DC x Sonic’s Batman and Shadow Team-Up Has No Business Being This Great

DC x Sonic the Hedgehog is an amazing crossover. Sonic the Hedgehog and DC Comics are two properties that few even imagined would actually get to crossover, and DC x Sonic the Hedgehog #1, by Ian Flynn and Adam Bryce Johnson, is better than it has any right to be. From the moment that Darkseid shows up in the Ragnar Rock and begins his attack on Sonic’s Earth, fans are given everything they could ask for and more from this issue. Every fans has asked if Sonic can beat the Flash in a race, and while readers don’t get that — yet — they do get to see the two team-up against Parademons. From there, there’s even more crossover gold — Silver and John Stewart, Superman and Knuckles, Cyborg and Tails, Amy and Wonder Woman — but the most interesting duo is Shadow and Batman. After the first battle ends, and the heroes gather together to compare notes, Shadow stomps off, leading to the best moment in a comic full of amazing moments.

Batman and Shadow the Hedgehog are an interesting duo when it comes right down to it. Both of them are complex and dark characters and from the moment readers see them together, silently taking down Parademons, it’s apparent that something awesome is about to happen. However, no one expected the kind of poignant moment they share with each other, one that says a lot about who both of them are as characters.

Batman and Shadow the Hedgehog Have More in Common than Anyone Would Have Expected

Shadow the Hedgehog is an example of Sega trying to inject some edginess into the Sonic the Hedgehog mythos. Shadow is a trademark edgy character — he has the bad attitude, carried guns, and loved to fight. His black and red coloration set him apart form the other bright characters of the Sonic games and comics, and he was there to appeal to gamers and fans who wanted more than the family friendly vibe that Sonic games and comics had up until that point. Likewise, Batman is the dark and edgy character that DC created as a counterpoint to Superman. Much like Shadow and Sonic, Batman and Superman are opposite sides of the same coin. If there’s two characters who would understand each other, it’s Batman and Shadow.

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When Shadow walks off, Batman goes after him because he recognized something inside the dark hedgehog immediately. Batman knows a lot about the darkness and his first question to the Shadow cuts right to the core of why Shadow and Batman both are the way they are. Batman asks who Shadow lost and Shadow tells him about Maria and her death, blaming himself for not being able to save her despite being a perfect lifeform. Batman tells Shadow the story about the death of his parents and how he reacted to it, vowing to save everyone he could because he couldn’t save the people he loved. Batman and Shadow the Hedgehog bond over this, the two of them seeing kindred spirits in each other. If anyone had Batman and the Shadow the Hedgehog bonding over their dark and painful pasts on their bingo cards, then they need to run out and play the lottery immediately, because this is the type of thing that no one would have ever guessed would happen when DC x Sonic the Hedgehog was announced.

Shadow and Batman Are the Team-up That No One Knew They Wanted Until They Saw It

Inter-company crossovers can often lead fans to golden moments fans never knew they wanted. That’s part of the fun of these sorts of things; while it’s always cool to see the big fights between characters, it’s even better to get great character moments as two disparate characters find something in common with each other. That’s the magic of Batman and Shadow the Hedgehog. There’s a good chance that most fans of either Batman or Shadow ever thought about what would happen if the two met, and if they did, they almost certainly didn’t imagine that it would be a touching moment where the two of them realize just how pain they have in common, and how that pain has made them who they are.

DC x Sonic the Hedgehog #1 is basically a perfect crossover in every way, combining its two universes in the best way possible. Seeing Sonic and friends team up with the Justice League to battle Darkseid is a massive treat, but seeing the creators put this much care into bringing the characters together speaks very well for the future of this story. After this, fans are going to scream for Batman and Shadow to hang out more and we here at ComicBook wholeheartedly agree.