Sonic’s New Silver and Blaze Cover Hints End of the World is Coming

Cover art for Sonic the Hedgehog #59 by artist Nathalie Fourdraine brings together Silver and Blaze, whose presence heralds the end times.

Warning: Spoilers for Sonic the Hedgehog #59A new Sonic the Hedgehog cover featuring both Silver the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat hints that the end of the world is coming based on previous events in IDW Publishing’s continuity.

By artist Nathalie Fourdraine, the RI cover variant of the upcoming issue Sonic the Hedgehog #59 shows Silver and Blaze swirling together in some sort of vortex. The image was first shared via Twitter by IDWSonicNews, an account that specializes in covers and previews, and was retweeted by fellow IDW artist Gigi Dutreix who recently did the variant cover art for Sonic the Hedgehog: Imposter Syndrome #2.

Sonic the Hedgehog #59 is written by Evan Stanley with art by Adam Bryce Thomas. The issue, which goes on sale in April, sees Sonic and his allies trapped in Eggperial City fighting wave after wave of deadly androids.

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Both Silver and Blaze are essentially heralds of doom in IDW’s series, only visiting Sonic’s world unless a major problem is about to transpire there that needs their help. Silver hails from the future, so any time he comes means that something really bad has happened in his time and is so far gone that the only way to fix it is for him to travel back into the past before it gets out of hand. Meanwhile, Blaze lives in a different dimension from Sonic’s but if Sonic’s world is in enough peril, her version of the Chaos Emeralds, known as the Sol Emeralds, will urge her to make the journey.

The last time both Silver and Blaze were compelled to visit Sonic’s planet, Dr. Eggman had lost control of the so-called Metal Virus, which transformed creatures into mindless zombie robots or Zombots and plants into metallic objects. For Silver, he journeyed into the past because everything and everyone in his time – even Dr. Eggman – were gone except for water and mechanized plants. For Blaze, the will of the Sol Emeralds made her aware of a terrible tragedy that was about to transpire in Sonic’s world that needed to be stopped. Interestingly, the two initially arrived right before Metal Sonic stole the Super Emerald, giving everyone the impression that they were there because of him. The threat that Metal Sonic posed definitely felt large enough. It required not only their help, but took everyone else on Sonic’s world except Tails piloting a massive aircraft into the mechanized hedgehog. And yet, after Metal Sonic’s defeat, both Silver and Blaze felt like that it hadn’t been big enough to warrant their presence, so they stayed. It wasn’t until they rid Sonic’s world of the Metal Virus that the two felt comfortable enough to return home. So, what could be so horrendous that it requires their presence in Sonic the Hedgehog #59?

Where Do Shadow Androids Fit Into All This?

It may have something to do with the content from another variant cover for Sonic the Hedgehog #59 by artist Natalie Haines. Shared by her official Twitter account, cover B shows Shadow the Hedgehog battling against his android counterparts, aptly referred to as Shadow Androids. Although mostly known for their roles in the video games Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow Androids did make a cameo in the Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper miniseries where a flashback showed how they played a major role in the deaths of Whisper the Wolf’s former teammates. Regardless, there will have to be either an absurd amount of Shadow Androids or they will have to be accompanying another threat because for Blaze the Cat and Silver the Hedgehog to be there, Sonic‘s world has to be facing something massive.

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Sonic the Hedgehog #59 comes out on April 12 from IDW Publishing.

Sources: IDWSonicNews, Natalie Haines