Recap / Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): All or Nothing Arc

You know what they say about a high-stakes bet, it's All or Nothing. ^note Issue #26 Cover B by Aaron Hammerstrom. Colors by Reggie Graham.

Written by:	Ian Flynn
Year:	Three
Saga:	Metal Virus
Arc Duration:	#25 - #29

After Dr. Starline invited the Deadly Six onboard the Faceship but failed to control them with the Cacophonic Conch, he, Dr. Eggman and Metal Sonic flee the scene. The Zeti decide to use the Chaos Emeralds to empower themselves and control the thousands of Zombots around the world. Rouge, who managed to sneak onto the ship earlier, relays this information to Sonic and the others, who are now using Angel Island as a safe haven. Unexpectedly joined by Eggman and Metal Sonic, who later fires Starline, the group gets to work on a counterattack against the Deadly Six that involves the Warp Topaz. A Multi-Portal Generator is created, which allows the survivors, including the Babylon Rogues, to fight and retrieve the Chaos Emeralds from the Zeti. When all but Zavok's are assembled, Sonic, Silver and Metal Sonic team up to get it, resulting in the hedgehogs becoming Super Sonic and Super Silver. They manage to manage to defeat Zavok and destroy the Metal Virus, curing everyone infected. However, after Super Sonic tries to get rid of the Warp Topaz, he vanishes.

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Tropes

• 11th-Hour Superpower: Super Sonic and Super Silver, natch, obtained right when the heroes are the lowest point and require it to turn the tables against Zavok and dispose of the Metal Virus once and for all.
• Action Girl: Cream finally gets to show off what she can do in the fight against Zeena, even attacking her head on.
  • Dark Action Girl: Zeena, for all her narcissism, is no slouch during her fight with Cream and Gemerl.
• All for Nothing: Discussed by Sonic in Issue 28. He believes the heroes may have already tried to use the Chaos Emeralds and Warp Topaz in another timeline and have failed. Silver may have been the deciding factor to help defy this trope because he was never there the first time, and arrived to initially investigate the cause of the Bad Future.
• All or Nothing: The title of the arc refers to the trope by name, with the stakes to match. Sonic and Eggman's teams must work together to get the Chaos Emeralds from the Zeti, and use Super Sonic and the Warp Topaz to try and rip the Metal Virus from their allies and the world. With no other options, this is their last chance.
  • Exaggerated at the climax. No sooner have the survivors eliminated five of the Zeti and the Faceship, Zavok immediately puts them right back on the ropes, raising the stakes from "all or nothing" to "do or die". Sonic, now unable to resist his infection anymore, decides the original plan won't work, so he tweaks it to include Super Silver and recruits Metal Sonic to get him past Zavok's guard. Beyond that, all Sonic and Silver can do is take the Million to One Chance they've got and hope for the best.
• All Your Base Are Belong to Us: Zavok attacking Angel Island at the climax of the arc.
• And Then John Was a Zombie:
  • Cream at the end of Issue 27 is heavily implied to have become a Zombot, as her infection was spreading at a rapid pace. However, it was off-screen and she wouldn't return until Issue 29 when the Metal Virus was destroyed and her back to normal.
  • With the exception of Zavok and Zazz, the rest of the Deadly Six likely became Zombots, as they were unable to escape after their defeats. Zeena became one for sure, as she was seen in the horde that Gemerl threw her into.
  • Knuckles infects himself and eventually becomes a Zombot while fighting Zombot!Shadow during the arc's climax. Luckily, Knux is the last named victim of the Metal Virus before its destruction and is cured within minutes of succumbing.
  • Barely averted with Amy, Eggman, Tails, and Sonic. Tails is caught, pinned down, and infected by Cheese and Chocola; Big infects Amy after she's kicked into him by Eggman; Eggman himself gets infected by Froggy while trying to escape; and Sonic's body is more or less fully-turned, with only his mind clinging on long enough for Silver to purge him.
• Anti-Climax Boss: Discussed but justified In-Universe. Once Sonic goes super, he wastes no time taking down Zavok and quickly knocking him out. Silver is quick to note how fast that happened but Sonic states he had to as the Warp Topaz isn't reacting well to their energy. Also doubles as Leaning on the Fourth Wall.
  Silver: (Chuckling a little) That seemed a little anti-climatic.
  Sonic: We don't have time to be fancy.
• Arc Villain: Zavok wastes no time usurping Eggman as the story's Big Bad. With the Faceship, Sonic's Zombot-ified allies, and his own ability to morph into an empowered giant at his disposal, and being the only Zeti who directly goes after the Metal Virus survivors, he poses more of a threat than the other Zeti do.
• Ambiguous Situation: Eggman accuses Sonic of spreading as much of the Metal Virus as he was, no matter however much hard he fought off the infection, at a microscopic level. While Sonic believes this is a simple mind game, the doctor at least hopes this can provide a good enough consequence for Sonic sparing him.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: After Rouge causes the Faceship he was using to crash, Zavok gets enraged enough to shift into giant size for his final assault on Angel Island.
• Big Damn Reunion: All of the main, and some minor, heroes form this trope in Issue 29 when Sonic and Silver go Super, defeat Zavok, and get rid of the Metal Virus for good; as they do so, everyone and everything infected with the virus returns to normal on the spot. Tails dances with Cheese and Chocola; Amy and Whisper hug Big and Tangle, respectively; the Chaotix sing together; and Knuckles and Shadow...get mad at Rouge for slacking off atop the Master Emerald. Down below, Cream and Gemerl—who took the long way back to Angel Island after Cream got infected—arrive just in time to reunite with Vanilla, Cream having changed her mind about staying behind since, somehow, she knew Sonic would succeed.
  • Ironically, Zavok helps play this trope straight by bringing all of Sonic's Zombot-ified allies to Angel Island; as a result, about 90% of the cast—healthy and/or infected—is in the same place when the Metal Virus is destroyed (to the initial confusion of Tangle and Big), allowing everyone to reunite immediately.
• Big "NO!":
  • Cream squeals this as Zeena prepares to throw her to a Zombot horde.
  • Zor lets one out when Silver crushes his owl mech and sends him plummeting towards the Zombots below. Downplayed in this case, since Zor quickly accepts his fate.
  • Zavok bellows one as Rouge makes off with the Chaos Emerald that powered the Faceship and leaves it to crash.
  • Silver shouts this when Sonic and Metal Sonic are flamed before his eyes by Zavok.
• Bittersweet Ending: Against all odds, the Metal Virus is destroyed, the Deadly Six are defeated, and everyone is restored to normal. However, Sonic goes M.I.A. at the end, and with or without him, the Zombot Apocalypse has left the world in such a state of disrepair that the heroes won't be getting much time to rest anytime soon, even after all that's happened.
• The Bus Came Back:
  • Knuckles returns after being absent for most of the Metal Virus saga, since Angel Island is the only place left untouched by the plague.
  • During the climax, Silver transforms into Super Silver for the first time since his debut in Sonic '06.
• Butt-Monkey: Eggman and Starline, although they brought it on themselves. Cream also sees her ongoing bad luck come to a head when she gets infected (after being borderline tortured by Zeena), meeting the same fate as her mother and Chao.
• Bystander Syndrome: Sonic's resistance to the Metal Virus is weakening so, since fighting Zombots makes things worse for him, he is forced to stay behind to run it off while his friends retrieve the Chaos Emeralds. Once Zavok show up with the last Emerald, he finally takes action with Metal Sonic and Silver's help.
• Can't Kill You, Still Need You: It would be easy to finish off Eggman at his most vulnerable, but Sonic stops Amy, and Cream stops Whisper, because they would need him to help fix everything. That said, they are aware he can still double-cross them.
• Chekhov's Gun: As expected, the Chaos Emeralds play a crucial role for both the Zeti and the heroes. Likewise, Starline's Warp Topaz is put into the mix as it manages to be a big help in extracting the Metal Virus.
• Chronic Villainy: After hearing Sonic express his displeasure in Metal for going back to Eggman rather than start anew, Eggman butts into the conversation, stating that that's because Metal is specifically programmed with a desire for battle and conquest.
• Colony Drop: Towards the end of Issue 28, Rouge steals the Chaos Emerald powering the Faceship, causing it to crash right onto Zavok's army of Zombots, who've amassed on the beach near Angel Island. Zavok, Orbot, and Cubot survive unscathed, but the Zombots are either buried under the wreckage or knocked into the water. Sonic questions Rouge about this, as he knows the Zombots are just innocent people who currently aren't themselves; she assures him they'll be fine, since they can just regenerate if they were damaged. Good thing, too: the survivors soon learn the infected friends they're trying to save almost got Squashed Flat and burned.
• Curb-Stomp Battle:
  • Zor comes up short in his fight with Silver and Whisper. Unlike the other Zeti, he doesn't even make use of the Zombots he's enslaved, instead merely bombarding Silver with easily-dispatched shadow clones. No sooner have two such clones grabbed Silver than Whisper gets into position and shoots the Chaos Emerald off of Zor, whose mech Silver then crushes, unceremoniously depositing the Zeti on the ground for the Zombots to collect.
  • Zavok gets the crap beaten out of him after Sonic and Silver go Super. Silver even lampshades how fast that went by.
• Curb Stomp Cushion:
  • Of all the Zeti battles, Cream and Gemerl suffer the most against the Deadly Six's Zeena, given that Cream is a child and Gemerl is a robot vulnerable to Zeti control. Luckily, they don't need to actually beat Zeena; they just need to take the Chaos Emerald away from her.
  • Shadow, who's among the stronger Zombot characters, is easily overpowered by Knuckles, who gets hit back only once. However, Knuckles' ferocity also makes his Zombot-ification very quick and he weakens as his infection spreads; his final punch before succumbing is blocked as Shadow catches his fist.
• Deer in the Headlights: Seeing what's become of Tangle causes Whisper to freeze, leaving herself open to attack. Luckily, Tangle is cured before she can infect Whisper.
• Deus Exit Machina: Sonic stays on Angel Island while his friends go to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds from the Zeti. He does get the honor of saving the day again after becoming Super Sonic.
• Didn't Think This Through: For both Sonic and Starline, they didn't think through enough:
  • Starline had the plan to use the Cacophonic Conch to control the Zeti, but not the air capacity to continuously use it, giving them the upper hand. Eggman called him out on this after being overwhelmed, and Starline himself later admitted that he didn't think that far ahead.
  • Sonic pitted Gemerl, a robot, against Zeena, knowing full well how difficult it would be since Zeti can control machines. Since he couldn't find anyone else capable of standing up to the other Zeti, and both he and Gemerl couldn't risk losing Cream, he only hoped Zeena's ego will get the best of her.
    • To an extent, Cream rushed over to help Gemerl, putting both of them in danger. Granted, the loss of her family muddled her common sense, but she was able to help him regain control.
• Disappointed in You: In Issue 26, Sonic expresses this to Metal Sonic, displeased with his Undying Loyalty to Eggman. While Eggman didn't have a chance to stay good before Starline brought him back to his old self, Metal did have a chance at freedom and a new life, and voluntarily threw it away to serve the doc again. Then agian, Metal is literally made to match Sonic and doesn't have the self-awareness that someone like Omega needed to break from Eggman's command.
  Sonic: Y'know, in a way, Eggman didn't get a chance to stay reformed. Starline put him back on that path. But you... you just had to go back to him, didn't you? You couldn't be like Gemerl or Omega. You just had to be a one-note jerk.
• Drama-Preserving Handicap: When Amy suggests using Super Sonic as a means to beat the Metal Virus, Sonic believes that the Chaos Emeralds' power only applies to him with no way to use it for anyone else while in that form. Eggman decides to mitigate this with an additional means: using the Warp Topaz.
  • Sonic can't fight the Zombots anymore since his resistance to the Metal Virus is dropping. As a result, he has to stay behind until his friends get almost all of the Chaos Emeralds, against a group of enemies that previously gave Sonic, Tails, and Eggman a hard time.
• Dumbass Has a Point: When Sonic is going over the plan to get the Chaos Emeralds off of the Zeti, he originally had wanted Knuckles to go after one of them. However, Knuckles refuses stating that since Eggman was staying behind on the island, he wasn't going to leave the Master Emerald unguarded for him to steal. Sonic notes that he's right and changes up the plan to Eggman's annoyance, while Espio chooses to face Zazz alone.
• Dwindling Party: Out of all the Metal Virus Saga arcs, this one has the highest "casualty" count, being where the villians finally suffer this trope alongside the heroes. By the Zombot Apocalypse's final moments, Super Sonic, Super Silver, Rouge, Espio, and Whisper are the only characters left, with Tails and Amy nearly becoming Zombots themselves.
• Enemy Mine: The Restoration, Eggman, Metal Sonic, and the Babylon Rogues are forced to work together to stop the Zeti and get rid of the Metal Virus for good. Unsurprisingly, Eggman breaks the truce before either objective is achieved and leaves Sonic and co. to die, though his escape attempt is thwarted by Zombot Froggy.
  • Double-Subverted for Whisper and Cream. Whisper was planning to kill Eggman, but Cream stops her. While she understands how much the sniper hates him, Cream says they need his help in order to save her family and everyone else on the planet. Whisper can't deny the logic and sadly gives in, admitting that saving Tangle and the world is more important than her vendetta against Eggman.
    • On that note, Whisper likely realized Tangle wouldn't have sanctioned killing Eggman either, since she stopped her from killing another bad guy (Mimic) previously. Had Tangle been in Cream's position, she would almost certainly have made the same choice.
  • Also subverted with Omega who, if he weren't reduced to a severed head would tear Eggman to shreds in a jiff, and claims doing so is his right alone.
  • Defied with Starline, who wants nothing to do with the others and refuses to hand over the Warp Topaz, fearing exposure to the Chaos Emeralds will overtax it with disastrous results. His unwillingness to cooperate leads directly to Eggman firing him, and with that, he's gone for the rest of the arc.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: Starline thought he could control the Deadly Six with the Cocophonic Conch. They're happy to prove him wrong, seizing control of the Zombots and the conch, and sending him and Eggman running.^note Ironically, in the Bad Guys miniseries later on, Zavok admits Starline's plan actually made sense, at least on paper.
  • He had also warned Eggman and Sonic that misuse of the Warp Topaz could lead to some devastating consequences. He turns out to be half-right: the final outcome isn't as bad as he feared, but the Chaos Emeralds' power does indeed overload the Topaz, causing it to blow up just as Sonic and Silver finish getting rid of the Metal Virus. Silver falls back to Earth, but Sonic gets caught in the middle of the blast before he can dispose of the Topaz and vanishes without a trace thereafter.
  • The Deadly Six decide to use Eggman's Faceship, Zombots, and Metal Virus to terrorize the world and infect everyone, though they are at risk of getting infected too. Almost all of them are soon defeated by the Restoration and become victims of the Zombots as a result, with Zavok having some resistence while throwing them at Angel Island.
• Evil Overlooker: Two of Issue 29's covers show Giant!Zavok looming over Sonic, Metal Sonic, and Silver.
• Extremely Short Timespan: This whole arc plays out over the course of a day, which is justified under the circumstances (see Race Against the Clock below). The climax happens at sunset on that day, and by the end of Issue 29, night has fallen, with energy from the Warp Topaz' explosion lighting up the evening sky.
• Fake Defector: Orbot and Cubot pretend to side with Zavok in order to save themselves, as well as to run interference for Rouge while she sneaks around the Faceship. Since Zavok needs their help to operate the ship, he falls for their ploy. At least for a good issue's length.
• Fighting Your Friend: The remainder of the Restoration versus their Zombot friends in Issue 29, though it's difficult when touching them leads to infection and fighting them speeds up said infection.
• From Bad to Worse: Right amid Sonic and co.'s Darkest Hour, the Zeti show up to make things worse than ever. As the plot progresses, the heroes lose even more allies, Angel Island is invaded by the Zombots thanks to Zavok, and worst of all, Sonic's infection adapts to bypass his Plot Armor. Only when Super Sonic and Super Silver eradicate the Metal Virus do things finally get better.
• Foreshadowing: Starline, blinded by his own hubris, ends up being Out-Gambitted and overpowered by other villains stronger and/or more experienced than he is. It won't be the last time.
• Good Is Not Dumb: The Restoration and Eggman are forced to work together to defeat the Deadly Six and finally destroy Eggman's Metal Virus. The heroes can only trust him as far as they can throw him, but literally everyone knows he'll likely back-stab everyone or start a new scheme at the first opportunity.
• Heads I Win, Tails You Lose:
  • Heads: If things went as planned before Starline got involved, Eggman would have defeated Sonic and taken over the world, even with the Metal Virus out of control. As he mentioned, he would have moved to a new planet eventually.
  • Tails: If the virus is destroyed, Sonic would still have to live with the fact that he spared Eggman or refused to have Shadow kill him during his "Mr. Tinker" phase, which played a part in his return and kicked off the plot. Eggman decides this would be a minor victory.
• Heroic Sacrifice:
  • Cream and Gemerl get the Chaos Emerald off of Zeena, but the former gets some of the Metal Virus on her in the fight and elects to stay behind. Gemerl stays with her, chucking the emerald through the return portal so the others can retrieve it.
  • While Jet does get the Chaos Emerald off of Zik, he's the only one whose airboard isn't damaged and Wave and Storm can't escape due to being surrounded by Zombots. Ultimately, he ties the emerald to the board and sends it through the return portal while staying with his friends for a Last Stand, citing No One Gets Left Behind.
  • Knuckles instantly charges in and starts fighting the Zombots bare-handed, knowing full well he'll get infected but buying time for Sonic and Silver to execute their plan. He eventually succumbs and becomes a Zombot moments before the Metal Virus is destroyed.
• Hurl It into the Sun: After extracting every trace of the Metal Virus after pulling it out of everyone and everything it had infected, thanks to the Chaos Emeralds and Warp Topaz, Super Sonic and Super Silver try to find a way to safely dispose of it. Because of its high infectious rate, Sonic decides warping it into the sun is the most effective option.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Subverted. Cream didn't even need to fight him, not that she would want to. Instead, she is able to help Gemerl break Zeena's control over him just by talking.
• Irony:
  • Starline repeatedly criticized Eggman for his rashness and lack of foresight. He himself suffers the same when he brings in the Deadly Six, but didn't have a backup plan in the event they bypassed the Cacophonous Conch. Zavok even lampshades it.
    Zavok: What was that about a "lack of foresight"?
  • Back in the 2019 Annual, Whisper unhappily pushed Tangle away for tackling her with a hug. Once Tangle is cured, Whisper immediately tackles her with a hug, and with stars in her eyes—one of Tangle's main quirks—to boot.
    Tangle: Oh, hey! Miss me much?
• Idiosyncratic Cover Art:
  • RI Covers of Issue #27-28 when put together form an image of Cream and Gemerl facing Zeena on one side, while Silver and Whisper battle against Zor.
  • RI Covers of Issue #29-30 put together make a spread image that shows the cast being cured of the Metal Virus, thanks to the light emitted from Super Sonic and Super Silver.
• I Warned You:
  • Knuckles called out Sonic for bring trouble with him whenever he arrives on Angel Island. He learns from Tails and Amy about the situation below and, later, they have to deal with Zavok and the Zombots.
  • Starline warns Eggman and the Restoration that the Warp Topaz won't be able to handle exposure to the Chaos Emeralds' power, but his protests fall on deaf ears. Sonic and Silver later find out he was right, and while the outcome isn't as bad as he feared, Sonic vanishes without a trace in the resulting explosion.
• Kick the Dog:
  • Zeena does this to Cream, both figuratively and literally. Gemerl retaliates hard and tosses her into the Zombot horde.
  • Much like in their last encounter, Zavok doesn't hesitate to rub Sonic's losses in his face, hijacking all of the infected heroes and making them face the healthy ones.
    Zavok: Can you see them from your hiding spot, Sonic? The faces of all the friends you've failed?
• Kubrick Stare: Tangle, in her Zombot form, gives off one of these at the end of Issue #28.
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • Starline gets his comeuppance when Eggman—the villain he himself restored to glory—confiscates his Warp Topaz, fires him, and has him unceremoniously chucked through his own portal to parts unknown.
  • Except for Zavok and Zazz, each Zeti is left at the Zombots' mercy upon defeat, which serves them right after using those same Zombots to terrorize people for personal gain. Not that Zazz' and Zavok's defeats are any less humiliating.
  • Eggman betrays the heroes during the arc's climax by trying to escape in their shuttle and gets Amy infected by knocking her into Big. However, Eggman is stopped and infected himself by Froggy moments later, nearly falling victim to his own virus.
• Last Stand: Even with Sega's mandates guaranteeing the heroes a win, the climax of this arc is easily one of the closest calls in Sonic history. With Cream, Gemerl, and the Babylon Rogues out of the picture, Sonic's infection nearly complete, and their last safe haven compromised, the remaining survivors can do nothing except delay the inevitable and pray that Sonic and Silver's plan works. Ultimately, it does and the day is saved—though Sonic disappears after the Warp Topaz blows up.
• Mythology Gag:
  • The Cacophonic Conch's origins are unknown in both Sonic Lost World and here, but both versions exist to immobilize any Zeti within hearing range when blown. Once it's taken out of the equation, the Deadly Six becomes a deadly threat.
  • This isn't the first time Eggman's plans go awry and threaten the very world he wants to conquer.
  • This isn't the first time Eggman is forced to team up with his foes when said plans go awry.
    • And it certainly isn't the first time he has teamed up with Sonic to face the Deadly Six.
    • Nor is it the first time he has double-crossed them all when the need arises.
  • In a more meta example, the way Sonic and Silver open a portal to teleport the virus into the sun is a callback to the Archie comic, particularly the rebooted universe which Silver actually had the power to open and close Genesis portals. In fact, the Metal Virus arc was meant to be told in that comic before its cancellation, so the conclusion here is a holdover from it re-tweaked for this comic.
• Near-Villain Victory: Zavok comes extremely close to winning as the heroes are overrun and on the verge of being infected. Sonic, Metal Sonic, and Silver just barely manage to get the last Chaos Emerald off of Zavok before Sonic is completely turned.
• Never My Fault:
  • Subverted. Sonic already admitted that letting Metal Sonic go was a mistake. While he didn't know that doing so helped jog Eggman's memory at the time, the blame still falls on Starline for being obsessed enough to bring him back in the first place.
  • Eggman blames Starline for letting the Zeti take control of the Virus and fires him as a result. While this was true, it was in response to Eggman withholding details about the Virus and his intended countermeasures; in that he didn't have one and intended to just set up shop elsewhere if it went out of control. It is heavily implied Eggman intentionally did such because he planned to betray Starline to the virus, adding further gall to him labelling the latter a "traitor".
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Ironically enough, Starline's efforts to salvage the Metal Virus instead ensure its destruction, as getting the Deadly Six involved finally forces Eggman and Metal Sonic to help the Restoration. It also leads to Eggman banishing Starline sans the Warp Topaz, removing him as an active threat until the next several arcs.
• Nightmare Face: Sonic's Zombot-ified allies demonstrate at the end of Issue 25, as does Giant!Zavok during Issue 29.
• No Honor Among Thieves: What kicks off the plot of this arc and allows the heroes to rebound from the brink. Starline and Zavok already planned on betraying each other, and Eggman subsequently banishes Starline for going against him. Eggman also double-crosses the Restoration after helping them steal back the Chaos Emeralds from the Zeti, but it gets him nowhere. It's heavily implied in a previous build-up story that the reason Eggman never told Starline about any failsafe against the virus was because he already intended to betray him, kickstarting Starline trying to hijack control in the first place.
• No-Sell: Twice in this arc, Amy goes up against a fat enemy on whom her hammer has no effect.
  • Zomom's body is able to absorb Amy's hammer attacks. She and Tails resort to dropping a gate on him.
  • Big proves to be borderline invincible as a Zombot, courtesy of his normal self's Kevlard and Super-Strength. Amy hammers him hard enough to send any of the other Zombots flying, but Big is completely unaffected by her attack.
• Oh, Crap!: Sonic and Eggman get this when they see the Faceship approaching the island, knowing Zavok has managed to locate them.
  • Mass "Oh, Crap!": Everyone who manages to get back to the island and find themselves facing down a giant Zavok and his Zombot army, which includes most of their turned friends.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
  • Sonic threatens to infect Eggman like before if the doctor didn't explain why only he, Starline, and Metal Sonic popped up on Angel Island. Being one of the first victims to be infected, and seeing Eggman having no remorse for his actions, he's just about had it.
    • Likewise, Amy is more than ready to smash them, but Sonic stops her. She lost most of the Restoration and many of her friends and allies are now Zombots, so she's especially pissed.
  • Cream is a borderline Broken Bird during this arc, after losing her two Chao and her mom, but still struggles to be optimistic and hopeful that they can save the day. However, Zeena's cruelty to Gemerl finally makes Cream snap and actually attack her, something she usually goes against doing.
    Cream: I hate fighting! I hate seeing my friends hurt and scared! And I hate how mean you are!
• Pay Evil unto Evil: Eggman and Metal Sonic disposing of Starline after stealing his Warp Topaz (which renders him powerless). Sonic and co. have no objections whatsoever, as the whole nightmare is pretty much Starline's fault for bringing Eggman back to his old self and making things worse by getting the Zeti involved.
• People Puppets: A new power that Zeena uses via Chaos Emeraled-powered energy tethers on Gemerl, after seeing him resist her control thanks to Cream. Effective at first, Cream and Gemerl use it against her, tying her up long enough for Cream to grab the Emerald.
• Poor Communication Kills: A villainous example. A 2020 Annual tie-in story heavily implied that Eggman planned to double-cross Starline and leave him to be infected; to that end, he kept Starline in the dark about his backup plan to emigrate his operations off-world. However, all this did was drive Starline to recruit the Zeti behind Eggman's back under the belief that his idol was a fool, ruining Eggman's scheme and enabling the heroes to turn a corner. The doctors' subsequent fallout also sets the stage for what Starline later does in the Imposters Saga.
• Pushed at the Monster: During the arc's climax, Amy tries to save Eggman from a Zombot Big, but her hammer attack has no effect. Eggman uses the opportunity to kick her into Big, infecting her, and try and flee via the Restoration airship. He doesn't get far, as he slips on a likewise Zombot Froggy and gets the Metal Virus on him anyway.
• Race Against the Clock: The survivors' plan to save the world depends on Sonic going Super, and Angel Island is their last refuge from which to enact said plan; as such, they have to gather the Chaos Emeralds before Sonic becomes a Zombot or Zavok—hot on their trail with Zombots galore close behind—finds the island. Sonic's Plot Armor has finally crumbled by the time his friends return, and Zavok has tracked them all down, despite Orbot and Cubot previously delaying him for a few minutes.
  • While the Restoration finds out from Eggman that the Zombots won't disintegrate for another two hundred years, that doesn't make their desperate attempt to save the world any less urgent.
• Right Hand Versus Left Hand: Starline becomes infuriated with Eggman's unwillingness to make a failsafe against the Virus as it gets increasingly rampant (as the doctor finds evaculating the planet and starting anew a more servicable tactic if it gets out of hand), and in retaliation hijacks the scheme by bringing in the Deadly Six, who in turn betray Starline and take control of the Zombots, leaving the two doctors also at their mercy. When Starline refuses to hand over the Warp Topaz to repel the attack, Eggman, who was already wavering on whether to betray Starline to the virus, fires and banishes him in response.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Averted twice in Issue #25 and once more in Issue #29.
  • Eggman freely admits that he had given up trying to control the Metal Virus and planned to just flee to another planet and leave everyone for dead. Starline's botched attempt to control the Zeti puts the kibosh on that. He later tries to escape again, leaving the heroes at the mercy of their Zombot-ified friends, but he doesn't get far thanks to Zombot!Froggy.
  • Starline refuses to let Sonic and Eggman use the Warp Topaz to fight the Deadly Six and opens a portal to depart Angel Island, stating he'll find a solution to the Metal Virus outbreak on his own and they can thank him later. Before he can leave, however, Metal Sonic restrains him, allowing Eggman to take the Warp Topaz by force and fire him before having him thrown through the portal.
• Season Finale: These issues close the overall Metal Virus Saga, with #29 being the climax and final battle against Zavok. The issues in the next arc (#30-32) serve as the falling action and denouement of this Saga while setting up the next Myth Arc.
• Seemingly Hopeless Boss Fight: Sonic, Metal Sonic, and Silver versus Giant!Zavok in Issue 29. Metal Sonic is incapacitated after helping Sonic reach the final Chaos Emerald, which Sonic then falls with as Silver flies down to catch him. Zavok, still gigantic, tries to squish them both as Sonic's infection comes within a mere nanosecond of completion. However, the tide turns when Sonic and Silver go Super, curing the former in the process. Cue Curb-Stomp Battle.
• Shoo Out the Clowns: Every hero that served as comic relief (Tangle, Charmy, Big, etc.) spends this arc as a Zombot under Zavok's control, and Sonic's own comical traits have receded due to his exhaustion, grief, and shame. With said characters thus sidelined, Knuckles' Skewed Priorities, Rouge's antics, and Eggman's comeuppance provide the bulk of the Played for Laughs moments.
• Sinister Silhouettes:
  • Sonic's infected friends, as well as other Zombots, are repeatedly depicted in this manner, occasionally with a twisted, scarecrow-like visage to match (see Nightmare Face above). Zombot!Knuckles also gets this late in the arc.^note specifically, in the panel where he and Zombot!Shadow watch the Chao siblings infect Tails
  • Zavok appears as a gargantuan silhouette on Issue 29's B-cover.
• Sole Survivor: By halfway through the arc, Rouge, Espio, and Gemerl are the last remaining members of Team Dark, the Chaotix, and the Rabbit family, respectively.
• Spoiler Cover: Three, and they spoil a lot.
  • Issue #25's B-cover hardly even tries to avoid spoiling which heroes still stand or have fallen prior to this point.^note To be fair, Tangle is very well-hidden (she's in the background to the immediate left of Vanilla's head; the end of her tail is visible in the foreground, but disguised as Vanilla's hand), so her fate in the previous issue isn't spoiled outright. However, not being pictured with the other survivors is pretty clear evidence that she got infected. If you've never played Sonic Lost World before, this cover can also spoil what happens when Starline summons the Zeti.
  • Issue #27's main cover shows Cream in Gemerl's lap with bits of the Metal Virus on her. This happens at the end, though not without putting up a valiant fight against Zeena and claiming the Emerald.
  • Issue #29's convention-exclusive cover shows Super Sonic, cured of the Metal Virus—and also, Super Silver, a whole issue before they make an appearance. In the same vein, the RI Cover of Issue #30 features both golden super hedgehogs as well.
• Status Quo Is God: Discussed in Issue #26. All else aside, Sonic is disappointed at Eggman and Metal Sonic's Redemption Rejection all the way back in Issue #12. He reminds Eggman of the all good he could've done as "Mr. Tinker", but Eggman smugly declares he is who he is and that's just the way he likes it, then taunts Sonic with a Kick the Dog speech. With that, Sonic gives up trying to reason with his two nemeses and bitterly concedes to this trope.
• Suddenly Shouting:
  • Jet's Pre-Asskicking One-Liner to Master Zik:
    Jet: We're the Babylon Rogues. We don't beg. We don't give up. AND WE DON'T LOSE!
  • Knuckles at the beginning of Issue 29 provides another example, directed at Sonic while staring down their infected allies:
    Sonic: Yeah, it looks bleak, but I've got a plan. Trust me.
    Knuckles: You better... (slugs Zombot!Shadow, infecting himself) OR I'M SO GOING TO HAUNT YOU!
• Synchronous Episodes: Issue 26's last quarter, the whole of Issue 27, and the first two-thirds of Issue 28 all happen at the same time, since all the Zeti (except for Zavok) have to be fought simultaneously to prevent them from alerting each other.
• Today, X. Tomorrow, the World!: Zavok's monologue at the end of Issue #25, while overseeing Sonic's Zombot-ified friends from the Faceship.
  Zavok: I will see to it we've infected everything from coast to coast by tonight... Tomorrow—the world!
• Unsafe Haven: Angel Island's status throughout this arc, as lampshaded by Eggman. Sure enough, Zavok makes a beeline for the island almost as soon as he finds out about it, and while Rouge crashes the Faceship before it gets within dumping range, the survivors are no safer: Zavok simply throws their Zombot-ified allies up to fight them while he blasts at the island itself from below, much to Knuckles' dismay.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Sonic had been trying his best to avoid infecting anyone himself and playing part to Eggman's schemes. However, Eggman reminds him that the Metal Virus is designed to infect plants as well as people, including tress and grass. While Sonic has avoided running over grass, Eggman accuses him of doing so without knowing it slowly infecting them by the tiniest molecule.
• Villain Has a Point: While the Zeti have no interest in allying with Starline and turn on him at the first opportunity, Zavok admits his strategy of having them control the Zombot masses was a good one, and declares they will do just that.
• Villainous Breakdown: Zavok completely and utterly loses it after Rouge brings down the Faceship, going One-Winged Angel and redoubling his assault on Angel Island as he vows to finish infecting the world using the Zombots.
• Wham Shot: Most of the arc is a Wham Episode, but the moment where Cream reveals her infection to Gemerl stands out.
  Cream: I got sick.
• World-Healing Wave: Once Sonic and Silver get all of the Chaos Emeralds, they use their power in conjunction with the Warp Topaz to collect all of the Metal Virus from the planet and disperse it into the sun, reverting all those infected back to normal.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Eggman "fires" Starline, both for the blunder with the Zeti, but likewise when he refuses to hand over his Warp Topaz and has to take it by force via Metal Sonic. Once he has it, he has Starline chucked into a portal he had planned to escape through. (It is implied he always intended to double cross Starline to the virus and this conflict only led to a more upfront dismissal.)
  Eggman: (grins evilly) Starline? You're fired.

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