Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Almost Made The Same Mistake As James Marsden’s $1.1 Billion Trilogy

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 surprisingly came very close to making the mistake that another trilogy starring James Marsden made. In the Sonic movies, Marsden portrays Tom, who provided Sonic with a home when the hedgehog was all alone on Earth. As the Sonic series has continued, it has focused more on popular characters from the video games, such as Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow, and less on human characters like Tom and his wife, Maddie. Therefore, Tom is arguably a less important character than he was in the first Sonic movie, but Sonic still considers him family.

Because of Sonic and Tom’s close relationship, it was tragic when Shadow the Hedgehog gravely injured Tom in Sonic 3. Tom ended up surviving until the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and will likely return in the confirmed Sonic 4, but it initially seemed like the film was going to kill him off. If Sonic 3 did kill off Marsden’s character, it would have made the same mistake that the original X-Men movie trilogy made. 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand killed off Cyclops, who was portrayed by Marsden, even though he played an important supporting character in the series.

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Nearly Killed James Marsden’s Character

Shadow Attacks Tom In Sonic The Hedgehog 3

In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Tom and Maddie are recruited by Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles to help them infiltrate GUN’s headquarters in London. To sneak into the building, Tom and Maddie use technology that allows them to change their faces. They originally disguise themselves as their friends Randall and Rachel, who are both GUN agents, to get past the front desk, but also switch to other faces while in the building.

At one point, Tom is alone in the hallway disguised as Commander Walters when he runs into Shadow. Shadow wants revenge against Commander Walters, since he worked for GUN when Gerald Robotnik’s granddaughter, Maria, was killed. Shadow had a close bond with Maria, so he immediately attacks the man who he thinks is Commander Walters. Tom changes back to his actual face after he is attacked, which confuses Shadow. Shadow quickly flees, and Sonic ends up finding Tom, who is gravely wounded.

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Killing Tom Would’ve Repeated The X-Men Trilogy’s Mistake

James Marsden’s Cyclops Died In The X-Men Movies

Tom didn’t end up dying in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, but for a moment, it did seem like he was going to. While Marsden’s Sonic character lived on to appear in a future movie in the series, his X-Men character was not so lucky. Marsden appeared as Scott Summers, also known as Cyclops, in the first three X-Men movies. Cyclops is one of the most popular members of the X-Men, and Marsden was a great choice for the role.

However, Cyclops was unfortunately killed by his former lover, Jean Grey, in X-Men: The Last Stand. In X-Men: The Last Stand, it is discovered that Jean Grey’s Phoenix persona had been set free. The Phoenix is a powerful X-Men villain with godlike powers, which she uses to unexpectedly kill Scott in The Last Stand. Scott dying in The Last Stand was very disappointing, since he is one of the best X-Men characters. Scott’s death scene was also underwhelming, so Marsden did not get the ending he deserved.

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Keeping James Marsden’s Character Alive Is For The Best

Tom Dying In The Sonic Movies Would Be Too Sad

If Shadow’s punch did kill Marsden’s Tom in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, his death would have been just as disappointing as it was in X-Men: The Last Stand. Shadow attacking Tom happened so suddenly, and Tom never got the chance to have a proper goodbye with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Maddie. Therefore, it was a wise choice not to kill Tom off in Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

While the Sonic movies focus more on “alien” characters now, it is still necessary to have human characters to slightly ground the films. Furthermore, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Tom, Maddie, and their dog, Ozzie, have formed a loving family in the Sonic movies. Therefore, it would be heartbreaking if any member of that family were to die. The Sonic movies do kill off characters, but they are also meant to be kids’ films. Death shouldn’t be too common in the Sonic movies, which is why it is good that Tom didn’t die in Sonic the Hedgehog 3.