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IDW Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 31 is the thirty-first issue in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series published by IDW Publishing.
Official solicitation
- It's all led to this... the thrilling two-part epilogue to the Metal Virus Saga. The world has changed. Heroes and villains plan for the future as reconstruction begins. But one hero remains missing...[1]
Featured stories
Story one
- 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, Aaron Webber, Michael Cisneros, Sandra Jo, and everyone at Sega for their invaluable assistance
Synopsis
In Blaze's world, the princess is having tea with a seemingly amnesiac Sonic in the Imperial Palace. She explains to him that the Sonic she knew was a hero, a paragon. He was as swift and free as the wind and had no master. According to Blaze, there was no challenge too great, no threat too dire that he could not face without a swagger and a smile. Sonic simply says that the individual sounded impressive and he would like to meet him one day. Slightly annoyed, Blaze asks Sonic who he thought he was. He replies that he did not have an idea, though he did meet a young girl who dubbed him "Mr. Needlemouse" and took a liking to that. Warming the teapot with her powers, Blaze asks if "Mr. Needlemouse" recalled anything. He answers, saying that there was nothing concrete and his memories seemed warped; he dreams of sea and sky, of golden fire and a sense of falling, and nothing more. Blaze continues to ponder who did this to Sonic and asks herself what was happening on his world right now.
Back on Sonic's world, Amy finds herself unable to deal with a large amount of paperwork in an even more worn down Restoration HQ. She says that she is no leader and she helped administrate the Resistance because everyone needed to pitch in. She only became leader of the Restoration because no one else was there and work had to be done. The young hedgehog thinks for herself, wishing that she could go back to the days of when it was just her and Sonic racing around from one adventure to the next. Solemnly recalling Sonic's disappearance, Amy says that he gave everything to save everyone from the Metal Virus and since he never gave up, she should not either. Just as the hedgehog wishes that she had some help, Jewel enters the room looking for her. The two introduce each other and Jewel tells Amy why she came by; she had heard from Tangle how Amy was not enjoying the rigors of her work, even before the plague. The beetle explains how she likes to catalogue and organize and notes how excited she feels by looking around the room and bringing it to order. With this, Jewel offers to take over administration of the Restoration and give Amy a break. Amy is taken aback with the kindness and simply says to Jewel "Thank you." Jewel is slightly startled by this ad notes that she did not think that Amy was so strained. Calling Jewel a life-saver, Amy decides to bring her up to speed on the current Restoration affairs before stepping down, with the primary goals being to organize supplies for rebuilding and find people displaced by their time as Zombots.
In Echo Mine, Rough and Tumble are stil stuck down in a refuse pit in the Echo Mine, noting how hungry and desperate to leave they are. Rough is startled by a tail that drops down, thinking it is a spider. It is revealed that Tangle and Tails came by to help the skunk brothers. The lemur asks the two to grab onto her tail so that she can quickly pull them out. Relieved, Rough grabs onto Tangle's tail while Rough sadly looks at the tail, stating that it was not fair.
Appearances
Characters:
- Blaze the Cat
- Gardon
- Knuckles the Echinda (mentioned)
- Resistance (mentioned)
- Restoration
- Rough the Skunk
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Tumble the Skunk
Locations:
- Blaze's dimension
- Sonic's dimension
- Sonic's world
- Echo Mine
- Restoration HQ
- Spiral Hill Village (mentioned)
- Mineral Museum (mentioned)
- Sonic's world
Items:
- Metal Virus (mentioned)
Misc.:
Continuity
- Continued from the previous issue, Sonic is still in Blaze's world.
- Amy recalls Sonic getting rid of the Metal Virus and disappearing, which occurred in Sonic the Hedgehog #29, "All or Nothing", Part 4.
- Amy steps down from administration of the Restoration, which she was first heard to become a part of in Sonic the Hedgehog #13, "Calling Card".
- Rough and Tumble are still stuck in the refuse pit in the Echo Mine following the events of Sonic the Hedgehog #15, "Patient Zero".
Trivia
- The cloak that Blaze wears in this issue is based on an outfit she was drawn with for a piece of Sonic Channel artwork.
- On page one, Blaze mentions to Sonic that the Sonic she knew was "as swift and free as the wind" and "had no master". This a reference to Sonic and the Black Knight, in which Sonic introduces himself to Sir Percival by saying "I'm Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog! I have no master, except the wind that blows free!"
- Coincidentally, Percival is Blaze's doppelgänger.
- On page two, Sonic mentions how he met a young girl who dubbed him "Mr. Needlemouse", which is a reference to what Sonic was originally named in his conception.
Other features
Quotes
Trivia
- This issue was initially going to be released on 19 August 2020, but was soon moved to 2 September 2020 instead. It was then moved to 9 September 2020.
- Cover A is the first piece of the 2-part panoramic connecting cover art by Tracy Yardley and Leonardo Ito.
- Cover B contains a number of Easter eggs and references:
- Although the poster for the Restoration is torn up by Dr. Eggman, Orbot and Cubot, Sonic can be seen in a pose that resembles a piece of artwork from Sonic Heroes.
- The wanted poster that Eggman holds of himself showcases artwork of him taken from cover B of Sonic the Hedgehog #14, a cover that both Jonathan Gray and Reggie Graham (artists for this cover) had also worked on.
- Interestingly, cover B from Sonic the Hedgehog #14 was the first cover Jon and Reggie had worked on together.
- Eggman's pose is a reference to Gendo Ikari from the Neon Genesis Evangelion series.
- Storm's mugshot board reads as if he had been arrested by the "Knothole Village Police Precinct", a direct reference to Knothole Village from the Sonic the Hedgehog television series.
- Storm's mugshot board reads a date of 02-23-2006, which was the Japanese release date for Sonic Riders and the debut of the Babylon Rogues.
- On Rough and Tumble's poster, a speech balloon with the word "SOS" inside it can be seen. This is a reference to the SOS Missions in Sonic Forces, which used the same speech balloon.
- One of the wanted signs features Jonathan Gray and Reggie Graham.
- Cover RI features a factory that resembles Metallic Madness's Good Future from Sonic the Hedgehog CD.
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 #31 CVR A YARDLEY. Previews World (20 March 2020). Retrieved on 20 March 2020.
- ↑ SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #31 CVR B LAWRENCE. Previews World (20 March 2020). Retrieved on 20 March 2020.
- ↑ SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #31 10 COPY INCV FOURDRAINE. Previews World (20 March 2020). Retrieved on 20 March 2020.
