Warning: contains a preview of Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island #4!A preview of the Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island #4 suggests the Blue Blur is about to get his brain sucked out and replaced, as the new miniseries moves even further into horror territory with the return of the Blue Blur's mechanized nemesis.
In the preview, retweeted by artist he stole from Tails to his mind into Sonic's body. The issue is by writer Daniel Barnes, artist Jack Lawrence, colorist Nathalie Fourdraine and letterer Shawn Lee. It isn't an idle threat, either. The mechanized hedgehog has already strapped Sonic onto an operating table with a helmet that Eggman originally created to control Badniks with his mind.
Mecha Sonic Is Trying to Replace the Original
The unsettling development comes following Mecha Sonic actually exhibiting promising signs of becoming good soon after Sonic and Tails crash-landed on his island, where Dr. Eggman has been dumping his scrapped Badniks. Longtime fans who have been reading Sonic comics for decades are undoubtedly reminded of the time when aliens experimented on Sonic, Tails, Dr. Eggman and his nephew Snively in Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog #118. Sonic and Tails were transformed into mechanized versions of themselves while Eggman and Snively, who were robots, became fully organic again. Indeed, biological/badnik swaps have long been part of the franchise's lore, tapping into its core theme of nature vs industrialization.
Mecha Sonic's Betrayal Tragically Undermines Scrapnik Island
Sadly, Mecha Sonic has little choice in the matter - it's Eggman's programming which is forcing him to attack Sonic, despite the fact that Scrapnik Island has become a haven for the villain's former Badnik subjects. It initially seemed as though Scrapnik Island might be establishing the logic of a potential happy ending to the Sonic franchise, as it confirms that Badnik's can be reprogrammed en masse, given back free will and a sense of morality. However, Mecha Sonic has shattered that perception, as despite being part of this community, encountering his old nemesis has dragged him back into evil.
Of course, Mecha Sonic was always created to 'replace' Sonic in the world by killing off the original, leaving Eggman free to enact his plans. However, replacing Sonic's brain is a twisted take on this mission statement, and the perfect horror-twinged twist for a series that has skirted the boundaries of its age rating with creepy broken robots and brutal fight scenes. Hopefully, Sonic can avoid being replaced by his mechanized enemy when Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island #4 hits comic stands, but the bigger question is whether the robot refuge can survive this tragic betrayal.
Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island #4 will be available from IDW Publishing on January 18.
Source: Nathalie F
