Warning: SPOILERS for Sonic the Hedgehog #53!The cyborg Kitsunami "Kit" the Fennec just made himself Sonic the Hedgehog's next sidekick. But as Tails' robotic replacement, his desperation to serve the Blue Blur is also a harsh commentary on a character who doesn't get many chances to shine on their own .
Kit's entire identity is problematic for Tails fans. His creator, the late Dr. Starline, modeled him after Tails as a way to strengthen Surge the Tenrec, his cyborg replacement of Sonic (as well as to differentiate her from Dr. Eggman's Metal Sonic.) Metal Sonic always failed, so Starline felt that he needed to create the complete opposite of him. That was how Surge came into being. And since Metal Sonic never had a Metal Tails to help him, Starline created Surge's own cyborg Tails, Kit.
The problem was that Starline made Kit overly reliant on Surge to the point where fans wondered if that was how Starline interpreted Tails' personality and relationship with Sonic. And now Kit just proved how truly dependent he is on not just Surge, but anyone like her, as revealed in Sonic the Hedgehog #53 by writer Evan Stanley, artist Adam Bryce Thomas, colorist Reggie Graham and letterer Shawn Lee. Once he learns that Surge is dead, Kit collapses and becomes unresponsive, only truly recovering when he resolves to help Sonic, because Sonic could "use" him like Surge did. Not only is the thought of losing Sonic on top of Surge too much for him, but Kit can't compute what it means to exist as a separate being.
Kit Is An Extreme Version Of Tails
Since Surge was modeled after Sonic, Kit has "adapted" by replacing her with her inspiration, despite the fact that Surge died fighting Sonic. Even though Sonic is the reason why he's alone and is essentially the one who stripped away his initial purpose, Kit is desperate to serve someone in order to have a meaningful existence. It's clear that the comic is using Kit to comment on Tails' place in Sonic's universe, since the genius fox is generally relegated to a role as the Blue Blur's sidekick, despite his potential to act more often as a capable solo hero.
This is an ironic direction for the character as - by creating Kit to help Surge succeed - Starline was basically proving how much Sonic needs Tails. This storyline can draw focus onto Tails' value separate to Sonic - something he could even impart to Kit. Fans have called out IDW's Sonic series for downplaying Tails' agency in the past, so a story that effectively 'parodies' him through Kit before exploring their differences will likely be very welcome if it can stick the landing. Sonic the Hedgehog #53 depicts Sonic's new sidekick as someone who lives only to serve, but his former sidekick Tails has always deserved more than that, and hopefully the comic will use Kit's journey to explore that fact.
Sonic the Hedgehog #53 is available now from IDW Publishing.
