History ComicBook / SonicTheHedgehogIDW

* AdaptedOut: ZigZagged in relation to the events of ''Forces''; despite taking part directly after ''Forces'', only some details of the game seem to have made the jump. For example, Wispons, the general concept of the Avatar, and ''possibly'' the Phantom Ruby (through reference to the Phantom Replicas) are mentioned, but Classic Sonic and Infinite are currently not accounted for.

* ShipTease: There's a decent amount for a comic with [[NoHuggingNoKissing a mandate against romance]]. Sonic/Amy, Sonic/Blaze, Silver/Blaze and Tangle/Whisper tend to be the most teased pairs.

** Issue #56 is a real ego-bruiser for Sonic and Tails, what with [[spoiler:Surge and Kit's RedemptionRejection, yet ''another'' double-cross on Eggman's part, and Starline [[PosthumousVillainVictory posthumously]] [[WhosLaughingNow getting the last laugh]] on ''all'' of them]].

* PsychologicalHorror: The comic [[CerebusSyndrome veers into this]] during the Metal Virus Saga, the latter two-thirds of the Eggman's Legacy Saga, and the ''Scrapnik Island'' mini-series. This is especially acute in the heroes' increasing [[DespairEventHorizon despair]] and [[TraumaCongaLine trauma]] as the Metal Virus spreads; the mental/emotional ColdBloodedTorture [[spoiler:Belle, Surge, and Kit experience at Starline's hands]]; and [[spoiler:Mecha Sonic's SanitySlippage before he ultimately makes a HeelFaceTurn]]. True to the genre, [[spoiler: Starline, despite his UndignifiedDeath in Issue #50, [[PosthumousVillainVictory still gets]] [[WhosLaughingNow the last laugh]] on everyone else involved, with [[VillainousLegacy the mess he leaves behind continuing to plague both Eggman and the heroes]] well into the fourth and current saga]].

* ADayInTheLimelight: Focused on Fang the Hunter and his two compatriots, getting the spotlight over Sonic himself.
* DiscontinuityNod: ''VideoGame/SonicTheFighters'' had eight stages/opponents for the player to fight through, who were all guarding a Chaos Emerald. All of the emeralds were required in order to power Tails' one-seater rocket. The number of Chaos Emeralds and their colors would then become consistent after ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure''. This comic nods to this inconsistency by having Fang searching for the "rumored" eighth emerald from ''Fighters'', with Sonic himself even saying they're chasing a fairy tale as there are only seven.

* {{Interquel}}: [[https://twitter.com/ianflynnbkc/status/1715231984438374591 According to Ian Flynn]], this mini-series takes place after the events of ''VideoGame/SonicTheFighters'' and before Eggman hires Fang in ''VideoGame/SonicSuperstars'', and the comic taking place after "Seasons of Chaos" from the ''30th Anniversary Special''.

** ''All or Nothing'', the climax of the Metal Virus Saga, [[spoiler:ends with the Metal Virus having been destroyed, the Deadly Six defeated, and everyone restored to normal. But the world is still in tatters after the whole ordeal, and Sonic has gone missing after the Warp Topaz overloaded from Super energy and blew up.]]

** The series was originally being billed as a LighterAndSofter ContinuityReboot that kept the same writing staff from the DarkerAndEdgier ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' but set out to have a tone closer to the SEGA video games. And yet, the Metal Virus saga is arguably even ''darker'' than the darkest of the older comic's darkest story arcs, as it's basically a slightly less gory ZombieApocalypse story played completely straight. The reason for this, the writers eventually admitted, is that the storyline was plotted out as a possible highly dramatic endpoint for the Archie comics and the staff kept the story and moved some characters around to extricate Sally, Antoine, Bunny, Rotor, and Snively for the storyline so they'd be replaced with both game centric characters and new cast members like Whisper and Tangle. This resulted in a high degree of MoodWhiplash as the storyline that was plotted to FINISH decades of continuity for another comic ended up being only the new comic's second arc.

** ''Overpowered'', the Eggman's Legacy Saga's GrandFinale, [[spoiler:ends with Surge defeated, Kit forced to retreat with her in tow, Whisper's Wisps rescued, and Eggman empty-handed yet again. However, the late Dr. Starline's VillainousLegacy prevails through his creations (who [[RedemptionRejection refuse to change]]) and idol (who posthumously [[VillainRespect gave Starline the recognition he sought]]), much to Sonic and Tails' dejection. This example would technically be a DownerEnding if not for the heroes' PyrrhicVictory and survival]].

** The ending of the Metal Virus saga gets two teases (or possibly [[ThreesomeSubtext three]]) for the price of one as Rouge says she wanted to spend the end of the world with the ones she loves with both Knuckles and Shadow on-panel.

** ''Overpowered'', the finale to the Eggman's Legacy Saga, [[spoiler:ends with Surge being defeated, Whisper's Wisps rescued, and Eggman going empty-handed yet again. However, Surge and Kit [[RedemptionRejection refuse to change their ways]] and escape to fight another day, leaving Sonic and Tails depressed over failing to help them]].

* ''[[Recap/SonicTheHedgehogIDWFangTheHunter Fang the Hunter]]'': Following Fang's return to the mainline games via ''VideoGame/SonicSuperstars'', he was announced to have his own mini-series set in the Classic era, with the first issue releasing on January 17, 2024, for the 30th anniversary of his debut game[[note]]''VideoGame/SonicTripleTrouble'' was released November 11, 1994[[/note]]. This mini-series sees him, accompanied by Bean the Dynamite and Bark the Polar Bear, searching for a rumored eighth Chaos Emerald in order to get rich. Fang's stubbornness however puts him at odds with his other teammates, which cause friction between all three members.

* Fang got his own mini-series in 2024, which also starred the other two members of his entourage, Bean the Dynamite and Bark the Polar Bear.

** Egg Base Sigma, Starline's home base in Season 3, becomes this [[spoiler:after his death]]. When Surge and Kit return there at the end of Issue #54, the place is eerily quiet with scant indoor lighting. Kit brings the whole place down two issues later in a failed attempt to kill the game characters.

** Eggman's Legacy: Dr. Starline [[spoiler:until his death in Issue #50, upon which Surge and Kit become the main villains for the rest of the arc]].

* BadFuture: Silver's reasoning for returning in issue #8. He joined the Resistance during ''Forces'' because the Eggman Empire took over. However, when he came back, everything was ''dead''. After speculation from the two, Silver believes that [[spoiler:Eggman's Metal Virus is to blame, after Eggman explains that the Zombots will disintegrate in a hundred years or so if left unchecked. After the Metal Virus is destroyed, Silver returns to his time and finds it restored to a prosperous state]]. Silver's story in the 2022 annual worries that something will happen that will cause another one of these.

** The Metal Virus Saga's climax in Issue #29 [[spoiler:pits a 99%-infected Sonic and seven of his allies, along with Eggman and Metal Sonic, against a giant Zavok and the heroes who got Zombot-ified. What ensues is a nail-biting, down-to-the-wire LastStand which culminates in Sonic and Silver going Super, defeating Zavok, and eradicating the Metal Virus once and for all.]]

** Issue #64's A cover features Silver in front of a [[StringTheory conspiracy board filled with pictures]], with each photo derived from a past panel seen from previous issues across the entire series' run up to that point. The entire list of panels can be found [[https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/IDW_Sonic_the_Hedgehog_Issue_64#Trivia here]].
** The 900th Adventure one-shot special features tons of locations from the Sonic games that the blue blur and his friends race through via the Warp Topaz.

* DiscontinuityNod: ''VideoGame/SonicTheFighters'' had players fighting through eight stages/opponents for the player to fight through, who were all guarding a Chaos Emerald. All of the emeralds were required in order to power Tails' one-seater rocket. This game had eight Chaos Emeralds, which all belonged to the eight opponents in-game. The number of Chaos Emeralds and their colors would then become consistent after ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure''. This comic nods to this inconsistency by having Fang searching for the "rumored" eighth emerald from ''Fighters'', with Sonic himself even saying they're chasing a fairy tale as there are only seven.
* HeroAntagonist: On the virtue of the mini-series being from the perspective of Fang the Hunter, the heroic characters like Sonic and Knuckles are their antagonistic forces.

* VillainEpisode: This mini-series is focused on Fang the Hunter and his relationship with his two cohorts, Bean and Bark, with all three being silly villains that Sonic and his friends have contended with in the past. This series has them searching for a rumored eighth Chaos Emerald together in order to make a lot of money quickly.