It's been a few years since the most recent animated series based on SEGA's Sonic the Hedgehog concluded with 2017's Sonic Boom. This was more of a comedic take on the Sonic characters than fans had been exposed to previously. Now, Netflix has officially revealed Sonic Prime, a brand new 24-episode 3D CG series being developed by Wildbrain Vancouver, and it sounds a lot more serious.
Sonic Prime is supposed to be about taking Sonic into new worlds and dimensions, similar to what happened in the Sonic The Hedgehog movie or Sonic Forces videogame. As such, there are many characters who could potentially appear across all areas of fandom, as Sonic has met many colorful personalities that just need to be included in Sonic Prime.
Sally Acorn And The Freedom Fighters
Easily the most beloved of all of Sonic's cartoon adventures is 1993's simply-titled Sonic The Hedgehog, known as "SatAM" to fans (just because it aired on Saturday mornings). In it, Doctor Robotnik is a despotic ruler, who has enslaved the planet Mobius and transformed most of its inhabitants into robots.
Sonic and Tails are part of the Freedom Fighters, led by Princess Sally Acorn, daughter of the rightful ruler of Mobius, who is fighting to end Robotnik's rule. The darker take on Sonic's world resonates with fans even today, and it was the basis for Sonic's beloved long-running comic book series, so it would be great to see at least Sally Acorn return on Sonic Prime.
Hyper Metal Sonic / Neo Metal Sonic
While Robotnik/Eggman has always been the central villain for Sonic The Hedgehog, the lesser-used (but more intimidating) recurring villain is Metal Sonic. Often, Metal Sonic is just used to challenge Sonic to a thrilling race in games such as Sonic CD, Sonic Mania, and Sonic Forces, but occasionally he's allowed to break out and become a major threat.
Hyper Metal Sonic was the deadly antagonist of the Sonic The Hedgehog anime movie, but more interesting would be the redesigned Neo Metal Sonic (and Metal Overlord) from Sonic Heroes - who would be a fitting opponent for Sonic Prime.
Scratch And Grounder
The original Sonic animated series, 1993's Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, is much-derided by fans and cartoon lovers alike, but it more than doubled the number of episodes of the more beloved successor "SatAM."
The show's most memorable characters are the bumbling badnik duo Scratch and Grounder, who regularly tried to capture Sonic and Tails, and always failed miserably, often to comedic effect. While Adventures is not remembered fondly, a better take on Scratch and Grounder on Sonic Prime would help raise their status considerably.
Tikal The Echidna
If there's one area of Sonic mythology that needs to be explored in more detail, it's Knuckles' people. The Echidna clan of Angel Island, the guardians of the Master Emerald, who all died out before Knuckles was born and left him alone on the floating island.
Sonic Adventure reveals some of the Knuckles Tribe's backstory, including how Tikal and her father argued about his desire to bring destruction with the Chaos creature. Sonic Prime could mine into this backstory, and even have Sonic and Knuckles travel back in time if the show wanted them to, with Tikal as the emotional center.
Sonia And Manic The Hedgehogs
Probably the least well-known Sonic The Hedgehog animated series, Sonic Underground was the third Sonic cartoon from DiC Animation and aired in 1999. While it was the first cartoon to introduce Knuckles and shared many ideas with "SatAM," it was particularly criticized for the removal of Tails in favor of Sonic's brother and sister, Sonia and Manic.
It was particularly bad because Sonic's actor, Jaleel White, was forced to play all three siblings, which really didn't work for the female Sonia. Sonic Prime could finally do justice to these characters, and maybe recast them while it's at it.
Blaze The Cat
If Sonic is going on dimension-hopping adventures in Sonic Prime, then it would be the perfect time to explore the origins of one of his most popular but least known allies, Blaze the Cat. Blaze is from an alternate dimension, the same as the psychic Silver the Hedgehog, and is the guardian of her universe's Emeralds.
She has similar powers to Sonic, but also has the ability to create fire, hence her name. There hasn't really been an exploration of Blaze's home dimension outside of the much-maligned 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog game, so it's fertile territory for Prime to mine.
Princess Elise
Princess Elise is a human, the peaceful ruler of the city of Soleanna, and possibly the most controversial character ever to come out of a Sonic the Hedgehog videogame. 2006's much-criticized Sonic The Hedgehog receives hate for the rushed, unfinished feel to the gameplay, but gamers also make fun of the forced romantic relationship established between Sonic and the very human Elise.
By involving Elise in Sonic Prime, it would give the character a chance to redeem herself in the eyes of fans. It would also give the writers a chance to expand her character and deepen her connection to Sonic, Silver the Hedgehog, and even Blaze the Cat.
The Werehog
While Sonic Unleashed is a mostly fine 3D Sonic game, it was criticized for transforming Sonic into a giant wolf creature for half its playtime, whereupon it became a beat-em-up rather than a fast-paced platformer.
While fans aren't in any hurry to revisit playing the Werehog again, there are a lot of unanswered story questions about the creature that a TV series like Sonic Prime would be well-placed to answer. It's possible for other hedgehogs in other dimensions to be afflicted by the Werehog disease, after all.
Chris Thorndyke
If Sonic is going to travel to other dimensions in Sonic Prime, fans undoubtedly will be hopeful that the show will use this excuse to revisit other Sonic cartoons. If this happens, a return to the excellent Sonic X series should be first on the cards, and with it, a catch-up with the show's human protagonist Christopher Thorndyke.
Chris is energetic and hungry for the adventures that Sonic brings, but had a tragic exit. At the end of the Sonic X series, Chris was forced to give up seeing Sonic and his friends ever again in order to return home, so Sonic Prime could finally bring closure to his storyline.
Infinite
The main villain of the most recent Sonic game, 2017's Sonic Forces, is a jackal with the powers of the magical Phantom Ruby. Since the Phantom Ruby is a powerful gem that enables inter-dimensional travel, it could be at the center of Sonic Prime's plot since that's the concept of the show, and Infinite would be perfect for us as the main series antagonist.
Plus, Infinite remains something of a mystery. Other than being the ambitious former head of the Jackal Squad mercenary group, not much is known about him. Plus, he makes a sudden disappearance at the end of Sonic Forces so it would be good for the show to explore what happened to him.