Tear Jerker / Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW)

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General

• Whisper, Belle, Surge, and Kitsunami all have tragic backgrounds from which they never fully recovered, with predictable results.
• The Metal Virus Saga is a mix of this and Nightmare Fuel from start to finish. The story pushes virtually all of the main cast to the brink of despair, with Sonic (the optimistic hero), Whisper (who had already lost a group of friends before), and Cream (the youngest) suffering the most.
• The Eggman's Legacy Saga is no happier past the first act, with Belle, Surge, and Kit getting the worst of it. It's also one of the franchise's very few storylines where The Bad Guy Wins: even after his karmic and Undignified Death, Dr. Starline still gets the last laugh on both Sonic and Eggman, with the former and Tails managing only a Pyrrhic Victory in the end.
• Mecha Sonic Mk. II, as revealed in Scrapnik Island, has lived a fairly tragic existence: Eggman proudly boasted that he was his finest creation to date when he was finished, only for Sonic to and put him out of commission for a bit, simultaneously calling him "trash", and then dealt with for good by Knuckles. Eggman ultimately dumped Mecha, and as we're well aware by now, he's stuck with Metal Sonic since then. It was only thanks to Sigma that Mecha was repaired and made able to live a peaceful life, taking care of a remarkably-intact sunflower that washed ashore in the hope that, when the Scrapniks finally leave the island and escape Eggman's shadow, he'll be able to plant it in actual soil...and then Sonic crash-lands on the island. The one who unintentionally predicted his fate. And while he was able to hold it off for a bit, being forced to fight Mecha Knuckles—the robotic duplicate of the one who led to Mecha's disrepair—finally causes Mecha Sonic's old wounds to come bursting open, and he's right back to being the ruthless killing machine he was back on Angel Island. Just when it seemed like Mecha Sonic could finally heal, it all comes crashing down again.
  • After being tormented by his past demons and almost allowing himself to be incinerated, Sonic manages to redeem his robotic double, which turns into a happy tearjerker when Mecha Sonic is reunited with his Scrapnik friends and begins moving on from his past.

Main Series

• While it only pushed Mr. Tinker to the point where contact with Metal Sonic re-awakened Eggman's personality, Starline's electroshock hypnotherapy shows the start of the kindly inventor's Death of Personality. What's painful is the fact that for a short period of his life, Eggman was happy. To twist the knife, Starline's "reassurance" perverts Mr. Tinker's dream of a playground for the children of Windmill Village.
  Mr. Tinker: (panicked) But I'm not him! I don't want to be Eggman!
  Starline: And he certainly wouldn't want to be you. Just lie back, relax, and think of Eggmanland.
• Eggman deciding to make Windmill Village ground zero for the Metal Virus outbreak is bad enough, but one panel in the unfolding chaos deserves special mention. A group of four kids (who can't be much older than Tails, by appearance), who are clearly long-time friends, help each-other up to the rooftops to escape the infectious liquid below. Only for the last one up to realize he's infected, turning and likely taking the others with him. There's no dialogue for these panels, the images alone saying all they need to.
• One major moment in the 17th issue. As Seaside City is being evacuated, Team Chaotix are alerted to an infected civilian, who's clearly in denial and telling people she's fine. She's outright begging to not be left behind, and Charmy and Espio hesitate on what to do... and then, Vector suddenly slams a car down in front of the woman. He starts forming a cage around her with more cars while she protests that she won't hurt anybody. According to her, just wrapping it up will be fine, right? Sadly, the risk is too great... and as she gives one final plea, tears in her eyes, Vector traps her completely, dooming her to her fate. He takes no pleasure at all in the deed. Even when Charmy calls him out on it, he doesn't deny it, he just states he's doing the best he can. Unfortunately, Charmy's guilt gets the better of him, and when he goes to check in on the infected, he gets attacked by a horde of Zombots.
• Starting with Cream and her family's debut in issue #18, the collage of recapped scenes of a previous issue before the main story is replaced with a childlike drawing of a map of the comic's world, depicted by Cream herself. This includes red X's drawn over places, friends, and allies. This means that Cream, a young child, is redrawing the map each issue to illustrate and update the places fallen to the Metal Virus, and the people she knows that were turned into Zombots, including her two Chao, Cheese and Chocola, and even her own mother Vanilla!
• During the 18th issue, Cheese and Chocola attack the Zombots, to ensure that Vanilla and Cream can escape, and both quickly end up grabbed by a Zombot. Cream can not do anything but see them getting infected, breaking her heart.
• In issue 20, we get a look at the refugees at the Resistance HQ. Everyone there looks helpless. Amy is struggling to save as many people as she can, and losing some of her own people in the process, barely holding herself together. Rouge is visibly pained when she hears confirmation that Shadow is fully zombified. Cream admits that she can't sleep as she's having nightmares about Cheese and Chocola's conversion, and Sonic just looks exhausted.
• Issue 21 puts Tails through the wringer. First, he comes within minutes of finding a cure for the Metal Virus, only for a Zombot attack to destroy his computers and the data, driving him to tears as he's forced to flee. Then, he's forced to self-destruct the Cyclone as it's overrun by more Zombots, with him saying it deserved better. And then, he gets to the evacuation shuttle only to find that Restoration HQ has fallen, with Amy saying almost everyone fell with it. Even the ever-cheerful Tangle is shown crestfallen at this.
• Issue 22 shows the fall of Restoration HQ. A single infected, terrified and not wanting to be alone, has made their way inside the increasingly overcrowded base. They fully transform and attack, the infection spreading like wildfire. The resultant fight also frees the zombot Charmy, whom Espio and Vector had managed to capture. Vanilla is infected, Amy and Gemerl managing to rescue Cream, the poor girl screaming for them to go back to save her mother, her will finally broken. While locking down the base, Charmy breaks free of the doors, Vector capturing Charmy and holding him down, infecting himself. He quarantines himself willingly, leaving Espio with a haunted expression on his face as the tiny group of survivors escapes.
  • The fact that Tails has a near breakdown when he finds out what happened at the HQ, meaning all his work would've been a "Shaggy Dog" Story if he had succeeded in uploading it there. Though losing the Server Blades likewise doesn't help this notion either. Regardless it's pretty heartbreaking to see the poor kid noting they're running out of options.
• Issue 23 shows just how close to the Despair Event Horizon Sonic is. At the start of the issue, he has to berate himself out of trying to help any potential survivors in Barricade Town because he'd just infect them. And by the end of the issue, looking like he's about to collapse from exhaustion, he blames himself for everything that's happened because he believed that Eggman could do good as Mr. Tinker.
  • Despite Eggman starting with mocking what he did as Mr. Tinker, for a moment he looks like he does miss those times before backtracking. He drifts off mid-gloat after remembering how he made things that people need and use, instead of just destroying or conquering. Even Sonic looks hopeful for a moment that some part of his amnesia changed him for the better, only for Eggman to reject it.
• Sonic hits his absolute lowest point after his fight with Eggman after he realizes he accidentally destroyed the Data-Reader in the process. He slumps down on his knees and comes so close to succumbing to the Metal Virus that his irises turn red for a panel. If he hadn't regained his will to fight through sheer determination that would have been it.
• Issue 24 shows that it keeps getting worse.
  • When we next see Cream, she's very cold and depressed after losing almost her entire family. As Amy said to Sonic, she saw everything.
  • Espio is processing losing both Vector and Charmy and has lost faith in Sonic.
  • Tails and Amy begin to lose hope once they learned that Sonic lost the data recorder.
  • The virus is starting to mutate around Sonic's speed-based resistance,
  • Jewel became a zombot off-screen (The 2020 Annual revealed how) and infected Tangle.
  • In the end, Whisper goes into a very intense Broken Tears-fueled Heroic BSoD once she learns that Tangle is staying behind to help them escape.
    • Whisper had told Tangle earlier in their miniseries that she was afraid of losing another friend following the death of her previous comrades, and the fact this fear comes true completely breaks her.
  • Tangle's conversion is especially sad. Every other major character we've seen get converted has been dragged into a mass of zombots kicking and screaming, fighting to the bitter end. Not so with Tangle. She does her best to tie up and slow down the Zombots as best she can, heroically smack-talking as if there's nothing wrong, as the virus creeps further and further up her body. She barely seems to notice it, and keeps going as normal, until the virus consumes her, and she just sort of...stops. The last we see of her is her standing in the middle of the square, just another part of the shambling mass.
  • Before they separated and the infected Tangle accepted her fate, she gives Sonic a hug. Considering Sonic couldn't touch anyone in his own infected state, chances are that he needed this.
  • The penultimate page of Issue 24 is probably the saddest scene in the entire series: Tangle succumbs to her infection and becomes a Zombot, Sonic solemnly looks back at her ruined hometown from the airship's roof, and onboard, Whisper sobs into Cream's lap over the loss of her friend. Oh, and after all that, there's STILL worse to come...
• In Issue 25, Cream manages to convince Whisper to not assassinate Dr. Eggman with her Wispon Gun, even though she understands how much the wolf hates him. All she wants is her family and friends back, and if that means teaming up with Eggman, so be it. Unable to deny the logic, Whisper drops the gun and the little rabbit gives her a hug.
  Cream: Please don't, Ms. Whisper. (gently pushes down the barrel of her Wispon Gun) I understand why you hate him. I really, really do. But Mr. Sonic and the others need his help to figure out a way to fix this. (bows her head and begins to tear up) I... I want to see my mother again. And Cheese, and Chocola, and everyone else. I know I'm asking a lot, but I'd give anything to have them back. Aren't they worth it?
  • Omega's line, though certainly par for the course for him, also has some hidden sorrow to it as it's said much quieter than usual. It's clear he feels useless as just a head while everything around him goes to hell with him powerless to do anything about it.
    Cream: (hugs Whisper as they both burst into tears) Thank you. We'll stay with you so you won't be lonely.
    Omega: I am not lonely. I am enraged.
• In Issue 26, Sonic seems genuinely disappointed when discussing the fact that Metal Sonic went back to working for Eggman.
  • Eggman doesn't miss an opportunity to Kick the Dog, needling Sonic about the possibility that the Metal Virus has mutated in him from being constantly repressed and that he's then passed it all the Zombots he's fought. While Sonic brushes it off as Eggman trying to get in his head, he does at least momentarily seem to be taken aback by it.
  • Knuckles and Espio lamenting how few people the Restoration managed to evacuate to Angel Island.
• The B Cover for Issue 27 shows Cream infected and being cradled by Gemerl. The issue itself shows that she did get infected due to Gemerl being a bit too slow fighting off Zeena's control while they fought her over a Chaos Emerald. While we never see her turn, Cream's infection spreads very quickly, heavily implying that she turned into a Zombot off-screen.
  Cream: I'm sorry, Gemerl...
  Gemerl: Do not be. I required your assistance after all. Thank you.
  Cream: Yes, but... (reveals her infected arm as she starts to cry) I got sick. I... don't want to make the others sick. S-so you have to go back on your own. I-I'll... I-I'll...I'll be brave. I'll just hide my eyes. Like it's a scary movie.
  • When Cream tells Gemerl that she'll stay behind and he should take the Chaos Emerald back, he instead throws it through the open portal and opts to stay with her while she changes. If that doesn't tell you how deep Gemerl's Undying Loyalty for his young friend goes, nothing does.
    Gemerl: (embracing the slowly-turning Cream) I will stay with you until... you are well.
• In Issue 28, when the survivors realize they've lost Cream, Sonic gives Zeena's Chaos Emerald a Thousand-Yard Stare, while Amy starts to cry as Silver consoles her.
  • While Amy has already lost most of her friends to the Metal Virus up 'til now, Cream's fate hits her especially hard. Keep in mind that in most media they star in, Cream is to Amy what Tails is to Sonic; her best friend, her sidekick, and her sister-figure. If the heroes' weren't so close to finally turning things around, Amy would've had a full-on emotional breakdown from losing Cream.
• After the Faceship's destruction, Zavok (now giant and in rage-mode) throws some familiar faces in his personal Zombot horde up onto the island: specifically, Shadow, Vector, Charmy, Tangle, Cheese, Chocola, and Big. The survivors' reactions to this awful sight are just heartbreaking.^note Good thing Whisper had her mask on at the time...
  • It's worth noting that most of the survivors haven't seen Big's, Vector's, or Tangle's Zombot forms until now; those of the Chao brothers and Charmy have been, but only by Sonic and Espio, respectively. In any case, the survivors have been reeling for several issues just knowing their friends got infected; to actually see them in such a wretched state—and enslaved by an Ax-Crazy Zeti, to boot—must be downright PAINFUL.
• Following up from Issue 28's cliffhanger, Issue 29 actually shows the heroes having to fight their Zombot-ified loved ones, with special mention going to Whisper having to fight Tangle (which she has a really hard time doing) and Espio going up against Vector and Charmy. Tails is infected during the fight by Cheese and Chocola, and he starts to cry as Knuckles (now a Zombot himself) and Shadow look on. All truly seems lost until Sonic and Silver go Super—which leads into a series of happy tearjerkers of everyone being reunited as Super Sonic and Super Silver destroy the Metal Virus. But then there’s the revelation that Sonic has disappeared...
• Everyone's very clear worried over Sonic's disappearance in Issue 30. Amy in particular is run down, since on top of this coming right after the plague, there's the realization that the other Deadly Six are still on the loose. And since Eggman stole the heroes' airship to escape, they're left to get all the refugees off of Angel Island the long way. Meanwhile, Cream watches Gemerl — the only family she had left during the heroes' Darkest Hour — get brutally taken out by Metal Sonic, topping off the long Trauma Conga Line she's endured ever since her debut in this comic.
• Amy's Heroic BSoD in Issue 31 as she finally cracks under the pressures of leadership. She's now back at Restoration HQ (or what's left of it after Zombots overran the place on her watch), all alone with huge stacks of paperwork to deal with. Overwhelmed, she finally admits she's out of her league and longs to relive the good old days when all she did was chase after Sonic on his adventures. Adam Bryce Thomas' artwork sells how worn out she is. Luckily, Jewel comes in and offers to take Amy's job so she can have a break.
  • Later, Rouge finds Shadow out in the middle of nowhere, experiencing a Heroic BSoD of his own as he watches the sunset. In his mind, he laments getting himself Zombot-ified because he ignored Sonic's advice on how to resist the infection. Rouge then invites Shadow to join her at the party Tangle is hosting, to which he declines.
    Rouge: What's up? You're even more brooding than usual.
    Shadow: (Thinking to himself about Sonic) He said to run. What I thought was cowardice was a warning. That one mistake took me out of the fight. Me — the Ultimate Lifeform — miscalculating like that... it's unacceptable!
    Rouge: If you can't talk about it, I'll leave it be.
    Shadow: I owe him. Now he's gone. That's all.
• In Issue 34, Shadow finds a cage full of sad Chao cruelly locked up by Clutch the Opossum for losing races. Appalled at their treatment, he knocks Clutch unconscious when Rouge, Amy, Cream, Cheese, and Gemerl come by later on, then directs the group to the cage. Cream is aghast when she sees all the caged Chao and almost breaks into tears.
  Shadow: (quietly furious as he discovers the imprisoned Chao) Utter scum.
• In Issue 40, Belle the Tinkerer finally gets to have a talk with Dr. Eggman via video chat. She hopes there's still some of the good man that created her (as Mr. Tinker) left in him, but all that remains is the mad genius who wants to take over the world. At the end of the issue, she bursts into tears, not only for being the creation of such an evil person, but because the man she loved as a father is no more.
  • The Gut Punch is how this further proves Mr. Tinker truly was a wonderful man who meant well by building for the sake of others rather than himself, and he even built a Pinocchio-like wooden assistant whom he cared for like a daughter and is just as kind and thoughtful as he was. But because of Starline and Metal Sonic, we may never see him again; and Belle now knows that for sure.
• Issue 44 delves further into Belle's backstory, revealing how close she was to Mr. Tinker, and how the villagers turned on her after the Metal Virus was cured because they thought she was a Badnik spy, eventually driving her away as she desperately tried to bring her father back to normal, which she now knows can't happen.
  • Made worse by the fact that she's reciting this to Starline, who only cares about the data he can gather from her emotional responses.
  • When Zavok mocks Sonic for showing the Zeti mercy, he tells Sonic he will come to regret this decision. Sonic flashes back on his decision to allow Eggman to be free as Mr. Tinker and how that decision ultimately led to the Metal Virus outbreak that nearly ended the world, showing that on some level Sonic does regret his choice of mercy.
• Issue 45 reveals that Whisper left the Restoration after learning about Mimic's escape from prison, feeling that her presence would put the group in danger. Tangle is there to see her off, and is clearly upset about it throughout the issue.
  • Jewel is also in a funk throughout the issue, with signs pointing towards some kind of tension between her and Tangle.
• Belle finding the letter to her from her "father" in Motobud in Issue 49. Apologizing for his actions if he should be reverted back to Eggman and telling Belle he loves her are essentially his last words as Mr. Tinker. Not only is it heartbreaking, it fully confirms to Belle that her creator is well and truly gone.
• Surge accepting her fate while refusing all of Sonic's offers to help her, even zapping him when he tries to save her from falling. To say Sonic is disappointed about this would be an understatement.
  Sonic: That's the real problem with giving people a choice. You can't stop them from making the wrong ones.
• While likewise an awesome moment, Tails disorienting Kit with an Appeal to Flattery highlights the extent of the latter's trauma. At one point, Kit angrily screams that he hates Starline and shuts himself off from Tails with ice spikes while in a Troubled Fetal Position. Unfortunately for both foxes, Kit's pre-programmed obsession with Surge is too strong to overcome, leading to his defeat because he's more concerned about her than the task at hand.
  • And then, after Tails disables his backpack, Kit crosses the Despair Event Horizon and faints. Tails' reaction says it all.
• After Starline is defeated, Belle and Eggman meet in person for the first time since his return to villainy. Unsurprisingly, the reunion is bittersweet.
  Belle: I found your letter. The one you wrote as Mr. Tinker. Before Starline ruined our lives.
  Eggman: He does make a mess of things, doesn't he? Putting me back in the correct frame of mind wasn't one of his mistakes, though.
  Belle: I...know that's how you feel. And I can't change that. So...so...I've come to say goodbye. My father is gone. I have...I have to move on.
  Eggman: "Father" this and "Father" that. (glances at Starline) Why are you both so blasted clingy? So! If you're not with me, then you're against me.
• As much of a monster as he was, Starline's death is rather pitiful. He goes down a total joke, his coup very easily dismantled by Eggman, and his minions having already plotted to overthrow him, dooming him from the start. He has a complete Villainous Breakdown from the humiliation, not caring at all that the debris of the building around him is about to crush him. A Jerkass and a laughing stock, no more so than to Sonic and Eggman, even Belle feels rather disturbed by his tragic end.
  Starline: I planned everything out. Down to the smallest detail. I had every advantage. Accounted for every contingency. And I still lost. I did everything right. He destroyed all that effort in minutes. I'm a failure. An utter, disgraceful failure...
• Upon emerging from his coma, Kit despairs over losing track of Surge and the fact that she'll be mad at him for losing to Tails. In fact, Surge, after recovering from her fall, is so eager for revenge that she forgets all about him despite their previous synergy.
• When Metal Sonic catches up with the escapees, Belle tries to talk him down...and gets coldly swatted aside. Ouch.
• By Issue #53, Belle has retrieved the disabled Motobud, but progress on fixing him is slow and she's visibly in a funk after recent events.
• Sonic having to tell Kit that Surge is (seemingly) dead. The poor fennec can only develop a Thousand-Yard Stare while Sonic's speech bubbles blur out, indicating he's not really hearing anything after awhile.
• Whisper losing her beloved Wisps to Surge, with the latter trash-talking her the whole time. From her perspective, this is basically like watching the Diamond Cutters' fate(s) all over again, and once more, there's nothing she can do about it except cry. To further twist the knife, she still has one Wisp left when Sonic and Tails arrive, only to lose that one as well in a fruitless attempt to help Sonic.
• Finding out Surge is still alive leads Kit to believe Sonic lied about her fate and plans on killing her. Sonic tries to explain things, but Kit won't hear him out and angrily attacks him and Tails. He then picks up Surge and leaves—though not before dropping this line, which stings in the sheer bitterness of its delivery:
  Kit: Why would you (Sonic) bother with me? You already have him (Tails).
• Upon returning to Starline's former base, Surge hallucinates him again and tearfully panics until Kit snaps her out of it with a Cooldown Hug. While it seems cathartic after her recent crime spree, the genuine terror on her face and Kit's pleas to forgive his prior absence remind us that they're still victims deep down.
• Surge has a brief Villainous BSoD when Sonic and Eggman cooperate against her, cowering in a dark alcove as she laments her whole power trip may have been in vain. Even as she commits to a Last Villain Stand with Kit, her confidence has clearly been shaken.
  Surge: It doesn't matter how strong I get. They'll find another way to hurt me. (Beat) Hurt us.
  • She also says this thereafter which brings to mind when she said to Starline before that she felt like she was a one-note knockoff of Sonic when she and Kit discovered their origins.
    Surge: I'm not enough. Never enough never-
• Sonic and Tails seem genuinely disturbed upon finding out what Starline did to Surge and Kit. When the latter two emerge to confront the intruders, Sonic is much gentler in telling them to stand down, doing so without a trace of his usual snark.
  • Surge and Kit actually pause to consider Sonic's offer before refusing, which suggests their persistence now stems more from resignation than pride: they know they're in over their heads, but have nothing to lose by trying anyhow.
• Issue #56 opens the floodgates one last time, capping off the main plot of the Imposters Saga.
  • Sonic tries one last time to get Surge to stand down, now knowing the circumstances that lead to their creation. Without Starline, Surge is free from his influence, but as Surge points out, she'll never be free. Her resigned smile is just heartbreaking.
    Sonic: Starline's not here to make you do anything! Freedom is right there, waiting for you! Just take it!
    Surge: ...I can't.
  • Kit manages to outsmart both teams, rescuing Sonic and Tails from Eggman and Metal Sonic, but not for their sakes. He delivers one last takedown to Sonic, thinking that he, Starline, and Eggman are no different from each other and only bother with the duo not because they truly care, but merely to prove their own righteousness. Seeing as he can only trust Surge, and given his preoccupation with being needed, Kit tries burying them all in the remains of Starline's base, carrying his partner out by himself. The sheer disillusionment in his voice is a painful read.
    Kit: Starline. Eggman. You. You're all the same. You don't need me or Surge. You want us. All that matters is what we can do, how you can change us. So you can prove that your way is right.
  • Even after Sonic and Tails manage to escape with Whisper's Wisps in tow, it's a Pyrrhic Victory, and they're no less dismayed over failing to salvage their doppelgängers. Eggman double-crossing them again while disregarding the fallout of his and Starline's petty feud really doesn't help, and in fact almost pushes Sonic too far.
• The scene in Issue #58 where the Neo Diamond Cutters are Trapped on the Astral Plane is a Mood Whiplash roller-coaster. First, Lanolin has a Heroic BSoD over getting ambushed and caught on her first field assignment until Tangle raises her spirits. Tangle then has her own Heroic BSoD when she realizes she hit Whisper's Trauma Button by recycling her old team's name for their new one, for which Whisper had until that moment been giving her the cold shoulder. Tangle is so broken up about it that she implodes into a tearful wreck and hides her face with her tail in shame; Lanolin herself, who thought the original Diamond Cutters disbanded after the war in Sonic Forces, is shocked to learn they were actually betrayed and murdered.
  Tangle: I thought... I didn't... I wanted... (bursts into tears) I'm sorry! I didn't think of it like that! Your old teammates were such close friends! They were so cool and competent! I wanted that for us! So we wouldn't drift apart again!
  • One of Whisper's flashbacks here shows her Big Damn Reunion with her Wisps... in a hospital ward, Surge having beat her half to death in their fight. She more than likely spent the whole interlude between Issues #56-57 out of commission, since none of the 2022 Annual stories set during that time feature her. That poor girl has had it rough, to say the least.
• Whisper almost having a breakdown after seeing their friends fighting a legion of Shadow Androids. It's only because of Tangle and Lanolin that she avoids a full-on panic attack.
• Eggman atomizing Whisper and Lanolin alive and imprisoning their still-conscious remains? Horrifying. Even worse, however, is how Tangle's usual confidence and optimism simply...drop as Whisper is about to be vaporized, desperately reaching for her friend to no avail. All she can do is give a Thousand-Yard Stare as the trap closes on Whisper, then watch with an equally haunted expression as Lanolin is also caught, all while Eggman sadistically taunts the hell out of her. Oh, and since Tangle is still intangible, there isn't crap she can do about all this.
  • The following issue is not much better, where Tangle briefly eludes Metal Sonic, but then realizes that she's all alone. The lemur laments how she wasn't able to save Lanolin or Whisper from the traps, slumped over on her knees to figure out what to do. It's only with her determination to save her the Diamond Cutters and find Team Sonic does she snap out of her funk.
• Silver's expulsion from the Neo Diamond Cutters in Issue #64. All the poor guy wanted was something to do, but although Tangle and Whisper tried to help him, Mimic (disguised as "Duo the Cat" on a mission for Clutch) sabotaged them all to preserve his cover. The sheer ease with which Mimic pulls a Wounded Gazelle Gambit doesn't help, as it proves the over-eager hedgehog stood no chance against a manipulator of Mimic's caliber. The one "silver" lining is that Blaze cheers him up after the mishap and they happily set out to visit Soleanna together.
  • The expression on Silver's face, and Whisper's own reaction, once they're convinced that Mimic's disguise is Not a Mask. Feeling like she's been a bad influence on Silver, Whisper casts the final vote to kick him out so she'll never mislead him again. Silver, for his part, doesn't even try to protest his ouster; he simply leaves in shame without saying a word.
  • The saddest part about this sequence is how it brutally deconstructs Silver's past Inspector Javert tendencies (before he mellowed out in The New '10s). This time, he had the right man all along and the lead he followed was from a credible source—and still his investigation comes to naught, with him once more being disgraced/ostracized for his troubles. Ouch.
• In Issue #67, while Surge at least tries to keep things civil (even if she is a major troll about it), Kit spends the entire issue silently giving a Death Glare to Sonic and his friends, as he still bitterly believes that they only ever saw him and his sister as weapons to be used against Eggman against their will. And the final page shows that yes, he does still want revenge on Tails for "lying" to him.

Tangle and Whisper miniseries

• The Tangle and Whisper series shows that Whisper was the last of her resistance group after Mimic betrayed the team to Eggman and killed everyone but her, and he plans to finish the job. Whisper is terrified of letting Tangle help because she doesn't want to lose anyone else close to her. Even Tangle herself sheds tears quite a few times in these mini-series. Sure makes Whisper more of a Broken Bird.
  • Adding to the tears is when Whisper finds out that her deceased friends, Slinger, Claire, and Smithy, and even herself, believed in and praised Mimic for his work; only for Mimic to reveal he was never friends with them and Only in It for the Money. What a stab in the back.
  • Take notice of Whisper's dialogue balloons in the flashback and the scene preceding it. Whenever Whisper normally talks there's gaps in the balloon to indicate she's speaking quietly. But in the flashback we see her speaking normally, that incident effected her to the point she can't speak normally, only raising her voice again when Tangle demands an explanation of her and Mimic's history.

Imposter Syndrome miniseries

Issue 1

• Though Surge and Kit were made specifically to be Sonic's and Tails' counterparts and give Starline an edge over Eggman, it's pretty clear from the start that they had no choice in the matter, regardless how much they think they want things. Surge is dead set on killing Sonic but has no idea why as she had never met him, and Kit is absolutely dedicated to keeping Surge safe despite her hostile attitude and doesn't know or understand why he cares about her so much. To make matters worse, when they start questioning the inconsistencies in their memories (or rather lack thereof), they have major Villainous BSoD's, forcing Starline to wipe their memories and gaslight them into believing what he wants them to. It's a terrible case of villainy brought on by one mad scientist hellbent on succeeding in his goals over his creations.
  • To make matters worse, they have no memories because Starline didn't give them backstories, and he only considers doing so after their aforementioned Villainous BSoD. As far as either one is concerned, they work for Starline for reasons they don't truly understand and don't seem to be aware they are artificial creations, unlike Belle who was treated with kindness by a loving father.

Issue 2

• When Surge is seemingly killed by a badnik, Kit absolutely loses it and attacks the badnik with its own wrecking ball. For the rest of the issue, he worries for Surge's health and is more than a little concerned how she managed to survive the attack without so much as a scratch, even nearly breaking down into tears when he begins to recount the event later.

Issue 3

• Good News: Surge and Kit are not artificial lifeforms. Bad News: Taking a page out of Dr. Gero, they were just random innocent civilians that Starline apparently kidnapped, injected with cybernetics, and enhanced with a modified strand of the Metal Virus. He then uses Belle's data, combines it with his hypnosis tech, and uses that very method to overwrite their original personalities, thoughts, and desires. Dr. Starline was reshaping them and morphing them into his vision, what he wants them to be. These two are basically Laser Guided Tyke Bomb played at their most straight, serious, horrifying, and tearjerking.
  • What's even worse? He didn't even care to keep any record as to who they were before it all! Surge and Kit have no past, no true selves or identities, no memories, neither a present to call their own. Whoever they were in the past, for all intents and purposes, gone. All because one guy that skated by on luck at best wanted to be, as Surge puts it, "a wannabe influencer". This very revelation is enough to make Surge break down and cry.
  • Surge's reaction to learning that she once had a past. She's visibly frustrated when Kit says he can't find any records on it, and when Starline shows up, she shouts at him with tears in her eyes.
    Surge: It's not "irrelevant"! I need context! If I have no past, all I have is this! And "this" is nothing! I'm nobody! I-I-I'm just a knockoff! Everything that I want- that I think I want- is a lie!
  • Even after defeating Starline, Surge is still wiping tears from her eyes, before making an angry declaration of resolve. As bad as this is for Sonic and friends, it's clear how she's only acting on her pain in the end.
    Surge: We burn it all down! Sonic! Eggman! Every idiot that follows either of them! We end it all! No more heroes! Villains! Nothing! If we don't get a past, they don't get a future!

Scrapnik Island miniseries

• In issue #2, after Mecha Sonic is knocked unconscious by Mecha Knuckles, we get a glimpse into his mind similar to the below-mentioned 2020 Annual gave us for Metal Sonic. It turns out the main reason he's been so avoidant and stoic towards Sonic isn't just fear that he'll kill him and be back at square one; He's developed an absolutely horrid case of an inferiority complex, unable to fully cope with being discarded by Eggman after his failure to beat Sonic or Knuckles, and his primary directive to destroy Sonic seems to fuse with the anger and despair he feels to revert him back into his homicidal coding, destroying Mecha Knuckles in a cold fury.
• Issue #3 shows a flashback, where after Sigma rebuilt Mecha Sonic, he spent his time on the island rebuilding other Scrapniks and building a community. A panel even shows how the sunflower managed to wash up on the island. The following scene has Sigma rebooting himself after the injury he sustained from Mecha Knuckles, waking up to see the latter destroyed and on the floor.
  Sigma: Mecha...what have you done?
  • Sigma would then elaborate on this further after meeting up with Tails and his allies, where much like Mecha Knuckles, Sigma wasn't fully able to rid Mecha Sonic of Eggman's protocols, blaming himself for his unsuccessful efforts and clouded state of Mecha Sonic's mind. While Mecha Sonic initially denies Sigma's claims, it's later implied that he's lying through his metaphorical teeth to accomplish his goals.
• Mecha Sonic's Motive Rant is tinged with a bit of sadness to the whole thing, as he believed that Eggman would find him and see the two ruling the world, but instead he was discarded and left to rot. His inferiority complex has really affected him the entire time he has been on Scrapnik Island.
• Tails does his damndest to fight Mecha Sonic one-on-one, but unfortunately comes up short. You can see his frustration at not being able to deal any significant damage, ending up thrown down a trash chute for his troubles.
• When Sonic questions his metallic counterpart if he really wants to abandon Sigma and the other Scrapniks, Mecha Sonic simply retorts that they were never his friends, and whatever amicable moments he shared with them are due to his erroding CPU. Unbeknownst to Mecha, his Scrapnik friends were above him, listening to every word. Luckily, that was most likely his remaining Eggman protocols talking for him, and once Sonic and the others save him, he's quick to truly accept himself as part of the Scrapniks, and they, in turn, forgive him for his outburst.
• Mecha Sonic's plan to download his mind into Sonic's gives him a shared motive with his brother, Metal Sonic: they both envy their flesh and blood counterpart. After his plan goes up in smoke and is defeated again by Sonic, he falls into an incinerator, in a dramatic scene that replicates Hyper Metal Sonic's death. Sonic tries to save him, but Mecha Sonic swats his hand away, accepting his fate and voicing how envious he is of the blue blur.
  Mecha Sonic: Your freedom is enviable, Sonic. To explore the world at your leisure, unhindered by regret or failure...it must be nice.
• Sonic and Mecha's Psychic Link in #4 reveals the depths of Mecha's inferiority complex as after losing his fight with Sonic, Mecha crosses the Despair Event Horizon and opts to allow himself to be dragged into the Scrambled Egg Carrier's incinerator for failing both his Eggman-coded directive of defeating Sonic and Sigma's directive of protecting the Scrapniks. This is followed, thankfully, with a happy Tear Jerker as Sonic refuses to let Mecha's despair consume him and saves him with the help of Tails and the Scrapniks. Mecha even uses the link to do through Sonic what he can't do himself: Cry a combination of Tears of Joy and Tears of Remorse.

One-Shots

• The 2020 Annual features a short story regarding Metal Sonic. The robot walks through the Faceship and witnesses footage of his failed run-in with Sonic and Silver in issue #14, then marches to Dr. Starline's lab with bitter resolve. Inside he sees a monitor showing Sonic, now infected by the Metal Virus. He contemplates for a moment and then, with a moment's hesitation and a scowl, dips his finger into a vat containing a concentrated form of the Virus... and watches as it harmlessly rolls off his mechanical claw and drips back into the vat. Metal stands there staring at his own hand until Starline enters and kicks him out, and walks away hanging his head as the reality sets in that, despite his protests and ambitions to the contrary, he's not the real Sonic and he knows he never will be.
  • Worse yet, it's possible to interpret this as not just a realization of what he truly is, but one of fear. Metal Sonic cannot become Sonic... but through the Metal Virus, Sonic can become Metal Sonic. Which means Eggman may see no reason to keep two robotic hedgehogs around, and may just scrap the one that he sees as the more disposable. Metal may not be able to express himself like a living being; but just from looking at him, you can tell that internally, there must be an absolute storm of emotions.
• The 2023 Endless Summer one-shot gives focus on the Restoration's leader, Jewel the Beetle. Since she's a character who is focused on the clerical work of the organization, she doesn't see action as much as Tangle or Sonic. She even laments that due to their different positions (Jewel constantly busy with the Restoration's paperwork, Tangle and Whisper training as part of the Diamond Cutters), they rarely spend time together now. Sonic remedies that with an impromptu beach trip, bringing Jewel, Tangle, and Whisper along.
  • Jewel's fear of the two drifting apart is compounded further when she participates in the Volleyball game against the Babylon Rogues. Alongside her initial failings to keep up with Team Sonic during the game, there are panels that show her working in her office contrasted against Tangle training with the Neo Diamond Cutters. There is a Tear Dryer moment near the end of all this one-shot, where not only does Jewel prove instrumental in securing Team Sonic's victory against the Babylon Rogues, but she and Tangle promise to hang out more often.

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