It’s finally time for the next big Sonic adventure and this one just barely ends the metal virus saga. That one really lasted quite a while so I gotta say I was pretty impressed there. Definitely a comic arc that I’ll remember and this one has a lot of solid fights all throughout. You will definitely get your fill here as the comic does not leave you empty handed. You’re getting a lot of bang for your buck.

Sonic is pretty much on his last legs by this point and the Deadly Six are running the show now so he is forced to work together with Eggman to put a stop to these guys. It’s the team up that everyone has been waiting for so you can bet that things are really getting intense now. Since Sonic is really unable to fight though, it’s an excuse to have everyone else showing off a little bit. Pretty much every character gets a turn in the spotlight which is really nice to see.

The Deadly Six aren’t the most powerful villains out there as Sonic can easily beat the whole group but you have to keep in mind that Sonic’s supporting cast is considerably weaker than he is. So it’s actually fairly reasonable for them to be struggling a bit more here. That may sound a bit harsh but hey that’s just how it goes. The matchups were pretty interesting here. I think Amy and Tails should have had an easier time on their end though. Their opponent’s super slow and they at least have reasonable speed right? I’m thinking maybe they just aren’t as powerful in this series but it also could be that I’m underestimating the villain a bit.

I would say Espio and Silver had the massive advantage on their sides. Both of their villains wouldn’t really be doing much there. Gmerl also should have had an easy time except for the fact that his opponent can freely control machinery which was rough. He also had to be on the lookout for Cream who decided to help without having much of a plan. I’m afraid the comic was not a good look for her as she was still unable to get all that serious when it counted. I would have liked her to have gone all in on attacking the villain considering the stakes here. There’s just no more time for posturing or anything like that. You have to go in and take the win, it’s the only option left.

Sonic also has a great portrayal here all the way through. By now he’s been running for hours and hours to the point where it is turning into days. He can’t stop or he will be transformed so that’s why it’s so impressive. It’s one of his best stamina feats, I definitely have to give him that. He may not get to fight too much this time as a result but he’s already had a whole lot of action so it’s not bad to have a little break. Naturally he does get some action for the climax so you don’t have to worry about that at all.

Eggman’s still not the best at planning things out right now though. I dare say his intellect might be on fraud watch at the moment as he really isn’t thinking things out. He is making too many rookie mistakes so you could say that he’s finally over the hill or he’s just getting too complacent at this point. Either way it’s not a good look for him. I was glad to see him take out the sidekick though as that self proclaimed genius was more on the annoying side so far.

If you’re not a big fan of the Deadly Six then I don’t see that changing here. They look reasonable and all but they just don’t have the same level of stage presence. Evil Shadow was more threatening and he only appears for a few pages. In general the metal zombies are still really big threats and it was nice seeing them get so much respect here. The fact that they are invincible and have the huge numbers advantage is enough to make them tough to stop. After all, unless you find a cure you can never truly beat them. You’re just delaying the inevitable.

Shoutout to Team Babylon though, they look pretty great here. Especially Jet who really took charge and showed why he is still one of the heavy hitters. He may not appear a whole lot in Sonic media but you have to love the confidence and skills that he displays. He’s a clear cut above most of the other characters and doesn’t back down to anyone. I would definitely read a full series about this guy. I know he could hold his own. The supporting cast for Sonic is huge which this arc does a good job of displaying so it makes sense that he won’t always be around but adding him into any story is an immediate buff.

As expected the art is great here. Definitely a lot of real powerful shots and the art is always consistent. The fights look really good and they spared no expense on the strong colors. Meanwhile the writing is also really solid. We get a good amount of banter and humor as well as the serious stuff. The continuity feels really strong here and we still get references to the first arc of the series. I like that these things aren’t just forgotten and it helps the world feel a lot more real. Now we just need Infinite to show up.

Overall, Sonic has had a really good run so far and this volume definitely continues it. As always with an arc of this scale it’s going to be tough to top for a while so I can definitely see them going with some smaller stories in the meantime. This one pretty much had every named character in it after all and you probably don’t want to do those kinds of stories too often. The comic really had no weaknesses as every aspect of it was great. Definitely a must read for all fans of the blue blur! It really goes by quickly with how much fun you’re having.

Overall 8/10