Hi, everyone! Here's a new illustration of Jewel (My First Sonic Drawing of the Year!) with updates to my art style after some practice. I hope you all enjoy the drawing and my analysis of her. So, let's look at Jewel's character together.
Character Tropes: Childhood Friends, Heroic Self-Deprecation, Workaholic, So Proud of You, You Are Better Than You Think You Are
The jewel beetle, ironically named Jewel, is Tangle's childhood friend who grew up with her in Spiral Hill Village. She's the curator of Spiral Hill Museum and has collected different minerals with Tangle, but not without a few hijinks from the latter. Jewel initially had minor roles in the IDW comics, and earlier stories show her to be compassionate, like in The Catalyst when she assist The President of the Sonic Fan Club in looking for his friends. As the comics progress, she becomes the Restoration's figurehead after Amy steps down due to its rigorous procedures. When she takes charge of The Restoration, she manages to arrange the faction and organize it better to assist others in need. While organizing is her specialty, dealing with Dr. Eggman and the other forces of evil is another.
Jewel may not be much of a fighter like Tangle, but she won't sit by idly during chaotic events. Despite her efforts to help others, the outcomes aren't the best. In the Metal Virus Arc, she gets infected while trying to help The Sonic Fan Club (It's not her fault. The two naive kids touch the virus despite the warnings.) When Eggman strikes in her town, she hides behind Amy Rose. And during Zeti Hunt, when the Zeti attacked The Restoration, she couldn't do much to help other than rely on Tangle and the other heroes. Reading that, it might seem Jewel isn't that capable. And that's what she thinks in The Trial of Fire Arc. She wants to help but is unsure of her abilities. When a forest fire occurs because of Dr. Starline's latest creations, Surge and Kit, all this leads to a superb moment between her and Amy Rose. I leave this quote right here.
"You know what you have been doing this whole time, your best. You made it this far, and with every new challenge, you're getting a little stronger."
With Jewel's newfound confidence, she guides others to safety while being a hero in her way. She even manages to let her childhood friend understand even though her and Tangle's paths are different, she'll be okay. It's a worthwhile message. While bittersweet, she accepts that she needs to be strong to overcome life's hurdles. Speaking of hurdles, that's what she needed to do when handling Clutch and his gang of misfits.
After Team Sonic gets disqualified after their boards go haywire, her first concern is asking if they're okay after the incident, highlighting her compassionate side, as mentioned earlier. When she doesn't hear back from them from The Clean Sweep Inc., she starts to get suspicious about the organization's motives. When hearing Sonic is The Phantom Rider, she's immediately relieved they are on the case and what Clean Sweep has been doing will come to light. After Charmy exposes Clutch, she cuts him off The Restoration's resources and sets the ship to detonate to ensure his schemes never come to fruition. Jewel's plan is very risky, but Clutch is responsible for mass pollution, poisoning, Chao Abuse (that monster), and more. It also highlights how far Jewel has progressed in the comics. From hiding from The Babylon Rouges when they robbed her museum to setting the ship to self-destruct when Clutch has more nefarious schemes, she's come a long way.
Jewel may stumble here occasionally, but as Amy said, she's getting stronger from those experiences. She might not know what to do immediately, but whenever she acts, it makes her journey and story more impactful. She shines bright like a Chaos Emerald because she works hard to ensure she grows as the person she wants to be.
Sonic IDW Character Rank: S
Link to Other Analysis (more can be found on my user page)
