REVIEW: DC X Sonic the Hedgehog: The Metal Legion #5

The Metal Legion epic comes to an end in DC X Sonic the Hedgehog: The Metal Legion #5, or at least it did in the last issue. The epic finale already kind of happened. There’s just the question of what the Legion of Doom is doing on Sonic’s worlds while Sonic and the Justice League fought the Metal Legion. This is where our B-team of heroes comes in, and that’s not meant badly.

Pablo M. Collar’s cover gives us one last cover of our main and supporting casts of heroes for this series –those that appeared in the prequel series and those introduced in this one. This won’t be the last we’ll be seeing of Starfire Blaze, Aquaman Big, and Supergirl Cream again –perhaps in figure form like the main cast has been. Instead of a group shot, it’s a panel setup.

Min Ho Kim returns with another variant this month. The Flash and Sonic run along a coastline while Aquaman and Big jump out with Cream and Supergirl flying overhead. As a Sonic artist, the DC characters are naturally taking a backseat to them.

Serg Acuna’s variant caught my eye with shading work that reminds me of Neal Adams. That’s always a surefire way to make Sonic characters look like they’re in HD since they debuted in a medium defined by simple shapes and bright colors. Once again, Aquaman and Big rise from the sea as other heroes fly over them. This time it’s Amy Rose and Wonder Woman. I always liked how this take on Wonder Woman had a cape. It’s an on and off feature with her.

Sonic, his friends, and the Justice League were able to defeat Dr. Eggman and the Metal Legion in the DC Universe. It was spectacular. Now, that just leaves the Legion of Doom on Sonic’s world. Fortunately, Aquaman is lead the team of Big, Blaze, Cream, Cheese, Krypto, Supergirl, and Starfire. There are some good matchups here –Blaze vs. Captain Cold, Starfire vs. Gizmo, Aquaman vs. Black Manta, Supergirl vs. Cheetah, and even Cream vs. Sinestro. The Sonic characters have their strengths and they’re played to and realized. But without the Dark Legion, there hardly seems to be any surprised left. That is until Lex Luthor gets his hands on one of Eggman’s last mechs. And if this was a game, then it would be the final boss. There’s also the matter of mending the merger between the two universes.

The main criticism here is that Aquaman’s team’s fight with the Legion of Doom, nearly this whole thing, should’ve been the last issue. Because now, the Dark Legion (the titular villains) are already out of the picture, and it sadly doesn’t look like Lex Luthor has any major tricks of his own up his sleeve that compares to what Eggman pulled off in the last issue. On the other hand, it’s cool that DC villains are the main antagonists of this crossover series. But the title of the series just begs that the last issue should’ve been the finale. Ian Flynn does give it a nice little send off at the end, which does make it feel more like a final issue. Letters are by Becca Carey.

Adam Bryce Thomas’ art has been a joy this series with more Sonic characters putting on heroes’ iconic costumes, cool villain and hero redesigns like Cheetah, Gizmo, and Starfire. Supergirl vs. Cheetah is actually really good fight that should be featured in the main continuity. We’re not spoiled as much with new robots aside from the Lex Egg Mech, but the full-page fights help very much. Colors are by Matt Herms.

(6/10) I wish I had more to say about DC X Sonic the Hedgehog #5 Metal Legion as the finale to the series but the fact it should’ve been the previous issue is just a little too glaring. This can cause any excitement for it to be quickly dashed.