Sonic channels The Batman in a new poster for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and it’s a heroic sight to behold.
The poster was shared on Twitter and showed the little blue video game character turned movie star silhouetted atop of a building and looking up at the Sonic symbol shining in the sky, referencing Batman’s classic Bat-Signal. The message shared with the image was, “The hedgehog-symbol is not a beeper,” and Sonic even has his own moniker via the hashtag #BlueJustice to sell the hero theme even harder.
In the Batman canon, the Bat-signal is used as a distress call to the Caped Crusader when Gotham City is in dire trouble. Commissioner Jim Gordon is the character known for lighting it up, and the two characters have had many conversations before Batman slips away into the shadows. While the Sonic poster is comical, it could allude to more heroic dynamics coming into play in the upcoming film.
In the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) is a superfast hedgehog who partners with small-town sheriff Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) to face a great evil. Mad scientist Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) will stop at nothing in his attempts to capture Sonic and use his powers to conquer the Earth, but he ultimately fails.
Sonic: The Hedgehog 2 takes place after Sonic reclaims his bag of rings and sends the villain through a ring portal. Now, Sonic wants to prove he can be a real hero, but Dr. Robotnik also returns with his newest threat, Knuckles (Idris Elba), the red and also very fast echidna who will pose as Sonic’s adversary.
Like any good superhero story, Sonic’s cast of characters is growing. He’s got a sidekick in the form of Tails, an adversary in the form of Knuckles, and Tom plays the role of trusted confidante not unlike Gordon. Maybe the super-fast hedgehog and Batman aren’t so different after all.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 speeds into theaters on April 8.