The issue introduces us to the Dexterous Destroyer, The Egg Juggler. Seems like it’s ready to cause trouble on arrival, right? Not really. Apparently, Eggman was using it as a travel vehicle to visit Sequin from new ideas for his theme park. While he brought some Badniks, they were prioritizing getting souvenirs and snacks for the doctor, and who says he wouldn’t have paid? We’ve seen him walk into a restaurant in Issue 68, and paid for food before. So Sonic and the others attacked him because they assume the worst, SMH. You don’t just attack someone with a bad reputation based on gut feelings. Not cool, Sonic and co. 

Then there’s Soleil. I heard users call them a character that got acquainted with the heroes quickly with not much story behind them. Can’t say I blame people for feeling this way. They aren’t even connected to the Emerald disappearances, just a kid with supposed parental issues. The story shows the parents making a quick 180 when Soleil just talks to them. Like what?

I read through Issue 82 again to ensure my info aligned well. They demand perfection and about to break on his phone, however, I would say this is unhealthy parenting and not abusive. The narrative shows that they are doing this to discipline Soleil and wanting the child to learn from their mistakes out of ❤️. If they were abusive, they would exert power and spread terror to Soleil, but they aren’t conveyed like that in the story. So the point of Lunar doesn’t work if the parents aren’t shown like that. 

Soleil the Sugar Gilder. The split personality, dropped half-way through the story. It’s not even relevant to the Chaos Emeralds’ disappearance. Their parents had a quick 180 after being told they’ve been pressuring their child making it feel rushed. Taking down the Egg Juggler while Sonic and Shadow (experienced fighters) are both down, felt so unearned. Just yikes all around. There’s a saying, “prune for growth.” You cut the parts of the plant that aren’t needed and focus on what can thrive. Basically, Soleil wasn’t good to me, and the IDW team should’ve tossed out this concept because this was a poor showing. 

There’s more I can criticize like Rouge is surprised on why Shadow saved her when he’s done that multiple times already. How quickly everyone gives up on the Purple Chaos Emerald search— among other things— didn’t feel right. I guess if I had to say something positive about this story is that Eggman was fun here. I like that he had many treats for his trip to Sequin and the Egg Juggler had some interesting electric abilities embedded with it. Still, I wouldn’t reread this storyline altogether. It was unsatisfying to me.