DC x Sonic the Hedgehog #5, and honestly the miniseries as a whole, is the comic book equivalent of a “good hang”. The various bursts of colorful energy, chaos emeralds, and plot to defeat Darkseid and save the multiverse is just a frame for fun banter, relationships, action team-ups, and let’s face it, an excuse for Team Sonic members to wear DC Comics superhero costumes. After the previous two issues showed the Sonic heroes in the DC Universe and vice versa, Ian Flynn, Adam Bryce Thomas, and Matt Herms put everything together as the two hero teams combine forces to take down Darkseid once and for all.
Other than Super Sonic deflecting an Omega beam and sending it right back at Darkseid, the best part of DC x Sonic the Hedgehog #5 are the beginning and the end. The different heroes filling in each other on their adventures on the Sonic and DC Comics Earths is like when you get separated on a night out and regale your friends with crazy shenanigans. I especially adored Amy Rose’s enthusiasm for the Amazons and Themiscyra with Thomas drawing big gestures, and Wonder Woman reassuring the pink hedgehog that she will be part of the sisterhood. On the flipside, there’s the terse back and forth between Batman and Shadow about the happenings in Gotham featuring dry humor that the late Kevin Conroy and Keanu Reeves would excel and sinking their teeth into. And, of course, there’s the big fun chili dog featuring finale with Flynn leaving the door just slightly ajar for a sequel even though you can’t get more high stakes than Darkseid. I definitely think individual character crossovers could work though.
Being a regular artist on the IDW Sonic the Hedgehog series, of course, Adam Bryce Thomas nails the Sonic characters, but I enjoy the manga influenced take on the DC superheroes while still keeping the iconic Jack Kirby designs for Darkseid and the various Apokoliptians that pop up in the series. The style is an olive branch for younger readers who may have grown up on manga and not Big Two superheroes, but maybe are getting into the DC characters via the Webtoons, the recent Superman film, or hell even Fortnite. Also, this type of visual presentation fits in with the physics defying world of the Sonic video games although chaos emeralds are definitely something that Eclipso would be into, or Thanos if for some reason Marvel lost the rights to the Infinity stones.
While temperatures soar and outside world continues to plunge into ideological darkness, the DC x Sonic the Hedgehog has been a nice escape as two, well-matched teams of wholesome heroes work together to save the universe and learn something about themselves through their experiences in different settings. I could read Ian Flynn’s dialogue for the interactions between these iconic characters all day, and Thomas and Herms bring the candy colored action that makes you feel like you’re playing video games in your neighbor’s basement after a long hot day. The recent live action Sonic the Hedgehog films are a great way to introduce kids to the superhero genre, and this comic kind of bridges the gap between those movies and something like the DC Animated Universe or even the vast never ending world of Detective Comics Comics.
Story: Ian Flynn Art: Adam Bryce Thomas
Colors: Matt Herms Letters: Becca Carey
Story: 7.6 Art: 8.2 Overall: 7.9 Recommendation: Buy
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle
