Headscratchers / Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW)

• Where was Omega during the year 1 events? You would think Shadow and Rouge looking for Eggman to kill him would tick the robot off.
  • Shadow was looking for Eggman alone and Rouge only tagged along because he is much more stubborn in this continuity in comparison to Omega. Omega was likely protecting cities from rogue badnicks he could find and could not travel as quick as Shadow to Windmill Village. It's also possible neither of them could tell Omega about Mr. Tinker, since Omega's determined programming would not hesitate to execute Mr. Tinker.
• Does Dark Gaia and light Gaia exist in this world now?
  • Yes, they do. The events of Unleashed are briefly alluded in issue 16.
• A meta-headscratcher, but why did they make Mimic a Psycho Knife Nut? Considering that knives are a very messy, bloody and lethal weapon they can’t really have him actually hit any non-robot characters if he uses them in combat.
  • Mimic wielding a knife may have been seen as a jarring enough visual for the threat of using it to be enough for the target demographic.
  • In Universe, Mimic also had a whispon himself before his betrayal, but as a stealthy shapeshifter, he probably would be clean and quick if he could catch anyone by surprise.
• So, if the testing confirmed that Metal Virus can't infect the processed tissue, how could it spread on the characters' clothes/footwear?
  • Probably mutated at some point after Eggman unleashed it. He certainly wouldn't mind (or care) if it did.
  • Alternative theory is that it can't infect purely processed tissue, but CAN infect processed material via organic material (IE, it can infect clothing because of residual fur/skin/scales/feathers)
• How were prisons not thrown into chaos during the Metal Virus? Could they have been in lockdown to avoid getting anyone sick and allowing villains to escape?
  • it is still possible that they got infected from the Virus anyway, all the world at some point ended up being infected
• Why, oh, why did the gang save Orbot and Cubot in Issue 40? More over, why did the heroes just let the two badniks go? Of course, Amy mentions something about Restoration "not taking prisoners", but Sonic and his friends kill badniks on a daily basis, why would they spare Orbot and Cubot for some reason?
  • Sonic possibly likes them, because he knows how much Orbot doesn't want to work with Eggman due to the abuse.
  • Because not only are they more sentient than the average badnik, making it more of a sticky moral issue, but they're also well known for being absolutely harmless on their own and too stupid to be much of a threat.
    • And, possibly, Sonic realizes that they're both occasionally valuable assets (as in, accidentally spilling the details of Eggman's plans), and have stronger morals than their boss
    • Plus they helped during the Metal Virus crisis.
    • Still could've locked them up in Everhold.
• Is there any reason why Sonic and Silver couldn't just use the power of the Master Emerald to go super and warp away the virus instead of having to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds from the Deadly Six?
  • Watsonian reasoning, they never tried before and aren't comfortable using that power. Doylist reasoning, Sega would probably reject that idea or something.
• Why did Sonic show mercy to Metal Sonic and none to Belle? Metal Sonic has tried to destroy Sonic numerous times and take over the world a few times. The ruthless killing machine even stated that his rebellious side was removed and he will conquer the world for Eggman as Eggman (if he can't find his master). Belle, on the hand, is a wooden robot - made in her creator's image - that posed no threat. Yet Sonic (ignoring Tails' protests) tried to destroy her and, after she saved Tails twice, tried to leave her behind in the middle of nowhere. Heck, when Belle said she didn't like flying, Sonic just says, "You didn't fall off, I'd call that a win." How was that response meant to help console her?
  • With Metal Sonic his army was destroyed and had no way to repair himself and it seems the only reason Eggman's memories returned was due to Starline as if it was just because of Metal then Sonic himself should have been enough, so as far as the Sonic knew Metal was completely harmless. Meanwhile with Belle, Sonic was fresh off the Metal Virus, in the center of an Eggbase, and he was bored out of his mind plus as Tails said most of the robots they meet are out to kill them. As for the fear of flying thing I honestly think that's the best reassurance you're going to get from a guy who frequently rides on the wing of a biplane.
• In Issue #44, Starline is revealed to know that Eggman is not the kind of person who would use wood to create Weapons of Mass Destruction, nor would he create or think about creating wooden marionettes like Belle. So why doesn't everyone else already know this? Furthermore, why did the villagers in Windmill Village turn against Belle for causing the outbreak, when it was Sonic who (before repairing and releasing Metal Sonic) caused the outbreak by recklessly leaving everyone - including Mr Tinker - alone in a completely defenseless village?
  • This was just after the Metal Virus had been destroyed, and many weren’t aware how Eggman regained his memories or if he had been faking the entire time and programmed Belle to cause trouble after the fact. It was probably a better safe than sorry situation out of fear and disgust. At the same time, they can’t blame Sonic since it wasn’t common knowledge Mr. Tinker was around, nor was it common knowledge that Rough & Tumble would kidnap him for another evil genius so quickly.
    • You also have to remember that Starline is Eggman's crazed fanboy and thus knows more about him than the average civilian does.
  • Also, Sonic didn't "recklessly leave them alone". That's their own home village, Mr. Tinker being the newest citizen. Sonic isn't anymore responsible for that village's defenses or lack thereof than he would be for literally any other of the villages or cities he saves. He's a wandering hero, not an urban planner.
• In Issue #45, after Belle left the girls' tent, why didn't she check her fingers to see if she has a flashlight before treading into the woods? She then wouldn't have had to use the lighter to see in the dark. And why didn't Mr Tinker install night vision into her to help her see in the dark?
  • Belle was just going for a walk to clear her head and didn't need light until she came across the Moto Bug and Mr. Tinker either didn't have the parts to give her night vision or didn't find it necessary since she was just supposed to be a someone to help him with repairs around the village and wouldn't be without a better light source very often.
• Starline once stated that he could 'improve upon them'. He knows that Sonic is as brash, impatient, impulsive and reckless as he is powerful and he believes that Tails isn't as confident as he should be. So why install those very same flaws into Surge and Kit? Doesn't he want them to be better than Sonic and Tails?
  • Starline implies that after he has Surge and Kit replace Sonic and Tails, he'll manufacture conflict for them as his way of controlling the world. Programming flaws within the two seems to be his way to ensure that the populace looks up to Surge and Kit the same way they look up to Sonic and Tails, as well as to take advantage of Kit and Surge's flaws for said conflict.
• Imposter Syndrome Issue #3 reveals how Surge and Kit have no past because of Dr. Starline's meddling and actions. It's natural how angry they are and questionable to see them want to take this out on Sonic and Eggman before meeting them, but could they recruit The Chaotix to find out who they were beforehand?
  • The Chaotix are associated with Sonic, and they (Surge and Kit) want to destroy everyone and everything even associated with him and Eggman.
  • Starline appears to keep Surge and Kit on a tight leash, and his brainwashing is intended to make them as single-mindedly evil as possible. It's possible they don't know the Chaotix exist. Even if they did, Starline would have put them on his enemies list.
  • There are detectives beside the Chaotix. Also, it would not be hard to just comb missing person reports until they found someone resembling either of them who went missing just before they were brainwashed.
• In Issue #36, why didn't Sonic or Shadow suggest splitting up? One hedgehog could run back to the Chateau to try to stop the avalanche and save the people; the other hedgehog could stop Starline from kidnapping Tails and Rouge and doing who-knows-what to them.
  • They probably didn't want to risk one of them not being able to stop the avalanche (which was correct as both of them couldn't stop it) and figured that the others could deal with Starline now they knew he was there.
• Also in Issue #36, why would Tails expect Belle to 'admit' that she is a Badnik while Sonic was trying to kill her? Didn't he figure that Belle wouldn't be around or helping people to this day if she had told Sonic and Tails that she is a Badnik?
• Imposter Syndrome Issue #4: why was Eggman's computer confused about whether or not Surge and Kit were Sonic and Tails?
  • It probably scans for Sonic and Tails' DNA. And since Surge and Kit have a small part of Sonic and Tails' DNA in them as part of the whole replacement scheme, the computer must have noticed and was momentarily confused.
• Why didn't Surge use Sonic's offer to save herself and weaken Sonic enough to throw him over the edge? Doesn't she want to get rid of Sonic?
  • Too prideful to accept help from anyone except Kit. Especially from someone she hates.
• Why didn't Sonic or Tails try to stop Belle from repairing Metal Sonic, given what happened the last time the former two did this? And why did Belle think that repairing Metal Sonic was a good idea when he was the one who helped Starline destroy her father?
  • It was acknowledged that it was dangerous to do. The reason Belle repairs Metal Sonic is because he was in need of repairs, Belle explicitly saying that she can't abandon a Badnik in need.
  • Also, it's possible that no one (aside from Starline, Eggman, and Orbot & Cubot) even knows that Metal Sonic was the final piece of the puzzle in restoring Dr. Eggman to his former glory. For all anyone knows, Starline was solely responsible in restoring Eggman.
• Flashbacks from "Scrapnik Island" indicate that whatever wrecked Badnik washes up on the titular island, Sigma attempts to fix them and presumably remove their evil coding (with varying results of success). This just begs the question... how did Sigma lose his Eggman protocols?
  • Some E-Series robots like Gamma and Omega have shown to be capable of going against their protocol even without reprogramming. Reasonable to assume that Sigma changed his ways on his own.
• In Issue #57, why did Tangle suggest using the name 'Diamond Cutters' for her new team despite what happened to Whisper and her original team? Also, why didn't Tangle change her mind and immediately reject using that very same name after Whisper became upset with her?
  • Tangle probably simply forgot about the negative connotations the name brings; she's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.
• In Scrapnik Island #2, if Mecha Sonic and Sigma's eyes act as light sources, why would they give Sonic a flashlight in the darkness when they are already lighting the way?
  • Considering the three were splitting up to search through the darkness of the Death Egg, Sonic would need his own light source when he searches through some of the wreckage that Mecha Sonic wasn't looking through.