History YMMV / SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics

* EstrogenBrigade: Zonic the Zone Cop has a surprisingly large female fanbase, to the point that he's a popular character choice for female fan artists, who often [[SelfFanservice depict him as more demure]] than he is in canon.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: In the first solo Knuckles story, Knuckle encounters a cockatoo named Catweazle who it's implied he has a long, mostly antagonistic history with. Catweazle makes a handful of minor appearances after this, but who he is and why Knuckles hates him so much is ''never'' explained.

* NarmCharm: Some people have this opinion of the comic's [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness comedic early days]], which mostly consisted of pun-filled, FourthWall-breaking, zany stories carrying a similar tone to the ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' despite using the more serious freedom fighter setting from ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM''. Those stories were completely at odds with the dramatic tone that would dictate the comic from Mecha Madness onwards and thus are really insane in hindsight, but they can be genuinely fun, memetic and entertaining (especially when taken out of context).

** Fiona Fox wasn't popular as a love interest for Sonic. Once she pulled a FaceHeelTurn, [[EvilIsSexy sexy]] EvilCostumeSwitch, and hooked up with [[EnsembleDarkhorse Scourge]], though, she became much more liked.

** The infamous cover for issue #155, with the lonely, heartbroken Sonic crying over Sally's ArrangedMarriage in a dark corner. The sheer amount of {{Wangst}} displayed is palpable, with the "...Alone" on the corner being the cherry on top. Finally, the comic's good old tagline of "The World's Most Way Past Cool Comic!" remains a prominent element, making for some serious MoodWhiplash. The cover itself has been frequently referenced by the fanbase as an emblematic visual of the AudienceAlienatingEra's prevalent [[RomanticPlotTumor romantic melodrama issues]], especially those involving [[CelibateHero Sonic]] himself.

* EvilIsSexy:
** Lien-Da. A sexy as hell Echidna girl in skintight leather and a habit of whip wielding? What's not to like here?
** The Iron Queen has more than a few fans too. As does Finitevus, Scourge, Fiona, and Snively and Eggman.
** Nicole's lynx avatar doesn't look half bad. [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Iron Nicole]] looks even better.
** The Pirates of the Setting Dawn gives us Blade the Shark and Opal the Jellyfish.
** Despite being 42 years old [[spoiler:and having a bad case of robot face]], Nephthys the Vulture is often considered one of the most attractive of the female Egg Bosses thanks to her tall, slender, Bayonetta-esque body. [[spoiler:Her motherly personality and sympathetic motivation for joining the Eggman Empire also help.]] Fellow Egg Boss Abyss the Squid is similarly loved for her cute, yet sinister design, [[NaughtyTentacles and for being...well, a squid]].
*** On the other side of the chromosomes, there's Maw the Thylacine with his cool-headed, suave personality and snazzy, tuxedo-like uniform, while Axel the Water Buffalo is a well-muscled Hunk (by noodley-limbed Sonic character standards, anyway). There are some who consider Akhlut the Orca attractive after his post-SGW redesign (becoming a muscular anthro-orca), but some find his twisted personality somewhat off-putting (not that it stops them).

*** The Freedom Fighters being reenrolled in high school.

** The infamous cover for issue #155, with the lonely, heartbroken Sonic crying over Sally's ArrangedMarriage in a dark corner. The sheer amount of {{Wangst}} displayed is palpable, with the "...Alone" on the corner being the cherry on top. Finally, comic's good old tagline of "The World's Most Way Past Cool Comic!" remains a prominent element, making for some serious MoodWhiplash. The cover itself has been frequently referenced by the fanbase as an emblematic visual of the AudienceAlienatingEra's prevalent [[RomanticPlotTumor romantic melodrama issues]], especially those involving [[CelibateHero Sonic]] himself.

* CommonKnowledge: All Overlanders have FourFingeredHands, which is how you tell them apart of regular humans. Except this is wrong. Whilst ''some'' Overlanders had only four fingers on each hand, most of them do in fact have five. He whole "Overlanders have four fingered hands, normal humans have five" thing was a retcon from Ken Penders in a failed attempt to distinguish the two groups. Older comics introduced Overlanders (like Athena and Ariel) who have five fingered hands, whilst Ian Flynns era would retcon characters like Snively to have five fingers. Making Penders point moot.

** Tails fulfilling his ChosenOne prophecy by transforming into Titan Tails, a gigantic, overly muscled version of himself who defeats Mammoth Mogul by pointing his rear at him and uses his twin tails as a suction fan to drain Mogul of his chaos powers. It is made little better by the scene's dialogue pratically dripping with cheese and clichés (Mogul responds to Tails' transformation with a "No! {{This cannot be}}", to which a serious-faced Titan Tails melodramatically proclaims "But it ''is.'' It is our ''DESTINY!''"). It was supposed to be an unironically cool moment for the 150th milestone issue but it immediately became the laughingstock of the ''Sonic'' fandom at the time.

** Between Sally and Nicole in the ''Spark of Life'' storyline. Sally seems to be closer to Nicole than to anybody else, and gets extremely pissed off at Nicole's creator for considering her a failure. Nicole, meanwhile, constantly makes glances at Sally, teases her, and specifically wanted to see the stars the way Sally did in a flashback. [[WordOfGay Ian Flynn confirmed]] [[https://twitter.com/IanFlynnBKC/status/889745270279475200 that this was intentional]]... [[FlipFlopOfGod and then]] backpedaled on the idea during an episode of the ''[=BumbleKast=]'' podcast, clarifying that the foundation for the couple was set during Spark of Life but they weren't officially together by that point.

** [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/archiesonic/images/f/fd/STH155.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20090405042110 The infamous cover for issue #155]], with the lonely, heartbroken Sonic crying over Sally's ArrangedMarriage in a dark corner. The sheer amount of {{Wangst}} displayed is palpable, with the "...Alone" on the corner being the cherry on top. Finally, comic's good old tagline of "The World's Most Way Past Cool Comic!" remains a prominent element, making for some serious MoodWhiplash. The cover itself has been frequently referenced by the fanbase as an emblematic visual of the AudienceAlienatingEra's prevalent [[RomanticPlotTumor romantic melodrama issues]], especially those involving [[CelibateHero Sonic]] himself.
** Issue #41 has Sonic, Sally and Geoffrey venturing into the collapsing Zone of Silence to save King Acorn. However, [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/archiesonic/images/3/3a/STH41.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20090329094608 the way the three of them are depicted on the cover]] ruins the drama of the story. They're each drawn with wide eyes and screaming mouths, expressions of terror too exaggerated to take seriously. Sally's right eyeball is near the side of her face, making her look derpy. Geoffrey's head also appears disembodied as he reaches out for Sonic who has his left hand extended towards the reader.

** Issue #41 has Sonic, Sally and Geoffrey venturing into the collapsing Zone of Silence to save King Acorn. However, [[ https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/archiesonic/images/3/3a/STH41.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20090329094608 the way the three of them are depicted on the cover]] ruins the drama of the story. They're each drawn with wide eyes and screaming mouths, expressions of terror too exaggerated to take seriously. Sally's right eyeball is near the side of her face, making her look derpy. Geoffrey's head also appears disembodied as he reaches out for Sonic who has his left hand extended towards the reader.

** The infamous cover for issue #155, with the lonely, heartbroken Sonic crying over Sally's ArrangedMarriage in a dark corner. The sheer amount of {{Wangst}} displayed is palpable, with the "...Alone" on the corner being the cherry on top. Finally, comic's good old tagline of "The World's Most Way Past Cool Comic!" remains a prominent element, making for some serious MoodWhiplash. The cover itself has been frequently referenced by the fanbase as an emblematic visual of the AudienceAlienatingEra's prevalent [[RomanticPlotTumor romantic melodrama issues]], especially those involving [[CelibateHero Sonic]] himself.

** The infamous cover for issue #155, with the lonely, heartbroken Sonic crying over Sally's ArrangedMarriage in a dark corner. The sheer amount of {{Wangst}} displayed is palpable, with the "...Alone" on the corner being the cherry on top. Finally, comic's good old tagline of "The World's Most Way Past Cool Comic!" remains a prominent element, making for some serious MoodWhiplash. The cover itself has been frequently referred as an emblematic visual of the series' prevalent [[RomanticPlotTumor romantic melodrama issues]], especially those involving [[CelibateHero Sonic]] himself.

* CondemnedByHistory:
** "Endgame" was the four-part supposed-to-have-been GrandFinale for the comic. At one time, it was a popular storyline. It earned praise for being a DarkerAndEdgier storyline where the stakes seem to rise, culminating in a one-on-one NoHoldsBarredBeatdown between Sonic and Robotnik. However, time passed and there was bad blood garnered towards writer Ken Penders. The lawsuits led to the Archie series first undergoing a ContinuityReboot and then being canceled entirely. The reputation of this story by Penders began to rapidly turn sour, with the plot becoming widely lambasted and having few defenders.[[note]] Hershey is tricked by Drago Wolf into wearing a Sonic costume under the guise she'd be killing Snively. She somehow doesn't realize, until Drago gloats about it, that the eyes of the costume make anyone look like Snively, and that ''she'' was the one who almost killed Princess Sally, getting the real Sonic blamed for Sally's attempted murder (in spite of Sally being Sonic's LoveInterest, Sonic having no reason to want Sally dead, Sonic's repeated insistence that he had nothing to do with it, and the fact that characters had been mind-controlled and/or impersonated multiple times before this happened). The plot line is resolved when Dulcy, thanks to her status as a LivingLieDetector, appears and confirms that Sonic was framed. No explanation is offered for why no one waited for Dulcy to arrive ''before'' putting Sonic on trial.[[/note]]
** When the comic was running it was fairly well liked and respected by Sonic fans, but years after it's cancellation, you're much, ''much'' more likely to find Sonic fans bringing it up to discuss [[QuirkyWork how utterly bizarre and nonsensical most of the plotlines and story elements are]] in relation to the franchise at large, and how badly they tended to clash with the franchise overall. Common sights are the infamous Titan Tails panel, and the [[LoveDodecahedron incredibly musical chairs]] [[RomanticPlotTumor the cast relationship drama]] could get.

** Geoffrey x Sally, mostly due to the former being an adult while the latter a minor and Sonic's main LoveInterest. It was later augmented by author Creator/KenPenders' claims that they had offscreen sex at one point, ignoring the fact this was a ''children's comic''. To say fan reaction was negative would be a strong understatement. [[Note]]It is worth noting that in the earlier issues, the characters didn't have a clearly defined age and Geoffrey was a potential love interest to Sally, making him a rival to Sonic until he was married to Hershey.[[/note]]

* CondemnedByHistory: "Endgame" was the four-part supposed-to-have-been GrandFinale for the comic. At one time, it was a popular storyline. It earned praise for being a DarkerAndEdgier storyline where the stakes seem to rise, culminating in a one-on-one NoHoldsBarredBeatdown between Sonic and Robotnik. However, time passed and there was bad blood garnered towards writer Ken Penders. The lawsuits led to the Archie series first undergoing a ContinuityReboot and then being canceled entirely. The reputation of this story by Penders began to rapidly turn sour, with the plot becoming widely lambasted and having few defenders.[[note]] Hershey is tricked by Drago Wolf into wearing a Sonic costume under the guise she'd be killing Snively. She somehow doesn't realize, until Drago gloats about it, that the eyes of the costume make anyone look like Snively, and that ''she'' was the one who almost killed Princess Sally, getting the real Sonic blamed for Sally's attempted murder (in spite of Sally being Sonic's LoveInterest, Sonic having no reason to want Sally dead, Sonic's repeated insistence that he had nothing to do with it, and the fact that characters had been mind-controlled and/or impersonated multiple times before this happened). The plot line is resolved when Dulcy, thanks to her status as a LivingLieDetector, appears and confirms that Sonic was framed. No explanation is offered for why no one waited for Dulcy to arrive ''before'' putting Sonic on trial.[[/note]]

*** Of special mention when it comes to the Echidnas is Locke, Knuckle's dad in the story line. Pender's used him [[WriteWhatYouKnow as a way to deal with his own strained relationship with his father]], and the results are rather... ''Questionable'', to say the least. For many Locke comes off as a downright AbusiveParent and horrible husband, but no matter what he does, it'll always be justified for the greater good or such, regardless of how heinous it would come off to the readers. One of the things he did to Knuckles prior to him even hatching was pumping his egg with horrible amounts of radiation, and his attempts at guiding Knuckles can come off as uncomfortably as manipulative {{Gaslighting}}. Yet in the 25 years later special, Knuckles is not only grateful, but considers his dad a great man. Notably, when Ian Flynn took over and started to have characters actively calling Locke out for his actions and how he's treated Knuckles in the entire comic so far, which cumulates in [[spoiler:him sacrificing himself to bring back Enerjak-JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope-Knuckles to sanity after realizing how badly he fucked up in regards to his son]], Penders was ''furious''.

** The title for issue 75 is "I Am The Eggman". Two years later, Eggman would have a [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 theme song that has those words in the lyrics]].

*** Incidentally, Tails in a later issue of the series asked why he got the creepy Tails Doll, which was shown to be able to shapeshift into a mechanical abomination, instead of a Metal Tails. Eggman has now built both a Tails Doll and Metal Tails.

** Geoffrey x Sally, mostly due to the former being an adult while the latter a minor and Sonic's main LoveInterest. It was later augmented by author Creator/KenPenders' claims that they had offscreen sex at one point, ignoring the fact this was a ''children's comic''. To say fan reaction was negative would be a strong understatement.

* FandomEnragingMisconception: No, Ken Penders ''never'' sued Archie Comics. They sued him after Ken obtained copyright protection on his characters after he left Archie and they were informed of it.

* RonTheDeathEater: Sally gets portrayed as a selfish brat at times by the fandom, especially for DieForOurShip reasons as well as the infamous slap in #134. The same fans even portray her as an irredeemable villain who commits certain acts that causes her to cross full-on HateSink territory that would make even [[DracoInLeatherPants Eggman look more sympathetic in comparison]].

** The first couple of issues of ''Sonic Universe'' have this problem. #1 gave such a quick summary of ''Sonic Rush Adventure'' that only people who played the game knew what was going on. Also, #1 continued from ''Sonic X'' #40 (a whole different series), which continued from ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' #196, which was part of a large story arc from the main series. #2 was an adaptation of ''Sonic Adventure 2'' (probably an attempt to explain how it ''did'' fit into the continuity, as the original adaptation didn't really tell the reader much of anything about the game's story or how it fit into continuity), but would probably be pretty confusing to anyone who didn't play the original game. It should be noted that they can't get too into the ''VideoGame/{{Sonic Rush|Series}}'' side of things, as they're apparently forbidden from using Eggman Nega beyond a few ominous references. ...And one "Off Panel" strip.

** Dr. Robotnik developed into this under Ian Flynn's pen, similar to his game counterpart.

** Tommy Turtle, a childhood friend of Sonic [[RememberTheNewGuy that had never been mentioned before]], but had once taught him a valuable life lesson. He died in his first appearance while performing a HeroicSacrifice to save Sonic, but about a year later was revealed to not have actually been killed and was brought back. Unfortunately, after bringing him back, the writers didn't seem to have any real idea what to do with him, and attempts to make him more relevant (such as having him become infested with nanobots, causing him to develop ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}''-esque abilities) ended up just appearing ridiculous and making fans despise him even more. In Sonic Grams while Archie staff admitted that they knew a lot of their fans hadn't liked the character, they'd hoped they could change their tune, showing the clear divide between the staff at Archie at the time and the people actually reading the book. In the end writer Ian Flynn said when compiling a list of the comic's most unpopular characters, Tommy still ranked very high among the fanbase despite efforts to make him popular by previous writers. Tommy was therefore killed off (performing ''another'' HeroicSacrifice) and hasn't been seen since.
** Rather infamously, Knuckles and his whole clan of similar-looking Echidnas. It's quite well-documented that author Creator/KenPenders had a weird fascination with the character and the lore surrounding his civilization, using it as a dumping ground for his original ideas that he could not work into the main comic (not helped by Sega giving him unconditional control over Knuckles' stories). This led to Knuckles, his dad, his ancestors of the Brotherhood and any other Echidnapolis inhabitant receiving more importance to the overall plot than they had any right to, making even the main conflict of Knothole vs. Robotnik look relatively minor in the grand scheme of things (as Knuckles would go on to become a God essentially).

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: Most of the stories end up as this. Way back in the 90s, Sally’s mentor Julayla dies of old age. Pretty tame, right? Nothing too bad except for how horrifying Eggman aka Robotnik looks. Fast forward over a decade later, and you have Scourge (formerly Anti-Sonic) implying that he murdered his own father and gouged out Patch’s eye. Also, we get plenty of fanservice in the later comics from characters like Bunnie, Fiona, Rouge, Sally, and the female echidnas like Julie-Su, Lara-Su, and Lien-Da.