Warning! Spoilers ahead for Sonic the Hedgehog: Imposter Syndrome #4!
The biggest battle royal in the history of IDW’s Sonic the Hedgehog will finally explode next month in the series’ monumental 50th issue. Sonic, Tails and Belle the Tinkerer are running into an ongoing feud between Dr. Eggman and his former fanboy Dr. Starline, whose cyborg creations are actually planning on turning on Starline himself.
Sonic’s 50th issue will be the culmination of issues from the main continuity and the Imposter Syndrome tie-in special series. Starting last November right after Sonic the Hedgehog #46, both series have been alternating on a monthly basis. It began with Imposter Syndrome #1, which was then proceeded by Sonic the Hedgehog #47 in December and Imposter Syndrome #2 the following month, and so on. The Sonic issues have been revolving around the Blue Blur and his friends as they continue on with their lives completely oblivious to the events in Imposter Syndrome. In Imposter Syndrome, Dr. Starline has been preparing his cyborgs Surge the Tenrec and Kitsunami “Kit” the Fennec to temporarily remove Dr. Eggman from the picture so that Surge and Kit can replace Sonic and Tails respectively.
Now Sonic the Hedgehog: Imposter Syndrome #4, written by Ian Flynn with art by Thomas Rothlisberger, has set the stage for Sonic #50 coming next month from Flynn and artist Adam Bryce Thomas. Recently Surge and Kit have helped Dr. Starline take over Eggman’s city as Starline uses a powerful beacon to call upon all of Eggman’s Badnicks to launch a war against Sonic and his friends. Unfortunately for Starline, not only is Eggman able to escape and is now launching his counterattack against the traitor, but Starline’s own creations Surge and Kit are planning on turning on him once they have defeated Sonic and his friends. On top of this, Sonic, Tails and Dr. Eggman’s daughter Belle the Tinkerer are heading straight for that very city unbeknownst to all aforementioned parties. Starline has not even had time to begin his attack on Sonic, and Eggman is already prepared to strike back at Starline – possibly with Metal Sonic.
This battle royal will undoubtedly be one of the largest, most complicated altercations in the history of IDW’s Sonic series. The last major event involving multiple parties transpired quite some time ago during the Metal Virus Saga, when Dr. Eggman used the eponymous plague to transform all life into metallic zombies, also referred to as Zombots. Dr. Starline complicated things a bit when he tried to save Eggman from himself by getting a group of demons called the Deadly Six involved, as they had a particular bone to pick with Eggman. Starline was not aware of this grievance, a fact that the Deadly Six exploited to no end.
Interestingly, Metal Virus set the groundwork for Imposter Syndrome as the former event was when Starline first began to see many faults in how his hero Dr. Eggman handled his business, especially when Sonic was involved. Before, Starline summoned the Deadly Six to help Eggman gain control of his virus. Now, he’s taking a much more direct route by first getting Eggman out of commission. Starline views Eggman as his own worst enemy, so eliminating him will allow Starline to get rid of Sonic once and for all with his cyborgs. Of course, Starline is beginning to get delusions of grandeur as he gains control of Eggman’s empire, which will only complicate matters further.
This isn’t even mentioning the fact that Belle the Tinkerer will also be facing off against her father Dr. Eggman, who built her when he was his alter ego Mr. Tinker. Belle’s emotions are especially flared up as she has just read a letter from Mr. Tinker before he reverted back to Dr. Eggman, which will only exacerbate the intensity of their reunion when it does inevitably ensue. What’s clear is that Sonic the Hedgehog #50, which goes on sale June 22, promises to be explosive.
