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IDW Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 19 is the nineteenth issue in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series published by IDW Publishing.
Official solicitation
- "Crisis City, Part 1"! Eggman's reign of terror continues! Sonic races to help Team Dark rescue civilians from a major city, but his own metal virus infection is getting worse! Outnumbered, how long can Sonic outrun the inevitable? And who else will fall? A major cornerstone of the metal virus saga! One of Sonic's most powerful allies falls victim to the disease, but who?[1]
Featured stories
Crisis City, Part 1
- Written by: Ian Flynn
- Art by: Jack Lawrence
- Colors: Bracardi Curry
- Letters by: Shawn Lee
- Assistant Editor: Megan Brown
- Editor: David Mariotte
- Special thanks to: Anoulay Tsai, Mai Kiyotaki, Aaron Webber, Michael Cisneros, Sandra Jo, and everyone at Sega for their invaluable assistance
Synopsis
In the past, Sunset City used to be a major merchant hub with several jewel markets. This ceased to be the case in the midst of the Eggman War as Dr. Eggman had his Badniks wreak havoc in the city. Some time after Eggman was defeated, the Restoration helped with reparations for the city. This did not last long as Eggman returned with his new Metal Virus substance and used it to infect several citizens of Sunset City, worsening the city's fate. After being contacted by Rouge to help aid the city, Sonic arrives on the scene of Sunset City's Zombot outbreak. He Spin Attacks several of them and begins to call out for civilians in need. Sonic soon finds himself surrounded by several Zombots but knocks them back with a spin kick. The hedgehog does not like the fact that Zombots keep grabbing onto him when fighting them already spreads the infection faster. Sonic is soon called by a civilian from a nearby building as he and many others were trapped in the building as a horde of Zombots blocked the door. Sonic prepares to hit the Zombots out of the way but is forced to quickly dart out of the way as bullets suddenly fly at the Metal Virus victims. E-123 Omega appears before Sonic, stating that heavier ordinance may be required in order to eliminate Eggman's resilient robots. Sonic protests that he should not do this as the Zombots are not regular Badniks but instead innocent people forcibly transformed by the Metal Virus. Omega ignores Sonic due to the Zombots' nature and origin being irrelevant to him; the only thing that matters to him is that they are robots created by Eggman. Sonic leaves Omega be as the Zombots themselves were durable enough to handle Omega's artillery.
Sonic arrives at the Grand Gold Flicky Hotel.
Rouge flies overhead and asks Sonic to guide the citizens to the Grand Gold Flicky Hotel where they are organizing survivors. Sonic does so and is asked by one citizen if they should thank Omega for his help. Sonic assures him that Omega is not the type of person who needs it. With this, Sonic begins to knock several Zombots out of the way to clear a path to the hotel. He arrives at the front of the hotel where the city's defense force are using Burst Wispons against incoming Zombots. Rouge gives the order to one of the officers to gather several other officers to guard the rear as she spotted another wave coming in from the east. She then turns to Sonic and thanks him for his help. Sonic tells Rouge that his infection is still currently manageable and Eggman has begun to lose control over the Zombots. This annoys Rouge as she did find the assault sloppy anyway. Sonic asks where Shadow is and Rouge responds that he is picking up a transport for the survivors. The duo soon hear a cry for help from uninfected villagers trying to get inside the barricade. Sonic nearly reaches for the villager in front, only to remember that he is infected. He instead creates a vortex to knock the incoming Zombots back. He tells the defense force that more Zombots were coming and not following any sort of plan. Sonic then picks up two Zombots and takes them away from the hotel, not wanting to lose any more friends to the Metal Virus.
Sonic meets back up with Omega, who is keeping back another wave of Zombots as the infected were closing in from both directions. Sonic sees the second wave and asks Omega to hold his existing line. Before Sonic does anything, he witnesses several Zombots being rammed into from an object on the bridge, east of the hotel. It is revealed to be a military truck that was being driven by Shadow. Sonic tries to joke with Shadow but the latter does not humor him. He reminds Sonic that if he destroyed Eggman like he intended, the Metal Virus would not be a problem for them right now. Sonic blames Dr. Starline for reverting Eggman back to his evil ways but Shadow passes this off as a basic excuse. He even believes that Sonic deserves to be infected. Though he finds frustration with Shadow, Sonic runs off to clear his infection and tells Shadow that he would be able to run the Metal Virus off as well should he get infected. Shadow tells Omega to safeguard the truck while Rouge oversees the evacuation of the uninfected. Omega accepts this as it would bring him more targets. The robot asks Shadow what he will do in the meantime and he responds that he will destroy Eggman's army. Rouge and the defense force help guide the uninfected citizens into the truck as Omega continues to fire at a wave of Zombots. Rouge oversees Shadow's fighting, believing he is being reckless.
Shadow fights the horde of Zombots.
Shadow dives right into the Zombot horde, believing that he cannot be infected as the Ultimate Lifeform; he does commend the infected for their resilience as he fights through them. Meanwhile, Sonic has run to the outskirts of Sunset City. He finds himself to be slightly weary after so much running. As he looks back to the city, he thinks of his friends who have already been infected and wonders how many more could be around the world. Shaking off this thought, Sonic begins to run back to the city. He still believes he did the right thing in giving "Mr. Tinker" a second chance and decides not to be introspective on the situation. Back in the city, Shadow continues to fight back the Zombots. After throwing one Zombot away from him, he discovers the Metal Virus liquid on his left hand. As he reels in disbelief, Rouge tells him to run as she and the others will control the situation. Mistaking Rouge's advice as a call to retreat, Shadow continues to fight the Zombots with his growing infection. Rouge quickly turns to Omega and asks him to give Shadow cover fire. The robot denies the request as he is busy pushing back the rapidly advancing Zombots before they can reach the truck. As the Zombots overwhelm Shadow with sheer weight of numbers, Rouge tries to contact Amy, commenting that the situation has taken a turn for the worst. Sonic returns to aid Team Dark; when Rouge tells him to handle Shadow, Sonic scoffs as she would be the only one Shadow would listen to. He soon understands Rouge's point when he is pinned against the truck, begrudgingly wanting to say "I told you so" as he beholds Shadow - the latest addition to the Zombot ranks.
Appearances
Characters:
- Badniks (Flashback)
- Super Badniks (Flashback)
- Death Egg Robot sentinel (Flashback)
- Super Badniks (Flashback)
- Charmy Bee (mentioned)
- Cheese (mentioned)
- Chocola (mentioned)
- Dr. Eggman (mentioned)
- Dr. Starline (mentioned)
- Flicky (cameo)
- Restoration (mentioned)
- Amy Rose (mentioned)
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Team Dark
- E-123 Omega (first appearance)
- Rouge the Bat
- Shadow the Hedgehog
Locations:
- Sonic's world
- Sunset City (first appearance)
- Grand Gold Flicky Hotel (first appearance)
- Windmill Village (mentioned)
- Sunset City (first appearance)
Items:
- Metal Virus
- Rocket skates
- Wispons
- Burst Wispon (multiple)
Misc:
- Chaos Spear
- Eggman War (mentioned)
- Spin Attack
Continuity
- Sonic arrives at Sunset City to aid Team Dark after being contacted by Rouge in Sonic the Hedgehog #18, "Victims".
- Sonic is still infected with the Metal Virus he received in Sonic the Hedgehog #15, "Patient Zero".
- Team Dark coordinates an evacuation of Sunset City before the Zombots overrun it completely. This would continue into Sonic the Hedgehog #20, "Crisis City, Part 2".
- Sonic tells Rouge that the Zombots are getting out of control, something he discovered in Sonic the Hedgehog #18, "Victims".
- Shadow recalls Sonic preventing him from destroying Dr. Eggman in Sonic the Hedgehog #6, "The Fate of Dr. Eggman, Part 2".
- Sonic remarks that Dr. Starline brought Eggman back to his senses. Starline accomplished this in Sonic the Hedgehog #12, "The Cost of the Battle for Angel Island", and which Sonic learned in Sonic the Hedgehog #14, "Misdirection".
- Sonic recalls how Charmy fell to the Zombot hordes in Sonic the Hedgehog #17, "Plague", and how Cheese and Chocola became Zombots in Sonic the Hedgehog #18, "Victims".
- The issue ends with Sonic being pinned against a truck by the newly-transformed Zombot Shadow. Sonic would free himself from that grip in Sonic the Hedgehog #20, "Crisis City, Part 2".
Trivia
- The title of this story is named after the Action Stage from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
- The truck that Shadow drives bears similarity to the GUN Military Truck from Sonic Adventure 2, which was his debut game.
- The area that Sonic runs to on the outskirts of Sunset City resembles Green Hill Zone.
Other features
A map drawn by Cream. Art by David Mariotte.
- Story so far...: "Story so far..." is a summary of the current plotline for the comic. It features a landscape drawing by Cream of various locations that have been established in the series and some that have yet to be introduced. The people and locations on the map that have been marked with a red X indicate that they have been affected by the Metal Virus.
- Roll Call: Roll Call acts as a quick reference guide to new readers about the characters. This issue provides data files on Sonic, Omega, Rouge and Shadow.
- 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 Sonic Letter Squad is three pages long instead of just two pages long.
- Canto #1 - Free Digital Ashcan
Quotes
- Omega: Is this a robot?
- Sonic: Well, I mean, it seems like it...
- Omega: Was it created by Eggman?
- Sonic: Technically but-
- Omega: Destroy all Eggman robots! Nature and origin are irrelevant!
- Sonic: Since when did you start giving orders?
- Rouge: I can't live comfortably in high society if there's no civilization, now can I?
- Sonic: I'm gonna go take care of my infection. Thanks for bringing the truck. Don't let the Zombots touch you.
- Shadow: I know.
- Sonic: If it happens, you should be fast enough to run it off like me.
- Shadow: Cowards run. I win.
- Omega: Advance so I may shoot you!
Trivia
- Nathalie Fourdraine has stated that cover RI for this issue was inspired by The Fog and the Night of the Living Dead.[5]
- Jack Lawrence stated that he drew more than 580 background Zombots for the issue and had to start wearing a wrist brace.[6]
- Ian Flynn stated that Shadow was originally going to remove his Inhibitor Rings to go all out against the horde of Zombots, thinking that would be enough to burn off any infection, but it would backfire and he would end up corrupted. Sega denied this idea as they wanted Shadow to be written in a way that had the story focus more on his rivalry with Sonic.[7]
Gallery
Cover artwork
| Gallery |
|---|
 Cover A colors. Art by Ryan Jampole.  Cover B colors. Art by Lamar Wells. Colors by Reggie Graham.  Cover RI colors. Art by Nathalie Fourdraine. |
Early covers
| Gallery |
|---|
 Cover A. Art by Ryan Jampole.  Cover A. Art by Ryan Jampole.  Cover B. Art by Lamar Wells. Colors by Reggie Graham.  Cover RI. Art by Nathalie Fourdraine. |
Interior page artwork
Preview pages
| Gallery |
|---|
  Page one  Page two  Page three  Page four  Page five |
Miscellaneous
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #19 CVR A JAMPOLE. Previews World (19 April 2019). Retrieved on 19 April 2019.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #19 CVR B WELLS GRAHAM. Previews World (19 April 2019). Retrieved on 19 April 2019.
- ↑ SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #19 10 COPY INCV FOURDRAINE. Previews World (19 April 2019). Retrieved on 19 April 2019.
- ↑ Bracardi Curry on Twitter. Twitter (3 June 2019). Retrieved on 3 June 2019.
- ↑ Nathalie Fourdraine on Twitter. Twitter. Nathalie Fourdraine (1 July 2019). Retrieved on 1 July 2019. "Nathalie Fourdraine: For specific things these are referencing, the first was detective noire and art deco from Metropolis, the second was inspired by It came from Outer Space and Zombies Ate My Neighbors, and the third was a mix of The Fog and Night of the Living Dead!"
- ↑ Jack Lawrence on Twitter. Twitter (24 July 2019). Retrieved on 24 July 2019.
- ↑ McKnighty9 on Twitter. Reddit (25 August 2019). Retrieved on 25 August 2019.
External links
- IDW Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 19 at IDW Sonic Hub Wiki, the IDW Sonic wiki.
