Why I think Jon Gray's idea of having Sally slap Sonic in Archie Sonic comic #134 was awful and why I think Amy isn't really a good girlfriend for Sonic; also, let's make Sonic great again

Alright, everyone, I'm Neil, and in my previous post, I pretty much talked about how Sally got a lot of hate as a character due to slapping Sonic in issue #134 of the Archie Sonic comics all because Jon Gray wanted Sonic and Amy to be a couple!  Now, I don't necessarily think that Jon Gray wanting to have Sonic and Amy date because of Sonic breaking up with Sally was necessarily bad in and of itself, but the way he went about that process was horrible!  That's because he had Sally slap Sonic and that was horribly out of character for Sally!  OK, sure, Sally could be mean in the Archie Sonic comics, but she hardly ever acted violently towards Sonic or even any of her other friends if you're not counting the times when she was a robot in issues 230 and onward.  And I'm willing to forgive Sally for how she acted in issue #134 because she did apologize to Sonic for the bad behavior of issue #134 in issue #187.  

Besides, Sally did something way worse than the slap of issue #134 at least 90 issues before issue #134 in issue #40 when she decided to have Sonic locked up in prison and court-martialled!  That was because what Sally did was not only stupid, but also mean-spirited because Sonic was her best Freedom Fighter, and she never apologized for putting Sonic in prison and court-martialling him, and I felt bad for Sonic in that issue!  At least Sally did apologize to Sonic in issue #187 for the awful behavior of issue #134, plus she even expressed regret for her behavior of issue #134 to Monkey Khan in issue #207, so I won't stay mad at Sally for her iconic slap that people want to get up in arms about!  If people want to hate Sally for something she did, hate Sally for what she did in issue #40 or how she acted towards Fiona in issue #160 because Sally's behavior towards Sonic in issue #40 and her behavior towards Fiona in issue #160 were both completely unacceptable.  Also, I felt bad for Fiona when she got yelled at by Sally, especially when considering the fact that Fiona left the Freedom Fighters to be with Scourge in issue #172.

Fiona didn't really do anything wrong in issue #160 of the Archie Sonic comics because all she was trying to do was save the Freedom Fighters and protect Freedom HQ, and you would have expected Sally to praise Fiona or give her a hug or something.  But no, Fiona gets yelled at by Sally!  I wouldn't blame Scourge for thinking that Sally was a jerk if Fiona talked about that incident to him.  You can also check out my friend Emily's (otherwise known as "CrystalMaiden 77's) blog post on why Fiona dating Scourge made sense here at the link https://crystalmaiden77.wordpress.com/2020/01/21/why-fiona-dating-scourge-made-sense/.  Sure, Sally can have moments where she's mean, stupid, or both, but the amount of times where I can really hate her in the Archie Sonic comics and "Sonic SatAm" season 3 are pretty low compared to moments where I can really love her.

I'd really say that how good or bad a character is depends on how good or bad they're portrayed in the media and whether or not the good portrayals outweigh the bad ones.  For example, I hate Sally in "Sonic SatAm" seasons 1 and 2 because I think she's a horrible jerk to Sonic who just doesn't want to seem to help him in a constructive way, she's slow to thank him, and she's just very mean to him.  But in "Sonic SatAm" season 3 and the Archie Sonic comics, sure, Sally can be mean, but she's not always like that because she does care about her friends like Sonic, Bunnie, and Nicole, and she has nice moments to share with such characters, plus it helps that she has flaws that make her feel real.  Sure, I do find Sally lacking confidence in Sonic's abilities to fight well, her acting high and mighty, and her not using weapons often to be annoying, but there are some flaws of Sally that we might have like being a bad cook or being overly cautious.  Fortunately, I've seen more good portrayals of Sally than I've seen bad portrayals of her, and I can't really say that I hate Sally because in reality, I'd like to see her as a character again and as deep and likable of a character as she was in the Archie Sonic comics and in "Sonic SatAm" season 3.

Now, I'm not trying to say that I absolutely hate all of Amy Rose's characterizations because in reality, there are some times when I really love Amy Rose.  For instance, I loved how she saved an innocent bird in "Sonic Adventure," reasoned with Gamma, reunited a bird with it's family, stood up to Zero, and hardly chased down Sonic!  I even think her portrayal in "Sonic Adventure 2," while it wasn't as good as her portrayal in "Sonic Adventure 1," was still fine because she rescued Sonic, wanted to help out, and she helped reason with Shadow to save the world.  Sadly, after "Sonic Adventure 2," Amy's characterization pretty much fell apart in the games and in TV because of one TV show named "Sonic X!"

Now, I don't think that Amy wanting to date Sonic with Sonic wanting to avoid dating her on it's own is necessarily a bad thing.  What is a bad thing is a lack of explanation of why Sonic isn't dating Amy.  If it's because Amy's not mature enough, too violent, too bossy, too emotional, or a combination of any of those four things, then I can understand why Sonic would want to avoid Amy at all costs and it would make Sonic's reasoning for wanting to avoid dating Amy totally justified.  Sadly, he's not wrong to not date Amy because I've seen Amy be too immature, too violent, too bossy, and/or too emotional in some Sonic games like "Sonic Rush" and "Sonic Heroes" along with the TV shows called "Sonic X" and "Sonic Boom."  

Jon Gray should have realized that Amy would also make a horrible girlfriend for Sonic (or at least, I think so, and some other people agree).  That's because before Sonic Archie comic #134 was released, "Sonic Heroes" was pretty much released all around the world, and that game had Amy wanting to beat Sonic up so that she could marry him.  Also, one episode of "Sonic X" that had Amy be mean to Sonic also came out before issue #134 did, plus "Sonic Generations" made it clear that Sonic doesn't want to marry Amy, and as far as I'm concerned, I do not like couples where there is an abusive partner, let alone 2 of them in the same relationship!  I think that Amy is a bad girlfriend for Sonic because I've seen her be bossy, mean, and/or abusive to her friends, including Sonic, and I've seen this stuff happen in "Sonic X," some games like "Sonic Rush" and "Sonic Heroes," and even the TV show "Sonic Boom!"  

I wouldn't want Sonic to marry a girl who would stomp on someone's foot like Amy did to Sam Speed in the "Sonic X" episode called "A Date To Forget," and I don't find it funny for Amy to be implied to beat up Cream or Sonic in "Sonic Rush!"  And if people think Amy's better in "Sonic Boom," well, she is a little bit better in the sense that she's not constantly focused on dating Sonic, but she's so bossy and mean to her friends in that show!  For example, I hate it when Amy's so critical of Sonic in the episode called "Just A Guy" when Sonic practically did nothing wrong!  I'm not saying that Sally didn't have mean moments in the Archie Sonic comics because I did hate how she acted in some Sonic Archie comics like issues 40 and 138, but she could show a sweet side to people like Sonic, Bunnie, and Nicole in issues 53, 69, 174, 176, and 221.  Fortunately, IDW Sonic comics and even some of the Archie Sonic comics had Amy's portrayal handled way better because she was nicer than in "Sonic X" and even some of the Sonic games and she was nice to people besides just Sonic like Tails, Knuckles, Blaze, Silver, and Cream in the comics, but sadly, Ian Flynn didn't evaluate on how Amy matured in IDW.  

When I think of Sonic, I think of a guy who loves adventures and wants to fight villains since "Sonic Adventure 2" and "Sonic Heroes" has him loving adventure, but if any of you think differently, that's absolutely fine and I'm not this guy who hates differing opinions as long as you can see where I'm coming from:)  I think that Mina, and even Fiona, if Fiona didn't date Scourge, would have made much better girlfriends for Sonic than Amy or Sally ever could.  That's because Mina and even Fiona weren't abusive to Sonic like Amy could be in "Sonic X" or any of the Sonic games, they weren't bossy like Sally could be or Amy could be in "Sonic Boom" or "Sonic X", and they weren't mean like Sally in Archie Sonic comics or like Amy was in "Sonic Boom" or "Sonic X!"  But I still love Princess Sally Acorn in the Archie Sonic comics and "Sonic SatAm" season 3, and I think it's unfair that people just want to throw her under the bus all because of one slap she did to Sonic in one certain issue, and I hate it when characters like her get unfairly hated even after they apologize for one bad mistake they made.  I don't even think it's fair for Chris Thorndyke from "Sonic X" to receive hatred because he sincerely apologized to Sonic for keeping Sonic on Earth longer than he wanted, plus I don't think it's fair to hate Mina because she apologized to Nicole for the awful concert of Sonic Archie comic #221.

Sure, I think practically everyone and their brother can agree with me that "Sonic '06" is a terrible game.  But the people who were making that game weren't trying to make that game terrible, and it's really Sega's fault that it turned out so awful, not Sonic Team's fault, and not the fault of Sonic fans.  Like "J's Reviews" said in his review of "Sonic '06" on YouTube, which you should see if you didn't already, we need to take the ambition of that game and make something great out of it.  I don't really care if we get a "Sonic Adventure 3" or not.  What I do want from Sonic are great comic stories, great games, and great TV shows that can make me happy when I play them, read them, or watch them!

Personally, I don't think Sonic needed to be a prince in the show called "Sonic Underground," but I did like him having a mother and two charming siblings named Sonia and Manic, and I think that show is probably about as good as "Sonic SatAm."  I know some people may think romance was awful in the Archie Sonic comics, but I think how those comics handled romance was fine and it didn't overshadow action and tension, plus I think Sonic would love to be a ladies' man since "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" showed him to love flirting with some girls.  Sure, "Sonic '06" was a terrible game, but I loved how committed Sonic's friends like Amy, Knuckles, and Tails were to help save Sonic's life in that game even if they had terrible game-play styles.  Besides, 5 years before "Sonic '06" was made, "Sonic Adventure 2" had a great story, and it had some fine characters to play as, so I don't need people saying, "oh, you can't have a great game with a great story, because that's just a load of nonsense!  I really don't see why people think Sonic should be the only playable character in a Sonic video game because I think "Sonic Adventure" and "Sonic Adventure 2" handled multiple playable characters just fine.

I'm sick of tired of Ian Flynn trying to make comics like the games or trying to do the things that he wants!  Besides, I think that some of the Sonic comic stories that Ian Flynn made make issue #134 of the Archie Sonic comics look like a masterpiece compared to them like issues 172, 197, 224, and 235, and YouTube reviews from "CrystalMaiden 77" will express why I think so!  Sure, maybe Knuckles didn't need parents, but I did like the sweet moments shared between Locke and Knuckles and between Knuckles and his mom in Archie Sonic comics before Ian Flynn showed up as a writer.  Sure, Karl Bollers didn't do everything right as a Sonic comic writer, and neither did Ken Penders, but at least they didn't try to make things exactly like the games in the comics, and while I don't think "Sonic SatAm" is perfect, it at least had Robotnik be a threatening villain.  Those are things that I want in a Sonic cartoon and Sonic comic!

I think that we have far more to gain than lose if we take inspiration from things like "Sonic Underground," "Sonic SatAm," Archie Sonic comics that were not made by Ian Flynn, and "Sonic '06."  Anyway, let me know what you all think and I'll see you all next time:)

let's talk about Princess Sally Acorn and Sonic comic #134 of the Archie Sonic comics:

Hey everyone, I'm Neil, and I want to talk about one of my favorite characters, Princess Sally Acorn.  Princess Sally Acorn is a character who appears in both a cartoon known as "Sonic SatAm" and the Archie Sonic comics, and in my opinion, Sally gets way too much hatred.  The big reason that Princess Sally Acorn got a lot of hate was because of a slap she did to Sonic in comic #134 of the Archie Sonic comics and because Sally considered Sonic selfish during that slap.  I heard from "bugsy," otherwise known as "thebig3box network" on YouTube, that Jon Gray was the one  responsible for Sally's slap and not Karl Bollers, whom was the writer of Sonic comic #134.  

                           Archie Sonic comic #134.  Darn it, why did Sonic comic #177 have to get rid of Sally's long hair?!?  She looked perfect with it!!!

Karl Bollers pretty much started writing for Sonic comic issues at issue #50 and ended at issue #154 and a lot of people think Karl Bollers had Sally slap Sonic because of a dropped idea that Karl Bollers had that involved Sonic dating Amy secretly without Sally knowing it.  But I'm kind of glad that idea was scrapped because before making this post, I watched all the episodes of "Sonic X."   I can understand why some people didn't really like Sally slapping Sonic because it's never really nice to hit a friend, let alone have a girl hit you.  However, some girls slap guys in media all the time probably saying things to guys like "you're a pig" or "you're so dumb" before, during, or after the slap like my friend Emily, otherwise known as "CrystalMaiden 77" on YouTube, eloquently said in her review of Sonic Archie comic #134.  I'll give a link to that review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvq90MTlIdo&list=PLHvkpKypKLU3SFHZGNG1KuJWH3Ut4Xv3l&index=207.

Sally in the Archie Sonic comics is not this "Mary Sue" type of character that people like to label as for some idiotic reason because she has flaws that help make her feel real and help humanize her, and the reason that Sally slapped Sonic in issue #134 is because of the flaws she had.  If people want a real definition of a "Mary Sue" or a "Gary Stu" type of character, Sonic from "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" would certainly qualify because he's such a smug sadist to the villains and he never gets called out on it or for seeming to steal disguises or other materials from other people in that show.  Sally in the Sonic Archie Sonic comics had flaws like being sneaky, wanting to try to fight enemies by herself without Sonic's assistance, pleasing people against better judgment, being a judgmental snob, being cautious to the point of paranoia, and worrying constantly that Sonic will die.  

Sally's also a clever tactician, she's a great leader, she's sympathetic, and a great mediator, but she does have flaws like the ones I listed and more, and my friend "CrystalMaiden 77" has a web link that pretty much lists the flaws Sally has, and the link is here:  https://crystalmaiden77.wordpress.com/2018/11/27/so-how-is-sally-acorn-a-mary-sue-again/.  I wish that the Archie Sonic comics didn't have to ditch Sally's long hair-style and just her wearing a vest and boots from an Archie Sonic issue like that of issue #130 or 134 because I loved Sally looking like that, and Steven Butler really did a good job making Sally look beautiful when she had that long hair.  I know that at least some people like to say that Tracy Yardley does great artwork, and while that can be true, Steven Butler and other artists in the Archie Sonic comics like James Fry and Art Mawhinney aren't exactly slouches either, especially Mr. Butler when Sally had long hair.  If I'm recommending stuff from "CrystalMaiden 77," it's because she has a lot of videos and other content that I think is all criminally underrated and very worthy of praise:)  

Anyway, the reason that Sally blew up at Sonic in issue #134, which included her infamous slap and her calling Sonic selfish, was because of the events of Archie Sonic comic issues 125, 132, and 133, and she wanted Sonic not to die.  Some of Sally's lines after Sonic yelled at her confirmed this in issue #134:  "Do you know what it was like believing you were DEAD?  It completely broke my heart.  Watching MECHA hurt you brought it all back...   and I refuse to have my heart broken again, Sonic."  Issue #125 had Sally think Sonic died since Sonic destroyed the Quantum Dial, and after a trip through space, Sonic returned to Mobius in issue #130 to his friends and family, but he apparently got really hurt by Eggman's robotic daughter Mecha in issues 132 and 133, which caused Sally to get into a huge panic about Sonic's safety.  In issue #132, Sonic got hurt really badly by Mecha and thrown into the ocean, which worried Sally because she was worried Sonic couldn't swim, and in issue #133, Sally saw Mecha shoot Sonic in the shoulder with a laser, causing Sally to cry in a huge panic, "Sonic!  No!  Not again!  Not again!"  

I know that at least some people would think Sonic was wrong to keep fighting Eggman in issue #134 since he was injured, but I don't really think he was because he was walking and running just fine without any hint of pain in that issue even if he had a shoulder injury.  And personally, I don't necessarily think Sally was right to hit Sonic at all in issue #134, but 1.  I've seen worse things than slaps all around media, and 2.  Sally apologizes to Sonic for her outburst of issue #134 later in issue #187, so I think people need to seriously bury the hatchet towards Sally.  Personally, I think Mina Mongoose would have been a better girlfriend for Sonic because she's cautious without being overly nagging like I feel Sally is, plus Mina, unlike Amy, isn't really abusive, plus Mina doesn't really seem to mind Sonic seeking thrills.  Sure, Fiona would have made a good girlfriend for Sonic as well, but I think it made sense for her to leave the Freedom Fighters considering how awfully people in that group treated her, especially Sally, and I even think how Sally acted in issue #160 towards Fiona was awful because I felt awful for Fiona:(  Personally, I don't think Sally makes a good girlfriend for Sonic because from what I've seen, they're practically never showing good chemistry, they argue too frequently, they have poor communication skills, and Sally lacks faith in Sonic's abilities like the Archie Sonic comics showed.

At least some of that stuff between Sonic and Sally was also present in "Sonic SatAm," but at least the Archie Sonic comics had Sally be nicer to Sonic than she was in "Sonic SatAm" seasons 1 and 2 because she has been nice to him multiple times like in issues 53, 57, 69, and 187.  In seasons 1 and 2 of "Sonic SatAm," I just can't stand Sally because she's constantly arguing with Sonic, practically not helping Sonic, and she's slow to thank Sonic while in one of the Archie Sonic comic stories, Sally at least does thank Sonic for rescuing her even if she does horribly hit Sonic with a stick after doing so.  Now, I don't mind if people like Sonic and Sally as a couple; that's fine, but such people need to understand that I have just as much of a right to voice my opinions on things regarding Sonic as much as they do.  In the Archie Sonic comics, I liked how Sally looked sad in issue #53 when she didn't want to bother Sonic with what she considered dumb problems, I liked how she hugged Sonic in issue #69, and I liked how after Sonic considered Sally a friend in issue #187, Sally said she was glad to have Sonic as a friend.  Anyway, me saying that I think Sally makes a bad girlfriend for Sonic doesn't automatically mean that I think she's an awful character in the Archie Sonic comics.

In fact, I love Sally in the Archie Sonic comics and "Sonic SatAm" season 3 because of how deep and lovable she is as a character!  The only flaws about Sally that genuinely really annoy me are 1.  she acts like an uptight worry-wart about Sonic's safety constantly when she should know Sonic will be OK, 2.  her acting high and mighty towards people she doesn't approve of like Fiona, and 3.  her not really using weapons or having any magical powers very often.  Yes, Sally did use the Sword of Acorns to kill Kodos in issue #100 and did use some weapons other times, but she didn't do so very frequently, and I don't see why she couldn't have had elemental magic like lightning or ice magic or at least something like a flame gun.   A lot of people think that Sonic being blended with romance is awful, but I don't really think so since the Sonic cartoon called "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" had him flirting with ladies like Breezie, Roxie, and Miss Possum, and when I think of "cool," I think of a guy who wants to impress people, including women.  Besides, Disney kids movies like "Beauty and the Beast" and "A Goofy Movie" had some moments of romance, plus a Disney cartoon called "Darkwing Duck" had some romance as well, so I don't see why Sonic being blended with romance is considered equal to a war crime!  

Also, there was hardly any romance drama at all in the Archie Sonic comics to speak of other than the break-up between Sonic and Sally, plus there was more hugging than there was kissing.  What I do want is for romance to be a side element balanced with good writing, a good amount of action along with a balance of light-hearted moments and tension, and I think the Archie Sonic comics did fine on that regard even if I think Sonic should have had Mina as his girlfriend with Sally having Monkey Khan as her boyfriend.  I don't think that every Sonic character needs to be super-deep and complex, but I would have liked at least some more characters like Sonic, Bunnie, Tails, Amy, and Mina to have the amount of character depth that Sally had in the Archie Sonic comics, and I especially want that for future Sonic stories!  For any future stories for Sonic media like a game, cartoon, or a comic, I don't need Sonic just being a quip-spouter and I don't need Tails being a coward or a brat because in other Sonic games like "Sonic and the Black Knight" or "Sonic Adventure 2," Sonic showed compassion and Tails wasn't a coward!  Anyway, Jon Gray should not have had Sally slap Sonic in issue #134 because not only would Sally doing so have Sally acting out of character, but Jon should have realized that the idea of Sonic and Amy being shipped possibly just can't really work.  I'll talk about why I think Amy would make a bad girlfriend for Sonic next time and until then, take care:)

Things about me and things I want to do:

Hey, everyone, my name is Neil.  The reason that I love the Sonic franchise is that it played such a huge role in my childhood, and hopefully, that love can continue to blossom.   Most of the video games I've played involved that speedy hedgehog and some of them like "Sonic Adventure 2" and "Sonic Generations" are two of my most favorite Sonic games while some of them like "Sonic '06" and "Sonic Free Riders" are 2 of my least favorite Sonic games. I've even read some comics like the Archie Sonic comics which involve Sally Acorn, Bunnie Rabbot, and Mina Mongoose, read at least a bit of the Fleetway Sonic comics, and even a little bit of dabbling into the IDW Sonic comics.  I've even pretty much watched in at least some form or another all of the Sonic TV shows which are "Sonic X," "Sonic Boom," "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog," "Sonic SatAm," and "Sonic Underground."

Bunnie Rabbot is the girl wearing a cowgirl hat.  

Mina Mongoose is a character that I like and I think she should have been shipped with Sonic in the Archie Sonic comics.  Don't worry; I don't hate Sally in the Archie Sonic comics; I love her a lot:)  But I'll talk about that detail later.  Anyway, Mina is on the cover of issue #99, which is this issue shown above, and she's the yellow mongoose with purple hair.  Also, I think hating Mina is foolish because she did apologize to Nicole in issue #237 for her bad behavior of issue #221.

Now I think issue #134 of the Archie Sonic comics is an over-hated issue!  Do I think it's the worst issue?  Not really.  My friend Emily, otherwise known as "CrystalMaiden 77" on YouTube, has a great review on it that you should see if you haven't already.  I don't think issue #134 is even close to the worst issue!  

Things that don't involve Sonic that interest me would include things like the Mega Man game franchise which involves not only classic Mega Man games, but also some of the Mega Man X games as well as Mega Man Zero games and other Mega Man games that interest me.  I also want to talk about the video game called "Freedom Planet," the video game called "Shovel Knight," the video game called "Fur Fighters" that I played for the Sega Dreamcast, and the Fire Emblem video game franchise.  Hopefully, I can bring some interesting opinions of the Sonic franchise to the table, and I do want to elaborate my thoughts on some Sonic games like some of the classic Sonic games and some other ones like "Sonic Adventure" and "Sonic Adventure 2" in the future.  I'd also like to see if maybe I can talk about some of the things that I feel that any Sonic media should include in their stories.  

       "Fur Fighters" is kind of an under-appreciated gem for the Sega Dreamcast.  I also happen to love some Fire Emblem games like "Fire Emblem:  The Sacred Stones" and "Fire Emblem:  Path of Radiance."  Two of such games are shown above:)                

Has anyone heard of "Freedom Planet?"  You ought to give it a shot!  I did, and I think it's great:)

I happen to love some Mega Man games, and while I haven't completed "Mega Man 11" yet, I'm willing to give it a shot:)

People ought to try out some "Mega Man X" games as well.  I love some of those games as well; especially Mega Man X games 1 and 4:)

I'm really interested in the "Mega Man Zero" games too.  A guy known as "J's Reviews" did some reviews on those games; check out those reviews if you didn't already:)

I'm even hoping to maybe do some reviews of TV shows I never reviewed before like "Darkwing Duck," "TaleSpin," and "Chip'N'Dale Rescue Rangers."  And I might even do reviews of movies I watched like "A Goofy Movie," "Wreck-It Ralph," "Frozen," and "Homeward Bound:  The Incredible Journey" from Disney.  All of you take care, I will see you all next time, and until then, I will show you some of the things I was talking about:)

"Frozen" and two "Homeward Bound" movies are above.  The first "Homeward Bound" movie is one of my favorite movies ever and I can't wait to review it:)

Another movie I want to review:)

3 TV shows that I want to review

And another movie that I want to review

That's all for this post; take care and I'll see you all next time:)