Contains spoilers for Sonic the Hedgehog #53!Dr. Eggman’s old fan, Dr. Starling – who died trying to betray him – has just returned to haunt his evil cyborg replacement Sonic the Hedgehog. Return of Starline is a delightful reinterpretation of a classic ploy and a villain’s dark return with a real twist.
The metaphor in question is an old acquaintance coming back to haunt the main characters as a product of their imagination, much like Deb in Dexter: Fresh Bloodclown in Batman: Knight Arkhamor Ken Kaneki’s vampire subordinates Tokyo Ghouls. “Ghosts” often represent a hero’s inner hostile thoughts, although they sometimes act like they do in life, especially when another character knows them well enough to be direct. get a feel for how they would react to any given situation. Sadly, Surge has accurate memories of Starline, which brought the twisted Doctor back, albeit only in her mind.
Sonic Hedgehog #53 Created by writer Evan Stanley, artist Adam Bryce Thomas, colorist Reggie Graham and text artist Shawn Lee, Starline returns to torture his creation of Surge. After losing to Sonic, Surge began to relentlessly search for him to end the game. She’s so determined to take him down that she even ignores Dr. Eggman on her hedgehog hunt, even though the villain is on her hit list. But then the late Starling shows up and blames the phenomenon on Sonic’s influence on her, even assuming he’s there because Surge wants his advice. He later reappears during Tidal’s fight with Wolf Whisper, taunting her for losing her temper.
Surge’s humanity is TBD
Usually, this particular hoax involves a living creature being taunted by someone they directly killed, but Surge is not responsible for Starline’s death (although she did plan to kill it in the end). him.) In fact, she’s only guilty of his glove. It is known that his death was found in the rubble. His return is particularly tragic as Starline repurposes Surge as a cyborg, erasing her previous memories and controlling her emotions. Surge tries to break free of his grip on her, and even tries to make him believe that she is complacent, when in reality, she is planning to kill him. Ironically, even with him gone, Surge still can’t get rid of Starline, and amazingly, she seems to be hallucinating with him because she knows she needs him to beat him. Sonic. Surge is finally free, but her desire for revenge causes her to revert to her former slavery.
Readers who enjoy this particular gimmick, especially since the living characters don’t welcome these dialogues and prefer to be left alone, will no doubt be pleased with the way Dr. created his Surge. There’s even a stereotypical scene in which haunted characters attack their tormentors, only to make their target disappear because they weren’t there in the first place. However, this development also sets the stage for the ultimate conflict between Surge and Starline. Sonic Hedgehogbecause the robot has to decide who she really is – whether she was the one in the Falklands or the Starline who turned her into a cyborg.
Sonic Hedgehog #53 Now available from IDW Publishing.