Warning! Spoilers ahead for Sonic the Hedgehog: Imposter Syndrome #1!
Fans who grew up playing Sega Genesis but haven't been keeping up to date with IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog series will be in for a shock when they behold an issue's nostalgically epic cover that mimics art from the popular Sonic 2 game.
The iconic cover of Sonic 2 features the eponymous hedgehog and his sidekick Tails posing in front of the game's titular number being crushed underneath the hand of a giant sinister-looking Dr. Robotnik. The art in the Sonic the Hedgehog: Imposter Syndrome #2 by writer Ian Flynn and artist Thomas Rothlisberger replaces the dynamic duo with their evil robotic replacements - Surge the Tenrec and Kitsunami "Kit" the Fennec - while Dr. Starline presses down on an icon that obviously represents Dr. Eggman.
Why Dr. Eggman is in the crosshairs of his fanboy Dr. Starline makes complete sense for fans who initially mustered enough strength to suck it up and drudge through the last 20-or-so disappointing issues. Their bravery has finally paid off because Imposter Syndrome promises to be the best thing to happen to IDW's Sonic since the Metal Virus saga. Eggman might have been Starline's hero at one point in time, but his protege recently began noticing some major flaws in his hero that always seemed to spring up every time he battled Sonic. After Eggman continually refused to change, Starline eventually gave up trying to help him during the Bad Guys miniseries and has now officially gone rogue with the creation of Surge and Kit. Even though Surge and Kit are replacements for Sonic and Tails respectively, Dr. Starline reveals in the debut Imposter Syndrome issue that they first need to safely remove Eggman from play before they can strike against the pesky rodents without fear of any retaliation from his ex-hero. The full plan will likely be revealed in Sonic the Hedgehog #47 next month as IDW recently explained that both the main Sonic and Imposter Syndrome series will complement each other by alternating back and forth on a monthly basis.
Although the IDW creative team undoubtedly chose to alter the iconic Sonic 2 art for the Imposter Syndrome installment since it will be the series' second issue, the team is hopefully using this cover as a way to signal a new beginning for Sonic. Archie Comics employed a similar tactic with its now-discontinued Sonic series, beginning in issue #226 when Dr. Eggman launched the Genesis wave that contorted reality, heralding the "Sonic: Genesis" arc, where each cover mimicked the art from an iconic Sega game. Of course, Eggman's initial effort failed, forcing the mad scientist to launch another Genesis wave that would completely rewrite their reality forever. Unfortunately, these permanent alterations ended up being for the worst, but, for IDW, there really is nowhere else to go but up. However, if the first issue of Imposter Syndrome is of any indication, this new direction will be for the best, and hopefully, future issues will follow in the same vein.
Regardless, it's interesting that IDW chose a Sega Genesis-like covered styled after Sonic 2 for the second issue, but not the first. The decision definitely made the cover a much more welcome surprise, though. Whatever this discrepancy actually means, let's just hope that the subsequent installments of Imposter Syndrome and the regular Sonic the Hedgehog series will be just as uncharacteristically compelling as last month's issue.
