Final Sonic 2 Trailer Misses Out on Referencing a Classic Meme

The final trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is action-packed and filled with new moments. Sonic and Tails flying from a snow covered mountain to a Hawaii wedding. Sonic and Tails fighting against a giant mecha built by Robotnik. More of Idris Elba’s voice as Knuckles!

But towards the end of the trailer, Knuckles taunts Sonic. With audio most likely taken from their big climatic battle, Knuckles insults Sonic with some choice words.

“You’re unskilled. Untrained. Unworthy!”

Sonic won’t take that lying down. He gets to his feet, rubbing the dirt off his face, and responds with,

“You forgot one. Unstoppable.”

That was certainly a cool hero line but from the moment he said it the filmmakers missed out on a chance to reference one of the greatest Sonic the Hedgehog memes ever.

The Sonic Adventure song “Unknown from M.E.” by Marlon Saunders and Dred Foxx has attained legendary meme status amongst Sonic and casual gaming fans alike. Sung from the perspective of Knuckles, the opening verse has the Echidna claim;

Here I come, rougher than the rest of them
The best of them, tougher than leather
You can call me Knuckles, unlike Sonic I don’t chuckle
I’d rather flex my muscles.

The first insult Knuckles throws Sonic’s way in this song is that, contrary to Sonic, Knuckles, in no circumstances, would ever chuckle. Why this is such a negative talking point for Knuckles is unclear. Perhaps it’s down to Knuckles taking his mission so seriously that he’d never show any silly emotion like chuckling. Maybe in the Sonic world if you chuckle you’ll lose more rings. The Sonic lore is very complicated.

Whatever the case may be, let’s look back at the final trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Knuckles insults Sonic.

“You’re unskilled. Untrained. Unworthy!”

Sonic needs the ultimate comeback. So what could he have said instead?

“You forgot one. I chuckle.”

It would be a sign of defiance on Sonic’s part. Knuckles sees chuckling as a weakness but Sonic would see it as an asset. You chuckle because of your friends. The connections you’ve made. Chuckling demonstrates you have the ability to believe that everything will turn out right in the end. It would have been perfectly in character for Sonic and an absolutely flawless way to reference the Sonic Adventure meme. They already referenced the song when Idris Elba was cast, they know it exists!

Perhaps, like Marvel trailers before it, Sonic’s dialogue in this trailer is a smokescreen in order to save such a fan pleasing moment for the movie itself. Let’s hope the movie can flex those meme referencing muscles.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 hits theaters on April 8. Here’s the official synopsis for the film…

“The world’s favorite blue hedgehog is back for a next-level adventure in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 . After settling in Green Hills, Sonic is eager to prove he has what it takes to be a true hero. His test comes when Dr. Robotnik returns, this time with a new partner, Knuckles, in search for an emerald that has the power to destroy civilizations. Sonic teams up with his own sidekick, Tails, and together they embark on a globe-trotting journey to find the emerald before it falls into the wrong hands. From the filmmakers behind The Fast and the Furious and Deadpool, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 stars James Marsden, Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic, Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Adam Pally, Lee Majdoub and Jim Carrey returning, alongside new additions Shemar Moore, with Idris Elba as the voice of Knuckles and Colleen O’Shaughnessey as the voice of Tails.”