IDW Sonic the Hedgehog Comics General Discussion

Kaotic, are you going to nitpick everything Cream does or doesn't do?

What can I say? I'm a natural nitpicker and I'm especially critical of Cream's writing. After the shitty treatment she got in both Archie continuities and being neglected in the games, I want IDW to present Cream in the best possible light, mainly so more fans will favor Cream (which, in turn, could convince SEGA to utilize her again). And thankfully, IDW has been doing Cream good, with Issue 26 being a strict exception, but nonetheless I'm going to point out details surrounding Cream that I feel could've been done better for her sake

In this case, I feel Cream could've gotten more hits on Zeena and/or break the Zeti's control over Gemerl by bashing the side of his head rather than him doing it himself, to showcase her badassery all the more (as things happened, Gemerl did most of the fighting while Cream only got to spin dash into Zeena and yank the Emerald out. Still very good, but could've been moreso). And Cream not getting infected would've been preferable, especially when Tails and Amy walk away from their fight unscathed. But I can let Cream's infection slide if she's not the only one who gets infected fighting one of the Deadly Six

Like I said, I am satisfied with what the issue did for Cream as a whole, even adding on that it's enough to maybe get me over Archie!Cream (I only say "maybe" cause emotions are a fickle thing). I'm just feeling that things could've been played out so Cream gets equal action to Gemerl, if only so that robot doesn't overshadow Cream's spotlight and attention from fans. And that sort of balance is important if Cream and Gemerl are going to be paired together frequently in future stories: as neglected as Gemerl is, Cream had also been left out of the action for far too long and fans look down on her more (considering many fans were quick to excuse Cream's blatant shafting in Team Sonic Racing because "too young to drive"), so she needs that lion's share just as much, if not more

Edited by KaoticKanine on Mar 25th 2020 at 7:09:44 AM

I feel like you care way too much what other people think. Not everyone is going to like Cream no matter how good you think her writing is, especially since she's one of the more minor characters. Just enjoy her when she's around like now and stop worrying about what other people care about.

That's a good idea.

Is there any chance Sonic might keep Zavok at bay by threatening to infect him? It's a short term solution, but still, we know know the Zeti can be infected, so it's not an idle threat.

Well, it would help if fan opinion didn't influence how commonly a given character appears and their importance in said appearances. Just saying, the Chao taking Cream's rightful spot in Team Rose in TSR had to have been in part because the creators felt those water babies were more loved than Cream. And I feel I should point out that Cream didn't start off as one of the more minor characters; she was intended to be the sidekick to Amy Rose, one of the main cast, and even got promotion almost equal to Shadow in the mid-2000's. Goes without saying that I want Cream back in that position and it's unpopular fan opinion that's at least partially keeping her a "more minor" character, with shoddy writing and utilization that caused her unpopularity in the first place

But point taken. I can at least be sure that Cream won't ever be dropped from IDW since Ian Flynn loves her and her partnership, thank heavens. So I'll try and not care about other's opinions One of my fellow Cream fans also pointed out that people remember fallen heroes better, in good context, so I'm officially over the infection part lol

Edited by KaoticKanine on Mar 25th 2020 at 9:25:40 AM

So Cream got infected off-panel?

Yup.

It's impossible to tell when it happened. Zeena held her up to the Zombots at one point, then there's a scene transition, and when we come back, they don't seem to have moved. Gemerl breaks free, and knocks down Zeena, who lets Cream go. After that, they manage to get the emerald from her. It's not clear exactly when Cream was grabbed, but it could have been at the point when Zeena dropped her.

"Those water babies were loved more than Cream"

Yes. Yes they were. Sonic Adventure 2 biggest appeal were always the Chao, Shadow and else were the second course. Not to mention Cheese is the one many fans feel is the actual badass of the duo, as Cream has traits western fans do not like, including her voice. Cream's game breaking? It's Cheese, not her.

Chao, "the water babies", by comparison are similar to Pokemon in how cute they are.

My SA 2 file became a Chao Garden file after a certain amount of time. It'd be cute to see Cream raising Chao besides Cheese and Chocola.

I'm just glad someone remembered Gemerl. Poor dude has been stuck in Comic-Book Limbo (Eh, videogame) since his last appearance, making the Sonic Chronicles exclusion of his baffling.

Okay, but does that make it sensible to straight up replace Cream with the Chao in Team Rose for Team Sonic Racing? By that logic, it'd be perfectly okay to have Gamma take Omega's spot in Team Dark, since he's still a fan favorite. And nevermind that Cream herself perfectly represents the Chao via Cheese

As for Cheese being the "true" badass of the duo, have you not played Advance 2 and 3, which allowed Cream to jump, roll, and spin dash through enemies? Heck, I beat all of Advance without once using Chao Attack. And this very issue had Cream holding her own against Zeena and Gemerl without Cheese. And don't forget, the Chao are dependent on their caretaker to be remotely strong, not unlike Pokemon. And indeed, in Pokemon, it's not the Pokemon themselves that get the credit, but their trainers. Same deal applies to Cream and Cheese And what the hell does Cream's lesser Western appeal have to do with badassery? Having a high pitched, which isn't even a complaint about her voice anymore, has nothing to do with badassery

Edited by KaoticKanine on Mar 30th 2020 at 2:00:25 PM

Man, if fan opinion influenced which character appears or not, we wouldn't be stuck with only Sonic for the last decade.

That's a straight up misconception.

....but...isn't that exactly what's been happening (in the main games, since other characters have been doing stuff in spin-offs).

I mean, while Shadow has at least been playable in Forces, that's a rare exception isn't it.

I think other characters were playable in the Storybook games, but those are kinda spin-off games too.

The playable characters in the storybook games don't count: they are counterparts.

I'm talking of the knights.

Isn't there also some Mini-game stuff with other characters though?

People liking the Chao in general would be countered by them putting them on a team with Omochao of all characters, wouldn't it?

... Fan opinion is exactly why we've had "Sonic only" games for the past decade. Everyone and their mother was very vocally complaining about how there were too many characters, how none of them were "good", and only wanted Sonic playable. But even then, fan opinion is what allowed Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and (to a much lesser extent) Shadow to continue making appearances and be promoted. And it's because of the sheer outcry to her absence in Forces that Blaze was featured in Issue 4 of IDW and played a significant role in the "Battle for Angel Island" arc, whereas Cream didn't get to appear until 9 issues after her intended debut (and subsequently missed out on some serious action, something two Canon Foreigners got to enjoy). Just saying, fan opinion may not be the ultimate decider of things, but they do influence things

Fair point. Though I chalk up Omochao being a necessary evil so the Chao had someone to shout taunts and talk in story mode, since Chao cannot speak. Which only makes having those things take Cream's place all the more freaking stupid

If fan opinion mattered that much, some of the Archie characters would have made the jump to the games.

"Which allowed Cream to jump, roll and spindash on enemies, heck I beat all advance games without using the Chao attack"

This is like saying I beat a game without using Tails flight or Knuckles glide and climb.

Sure it is possible (in some games I think) but is missing the main reason their gameplay is beloved.

Cream main reasoning for being a Memetic Badass is her Chao attacks of doom.

I, honestly didn’t mind Cream not appearing till the issue she did. While her appearing earlier would have been nice she’s basically been one of the most focused on heroes this arc, probably only behind Sonic, Tails and Amy. And seeing as they only have so many characters to bring in I get wanting to hold off her appearing till the arc where she actually gets focus rather than just being another fighter. If anything Omega’s the one who got shafted, he got written off in 2 issues lol. :p

I like the Chao being included in TSR, almost any time I play with friends someone always picks them. I would have rather the team be Amy, Cream and them though. I don’t hate Big at all but, he’s probably there because memes. I honestly don’t think TSR’s roster was bad and every character in the game fits (even Zavok to a degree) the only issue is the limited amount of characters. More should have been added rather than anyone needing to be replaced. Like there really should have been more characters how were there only 15? lol

Edited by tms_forever1 on Mar 26th 2020 at 9:50:32 AM

Hence why I clarified that fan opinion can influence decisions with regards to characters, not be the ultimate decider; maybe not unless that opinion is unanimous with all branches of a fandom. I'm hopeful that, with positive, vocal opinion among a greater number of fans, Cream would make more appearances in games and spin-off media, ideally with a heightened role such as playability. The Freedom Fighters, however, are a much more difficult situation that would require the "unanimous, global fan demand". Whereas Cream is a direct So J/Sonic Team creation for the games whom they still keep around for spin-off games, the Freedom Fighters are the creation of an animation studio for a long since canceled tv show based on the American continuity of Sonic that had been defunct since at least 1998, so So J/Sonic Team would need a hell of a lot more convincing to include them in the games. And sadly, there's as much refusal for their inclusion among fans as there are demands for their inclusion

I'll admit, the only reason for why I beat Advance 2 as Cream without using Chao Attack is because I didn't even know the move existed when I first played the game XD It wasn't until years later when I discovered the attack on accident and realized that was Cream's main gimmick, not the flight. And ironic that you mention the Chao Attack to be the reason Cream is a Memetic Badass, since the reason I stated that was because Tomodachi was using the Chao Attack as a point against her being a Memetic Badass

You make a very good point! And I just realized, I shouldn't be complaining about Cream's delayed debut considering what happened with Omega and Big ^^; I do hope those two get some good limelight after this saga

And totally! That roster limit is the single most mind-boggling decision ever, and one I feel damaged the game

He was pointing out the Chao where the main reason for Cream to become such a meme like that, I only reiterated that.

And while it is true that Cream can fight without Chao, most of her incredible strength comes from them, aside from that the only thing she has is stuff other characters already do arguably better than her (aside from healing powers in a non canon game)

Isn't her flight in advance 2 like a direct upgrade over Tails', though? Sure, Cheese makes bosses easy, but her other gimmick can't be denied.

Fair enough. But that's exactly why I'd like for Cream to be able to fight without relying entirely on Cheese, otherwise what does she herself provide to the cast aside from being another flyer? Of course, Cream having official healing abilities would seriously remedy that here's hoping Ian finds a way to do that

Cream's flight had better horizontal movement and she could cancel out of it, whereas Tails had to either land or run out of stamina, but her stamina is a lot shorter than his. I think Tails' flight time is 8-10 seconds, while Cream's is 6 or so. And no, I'm not mistaking their canon ages for their respective flight time, that's sincerely what I recall

Oh wow I completely forgot Big was even in the comics ngl. He really got shafted lol. I hope he gets more time too. ^^ honestly I found him being in the middle of the crowd a funny cameo but it is jarring that the first time he appeared was as a zombot in a shock panel.

And agreed on the roster kinda hurting the game. Like even if they wanted to stick to the team gimmick for the story they could have just added a few unlockable characters that don’t fit on a team together and I doubt anyone would mind. The chao in the story could have easily been Cream and then say, them, Espio, and someone who could be a power character could have been unlockable. The Chao’s inclusion probably would have been more of a fun surprise if they were unrevealed bonus characters, and having unlockables could have helped the game’s longevity a bit

Edited by tms_forever1 on Mar 26th 2020 at 12:13:15 PM