Sonic’s having a pretty good run of things at the moment, huh? He’s got a pretty sweet new racing game coming out, a very popular film and TV franchise, a Magic card set, and that’s all without mentioning this crossover. This series has really grown on me. When I read the first issue, I think I was somewhat resistant to it, but now I’m fully taken and happily going with the flow. So, let’s hop in for one final bout and see how our heroes, united once more, work together to save their worlds.
Rule of cool
One word.
Yes.
There is so much to love about this issue. In fact, seeing the series come to a close allows me to fully appreciate how well planned out it was. You have your first issue to introduce the characters to the reader and then to each other. Second, you have them attempt to beat the big bad and fail. Then, one issue per team so we can see how they act in the other world, and now, finally, another crack at Darkseid to bring it all back home. As stylishly as possible, might I add. I’ve got to say, Team Sonic’s DC costumes have really grown on me. Shadow as Batman is so obviously cool, but I appreciate the more subtle touches too. Knuckles’ shoe bricks are on his Superman boots, Amy’s gloves are worked into Diana’s bracelets. Little things go a long way.
So, the team-up this time around involves each character working with their counterpart in a much more cohesive way than before to stop Darkseid’s nefarious plan and set everything back to normal. The plot is a fairly standard affair. Get the Special Artefact, in this case the Chaos Emeralds, and use them all together to defeat the bad guy. At one point, the plan doesn’t work, but the team makes a last-minute adjustment to fix up and end up succeeding. However, the sheer fun that I had on the journey makes me not mind the cliché plot very much, if at all. You get to see Sonic go super, both teams working together, and, most cool of all, Sonic and Flash running on each other’s feet. How can you not love it?
Darkseid of the moon
As much as I had fun with this issue, I feel like I should point out some things I didn’t particularly get along with. For starters, the treatment of Darkseid. I don’t think this is entirely the comic’s fault, but more of an overexposure thing. I just prefer Darkseid when he’s involved with the New Gods or plotting in the background rather than a generic big bad. He works fine enough in his story, but he only ever feels like an excuse to see this team-up happen. Not necessarily a bad thing, but if you look for anything deeper, you won’t find it here. I wonder why they didn’t use Eggman and his shenanigans, but the ending seems to hint at something in that vein happening in the future…
Other than that, I guess the dialogue can feel a bit over-expository, but that’s not too bad. The whole thing is just plain fun, and there’s nothing there to distract from that. It’s bright, it’s colourful, it’s lighthearted. Like I’ve already said, I love the designs. Not just of the Sonic characters, but of our DC guys. Supes has that little George Reeves style cap between his neck and cape that I love. Most importantly for a book that deals so much with speedsters, it all feels very kinetic. Everything feels fast, the hits feel impactful, and the overall cartoony look really helps it feel like a Saturday morning cartoon crossover I would have killed for back in the day.
Recommended If
- Sonic and Flash do cool running. No further argument is needed.
- Adam Bryce Thomas’ previous work on Sonic is something you enjoy
- You want to see the conclusion of this crossover
Overall
There you have it! I must say, I’ve had a really good time with this. It hasn’t reinvented the wheel or anything, but it’s delivered very well on a very cool premise. It’s very apparent that there’s a lot of love for both franchises here, and you can feel it in every panel of the book. It’s made me want to read more Sonic, and I can only hope it will make some Sonic reader want to pick up a DC book. I really look forward to any continuations!
Score: 8.5/10
DC Comics have provided advance copies of books for review.
English (US) · 