Sonic the Hedgehog #149

A bold, red-drenched cover by Patrick Spaziante sets the stage perfectly: a determined Sonic stands his ground in the foreground while an enormous, looming shadow figure — sharp-toothed and menacing — towers over him from behind. The cover tag "Sonic vs. Metal Sonic vs. Shadow" and the declaration "Final Round" make clear this 2005 Archie issue is building toward something big, capping off the "Good, the Bad & the Unknown" arc with its fourth chapter, subtitled "Armageddon." With Ken Penders writing and Steven Butler on interior art, this is the kind of showdown issue that reminds you why Sonic's corner of comics has always had genuine dramatic stakes.