DC x Sonic the Hedgehog #2 Review: Darkseid With a Chaos Emerald Is Too Much for Sonic and the Justice League

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The first issue of this epic crossover between the superheroes of the DC Universe and Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends was mostly a spotlight on comparing and contrasting the various heroes with each other. One of the most viral moments of the issue was Batman and Shadow connecting, with Batman explaining to Shadow that he knew how he felt, explaining his own background and trauma. It was a lot of fun, and there were a bunch of nice character moments between the various characters, but now, as the story continues, this issue is more of an outright action issue, allowing the interactions that we saw established in the first issue play out in the middle of a battle with Darkseid and the forces of Apololips.

DC x Sonic the Hedgehog #2 is from writer Ian Flynn, artist Adam Bryce Thomas, colorist Matt Hermes, and letterer Becca Carey, and it develops an interestijng dynamic between the heroes of the two universes, as when you boil it down to its essence, the Justice League obviously view Sonic’s world as sort of a child-like place to live, and as a result, the Justice League have a certain paternalistic attitude towards their heroic friends. It’s just a SLIGHT edge there, and Flynn clearly doesn’t mean it to be meant as some sort of shot at Superman and the others, but it definitely does seem to influence how the heroes handle the situation in this issue.

How is Darkseid the ultimate villain in this issue?

Darkseid is already a formindable foe, of course, to any DC hero, but the big twist here is that he has captured a Chaos Emerald, and the Chaos Emerlad gives him a good deal more power than he is used to, and that’s with just ONE of the Chaos Emeralds. Naturally, he wants more, as he thinks he can destroy a world with one of them. With seven? He could destroy UNIVERSES.

Flynn does a clever bit where he has Shadow use a “Chaos Control” attack on Steppenwolf when the Justice League members split up (each paired with one of Sonic’s friends) to protect the other Chaos Emreralds. Shadow using the “Chaos Control” attack helps to explain what Darkseid can do with a similar power at his control, and it obviously doesn’t look good.

How does this issue turn the crossover upside down?

Throughout the first two issues, Flynn has cleverly been pitting Flash and Sonic against each other, with each ot them giving the other some grief over their speed. Like when Flash brags about how fast his speed has been measured in the past, Sonic laughs, patronizingly retorting, “Oh, your speed can be MEASURED?” It’s fun stuff, and Flynn has an awesome bit where Superman shows off HIS speed, and suddenly the two heroes have a mutual “enemy” in Superman, which is an awesome throwback to the classic Superman vs. Flash races that were such a big deal in the DC Universe for so many decades.

As I noted last time, Thomas and Herms take an interesting approach to the depiction of the combined heroes. They have the DC heroes depicted as slightly more cartoony, so there isn’t as much of a contrast between them and Sonic and the others. Obviously, with them being humans and Sonic and his friends being anthropomorphic animals, there is always going to be some contrast, but it’s not as big of a contrast as it could be due to how the humans are depicted. A good comparison would be as to how Scooby-Doo and his friends are depicted. Shaggy and the others are cartoony enough that it doesn’t seem all that out of the ordinary that they might have a cartoon dog as their companion.

Okay, as I alluded to earlier, there is this consistent thread in the issue that while Sonic and his friends are certainly formidable heroes, the Justice League feel that they are naturally a bit of a step above them. Again, none of this comes off as being petty, or egotistical, just that the Justice League are already used to traveling into new dimensions to take on threats like Darkseid, and so they feel confident that they can save the day here, as well. There’s a great big where Dr. Eggman teams up with the heroes to try to defeat Darkseid (for as evil as Dr. Eggman is, even he doesn’t want the kind of trouble that Darkseid is here to bring), and Wonder Woman casually mentions that when this is over, they’ll help them defeat Dr. Eggman, as well. Amy is all for the help, and, again, none of this comes off as patronizing. It’s just a question of power levels. The DC heroes are presented as simply being a bit more powerful, and as a result, they feel like they need to help their less powerful friends.

That, then, sets up the excellent twist, where, when things get really crazy on Sonic’s world, the DC heroes sacrifice themselves to save Sonic and friends, who are transported back to the DC Universe while Darkseid, the Justice League, and Sonic’s home, are all seemingly destroyed. Of course, we all know that “seemingly” isn’t the end all/be all, and Batman even explains that they are saving Sonic and the others because they have faith in them to save the day. So Sonic and his friends have to step it up in the absence of the Justice League and, of course, they get to now interact with the rest of the DC Universe, which is a great setup for the rest of this crossover event.

Source: DC

“}]] In a CBR review of DC x Sonic the Hedgehog #2, see how Darkseid in control of the Chaos Emeralds is just too much for the combined heroes  Read More