The gloriously stupid return of Sonic the Hedgehog’s edgiest villain shows that Ian Flynn is the GOAT of the franchise’s writers

Sonic the Hedgehog is a weird series. The franchise was off the hook from the start, and has veered in psychotic directions since then, driving some fans to quit SEGA's mascot cold turkey. But recently, things have changed, and it's all thanks to Ian Flynn. A Sonic fan since the early 1990s, Flynn started out as a writer for Archie Comics' iconic Sonic the Hedgehog series. Since then, he's risen through the ranks to become the chief writer for the entire Sonic franchise. The man loves the wild world of Sonic, and the recent return of the blue Blur's edgiest villain proves why he's the best thing to happen to the series.The Chaotix Files brings back a beloved Sonic villain from one of the series' worst games Released to celebrate Sonic's 35th anniversary, The Chaotix Files casts the titular team (Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, and Charmy the Bee) in a send-up to radio film noir. Someone's swiping power-amplifying artifacts, and the Chaotix are on the hunt to bag the culprit. They uncover clues and chase leads. As of the most recent episode, Infinite the Jackal revealed himself as the thief. If you're a Sonic fan, you're giggling already. Introduced in Sonic Forces, Infinite is what you get when Sonic Team dares to create a character even edgier than Shadow the Hedgehog. A nihilistic mercenary imbued with reality-warping power by Dr. Eggman, everything about him—from the billowing masked profile to his tendency to monologue about how unstoppable he is, screams—JRPG villain." And for his fans, that's where the charm is. Unfortunately, like just about everything else that came out of Forces, Infinite's debut didn't quite stick the landing. The game's story doesn't let him do anything interesting with his power set, and he's unceremoniously sidelined by Eggman right before the game ends. Even Infinite's most devout loyalists felt pretty underwhelmed.Infinite's return proves Ian Flynn is the master of fixing other Sonic writers' mess Image via SEGA Luckily for Infinite, Ian Flynn has practically built his career around picking up other Sonic writers' slack. During his tenure as the head writer for Archie's Sonic, Flynn gathered the ashes his predecessor, Ken Penders, had left after burning the comic to the ground and breathed new life into them. The man has an almost encyclopedic understanding of Sonic's lore and cast, and he uses it to create stories that play into Sonic's friends' and foes' strengths. Flynn's knack for reinvention is on full display during Infinite's reintroduction in The Chaotix Casefiles. Everything fans loved about Infinite is back: the iconic thrum of his powers, his low, crisp voice, and his love of monologuing. However, Flynn also plays up the element of Infinite's character that got shortchanged in Forces: he uses his illusions to toy with his opponents psychologically, and he immediately breaks ranks with Eggman, allowing him to stand on his own as a villain. As a character, Infinite is essentially an in-universe version of the edgy original characters the Sonic fandom has pumped out over the years, and Flynn leans into this hard. Infinite is intimidating, but Flynn also plays up his self-seriousness and psychotic motivations for laughs a bit. Both sides of the fandom's opinion of Infinite get time to shine, and the result is delightfully demented. Since Flynn took the reins of the narrative department, Sonic's world has changed in ways no one would have thought possible. Now, after just a few years, a character as underutilized as Infinite can be the threat Sonic fans were hoping he'd be when he was first revealed. The post The gloriously stupid return of Sonic the Hedgehog’s edgiest villain shows that Ian Flynn is the GOAT of the franchise’s writers appeared first on Destructoid.

Mar 16, 2026 - 05:26

The gloriously stupid return of Sonic the Hedgehog’s edgiest villain shows that Ian Flynn is the GOAT of the franchise’s writers

Sonic the Hedgehog is a weird series. The franchise was off the hook from the start, and has veered in psychotic directions since then, driving some fans to quit SEGA's mascot cold turkey. But recently, things have changed, and it's all thanks to Ian Flynn.

A Sonic fan since the early 1990s, Flynn started out as a writer for Archie Comics' iconic Sonic the Hedgehog series. Since then, he's risen through the ranks to become the chief writer for the entire Sonic franchise. The man loves the wild world of Sonic, and the recent return of the blue Blur's edgiest villain proves why he's the best thing to happen to the series.

The Chaotix Files brings back a beloved Sonic villain from one of the series' worst games

Released to celebrate Sonic's 35th anniversary, The Chaotix Files casts the titular team (Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, and Charmy the Bee) in a send-up to radio film noir. Someone's swiping power-amplifying artifacts, and the Chaotix are on the hunt to bag the culprit. They uncover clues and chase leads. As of the most recent episode, Infinite the Jackal revealed himself as the thief.

If you're a Sonic fan, you're giggling already. Introduced in Sonic Forces, Infinite is what you get when Sonic Team dares to create a character even edgier than Shadow the Hedgehog. A nihilistic mercenary imbued with reality-warping power by Dr. Eggman, everything about him—from the billowing masked profile to his tendency to monologue about how unstoppable he is, screams—JRPG villain." And for his fans, that's where the charm is.

Unfortunately, like just about everything else that came out of Forces, Infinite's debut didn't quite stick the landing. The game's story doesn't let him do anything interesting with his power set, and he's unceremoniously sidelined by Eggman right before the game ends. Even Infinite's most devout loyalists felt pretty underwhelmed.

Infinite's return proves Ian Flynn is the master of fixing other Sonic writers' mess

Image via SEGA Luckily for Infinite, Ian Flynn has practically built his career around picking up other Sonic writers' slack. During his tenure as the head writer for Archie's Sonic, Flynn gathered the ashes his predecessor, Ken Penders, had left after burning the comic to the ground and breathed new life into them. The man has an almost encyclopedic understanding of Sonic's lore and cast, and he uses it to create stories that play into Sonic's friends' and foes' strengths.

Flynn's knack for reinvention is on full display during Infinite's reintroduction in The Chaotix Casefiles. Everything fans loved about Infinite is back: the iconic thrum of his powers, his low, crisp voice, and his love of monologuing. However, Flynn also plays up the element of Infinite's character that got shortchanged in Forces: he uses his illusions to toy with his opponents psychologically, and he immediately breaks ranks with Eggman, allowing him to stand on his own as a villain.

As a character, Infinite is essentially an in-universe version of the edgy original characters the Sonic fandom has pumped out over the years, and Flynn leans into this hard. Infinite is intimidating, but Flynn also plays up his self-seriousness and psychotic motivations for laughs a bit. Both sides of the fandom's opinion of Infinite get time to shine, and the result is delightfully demented.

Since Flynn took the reins of the narrative department, Sonic's world has changed in ways no one would have thought possible. Now, after just a few years, a character as underutilized as Infinite can be the threat Sonic fans were hoping he'd be when he was first revealed.

The post The gloriously stupid return of Sonic the Hedgehog’s edgiest villain shows that Ian Flynn is the GOAT of the franchise’s writers appeared first on Destructoid.

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