It's a little mangled, it's kind of jumbled.note
| Written by: | Ian Flynn, Daniel Barnes, Evan Stanley & Gigi Dutreix, India Swift, Ian Mutchler Aaron Hammerstrom |
| Year: | Five |
| Release Date: | August 17, 2022 |
| Story Count: | 6 |
The third Annual special issue of the IDW Sonic series, which features six stories focused on various odd pairs of characters that have been introduced in the series.
- Guardians (Written by Ian Flynn): Unsure of whether or not to take a vacation from her guardian duties, Blaze has a heart-to-heart about them with Knuckles.
- Weapons (Written by Daniel Barnes): Upon repairing the damage Omega and Gemerl sustained during the Metal Virus Saga, Tails sends them to spar in the woods, but the ensuing duel quickly gets out of hand.
- Hero Camp (Written by India Swift): Orbot and Cubot try to scam Cream and the Sonic Fan Club with a fake summer camp.
- Future Growth (Written by Evan Stanley & Gigi Dutreix): Silver has returned from the future to help the Restoration harvest his garden, but he's deeply unsure of why he's there. Espio notices this and gives the time-traveler some advice.
- Another Grand Adventure for Jet the Hawk (Written by Ian Mutchler): Jet confronts Whisper after one of her Wisps steals his lunch.
- Rough Patch (Written by Aaron Hammerstrom): Rough and Tumble have a falling-out and team up with Tangle and Rouge, respectively, to steal a Chaos Emerald from Jewel's museum.
The annual contains examples of the following Tropes:
- Big "SHUT UP!": Whisper screams at Jet to be quiet as his chattering drives her bonkers.
- Bittersweet Ending: "Rough Patch" ends on this note, as while Rough and Tumble are captured, Rouge's betrayal and theft of the Chaos Emerald leaves Tangle disheartened (and likely to get in trouble with Jewel).
- Break-Up/Make-Up Scenario: Rough and Tumble part ways after a heated argument, but reconcile when they realize they had the same heist plan.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Blaze, Silver, and Jet return after being absent since the end of the Metal Virus Saga in Out of the Blue.
- Cream, Vanilla, Cheese, Gemerl, Omega, and Rouge reappear after being absent since Issue #36.
- Whisper, who last appeared in a flashback in Trial by Fire, makes a return. Amy, Tangle, and Jewel, last seen at the end of the same arc, also reappear.
- Butt-Monkey: Belle (as usual) and Jet.
- Continuity Nod: Silver's garden first seen in the 2019 Annual and housed the secret entrance to the Restoration's base returns, this time now abundant with fruits and vegetable for the heroes to harvest.
- Convection Shmonvection: Blaze's Unflinching Walk across the magma in Lava Reef Zone.
- A Day in the Limelight: All six stories center on members of the comic's supporting cast, with Sonic, by contrast, making only cameos in "Guardians" and "Future Growth". Belle, on whom most prior post-Metal Virus stories had focused, is also limited to cameos in "Weapons" and "Future Growth".
- Deadly Sparring: The sparring duel between Gemerl and Omega—two extremely powerful and stubborn combat robots—predictably escalates into a no-holds-barred grudge match that leaves them severely damaged (though still intact this time).
- Didn't See That Coming: Espio clearly didn't expect the hug Silver gives him after their talk.
- Eye Scream: Omega and Gemerl each lose an optical receptor during their fight.
- Handshake Substitute: After their "sparring match," Omega and Gemerl cement their newfound appreciation of one another's abilities with a fist bump, which is complimented by the word "RESPECT" in the same panel.
- Heist Clash: Partnered with Tangle and Rouge, respectively, Rough and Tumble try to rob Jewel's museum at the exact same time.
- Heroic Second Wind: Gemerl has one when Omega presses his Berserk Button (specifically, by insulting the Rabbit Family).
- Immediate Sequel: "Weapons" is set directly after the end of Chao Races and Badnik Bases.
- I Warned You: Said verbatim by Omega when Tails calls out him and Gemerl for injuring each other.
- Lost Food Grievance: Jet had warmed up a Calzone for himself, but immediately catches Whisper's Cyan Wisp accidentally stealing it. He chases after him, angrily demanding that Whisper compensates for his stolen lunch. He raises such a ruckus that it gets him captured in the grasp of one of Eggman's Super Badniks. When said robot is defeated, he still gripes about he is owed a fresh Calzone.
- Love Is a Weakness: Omega accuses Gemerl of losing his touch ever since he was tasked with protecting Cream's family, and tries to convince him to ditch them in order to return to his full potential. Gemerl reminds Omega that he was designed to adapt and evolve, so leaving behind his family is unacceptable.
- Mythology Gag: Silver and Espio's interaction in "Future Growth" harkens back to their pair-up in Sonic Rivals 2.
- No Honor Among Thieves: Rouge double-crosses Tangle and swipes the Chaos Emerald while the latter girl ties up Rough and Tumble.
- Noodle Incident: According to Tangle, she's entered Jewel's museum through the skylight (like she does with Rough) several times before, mainly to take Jewel on impromptu adventures.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Omega considers himself and Gemerl to be similar in combat capabilities and former weapons of Eggman. While Gemerl understands this, he points out that Omega's need for destruction is one-note, while his adaptational function allows him to be more than just a weapon.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Orbot and Cubot wear only a few accessories for their scheme. Cream and the other kids fall for it anyhow... at least until the robots reveal they know nothing about smores.
- Priceless Paperweight: In the first Sonic Riders, the Magic Carpet was considered the Babylonians' greatest invention and was the fabled treasure residing inside Babylon Garden (with Wave theorizing it was a prototype of what would become their Extreme Gear airboards). It's shown that Jet has kept it in his room, where it is draped over his barbell bench press set as if it was a towel.
- Shout-Out: One of the posters in Jet's room has him imitating the box art of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3.
- So What Do We Do Now?: Silver has been so used to always traveling to the past to save his future, he becomes uneasy over the notion of visiting his friends just...because. Espio convinces him to relax and hope for the best, as the rest of the Restoration will have his back if he asks for it.
- Suddenly Shouting: Whisper's above-mentioned Big "SHUT UP!" moment.
- Talk to the Fist: Tangle punches Rough and Tumble in the face with her tail as Rough complains about her and Rouge copying their rhyming shtick.
- Trash of the Titans: Jet's room is a cluttered mess, with several bits of garbage like utensils and Chaos Soda/Cola cans being scattered everywhere.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Tails scolds Gemerl and Omega for wrecking each other all over again just hours after he and Belle fixed them.
