| Written by: | Ian Flynn |
| Year: | Two |
| Saga: | Metal Virus |
| Arc Duration: | #13 - #16 |
When trying to relax from his latest adventure, Sonic is called back into action after learning that Dr. Eggman has gone back to his old ways. While Eggman works on the Metal Virus, Sonic is kept occupied by threats in the form of Rough and Tumble, and Dr. Starline as he looks into Eggman's latest operations. Along the way, Sonic gets infected with the Metal Virus, which is slowly turning him into a Zombot. Eventually, Eggman completes his Faceship and begins distributing the Metal Virus across the planet.
- An Arm and a Leg: Subverted. After Rough and Tumble become Zombots, Amy accidentally smashes off Rough's left arm with her hammer. However, Rough regenerates after a few seconds, reversing the amputation.
- And Then John Was a Zombie: Rough and Tumble get the dubious distinction of being the Metal Virus' first named victims when Eggman uses them as test subjects for the bioweapon.
- Butt-Monkey: Rough and Tumble.
- Continuity Cameo: One panel near the beginning of Issue #13 shows some Flickies bothering Knuckles, who thereafter is still on Angel Island guarding the Master Emerald and wouldn't be seen again until Issue #25.
- Cerebus Syndrome: The plot invokes this hard following Issue #14, taking the darkest turn compared to the previous arcs. Don't expect much laughs until after Issue #29.
- Chekhov's Gun: Eggman decides to keep the Chaos Emeralds close to a throne-like chair in his Faceship, in case he needs them. Since they are the Mineral MacGuffin of the franchise, it's a Foregone Conclusion that they will be used in some form.
- Cliffhanger: Eggman has begun using his Metal Virus, turning hapless citizens into Zombots and are now commanded into infecting others. Sonic is infected himself and while he can burn it off with his speed, it is not complete. In the end of issue #16, a zombot Flicky is seen flying towards a nearby city, implying that the virus spread is about to become more frequent and rapid.
- Combat Pragmatist: Dr. Starline doesn't really fight directly, where he uses his Warp Topaz to keep Sonic and Silver from attacking him, even sending them to the opposite ends of the mountain at one point. When they come back faster then expected, he tricks the two into going into Eggman's cavernous base and tries to blow them up with a bomb. It would have succeeded if not for Silver throwing up a force field at the last minute.
- Disney Death: Sonic decides to send the Zombots Rough and Tumble into a pit so they won't escape. The fact that it was shown how invulnerable they are implies they will likely survive the fall.
- Do Wrong, Right: Eggman reads Starline the riot act for trying to kill Sonic, first because Sonic is his alone to vanquish and second because if he is going to break that rule then he should at least do it with the proper grandeur for a life long adversary rather than a carpet bomb.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Eggman's Faceship is much like his Death Egg, both resembling his face (complete with mustache!).
- Feel No Pain: Those infected with the Metal Virus no longer register pain. When Sonic and Amy hit the newly-infected Rough and Tumble, the former has holes in his body and the latter's arm falls off from the impact. Luckily, for the Zombots, the damage repairs itself instantly.
- Foreshadowing: When Eggman asks how Starline like his first time battling Sonic, he simply responds with how the experience has "put things into perspective". Turns out Sonic isn't the unstoppable force he thought he was.
- Hope Spot: Both Tangle and Tails see Sonic eliminating the virus on his own, only for Sonic and Tails to discover that he's only stalled it, concluding that its infection is highly aggressive.
- Kick the Dog: Eggman does this to Windmill Village when he targets it first for his Metal Virus, largely doing so out of spite just because they took him in when he was kindly.
- Meaningful Name: Sonic uses the term "Zombots", when he and Amy encounter an infected Rough and Tumble, because they act like zombies, and resemble robots thanks to being coated in the Metal Virus. Eggman decides to keep the name.
- Meaningful Rename: After Knuckles disbands The Resistance, Amy takes charge and rebrands it as The Restoration, dedicating to restoring the planet from damage of the previous Eggman war.
- Mood-Swinger: Eggman is furious enough at Starline for trying to kill Sonic to manhandle him and read him the riot act. After making his territory clear, he instantly calms and matter-of-factly notes that it failed anyway, scoffing at his crude approach and attachment to his outdated artillery, before sincerely asking if Starline enjoyed his first faceoff with the hedgehog. Starline is predictably a bit exasperated by all of this.
- Mythology Gag:
- Sonic vaguely recalls dealing with curses and the like, specifically from Sonic and the Secret Rings and Sonic Unleashed.
- While not Zombots, Sonic Heroes has unlockable metallic skins for the playable characters in Multiplayer Mode that almost resemble them. The Archie Comic series had a storyline involving some heroes in an alternate universe enslaved in metallic bodies similar to those same skins.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Said verbatim by Eggman when he unleashes the Metal Virus on Windmill Village, mocking them for their kindness to him when he was still amnesic.
- Oh, Crap!: Sonic, when he finds himself covered in the metal slime while fighting a Zombot Rough and Tumble. When he discovers it not coming off, he warns Amy not to touch them.
- Again when he finds that his infection hasn't completely burned off, having him narrowly avoid hive-fiving Tangle.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: When Starline nearly kills Sonic and Silver with a bomb trap, Eggman rants at him that Sonic is his and his alone to kill, while forgoing the Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? point.Eggman: I could carpet bomb [Sonic] any day. But that's not enough— That's not the point! I have to beat him! I have to prove I'm superior! There is a right way and a wrong way to vanquish your life-long nemesis and you did it very, very wrong!
- Our Zombies Are Different: Anyone succumbing to the Metal Virus don't actually die and become undead in order to become "Zombots". They are instead "programmed" to act like zombies while encased in a contagious liquid metal coating, forcing them to infect anyone around them. Unlike classic Zombies, who bite other victims to infect, Zombots only need to touch someone for the infection to spread, making them far more dangerous. To make matters worse, the spread rate accelerates for victims when fighting another Zombots while infected themselves.
- The Password Is Always "Swordfish": It turns out that the password to most of Eggman's computers is usually a variant on "Hate that Hedgehog". Sonic and Amy are both rather amused by this.
- Plot Armor: Sonic's Super-Speed would go on to protect from completely becoming a Zombot throughout the full storyline (at the cost of nearly exhausting himself to death). His infection would later start to mutate to the point where his speed loses its ability to counteract it.
- Put on a Bus: Knuckles, who's now gone back to guarding his homeland, and Blaze, who returned to her world off-screen, are removed from the main cast beginning with this arc. They'd ultimately spend almost the entire Zombot arc on the sidelines.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: While Sonic is able to burn off most of his infection of the Metal Virus by running, it's not enough to get rid of it completely without a possible cure or vaccination. He'd remain infected for the next 14 issues until the Metal Virus' demise in Issue #29.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Eggman makes a new artificial virus that can turn anyone into a metallic zombie, which can quickly spread through frequent physical contact. How can he push this further when there is already no way to cure it? Turn it into a sludge in enough quantities to can flood acres of land at a time!
- Unwilling Roboticisation: Eggman creates a deadly new virus that invokes this. When fully spread to a victim, it doesn't so much turn them into robots, but encase them in a metallic coating and "programs" their brains into infecting others like zombies.
- Unwitting Pawn: Eggman uses Rough and Tumble as a field test of sorts for the Metal Virus, claiming it as a secret weapon for them to use if they should lose the driller machine he gave them. The two become the first victims of the virus and end up succeeding in infecting Sonic with it.
- Wham Shot: Sonic himself is infected by the Metal Virus, and later reveals that he has no way of getting rid of it for good.
- Zombie Apocalypse: Issue #16 sees Eggman spreading the Metal Virus. His first target, Windmill Village, the village that took him in when he was Mr. Tinker. After the residents there are infected, the issue ends with the villagers spreading out and one of the infected birds making their way to a city.
