Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW Publishing)

''Sonic the Hedgehog'' is an ongoing American comic book series based on the Sega video game franchise, published by IDW Publishing. It is the third licensed comic book iteration based on Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' intellectual property, after Fleetway Publications' ''Sonic the Comic'' and Archie Comics'' series.

Publication history

On July 21, 2017, IDW Publishing announced a deal with Sega to produce a new series of ''Sonic'' comics following the cancellation of the previous ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series by Archie Comics was later confirmed to return as the series' lead writer, alongside artist Tyson Hesse.

During New York Comic Con 2017, Ian Flynn confirmed that characters old and new would be featured in the series, hinting that characters from the games and the original comics might possibly return. In January 2018, IDW revealed that Tracy Yardley, who originally worked on Archie's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' comics, would be one of the pencillers for the IDW series.

On April 14, 2020, it was announced that Evan Stanley, one of the series' artists, would be writing for the series.

On June 28, 2020, two original characters from the series, Tangle the Lemur and Whisper the Wolf, were announced to appear in the ''Sonic'' mobile game '' Sonic Forces: Speed Battle'' as part of its events, with them doing so next month. Merchandise, including a plush toy, of the two have been released also. Tangle was also briefly mentioned in the 2022 ''Sonic'' game ''Sonic Frontiers''.

Synopsis

Setting and characters

The comic is set in a similar universe as the video games' after the events of ''Sonic Forces'' and follows the adventures of Sonic and his friends as they defeat Dr. Eggman and other enemies. New characters to the series include Tangle, an energetic ring-tailed lemur; Whisper, a reserved wolf who uses a Wisp-powered rifle; Jewel, a beetle museum curator and Tangle's childhood friend; Belle, a clumsy but kindhearted marionette-like robot; Lanolin, a nervous sheep and Restoration member; Dr. Starline, a platypus scientist who admires Eggman; Rough & Tumble, a pair of troublemaking skunks; Mimic, a shapeshifting octopus and former comrade of Whisper who betrayed his team to Eggman; Surge, a punkish, hotheaded cyborg tenrec; Kitsunami (or "Kit" for short), a somber cyborg fennec fox; and Clutch, an opossum crime boss.

Plot

After the end of the war, Eggman has mysteriously gone missing, and the remains of his Badnik army roam around and attack people. When the Badniks become more organized and powerful, Sonic decides to investigate. And with the help of the Chaotix, he discovers that Eggman has lost his memory and taken on the more friendly moniker of Mr. Tinker. After making sure it is genuine, Sonic decides to let him go, and discovers that Neo Metal Sonic is behind the attacks, plotting to take over the world in Eggman's stead. While Sonic and his friends fight Neo Metal Sonic and his army on Angel Island, Dr. Starline kidnaps Mr. Tinker and tries to revert him back to Eggman, which ultimately happens when a defeated Metal Sonic returns after being repaired by Tails. Eggman makes Starline his assistant as he goes to work on a new plan.

In the ''Tangle & Whisper'' miniseries, Tangle helps Whisper hunt down Mimic, who betrayed Whisper's old team, the Diamond Cutters. The two manage to capture him, and he is jailed.

Eggman's next scheme involves the Metal Virus, which turns organic material into mindless robots dubbed "Zombots". The Metal Virus quickly mutates beyond his control, infecting Sonic and most of his friends. Starline, disillusioned due to Eggman showing no interest in regaining the virus' control, brings in the Zeti known as the Deadly Six in hopes that they can control the Zombots, but they betray him, wanting to claim the world for themselves. After banishing Starline, Eggman and Metal Sonic take refuge with Sonic and company on Angel Island, helping them defeat the Zeti and collect the Chaos Emeralds. The Zeti's leader, Zavok, invades Angel Island, but Sonic and Silver assume their Super forms, defeat him, and destroy the Metal Virus, curing the world. But in the process, Sonic suffers amnesia and ends up on Blaze's world, who restores his memory and helps him return home.

In the ''Bad Guys'' miniseries, Starline, hoping to conquer the world and regain Eggman's respect, breaks Rough, Tumble, Mimic, and Zavok out of prison and recruits their help in raiding Eggman's Power Core factory and Eggnet Hub. Mimic and Zavok learn that Starline plans to dispose of them afterwards, exposing his deceit to Rough and Tumble. Starline escapes using his new Tricore, which can amplify multiple abilities, and the villains part ways as Eggman attacks. In the aftermath, Starline, while still respecting Eggman, resolves to prove his own superiority.

While investigating an Eggman base, Sonic and Tails discover Belle, a wooden robot. Meanwhile, Amy, Rouge, and Cream try to win parts to rebuild E-123 Omega by having Cheese compete in Chao races. The group learn from Shadow that the champion, Clutch, has a surplus of Badnik parts and is abusive to his losing Chao. Starline kidnaps Tails and Rouge for research but they manage to escape. With Belle's help, Sonic's friends free the Chao and defeat Starline as an avalanche buries him. Over the following weeks, Belle discovers that she is a Badnik built by Eggman when he was Mr. Tinker and is kidnapped by Starline when the now-reunited Deadly Six attack Sonic and co.'s home base. Sonic and Tails defeat the Deadly Six and deport them back to their homeworld, the Lost Hex, while the Chaotix rescue Belle.

In the ''Imposter Syndrome'' miniseries, Starline creates Surge and Kitsunami, two cyborgs emulating Sonic and Tails, with the bio-data he has collected. On his orders, they cause a forest fire that is halted by Amy, Tangle, Jewel, and Belle, then sabotage Central City's power grid. After Surge survives a fatal strike during another mission, she and Kit become suspicious of Starline's motives, which leads them to discover that he has been conditioning them and wiping their memories to create their personalities. When they are unable to find any trace of their past, they vow to destroy the heroes and villains. Meanwhile, the Chaotix investigate the incident in Central City and thwart a smuggling ring led by Clutch, who plans to restart his old criminal empire; he escapes with Rough and Tumble, now in his employ, after the Chaotix destroy his Badnik collection.

Starline, Surge, and Kit conquer Eggman's headquarters, Eggperial City, which gets the attention of Sonic, Tails, and Belle. Eggman retaliates and murders Starline while Sonic and Tails defeat Surge and Kit. With the latter's help, the heroes escape, while Surge steals Eggman's Dynamo Cage, a device which can harness power from other sources, but causes her to hallucinate Starline as a side effect. To further empower herself, Surge attacks Central City and steals Whisper's Wisps. Kit soon rejoins Surge and takes her back to Starline's base, where they lure Sonic, Tails, Eggman and Metal Sonic into a trap. Surge gains the upper-hand in the ensuing battle, but eventually overloads and breaks the Dynamo Cage, releasing the captive Wisps and incapacitating herself. Eggman attempts to capture Surge, but Kit rescues her and destroys the base as they escape; surviving, Sonic's and Eggman's groups bitterly part ways.

In the ''Scrapnik Island'' miniseries, on their way back from battling Surge, Sonic and Tails are caught in a storm onboard the Tornado and crash-land on an island composed of Eggman's old Death Egg, which is inhabited by his reformed Badniks, who call themselves Scrapniks, led by E-117 Sigma. Among them are Mecha Sonic and Mecha Knuckles, whose programmings were too complicated for Sigma to fully reverse. A fight with Mecha Knuckles and Sonic's stay restores Mecha Sonic's original protocol and he attempts to swap bodies with Sonic, but the other Scrapniks save the latter. Although handicapped by a sprained ankle, Sonic defeats Mecha Sonic and restores his peaceful personality. With Mecha Sonic's and Mecha Knuckles's new protocols now permanent and the Tornado repaired, Sonic and Tails leave Scrapnik Island.

Afterwards, the Restoration turns their attention to the Eggperial City, which is expanding itself until it covers the entire planet, Jewel dispatches Sonic along with Tangle, Whisper and lanolin to investigate, but Sonic is separated from them and is forced to call for backup.

Publications

Main

One-shots

Graphic novel

Reprints

* ''Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 1–4 Box Set'' (June 27, 2018) (collects issues #1–4)
** ''Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 1: Fallout!'' (September 18, 2018) (a reprint of #1–4)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 2: The Fate of Dr. Eggman'' (February 19, 2019) (a reprint of #5–8)
* ''Team Sonic Racing Plus Deluxe Turbo Championship Edition'' one-shot (May 22, 2019) (a reprint of the story featured in ''Team Sonic Racing One-Shot'', which also includes bonus features)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog: Bonds of Friendship'' (2019) (a Scholastic-exclusive collection of several reprinted issues in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 3: Battle For Angel Island'' (July 23, 2019) (a reprint of #9–12)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 4: Infection'' (September 3, 2019) (a reprint of #13–16)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper Box Set'' (December 4, 2019) (collects issues #1–4)
** ''Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper'' (April 14, 2020) (a reprint of ''Tangle & Whisper'' issues #1–4 including the 2019 Annual)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 5: Crisis City'' (February 11, 2020) (a reprint of #17–20)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 6: The Last Minute'' (June 23, 2020) (a reprint of #21–24)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 7: All or Nothing'' (December 8, 2020) (a reprint of #25–29)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 8: Out of the Blue'' (March 30, 2021) (a reprint of #30–32 including the 2020 Annual)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys'' (May 11, 2021) (a reprint of ''Bad Guys'' issues #1–4)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 9: Chao Races & Badnik Bases'' (January 11, 2022) (a reprint of #33–36)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog: Sonic & Tails: Best Buds Forever'' (February 23, 2022) (a reprint of stories from #1, #13, #34 and #35)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 10: Test Run!'' (March 22, 2022) (a reprint of #37–40)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 11: Zeti Hunt!'' (June 7, 2022) (a reprint of #41-44)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 12: Trial by Fire'' (September 13, 2022) (a reprint of #45–49)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog: Imposter Syndrome'' (October 11, 2022) (a reprint of ''Imposter Syndrome'' issues #1–4)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 13: Battle for the Empire'' (February 7, 2023) (a reprint of #50-51 including the 2022 Annual)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 14: Overpowered'' (June 20, 2023) (a reprint of #52-56)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island'' (August 29, 2023) (a reprint of ''Scrapnik Island'' issues #1–4)

''The IDW Collection''

* ''Sonic the Hedgehog: The IDW Collection, Vol. 1'' (June 8, 2021) (a reprint of Issues #1–12)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog: The IDW Collection, Vol. 2'' (March 15, 2022) (a reprint of Issues #13–20, including the 2019 Annual and the ''Tangle & Whisper'' miniseries.)
* ''Sonic the Hedgehog: The IDW Collection, Vol. 3'' (March 14, 2023) (a reprint of Issues #21–32, including the 2020 Annual.)

Reception

Joshua Davison on ''Bleeding Cool'' gave the first issue a score of 6.5/10, praising the art and creativity of the story but criticizing Sonic's characterization: "Sonic is an insufferable character... He's smug, annoying, and radical in that 1990's sense."

Dustin Holland's review of the first issue of the ''Imposter Syndrome'' miniseries on ''Comic Book Resources'' praised the personalities of new villains Surge the Tenrec and Kit the Fennec, action-filled plot, and appropriately expressive art.

References

External links

*

{{Portal bar, Comics, Video games, 2010s, United States

Sonic the Hedgehog
2018 comics debuts
Comics based on Sonic the Hedgehog
IDW Publishing titles
Comic book reboots
Action-adventure comics
Comedy-drama comics
Horror comics
Science fantasy comics
Superhero comics
Comic books suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Zombies in comics
Apocalyptic comics
Child abuse in fiction