bases easily rectifies both with a much more manageable length of just 4 issues and a considerably lighter story and tone.
    • Issue #50 is very much this for those who believe that Dr. Eggman was made dumber than in the games and that Dr. Starline has been hijacking the plot. Dr. Eggman is especially at his best here, staying on top of Dr. Starline during their fight and effectively taking precautions against all his tricks, showing that this Dr. Eggman can still be as every bit as dangerous and ruthless as he was in some of his most notable game appearances, while utterly tearing Starline's plans up in only a few minutes. It is even further heavily implied that Eggman's previous seeming disinterest in Dr. Starline and his plans might just have been an Obfuscating Stupidity act.
    • Issue #55 has Surge decide to kill Dr Eggman this time, though the doctor grabs her by the hair and slams her into the ground like he did with her creator. This goes two ways: Eggman's first run in with Surge was accused of giving him Plot Armour to kickstart the Overpowered Arc without killing him. This time, Surge decides she's not going to be so merciful this time. Dr. Eggman's response also continues on from Issue #50, showing that he doesn't need a machine to put his enemies in their place.
    • At the time of its release, before Sega allowed both Modern and Classic Sonic's continuities to be fully streamlined as one, Scrapnik Island Issue #2 has Mecha Sonic recalling Eggman's programming, which causes him to have flashbacks of his fights against Sonic and Knuckles, but with them in the modern art style. This comes with the implication that, even though the Classic characters are relegated to only showing up in Classic-centric storylines, those games still ended up happening in the Modern era, which helps to lessen the backlash caused by the Fan-Disliked Explanation.
  • Shipping:
    • While not new, the comic's revamp of Sonic and Amy's dynamic as more mutually-supportive, with Amy's crush being less blatant but still existing, along with them getting several great fight scenes together, led to something of a resurgence for the Sonamy ship (especially among fans who dropped it during her Flanderization in the 2000's). Modern shippers of the pairing tend to be huge fans of the comic.
    • Notable early fandom ships include Tangle/Blaze (Tangaze) for how much the former fawned over the latter upon their meeting, Sonic/Tangle (Sonangle) for how similar their personalities are, and Silver/Whisper (Silvisper) because of how he fanboyed over her and the scene where he asks if he could be part of her team.
    • Whisper/Tangle (Whispangle) exploded in popularity in the wake of their miniseries due to their blossoming friendship and is the most popular ship among the Sonic IDW fandom by far. It’s since gotten support from many behind-the-scenes creators, with many a Fandom Nod, up to including a blurred Lesbian flag behind the duo in Issue #61.
    • Dr. Eggman/Dr. Starline is another due to the latter's obsessive desire to work with him and his admiration with the mad doctor's exploits. Starline/Infinite aka "Starfinite" also exists, though it's far more obscure and the two have actually yet to meet (assuming that Infinite is somehow still alive).
    • Fans began shipping Belle with Tails after Evan Stanley posted some preliminary sketches of them interacting. After Belle was finally introduced in Issue #34, this ship became even more popular.
    • Some fans have taken to shipping Surge and Amy, even though they never met until two years after Surge debuted. Surge/Sonic is also a popular pairing for different reasons. The former even gets a nod on the first page of Issue #67:
      Sonic: I have so many questions.
      Surge: Ain't it obvious? I'm chilling with your bestie.
  • Ship-to-Ship Combat: Whisper/Tangle shippers are known to feud with anyone who ships either character with a male character. While their defensiveness is understandable, it eventually reached a point where it prompted Ian Flynn note  to tell fans to knock it off.
  • Signature Scene:
    • Sonic and Tangle exchanging introductions while surrounded by Egg Pawns in Issue #4. This moment was used in promotional images to build up hype for Tangle before her public reveal.
    • Silver exclaiming "Oh, Crap!" in Issue #8, if only because profanity, however mild, is rare in Sonic media. This would also be the first time that "crap" would be used in the comics, with other characters using the same mild profanity here and there.
    • Shadow's poor showing against the Zombots in Issue #19 that gets him turned into one of them himself.
    • Tangle's showing in Issue #24, where she performs a Last Stand before turning into a Zombot, along with Whisper's subsequent breakdown.
    • The "Zombot silhouettes shot" that closes Issue #25, for being one of the purest examples of Nightmare Fuel in both the comic and the entire franchise.
    • Cream and Gemerl versus Zeena in Issue #27.
    • The moment in Issue #29 where Super Sonic and Super Silver show up.
    • Sonic becoming Mr. Needlemouse in Issue #31 after losing his memory upon the Metal Virus' destruction.
    • The action sequences in Issue #50: Sonic vs. Surge and their clash of ideals, Tails vs. Kit showing how far Tails has come under Sonic's wing, and the fight between Eggman and his treacherous Fanboy Starline. In particular, Eggman establishes why he's the series' Big Bad as he tells Starline that he let the platypus play himself before subjecting him to a Curb-Stomp Battle.
  • So Okay, It's Average:
    • Pretty much what more than a few fans think of the earlier issues of the comic. While it is almost unanimously agreed that the artwork is gorgeous, a significant amount of the characterization is well done, and the new characters have lots of potentials, some weren't particularly fond of how the comic was set up, and thought the more streamlined stories of the issues were formulaic, predictable, and lacked any genuine stakes, as well as having similar, if not worse levels of executive meddling from Sega, just like the rebooted Archie Comics. However, this isn't universal, as a lot of fans who loved those issues forgave the flaws since the comic had just started, and would rather the comic take its time to build up to higher stakes, since rushed storylines are one of the pacing problems that plagued the reboot of the Archie comics.
    • Some later stories like "Test Run" and "Trial by Fire" were thought to be fine, but felt as though the threats could've been a bit better portrayed and don't really challenge the heroes as advertised, making them come off as anti-climatic.
  • Squick:
    • The Zombots in general are no picnic to behold, but Zombot!Tangle takes the cake and runs with it.
    • Zavok's giant form, which features him having rage-filled Blank White Eyes and Tainted Veins that run throughout his whole upper body.
    • The panel in Imposter Syndrome #3 showing Surge and Kit in Starline's test tubes, both of them naked and writhing in agony.
  • Surprisingly Improved Sequel: The first arcs of the comic pick up right where Sonic Forces ended, and are significantly better received than its storyline due to the stronger writing, letting characters besides Sonic shine, introducing well-liked new characters like Tangle, and spinning a proper story arc out of the formation of the Resistance and aftermath of the Eggman War, plot points that felt wasted in the original game.
  • Take That, Scrappy!:
    • Zavok's Humiliation Conga just before and after the Metal Virus' destruction: he suffers two curb-stomp defeats in a row, is told off by a preschool-age girl, and gets arrested, all in a matter of minutes. His defeat at the climax of Bad Guys also counts, with Eggman defeating and almost killing Zavok in a spectacular fashion without having to team up with the heroes.
    • In Chao Races and Badnik Bases, Omochao refuses to let Cream enter the races because of her age and later gets in the heroes' way as they rush to evacuate White Park before the avalanche hits. In the latter case, Amy shows Omochao who's boss.
  • They Changed It, Now It Sucks!:
    • The news that some of the game characters were forbidden by SEGA for being used because of the now separate eras of classic Sonic and modern Sonic, such as Mighty, Ray and the Hooligans (Nack/Fang, Bean, and Bark), did not go over well. Many fans find it utterly ridiculous for SEGA to restrict themselves like that, especially since those characters (or in the Hooligans' case their designs) did appear in Mania for the first time in decades.note  That Ian Flynn himself pointed out there was a time when he wasn't even allowed to use Cream and Omega in the Archie series and things might change in the future did little to mitigate this, though Cream, her family, and Omega eventually appeared. It took until 2022-2023 that elements of both eras were allowed to intermingle, such as Mecha Sonic, a character from the classic games, showed up in the "Modern" period. With the release of Sonic Superstars and TailsTube's acknowledgement of how these classic characters are still active, it's lessened this sentiment, though they have yet to make an appearance in the modern period.
    • Fans of Shadow have expressed disappointment in several mandates that ended up greatly affecting his characterization during the comic's early years. Most notably, an incident in issue #19 that was re-written to make him come off as overconfident and rash, and a reveal from Word of God that, according to Sega, Shadow apparently doesn't consider Rouge and Omega as friends. He is still considered to have some stand-out moments, such as an Author's Saving Throw for the Issue #19 debacle. He would make one more appearance during the Chao Races & Badnik Bases arc, before being shelved until the guidelines were loosened. It wasn't until Urban Warfare where Shadow was re-characterized to someone that the fans were pleased with.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
    • Shadow becoming a Zombot in the Metal Virus arc. Imagine the sheer threat posed by a Zombie Infectee with all of Sonic's speed, plus Shadow's Teleport Spam. The heroes would likely need to pull out all the stops to contain that. What actually happens is the infected Shadow can't access his powers, or even use his rocket skates, turning him into a glorified Elite Mook at best and making the controversial reasons for his infection sting even more.
    • The Shadow Androids appear in the backstory of Whisper, and are the ones who ended up killing the Diamond Cutters. It wasn't until four years after their introduction to the comics in real time that they finally made their return in the Urban Warfare arc of the main series, and even then, they're eliminated in one issue by the real Shadow.
    • The sheer suddenness and totality of Metal Sonic's Badass Decay in Years 5 and 6 marks him as this, considering he started out as one of the comic's most formidable villains and the Big Bad of the Neo Metal Sonic's Revenge Saga.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
    • Despite the potential idea of it, Sonic never discovers that it wasn't Starline who brought Eggman back, but Metal Sonic, making the Metal Virus arc his own fault for repairing Metal Sonic.
    • Sonic's amnesia only lasted for two issues, even though it was an interesting idea that could've had long-term effects for the story. It came and went so quick that one might question why it even happened at all. And apparently, so did the comic itself, as that plot point wasn't even mentioned in Issue #32's recap page.
      • Sonic being missing and his friends having to fend for themselves without him could have been an interesting idea for at least ten issues.
    • The Chao races of the "Chao Races and Badnik Bases'' arc are only featured in two issues of the story and then swept to the wayside for the reminder of it like an afterthought. What we do get is so quick, it barely warrants even being in the title since there's not much development in it: Cheese loses the first race, wins the second, then goes on to help some Chao imprisoned by Clutch, the end. Yeah, it's just four issues, but it feels like they wanted to shoehorn Starline and Shadow in so badly that they made a concessions and cut that plotline short.
    • The Overpowered arc has a multitude of interesting plot points that ultimately go nowhere. Kit rejoining Surge was sort of a Foregone Conclusion, leading some fans to question why they were ever separated at all; Surge's hallucinations of Starline and Sonic's leg injury are swept under the rug after Issue #54; and the much-hyped Enemy Mine at the climax is so half-baked and ineffective in-universe that it comes off as an Ass Pull to shoehorn Eggman and his robots into the story.
  • Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: The Metal Virus Saga had made some fans feel way (see Arc Fatigue above). To be fair, Sonic and his friends being totally helpless against a given threat is an interesting premise...except half the main arc has nothing but the heroes losing and all the misery that entails. All of the comic relief heroes getting Zombot-ified sours the tone even further, and worst of all, the villains responsible for the arc's events have Joker Immunity, ensuring they get off much easier than they deserve tonote . By the time the heroes hit rock-bottom, even those who enjoyed the drama agreed it had run its course and begged for it to end already.
    U-W 
  • Ugly Cute: Belle comes off as this to some fans, being an obvious marionette which would be off-putting compared to the other characters, yet the childish leprechaun-like look makes up for it. This is lampshaded in Issue #37 when some Restoration volunteers remark on Belle's appearance:
    A volunteer: What kind of robot is that?
    Another volunteer: Kinda creepy... what's with her nose?
  • Unexpected Character:
    • Fans were surprised when solicitations for issue #18 showed that Gemerl would debut as his game counterpart, G-Merl, had only appeared in one game from 2004. It was especially noticeable that he appeared before other more well-known Sonic characters like E-123 Omega or Big the Cat. Though with Flynn's use of Gemerl at the tail end of his Archie run and IDW's much smaller character pool to draw from meant his appearance wasn't completely out of left field.
    • The Scrapnik Island miniseries had two left field announcements. The first was the return of Mecha Knuckles, with many being surprised considering how obscure he is. The bigger bombshell before the miniseries' debut however was when solicitations and covers for the second issue revealed that Mecha Sonic was making a comeback as well. Not only was it during a time where Metal Sonic is well-established as the go-to robotic Sonic, but Mecha's a character that only ever appeared in the Classic era, even getting a brief nod in the Classic-centric 30th Anniversary one-shot, so Mecha appearing in a series distinctly set in the "Modern" era was seen as seemingly nothing short of a miracle at the time.
    • While Mighty, Ray, and the Hooligans were practically expected out of the Classic era thanks to their appearance in Sonic Mania, almost nobody expected the Witchcarters to make a comeback in the Tails' 30th Anniversary one-shot, especially since they hadn't been seen in any official Sonic media since the post-Super Genesis Wave Archie Comics. The "making of" section of the one-shot even mentions that it was a miracle they made it in at all, since their inclusion had to be directly approved of by Sega.
    • Many fans were surprised when previews for the Urban Warfare arc revealed the return of the Shadow Androids, who had up to that point only appeared in the comics was during the Tangle & Whisper miniseries, where they had killed Whisper's old team, the Diamond Cutters, in a video recorded flashback. After that, they never made any appearances for nearly four years in real time until this arc, with some mistaking that Urban Warfare is the first appearance of the Shadow Androids in IDW's canon.
    • While not a major character, a bunch of Ferox Chao from Sonic Chronicles make a surprise cameo in issue 33, which was a surprise since, due to the game's infamous legal issues, it was assumed that even minor elements introduced in that game were unlikely to ever come back.
  • Unintentionally Unsympathetic: While Sonic's Thou Shalt Not Kill mentality is probably meant to emphasize his purity of heart and make him fit the "superhero" ideal, some readers point out that he appears hypocritical in his interactions with Eggman, Shadow, Metal Sonic, Starline and Belle, making it seem like he only cares about his principles to the detriment of his own allies and the rest of the world.
  • Vindicated by History: The Metal Virus arc has gained more appreciation in the years following its release, as Trade Paperbacks and The IDW Collection allow it to be enjoyed as a whole without any of the Arc Fatigue, Schedule Slip and uncomfortable real-life parallels it suffered in its initial release. Many fans, both new and old, have gone on to praise its emotional moments as some of the best storytelling in any piece of Sonic media.
  • What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: The Darker and Edgier stories can be this.
    • The Tangle and Whisper miniseries has a sociopathic Psycho Knife Nut as the main antagonist, who betrayed and helped Eggman slaughter the Diamond Cutters, whom Whisper was part of, in the past and is now trying to hunt down and kill Whisper and her friends.
    • The Metal Virus arc, with its kid-unfriendly dark tone, has 90% of the population being turned into frightening zombies and the survivors losing hope every moment. And no sooner has the Darkest Hour struck than the Zeti show up to be complete sadists and make things worse, such as Zor openly declaring he wants to have a kid zombified and make the father watch. In fact, the original artwork for #25 cover RI-B had blood.note 
    • The Imposter Syndrome miniseries had Dr. Starline kidnap two kids and subjected them to horrifying experiments that caused said kids, Surge and Kit, to forget about their past lives and only have the goal of taking down both Sonic and Tails. Unfortunately, after Dr. Starline is Killed Off for Real, Surge and Kit still have psychological and emotional trauma from being experimented on. The following Overpowered arc delved into the deep seated traumas of Surge and Kit, where Surge uses the Dynamo Cage to get more powerful, but starts suffering hallucinations of Dr. Starline, which traumatizes her even further. The fact that Imposter Syndrome and Overpowered tackled the issue of gaslighting and the emotional and psychological trauma it has on its victims is pretty complex and intense for a kids' comic.
  • The Woobie:
    • Whisper and Belle are some of the series' biggest examples:
    • Every hero is this during the Metal Virus Saga, but Cream especially gets the short end of the stick, losing her hometown, her two Chao, her mother, and most of her friends to Zombot-ification before meeting the same fate after a torture session from Zeena—and she's only six years old! It's amazing she doesn't have PTSD after all that.
    • Amy also has it bad during the same saga. Having to co-ordinate planet-wide evacuations during a Zombie Apocalypse almost single-handedly, feeling personally responsible for every escape shuttle that doesn't make it, seeing Cream go through all of the above, all while Sonic is infected, slowly succumbing and unable to be close to her. And just when the crisis seems over, Sonic is lost to another dimension and she has to subdue the remaining Deadly Six without a chance to rest or grieve (note her Exhausted Eye Bags in these panels), and has to deal with all the post-crisis paperwork at the Restoration while clearly horribly burnt out and depressed. Thankfully, Jewel offers to take over her job so she can have a much-needed break.

Top