Just in time for the Super Bowl, a new television ad for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was unveiled. The preview shows a further video of Sonic and Tails fighting against a resurrected Dr. Eggman and the appearance of fan-favorite character Knuckles the Echidna. Knuckles pursues Sonic down a snowy mountain in the trailer. Sonic approaches the echidna at this point, stating, “Oh great, it’s the Winter Soldier.”
The nickname “Winter Soldier” would be a remarkbly familiar name to Marvel comics fan, whose name is Bucky Barnes’ alter ego. Sebastian Stan plays Barnes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, and he has been in multiple Captain America and Avengers films, as well as co-starring in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Sonic referring to Knuckles as the Winter Soldier might be a joke about the two of them skiing down a snowy mountain, but it could also be a subtle reference to Sonic and Knuckles’ friendship.
Knuckles was Sonic’s enemy when he first appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and he was deceived into battling him by Eggman before the two became pals. This is analogous to Captain America and the Winter Soldier, who are foes as a result of the latter’s Hydra brainwashing. Bucky and Captain America were friends before they became foes, which is a significant distinction.
In any case, this little scene in the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 trailer might prove that both Marvel and the MCU have a presence in the Sonic universe. If that’s not the case, Sonic must be breaching the fourth wall like Deadpool and directly addressing MCU fans with this joke.In fact, Sonic may be a lover of superheroes in general, since he did enjoy certain Flash books from the DC world in the first film.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will be released in theaters on April 8th, let’s discover if the MCU exists on his planet.
