Super Comics: Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW) – #41

Sonic the Hedgehog (the comic book series) and all the images you see in this recap are owned by IDW and SEGA of America

Now I reviewed the fortieth issue of this series back in June and was like, WELL THAT’S IT FOR SONIC THIS MONTH! Little did I know that a mere ONE WEEK after that issue came out that the next issue was released, which is on me I suppose but why did IDW do that!? We needed four months to tell the Matrix rip off story arc, but there was just no time to lose when in getting a new Zeti storyline started? In any case, I’m here now ready to take a look at this issue and I sure as heck will be covering the next issue as well which came out only a few days ago, so look forward to that as well if you haven’t already moved on from it! Is this the start of a fun new story arc, or are the Zeti as uninteresting here as they were when they got shoehorned into the Zombat saga? Let’s find out!!

The issue begins as almost all Sonic stories do with Sonic and Eggman in the latest of their battles to the death where neither side truly wins or loses for that would require altering the status quo and let’s face it; neither one of them would know what to do with themselves without the other to spur them on. Well okay, that’s not EXACTLY what’s going on here but in my defense we’re entering this scene in-media-res and so what other conclusions are there to draw? Eggman is ACTUALLY looking for the Zeti as Zavok attacked one of his web servers (Bad Guys Issue 3), but I’m not sure how razing a town to the ground in a giant mech is going to help him find the guy so Sonic seems well within his rights to try and stop him!

Yeah, well you didn’t stab Mr. Tinker in the head when you had the chance AND you let Metal Sonic go instead of turning him into scrap metal, so I think the chicken/egg argument here lands on YOUR tiny blue shoulders, buddy!

Of course all this nonsensical violence is happening while the Zeti are still on the loose and Zavok is still recovering from the mission at the Eggman Server. He has conceded the fact that vengeance will not be his until he reunites with his fellow Zeti and spends most of the issue trying to flush them out while taking over towns to keep his strength up. In some cases it just seems like outright cruelty as he and Zazz destroy a town that wasn’t doing anything, but in Zomom’s case it seems a TAD bit more justified. Instead of putting him in prison like Zavok, this one town has him trapped in this tiny little box in the town square; unable to move, completely unprotected from the elements, and clearly not getting enough food for his unique metabolism! Pretty sure the Restoration didn’t sign off on THAT, but then again we don’t really know how things are being run now that Jewel is in charge! Perhaps we should keep a closer eye on her…

“I WANT A LAYWER!” “Oh, silly goose! You’re classified as an enemy combatant! You don’t get any rights!”

It doesn’t take long for the rest of the Deadly Six to find Zavok and co, but Master Zik cautions him about his current path; prioritizing vengeance and satisfaction over sound strategy and true victory! If they keep going on the way they are, razing each village they see to the ground and giving wedgies to all its citizens, they will surely be found by The Restoration sooner rather than later; an issue that is clearly coming to pass as The Restoration has hired The Chaotix to investigate the recent string of attacks. It’s good to see them back by the way! I remember Vector getting something of a push in 2019 as the next big star of the Sonic Franchise, but then the whole Sonic series just kinda went into standby mode after Sonic Forces and Team Sonic Racing so Vector never really got the most out of his brief spotlight.

“Dang it, we’re SO GOOD that we should get our own spin-off! Right, IDW? Don’t you agree!? Our door is always open! PLEASE!?”

So with The Restoration right on their tail, what are they to do? Well if they keep the pattern going JUST long enough, they can trick The Restoration into thinking they will head to a certain town and instead head to the Restoration themselves as they assume it will be defenseless at that point. Honestly, I’m not feeling this plan really as they’re either gonna have to separate so that one of them can relay the Restoration’s position, or they just ASSUME they know which attack they will predict and head to the Restoration at that point. Not only that, I doubt the Restoration will be COMPLETELY depleted in trying to defend ONE CITY, but honestly how much does this matter? All we’re here to do is come up with excuses to set up a few different matchups between the Zeti and the Sonic Heroes, and frankly I need a LITTLE bit more than that to get invested in this story.

Oh, you THINK there’s plenty of time to rest, but then all of a sudden TWO ISSUES IN ONE MONTH! What’ll you do then, huh!?

This one is going to stay short and sweet because we’re just here to set up the next story few issues and therefore most of the issue is exposition. There were a few interesting details like how a few of the Zeti were locked up while the rest were wandering around doing their own thing, but the big confrontation we’re building to needs to be about more than just beating up Zeti or trashing the good guys’ HQ. Not every story arc has worked since the insufferable Zombot arc came to an end, but this is probably the most straightforward and simplistic starting point we’ve had for one of these so far and it’s gonna have to work a bit harder in the next issue to get me back on board. Chao races may not have been the MOST exciting thing in the world, but at least it was something different!