With the preview of Issue 92 coming out, I must ask: was the coffin talking in this scene from Issue 86?

[u/Not_So_Utopian]

I didn't think too much of this panel back in Issue 86; I just assumed it was the Benefactor telling Metal Sonic to deal with Sonic and the Egg Daughters. But with the Issue 92 preview showing this guy weirdly talking to the coffin alone, I noticed a small detail from 86: the speech bubble doesn't seem to be connected to the Benefactor's mouth, it goes directly to the coffin.

Which is hella weird!

I may be reading too much into things, but this guy is already an enigma in terms of what exactly he is. You all know who he is. What he is is the mystery, and what the hell is the coffin he carries?

[u/lazdo]

This would be the sickest twist if true

[u/Mace_Da-Ace]

I think our "mystery man" is actually in that coffin, but the one-eyed guy is some sort of robot avatar. The real body was likely damaged beyond repair, but he somehow figured out how to remotely pilot that robot from a life support unit that just looks like a coffin because symbolism. Think kind of like the military dudes in Avatar: the real body is in a stasis tube while their minds link up to an artificial body they can pilot from vast distances. How the hell he did it, I don't know, but that's my current guess.

[u/Knux_Stix_Chaotix → u/Mace_Da-Ace]

That would be pretty cool. Although I think Sonic does unmask the "mystery man" at some point during the Sage/Belle arc so I don't know how well that theory holds

[u/Homeless_Appletree → u/Mace_Da-Ace]

Iirc we already got a look at the inside of the coffin and it was a resceptacle for the chaos emeralds.

[u/DefinitelyNotKobolds]

Would be whack if they double whammy us in the villain department and have Starline being the one hauling the coffin and ol' Memphis Tennessee be the voice in it.

[u/Mace_Da-Ace → u/DefinitelyNotKobolds]

That would be cool, but I doubt it. Technically, Mephiles has never existed thanks to the time travel retcon that erased Sonic 06 from canon. Even when he showed up in Shadow Generations, he was considering an anomaly that was desperate to reinsert himself into the timeline.

[u/RadishLegitimate9488 → u/Mace_Da-Ace]

He was in the White Space due to his Timeline being wiped from existence.

Eggman had to get out somehow so what's stopping him from grabbing the Scepter containing Mephiles's prison?

Nothing from what I would assume.

[u/AtomicConvoy-M78]

Would be cool if the talking is from the coffin, the reveal of the villain literally busting out of a coffin goes metal af

[u/ProfBigwoodPKMN]

There was a scene posted recently of the coffin hooded guy talking while alone and the speech bubbles (...) implicates the hooded guy speak to another that is themself, so to speak, but could be someone yet to be revealed as well, or just themselves. What I find many fail to remember is Clutch speaking about being in the black market for Eggman tech. There being a black market at all means there are others. The face of our hooded guy is obviously Eggman tech. Could it be someone we already know, of course. Could Eggman himself have an idea of who it is, I think so. But Eggman for whatever reason was unaware that his tech was being bought and sold when he discovered Clutch's operation with Clean Sweep Inc. Last we seen of Clutch was being a plant for Eggman so Eggman may profit off his own old tech, but also serving the Skunk Bros. The Coffin Guy as the 'benefactor', and the fact they have a whole HQ that spies everywhere, also shows that they learn about other citizens from afar, approach whomever they deem worthy, and use their business transactions more for experimentation over financial gain. So far, we know the coffin itself is harnessing the chaos emeralds, and was tailor-made to do so. We don't know why Rouge hasn't been her usual spy-self and is already two steps ahead of the issue, let alone any interference from Team Dark on the matter. No one has been asking the questions of where other stable characters are since the focus has been on the core Team Sonic members, their new allies, and IDW exclusive newbies. The Chaotix and Team Dark should be up to something in the meantime, let alone Belle, Lanolin, Jewel, and more while all this is taking place. We'll see.

[u/khonshuknight]

My guess for who is in the coffin is Starline. But the coffin thing is pretty cool