05/31/2026
At this point, let's talk about Metal Sonic in IDW issues 84-86.
I remember when the news of Sage appearing and the story of searching for the missing Metal Sonic were first revealed, many people said they were going to do something special with Metal Sonic. And then later, when we found out that the plot was going with him being brainwashed, our reactions were mixed. Personally, I was hoping he did that on purpose to escape Eggman's control system or that he would at least get a new ability, but that wasn't the case either.
When I first saw the cover art, I liked how the Starro-like machine used to brainwash him was depicted as a grotesque, bulging eyeball, but it was a bit disappointing that it was portrayed with less of that feeling in the main story.
In terms of his actions, while in a brainwashed state, he posed a threat to some extent. Although he suffered the humiliation of taking a hit from Belle, he stood back up without much damage and kidnapped Sage, steadfastly carrying out his task, which I think clearly showed just how useful he is. In particular, I really loved how he rushed straight at Sonic the moment the brainwashing wore off, and his fight with Sonic at the end was also really cool.
However, the problem is that in this issue in particular, he acted purely in a functional manner. He provided the reason for Belle to follow Eggman's orders this time, served the role of buying time for the hidden villain, and immediately fought Sonic when a threat approached at the end. I think he was used only for the sake of the plot, and there was very little depiction of him as an actual character.
However, I do not think this is the writer's fault. They certainly could have included an interesting moment that further depicted Metal Sonic's ego, but the focus of this storyline was developed between Belle and Sage, and everything had to be covered within three issues. I think that if Metal Sonic had been explored in this situation as well, it definitely could have led to a result worse than not doing it at all. Personally, dealing with Metal Sonic's ego is very important, but I think it should be handled in a more significant moment or in greater detail, and such depictions should not just be briefly touched upon or overused.
So I would like to rate this Metal Sonic somewhere in the middle. He definitely had many cool moments, and his character was appropriately portrayed, but given that he was used too functionally and that things could have been worse, I think this turned out to be the best possible outcome to some extent. Personally, although Metal Sonic has still suffered a lot of humiliation within the IDW comics, I think he is still on the better-treated side among the other characters in the IDW series.
