We all know there is a lot of Sally hatred out there, even after she made the ultimate sacrifice and gave up her free will and body to save the entire world. One thing I notice is that a lot of the time people that try to defend Sally often show her as crying or angry, when in truth the Sally we all know and love would meet this kind of hatred in only one way. With a clear and calm mind, and to talk to these people like the diplomat that she is. Whether the people she talks to would be willing to talk about facts and logic or just stick to their blind hatred though, is entirely up to them.

I could see being indifferent to Sally or having no really caring about her, but to flat out hate her and want her gone for good? I mean this is a strong feminine roll model we have here that honestly cares about her people and is willing to get her hands dirty to save the day, how can you flat out hate someone like this so badly that you want her dead?

Bellow is a little list of why I think Sally doesn't deserve the hatred she's been getting for so long now, a lot of which was said in my Derpy/Sally art, with some new material added into it.

Now I've heard quite a few reasons for hating Sally, many of them double standard nonsense and others being entirely unfair. The easiest one to disprove is the way she dresses. Why do people follow the belief that male Mobians can be naked while females have to be fully clothed? Cause they have curves? Seems kinda pointless since they have fur so you see nothing extra then what you'd see from a lady wearing a leotard...or are you saying the female body is something to be ashamed of?

As far as how she's drawn in the comic, most of the time she's drawn in a chibi form and only every so often does she take a more human form. Either way, isn't that something to hate the artist for instead of Sally? Why hate her because of how someone chooses to draw her? Why hate a character because of how people choose to draw fan art of her? Wouldn't you have to hate almost every single female character in any franchise ever if that was the case? If she was male this wouldn't even remotely be an issue to even talk about. Don't bother bringing up that it's cause the males have animal shapes while females have curves, there are plenty of male characters without clothes that have rather human looking forms, try looking up Drago for one.

I even have a suspicion that the entire Mecha-Sally arc is one very long reason to have Sally start wearing full body clothing when she gets turned back to normal. I mean Robotnik alters her body and now it's covered in all blue instead of her fur coloring? It's pretty obvious that just like when Bunny had a leotard and a belt on when she was de-roboticized, Sally will also be wearing full body clothing when she gets turned back to normal. I hate the idea of Archie falling to peer pressure that makes no sense, but it's quite likely that by 250 we'll have a Sally with a new design that is fully covered -.- (although why she'd want to wear the clothes she had on due to being Mecha Sally, I don't know).

Another reason people pick on Sally is how a handful of the male characters seem attracted to her. So, why is that a problem again? Exactly how many female characters are attracted to Sonic? Doesn't he have a ton of people attracted to him as well? Why must Sally be singled out for this? Let's also not forget that virtually anyone besides Sonic that liked her is currently in or was in a relationship with someone else. None of the love interests are pining for Sally and waiting in the shadows to strike, they've started their own relationships with other people.

Another way to think about it, is would it be more preferred to have Sonic and Sally fall in love for life right away on day one, or to date other people and find out after time that they truly are made for each other? The later seems more realistic to me.

On the same line, people hate her for the simple fact that she's trying to date Sonic, when some claim he only belongs to Amy or that Sonic shouldn't date at all. Amy didn't even exist in the SatAM show and that's what the comic is based on. This is also not the video game Sonic but another one entirely, an alternate dimension if you will. Why are you trying to demand that this Sonic be stuck to the same constraints as the video games when even SEGA themselves want the video games and Archie comic to be separated entirely?

Plus let's not forget the rather awesome paring of Han Solo and Leia Organa from the Star Wars series. It's amazingly similar to Sonic and Sally paring up and proves that a freedom loving rascal and a battle princess can hook up and have a very loving and fun relationship for years to come.

Going back to the whole Amy thing though...Sally was around and a potential love interest for Sonic before Amy was even released in a game to be played. Sonic the Hedgehog Issue #0 came out around March 1993 while the game Amy came from was out closer to September 1993. Not only that, but the comic hinted to Sonic and Sally having feelings for each other while the game made it very clear that Sonic had no feelings for Amy at all (plus she's technically the same age as Tails). Long story short, SEGA themselves said Sonic and Amy will never become a couple, why so hate Sally for dating him, when Amy never had a chance to begin with?

A third reason and the last I'll bring up is the Sally slap that occurred in 134, which I believe is the main reason for why so many people hate Sally in the first place and then struggled to find other reasons to hate her after. For starters, she was ridiculously out of character in that comic and the next few issues after while Bollers was the writer in charge. None of the other writers had Sally act like this so it's safe to assume that Sally wasn't herself in those issues and was acting like someone else entirely. It's quite similar to when someone writes a mini series for Marvel or DC and turns Batman into a murderous psycho or Superman into a depressed emo due to losing his powers. Do you hate them forever now because of how they acted in those few issues, or do you go based on their true personality that you know is how they really are like?

If you want even more to think about, what about Fiona, Tails and Mina? Fiona had a breakdown and turned completely evil for very little reason and people still support her, even though she's still a jerk and evil today. Tails had a breakdown, broke the law and broke his father out of jail and came to blows with Sonic physically all because Sonic was dating the girl that looked like the older version of a robot he once dated for a day when he was younger. People still supported Tails during all of that. Heck, Mina had a breakdown and created a hate song and is indirectly responsible for allowing Naugus to take over the kingdom so very easily, all because she didn't talk to Sonic and Sally before creating that song...yet people still support Mina.

What about Sally? She had to go an entire year thinking Sonic was dead and living with the fact that that she would never see her beloved ever again. One year goes by and he suddenly shows up and as soon as she thinks he's back in her life, she sees him getting beaten up and about to get killed again in front of her. Is it safe to say this would case her to have a mental breakdown and say and do things she doesn't necessarily mean? Even for a good chunk of time after the slap where she acts like a jerk to Sonic due to fearing going through the same pain all over again? You bet! Why is it that when other characters do stupid things everyone defends them, but Sally does something stupid and suddenly she's to be hated for life? Plus if you insist that the slap counts, doesn't the slap prove that Sally isn't a perfect entity that never has strong emotions or feelings? The writers handled it horribly but it still showed that even she can have moments of weakness and crack at times.

Why hate the character when it's the writer that makes them do the stupid things? Sally is a good person that has lived her life trying to bring peace and happiness to her people, that while having good points is a believable person and has her own weaknesses, how can you hate a character like that? Even after Penders and even Flynn turned Sally back to normal people continued to struggle to find reasons to hate her...I just don't get that. It's quite easy to see what Sally's actual personality is, even if she has a breakdown from time to time. I mean come on guys, she just gave up her body and soul to save the world, you don't have the "selfish" card to play anymore at all either.

Don't hate the character, hate the writer that ruined the character.

:NEW: After posting this art, I got people bringing up two new points that I will admit have gotten close to being real reasons to at most not care for her much, but I still don't see them for grounds to hate her and want her dead.

One thing people say is that she is too perfect or is boring. One thing people have to remember is that Sally is a case of someone losing her childhood to war and having to grow up very fast, just like the majority of the FF. Not only this, but it was put entirely on her shoulders to lead the group and to try and be the heart of the freedom fighters as they opposed Robotnik. She had to put up a brave and cheerful face in order to keep moral up, she had to learn to be a good tactician and diplomat to help everyone survive.

She's had to be this way ever since she was a little girl, don't you think this would have an impact on her as she's grown up? Not only that, but she's shown signs of weakness plenty throughout the comic, such as breaking down and crying upon learning of her father's fate in the Void and when trying to save him. She's expressed concerns that she doesn't know if she can handle putting up a brave face all the time instead of just being the one being comforted all the time. She's not perfect, she's simply grown up in a world where she HAD to have to keep her emotions and feelings in check or else she'd risk making a bad call and getting someone killed.

One way to look at the slap in 134 is that it was all her years of trying to be a good leader finally causing her to crack and to lose her mind for a while. For so long she tried to put on a brace face and due to thinking Sonic was gone for a year just to see him in danger again, it was the final push to make her snap. Unfortunately, the writers went too far with it and the fans pounced on it to prove that the person they complained about being too perfect....wasn't...perfect...huh.

Although really, Sally has some pretty good and amusing interactions with Sonic, fellow Mobians and the villains, so even though she is a mature character that doesn't act goofy or silly, she still has a lot of character, even with a scarring childhood.

The other complaint I hear is that she gets way too much screen time compared to the other characters. Now it's true, that she does probably get more time devoted to her then the other side characters. However, this might also be subconsciously trying to match the comics to the games to consider this a horrible and wrong thing. Now in the games and the comics Sonic is the main character with the most screen time, that nobody can disagree with, while the rest are mostly extras. This isn't much different in the comics where Sonic is the main star and the rest are mostly there for his backup.

However, in the comics there are a ton of other characters and it seems like it would be nearly impossible to give them all an equal amount of screen time. Some characters are bound to get more time then others. Going back to comparing it to the games, just cause the games are Sonic and the rest, why do the comics have to be the same? Why is Sonic the only one allowed to be anything more then a side character while all the rest are more or less in the same boat? Also, every character has had a chance at character development, it isn't just Sonic and Sally and the rest stay stagnant. Everyone has had their chance to shine and everyone has grown over the years. To claim this isn't the case is an insult to Tails, Shadow and most of the other characters.

One "issue" is that Sally is not only the leader of the group but also Sonic's love interest. This causes a double dip that makes it appear that she unfairly gets more screen time when it's as simple as she plays to big rolls in the comic. Sure you could have two different characters to fill each roll, but a character designated only to be there to be Sonic's love interest seems kinda shallow. In fact, what exactly is wrong with Sonic and Sally being soul mates exactly? In every story things like this are decided before hand, who falls in love with who and so on, so why is this coupling looked at so poorly?

If anything, it's easier to have stuff happen with the comic characters simply due to the fact that SEGA has some rather strict regulations when it comes to what can happen with the video game related characters. This means that if really interesting things are to happen, it would need to occur with Antoine, Bunnie, Sally or other characters like that. So even though all the characters got to do things throughout the comics, it was simply easier to do things with Sally and less tape to go through with SEGA to boot. Lastly, really what is the big deal of having a main characters, a main side character, side characters and then extras? Everyone has had development over the years, it's not like it's been a Sonic and Sally show and the rest are just cannon fodder that just stand around. To claim it is, would be to insult the other characters in the comic.

In the end, Sally is a more mature character that had to mature when she was just a little kid. She won't act silly or goofy, but she will still do some pretty awesome things and have some some pretty good interactions with other people. I simply don't see the need for hating her because she matured early or because she's the love interest of the story, in the comic version and not the game version to boot.