IDW Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 41 is the forty-first issue in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series published by IDW Publishing.
Official solicitation[]
- The Deadly Six are still on the loose and attacking towns. Jewel the Beetle recruits Sonic's friends the Chaotix to find and stop the monsters, but Zavok is looking for his minions, too-he's angrier than ever and wants to reunite. The Chaotix will have to act quickly to outsmart the Deadly Six![1]
Featured stories[]
Zeti Hunt, Part 1[]
- Story: Ian Flynn
- Art: Adam Bryce Thomas
- Colors: Matt Herms
- Letters: Shawn Lee
- Assistant Editor: Riley Farmer
- Editor: David Mariotte
- Special thanks to: Mai Kiyotaki, Michael Cisneros, Sandra Jo, Sonic Team, and everyone at Sega for their invaluable assistance
Synopsis[]
In Winterburg, Sonic is busy battling Dr. Eggman in his snowman mech. While trying the hedgehog, Eggman destroys an ice sculpture of him instead. Sonic jokes about it, asking if that was any way to break the ice. Eggman refuses to engage Sonic with his ice puns. The hedgehog understands and says that they will skip to him stopping Eggman from taking over the town. Eggman tells Sonic that he did not care about Winterburg as he was hunting Zeti. In the ensuing fight, Eggman lets Sonic know that Zavok and the Deadly Six were on the loose and needed to take them out before they caused more trouble. He also wished to do it himself as he could not depend on Sonic. The hedgehog reminds him that he was the one that invited them to the world to mess with the Metal Virus, but Eggman protests saying that it was Dr. Starline who did so. Sonic still blames Eggman as he was his lackey but the doctor states that he is no longer affiliated with him. Sonic does not understand why Eggman wishes to fight him with semantics, though the doctor claims that this is to uphold his reputation.
Zavok being infuriated by the thought of accepting defeat.
From behind a building, Master Zik overhears the pair's conversation, making him realize that Zavok is indeed alive. He wonders why he has not come to get the others, as though they are formidable, they still require his leadership. He wonders if Zavok is injured. Though Master Zik believes the weak should be left behind, they were in some extraordinary circumstances. As Sonic continues to battle and mock Eggman, Master Zik slips away, saying how he will focus on rallying the others and try to meet him halfway. Elsewhere, Zavok commands an Egg Knight to go no further and allow him to rest. Sitting under a tree, Zavok is disappointed at how he tried to take a whole army from Eggman but with all his efforts he only managed to get one robot. He was the mightiest on the Lost Hex, but after fighting Sonic and Eggman, he continued to suffer one humiliating defeat after another. The Zeti notes how easy it would be to surrender. Clawing at the surface, Zavok angrily snaps out of it and refuses to give up, as according to him, defeat is only a foundation for revenge. He commands the Egg Knight to connect to the Eggnet to find which location he sent the Deadly Six to was the closest. He knows the others would not have strayed far from where he sent them and knows that he will need the full might of his team to exact his revenge. Following this, they would lay waste to everything. Zavok then continues on with the Egg Knight.
In Riverside, Zazz is busy trying to catch a fish but fails. He looks up to find and angry Zavok demanding to know what he is doing. Zazz reports that after the citizens returned to normal, they overwhelmed him and kicked him out of the town. Zavok reminds him that he is Zeti and of the Deadly Six; he does not survive, but instead, conquer. He then asks Zazz if he still has the Moon Mech, which the pink Zeti replies that he does and stashed it not too far from their location. He is requested to summon it as their revenge began now. Zavok, Zazz and the Egg Knight swiftly tear down the town. Soon, Zavok forces a doctor to wrap him with bandages as he will heal fast with the proper support. When the doctor asks if he could tend to his neighbors after, he is denied. Zavok then asks why Riverside was pristine before they began their attack, wondering if Zazz did nothing with the Zombots. Zazz tells him that following the town's destruction, it was fixed again by the Restoration. Later, in Vista View, a caged Zomom looks on as the villagers happily have a feast. They comment on how the Restoration helped them in the aftermath of the Metal Virus. Zomom tells a villager how it was not fair that he was not allowed to feast, only for her to remind him that if he behaves he will be fed on the hour. The Zeti promises to be good and is give a cake. The feast is soon interrupted by Zazz and Zavok, with the latter finding Zomom in a more pathetic state than Zazz. Zomom tells him how he was weak with hunger and was now only given three meals a day. When he requests to be let out so he could eat them up, Zavok reminds Zomom that he is Zeti and he is of the Deadly Six; he does not accept rationed feedings but instead consumes all.
The Deadly Six march away from the forest.
A Restoration member manages to destroy the Egg Knight with a Hover Wispon and tells the villagers to go to the designated shelter. He is stopped by Zavok, who questions him. The Restoration member tells him how he is part of the security corps, a group that stopped Badniks from attacking reconstruction efforts. Zavok did not enjoy learning that they were rebuilding and protecting as he believed that they were trying to undo all that his kind had done. He tells the Restoration member that though they worked so well together, they would now suffer together. Later, Zavok, Zazz, and Zomom walk through a forest. Zazz wishes to burn it down, but Zavok refuses as they had to travel further to get the pack to full strength. Zavok is instead surprised to find Master Zik in the forest along with Zeena and Zor, and learns that he had already taken the liberty of rounding up the others so that they could regroup sooner. Zavok acknowledges this wise act and commends Master Zik. The leader then tells his master that he plans to go back the way they came, find the towns that resisted them and raze them to the ground. Master Zik finds disappointment in this, even though Zavok claims that they were the first on the list for their revenge. The master understands the desire but the plan felt too obvious. Due to Zavok leaving misery in his wake, he began to set a pattern. Master Zik notes how they are far from the Lost Hex and could not return, meaning that they were in the lands of their enemies, who were numerous and organized; it would not take long for them to realize their targets and prepare for them. Zavok suggests facing them on the battlefield, to which Master Zik finds acceptable but they could achieve more. He suggests going after the Restoration as they bring about safety, stability, and hope. If they were torn out by the roots, the world would have no means of recovering from their viciousness.
Zavok finds his master's advice to be very wise. He plots to march to the nearest town like he said and firmly establish their pattern of attack by ruining all that stands there. As the heroes rush to defend the other two towns, they will instead double-back and assault the Restoration's base when its defenses are at their weakest. Master Zik takes glee in the new plan. Zavok then commands the Deadly Six to march on. The group soon attacks Orchardville. Zavok easily defeats two of the security corps there and notes this, hoping the others put up some fight. One of the security corps tells the other to distract Zavok while he sent word to the others. Zavok looks on with determination. Later, the Chaotix arrive at the new Restoration HQ, with Charmy talking about how much cooler it was than the old one. Espio notes how a lot of work was put into it after they accidentally destroyed the old one, which Vector believed warranted a discount. Vector greets a volunteer and tells her that Jewel sent for them. She tells him that she will announce them, which confuses Vector. The volunteer loudly announces over a walkie-talkie to Jewel that the Chaotix were here to see her. The volunteer walks off in a foul mood. Vector is soon greeted by Jewel. She tells them that there has been a rash of violent attacks that did not seem to be Eggman-related. The survivors of these attacks spoke of "horned monsters." Espio recognized them as the Deadly Six, surprising Jewel at how quick his deduction was. Espio shows the papers to Vector and Charmy, pointing out that the attacked areas were where he, Tails, Amy, Silver, and Whisper fought members of the Deadly Six last. Vector also points out that they knew Zavok escaped from Everhold Prison. Jewel happily asks if they already knew what was going on. Vector confirms the situation as the Deadly Six trying to exact their revenge but in a sloppy manner. With this, they would be able to deduce where they would attack next and handle the rest from there.
Sonic runs toward the town in Winterburg.
Back in Winterburg, Sonic successfully destroys Eggman's base of operations. As the doctor flies away in his Egg Mobile cursing the hedgehog, Sonic snowboards down a hill and mentions how it would not end until he got a clue and stopped his evil ways. Even so, Sonic mentions that he had a fun few days getting back to basics and blowing up an Eggman base. As the hedgehog begins his trek, he thinks about taking some time off, help rebuild, and enjoy the town for a little bit. Before Sonic can officially act, he gets a call on his watch from Tails. The young fox tells him that the Deadly Six were on the move. Sonic finds this funny as he and Eggman were talking about them earlier. Tails is surprised at this but Sonic says that he will tell him about it later. The hedgehog then asks for details. Tails tells him that the Chaotix narrowed down their targets to Sunset City and Winterburg, but they were heading to the former and asks if Sonic could make it to the latter soon. Sonic tells him that he believes that he could seeing as he was already there. The hedgehog runs to town, finding this the perfect opportunity to kick back and relax with plenty of time to rest before fighting the Deadly Six.
Appearances[]
Characters:
- Amy Rose (mentioned)
- Badnik Horde
- Chaotix
- Deadly Six
- Dr. Eggman
- Dr. Starline (mentioned)
- Miles "Tails" Prower
- Restoration
- Silver the Hedgehog (mentioned)
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Super Sonic (flashback)
- Whisper the Wolf (mentioned)
Races and species:
Locations:
- Sonic's dimension
- Lost Hex (mentioned)
- Sonic's world
- Everhold Prison (mentioned)
- Orchardville
- Restoration HQ
- Riverside
- Sunset City (mentioned)
- Vista View
- Winterburg
Items:
- Metal Virus (mentioned)
- Moon Mech
- Wispons
- Hover Wispons (multiple)
Vehicles:
Misc.:
- Chaotix Detective Agency
- Eggman Empire
- Eggman War (mentioned)
- Eggnet
- Spin Attack
Continuity[]
- The Deadly Six are still roaming around Sonic's world following the events of Sonic the Hedgehog #30, "Cured".
- Dr. Eggman recalls how Zavok is on the loose following the events of Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys #1-#4.
- Sonic recalls how the Deadly Six took over the Faceship in Sonic the Hedgehog #25, "A Sudden Shift".
- Dr. Eggman mentions how Dr. Starline invited the Deadly Six onboard the Faceship in Sonic the Hedgehog #25, "A Sudden Shift".
- Master Zik is still in Winterburg, following the events of Sonic the Hedgehog #30, "Cured".
- Zavok is still injured and being supported by an Egg Knight, following the events of Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys #4, "No Honor Among Thieves".
- Zavok remembers wanting to take a whole army from Eggman which he attempted in the events of Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys #1-#4.
- Zavok recalls fighting Super Sonic, which happened in Sonic the Hedgehog #29, "All or Nothing, Part 4".
- Zavok recalls sending the rest of the Deadly Six to other sections of the world, which occurred in Sonic the Hedgehog #25, "A Sudden Shift".
- Zazz is still in Riverside, following the events of Sonic the Hedgehog #30, "Cured".
- Zomom is still in Vista View, following the events of Sonic the Hedgehog #30, "Cured".
- Espio recalls how he and the Chaotix accidentally got the old Restoration HQ destroyed, which occurred in Sonic the Hedgehog #22, "The Last Minute, Part 2".
- Espio recalls fighting Zazz in Riverside, which occurred in Sonic the Hedgehog #28, "All or Nothing, Part 3".
- Espio recalls Tails and Amy fighting Zomom in Vista View, which occurred in Sonic the Hedgehog #27, "All or Nothing, Part 2".
- Espio recalls Silver and Whisper fighting Zor in Orchardville, which occurred in Sonic the Hedgehog #28, "All or Nothing, Part 3".
- Vector notes that Zavok escaped from Everhold Prison, which happened in Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys #1, "A Few Bad Men".
Trivia[]
- Sonic calls Dr. Eggman "Baldy McNosehair", which is a nickname he was first given in Sonic Colors.
- Eggman yelling "That's not funny! It's never been funny! It's never going to be funny!" is a reference to the web series DragonBall Z Abridged, specifically the video DragonBall Z KAI Abridged Parody: Episode 2. When Krillin tries to dub Vegeta, Gohan, and himself as "Team Three Star", Vegeta yells "That's not funny! It's never been funny! It's never gonna be funny!".[4]
- For the last two panels of page eighteen, Vector is drawn without his chains.
Other features[]
- Story so far: "Story so far" is a summary of the current plotline for the comic.
- Roll Call: Roll Call acts as a quick reference guide to new readers about the characters. This issue provides data files on Sonic, Jewel, the Chaotix, the Deadly Six and Dr. Eggman.
- 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. As a special treat this month, the pages are dedicated to fan artwork sent in. The other pages showcase raw artwork of the variant covers for the issue.
Quotes[]
- Sonic: Back to "Baldy McNosehair" it is then!
- Dr. Eggman: That's not funny! It's never been funny! It's never going to be funny!
- Zavok: ...No. Never. Defeat is only a foundation for revenge.
- Zavok: You are Zeti. You are of the Deadly Six. You do not survive. You conquer.
- Charmy: WOWEE-WOWEE-WOW! This is much cooler than the old headquarters!
- Espio: Indeed. A lot of work was put into it after we accidentally destroyed the old one.
- Vector: Yeah... We probably should offer them a discount on account of that...
Trivia[]
- This issue was originally scheduled for release in May 2021, but was delayed to 16 June 2021.
- Cover B contains several Easter eggs and references:
- The artwork is partially based off of Sonic the Hedgehog The Screen Saver and Sonic Jam illustrations, with the design of the umbrella modeled directly off one depicted in a screen saver.[5]
- Sonic sitting in a beach chair while Tails can be seen surfing is a reference to Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie.
- Tails' surfboard is similar in design to the one he had in Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie.
- Sonic sitting in his beach chair and the design of his sunglasses is also a reference to his ending artwork in Sonic Adventure.
- Cans of Chaos Cola and Chaos Soda can be seen, which is based on the in-universe drinks that have been advertised in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2.
- Ice cream bars of Sonic and Tails' heads can be seen in the cooler, which is based on the real life Sonic the Hedgehog Ice Cream Bar.
Gallery[]
Cover artwork[]
| Gallery |
|---|
 Cover A colors. Art by Adam Bryce Thomas.  Cover A colors. Art by Adam Bryce Thomas.  Cover B concept artwork. Art by Natalie Haines.  Cover B pencils. Art by Natalie Haines.  Cover B colors. Art by Natalie Haines.  Cover RI colors. Art by Nathalie Fourdraine. |
Early covers[]
| Gallery |
|---|
 Cover A. Art by Adam Bryce Thomas.  Cover B. Art by Natalie Haines.  Cover RI. Art by Nathalie Fourdraine. |
Preview pages[]
| Gallery |
|---|
 Credits page  Page one  Page two  Page three  Page four  Page five |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #41 CVR A ADAM BRYCE THOMAS. Previews World (18 February 2021). Retrieved on 18 February 2021.
- ↑ SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #41 CVR B NATALIE HAINES. Previews World (18 February 2021). Retrieved on 18 February 2021.
- ↑ SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #41 10 COPY INCV FOURDRAINE. Previews World (18 February 2021). Retrieved on 18 February 2021.
- ↑ Dragonball Z Abridged Creator Commentary | Kai 1&2 (24:24). YouTube. FourStarBento (4 February 2023). Retrieved on 4 February 2023.
- ↑ Natalie Haines on Twitter (24 March 2021). Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved on 15 June 2021.
External links[]
- IDW Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 41 at IDW Sonic Hub Wiki, the IDW Sonic wiki.
