NegaMetallix

To put my thoughts very bluntly... No, no, no, no, and NO! Tails is a kid, and NICOLE's an AI. There is absolutely ZERO chance of this EVER becoming canon in the comic. Ian's already said that these kind of 'ships' won't happen, and Tails is prohibited from any non-SEGA relationships anyway. I know it seems like I'm shooting down nearly every single suggestion you've had so far (and, in fairness, I have noticed myself doing that a lot lately), but they just never seem... realistic. I might be harsh in my wording of it, but I just need to get it out. I apologise if this offends you, and I'll leave it at that.

But the power gems aren't in the Knuckles Chaotix game, just the comic adaptation. You might be thinking of the Chaos Rings. The other issue is that Shard, despite constantly switching between being called 'Metal' or 'Mecha', was still the original Metal Sonic. And with SEGA's "only one Metal Sonic" mandate, Shard can't be associated with his origins at all. Even if you were to use the alternative option ("Oh, just make him Mecha Sonic or an older Silver Sonic instead", for example) it wouldn't make Shard... well, Shard. Basically, without the things necessary for his origin (Metal Sonic) or his personality (the Power Gem), there's no real way to bring Shard back. The closest we can get would just be a robot hedgehog calling itself 'Shard'.

Nother gonna happen, I'm afraid. Shard's connection to the old continuity (that being his power gem) wasn't created by Ian or SEGA, so Shard can't be used. (Unless there was some kind of workaround for it, but there isn't one right now.) The rest of the SFF (barring Silver, obviously) definitely ain't coming back.

UPDATE 2: Okay, I've chosen to ditch Sigma as a villain in this one. I can't seem to find a way for him to work with Dr. Nega without quickly backstabbing the latter, similar to Worlds Unite with the Deadly Six. As such, his place will be taken by Mr. X (due to MM Issue 55 showing him fall through what looks like a Genesis Portal) and Boom!Eggman (which may seem an odd choice, but I have a way for it to work). Hopefully, I should have nearly everything covered for now. My next plan is to write down and release the prologue chapter to this event (kinda like the Free Comic Book Day issues).

The Rogues have always been Riders-exclusive villains/rivals, probably because there isn't much to them outside of using Extreme Gear. I mean, they do make for a cool 'Anti-Team Sonic' of sorts, but at the same time, I just don't really see them having a noteworthy place in the main games. As for whether-or-not I'd like to see another Riders game in the future... eh, maybe. I never really had a big connection to the games before (though I do still enjoy Zero Gravity) and after the mess that was Free Riders, it's hard to say if SEGA really want to bring it back at all. I certainly won't lose sleep over it. In terms of characters I'd like to see if they did ever make a new one, though... - Obviously, nearly all of the characters that have been playable so far. (Perhaps replacing the uninteresting EggRobos with, oh I dunno, OMEGA?!) - I'd have no interest in seeing the SatAM cast (be it new or original) added considering that, outside the comics, they really don't represent the series now. - However, adding to the first point, bringing back the SEGA guest characters (NiGHTS, AiAi, Amigo etc.) and maybe even expanding it would be awesome.

...You're talking about that little 'Nexus' thing that Sticks was talking about, right? If anything, that world is probably there more as a hint towards something else, not necessarily another Sonic/Mega Man crossover. Maybe some kind of miniseries or new comic allowing small crossovers with other franchises. Though I do have one potential theory as to what it may be used for: (SPOILERS FOR THE LATEST SONIC UNIVERSE ARC!) Either way, I'm near-certain that we're not getting any more crossovers anytime soon. The Unleashed arc is priority one for the Sonic comics now.

Heh, makes sense. I was just clearing up the bit of confusion on the subject. Looking forward to reading more reviews.

On the Worlds Unite thing, it should also be noted that a lot of the problems could very well be traced back to Paul Kaminski (the former editor for Archie Sonic & Mega Man) demanding that certain things be done in the crossover, before he left and was replaced by the new editor, Vincent Lovallo, just before the crossover started. (I believe Paul's now working at either Marvel or DC...) Anyway, the things he wanted included the multiple SEGA/Capcom franchises (but were only allowed to appear in the final act, barring Street Fighter, possibly due to licensing costs), make Xander Payne pretty much THE main character of the arc (this was heavily trimmed down, thankfully) and have someone notable killed off to "up the stakes" for the main characters. This post from Ian Flynn himself, back when Worlds Unite was happening, should clear some things up in regards to Team Dark's (temporary) demise: So yeah, Ian didn't want someone to die (at least, not permanently) in a crossover event, which makes sense to me. I mean, what if your only a fan of one series, decide to skip the crossover, then learn that someone important died during that "just for fun" event? Hence, Ian chose someone(s) who knowledgeable readers would know are gonna survive anyway. Cop-out? I guess, but to me it still makes sense in the grand scheme of things.

While I'm not really sold on the whole 'Copy Flash Villains' idea personally, there are some things I wanna say: - I would really like to see an ice-based villain (with ice/freezing abilities) appear at some point. I think the closest we have so far is Egg Boss Tundra, but he hasn't actually shown any sign of having these abilities. Then again, 'Eggman's Dozen' is soon to be released, so... who knows? - As for the 'Reverse-Flash/Scourge' idea, well... there's already Metal Sonic (and Shadow, to an extent). Granted, the only times he's appeared so far is when he's outnumbered, leading him to be defeated and/or tricked out of a battle. Despite that, he's definitely still more of a threat now than he was pre-reboot (probably why Scourge still had some relevance). No matter how many times Sonic beat's Metal, he just keeps coming back, sometimes even stronger than before. Heck, even when facing both Sonic AND Silver in a burning wasteland, Metal was only beaten after they sealed him away in another dimension, and managed to function long enough for Eggman to bring him home. Anyway... I think I've made my point clear. Besides, I really don't see SEGA allowing another super-speedy hedgehog (or equivalent) being allowed to exist unless they make anotherone themselves.

Well, back in Issue 252 (when the reboot started) Tails noted that they hadn't seen Silver since they "rescued the Wisps" back in Sonic Colours (the DS version). And with the Ifrit in that Genesis Portal story confirming Rivals 2 as canon also, then Silver's had to have travelled back to Sonic's time a few times before (for the events of Rivals, Colours... maybe 06). So I very highly doubt that Gold's involved with Silver's previous escapades. (Though I also don't think there's ever been just one way for him to travel, either.)

Because Archie don't want to deal with any potential lawsuits on the off-chance those other writers also want their characters back. I'm surprised that people still don't get this... Anyway, I'd imagine that Conquering Storm will simply be continuing her Egg Boss duties after Eggman's Dozen, until she's needed for something again.

The shipping answer is easy: Gold and Silver will never be officially "shipped" in the comic because Silver is a SEGA character, simple as. (Also because Ian Flynn doesn't want to deal with any arguments from others, like the "Silver x Blaze" people.) The rest is bound to be answered in the future, so I can wait until then.

Looking at Crystal Sonic myself, I'm all but certain that it's just Metal Sonic being 'crystallised' by Naugus, much like what he did with Titan Metal Sonic pre-reboot. As for Shard, the difficulty of bringing him back is due to a couple of reasons: 1) His former identity. Seeing as he was the original Metal Sonic (despite being called Mecha Sonic back then) it means that Sega’s 'one Metal only' rule comes into play. That's why, when Shard fought Metal in Issue 50, he was renamed as 'the Mecha Sonic' again. 2) His Power Gem. Since power gems were created solely for the comic before Flynn's era, they had to go anyway. And since the gem was a key factor of Shard's personality, it once again causes some issues for a revival. So yeah, it's a difficult issue. I like to imagine that there can/will be a way around these problems, but Shard returning doesn't have to be a priority for the time being. (Besides, I know a much better candidate for a potential New Shard...)

So yeah, Sonic Dash is officially getting a sequel... based on the Sonic Boom series.     Apparently, it may be getting a soft-launch in Canada soon (similar to Sonic Runners) but it's not officially confirmed yet. Seeing as I still enjoy the first Dash game (it's a fun little distraction every now-and-then, even with the... *sigh* Angry Birds in it now) I think this looks like it could be a fun new game to play on the go. Plus, anything that can get the sour taste of the last Boom games out of my mouth is welcome in my eyes... wait, am I the only one who can still hear an angry mob in the distance?

Sheesh. I leave the forums for a while, and THIS is what I see when I get back? Look, I get it. People still don't like the reboot for various reasons. But constantly complaining about it won't change a single thing. Archie made a big mistake with the whole Penders fiasco, so they're gonna make sure not to make the same mistake again. If that means the loss of comic characters, then so be it. We can't change that. Ian Flynn's already given at least a few reasons why he doesn't 'ship' characters (I should note that there's a difference between shipping and actual romance) that I'll gladly look up and quote here if it's necessary. Also, one thing that should be noted above all is that, despite the stories having original/semi-original elements in the Sonic comics both old and new, the comic is still just a form of advertisment for the Sonic games. I've seen a lot of people argue against that statement many times (I imagine some of you do, too) but I find it to be true. Teamrandom, I'm sorry if this post seems harsh towards your views on Archie or the Sonic comics (especially since this is my first post since you joined these forums). I'm honestly just a little sick and tired of hearing the same/similar complaints about the reboot, despite the fact that it's been just over 2 years since the whole thing began. As for everyone else, sorry for the long wait. I'm hoping to fully join in the discussions once again very soon.

Well, it appears Xander Payne WAS onto something in Mega Man #40, because this just popped up recently: Source: http://www.polygon.c...rossover-series Yep, Sonic and Mega Man are gonna have another crossover, in Spring of next year! The article above has more details. Judging by the teaser image, it looks like Sonic's world will still be suffering from the Shattered World Crisis (Unleashed Arc), and I'm guessing this event'll happen just after STH's 'Champions' arc, Sonic Universe's 'Spark of Life' arc, and the second half of the 'Mega Man 3' arc. (I highly doubt the Sonic Boom comic will get dragged into this.) With that said... I think it might be a little bit too early for the heroes to cross paths again (or technically, for the first time... dammit, time travel!). I mean, if it was after the Unleashed arc is resolved in Sonic's World, then maybe I could understand. But it's looking like it'll still be shattered during this event. But obviously, what I'm most curious about is HOW they're gonna meet up this time. I doubt it'll be another Genesis Wave, or another Skull Egg Zone. And it's likely that Xander's gonna be involved in some way... I guess all we can do is wait till New York Comic-Con this weekend to get more details. Anyway, what do you guys think? Awesome news, or too early?

Oh hey, I'm still alive... occasionally. Nope, you're right on this one, Dylan. That was the 'Shattered Crystal' bonus comic included within the game. Since it's basically just there to cover certain plot points within the game (how Shadow was controlled, why Lyric is fighting Amy at the beginning etc.) Ian and co. were allowed to use them for this one-off 'issue'. Outside of that, though, the Archie crew still weren't allowed to use the (formerly) game-exclusive stuff. Though things might be different now, but we'll have to see whenever they have a new Boom story in the Digests. (Speaking of, will the site be collecting any new Boom stories introduced in future Digest issues, alongside the Sonic Comic Origins?)

Correct, each comic series gets a new issue once a month. Currently, the release order for each month goes like this: Sonic Universe, then STH, then Mega Man. Last week, we had a Mega Man issue, so this week we'll get a new Universe issue.

Thing is, even if they wanted to use Perci in the crossover, they most likely couldn't since, around the time Worlds Unite was being written, she was still considered game-exclusive. Ian Flynn has said before (around the time the Boom comic started) that he could only use characters that appeared in the show, not the games. This included Shadow, Lyric (these two still haven't shown up anywhere else yet), Metal Sonic and Perci. You might be saying "but Perci DID appear on the show", and you'd be right... except those episodes are among the last ones made in the first season. It's likely that, if the Boom comic lasted longer than 11 issues, then she might have appeared (same with Metal Sonic, too). But again, she wasn't in the show when the Boom comics and Worlds Unite were written. She was still a "game-exclusive" character at the time, so she was off-limits. Bit of a long explanation, but yeah... that's why Perci wasn't in Worlds Unite (or the Boom comic in general).

That wasn't me being negative, it's just the way I say things. It's nothing against you, I'm just surprised that people are looking at quotes and interviews from way back when. Either way, the point is that there's no need to worry about any upcoming crossover events for the time being. That said, however, I wouldn't mind seeing another one at some point in my life.

Firstly, that was from WAY back before the crossover began; they were talking about Worlds Unite. Secondly, Ian Flynn later mentioned that the 'limited series' thing was misread, and that it didn't mean Worlds Unite would be a separate book (as we all know by now). There's been absolutely no talk of any future crossovers (unless you REALLY want to count the final page of WU's finale) and considering Mega Man's current situation, there likely won't be any talk of another one anytime soon.