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IDW Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 22 is the twenty-second issue in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series published by IDW Publishing.
Official solicitation
- "The Last Minute, Part Two"! As the Metal Virus spreads faster and faster, it's getting harder for the Restoration to keep up... good thing they've got Amy Rose keeping relief efforts organized! Just as long as nothing happens to the Restoration base, everything will be... Oh... That might be a problem. The second of three simultaneous adventures! Can Amy keep the Restoration and refugees from the Metal Virus safe? Someone's trying to let Zombots in... but who?! Don't miss the Halloween variant cover by Nathalie Fourdraine![1]
Featured stories
The Last Minute, Part Two
- Written by: Ian Flynn
- Art by: Priscilla Tramontano
- 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 Restoration HQ, Amy reviews the status of the Restoration's allies; Sonic is running around getting data for Tails and should be near Barricade Town; Tails is doing research in Central City while Tangle and Whisper help with evacuation there; Silver is handling a Zombot outbreak in Ice Paradise on his own; Vector and Espio are reportedly coming back to the HQ with refugees from Pine Grove Village; Rouge is still missing in action. As Amy continues to look at the monitor, she realizes that she is talking to herself too much. Soon, Cream comes into the office with tea and cookies prepared. A weary Amy asks Cream how she does it, leaving the young rabbit to reply that she learned the recipe from her mother, who learned it from her mother and states that she would be happy to teach it to Amy. Amy corrects herself saying that she was asking about how Cream manages to stay upbeat and sunny. Cream says that it is not easy for her as she still cannot sleep well due to what happened to Cheese and Chocola. She sees how her mother and the refugees are just as scared and their fear spreads like the Metal Virus. Due to this, Cream has taken it upon herself to be as brave as Cheese was and put on a smile to share with everyone else. Cream adds that she can do this because of Amy because she is a hero, an adventurer and she never gives up. She believes she and Sonic will find a way to save everyone, meaning there was no point for her to be sad when she knows things will be okay in the end. Wiping away tears from her eyes, Amy hugs Cream and tells her that she is her hero as well. As Amy begins to eat her cookies, she gets a video call from Tails.
Meanwhile, on the Lost Hex, Zavok talks to the rest of the Deadly Six (who were barely listening to him) about how they have been invited to Dr. Eggman's base by his newest lackey to help fix the crisis on the world below. Zavok states that they will accept his hospitality and make him pay for it. Zeena chimes in, saying that this could be another trap and she did not wish to be a slave once again. Zavok angrily snaps at this. Though they underestimated the doctor the first time, they were now well prepared. Zavok planned for them to punish Eggman for their humiliation, destroy Sonic for defeating them, and then destroy their world below. Back at Restoration HQ, Amy thanks Cream for her refreshments. The two decide to go back to work. Cream witnesses the refugees struggle amongst each other over the little space they had in the HQ, which saddens her. She is soon alerted to an argument that was going on between Vector and Gemerl. Vector managed to capture Charmy Bee in a Containment Bubble and Gemerl was demanding for the Zombot to be left out of the building. Vector refused as he did not want to lose Charmy a second time. Cream flies down to stop the arguing and tells Gemerl that it was okay because they already talked about how Zombots deserved a chance and Vector was sure to look after Charmy. Espio tells the two that Vector planned to securely store Charmy in Tails' lab alongside Omega. Once Tails found the cure, Charmy would be immediately accessible. Cream agrees with the plan while Gemerl finds it acceptable. A female refugee talks with an orange-cloaked refugee about the little space they had left in the HQ. The cloaked villager states that he just got in from Pine Grove Village while the female villager had been there a while from Glass Hill. According to her, Eggman never visited them and they were instead attacked by Zombots from other places. The female refugee soon picks up on the cloaked refugee's violent shivering, to which he reveals that he had been infected by the Metal Virus and did not wish to be alone. The refugee soon becomes a Zombot, sending the surrounding refugees into a panic. A rush of people trying to escape the facility soon occurs, prompting Vector to try and order everyone to remain calm. Gemerl quickly flies Cream out of the way while the commotion causes Charmy's containment to break open. Charmy then begins his rampage on the refugees. This forces Espio to quickly press the HQ's emergency button.
Hearing the alarms, Amy rushes to her microphone to tell Restoration pilots to go to the Rescue Shuttles and prepare for immediate take-off. Before Amy can do anything more, Gemerl is flung into her office by a Zombot. She quickly hits him away with her hammer and asks the robot for an update. Gemerl reports that there was a ten percent infection that was growing exponentially and he could not contain active Zombots. Amy tells Gemerl to get Omega, go to the launch bay and scan anyone that tried to get in. Gemerl initially refuses as he wishes to protect Cream instead but Amy reminds the robot that he was the fastest one in the building and they would need Tails to rebuild Omega so that he could help protect everyone. As Amy promises to find Cream instead, Gemerl sets off with his new orders. Amy sorrowfully looks down at the newly formed Zombots but swiftly jumps into action by hitting several of them away from her. She manages to find Cream, only to see that the rabbit was painfully witnessing Vanilla being cornered and infected by several surrounding Zombots. Vanilla asks Amy to get Cream to safety, which the hedgehog listens to. Amy quickly brings Cream to the launch bay where Gemerl scans them and confirms that they were not infected. Cream protests and tearfully wishes to go back for her mother. Amy turns to Espio and asks where the other pilots where; according to the chameleon, only one pilot made it through, along with a couple of refugees. Amy tells Cream to find a seat, saying that she would be with her soon. Amy sadly watches Espio guide Cream into the Rescue Shuttle. As Vector keeps the doors as tight together as possible, Gemerl scans the rest of the inside. He confirms that everyone on the inside was infected to some degree. Just as Vector wants to close up the doors, Charmy flies straight out of the HQ, aiming got the Rescuse Shuttle. Vector lunges at and catches the bee before he can do anything, which alerts Espio. Noting that Vector is now compromised, Gemerl asks for his quarantine. The crocodile complies and walks back into the HQ with Charmy. Vector beats back as many Zombots as he can, requesting that the door be shut behind him. He turns around to Espio, telling him that he was the lead detective now. The doors are then shut by Gemerl, with Amy and Espio looking on in total shock. Gemerl says that since Vector is very strong, he would soon break down the doors as a Zombot. Amy knows that the robot was right and helps Espio get up off of his knees so that they could escape. Following this, the Rescue Shuttle took off.
At Central City Bay, the Rescue Shuttle lands, prompting Tangle and Whisper to begin guiding the survivors onto the ship. Tangle calls out to Tails before the shuttle takes off. The fox cub complies and flies up to the shuttle to find Amy and asks about the other shuttles. Amy tells him that they were on the only shuttle that made it out of the HQ as it had fallen, along with almost everyone that was in it. Tails begins to freak out as even though the upload was incomplete, he still could have done something in his lab at the HQ. Amy discovers from Tails that the data for the cure was gone, trashed by Zombots. With this, Tails and Amy realize that Sonic is their only hope when he got back with his data analyzer. Suddenly, Tangle gets a call from Jewel, who sounds to be in a panic.
Appearances
Characters:
- Chaotix
- Cheese (mentioned)
- Chocola (mentioned)
- Cream the Rabbit
- Deadly Six
- Dr. Eggman (mentioned)
- Flicky
- Gemerl
- Jewel the Beetle (mentioned)
- Restoration
- Silver the Hedgehog (mentioned)
- Sonic the Hedgehog (mentioned)
- Team Dark
- E-123 Omega (mentioned)
- Rouge the Bat (mentioned)
- Vanilla the Rabbit
Locations:
- Barricade Town (mentioned)
- Central City
- Glass Hill (mentioned)
- Ice Paradise (mentioned)
- Pine Grove Village (mentioned)
- Restoration HQ
Items:
Vehicles:
Continuity
- The events of this issue occur simultaneously with Sonic the Hedgehog #21 and Sonic the Hedgehog #23.
- Cream recalls Cheese and Chocola becoming Zombots in Sonic the Hedgehog #18, "Victims".
- Cream recalls her talk with Gemerl about Zombots deserving chances, from Sonic the Hedgehog #18, "Victims".
Trivia
- The map seen on the monitor in Restoration HQ may be loosely based on the world map from Sonic Forces.
- While Sonic's icon seen on the monitor in Restoration HQ is based on his original sprite for the 1-Up item, Tails, Silver, Vector, Espio and Rouge have their icons based on their flags from the Mario & Sonic series.
- One of the refugees appears to say "Froggy?! Where are you?!" The character Froggy is known to be the best friend of Big the Cat in the Sonic the Hedgehog series and the cat is known to look for him at many points in the series.
- The move that Amy performs on page fourteen seems to be based on the Hammer Jump move that debuted in Sonic Adventure.
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, Amy, Cream, Vector, Espio and Gemerl.
- 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.
- Care Bears: Unlock the Magic #1 - Free Digital Ashcan
Quotes
- Cream: You're a hero, and an adventurer, and you never give up! You and Mr. Sonic and all our friends will find a way to save us. So why be sad when I know things will be okay in the end?
- Amy: You're my hero too, Cream. Thank you so much.
- Vector: The Chaotix don't abandon their own! I'll look after him! And I'll have an easier time without you breathing down my neck!
- Gemerl: This unit does not breathe.
- Vector: You know what I mean!
- Cream: Don't be discouraged. You'll learn to think like us one day.
- Gemerl: Illogically and self-destructively?
Trivia
- Cover RI references a number of things.
- Sonic is dressed up as the Werehog.
- Knuckles' outift may be based on artwork that was posted for Halloween 2017 on the official Sonic the Hedgehog social media.
- Shadow's outfit is based on Vampire Shadow from Sonic Forces: Speed Battle, which was loosely based on Halloween Shadow from Sonic Runners.
- Rouge and Metal Sonic possess their Halloween outfits that Yuji Uekawa had originally designed for Sonic Channel Halloween wallpapers in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
- Amy's outfit appears to be based on Gothic Amy from Sonic Runners.
- Omega's outfit is based on Halloween Omega from Sonic Runners.
- Silver is dressed up as NiGHTS, the protagonist from the eponymous game series.
- Cheese can be seen wearing a bag over its head which is a customizable outfit for Chao in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2.
- Dr. Eggman's outfit is loosely based on his concept artwork for the original Sonic the Hedgehog.
- The symbol used for the logo of the Shadow the Hedgehog video game can be seen on Shadow's trick or treat pumpkin bag.
- Amy and Cream's trick or treat pumpkin bag is designed after a Boo.
- The trick or treat bags that Tails can be seen carrying are designed after a Hero Chao and a Dark Chao.
- The Eggman Empire decal can be seen on Dr. Eggman's sack.
- The bats in the night sky appear to be Batbrains.
- The characters appear to be in Pumpkin Hill.
- This is the first issue where Sonic is mentioned, but does not make an actual appearance.
Gallery
Cover artwork
Early covers
Preview pages
| Gallery |
|---|
  Page one  Page two  Page three  Page four  Page five |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #22 CVR A JAMPOLE. Previews World (26 July 2019). Retrieved on 26 July 2019.
- ↑ SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #22 CVR B SKELLY. Previews World (26 July 2019). Retrieved on 26 July 2019.
- ↑ SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #22 10 COPY INCV FOURDRAINE. Previews World (26 July 2019). Retrieved on 26 July 2019.
External links
- IDW Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 22 at IDW Sonic Hub Wiki, the IDW Sonic wiki.
