IDW Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 11

IDW Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 11 is the eleventh issue in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series published by IDW Publishing.

Official solicitation

 * "The Battle for Angel Island," Part Three! Sonic and Knuckles are on the ropes as their foe uses the power of the Master Emerald to become a far more formidable threat! Meanwhile, the rest of the Resistance faces off against the entirety of the Eggman Empire's Fleet... but can they win?

The Battle for Angel Island Part 3

 * Written by: Ian Flynn
 * Art by: Tracy Yardley (p. 1-6, 9-13) & Evan Stanley (p. 7-8, 14-20)
 * Colors by: Matt Herms
 * Letters by: Shawn Lee
 * Assistant Editor: Megan Brown
 * Editor: 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
Angel Island is currently in freefall. On the island, Blaze has taken flight, concerned that her earlier actions have brought about the island's descent. She meets up with Tangle and Amy on a nearby Egg Fleet battleship and apologizes for causing the island to fall. Amy corrects her: if Angel Island is falling, then it means something has happened to the Master Emerald.

At the Master Emerald's shrine, Sonic, Knuckles and Shadow are busy dodging large crystal shards that are being fired at them by Master Overlord. Sonic himself take a small solace in that they are not facing Super Neo Metal Sonic anymore. Knuckles, meanwhile, contacts Amy. Telling her of Neo Metal Sonic's transformation, he asks if Burning Blaze is still around for heavy support. Amy relays that question to Blaze, who informs them that the Sol Emeralds' power has been diminished since their last usage, meaning she cannot transform again for a while. Knuckles promptly tells Sonic that Burning Blaze is out of the picture, and Sonic notes that Super Sonic is not an option either since they do not have the Chaos Emeralds. With Shadow determined not to lose to Master Overlord, Sonic comes up with a plan.

Master Overlord declares to Sonic, Knuckles and Shadow that he will realize Dr. Eggman's dream of a global empire as they can do nothing to stop him. He swiftly grabs the trio, preparing to wipe out the Resistance and leave Angel Island to be destroyed. Struggling in Master Overlord's grasp, Shadow asks Sonic if this was part of his plan, to which Sonic says that it is now. Sonic plans to rip the Master Emerald out of Master Overlord's chest to de-power Neo Metal Sonic and save Angel Island. He believes that Master Overlord is taking them straight to the calvary. Knuckles likes the plan's simplicity and begins to focus on the Master Emerald while Sonic and Shadow prepare to take out Master Overlord's wings to drive him down to the island.

In the captain's room on the Egg Fleet battleship, Vector points out to Tails that Master Overlord was heading directly towards them. Tails corrects Vector and states that they are instead heading straight for Metal Overlord as Sonic and the others needed help otherwise Angel Island would be lost. Tails requests for Vector to tell Amy to get everyone on deck as he tries to move as close to Metal Overlord as he can. Tails then begins to shoot at Metal Overlord with the battleship. Knuckles glides towards the robot's torso while telling Amy to help take out Metal Overlord's wings. Sonic and Shadow run up Metal Overlord's body towards his left and right wings respectively.

Elsewhere, in a Eggman-like laboratory, Rough and Tumble have restrained a protesting Eggman, who is fearful of what is about to happen to him. Eggman's offers to fix anything for the skunk brothers is dismissed and the doctor soon meets an unfamiliar scientist named Dr. Starline. Eggman still claims to him that he is "Mr. Tinker" but Starline knows better as he has apparently made a career out of studying him. Starline declares that he will return Eggman to his former glory, making "Mr. Tinker" protest even more that he would not want to be Eggman. Starline simply tells him that Eggman would not want to be "Mr. Tinker" either and puts goggles over face that begins to electrocute the doctor.

Back at Angel Island, Master Overlord is still trying to bring the Egg Fleet battleship down. Sonic intercepts and decides to start slowing Master Overlord by annoying him. With this in mind, Sonic identifies Master Overlord's contradicting statement of Sonic being a loathsome copy when he himself looks less like a hedgehog with features such as being fifty-foot tall, being made of metal, etc. Master Overlord angrily yells that he is "Sonic" perfected and almost continues but is met with a rocket blast to his face from Whisper's Variable Wispon. Thus, the Resistance (aside from Tails) rush to Sonic's side to aid him in the fight and start battling Master Overlord all over. Amy confirms to Sonic that Knuckles has already relayed the plan and then begins to buy the Resistance more time by Spin Attacking Master Overlord's head. The Resistance aid in destroying Master Overlord's wings while Knuckles continues to force the Master Emerald out of his pelvis.

Suddenly, Master Overlord shakes the Resistance off, leaving those who are not fliers to free fall. However, Silver manages to catch everyone with his psychokinesis midair. As Silver does his best to concentrate, Master Overlord attempts to attack him. However, he is immediately rammed by the battleship, something which Tails delights in. As Master Overlord turns to face Tails, Knuckles finally manages to remove the Master Emerald. Knuckles then glides right down to his shrine and places the Master Emerald back in its rightful place. Angel Island barely touches the ocean and slowly rises back up, much to the relief of a laughing Knuckles. As Silver brings everyone down to the surface, Sonic immediately seeks out the destroyed battleship, worrying for Tails. Tails is revealed to to be fine and even though he agrees with Sonic that his actions were amazing, he says that does not think he would want to do it again anytime soon. As Sonic finds a decommissioned Metal Sonic nearby, Sonic believes that Tails has nothing to worry about as the fight is over.

After a tiresome battle, the team rest up and take a breather, aside from Shadow who almost immediately leaves. As Knuckles expresses gladness in being back home, he asks of Metal Sonic's status. Tails replies that he is offline, leaving the battle outcome in their favor. Sonic relays his happiness in Metal Sonic's defeat, Eggman being reformed and the day being saved once again. Meanwhile, back in Eggman's lab, Starline states that the first round Eggman's procedure is complete and asks the doctor if he is feeling more like himself.

Appearances
Characters:
 * Blaze the Cat
 * Burning Blaze
 * Chaotix
 * Charmy Bee
 * Espio the Chameleon
 * Vector the Crocodile
 * Dr. Eggman
 * Dr. Starline
 * Metal Sonic
 * Neo Metal Sonic
 * Master Overlord
 * Super Neo Metal Sonic
 * Resistance
 * Amy Rose
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Rough
 * Silver the Hedgehog
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Super Sonic
 * Tangle the Lemur
 * Team Dark
 * Rouge the Bat
 * Shadow the Hedgehog
 * Tumble
 * Wisp
 * Blue Wisp
 * Cyan Wisp
 * Green Wisp
 * Orange Wisp
 * Pink Wisp
 * Whisper the Wolf

Locations:
 * Angel Island
 * Eggman Land

Items:
 * Chaos Emeralds
 * Master Emerald
 * Piko Hammer
 * Sol Emeralds
 * Variable Wispon

Vehicles:
 * Egg Fleet

Misc.:
 * Eggman Empire
 * Spin Attack

Continuity

 * Angel Island is still in freefall as a result of the Master Emerald being cut off from it in Sonic the Hedgehog #10, "The Battle for Angel Island Part 2".
 * Blaze recalls how she destroyed one of the wing units on Angel Island in Sonic the Hedgehog #10, "The Battle for Angel Island Part 2".
 * Neo Metal Sonic is still in his Master Overlord state, a form which he achieved in Sonic the Hedgehog #10, "The Battle for Angel Island Part 2".
 * Shadow is still at the site of the Master Emerald's shrine, a location of which he arrived at in Sonic the Hedgehog #10, "The Battle for Angel Island Part 2".
 * Tails is still in control of the Egg Fleet battleship that he stole in Sonic the Hedgehog #10, "The Battle for Angel Island Part 2".

Trivia

 * The crystal shards used by Master Overlord in this story are similar to the those used by Metal Overlord in Sonic Heroes.
 * The way in which the Chaotix fly towards Master Overlord is based on the Ascending Flight maneuver used by Team Chaotix 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 issue.
 * 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.
 * Angry Birds Transformers - Free Digital Ashcan

Quotes

 * Sonic: On the plus side―He's not in a "Super" State anymore!


 * Tails: Sonic needs our help! And if we don't act fast, Angel Island will be lost! Tell Amy to get everyone on deck! I'll get us as close as I can!
 * Vector: Man, I hope we're getting hazard pay for this...


 * Eggman: P-P-Please don't do this! I-I-I have no money but I can repair something for you! F-Fix your sink? Toilet? Bookcase?!
 * Tumble: Give it a rest already!


 * Tangle: Is this what it's always like for you guys?
 * Amy: Pretty much.
 * Tangle: Can we hang out all the time?!

Trivia

 * At the bottom left corner of cover B, the text "SONIC SHADOW and knuckles" can be seen. This is a reference to the "& Knuckles" meme used among fans that stemmed from the video game Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles.
 * The pose that Sonic and Shadow assume on the RI cover is similar to the one they assume in the introduction video of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle.
 * This issue's release date was originally set for 21 November 2018, but was delayed to 28 November 2018.