Sonic the Hedgehog, Vol. 13: Battle for the Empire

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW)

by Ian Flynn, Adam Bryce Thomas (Illustrator)

Sonic and Tails duel a duo of dastardly doppelgängers in the series’ landmark 50th issue! Dr. Starline is behind the attack, but what’s his scheme?

After assembling a squad of bad guys, kidnapping Belle, starting a forest fire, and causing chaos in Central City, Starline is finally ready to unleash his monstrous imposters: Surge and Kit! Will his meticulous planning be enough to defeat Sonic and Dr. Eggman? And, in the wake of the climactic battle, both the heroes and bad guys need some time to heal and regroup… except Dr. Eggman, of course, who is always ready to destroy that darn hedgehog. Can Sonic, Tails, and Belle escape the city, or will Eggman finally bumble his way to victory? Definitive Sonic comics scribe Ian Flynn joins superstar artist Adam Bryce Thomas for a story more than four years in the making!

Then, it's a little mangled, it's kind of a jumble, it's Rough & Tangle and Rouge & Tumble! Writers Evan Stanley & Gigi Dutreix, Aaron Hammerstrom, Daniel Barnes, Ian Mutchler, and India Swift join Ian to bring readers six new heartwarming stories of unlikely pairs.

Collects the oversized 50th issue of IDW's ongoing Sonic the Hedgehog series, plus issue #51, the 2022 Free Comic Book Day story Deep Trouble, and the 2022 Annual.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Adventure

136 pages, Paperback

First published February 7, 2023

Reviews

[haley ⊹ · Rating 3 out of 5]

my favorite part of these issues was this (and this is a direct quote btw) -

belle: I saw it myself. dr. starline is... no more.
sonic: big oof.

hslfjSDFSDNFNSKFK

[Ro · Rating 3 out of 5]

As good as a Sonic can be.

[Will Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume 13 is a little awkward in that its main story wraps up in just 2 issues, but those 2 issues are jam-packed with frantic, high-speed fights and delicious character moments. While I'm a little peeved that we don't follow up on Surge and Kit's decision to sabotage Starline's plan (which boiled down to a pathetically simple ambush), their battle with Sonic and Tails is some of the best fight choreography this comic has ever had. The colossal mech fight between Starline and Eggman is also great blockbuster action and leads to some delicious banter between the two mad scientists.

Ian Flynn also uses the fight between Sonic and Surge to give us his treatise on Sonic's personality and moral philosophy (surprise, surprise, it leans chaotic good and leads me to believe Sonic would *HATE* the prison industrial complex). It's a wonderful encapsulation of Sonic's carefree attitude and how someone like him would act after having turned so many enemies into friends over the years.

Afterwards we get a bunch of smaller stories featuring the rest of the cast and they're sure to please die hard fans (special shoutouts to the Blaze and Knuckles story and the absolute slobberknocker that is Omega vs Gemerl).

You really need to read the previous volumes in order to enjoy everything that happens here, but if you've been following the series, this is a wonderful landmark book. It's collected weird, but the quality of the art and writing more than makes up for the awkwardness.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

After all the build-up towards the much toted issue 50, this volume is unfortunately covered by the shadow of '...is that it?'

Yeah, Sonic and Tails fight Surge and Kit, as you'd expect. But there are no surprises, no twists, nothing outside of just fighting, fighting, and more fighting. There are glimpses of character work; Kit and Surge remain the most tragic of villains, but most of it gets lost in Surge's fury.

The annual's a good time at least - lots of silly little stories featuring unlikely team-ups, including a Rough & Tumble story that had me laughing out loud.

Battle For The Empire's okay. Maybe I overhyped it in my head. Or maybe it's just a little disappointing. Either way, Sonic runs on.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

lots of action and lots of missed potential honestly though still lots of fun to read and enjoyed it alot

dr. starline had such a big buildup just to...? lose his marbles after getting outplayed by his idol that i almost cant believe it was that easy to defeat him. i enjoyed the clash of ideals between sonic and surge, the fight was great but short, so hoping to see them more in later volumes PLEASEEE.

also silver and espio bonding in one of the xtra issues at the end... i love seeing silver content :) we need more !!!

[E Money The Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kitten picked this out from some bookfest thing. Probably didn’t realize she was throwing us into number 13 already so we had no idea what was going on for the first half of this.

The shorter stories that made up the second half were quite fun! Couple of them had to do with taking a step back and just enjoying life. Suppose we sometimes worry too much about things outside of our control.

[Danielle Robertson Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another chapter in the epic arc with (almost) Metal Virus stakes. I'm in! The battle between Sonic and (no spoilers) was so enjoyable I reread it and soaked in all the artwork. The dialogue between Sonic and that character was really meaningful, given all we've seen Sonic go thru in previous books (or movies, or that glorious Sonic Prime show on Netflix.)

[Tulip]

Kinda awkward how the ongoing story stops halfway through the volume so that they can include the side stories they've done, but I can't really complain. I love seeing more of Gemerl, and that moment with Silver and Espio is everything to me.

My only complaint here is I think Sonic's dialogue is a little too wordy and on the nose when he's talking to Surge.

[Nico · Rating 3 out of 5]

LOVED issue 50
but IDW really loves to rip people off with trades. 4 issues per trade are not a good amount for an ongoing series, and its very noticable when you only get 2 numbered issues, a free comic book day special and a so-so annual

[Jayden Liptak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was great. I like how after the main two parts there were a bunch of mini stories. I also think that surge, the new character was really cool. She also seems like a fun character to play as if she was in the games. Overall, it was a pretty fun book.

[BurritoChris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up in a library because I thought it looked fun. Holy shit. For a long time I thought I didn't like Sonic, and yet every little nod to old games made me happy. Definitely gonna go back to issue one. This was the first comic in a long time that I've genuinely loved.

[mola tecta]

i don’t really write reviews for these but the art for the main story half was incredible. the art is always good but this time it was particularly crazy, specifically the page composition. just stood out to me :)

[Grace Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

big oof

[D.T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keep the Sonic series in the hands of the IDW writers, for sure. Surge and Kitsunami are great foils for Sonic (and Tails)! And I didn't know I needed that Blaze the Cat and Knuckles connection.

[The Book Box]

I got this book with my bookfair money and read it in two sittings.

[Conkerous conkerous · Rating 1 out of 5]

chomper plants vs zombies isn't jdj2[u[hu3r2hhh2

[Rayhan dinkleberry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Rough and Tumble story was pretty funny