Official Solicitation
With Dr. Eggman and Surge subdued for now, Sonic and friends have a chance to relax, reset, and plan for the future. Join us for a set of misadventures in our brand-new story arc, starting here in issue #62 and running full speed through #66! First, Amy visits Knuckles on Angel Island to return a relic. The island, as always, has a few surprises in store for them for them as they catch up. Meanwhile, Mimic is putting together the purrfect disguise to infiltrate the Restoration.
Featured stories[]
Story one[]
- Story: Ian Flynn
- Art: Thomas Rothlisberger
- Colors: Leonardo Ito
- Letters: Shawn Lee
- Editors: Riley Farmer. David Mariotte
- Special thanks to: Mai Kiyotaki, Michael Cisneros, Sandra Jo, Sonic Team, and everyone at Sega for their invaluable assistance
Synopsis[]
Amy approaches Angel Island in her Pink Cabriolet, admiring the island's beauty before making a somewhat bumpy landing. She notices Knuckles is not at the shrine and deduces that he must be on patrol. As she walks around, she laments the fact that she only visits the island during times of crisis, while understanding why Knuckles does not want to leave the island as such a precious location needs to be protected. Her musings are interrupted when the ground beneath her caves in, causing her to fall into Hydrocity. She is caught by Knuckles, who asks why Amy is falling through the ceiling, to which she answers that she was looking for him since he was not in front of the Master Emerald. Knuckles confirms that he was patrolling the island, to which Amy remarks that he should check the ground stability as well. When asked why she is on the island, Amy reveals the Echidna relic that was originally found in Eggperial City and that she later took back from Rouge. Knuckles, who immediately recognizes it and is grateful to have it back, offers Amy to join him in returning it to its proper location, which she excitedly accepts. Knuckles explains that the color and carving style of the relic match what he has seen in the Mystic Ruins and Marble Garden, making it easily recognizable to him. As they begin heading for the surface, Knuckles jokingly tells Amy to watch her step so she does not cause any more holes in the floor, to which she responds by telling him to do some maintenance on his own island.
Elsewhere, at the headquarters of Clean Sweep Inc., Clutch the Opossum is approached by a stranger looking for a moment of his time, although the former easily recognizes him as a disguised Mimic. Clutch comments on Mimic not being easy to find despite the great lengths he went to contact him, which Mimic states was intentional, although his interest was still piqued by the opossum. Recognizing his lack of an affiliation with either Sonic's friends or Dr. Eggman, Mimic asks to know what Clutch wants. Clutch introduces himself and his company Clean Sweep Inc., which he describes as his means of accessing places others cannot. Their mission involves cleaning up places attacked by Eggman while securing the Eggtech he leaves behind for themselves, which allows Clutch to amass resources for his arms dealing business. He explains that the Restoration is their primary competition, as they do most of what Clean Sweep Inc. does but for free, and they dispose of the Eggtech. To keep them from continuing to waste the technology that he wants to preserve for his "aggressive business venture", Clutch states that he will need an infiltrator and asks Mimic if he is interested. Mimic declines at first, as he has been laying low after his escape from jail and believes that entering enemy territory would only lead to trouble. Clutch initially concedes but then reveals his knowledge of Mimic's vendetta against Tangle and Whisper, as well as their membership in the Restoration's new vanguard, the Diamond Cutters. Realizing this is his chance to get revenge, Mimic accepts Clutch's proposal.
Back on Angel Island, Knuckles and Amy arrive at Marble Garden, with the latter being impressed by Knuckles's expertise in navigating the island, although Knuckles reminds her that he has lived here all his life and has plenty of spare time. As the ground begins to rumble, Amy tries to avert the blame from herself, but Knuckles explains that the region has always been unstable due to ruins constantly being buried and unearthed, as well as Eggman's digging, which Amy has heard about from Sonic and Tails. Amy tries to convince Knuckles to allow Jewel to send members of the Restoration to assist him in his duties, but Knuckles declines, not wanting to have to watch all of them as well as the island. Amy argues that they would be trustworthy, which Knuckles counters by saying he only trusts about six people, including Amy. Happy to have heard him say it out loud, Amy takes the opportunity to teasingly assume that Knuckles disbanding the Resistance on a whim also meant he trusted her to take over. Knuckles is unsure whether or not it would be rude to confirm that, but Amy tells him it was fine with her and that all she wanted was more time to prepare. As they enter the room where the fixture meant to house the relic is located, Knuckles stops Amy from going too far ahead due to there being a trap that he keeps active in order to deter thieves. Due to not wanting to destroy the mechanism as it would make returning the relic less meaningful, Amy decides to intentionally set off the trap and defend Knuckles from it while he places the relic back. Although Knuckles objects at first, Amy reminds him that he said he trusted her, and he concedes. While Amy knocks away the arrows being fired at them with her hammer, Knuckles rushes forward and places the relic in its place, causing the trap to deactivate. The ground then caves in again, much to Amy's annoyance, although the two work together to escape. She tells Knuckles he is always welcome at Restoration HQ if he needs a break, which he says he will think about, and that it is very organized and peaceful with Jewel in charge. As they head back to the surface, Amy also begins telling him about the new changes being made by Lanolin, although Knuckles has no idea who she is.
Meanwhile, in Restoration HQ's meeting room, the Diamond Cutters are reflecting on the results of their first mission. Lanolin states that although they technically succeeded, it was nearly a disaster and they have a lot to work on. She asks Whisper how her old team organized themselves, to which the wolf answers that they were all volunteers who simply found each other and only became formal after organizing. While using her tail to loudly play with a ping pong paddle and ball, which begins to irritate Lanolin, Tangle asks the sheep if she is considering recruiting since Team Chaotix manage to do fine with only three members. Lanolin states that she wants them to diversify their options, knocking the paddle away while explaining that more personnel will allow for more ideas, skills, and options should multiple crises arise. A cat named Duo then enters the room, stating that he has come to volunteer and wants to help the community. He quickly appeals to them, stating that he wants more adventure in his life while also understanding the danger involved in such a line of work, much to Tangle's excitement. Lanolin begins interviewing Duo about any skills or prior experience he might have, stopping mid-question to angrily smack away the paddle before Tangle could grab it again. Duo begins explaining that he is nimble and good with computers, has used a Wispon during the war, and that he is a fast and spirited learner. Lanolin is skeptical, but Tangle encourages her to give him a chance, as she herself did not start fighting Badniks until she met Sonic. When asked by Lanolin for her opinion, Whisper states that it is better to learn during times of peace and that everyone has to start somewhere. Lanolin agrees, as they have been wanting to expand their ranks, and tells Duo that he will be joining and that they will handle his training on a trial basis for assessment. Duo expresses his gratitude and assures them he will not disappoint. Lanolin asks if he lives nearby or is willing to relocate, to which Duo answers that that was not something he gave much thought when he came. Realizing the similarity between him and Tangle, Lanolin asks the lemur to help Duo find someplace to stay. Tangle takes him to a dorm room, of which the Restoration has several for people in need. She asks Duo if he wants to have some dinner with her, but the cat declines, wanting to relax, and Tangle leaves. Now alone, Duo removes his gloves and shapeshifts out of his disguise and back into Mimic, as whom he calls Clutch to inform him that he is in.
Appearances[]
Characters:
- Amy Rose
- Chaotix (mentioned)
- Clutch the Opossum
- Dr. Eggman (flashback)
- Knuckles the Echidna
- Miles "Tails" Prower (mentioned)
- Mimic the Octopus
- Restoration
- Resistance (mentioned)
- Rouge the Bat (flashback)
- Sonic the Hedgehog (mentioned)
Races and species:
Locations:
- Sonic's universe
- Sonic's world
- Angel Island
- Clean Sweep Inc. (first appearance)
- Mystic Ruins (mentioned)
- Restoration HQ
- Sonic's world
Items:
- Chaos Cola
- Concealer
- Egg Goggles (flashback)
- Golden Bell
- Gold Statue
- Master Emerald
- Piko Piko Hammer
- Strange Relief (first appearance)
Vehicles:
Misc.:
- Climb
- Eggtech (mentioned)
- Glide
- Hammer Attack
Continuity[]
- Amy visits Angel Island to return the Gold Statue to Knuckles after promising to do so in the previous issue.
- Knuckles is still on Angel Island after declining Blaze's offer to watch over the island for him for a while in Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2022, "Guardians".
- Mimic is now working for Clutch after leaving Starline's team in Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys #4, "No Honor Among Thieves".
- Marble Garden is unstable because of Eggman's digging in IDW Sonic the Hedgehog Free Comic Book Day 2022, "Deep Trouble".
- Amy recalls Jewel taking over the Restoration for her in Sonic the Hedgehog #31, "Recovery, Part 1".
- Amy recalls Knuckles leaving the Resistance to her after he disbanded it in Sonic the Hedgehog #12, "The Cost of the Battle for Angel Island".
- The Diamond Cutters returned to Restoration HQ after leaving Eggperial City in the previous issue.
- Tangle recalls fighting Badniks for the first time in Sonic the Hedgehog #4, "Fallout, Part 4".
Trivia[]
- The design of the Clean Sweep Inc. building is modeled after the Network Terminal stage from Sonic Forces.