IDW Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 4

IDW Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 4 is the fourth issue in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series published by IDW Publishing.

Official solicitation

 * Sonic comes across a town under attack from the biggest Badnik force he’s ever seen. Luckily, help is on the way from his old friend Blaze, as well as a new hero! Get ready for the debut of Tangle!

Fallout Part 4

 * Written by: Ian Flynn
 * Art by: Evan Stanley
 * Colored by: Matt Herms
 * Letters by: Corey Breen
 * 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
In the twilight hours, Sonic arrives at another town that is being besieged by Badniks, which are being deployed from a giant Buzz Bomber battleship above the town. Noticing that whoever is organizing Dr. Eggman's Badniks is stepping up their game, Sonic hurries towards the town. Upon entering the town and starting to smash Badniks, Sonic begins to think that maybe he should have taken Amy's offer and rejoined the Resistance since fighting all the Badniks single-handedly is tough. As Sonic starts to second-guess his second-guessing however, he decides to cast his doubts aside for now and focus on saving the town. Just as he rounds a corner however, he sees a female ring-tailed lemur bashing and destroying Egg Pawns with great vigor using her surprisingly strong, long, and flexible tail, though it becomes charred in the process. A damaged Egg Pawn attempts to fire at her, but is quickly stopped by Sonic, which she thanks him for. As the Egg Pawns surround them, the two exchange names, with the lemur introducing herself as Tangle, stating that she has always wanted to meet Sonic. Tangle tells Sonic that she has been dealing with the Badnik raids for awhile, though they have become more difficult to handle. As they cooperate to destroy more Egg Pawns, Sonic agrees, adding that he has been looking into the situation and is unsure as to why the Badniks' attacks have become more organized.

In that very same moment, Sonic and Tangle get cornered by two large Moto Bug tanks. Jokingly, Tangle asks Sonic if he is the advance guard for the Resistance, to which Sonic replies that they are probably busy fighting other Badnik gangs elsewhere. As they talk about how to handle the Badniks however, a fire column suddenly appears that roasts the surrounding Egg Pawns. As the fire column dies down, Blaze the Cat is revealed. While Tangle is stunned and just confused about what is happening, Sonic excitedly calls out to Blaze, who has taken notice of the surrounding Badniks. Explaining the situation, Sonic asks for Blaze's help saving the village, which she gladly agrees to.

Sonic and Blaze proceed to engage the horde of Badniks, with lots of help from Tangle, and together, the trio are smashing Badniks left and right. However, Blaze soon notices that the Badniks are refilling their ranks faster than they and the village's militia can dispose of them. As Tangle explains that the Badniks are coming from the Buzz Bomber battleship that is flying above the village, Sonic wonders how they can take it out. Blaze notes that it is out of range even for her, which is when Tangle offers her new friends to use her tail as a slingshot. After Tangle gets her tail into position, Sonic and Blaze get on-board it, grab hands, and are sent flying into the air. Using her pyrokinesis to give herself and Sonic extra elevation, Blaze, in conjunction with her flames, sends a Spin Attacking Sonic towards one of the hatches on the giant Buzz Bomber. Getting on-board the battleship, Sonic promptly trashes it from the inside, causing it to slowly fall towards Tangle's town. Blaze, however, still hovering in the air, uses a beam of fire to divert the Buzz Bomber battleship away from the town.

As Blaze lands on the ground, she meets up with an amazed Tangle, who wonders if Sonic is alright. Blaze quickly tells her that Sonic will be okay, and sure enough, Sonic comes bouncing towards them, all dazed from the battleship's crash. After Tangle, who is surprised at how Sonic chooses to live his life, helps Sonic back on his feet, Sonic introduces Blaze to Tangle. Although surprised that Blaze is a princess from another dimension and guardian of her world's Chaos Emeralds (the Sol Emeralds), Tangle quickly gets over the shock and thanks Blaze for helping save her town. Sonic, meanwhile, asks Blaze what brings her to his world. She explains that she has felt the will of the Sol Emeralds, and that they have directed her here to prevent a terrible fate that will befall Sonic's world. Sonic, however, casually explains that she is about seven months too late, and tells her that Eggman locked him up and took over the world, only for his friends to later break him out and help him defeat the evil dictator.

Tangle breaks up the conversation by bringing up what Sonic mentioned earlier: that the Badnik attacks (which Sonic does not think are under Eggman's control) are getting more organized and dangerous. While Tangle fears that this could mean that something worse is coming, Blaze states that as the Sol Emeralds have not been clear about her purpose in Sonic's world, she will remain in it until that purpose has been revealed, much to Sonic and Tangle's delight. Blaze decides to first see to it that the fires in Tangle's village are quelled, and asks Tangle to show her where she is needed. Utterly amazed by Blaze, Tangle agrees to it. As she departs, Blaze leaves Sonic to look for the ringleader behind the Badnik attacks. Bidding farewell to the girls, Sonic takes a very brief breather before hitting the road again.

Elsewhere, a noticeably dirty Dr. Eggman is watching a parent and her child from inside a house. As he watches the child cry about how he cannot carry his wagon inside since it is broken, Eggman ominously states that he will soon fix it and everything else...

Appearances
Characters:
 * Badniks
 * Buzz Bomber
 * Egg Pawn (multiple)
 * Moto Bug (multiple)
 * Blaze the Cat
 * Dr. Eggman
 * Resistance
 * Amy Rose
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Tangle the Lemur

Locations:
 * Blaze's world

Items:
 * Chaos Emeralds
 * Sol Emeralds
 * Wispons
 * Burst Wispon
 * Hover Wispon

Misc.:
 * Boost
 * Homing Attack
 * Spin Attack

Continuity

 * Sonic is still traveling around destroying rogue Badniks. He began this quest in Sonic the Hedgehog #1, "Fallout Part 1".
 * Sonic recalls how Amy invited him to rejoin the Resistance in Sonic the Hedgehog #2, "Fallout Part 2".
 * Sonic mentions how he and Amy took out a Blowfish Transporter in Sonic the Hedgehog #2, "Fallout Part 2".
 * Dr. Eggman promises that he would fix a child's red wagon. He eventually does that in Sonic the Hedgehog #5, "The Fate of Dr. Eggman Part 1".

Trivia

 * The Hover Wispon that appears on this story's second page is mistakenly colored red instead of green.
 * The pose Blaze makes in the panel depicting her initial appearance strongly resembles the one in a 3D [[media:Braze.png|artwork]] of Blaze from Sonic Channel.
 * The way Blaze jumps on Badniks wen she engages them in battle is reminiscent of the Axel Jump, one of Blaze's signature moves.
 * The objects that float around Sonic's head as he recovers from the battleships crash include Rings, Chaos Emeralds, and Flickies.
 * Sonic mentions that Eggman locked him up and took over the world, before his friends broke him out, referring to the beginning of Sonic Forces.
 * Sonic tells Blaze that she was "about seven months too late" to help prevent Eggman's takeover. In the game, Sonic was said to have been imprisoned for six months before his escape, implying that about another month has passed since that event.
 * The stone pavement on page 11 features three circular-shaped designs. It was revealed by Evan Stanley that it is the logo of her animation/illustration student group that she was a member of during her time in college.

Other features

 * Sonic Letters Squad: Sonic Letter Squad is a section where the comic staff can post fan artwork and fan letters that have been sent in to them. This edition has the fan letters omitted in favor of a special message from Ian Flynn.
 * Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters - Free Digital Aschan

Quotes

 * Tangle: Nice one! You're a natural. Do this a lot?
 * Sonic: You could say that. Sonic the Hedgehog.
 * Tangle: Oh, sweet! Always wanted to meet you. Tangle the Lemur.
 * Sonic: Charmed.
 * Tangle: Likewise.


 * Sonic: Right, so, introductions! Blaze, this is Tangle. She's a local. Tangle, this is Blaze. She's a princess from another dimension and guardian of the Sol Emeralds. They're like Chaos Emeralds, but fiery.
 * Tangle: ... Haha―yeah, okay.


 * Sonic: I'm always happy to see you, but what's the occasion?
 * Blaze: I felt the will of the Sol Emeralds. I've come to prevent a terrible even on your world.
 * Sonic: Ha! No offense, but you're about seven months late.
 * Blaze: What do you mean?
 * Sonic: Eggman locked me up and took over the world ...
 * Blaze: ...What?
 * Sonic: S'cool. My friends busted me out and we kicked his butt.

Trivia

 * Cover A for this issue is the fourth and final of four connecting covers.
 * This issue is the only one of the first four Sonic the Hedgehog issues whose second print variant consists of completely new artwork.
 * The first printing of the issue had sold out by 27 April 2018 and it was stated that it will receive a second printing on 30 May 2018.
 * This is the fifth Sonic-related comic to have sold out, following Sonic: Mega Drive and Sonic the Hedgehog #1-#3.
 * An exclusive variant cover was available for the issue so long as it was bought from the SEGA Shop. Along with it came normal cover A versions of the first four issues and an exclusive t-shirt that sported Hesse's artwork of Sonic and Tangle for cover A of this issue.