DC X Sonic the Hedgehog # 1

 By Mark Rodriguez

In the world of Sonic the Hedgehog, the powerful Chaos Emeralds have led to villains like Dr. Eggman to constantly go after them. This time the big bad of the DC Universe, Darkseid has set his sights on them so Sonic and the rest will have to contact the DC Heroes for help. Let's see how this goes.

"Chaos Crisis Part One" goes right to the point as a portal opens up right above a picnic Sonic was having with Tails and Amy. A huge ominous looking ship slips through (patterned after Darkseid) which confuses the heroes. Amy says it doesn't look like Little Planet. Sonic says it doesn't look like Eggman's style and there's a chance they come in peace.

 

Parademons start flying out of the ship and attacking the heroes. Sonic uses his speed to dodge the attacks, and then hits them with his spindash. Amy knocks some of them flying with her Piko Piko Hammer. Tails leads some of them towards Amy so she can send them flying with her mallet. Sonic says it doesn't look like they're stopping, so they'll need some space for now. Sonic grabs onto Tails and Amy and speeds off with them. 

Tails and Sonic deduce that if a portal opened up there, there's a chance that others opened up elsewhere. They'll have to check on their friends.

Elsewhere, Knuckles is fighting off the Parademons on Angel Island. Desaad tells Darkseid that Angel Island is held aloft by the Master Emerald with is guarded by a lone protector. He says the Master Emerald has the potential to neutralize what they're looking for. Darkseid orders him to eliminate it. Desaad says this will take much of the Ragna Rock deserves to do so and they will lose a potential totem of great power. Darkseid tells Desaad not to make him repeat himself. He says once he gets what he wants, power will never be a concern again.

Knuckles sees that the Parademons are flying away when Darkseid's ship starts to power up a blast. The blast hits the Master Emerald as a blue blur zips onto the scene and takes Knuckles out of the blast. The intense blast overpowers the emerald and makes it shatter, making the once floating Angel Island falls into the ocean below.

Meanwhile, Sonic is running while pulling Amy and Tails along for the ride as they see that Sunset City is also being swarmed by Parademons. Sonic lets his friends go so he can zip ahead and help. As he speeds by, The Flash suddenly appears running alongside him. Flash confuses him for Krakkl. Sonic says he has the wrong guy, but he appreciates his hustle. Flash says he'll take care of the Parademons. Sonic says he can help if he can catch up. Flash says he's speed personified. Sonic runs ahead and says he's speed perfected. Sonic and Flash exchange smirks and race each other to see who gets to Sunset City first.

 

Elsewhere, Silver is using his powers to contain the Parademons but there are too many to manage. Just then, the John Stewart Green Lantern shows up and blasts them down with a large gun construct. He tells Silver is he can gather then, he can take them out. Silver asks if he's also psychic. John says he's using alien tech and asks Silver if he's an alien or a meta-human. Silver says he's just a hedgehog. John says they'll clear the skies so they can focus on ground level.

One of the Parademons is about to attack a bystander. Batman and Shadow show up to attack it at the same time. As soon as the monster is down, they both rush off to the next battle.

Amy and Tails run through Sunset City. Tails asks where would they even begin and Amy says they'll start whoever is is in trouble. They see a Parademon and Tails smacks its face with his twin tails while Amy smacks it with her mallet. Suddenly a golden lasso wraps itself around the monster's neck and a huge energy blast takes it down. Wonder Woman and Cyborg have arrived to help.

Just then, Kalibak arrives, saying he'll slaughter as many animals as Wonder Woman can enlist to her aid. Just then Knuckles shows up and socks him hard, sending him flying. Knuckles says that's what he gets for dropping his island out of the sky. Kalibak says he barely felt that. Superman swoops down with a stomp, smashing the villain through the ground and asks if he felt that one. Knuckles says he wasn't done with him and Superman thanks him for softening him up for him.

Amy asks what happened to Angel Island, and Knuckles explains that it fell to the ocean after invaders destroyed the Master Emerald. He would gone with the island had Superman not swooped in and saved him. Batman says there's a lull in the invasion, so they can go over what they can do. Shadow wants to know what the monsters are and who the heroes are. 

 

Sonic and Flash arrive, bickering over who got there the fastest. Sonic notices that the gang is gathered together and asks if anyone can bring them up to speed 'since Flash is so slow'. Superman says they're the Justice League and introduces Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Cyborg (who brought them here) and Batman. Sonic says they're not as organized as them and they pretty much take life as it comes and helps who need it. He introduces Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Silver and Shadow to the group. Knuckles asks who's responsible for the invasion and when can they make him pay.

Cyborg explains that the one responsible is Darkseid, someone who is out conquering worlds and looking for the Anti-Life Equation. Wonder Woman explains that they have stopped him in the past but he's now launched a mobile satellite called the Ragna Rock that can cross dimensions. Their guess is that he's seeking power beyond their multiverse to fuel their conquests. Cyborg has some of his tech integrated into his systems so he was able to make their Boom Tube to arrive before things got bad.

Silver says Darkseid must be after the Chaos Emeralds, as Sonic laments that's always about the Chaos Emeralds. Tails explains that they are seven mystic gemstones of unlimited power. John explains that Darkseid could them to power up his Ragna Rock and destroy countless worlds. Batman says he could use that power to manifest the Anti-Life Equation directly.

Wonder Woman asks if there is any way to counter that power, and Knuckles explains that Darkseid just blew it up. Superman says they have more information now and should use that to form a plan. Shadow storms off. Superman says they'd value everyone's output and Batman says he will handle him.

Batman catches up to Shadow and asks 'who was it', which stops him in his tracks. Batman asks who was the one he couldn't protect and watched die in front of him. Shadow asks how he would know. Batman says for him, it was his parents. He was too young and weak and do anything and sort of pain and anger never leaves you. He sees it in Shadow. 

Shadow explains a girl named Maria was gunned down by the military while she was trying to keep him safe. Batman says he swore to never let it happen again, to protect his parents' world with every advantage at his disposal, which includes the Justice League. Batman says that Shadow is a valuable asset to stopping Darkseid and likewise they'd be valuable to him. Shadow says they better be worth the trouble.

Back to the rest, Tails says they have experience tracking down the emeralds, but never in such a tight deadline. Tails has developed a tracker in his lab. Cyborg is curious what kind of tech he's using. Tails says it's a speculative quantum-mapping algorithm but it's still in its beta phase. Cyborg is interested in seeing it. 

Sonic says they don't have time to wait for Tails to work in his shop and Silver says that Darkseid's forces are gathering the emeralds as they speak. Wonder Woman says they can start the search while Cybrog and Tails work on the detector. John tells everyone to pair up and move out. As Tails and Cyborg fly off, Tails says after this is over maybe Cyborg can help him with an arm cannon he's been tinkering with. Cyborg agrees but says he doubts he'll want to route its energy through his vital organs. 

Knuckles flies alongside Superman and is surprised to know that his planet is gone and its remains poison him, which sounds too cruel. Superman says he cherishes his life on Earth which is why it's important for him to keep it safe. 

Amy is in her flying car (from Sonic and SEGA All-Star Racing) which impresses Wonder Woman. Amy is impressed that Wonder Woman herself can fly. The Amazon says she does enjoy piloting and loves flying in her invisible jet too. Amy is surprised she has an invisible jet.

Batman and Shadow speed off in their motorcycles, not being ones for much conversation. At Tails lab, Cyborg uses his tech to upgrade Tails' detector to track down the Chaos Emeralds a lot easier. Elsewhere, John explains to Silver how his ring can create anything he wants as long as he has a clear mind and the willpower to see it through.

Sonic and Flash run over the ocean together. Flash asks if Sonic is all-natural and didn't have any type of science treadmill accident. Sonic says he's just a hedgehog that loves adventure. Flash asks if they're going to the right place. Sonic says when in doubt, start at South Island and go from there. Sure enough, Darkseid is already there and he has obtained the blue Chaos Emerald. He remarks on how it all starts here, with a gem that contains the ultimate power.

My Thoughts-

So Darkseid is after the Chaos Emeralds, and despite the lighter tone to incorporate the Sonic characters he is still not someone to mess with. I do consider him too dangerous to team up with Dr. Eggman if the story were to go there, but who knows. I mean a lot of times the villains are similar enough to one-up each other like when Eggman teamed up with Dr. Wily in the Archie comics Sonc/Mega Man crossover.... but I don't really see anything that Eggman can possibly do keep Darkseid in check. Like several of the games, this might be a case where Eggman would have to team up with the heroes to stop a greater threat.

One of the cool things about crossovers is how you can go into different incarnations of the characters. I'm not sure if DC had to deal with IDW or just went straight to SEGA for the license, but so far this comic only showed characters and references to the actual games without any of the comic original characters. Of the most interesting references from the Sonic side were Amy Rose's Pink Cabriolet from the Sonic and SEGA All-Star Racing game and Sonic referencing starting their search at South Island. South Island was where the first Sonic game took place which consisted of the Green Hill, Marble, Spring Yard Labyrinth, Star Light and Scrap Brain Zones. We also got a bit of Shadow's backstory (as well as Batman's) and we also go with the current day explanation of Sonic just being born with his super speed.

Likewise the DC Heroes go over their origins and such. I don't remember the last time Wonder Woman's invisible jet was featured in current day comics, especially once she was given the ability to fly on her own. 

One of the deepest cuts is Flash confusing Sonic for Krakkl, a being made out of radio frequencies that kinda looks like an electric hedgehog.  

This issue was pretty much the introduction issue. I'm glad this one of those cases where the good guys teamed up from the get-go instead of the usual 'good guys from different series fight among themselves before they realize they're both good guys'. Since the DC heroes are used to dealing with all sorts of alien worlds themselves, they were able to just accept Sonic and his friends as they are without acting surprised around talking hedgehogs.

The character pairings were kind of interesting, as while not exactly a one to one, both sides do have similar characteristics. Sonic and Flash naturally have the speed, and it's fun seeing them both trade barbs over who is the fastest. Batman and Shadow are the dark broody types. Superman and Knuckles are both the last of their kind protecting their new homes (if you don't count Supergirl and Power Girl). Tails and Cyborgs are the tech heads. Silver and the Green Lantern use different types of mental power, which is kind of a stretch but the similarity is there. Wonder Woman and Amy Rose are um... both girls?... with unique vehicles...?

The art style is pretty good, though it does look more like a Sonic comic with the DC characters guest starring, despite DC getting top billing and the comic being published by DC rather than IDW. The DC characters look alright through slightly cartoonish/stylish, and Superman is full of all sorts of comical facial expressions.

 

A fun start overall, and since I didn't want to read the later issues until I found the first one, I don't have to wait too long to catch up at least on the next two issues.