Warning: Spoilers for Sonic the Hedgehog #57IDW Publishing's Sonic the Hedgehog is actively adding an array of much-needed female heroes to its male-dominated roster, and at the core of this movement is Whisper the Wolf and Tangle the Lemur's rocky relationship.

After being apart for quite some time, the two are now reunited once more, but troubles persist in Sonic the Hedgehog #57 by writer Ian Flynn, artist Adam Bryce Thomas, colorist Matt Herms, and letterer Shawn Lee. Tangle presumptuously names Sonic's new attack squad the Diamond-Cutters after Whisper's former team that ended tragically, without asking permission, and then acts rashly during their mission, all of which cause Whisper to distance herself from Tangle. Meanwhile, Tangle voices frustration at Whisper for putting herself in danger by going solo.

Whisper and Tangle are incompatible

Aside from Amy Rose, who's tainted by Sega's twisted need to incessantly make her look like a fool with Sonic, IDW has been adding an array of female characters, including Belle the Tinkerer, who's defined by her unfortunate connection with Dr. Eggman's long-gone good alter ego, and Lanolin the Sheep, who shares a shocking character resemblance to Archie's Sally Acorn. But there's only one all-girl team in Sonic: Whisper and Tangle. The unlikely duo first rose to prominence when they starred in their own aptly named miniseries Tangle and Whisper, with the two setting aside their ostensibly insurmountable differences to work together as a team and become friends.

Although compelling forms of conflict on their own, these are actually a continuance of the same struggles that persisted during their duo mission together in Tangle and Whisper. This proves that they only momentarily addressed their differences at the time of the miniseries and have fallen back on old habits, which can only hurt both of them. Tangle's over-the-top enthusiasm and hunger to connect to Whisper didn't mesh with Whisper's reticence and need to shy away from forging relationships with others, a friction that interfered with them completing their mission. But these misunderstandings are now much more personal in Sonic #57 because neither of them has really changed. They aren't like Sonic and Tails who inherently complement each other. Collaborating together will naturally require more work, which is made more difficult by the fact that Whisper distanced herself from Tangle in Sonic #45.

Whisper Abandoned Tangle

In fact, this is another issue that has yet to be addressed. Tangle was obviously hurt when Whisper suddenly left to protect her and Sonic's Restoration effort from Whisper's former colleague Mimic who had begun targeting her. Although clear on its own, Sonic's 2022 annual highlighted Tangle's struggle when she temporarily teamed up with Rouge the Bat and was crushed when Rouge abandoned her, because it reminded her of how Whisper left her. Tangle still hasn't voiced her feelings on the subject to Whisper, which promises to be an emotional moment in the coming issues. Tangle and Whisper are a great duo because of their struggles: they are helping to fill the gap in Sonic's male-dominated cast of heroes with females, but that's not what defines them, which is how it should be.

Sonic the Hedgehog #57 is available from IDW Publishing.