IDW Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 9

IDW Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 9 is the ninth issue in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series published by IDW Publishing.

Official solicitation

 * "The Battle for Angel Island," Part 1. One of the greatest threats Sonic has ever faced descends upon Angel Island, home of the mystical Master Emerald, seeking to take the Emerald's power and control the world. Can Sonic and his friends stop the attack on the island-or is it already too late?

The Battle for Angel Island Part 1

 * Written by: Ian Flynn
 * Art by: Tracy Yardley
 * Colors by: Matt Herms
 * Letters by: Shawn Lee
 * Edited by: Joe Hughes & David Mariotte
 * Published by: Greg Goldstein
 * Special thanks to: Anoulay Tsai, Mai Kiyotaki, Aaron Webber, Michael Cisneros, Sandra Jo, and everyone at Sega for their invaluable assistance

Synopsis
The issue begins with Neo Metal Sonic narrating about how he has taken over Angel Island, as well as securing the Master Emerald. He mentions that he has baited the heroes into bringing him the last thing he needs for his ascension, claiming that he has won. A shot of Angel Island, which has been converted into a gigantic airship, in the middle of a thunderstorm is then shown.

Meanwhile, in Resistance HQ, Sonic and Amy stand before their allies (Tails, Silver, Blaze, Tangle, Rouge, Shadow, Whisper and the Chaotix) while an angry Knuckles paces around in the background. Amy thanks everyone for coming as Sonic tells them they are all needed in their upcoming battle. Knuckles proceeds to angrily inform everyone that Neo managed to take over Angel Island and turn it into a flying fortress. The robot also built an unknown object over the Master Emerald. With this, Knuckles mutters that he never should have left the island while Amy consoles him saying that he helped them and now they will help him. Amy then lays down the plans: she proposes that there will be three teams, two to attack the shorelines of Angel Island and break the Egg Fleet's control and a third team to confront Neo directly and secure the Master Emerald. Without hesitation, Knuckles declares himself to be on the third team.

Blaze then offers a more direct approach: she suggests that she uses the Sol Emeralds to transform into Burning Blaze and fight Neo herself. However, Tails points out that the Master Emerald is able to neutralize the Chaos Emeralds and could do the same to the Sol Emeralds. Knuckles assures him that it cannot. Even so, Tails goes on saying that Neo could still copy Burning Blaze's bio-data which would only make matters worse. With this, Blaze heeds Tails' advice to stay away from Neo. Despite this, Amy puts Blaze on team one as she believes Neo should not be anywhere near the shorelines. She then puts Sonic and Knuckles on team three and everyone else to be on team two. With this, the team sets off for Angel Island.

On the Battleship, Sonic comforts Whisper and tells her to stay safe. Nearby, Rouge talks to Shadow saying she did not think he would accept in joining the team-up. Shadow states that he is purely doing it out of his own intentions. Rouge shoots him a sarcastic comment and they do not notice a glaring Whisper. Blaze asks Amy whether or not they can trust Whisper. Amy stands by the wolf, saying that she likes to keep her distance, much how Blaze acted when they first met. Blaze does agree that she acted a bit defensive before and compares it to their current situation of marching into battle as allies. Amy asks Blaze to be careful and the latter responds saying that they will win the day. In another room, Silver, Tangle, Espio and Vector play a game of cards while Charmy simply builds a house of cards. During the game, Tangle craftily uses her tail to sneak cards away from Silver. Vector tries to get Knuckles to join but the echidna refuses as his island needs him and he personally has no time for games. In the captain's room, Sonic visits Tails, eager to get to Angel Island. Tails assures him that they will get through it and Sonic agrees.

Suddenly, the windshield of the aircraft is hit and cracked. By Tails' quick observation, the entire Egg Fleet was attacking. Tails tells Sonic to get Extreme Gear with Knuckles and head to Angel Island quickly while he tries to land the aircraft as close as he can. Over the intercom, Tails tells Blaze she needs to fly to her target while he tries to land everyone else on the west coast of the island. Blaze then uses the Sol Emeralds to transform into Burning Blaze and fly out of the aircraft. Amy comes by the captain's room to get Tails to evacuate. Before doing so, Tails puts in the final trajectory for the aircraft. Team Two then fly into action. Amy tells Vector to lead the Chaotix and tells Silver to simply wreck stuff. She tries to get Shadow and Rouge to team-up, only to find that Shadow had gone in a different direction. Amy then tells Rouge that she is now counting on her to handle the guns. Lastly, Amy tells Tangle and Whisper to cover Tails while he does something "smart". A large battle soon commences between Team Two and the Egg Fleet's horde of Egg Pawns. Burning Blaze quickly destroys the fleet of ships stationed on the wing of the flying fortress.

At the centerpiece of the island, Sonic and Knuckles find themselves before a large statue of Dr. Eggman positioned on top of a closed door. Knuckles does not sense anything from within but still breaks down the door hatches. They walk along the halls to find Neo sitting on his throne that he fashioned upon the Master Emerald. Sonic declares to Neo that his reign is over and the Resistance is beating his forces back and Knuckles demands that he releases the Master Emerald. Neo, unconcerned with the Resistance's efforts, tells the duo that they are nothing compared to him. Sonic is in disbelief and runs alongside Knuckles to quickly take on the robot, only for the pair of them to be swiftly pushed back by a surge of energy. They look up to see a powered-up Neo Metal Sonic―now Super Neo Metal Sonic―who tells both Sonic and Knuckles to show him what they are made of.

Appearances
Characters:
 * Badniks
 * Egg Pawn (multiple)
 * Blaze the Cat
 * Burning Blaze
 * Chaotix
 * Charmy Bee
 * Espio the Chameleon
 * Vector the Crocodile
 * Dr. Eggman
 * Neo Metal Sonic
 * Super Neo Metal Sonic
 * Resistance
 * Amy Rose
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Silver the Hedgehog
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Super Sonic
 * Tangle the Lemur
 * Team Dark
 * Rouge the Bat
 * Shadow the Hedgehog
 * Whisper the Wolf

Locations:
 * Angel Island
 * Blaze's world
 * Resistance HQ

Items:
 * Chaos Emeralds
 * Egg Spear (multiple)
 * Piko Hammer
 * Master Emerald
 * Sol Emeralds
 * Variable Wispon

Vehicles:
 * Battleship
 * Egg Fleet
 * Extreme Gear
 * Blue Star
 * Red Rock

Continuity

 * Angel Island is still under the control of the Eggman Empire, which it has been since Sonic the Hedgehog #8, "Silent Support".
 * Everyone is assembled after Sonic and Silver called for everyone to get assembled in Sonic the Hedgehog #8, "Silent Support".
 * Neo Metal Sonic transforms into Super Neo Metal Sonic. He would retain this Super State in Sonic the Hedgehog #10, "The Battle for Angel Island Part 1".

Trivia

 * The giant Eggman statue that appears on Angel Island resembles a pose from one of Dr. Eggman's artworks from Sonic Adventure 2.
 * In the double-page shot of the heroes at Resistance HQ, Silver's hands, that he has folded against his hips, are backwards.
 * Shadow leaning against boxes in Resistance HQ is a nod to him doing the same thing in Sonic Forces.
 * Sonic's Extreme Gear, the Blue Star, takes its design after its Sonic Riders appearance while Knuckles' Extreme Gear, the Red Rock, takes its design after its Sonic Free Riders appearance.
 * Before jumping from the Battleship, Blaze has to remind herself not to think of how high up she is, a callback to her acrophobia which she displayed in Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure.
 * The pose assumed by Burning Blaze after transforming is similar to the one that appears on the regular cover for Sonic Universe #58.
 * The way Charmy Bee carries his teammates away from the Battleship's crash landing is similar to how he would carry his teammates in Sonic Heroes when his team was in Flight formation.
 * When the heroes begin their attack, one of the Egg Pawns shows an exclamation point inside a speech bubble. This is a reference to the same speech bubbles with exclamation points inside them that the enemies in Sonic Heroes show when they notice the playable characters.
 * Neo Metal Sonic's lines "all become a black mark on the floor" and "Come. Show me what you're made of" are references to the song "What I'm Made of..." that plays during the battle with Metal Overlord in Sonic Heroes.

Other features

 * Previously: Previously is a summary of previous issues' key story moments. It features a page of relevant panels from the previous issues.
 * Roll Call: Roll Call acts as a quick reference guide to new readers about the characters. This issue provides data files on Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Shadow, Tangle, Rouge, Blaze, Espio, Vector, Charmy, Whisper, Silver and Neo Metal Sonic.
 * Sonic Letters Squad: Sonic Letters Squad is a section where the comic staff can post fan artwork and fan letters that have been sent in to them.
 * Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Free Digital Ashcan

Quotes

 * Neo Metal Sonic: I am Neo Metal Sonic. I am Dr. Eggman's greatest creation. I am Sonic the Hedgehog―perfected. I have used the Egg Fleet to conquer Angel Island. I have secured the Master Emerald. The most powerful gemstone in the world. I have baited the 'heroes' into bringing me the last thing I need for my ascension. I have won!


 * Amy: Team three will confront Neo Metal Sonic here. They'll secure the Master Emerald and rob the fleet of its commander.
 * Knuckles: I'm on team three!
 * Sonic: I think everyone assumed that, Knux.


 * Blaze: Are you sure that one can be trusted?
 * Amy: Whisper? Sure! She certainly likes to keep her distance.... Kinda reminds me of how a certain princess used to be...
 * Blaze: Heh. I suppose I was a bit... defensive... when we all first met. And now I march to war with the lot of you.
 * Amy: It's going to be rough out there. Please be careful on your own.
 * Blaze: Do not worry. We'll win the day.
 * Amy: Haha! You're right. I need to stay positive!
 * Blaze: I learned from the best.


 * Sonic: Great. Juuuuust great.
 * Super Neo Metal Sonic: Well? Weren't you going to "stop me?" Come. Show me what you're made of.

Trivia

 * The B cover is done in the style of a propaganda poster.
 * Tracy Yardley later reworked his cover to feature Espio, Charmy, Vector, Cream, Big and Omega instead of Blaze and Silver to create a poster in a more Sonic Heroes-fashion.
 * The RI cover depicts Burning Blaze to have red highlights on her ponytail instead of them being purely pink and spiked.
 * Despite appearing on cover RI, Cream, Cheese, G-merl, and E-123 Omega are absent in this issue.