Sonic The Hedgehog #82

Featured stories[]

The Stage Is Set, Part 2[]

• Story: Evan Stanley
• Art: Gigi Dutreix
• Colors: Valentina Pinto
• Letters: Ed Dukeshire
• Associate Editor: Bixie Mathieu
• Editor: Thea Cheuk
• Design & Production: Darran Robinson
• Special thanks to: Mai Kiyotaki, Afia Khan, Michael Cisneros, Sandra Jo, Sonic Team, and everyone at Sega for their invaluable assistance.

In the decaying industrial district of Sequin, the chase for a mysterious thief reaches its conclusion. Sonic and Tails have successfully cornered the figure known as Lunar, expecting a trap or a formidable foe. Instead, they find a path clear of danger and a thief who is not the menacing criminal they anticipated. The individual reveals themselves to be Soleil, a timid and anxious sugar glider who is, to Sonic's surprise, an ardent fan. They are part of the "Sonic Spotter" community, a group dedicated to documenting the hero's exploits, and their knowledge of Sonic comes from a place of admiration. Their initial explanation is flustered and self-deprecating, but Sonic's patient encouragement coaxes out a more profound story.

Soleil explains their background as a member of the renowned Celestial Troupe, a family of traveling acrobats. The troupe, led by Soleil's parents, Apogee and Perigee, operates under a tyrannical doctrine of perfection. The pressure to be flawless in every performance was immense, and during one critical show, Soleil choked, frozen by the fear of failure and public disappointment. As a direct consequence, Soleil was taken out from the family act. During this loneliness, Soleil discovered videos of Sonic, seeing in the hedgehog a kindred spirit who performed amazing acrobatic feats not out of obligation, but for the sheer joy and freedom of it. Inspired, Soleil began secretly practicing these moves, developing a unique personal style. However, his parents blamed Soleil for learning all the moves from the videos. Tails, piecing the clues together, deduces that the immense stress caused Soleil to subconsciously develop a dissociative alter ego—the confident, rebellious master thief, Lunar. This persona was an outlet for the freedom Soleil craved but could not consciously express. The final piece of the puzzle clicks when the family's travel route—Central City, Seaside City, Sunset City, and Spagonia—perfectly aligns with the recent thefts of the Chaos Emeralds. Soleil, as Lunar, was the culprit all along. Soleil blamed themself their life is over, but Sonic comforted Soleil and willing to help.

This moment of revelation is shattered by the dramatic arrival of the Celestial Troupe. Apogee, Perigee, and their associates, Yaw, Pitch, and Roll, descend not as concerned parents, but as furious disciplinarians. Disappointed and infuriating, they ordered Soleil to give up his phone and smashed it while scolding Soleil. Then Sonic and Tails stood up for Soleil immediately to protect him. Soleil's parents immediately blame Sonic for "corrupting" their child, viewing his influence as a poison that introduced the concept of imperfect fun into their world of rigid perfection. They declare that Sonic must pay for the damage done to their family's spotless reputation. While Sonic and Tails were about to fight Soleil's family, the huge pressure triggers a shift allowing Soleil to turn back to the Lunar persona. Now confident and defiant, Lunar insists on running away from the situation entirely.

Meanwhile, Shadow and Rouge unfolds with a different tone. Rouge, relying on her treasure hunter's intuition, believes the situation will resolve itself and suggests waiting in a café, much to Shadow's impatient frustration. He storms off to "make his own luck," while Rouge calmly enjoys a croissant. Amid the chaos, Sonic argued that running with no plan is not a solution. He convinced Lunar to make their parents see their true talent. Moved by this faith, Lunar agrees to try, but only after making Sonic promise to protect the vulnerable Soleil. So Sonic takes on a role of mentor and protector for Soleil. He encourages Soleil to use the moves they practiced, to believe in their own abilities. In a moment of brilliant, terrified improvisation, Soleil combines their innate acrobatic skills with Sonic's spin dash technique, successfully pulling off spin dash that amazes even Sonic.

Later on, Soleil's parents came and scolded Soleil's moves were terrible, but Sonic stood up for Soleil. Then Soleil told Sonic they're OK and confessed his parents' methods were too brutal and for Soleil. Instead of learning all the moves, Soleil prefers to do more new and amazing things that are themselves. Their parents acknowledged Soleil would reject their family's quest for perfection and regretted for almost pushing Soleil away and gave Soleil a great support.

But suddenly, Shadow dropped from the sky and grabbed Soleil away for stealing the chaos emerald. Soleil's parents fought Shadow with Sonic and Tails. When Tails took Soleil away, Sonic tried to Shadow out of it, but Shadow demanded that the emerald could only be safe when handed to him properly. And so, Sonic and Shadow continued to fight. While they were fighting, Rouge attacked Soleil with a surprise and got the emerald. Shadow agreed that the emerald is safer with her than in Sonic's hands. So, Rouge and Shadow got hold of the emerald and Soleil's back with their family. In the end, there's a giant ball falling from the sky which ends on this harrowing cliffhanger where Eggman's army came and ready for a "party".

Appearances[]

Characters:

• Badniks
  • Buzz Bomber
  • Egg Pawn
  • Pierrot
• Celestial Troupe
  • Apogee
  • Perigee
  • Soleil the Sugar Glider/Lunar
  • Yaw, Pitch and Roll
• Dr. Eggman
• Miles "Tails" Prower
• Rouge the Bat
• Shadow the Hedgehog
• Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Phantom Rider (picture)

Races and species:

• Black Arms
• Human

Locations:

• Sonic's universe
  • Earth
    • Central City (mentioned)
    • Seaside City (mentioned)
    • Sequin
    • Spagonia (mentioned)
    • Sunset City (mentioned)

Items:

• Air Shoes
• Chaos Emerald
• Egg Goggles
• Limiter Rings
• Miles Electric
• Sonic's shoes
• Snowboard (first appearance)

Vehicles:

• Egg Juggler

Misc.:

• Acrobattle (first appearance)
• Boost
• Chaos Control
• Grinding
• Propeller Flying
• Slide
• Spin Attack
  • Homing Attack
• Super Peel Out

Continuity:

• Tails mentions how he was bullied in the past, as established in Sonic Origins.