Babylon Rogues Theory Update: It’s a Fucking Birdemic Out There
OKAY SO A SIMPLE CONVERSATION ON THE SONIC DISCORD HAS TURNED INTO A PEPE SILVIA CONSPIRACY
[ID: The Pepe Silva meme, but the chaos map is covered with images from Sonic, such as Jet the Hawk, Longclaw the Owl opening a ring-portal, Space Colony ARK, Old Man Owl from the OVA, Shadow the Hedgehog, the Flickies in Sonic X, Extreme Gear Boots, and Shahra the Genie. End ID.]
WE’VE STUMBLED ONTO A FRANCHISE-WIDE CONSPIRACY INVOLVING FLICKIES, DIMENSION-HOPPING, AND SHADOW BEING PART BIRD. STRAP THE FUCK IN.
We began the conversation simply. With flickies.
@quartzquadrant mentioned their theory that the Babylonians were an attempt to reintroduce the flickies into the series as actual characters, as the flickies were originally conceptualized to be from another dimension, as revealed in Sonic 3D Blast.
But here’s the fun thing: what’s that exact reveal?
[ID: A photo of the flickies from Sonic 3D Blast, captioned: “Flickies are mysterious birds. They live in another dimension and can travel anywhere through large rings.” End ID.]
Now “another dimension” was just relating to the Babylonians-are-Dimension-Hoppers conspiracy, buT look at that last bit! THE FLICKIES CAN TRAVEL ANYWHERE THROUGH LARGE RINGS.
Such as…………. in Sonic 2020?
But here’s the thing…. who was the first character (and ONLY, considering she had to give them to Sonic) who HAD these portal rings?
LONGCLAW. THE OWL. OWLS ARE BIRDS GUYS.
[ID: Longclaw the Owl from Sonic 2020, opening a portal to another planet with a magical ring. End ID.]
Longclaw ALSO shares a design with tiles found in both the movie and the original Sonic the Hedgehog game, linking her closely with the classic world the Flickies are associated with.
[ID: Photos from both Sonic 2020 and Sonic the Hedgehog (1991), in which an owl face very similar to Longclaw appears in the stones and tiles. End ID.]
[ID: A gif of Freckle from The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo, saying “What does it mean? What does it all mean?” End ID.]
But she’s not the only owl in the franchise! Aside from the comics, there’s a couple owls- a judge in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, a mystical keeper of the time stones in SatAM (…interesting) and….. Old Man Owl from the Sonic OVA!
[ID: Old Man Owl from the Sonic OVA. He is wearing insanely 90s clothing and carrying a tubular skateboard. End ID.]
Old Man states early on in the film that he used to be a racer in his youth… a racer like the Babylon Rogues.
[ID: A promotional photo of the modern Babylon Rogues. Wave the Swallow is on the left, Jet the Hawk in the middle, and Storm the Albatross on the right. They are riding their Extreme Gear™ hoverboards in a race. End ID.]
We’ve come full circle, but this isn’t the end of the conspiracy linking all these birds together. No, no, the conversation continued quickly, and @zorloser mentioned that, in Sonic Riders, the Babylonians were referred to as genies, which is something i included in my dimension-hopping conspiracy. However, you know who else is linked to genies?
[ID: Two screenshots from Sonic Adventure 2, of Shadow the Hedgehog. He has just been released from cryo, and says, “Since you were so kind to release me, my master… I will grant you one wish.” End ID.]
These are Shadow’s first lines in Dark Story of Sonic Adventure 2, his introductory game, and his lines reference the motifs of gaining wishes by freeing genies. Shadow’s main plotline in SA2, as well, was the desire to grant the wishes of others, firstly Gerald’s wish for destruction and then Maria’s for peace.
Know what Shadow also is, like the Babylon Rogues? An ALIEN! He has the dna of the Black Arms aliens!
[ID: Shadow standing beside his insanely tall demon dad, Black Doom, who is probably a tumblr sexyman in another dimension I’m glad I don’t live in. End ID.]
As he “dies,” he also appears like a shooting star, such as the Arks of the Cosmos.
[ID: The Arks of the Cosmos falling from the Babylon Garden out in space, like shooting stars. End ID.]
ARKs. Like SPACE COLONY ARK. SHADOW’S HOME.
[ID: The Space Colony ARK, a floating satellite colony, as seen in the intro to Shadow the Hedgehog. It hovers above Earth with the sun behind it. End ID.]
But this all doesn’t stop there, oh no. No, no, because we realized, looking at Jet and Shadow’s designs, that they have way too many similarities.
As you can see, they have the same shape of chest fluff. Their gloves have those red-and-black squares and rings on the wrist. They have the same red, black and white colors on their shoes. They both have highlights on their quills/feathers in a similar shape, and they both have that red/black eyeshadow.
Both characters are also the leaders of their respective teams, as well as Sonic’s homoerotic rivals desperate to race him and prove they’re faster.
[ID: A gif from The Incredibles, of the teacher shouting, “Coincidence? I think NOT!” End ID.]
And it’s not just that… Shadow’s shoes are rocket boots that give him the ability to hover and glide. Know what else exists? EXTREME GEAR SHOES.
[ID: a comparison of the Extreme Gear™ shoes with Shadow’s weirdass shoes. End ID.]
Also, you know who else chose to take the form of Shadow the Hedgehog??? MEPHILES. Whose chest fluff not only looks vaguely bird-shaped, but if half of the god Solaris… a BIRD.
[ID: A closeup of Mephiles the Dark, who took the form of Shadow the hedgehog. His chest fluff resembles the silhouette a bird in flight. End ID.]
[ID: Solaris; its wings are spread like a bird and like Mephiles’s chest fluff. End ID.]
Birds are, somehow, everywhere in the Sonic franchise. They have been present from game one and keep being linked to symbols of power. And with the connection of the Babylon Rogues to Shadow, this can only mean one thing.
[ID: A meme from Buzzfeed Unsolved. Shane, delusional, says “i’ve connected the two dots.” Ryan, just as delusional, responds “you didn’t connect shit,” to which Shane simply replies, “I’ve connected them.” End ID.]
