BumbleKast #64: The Two-Worlds System

Long time writer for former Archie Sonic comics as well as the upcoming IDW book, Ian Flynn released his latest podcast this weekend, BumbleKast – Episode 64 – The Last Jedi. In addition the usual Q&A where he discussed the somewhat confusing and contradictory “Two-Worlds” system, Ian announced that he will be attending the following conventions: Wondercon & Toronto ComicCon. Below is the video starting at the Q&A, as well as a transcript of the relevant questions regarding the upcoming IDW book:

Q: What is your understanding of the distinction between the Human World and Sonic’s World? At first glance, Sonic Adventure seems to be set in the Human World but it also features the Knuckle’s tribe. Conversely Sonic Rush seems to be in Sonic’s world but has an aircraft carrier full of GUN robots. What’s your take on this?

A: It’s that dreaded two-word term: Loose Continuity. When you get down to it, there is no simple and clean way to explain everything. I know; I’ve tried. Sonic Adventure clearly takes place on the Human World, but there are elements of Sonic’s World on there. Angel Island is present. Why? I don’t know. Sonic Adventure 2 clearly takes place on the Human World, but why did Professor Gerald make a Sonic’s World hedgehog as the template for Shadow? Why was the Huge Crisis, which I am assuming is the name of the aircraft carrier, on Sonic’s World? It really doesn’t quite add up. And it might just be the rule of cool, when you get down to it. I know I have my explanations, maybe I can work that into the IDW book down the line, but as I’ve said in previous interviews and stuff, my focus in the book initially is to just to hit the ground running, and later on we’ll explore the deeper lore and history and all that.

Q: Are the new comics going to be based on the “Two-World Canon”, or are we still going to have just one world with both “Mobians” and Humans?

A: Ya, because Modern Sonic is set with two worlds, that’s where the comic is going to be. When the reboot happened in the old comic, had I known about the two-worlds things, that’s where we would have been to begin with because that’s the standard the game set, that is what they have. The whole reason why we got away with it being just one planet is because we never really specified where we were when we were getting those scripts approved. It’s like, ya, now we are over here with GUN. Where are we again? Where over at this place, we don’t really need to worry what planet it’s on. And really, that’s what it boils down to is what planet it is on hasn’t really affected the stories of the games. I mean, sure, when you get into the details, as we have exhaustively done on the Last Jedi, it can be annoying that things don’t perfectly sync up, but for the individual stories, it doesn’t really matter too much about which planet is which. It’s just that you see a bunch of Humans; you’re on the Human World. You see a bunch of animal people, you’re on Sonic’s World. It’s not that hard of a distinction.

While I agree with the conclusion that the planet on which events are transpiring is relatively insignificant to the stories being told, I would much prefer a more consistent world. There is little explanation as to the relationship of these worlds or how one travels from one to the other or how they intersect in the various ways we have seen through the games. In the end, I do not think we will ever see these things sorted out and should just enjoy the ride! Sonic moves too fast to notice these little inconsistencies, I suppose!

What do you think? Do you like the “Two-Worlds” system or do you just conveniently ignore it like most seem to do? Let us know your opinion in the comments below! And with less than a month before the launch of the new IDW Sonic on going series, be sure to check back regularly for the latest news!

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