Best Preboot Sonic Universe Arc (pool)

[MetalSkulkBane]

Self explanatory, isn't it? I'm not counting stand alone issues, Shadow Saga (because it's more like 4 stand alone issues) and Journey to the Est (since it's a tie-in). I have only 10 spots after all.

Mobius XYL (SU 5- SU 8 ): One of my favorites. Story is big (kinda movie like), Sonic's kids adorable, and Lien-Da makes a good villain. I just wish Silver wasn't so pointless. In the end he wasn't really needed.

Knuckles The Return (SU 9- SU 12 ): I like the climax... and not much else. Sure, Chaotix are fun bunch, but story was pretty boring. First we walked though the ruins which lead to nowhere, then they team-up with Finitevus, which SOUNDS cool, but they do absolutely NOTHING with the concept and Downunda FF aren't that interesting, nor Bill and his DEL.

Tails Adventure (SU 17- SU 20 ): Simple relaxing story, with two problems. Small: Speedy and his 'racisim' is kinda hilarious. Bird claim the sky, but they are the only specie that can't really fly> Big one: Battle Lord is an IDIOT. Why did he though that Bunnie is a spy? Having clearly visible metal limb would be horrible attribute for a spy (we know that Eggman can make then subtle). Silver did some stupid assumption in his search for Traitor, but he's no much for that bird brain.

Treasure Team Tango (SU 21- SU 24 ): Probably the best story. It's funny, has tons of interactions, crazy fight and requires pretty much no knowledge about Archie's word. It's THE reason I like Cream now.

Silver Saga (SU 25- SU 28 ): Runner up for a best story. I never watched Dragon Ball, but I always though that making fight that takes multiple issues must get boring. Silver Saga proves it wrong, with it's dark setting and wonderful atmosphere (partially thanks to colorist, Ray DIllon, just compare it with other Sonic Univere arcs) gets even better if you saw those extra Flynn uploaded on the Internet about how this future came to be. Also, I love Enerjack's Design.

Scourge: Lock Down (SU 29- SU 32 ): I'll be honest, I don't really like it. You saw one jailbreak story, you saw them all, Lock Down doesn't do much different. Destructix's origins are nice, but only two of them. We already knew about Larry and Flying doesn't tell us much. Zobotnik makes a pathetic villain. He clearly sees that Scourge is up to something but doesn't do anything about it,

Babylon Rising (SU 33- SU 36 ): A mix bag to me. Yardley does all he can to makes Rouge interesting, but he's can't do miracles. Siege of Mobotropolis is surprisingly easy (Nagus once again goes down like punk), but stoping the apocalypse is even easier. But Babylonian's lore was well implemented.

Scrambled (SU 37- SU 40 ): Another great story. It has it's flaws (you can get tired of Mecha Sally and "I can't hit her", Eggman is a bit OverPowered), but Robotnik's family has great character moments and whole story is great explanation how Eggman think (with his "Game" he plays with everyone).

Secret Freedom (SU 41- SU 44 ): A really fun story fun great moments for Geoffrey. Makes you said it's the only big story about Secret FF.

Chaotix Quest (SU 46- SU 49 ): Part 3&4 were a great story with with awesome moments, especially from Jack. Parts 1&2... were okay, nothing special. Still, I prefer this approach over stretching short story into 4 issues, something that bugged me in few Univere arcs Post Reboot.

Shortly about other
SU 1 is one of my favorite stories: It has great action, comedy and some character development for my 2 fav characters: Shadow and Metal. Also, I just love Marine. I can't explain it, but I find her energy very endearing
SU 2 is basic. Nothing really exiting, just retealing SA2
SU 3 is way better origin for Omega than what games gave us. It kinda takes away from Gamma tragedy, but I think it's a fair trade. If I wanna cry over Gamma I replay the game.
SU 4 is good. I kinda question why they had to fight Feist (couldn't they try again and again until they win? It can't be that hard, Sonic did it later), but story still works.
Whole Journey kinda lacks in real stakes, but makes up for it with character interaction, comedy (Sally's royal mark) and cool clanes. There is only one thing that really bugs me: If in Dragon Kingdom your words is sacred, then how Brides can abandon Iron Queen. Didn't they swore they allegiance?
SU 45 is just commercial for All Star Racing so it kinda sucks. Even Olympics in StH 242 had characters we cared for and that 2 page spread.
SU 50 Great fight, great interactions, I still don't get why Metal blew himself up. Makes me wonder if Metal has his upgrade in new reality.

[Xabin]

I honestly didn't like M:XYL; despite the whole deal with Rotor and Cobar, I felt the first part was too dedicated to the slice of life part of the future (which isn't bad in and of itself, just not something to focus exclusively on, when you have a b-plot with the universe unraveling due to various shenanigans), and Ian's take on it was just... wrong. I don't just mean his callous murdering of the hypotenuse for Rotor/Cobar, just the whole dystopia with Shadow as king and everything felt so jarring, so blatantly "screw you"-ish to Penders, that it seems like a parody of what it was intended to be. Other than Rotor/Cobar, the only thing I liked about the series was Knuckles' awesome outfit.

Other than that, I didn't really follow the SU arcs enough to really bother getting into them. I always found it odd that it took so long for them to do a comic cover of Tails' Sky Patrol, and I did think that some of the criminals that they had with Scourge's series was interesting (especially Smalls the Cat, need more stuff with him), but other than that, not really much of anything that I really cared for.

[Penguin God]

I loved Tails Adventure, Chaotix Quest, Babylon Rising and Treasure Team Tango, but really I'd vote for anything that's not Mobius: 30 Years Later.

[GentlemanX]

I swear this is the fourth or fifth time a thread like this has been posted.

[croubo]

Tails Adventure, Treasure Team Tango, and Lock Down are probably my top picks.

[disneydork57]

I voted for Tails Adventure mainly cause I'm Bunnie x Antoine shipping trash.

However Treasure Team Tango is a close second being the funniest series of comics I've ever read in my life.

Also I do like Mobius 30 Years Later, but more for the concept of it rather than the actual story.

[DoNotDelete]

I voted for Treasure Team Tango because it had so many characters, was so entertaining and comedic, but I would have selected more given the option. Scourge: Lockdown was a really good introspective, Tails' Adventure was an enjoyable little diversion, also I would have voted for Babylon Rising because I like to see the Babylon Rogues represented. Oh - and Chaotix Quest because it was the Chaotix, Mordred, something about a computer room and Mighty swinging a Tank around. Also I liked the first SU arc with Shadow and E-102 Gamma but that's not an option here?

My least favourite was Silver's Saga. Though I can appreciate the reasons for it, I found it too barren a story - not enough characters to hold my interest.

[Arkus0]

Silver Saga is my favourite for its artwork, atmosphere, action and drama, but Treasure Team Tango is also tops for comedy and character interactions. I can't choose between the two as they are both really fun and awesome reads.

[SonicBlueRanger]

Silver Saga. It's just such a different kind of story you don't see in Sonic all that much and when you do it's usually pretty bad. The Silver Saga introduced an interesting situation, group of characters and expanded on the original Lara-Su in a really cool way.

I'm not normally one calling for Sonic The Hedgehog to be "Dark 'N Gritty" but this story showed that when handled correctly Darker plots can be great.

Also Ray Dillion's colors are godly and while I love Steve Downer I wish Ray had done all four.

[FancyFool]

I actually voted for Treasure Team Tango but, after some consideration, I think the Tails' Adventure Arc is my most favorite of the Pre-Reboot SU Arcs.
Of all the SU Arcs, Tails' Adventure was the most interesting/entertaining to me and had the least problems, story-wise or character-wise. Tails (who's been a favorite character of mine for the longest time) finally gets his own Arc, one that is written good for once and has him being awesome throughout. Bunnie and Antoine, two characters who usually neglected in the main series (especially Bunnie), get to share some much needed page-time while thankfully not taking too much from Tails. The Battle Bird Armada are reintroduced to a new and larger audience with fleshed-out personalities that helps stand them out from their original appearance in a then obscure game, not to mention having a connection with the Babylonians which I find intriguing. The art and setting is top-notch, the story well paced, and I especially love the humor (the bumbling and surprisingly polite Armada soldiers, Antoine freaking out over the door at the top of the "mountain," everyone having trouble pronouncing Dr. Fukurokov's name which in turn enrages him, Antoine annoying the absolute crap out of Tails when reminiscing the old days, and that little Princess Bride reference). The story may not be big in the grand scheme of things, merely a diversion, but it's personally a very entertaining and well put together arc.

Back to Treasure Team Tango though, I still favor that one greatly and it's a definite second place in my list of favorite SU Arcs. Having Amy and Cream as the focus and being Cream's first adventure in the comic after being denied into the comics for EIGHT YEARS automatically earns this Arc a lot of points. Appearances from a character who rarely appears and two teams with infrequent appearances is always welcome. The plot is fun and has many funny moments (For me personally, Angry Cream was the best. We need more of that). Overall, it's good and evidently many people agree. I'm also glad it got some people, like you MetalSkulkBane, to start liking Cream. Indeed, looking back, this Arc not only handled Cream the best but she actually did some legit stuff and I can let her occasional "ineffectiveness" slide since this is her very first foray into adventuring. At least she's not being a waitress and giving one character a band-aid for a negligible wound while the official member of the Freedom Fighters :roll:
But... There is one very major problem with TTT that prevents me from making it my most favorite: Rouge's characterization...

Holy guano, Rouge's characterization... Look, I get that Rouge is an anti-hero; she's not nice, she's greedy, and does things mostly for her own gain. But Rouge is not evil and especially not heartless, yet throughout the entire Arc she was determined as heck to take the Sol Emerald for herself, even after learning that an ENTIRE WORLD will die off without that gem. Rouge's obsession with gems has limits and stuff like preserving entire worlds, preventing their destruction, is one of those things that makes Rouge ignore her greed. Her characterization also conflicts with an earlier issue, the one where Evil Sonic becomes Scourge; Scourge was just about to kill Locke and Rouge was quick to stop him and makes it very clear that she does not condone killing. "You want to run with me? Then no body count" are her exact words in that issue. Yet here she is in this Arc, trying to take a gem and willingly dooming, at the very least, BILLIONS of lives...

Oh yeah, another problem with TTT that is admittedly very minor (and to some, not a problem at all) but is something I DESPISE nonetheless, this panel... (Spoilered for size)

Spoiler: show

Cream supporting Sonally? No. Amy getting very angry at Cream and giving her the icicle speech bub- NO!!! Those are things that should NEVER happen and, in the case of the latter, are detrimental since they fuel the arguments that Amy is "abusive" and can easily make people think Amy and Cream shouldn't be friends. Amy and Cream are best friends: they are supposed to be unofficial sisters like how Sonic and Tails are unofficial brothers. Never make a scene like that again. Please.

[Specs64z]

Knux because Finitevus. TTT close second.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

I actually voted for Treasure Team Tango but, after some consideration, I think the Tails' Adventure Arc is my most favorite of the Pre-Reboot SU Arcs.
Of all the SU Arcs, Tails' Adventure was the most interesting/entertaining to me and had the least problems, story-wise or character-wise. Tails (who's been a favorite character of mine for the longest time) finally gets his own Arc, one that is written good for once and has him being awesome throughout. Bunnie and Antoine, two characters who usually neglected in the main series (especially Bunnie), get to share some much needed page-time while thankfully not taking too much from Tails. The Battle Bird Armada are reintroduced to a new and larger audience with fleshed-out personalities that helps stand them out from their original appearance in a then obscure game, not to mention having a connection with the Babylonians which I find intriguing. The art and setting is top-notch, the story well paced, and I especially love the humor (the bumbling and surprisingly polite Armada soldiers, Antoine freaking out over the door at the top of the "mountain," everyone having trouble pronouncing Dr. Fukurokov's name which in turn enrages him, Antoine annoying the absolute crap out of Tails when reminiscing the old days, and that little Princess Bride reference). The story may not be big in the grand scheme of things, merely a diversion, but it's personally a very entertaining and well put together arc.

Back to Treasure Team Tango though, I still favor that one greatly and it's a definite second place in my list of favorite SU Arcs. Having Amy and Cream as the focus and being Cream's first adventure in the comic after being denied into the comics for EIGHT YEARS automatically earns this Arc a lot of points. Appearances from a character who rarely appears and two teams with infrequent appearances is always welcome. The plot is fun and has many funny moments (For me personally, Angry Cream was the best. We need more of that). Overall, it's good and evidently many people agree. I'm also glad it got some people, like you MetalSkulkBane, to start liking Cream. Indeed, looking back, this Arc not only handled Cream the best but she actually did some legit stuff and I can let her occasional "ineffectiveness" slide since this is her very first foray into adventuring. At least she's not being a waitress and giving one character a band-aid for a negligible wound while the official member of the Freedom Fighters :roll:
But... There is one very major problem with TTT that prevents me from making it my most favorite: Rouge's characterization...

Holy guano, Rouge's characterization... Look, I get that Rouge is an anti-hero; she's not nice, she's greedy, and does things mostly for her own gain. But Rouge is not evil and especially not heartless, yet throughout the entire Arc she was determined as heck to take the Sol Emerald for herself, even after learning that an ENTIRE WORLD will die off without that gem. Rouge's obsession with gems has limits and stuff like preserving entire worlds, preventing their destruction, is one of those things that makes Rouge ignore her greed. Her characterization also conflicts with an earlier issue, the one where Evil Sonic becomes Scourge; Scourge was just about to kill Locke and Rouge was quick to stop him and makes it very clear that she does not condone killing. "You want to run with me? Then no body count" are her exact words in that issue. Yet here she is in this Arc, trying to take a gem and willingly dooming, at the very least, BILLIONS of lives...

Oh yeah, another problem with TTT that is admittedly very minor (and to some, not a problem at all) but is something I DESPISE nonetheless, this panel... (Spoilered for size)

Spoiler: show

Cream supporting Sonally? No. Amy getting very angry at Cream and giving her the icicle speech bub- NO!!! Those are things that should NEVER happen and, in the case of the latter, are detrimental since they fuel the arguments that Amy is "abusive" and can easily make people think Amy and Cream shouldn't be friends. Amy and Cream are best friends: they are supposed to be unofficial sisters like how Sonic and Tails are unofficial brothers. Never make a scene like that again. Please.

Cream isn't supporting Sonally. She's stating the fact that at that time, Sonic was dating Sally, and Amy really didn't have a right to claim the two would be together. You're also overreacting. They're best friends yes, but they can still get annoyed with each other. Brothers, Sisters, Best Friends, they all tend to get on each other's nerves at times. It's just life. The icicle speech bub isn't to show anger or hatred, it's to show distain because Amy knows she can't think up an argument to defend herself, so she wants Cream to drop it. If Tails began telling Knuckles about Sonic's real name, I'm pretty sure Sonic'd react in the same way. It's just telling them to drop the subject, nothing more, nothing less, and I honestly think you're taking it far too seriously.

On another note, mine's The Silver Saga, with Tails Adventure and Scourge Lockdown in a close second. The Silver Saga just gave Silver a much larger scale, and a sense of respect that the character really needed because of the poor treatment both the games and the community was giving him. It's really great seeing Silver show so much personality in this arc. He can be naive and inexperienced, but he can also be strong, cool, and always willing to do the right thing. Plus, the Dark Mobius timeline really did bring a sense of scale and epicness to the whole thing.

[Mobotropolis]

Hard Choice for me. I thought every arch except XYL (every page seemed to name-drop an event that would have been more interesting to see than what we actually saw plus new characters were not particularly endearing) and Treasure Team Tango (four issues of mindless brawling to reach the forgone conclusion plus the weakest arch artistically) was great.

Ultimately, I went with Scrambled over Lockdown. Both stories involved recently beaten down villains getting a rare decisive victory that would have pushed forward the plot -- or would have if the old-verse continued. I think Scrambled did a better job at telling a story as it was happening and reminding the viewers of why all of the characters were there. Lockdown relied heavily on Flashbacks and Callbacks (look in this issue to find out why this happened!) to set up the characters, losing two issues pretty much for origin stories and setup. Scrambled put us into the action right away with most of the needed exposition being given to us by Eggman or the characters in the story. Overall Scrambled flowed better and much more was accomplished as a result.

The strength of Scrambled could be attested in one of the last pages where Eggman gloats to Snively-Snively. Following a move meant to weaken and disorient him he awakened two undoubtedly loyal lackeys, got his own army back in line, sent Lien-da on her way to become (not) the Grandmaster of Ablion, terrorized one of his strongest enemies, located one of his special targets, sacked a village, found and nerfed/traumatized an old creation, defeated Snively, and replaced one of his " boring " Grandmasters with the object of his affections.

This sweeping change through the ranks didn't take four years. This happened in four issues.

I also thought the characterization was stronger in Scrambled. Even after getting the Destructix's backgrounds I didn't really care for them. They're just the mooks of whoever they decide to follow now. Meanwhile in Scrambled we got some flavor from the other Grandmasters, the two new (at the time) bots, and Snively pouring his heart out to Hope and Regina trying to win them over again. You could feel the emotional weight of the story for everyone except for Eggman who revels in being an unfeeling monster.

I wanted to absolutely love Lockdown because it involved the main character and it had things I wanted to know more about but we spent so much time on things that didn't matter that the Destructix were pretty much handed the victory during the last issue. Instead I like it because it presented a lot of things that I would have loved to have seen explored further like the Zone War and No Zone and Scourge's plan and Finitevus' plan and whatever Zobotnik was planning but now we'll never get any of that.

She's stating the fact that at that time, Sonic was dating Sally

... were they?

I thought Sonic and Sally officially got back together after Iron Dominion and they were kind of skirting the issue between the breakup in the 130s and Iron Dominion.

[Mikail]

I wouldn't consider the Shadow Saga just a series of one shots, because there's an underlying theme throughout the entire arc. Dealing with failure.

With perhaps a minor exception in SU #2, the entirety of this arc features Shadow selling himself short due to the expectations he sets for himself. These issues could have been just him doing cool stuff and just being Sonic's "Dark Double" but it wasn't. It shows Shadow facing considerable obstacles, and how he copes when he believes he falls short. It's important to him that he doesn't fail because he thinks that to fail is to to disgrace his creator. If he's less than perfect, he'll feel like less than nothing. That's something that I think many people can relate to.

Sure, the actual plots in the arc may be kinda one shot, but I think the theme is what ties it all together.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Treasure Team Tango occurred around that time of #215-220 I think? Jouney to the East was arc 4 while TTT is arc 6, so it takes place after Iron Dominion.