In that same vein as another ask you got awhile ago (just saw it on my dash now lol) but would you share some of your Jet thoughts?π
Oh man I LOVE talking about Jet. Hereβs a lil breakdown of some of my favorite talking points on him.
- I believe itβs heavily insinuated Jet is descended from Babylonian royalty. His fatherβs legacy, his assumption of leadership despite being considerably younger than Wave and Storm and how they automatically respect and listen to him, his determination to return to Babylon not exclusively for treasure but because itβs βtheirs,β all points to hints of a royal heritage to me.
- Jet is Sonicβs purest rival, in the sense that their rivalry is based on an untouchable desire to compete against each other at their best. And regardless if they hate or love each other, that dynamic will never change. They donβt ever stop becoming rivals by becoming friendlier.
- Jet respects Sonic more than the fandom will admit, and Sonic respects him. After the first game concludes, there is no reason to think they dislike one another anymore. When Jet conceded his loss fairly to Sonic in the end and tried to hand over the key to Babylon garden, the ONE THING Jet wanted more than anything, Sonic recognized that he didnβt need or want this treasure, it didnβt belong to him whether he won in fairly in a race or not. So he gave it back, and Jet couldnβt understand why Sonic would do that. Simply put, a relationship of respect had been built between them, cemented in that moment. You especially see how this changed their dynamic in the following game Zero Gravityβtheir rivalry is still relevant, but is much more based around racing for a common goal rather than trying to tear the other down.
- Once AGAIN when Sonic wins the Arks of the Cosmos, heβs happy to return all of them to Jet. This annoys Jet at first thinking Sonic is running away from their rivalry by giving up his prize, something Sonic once again recognizes that Jet cares much more about than he does, but Sonic simply grins at him and tells him βWho do you think I am? Iβll see you at the Grand Prix.β Once more solidifying that he isnβt in this to take anything away from Jet, but for the love of racing him, and that it wonβt stop just because they donβt have a βneedβ for it anymore. This is why I say they have the purest rivalry in the series, in my opinion.
- There is a funny parallel between Jet and Amy in the games. I donβt know if this was intentional, but itβs definitely there! Jet and Amy are juxtaposed in a few shots where itβs implied Sonicβs attentions are split. Jet also dislikes that Amy in any way distracts Sonic from him, and holds some hostility toward her for it. In zero gravity, the scene where Amy clings onto him and says βI finally found youβ the shot is cut to Jet in hiding just overhead, who has also been chasing after Sonic. He and Sonic are looking for the same thing, but Jet also becomes pretty distracted even from his own goals when Sonic is in the picture. I just thought this was funny.
- Jet is canonically superstitious and believes in shooting star wishes. He also has canonically never seen Super Sonic. Pair that with the fact that Super Sonic can be mistaken for a shooting star in the distance (Sonic X), and I think thereβs a really delicious opportunity there. Jet wishing on a shooting star to see Babylon again, and his wish inexplicably comes true; not because he wished on a star, but because Sonic is a dream maker. Also, Sonicβs hero story in Zero Gravity is literally called βShooting Star Mission.β Much to think about.
- Jet abandoned his own dream of returning to Babylon Garden because of Sonic. At the end of Zero Gravity, Babylon is left hanging in orbit around the earth, risen from the depths of the sand. Wave asks Jet if heβs really okay with that, with never going back again after heβd made it his very purpose for years. Jet is okay with this, stating that as much as heβd miss the vastness of space, βthis world still had its charm.β When he smiles, the very next scene is cut to Sonic. What did Jet do after saying that? He hopped on his board and went searching for Sonic once again, the new more interesting thing tying him to the earth, his new purposeβpursuing his only fulfilling rivalry that gives him reason to continue what he loves most, which is riding extreme gear. Hunting for treasure is how he survives, but itβs not a reason to push himself to his limits, thatβs what Sonic provides.
I genuinely love Jet so much as a character. To be honest, Iβm not fond of the characterization that depicts him as bitter, a loser, irrelevant as a rival, or a βcuckβ to Shadow. Jet exists and stands on his own with his own unique relationship to him and that shouldnβt be compared to other dynamics imo. I encourage everyone who doesnβt know much about Jet to go watch the cutscene movies for Riders and ZG on YouTube! The games have really really fun and good stories despite being just racing games. Their story mode gives you so much interesting lore and character work to dive into and enjoy. For example: did yall know the Babylon Rogues are biologically part alien? π