DC COMICS X SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: ISSUE 1 “CHAOS CRISIS” 

 

REVIEW BY

EDWARD BRYAN SABA-CASTILLO

The age-old question, who is faster? The Flash or Sonic the Hedgehog? 

The first issue of the DC and Sonic crossover comic was just released a few days ago. The DC universe is no stranger to crossovers as they have had many in the past, including Power Rangers, Godzilla, even Marvel comics! So seeing this property crossing over with the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog should not come as a surprise, and right off the bat, we are thrust into the story! 

The premise is that Darkseid’s forces arrive in Sonic’s universe using a new artifact called the Ranga Rock, and with this he can cross dimensions, but what could he be looking for? Power, that’s what he desires, and the one item that is almost always in play in Sonic’s Universe are the Chaos Emeralds, seven mystical items from his world (Video Game Song from Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 reference, sorry not sorry!) 

 

With this new threat, the characters from Sonic are in a situation where they need to acquire big assistance, and that comes in the form of the Justice League, who arrive all together. Sadly no Martian Manhunter or Hawkgirl, but we got Cyborg at least, BOOYAH!

 

In a crossover, you always need to make sure both sides get time to shine, as well as making sure one or the other don’t make the crossover feel like an afterthought. You also need to  make sure there is no power scaling, especially if you have the indestructible Superman since the Sonic universe characters do hold their own for the most part against Darksied’s Forces!

 

I mean Knuckles manages to knock out Darkseid’s son! 

The artwork and style of the entire issue shines through the artist Adam Bryce Thomas as he manages to capture both universe’s characters very well, and he’s able to make sure they both mesh well with each other, no one looks off model or out of place. It is funny, though, seeing how small Sonic and his friends are compared to the League.

 

The story and premise are good and simple, and the tone for the story is set well, not too dark but not too light. You wouldn’t want a story with both of these properties to be too toned towards kids as they do have to think of the older audience. WE BUY COMICS TOO! 

 

I am curious why it wasn’t explained how Darkseid and the League found Sonic’s world prior, and why certain characters are there. Why are Shadow and Silver just conveniently in town when this is happening, and they already crossed paths with Batman and Green Lantern? Just a little context here and there and a few questions answered would’ve been great. The entire crossover is only lasting for FOUR issues so I understand if they needed to pick up the pace to get the plot going. 

 

Now the one thing the comic gets right is the character interactions and depictions of their personalities. This is mostly thanks to veteran writer Ian Flynn, who has written for the Sonic comics multiple times. From what I can see, all of these characters are one-to-one for each other. We got Sonic’s show-off attitude, Knuckles’ dedication to his home, Flash’s cockyness, Batman’s cunning…all of it in one bowl.

That’s not even talking about the character interactions between everyone in this issue, even if some are brief, the ones that are depicted the most display the best qualities of each other. 

We all wanted to see Shadow and Batman interact due to them both losing their loved ones in a similar manner and their brooding nature overlapping one another. Batman was able to dedicate and find out what was up with Shadow in literally 5 seconds, being able to connect and relate to someone is what helps Shadow agree to join their cause.

 

And we all gotta love Sonic and Flash with their speed! They had to bring them both together, this is a big interaction that fans have been speculating about, and making fanfiction and fanart for for decades. They’re the 2 biggest speedsters, and we finally get to see them one-upping each other! 

Now one other nitpick I will mention is the drops of quotes/references to games. They were…I guess…a bit ehh? I wouldn’t say forced, but, unnecessary? Did we REALLY need Sonic dropping a nod to one of his game quotes from Sonic Adventure 2? 

 

“What you see is what you get, a guy who loves adventure!”

 

He says this line to Shadow during a cutscene before fighting him just with an added,

 “I’m Sonic the Hedgehog!” 

 

And then, we have another game quote drop by Darkseid, 

 

“It all starts with this…a gem containing the ultimate power!” 

 

This is yet again another Sonic Adventure 2 reference, as in that game, Shadow says the same thing when he obtains a Chaos Emerald. The only difference is that Shadow says “Jewel” while Darkseid says “Gem.” 

 

They don’t hurt the story but it felt a little like, “did we really need this?” 

 

Ian Flynn always does this in almost every issue he writes so it’s not surprising. 

 

There are a lot of good references to both DC and Sonic, as the location at the beginning of the story is Little Planet from the game Sonic CD. Then Flash calls Sonic “Kraal,” who was an energy-like creature with super speed inspired by Sonic himself, so that felt right to put into the story. 

 

I do hope in later issues we see some of the other cast from the Sonic universe show up, because it would be weird that they aren’t shown at least fighting or helping out or something, like what would they be doing while this is happening? 

 

This issue gets an 8.5 out of 10! 

The next issue has our heroes searching for the emeralds but Sonic and Flash have to deal with fighting Darkseid, and that is a battle I cannot wait to read!  

 

Coming in April!