Come for the cake, stay for the horror.note
| Written by: | Ian Flynn, Caleb Goellner, Evan Stanley, Sarah Graley, Sam King and Gigi Dutreix |
| Year: | Three |
| Release Date: | July 8, 2020 |
| Story Count: | 6 |
The second annual anniversary issue of the series. This anthology contains six stories, all of which take place during the Metal Virus Saga, dealing with some of the characters who haven't had as much of a spotlight, especially the non-combatant civilians of Sonic's world.
- Big's Big Adventure (Written by Ian Flynn): Properly introduces Big the Cat into the comic as he is, what else, looking for his missing friend, Froggy. It shows that he was actually present during most of the events of the first two story arcs for the comic.
- Darkest Hour (Written by Evan Stanley): Focuses on two workers at a radio station just as the Zombot infection starts gaining ground.
- Reflections (Written by Caleb Goellner): A sparse dialogue story where Metal Sonic becomes curious about the Metal Virus and if it'll infect him as it does his organic counterpart.
- Eggman's Day Off (Written by Sarah Graley): Eggman shows off to Starline his "Eggman Cave" and the action figures he likes to play with during his down time.
- Flock Together (Written by Sam King): Taking place sometime between Issues 17-22, it shows how Vector and Espio found the Zombot-ified Charmy and managed to capture him.
- The Catalyst (Written by Gigi Dutreix): This one focuses on Tangle's friend, Jewel, and the lead-up to how she got infected. It takes place parallel to Issues 21-23 and sets the stage for Issue 24.
Tropes used in this Annual
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General
- Covers Always Lie:
- This Annual issue's main A cover fits this trope to a T. It depicts a birthday party, where it is celebrating two years of the comic's run with the cast smiling happily (with the exception of the bad guys like Starline, Eggman, and the Skunk Brothers). However, the content of the Annual itself revolves entirely on the Metal Virus ravaging Sonic's world, where characters end up turning into Zombots on-page or by said virus catching up to them, with anything happy hardly happening. Most of the characters on this particular cover don't even appear in the book.
- Downplayed with the B-Cover, where Big manages to save Froggy, which is portrayed as a happy moment, though is undercut by him not noticing the Metal Virus that is being dumped in the background behind him, much like his ignorance to the virus being spread in his story.
- Darker and Edgier: Unlike the last Annual, this one follows the dark atmosphere that the main Metal Virus Saga unleashes. If there is not a sliver of hope in the story, it ends with a character or group doomed.
- A Day in the Limelight: Big, Metal Sonic, and Jewel each get one in their respective stories, although none of them end positively.
- Foregone Conclusion: Because this annual was released after The Last Minute arc, the main characters who get the spotlight in this annual are doomed from the start. Multiple characters in this story have already been turned into a Zombot by Issue 25, at the latest.
- Big and Jewel were already infected in the main story, and the annual shows how that happened.
- We know Vector and Espio's victory will only be temporary, and Charmy's capture would lead to the disaster in Issue 22, where the bee is freed and ends up getting several members of the Restoration infected.
- Tangle is doomed to share Jewel's fate come Issue 24.
- Interquel: A lot of the stories take place in-between a lot of issues that were already released before this Annual, though many of them had pre-determined outcomes (see Foregone Conclusion).
- Nightmare Face: Big's and Jewel's stories have several Zombots wearing one of these, including Jewel herself after she succumbs and Tangle comes to check on her.
- Nothing Is Scarier: Big's Big Adventure, Darkest Hour, and The Catalyst use this to chilling effect.
Big's Big Adventure
- Been There, Shaped History: The story shows that Big actually was present through most of the two major story arcs. He was just out of view for most of them and largely stayed out of the conflicts if he couldn't search for his friend.
- Call-Forward: At one point, you see Jewel and the two kids from the Sonic Fan Club fleeing from some Zombots while Eggman's Faceship looms in the background as Big and Froggy hide. We see how all this came about in The Catalyst.
- The Ditz: Part of the reason Big gets Zombot-ified is his near-total obliviousness to the Metal Virus' existence, let alone its effects or the nature of the Zombots. Even as the infection rapidly spreads from Froggy to Big to the very terrain of Mystic Jungle, Big hardly even suspects a thing.
- Downer Ending: Big naturally finds Froggy, but both end up unknowingly infected by the Metal Virus at the end of it.
- The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: The Metal Virus spreads through the panels of the story, hinting Big's inevitable fate.
- Glass Smack and Slide: One of the Zombots in Restoration HQ spots Big leaving and tries to follow him, but ends up running straight into a closing glass door.
- Hope Spot: Big finally does find Froggy but the two get beset by some Zombots. Big manages to fight them off with his fishing pole, tie them up and doesn't look like he was infected...until the final page of his story where Froggy was and the area around Big was covered in the Metal Virus. We see it slowly enveloping his body with him unaware.
- Mythology Gag: This story is one to Sonic Adventure 2 Battle in which Big pops up sporadically around the game's levels just as he does in this comic.
- Once More, with Clarity: In #22 we heard Big calling out for Froggy before the place came under attack by a Zombot, implicating he got infected there. In Big's Big Adventure, we see that he was there, but he couldn't get in to search due to Gemerl keeping him out of restricted areas and the place being too crowded. He leaves just as monkey infectee fully turns, is spotted, and all hell breaks loose. It's shown he got infected due to Froggy having jumped on a Zombot in their escape from them after Big fought off a few and likewise staying in an area that was covered in the Metal Virus.
Darkest Hour
- Ambiguous Ending: The story ends on this note with as a Zombot approaching the radio station just as Don and Nite begin to bunker down for the worst.
- Changed My Mind, Kid: Once Nite and Don hear of the citizens of Sunset City over the phone being attacked, Don is set to pull a Screw This, I'm Outta Here while Nite elects to stay behind and help over the radio. After hearing Nite talking to a Restoration member and agreeing to help send out a broadcast for evacuation, Don comes back to help him via barricading the building.
- Double Meaning: The story takes place late at night, during the height of the Zombie Apocalypse.
Reflections
- Continuity Cavalcade: The screens that Metal Sonic passes by in this story reference past events that led to Sonic getting infected by the Metal Virus.
- No-Dialogue Episode: Partly, the only dialogue spoken in this story is by Starline, telling Metal Sonic to Get Out! of the Metal Virus processing room after he finds him in there.
- Riddle for the Ages: Metal has been made to match Sonic in every way. So why did he interact with the Metal Virus? Was it supposed to help him accomplish this? Was it to prove he's just like Sonic? We never know; the blank stare he gives off after the Metal Virus slides off his finger makes his thoughts even more ambiguous, and he never talks about it in this story or afterwards.
- Silence Is Golden: The entire comic is only portrayed through Metal Sonic's actions, since Metal Sonic's a Silent Antagonist. It leaves the story up to interpretation of what the robot's thought process is, and how he feels when compared against his organic counterpart, especially when he tries infecting himself with the Metal Virus. The only piece of dialogue is heard from Dr. Starline, who simply tells him to get out of the Metal Virus processing room.
Eggman's Day Off
- Breather Episode: This is pretty much the only story that's purely comedy-focused and just showcases Eggman goofing off and showing Starline his collection of figures.
- Innocuously Important Episode: Throughout the Metal Virus saga, Eggman keeps Starline in the dark about his evacuation plans should it go out of control, claiming to not have any backup plan. This story heavily implies why, as Starline is among the figures of Eggman's enemies turned into Zombots, suggesting he was not to be part of Eggman's later plans.
- Villains Out Shopping: Eggman likes to take days off in his "Eggman Cave" and play with action figures of his enemies.
Flock Together
- Hope Spot: A retroactive one for Issue #22, the two manage to capture Charmy here and the story ends on a victorious note. But in said issue, we know Charmy will bust free and spread the Metal Virus throughout the Restoration base along with the monkey infectee who snuck in, getting both Vanilla and Vector infected.
- Oh, Crap!: Vector, Espio and the pilot of the ship they're on give this reaction when they see a flock of infected Flickies coming their way, with Charmy leading them.
- Smoke Out: Vector and Espio uses the latter's smoke bombs to disorient the Zombotified Charmy and Flickies, giving Vector enough time to run in and capture the bee in an Item Box.
The Catalyst
- Don't Touch It, You Idiot!: One of the kids Jewel rescues pokes at the pool of Metal Virus liquid behind her back, right after she specifically warned him not to touch it.
- Downer Ending: Jewel and the kids end up unwittingly touching the Metal Virus and infect themselves. At the end, when Tangle comes to check on her friend, Jewel's fully infected by then and would go on to infect her in turn.
- How We Got Here: Issue #22 of the main series had Jewel contacting Tangle about the Metal Virus spreading to Spiral Hill Village, with Issue #24 revealing that Tangle ended up being infected when Zombot Jewel got the jump on her. This story explains what led to Jewel and the rest of the Spiral Hill Village becoming infected.
- Right Behind Me: The final shot has Tangle entering Jewel's museum and calling out for her, unaware that she's lurking directly above and behind her on a podium, ready to pounce.
