Extra Nate: Sonic Canon is a Mess

Today we released a discussion of Sonic The Hedgehog, the comic, but not the comic you’re probably thinking of. There was a brief discussion of Sonic Canon, because Sonic Canon is a mess. It’s terrible. You can’t convince me otherwise.

Now I’m going to talk like I’m an authority on this topic because I know you’re either already a Sonic Lore Master (in which case, go away) or you won’t actually do your own research and can just accept what I’m saying as fact. First there’s the issue that Sonic was designed to be “cool” and so his canon was adapted to suit western tastes after it left Japan. This includes calling Dr. Eggman ” Dr. Robotnik”, setting Sonic in Mobius rather than Earth, and seemingly not having any other humans around other than Eggman. This was the canon of the original Sega Genesis games.

While the first Sonic games on the Sega Genesis were the only kids on the block, there were a bunch of different Sonic shows. There was The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog which was aimed at 4-year-olds (I’m guessing, based on its humor and how it looks like shit) and at the same time that was airing, they also aired SatAM which was a more serious take on Sonic. This was the show based on the Archie comics, where Sonic was a freedom fighter/terrorist fighting Dr. Robotnik alongside Sally the Squirrel and many of his other friends that never actually turn up in the game.

Besides the Archie comic, there was also the Fleetway comic over in the UK which had its own version of Sonic. This Sonic seemed to be a little more of an asshole (you can watch a youtube video from Cybershell that I won’t link here because nobody is actually going to look this up. Editor-Ben looked it up because he believes in this audience…). The Fleetway comic lasted a few years before being discontinued.

Sonic Adventure 1 changed everything. It released with the Dreamcast in 1998 and 1999 when it came to America. It streamlined all of the Sonic game canon… mostly by just dropping all the American stuff. You know, because America isn’t your single biggest market, Sega, you fucking idiots. No it’s fine, I’m sure the Dreamcast will be a smash hit and you’ll be taken to new heights in no time, dumbass. Anyway I’m not bitter. They set Sonic on Earth, alongside humans, where he looks really really stupid and out of place. Eggman was now called Eggman (although the first game called him Dr. Robotnik and “Eggman” seemed to be a nickname, the sequel dropped Robotnik entirely) and now you have to wonder how the surreal unreality of the Sega Genesis games are translated into this world where there are humans and cities and evil Gods and shit.

Then that SAME YEAR that the Dreamcast came to America, where it died because Sega was a failure factory, Sonic Underground was released. Sonic Underground was the terrible show where Sonic was a prince, he had a brother and a sister, they had magical musical instruments, and Robotnik was called Robotnik again. The same fucking year. Robotnik also didn’t look like Eggman, he looked like Robotnik from the SatAM / Archie Comics continuity. So what the fuck is this? Also Sonic has an Uncle, Uncle Chuck, who also existed in SatAM / Archie Comics. Then Sonic Underground was cancelled within about 2 seasons… because it was bad.

THEN Archie Comics brought back RoboRobotnik, who then transferred his mind into a robot body that looked like Eggman. This was to get it more in line with the Japanese canon, a high priority for a sinking ship. Then Sonic X came out and that looks like where it flows from Adventure 2.

Sonic Adventure seemed to logically go to Adventure 2, Heroes, and then the critically acclaimed Shadow the Hedgehog, where Shadow is part-alien and he wields guns and says “Damn” because he’s so cool. But then there’s a bunch of games that look like they’re side-shows like… Sonic and the Black Knight? Sonic Unleashed? Sonic Colors? I can’t even begin to say where these fit in the canon because I’d long since jumped off the bus, but I’ll circle around to these in a bit.

Sonic ’06 was supposed to reboot and streamline the franchise. It was critically acclaimed at the time with reviews such as “this game is broken and unplayable and it’s weird that a human princess is trying to F*ck Sonic.” The game was so well-received that it actually… just didn’t reboot the franchise. Because it’s made canon alongside its predecessors in Sonic Generations (I’ve heard, anyway. I’d rather be caught dead of auto-erotic asphyxiation than dead while playing Sonic Generations).

But THEN there’s Sonic Boom where the characters are redsigned. The game… failed. But it got a cartoon adaptation that I understand was much better received than the game (which isn’t saying much I guess, but I’ll take their word for it that it doesn’t totally suck).

But THEN there was Sonic Mania, a good game that Sega decided didn’t need a sequel because they REFUSE to not take 2 steps back after taking 1 step forward. Sonic Mania clearly happens outside of both the Sonic Boom continuity AND outside the mainline continuity (which I’m not even sure… like what that even is at this point) because he shows up in Sonic Frontiers? I guess? And that’s where this IDW Comic comes from. It comes after Sonic Frontiers, a game nobody liked. Cool.

Many parts of discarded canon made their way back in. Like Sonic loving chili dogs. Wisps from Sonic Colors are present so that must have happened. I just realized after I started writing this paragraph that I don’t care enough to continue down this rabbit hole. It was fun to do it with Mario because Mario is actually good. It’s not a has-been series with a really bad company behind it and really weird fans. So I’m just going to call this a blog, say it counts toward the completion of my analysis, and move on. I’m even going to start a sentence at the end here just to end it abrup