User blog:Genesjs/My Lists of Favorite Male/Female/Overall Sonic Characters

Hm. My first ever blog on this site, and it's about something trivial... I wonder how many people have assumed that I'd make a blog over something more serious, if ever at all for any reason whatsoever?

Anyway, personal thoughts aside... I've decided to do something a little fun for a change (mostly for you, hopefully), and make a blog to allow you, the reader, to perhaps learn a little more about yours truly. As the title more or less states, this blog will cover 3 separate lists of my favorite characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, which are male, female, and a mixture of both genders respectively. I bet some of you are wondering why I'd make a third list that has characters of both genders when I'm already going to make 2 separate lists for them already. Allow me to clarify this in a way that hopefully makes sense: The third list is going to cover who my favorite characters in the entire Sonic franchise are overall regardless which gender they belong to, so that means that a character who wins first place in either gender lists may not be my favorite character overall and therefore will not make it to the number 1 spot on the third list. If anything, the first 2 lists will just show the candidates who will appear in the third and final one ahead of time. I'd also like to let you know that the third list will use a total of 15 characters instead of 10, which is what I'll be using for the first 2. The reason for this is because I want to even things up a bit and relieve myself of additional strain when choosing who I want to put in the third list. Also, this list will include characters from different continuities besides the games since I like more than just that media in the Sonic Franchise. So now that this info has now been relayed to you, the reader, let's get this show on the road then, shall we? I'll try to keep this as short as possible.

On a final note, I'd like you, the reader, to be well-informed of the fact that this blog merely states my personal opinions on the subject matter at hand, and because of that I'd like you to take no personal offense to anything I might say that rubs you off the wrong way for whatever reason. I'd also appreciate it if you don't come on here telling me that I should put certain characters higher/lower on my lists if you've felt I've placed them too high/low for your personal tastes, and don't come on here to just be a jerk.

'''Top 10 Favorite Males '''

'''#10: Knuckles the Echidna '''

Oh, Knuckles... A fan favorite in the series. Known well for his strength and gullibility, Knuckles has a special place in the hearts of many Sonic fans alike, including me. I generally like Knuckles for his backstories in all the continuities I've seen him in, and his gullible personality in most of said continuities often makes me shake my head in pity at him (make no mistake, this is actually a good thing). You'd think that with all the times he's been fooled by Eggman and many other enemies that he'd wise up considerably, but that doesn't usually seem to be the case. But alas, this is one of the qualities that I actually like about him since this, IMO, makes him a good occasional comic relief character when he finds out he's been duped by an obvious lie. Overall, he's a good character and knows how to dish out the hurt when he has to, and I hope we don't ever see this lonely b****** go for whatever reason. I really don't have much else to say on Knuckles, so I suppose I'll move on.

'''#9: Mammoth Mogul '''

A sinister character indeed, although I like several other villains more than this old guy. Mammoth Mogul is an important character in the Archie Sonic lore, having a pivotal role for over ten thousand years in said comics. His knowledge and power is vast, especially in the latter case when he has a Chaos Emerald at hand, and while he has quite the ego at times he's a serious threat nonetheless. I like Mogul because to me he has a very interesting personality and aura about him, and keeping in mind that he's been alive for thousands of years in the comics, there's tons of possibilities as to how his actions have influenced the comic as a whole. He essentially brings more potential history in the comics, and seeing as how I love learning about said history I see Mogul as a key to gain more knowledge on the lore and cultures that are either currently presented or have yet to be presented in the Archie comics. There's plenty more I can say about him, but I fear that if I do I'll end up carrying on much longer than I need to, so I feel that it's best that I keep my opinion on Mogul as short as possible.

'''<span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">#8: Nack the Weasel '''

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 12.6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">'''<span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Note: Since there isn't much info on this character outside the Archie continuity, and I don't know much about him in the Sonic the Comic continuity, I'll simply talk about the Archie version of this character. So those of you who despise Archie with a burning passion for whatever reason, feel free to skip out on this part of the blog and move on to another character on the list if you wish. '''<span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 12.6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Nack is a pretty fun character for me. I like his accent, his skills and his character overall. He's not tied to any particular organization and prefers to do things his own way, acting as a kind of mercenary and putting his skills to work for the highest bidder, and since he also provides some comic relief on his own on occasion he's often very entertaining to me whenever he makes an appearance. I also find it interesting that he's good enough to actually snipe Sonic on a couple of occasions despite his legendary speed, so while Nack doesn't have any notable skills outside of marksmanship this skills in this area more than make up for it. Although he doesn't appear too often I feel that it actually works for him, so as much as I like him I don't miss him too much whenever he doesn't make an appearance for a while. Nack may not be as sinister or threatening as other villains I'm a fan of in the Sonic series, he's indeed capable of holding out on his own and making himself stand out amongst the crowd.

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-line-height-alt: 12.6pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">'''<span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">#7: Scourge the Hedgehog. '''

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 12.6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Scourge the Hedgehog is basically, in a way, the Anti-Sonic in the Archie Sonic comics. Sonic's evil double, having all the skills and wits as everyone's favorite Blue Hedgehog and coming from a world that, too, is basically an anti version of Sonic home world "Mobius". I bet some people who hear this basic summary about the character instantly get turned off and dismiss him as a completely boring and unoriginal character. I disagree. If people can look past Scourge's basic origins and character summary, they can find that he's far more than just an evil Sonic clone. Ever since he absorbed power from the Master Emerald and inverted his colors from blue to green and during a particular conflict with Sonic the Hedgehog, Scourge has been determined to make himself something more than just an evil duplicate of Sonic, and has gone to great lengths to try and prove it. Examples include conquering his home world and crowning himself its king while trying to also start a multiversal conquest to conquer other universes as well, keeping his name "Scourge" instead of "Anti-Sonic" (the name he was previously known by before absorbing power from the Master Emerald) in order to distinguish his namesake from Sonic's, reshape several aspects about his character through his actions in order to differentiate himself further from Sonic as much as possible (basically taking the mentality of "If I prove myself stronger and more worthy than my opponents, including Sonic himself, then I'm better than Sonic"), and even renaming his homeworld and various residents (mainly his former teammates) in order to show that not only he but his whole world is better than Sonic's. Although his plans post Master Emerald had failed and he was imprisoned and beaten to a mental pulp, he soon got back on his feet thanks to his girlfriend Fiona Fox and is more determined than ever to resume with his plans and prove himself. So basically, I like Scourge for the fact that he's fiercely determined in his goals and has more or less succeeded in proving himself that he is not simply an evil Sonic clone. I would also like to note that his backstory, despite having yet to be fully flushed out, is also interesting and tragic to an extent, showing the possibility that Scourge may have not started out evil but instead became that way through neglect by his family and possibly other unknown means.

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-line-height-alt: 12.6pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">'''<span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">#6: Doctor Finitevus '''

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 12.6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Now here is a sinister character. A young genius of the Echidna race, he originally started out as a typical scientist. However, during an accident while trying to relinquish Chaos Knuckles of his powers, he ended up absorbing the negative energies of the Chaos Energy into himself instead of the suit he was using to drain Chaos Knuckles, permanently altering his physical appearance into that of what appears to be an albino echidna. However, his sanity was affected in a negative way as well, and soon after the accident and escaping Echidnaopolis and leading the Eggman Empire to destroy said city and most of its residents, Dr. Finitevus began a genocidal conquest to purify Mobius in a wave of fire, in order to purify the world of the evils that infest it, feeling that Mobius as a whole was beyond saving. Apathetic towards everyone else’s well-being, willing to leave his allies to their deaths if he no longer finds them useful/finds them to be a nuisance, more than willing to kill anyone who stands in his way or are his targets for whatever scheme he's cooked up, determined to see his plans through, filled with a truly psychotic hatred for everything in the world, armed with an arsenal of Warp Rings and various other gadgets and possessing a genius intellect that rivals even that or Rotor, Tails and even supposedly Eggman, Dr. Finitevus is a force to be reckoned with. I like Finitevus because he's a truly evil character who's convinced he's doing good and cannot seem to even grasp the concept of compassion and love, making him very depraved, one of the key traits in the kinds of villains I like most. However, I feel that we have yet to even see the full extent of Finitevus' abilities and schemes, and because of that I'm left with a constant feeling of wondering just how far will this villain sink in order to accomplish his goals, and how much misery will he cause as a result.

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-line-height-alt: 12.6pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">'''<span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">#5: Mephiles the Dark '''

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 12.6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Despite appearing in a game that's bashed by fans and critics alike to no end, I feel that Mephiles is a very interesting character. Although I will admit that I feel disappointed in his combat abilities, his personality makes up for his shortcomings. Like Finitevus, Mephiles' overall goal is to destroy the world as we know it, only he wants to do much more than that. He wants to destroy not just Sonic's world, or the universe, but ''all of time and space. If that wasn't enough to impress me, his reasons for doing so did: As Shadow points out, Mephiles doesn't want to destroy all of existence not because he felt wronged by anything but rather because he craves destruction. ''Mephiles also appears to be very cunning and intelligent; being a skilled manipulator, having at least 2 characters convinced for a time that they had to kill Sonic in order to save a specific timeline from destruction, and this is only one example. It should also be noted that he's (to my knowledge) the only character in any Sonic continuity to actually succeed in killing Sonic, something that even Eggman has spent years trying to do only to fail with each attempt (although Mephiles probably loses points for not killing Sonic in actual combat). I also like his combat form (you know, the one that makes him seem almost crystal-like?) and his powers/abilities, even though we didn't get to see the latter much. To me, Mephiles is in a way basically an improvement of what I liked about Finitevus, focusing on a much bigger goal and almost succeeding in accomplishing it and having no noble reason for doing the things he does whatsoever. If there's one kind of villain I like the most, it’s the ones that are depraved of just about all redeemable/good qualities and are very cunning, manipulative monsters. However, Mephiles loses points for not being a serious threat in combat. Also, his boss themes are bomb.

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-line-height-alt: 12.6pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">'''<span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">#4: Silver the Hedgehog '''

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 12.6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Like Mephiles before him, Silver also debuted in a game that gets bashed like there's no tomorrow (in fact, its the same one that Memphites debuts in). The only thing I don't really like too much about him is his original voice, since it sounded a bit naisely and somewhat hindered his ability to sound like an actual teenager. Besides that, I actually like Silver because he flushes out more possibilities for the game universe of Sonic the Hedgehog, although I can't help but wonder if we'll actually see more of what Silver can bring to the table since he hasn't had an actual role in a story for a while now... I also like him because he's one of the few hero characters in the game continuity that I've seen that's willing to actually kill someone in order to save an entire world from assured destruction, despite having reasonable doubts about doing so and being willing to bear the guilt of taking another person's life if that's what it took to protect it all. I feel that there are very few characters in the games that’re willing to go to that great a length in order to save the lives of countless others and ensure a better tomorrow, and as a result he helps adds another flavor of hero to the Sonic series. Although I will be honest I actually prefer his Archie counterpart more than his game counterpart because I feel Archie is doing a better job of flushing out his character than what Sonic Team is doing, making him one of my favorite characters in the Archie comics. I could go on about why I like Archie Silver more than Sonic Team Silver, but again, I don't want to ramble on more than I have to, so let's move on.

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-line-height-alt: 12.6pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">'''<span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">#3: Sonic the Hedgehog '''

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 12.6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">I feel that I don't really need to explain much on this one, since I'm sure most of you know about Sonic's key character traits pretty well. Sonic, the blue blur... the fastest thing alive... the chili dog addict... A simple, pure hero in every aspect, and the image of cool in the eyes of many around the world. I like Sonic because of his easy-going, sarcastic nature, and also because he knows full-well when to get serious and when he does, watch out. His speed and abilities, coupled with his wits, make him a force to be reckoned with, having only been defeated in combat on rare occasions. However, even if he does lose, should he survive he usually comes back stronger and more often than not defeats these opponents on the second try, always coming out on top in the very end. However, despite being the big hero in the Sonic franchise and overall a very likeable character, I can't help but feel that he's a tad bit overrated when compared to other characters. Believe me, I really do like Sonic and his overall character, but I feel that there's several other characters that are just as heroic as him if not more that are, at least, just as worthy of recognition as Sonic is but they often get overshadowed simply because Sonic is Sonic. In a way I kinda feel it’s a bit unfair, even though I can understand the circumstances of why he gets all the praise that he does when compared to other characters in the franchise. But regardless of this, I know I'm always going to like Sonic, and in my eyes he'll always be a memorable character (even if the majority of his retarded fanbase does him in somehow, or something else entirely).

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-line-height-alt: 12.6pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">'''<span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">#2:Shadow the Hedgehog '''

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 12.6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Like several other characters I've mentioned in this list, Shadow has brought more to the table of the Sonic franchise when he debuted in the series, and the game he debuted in (Sonic Adventure 2) is one of the most critically acclaimed Sonic games of all time. While not quite as fast as Sonic (IMO), Shadow's abilities with Chaos Control more than make up for it. Being the first character in the Sonic games to have a truly tragic backstory (to my knowledge, anyway) and being both a living weapon and a supposed cure for a fatal disease, Shadow truly stood out from the rest of the Sonic cast by the time of his appearance, and also acting as a "base breaker" of sorts for the Sonic fanbase. Some view this dark character both as very interesting and unique in the Sonic franchise, or a Sonic clone. Basically, for most it was either love or hate the guy. To me, Shadow is a unique character in the Sonic series, being one of the more truly dark and multi-layered characters in the whole cast instead of being simple and easy to understand like most other Sonic characters. The guy has many abilities and knows how to use them, and they make him quite a challenge for most when facing him in combat. He's also one of the few characters in the series to have strong character development, something I truly like in characters. I pretty much like him in all Sonic continuities he's presented himself in, as I feel that that the way he's portrayed in each of them fitting in their own way. One thing that's truly controversial about Shadow is his revival in Sonic Heroes. Some people felt that he should've stayed dead at the end of Sonic Adventure 2, while others felt joyed to see him return and become a regular character in the franchise. I personally don't really care much about him being revived, and instead prefer to focus on his roles post Sonic Adventure 2 and accept things as they are (that he's here to stay whether some of us like it or not) and try to make the best of it. Overall, I find Shadow very interesting and likable in his own way, and I hope he continues to stick around for a long time (and hopefully continue to show that not all heroes need to be larger than life [and by that I mean having no negative qualities] in order to be successful, unlike <span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">some <span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> Hedgehogs out there...).

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-line-height-alt: 12.6pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">'''<span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">#1: Robotnik/Eggman '''

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 12.6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Yes, for the number 1 spot on this list I've chosen Eggman. Like Sonic, I feel I don't need to explain much as to why I like him, and possibly why he's on the top of this list. Eggman is a true genius, there's no arguing about that, although his ego and tendency to underestimate his opponents and overlook things which inevitably make just about all his plans fail... makes him lose points IMO. I don't really care much about whether he's called Robotnik or Eggman, since I feel that both names work for him in their own way, nor do I care about whether or not he's portrayed as a very serious threat or a comic relief character of sorts. IMO, both types of portrayals work well for him, and I know it’s possible to mix them both and create a kind of universal Eggman that could apply to fans who like either portrayal of him. Eggman never knows when to give up and always comes back for more, and he's got enough intellect to cook up one scheme after another, and has vast resources which he uses to build his countless weapons, robots and fortresses. He's the constant thorn in everyones' sides, a stubborn virus that constantly mutates in order to propagate himself. Even as a comic relief character, it’s almost never a good idea to underestimate this guy, as he has a tendency to catch you off guard and quickly put you in a situation where you're completely at his mercy. There's lots of praising things I can say about Eggman (examples being that he makes me laugh as a comic relief character, and that I find him very sinister as an obviously less-comical relief character), but alas, I don't think I need to repeat myself.

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 12.6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">'''<span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Since I feel too lazy to finish this thing today (or at least right now) I'm going to take a break and work on another one of the lists later. Feel free to comment if you wish, but don't expect me to tell you anything about my favorite female characters until I finally get that list finished and posted. <span lang="EN" style="color: rgb(58, 58, 58); font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> Lloyd the Cat "I hog that hedgehate!"'''  21:26, March 31, 2012 (UTC)