How have interacting with various fandoms shaped my Internet identity? What should people know about avid fandoms and their members before joining one? In this project, it is my goal to highlight the issues seen in toxic fandoms and what people can...
Sonic was one of the first fandoms I ever found myself in, and it has A LOT of problems. I can't help but feel like this was inevitable just based on the concept. Sega invented new anthropomorphic species of animals that walk and talk like humans and have various superpowers. On-screen, it looks like an engaging platform and running-based series of games.
When spelled out on paper, it sounds like a recipe for cringe compilations, animal OCs, and widespread anthropomorphic chaos.
There are a slew of issues that I could talk about regarding Sonic and his media presence, but I want to focus on how it opened the floodgates to anthropomorphic OCs ("Original Characters") and personas. Anthropomorphic means animals with human-like qualities and are often depicted in a cartoon style. Anthro characters became increasingly popular in the 90s with the rise of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Space Jam, and Disney movies like Robin Hood and Beauty and the Beast. The depiction of humanoid animals in media could be seen as a gateway drug into other fandoms like the Furry or Therian fandoms.
While Sonic the Hedgehog is not directly related to furries, his line of games encourages the audience to recreate themselves as an anthropomorphic animal in Sonic's style. For example, in Sonic Forces, the player has to create an anthro character in Sonic's style to act as the player throughout the game. Even before that, the Sonic Archie Comics encouraged comic creators to make characters to interact with Sonic and his friends on his adventures. After Sonic transitioned from 2D to 3D in the late 90s and early 2000s, Sonic OCs became the scourge of the Internet.
Why do people make OCs and personas in the first place? In short, personas are a stand-in for a person or concept. They represent something real in a fictional world. They are meant to act as bridges across realities and offer people the chance to experience a fictional world beyond their reach. OCs, on the other hand, don't have to represent a person. They are original ideas or concepts made to fit into that fictional world. Sometimes, they represent the solution to a fictional need. Sometimes they are created based on purpose rather than as a self-insert. On rare occasions, these OCs can become "canonical" depending on the series or circumstance. For instance, Tangle the Lemur from the IDW comics got a mention in the newest Sonic game: Sonic Frontiers. That acknowledgment establishes this character as "canon" to the series.
Unlike writers for Archie and IDW who have ties to Sega, we don't get that level of validation beyond Sonic Forces. So, we look to the Internet to acknowledge our characters and self-inserts. Every OC is a compilation of dreams and desires, but strangers can rarely see the value in those dreams. Most of the time, Sonic OCs are deemed "cringe" and childish.
I'll use myself and my story with Sonic OCs as an example. The following picture depicts my own Sonic OC/persona (based on myself) and shows off my dream of having a close relationship with a fictional character from the Sonic universe. My persona is on the right, and Shadow the Hedgehog is on the left.
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Just sharing this picture here for this project is scary for me, because it's taboo to ship your fanon character with a canonical character. Shadow is a popular character with a massive fanbase (and scary fangirls). I have never uploaded this to the Internet until now out of fear of incurring some fangirl's wrath.
The same goes for every other Sonic OC I have ever made. They are buried in the basement of my house in my box of shameful doodles from middle school. I will never put them on the Internet, and I will not discuss them with strangers because they are "cringe." They mark me as a childish dreamer without merit or credibility. Every time I see a Sonic OC being bullied on the Internet, I feel that pain in my chest.
Once again, it's an attack against a real person's identity and interests that leads to toxicity, depression, and repression in online communities and popular fandoms.
