Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 20

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 20
Publication Date: August 28, 2019

I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again, at least as long as I keep reviewing comics written by Ian Flynn: Flynn likes his fight scenes, his match-ups. This is perhaps a wider symptom of the entire “Sonic” fandom. After all, the early days of the Archie “Sonic” series was frequently about finding new excuses for Sonic and Knuckles to wail on each other. Those comics were fun in their own way because they were all about those fights. Flynn, however, tends to stick his fisticuffs in the middle of on-going story arcs, where we have things we care about slightly more than watching Sonic and Shadow duke it out again. And so it comes to pass that he does the exact same shit with this year’s Metal Virus saga, with Sonic and Zombot Shadow getting issue 20’s cover.

“Crisis City Part Two” picks up with Sunset City still in the grips of the Zombot invasion. While Rouge and the Resistance tries to get the uninflected safely out of the city, Sonic and Omega fights off the ever-encroaching Zombot tide. This is made all the more dangerous now that Shadow is infected and leading the horde. Sonic only makes it out, right before his own infection takes over, thanks to Silver and Tails intervening. Back at Restoration HQ, Tails searches for a cure while the situation feels more and more hopeless. Meanwhile, aboard Eggman’s Faceship, Dr. Starlight makes plans of his own.

As I’ve come to expect by now, Sonic and Shadow’s fight is among the least interesting thing about this comic despite ostensibly being the marquee attraction. It’s not like we’ve never seen these two punch it out before. You’d think Shadow being a zombie now would add some novelty to the fight. While the so-called ultimate lifeform is perhaps more brutal than usual, he lacks his cunning and various superpowers. So it just comes down to some punchy-punchy between friends. At least the fight scene features some acrobatic flips, kicks and grapples. I’m willing to give Jack Lawrence credit for that, as Flynn’s previous fights were rarely martial arts based.

Luckily, Flynn doesn’t devote the entire issue to this repetitive combat. After Silver swoops in and saves the day — you’d think his ability to psychically heft whole crowds of people out of the way would’ve come in handy before now — Flynn slows things down. As Sonic enters Restoration HQ, we get a sense of how this recent upheaval has affected people. A powerful sequence involves Amy loosing contact with a military unit over her headset, we readers only seeing her panicked reaction. Clearly, the situation is weighing on the usually upbeat Amy Rose. (Honestly, one of the best things Flynn has done at IDW is make Amy Rose, Sonic’s one-note fangirl, into the totally credible leader of the good guys.) When Sonic mentions to Rouge that Shadow didn’t make it out of Sunset City, we get a solitary panel of the bat grimacing to herself before returning to her typical bravado. It’s nice moments like this that show us these characters have emotions and souls. And that a zombie apocalypse, even one with less gut-munching than usual, would absolutely try that.

Sonic himself feels that strain too. In fact, his condition is preventing Sonic from sleeping, adding to his distress. It’s an increasingly hopeless situation... Which Flynn can only maintain for so long. The issue wraps up with Tails suggesting Sonic’s speed might provide a cure to the Virus. As if the writer is too afraid to let stuff get naturally dark without reminding us that, unlike most zombies scenarios, this one can be reversed. That focus on keeping the story moving forward continues with the final scene, which suggests Starline is going to seek out the technokinectic Deadly Six to help take control of the Zombot horde. That’s a reasonable plot turn — and I continue to be interested in Starline’s inevitable betrayal of his mentor — but I wish Flynn let us simmer in despair a little longer. I guess I shouldn’t expect that of a children’s comic.

A much better relief from the existential dread of zombies taking over the world is goofy robots. Omega continues to be a source of amusing humor. The giant kill-bot’s commitment to destroying anything Eggman has touched leads to him bluntly dismissing Sonic and the other’s concerns. Though the temptation to add another high-profile casualty must’ve been overwhelming, Flynn has Omega survive being torn apart by Zombots... Probably because the homicidal robot being reduced to just a head and forced to interact with Tails was too good a chance for dry sass. There’s also a mildly funny interaction between Sonic and Gemerl, that gives the former Dad-Bot some personality.

A one more thing stuck out to me about this issue. After arriving at Restoration HQ, Sonic is greeted by Cream. The little rabbit is as upset about what’s happening as everyone else, and is having nightmares about her Chao friends. Yet, because this comic is determined to make Cream a paragon of wholesomeness, she’s staying upbeat for the refugees... That’s right, the Restoration is housing refugees from the various cities claimed by the Zombot outbreak. And I’m probably reading too much into things but Ian Flynn writing an explicitly pro-refugee comic book in summer of 2019 seems significant. I’m sure Flynn will deny any political slant about this plot point when I bother him on Twitter about it later tonight.

The Metal Virus crisis continues to drag a little. I still feel like the plot is stagnating, instead of moving forward. However, I definitely prefer emotional issues like this over action-heavy ones like last time. Hopefully, the story arc will find more of a balance between these two options soon enough. [6.5/10]