Sonic the Hedgehog #196

A glowing, super-powered Scourge — fur blazing purple and eyes burning red — looms aggressively over a rain-soaked forest path while a battered Sonic scrambles to stay on his feet in the background. The cover's bold tagline "Scourge Goes Super?!" frames what looks like a very bad day for our blue hero, caught in the downpour with fists raised but clearly on the back foot. Archie's 2009 run of Sonic the Hedgehog was delivering some of its most ambitious rivalries, and this issue promises that Scourge's power-up is every bit as dangerous as it looks.