DC x SONIC Writer Ian Flynn on Bringing the Iconic Hedgehog Together with the Justice League

Nerdist: It’s safe to say the DC Universe and the Sonic world are very, very different, but you found a way to make them mesh pretty seamlessly. What was the hardest part of making these two mythologies feel cohesive?

Ian Flynn: I guess the biggest thing was just deciding on which iterations of the characters would be showing up, but DC and Sega weighed in on that from the very get-go. So they did most of the heavy lifting there. Beyond that, it’s a matter of treating both worlds and both casts with love and respect. And if you do that, everything else falls into place.

In the first issue, you get the most important thing out of the way first, which is “Sonic trying to race the Flash.” Did you feel that was something that needed to happen right away? Or did you consider making the readers wait?

No, no, no. You know that’s when people are coming for first thing. It’s the two iconic speedsters. You’ve got to give the people what they want. And once you get all that out of the way, then you can just have fun with the entire premise.

Each of Sonic’s friends has a little bit of a bonding moment with a member of the Justice League, but the most touching one was Batman and Shadow, funnily enough. As usual with Batman, it’s trauma bonding. Is Batman and Shadow your favorite Sonic/DC pairing?

I don’t know, but each one of them has got something fun to them, and it’s like, “Ooh, could we just get like a whole miniseries of any one of these pairings, please?” But the Shadow and Batman scene was one of the first ones that came to mind when we presented the premise. And it’s like, yeah, I see how that’s going to fit together very easily.

Can you talk a little about working with Adam Bryce Thomas? His art captures the Sonic world perfectly, and I feel his Justice League draws inspiration from the animated series. Did you talk with him about which version of the League you wanted him to evoke the most?

I’ve worked with Adam for a long time. Years and years now, and we’re actually collaborating on an original project, which we’re hoping to get out later this year. So when this came to me, I told D.C, “If you need someone who’s going to be able to nail the Sonic model and the DC models, you need Adam, he can do both. He can make it feel holistic and organic together.” As for the specific designs, I left that up to DC, and how they wanted these kinds of evergreen versions of the characters to be represented.

DC’s biggest bad guy, Darkseid, is the main villain in this series. Was it always the plan to use the most powerful enemy the Justice League has, or did you ever consider the Legion of Doom or others? I know Legion members Joker and Luthor make cameos in issue #3.

There were a few pitches at the very beginning, because who do you have that’s going to be a big enough threat for both Team Sonic and the Justice League at the same time? I put those pitches in and DC and Sega reviewed them, and they settled on Darkseid and it’s like, all right, let’s go!

If not Darkseid, who do you think might have been the central villain?

I know Mongul was one. And with a premise kind of surrounding War World. And I think Brainiac was another one early on. But we wanted someone kind of major and central, because it’s such a large ensemble book. If we started off with the Legion of Doom, it would be so many characters and so much introduction. It’d be hard to get it all well paced out.

If DC x Sonic is successful, who would you like to see in a potential sequel from each property’s respective universes?

It’s a bit of a cop-out, but the answer is “Everybody.” When we got the initial roster, it’s like, “Okay, this is really cool. But what if we had these two characters? And what about these two? What about these two? Which is, you know, like extra cameos in the background?” Then I was like, let’s not go too crazy here. These are the ones that have met all the approvals from all the people involved. Let’s keep this focused on just the Just League and this team of assigned characters. But the Sonic world is huge with a large cast of characters. And the DC Universe is even larger, like. So I’m spoiled for choice. If we get another shot at this, I would love to just go ham on both universes again. But within reason, of course.

In issue #3, Sonic and pals actually get to become the Justice League. Was it always part of the plan to have them step up and put on the costumes?

Right. This is a much bigger project, and the miniseries is just the tip the iceberg. And one of the major driving points was we’re going to have the Sonic characters as the Justice League. So one of the objectives of this miniseries was, how does that make sense? How do we put them in the costumes? And I wanted it to be more than just, “Oh, they threw on all the costumes for no reason.” Or it’s Halloween or something throwaway. I wanted it to actually have some meaning. So that’s where issues 1 through 3 go, to set up why they find inspiration to take up these mantles, and why they would be wearing these costumes and doing what they do.

And finally, what was your favorite part about writing such a unique crossover event?

It’s the fun of it. It’s the kind of creative puzzle element. How do you take something like the DCU and Sonic and make them make sense at all? How do you combine these two very different universes in a way that feels cohesive and acceptable? Something that a DC fan can feel like they’re being treated with respect and Sonic fans feel like their characters are going to be getting the appropriate amount of love. And if you don’t know either side, you come in and say “Oh, hey, that’s pretty cool. Maybe I’ll check out more of that later.” You know, try to give route in the same boat and having a good time.

The first two issues of DC x Sonic the Hedgehog are available now. Issue #3 hits in May 21.