Gamers are well aware that transforming into Super Sonic in the classic Sega Genesis games essentially makes the blue blur invincible, but there's a major downside to this transformation that Sonic the Hedgehog doesn't seem to experience in the comics.
In the games, Sonic can achieve his super form so long as he has already collected all seven Chaos Emeralds and, at a bare minimum, 50 rings. The Blue Blur - now the yellow Super Sonic - can maintain his transformation so long as Sonic has rings in his possession. But the problem is that the number of rings gradually diminishes like a ticker the moment he transforms. So, if he ever reaches zero rings, then Sonic will revert back to his blue self. This puts Sonic at a major disadvantage because just getting hit once with zero rings will kill him.
Meanwhile, Archie Comics' discontinued Sonic the Hedgehog series provided numerous examples where Sonic reverting back to his normal form doesn't appear to leave him vulnerable. When battling Perfect Chaos in issue #84, Sonic loses his super form and special powers but still has enough strength to pull Knuckles to safety. Exactly 100 issues later in Sonic the Hedgehog #184, readers actually see Sonic in the midst of reverting back to his normal self as he floats down to the ground, holding a wounded Knuckles in his arms. This happens again in issue #169. Unfortunately, there aren't any instances that definitively show Sonic sustaining a hit and surviving after losing his Super form. However, the Blue Blur does tell his evil twin Scourge that he experiences a "boost" every time this happens.
It's unclear, though, what Sonic actually means by "boost." The Blue Blur does, however, make this comment after his evil twin Scourge experiences the exact opposite when powering down at the end of their fight. When their battle was still ongoing, Sonic realized that since Scourge's super form lasted much longer and was much more powerful than his own, he believed that Scourge reverting back to his normal form would have a more negative impact on him. And it does. Scourge is left weakened and unable to fight, let alone defend himself. So, by "boost," was Sonic comparing how he doesn't experience any negative side effects unlike Scourge? In other words, this would mean that Sonic isn't stronger than he was before he transformed. He's exactly the same.
Even if the latter is true and the boost Sonic experiences isn't boosting the power he had before transforming, it can be inferred that Sonic actually reverts back to exactly how he was before becoming Super Sonic. He isn't stronger or weaker. This isn't the case in the original Sega Genesis games since if Sonic were to revert back to exactly how he was before transforming, then Sonic would, at minimum, have 50 power rings instead of zero, the latter of which is the case. Unfortunately, all fans have as proof that Archie Comics' version of Super Sonic could be more powerful than in the games is that Sonic the Hedgehog doesn't look any weaker than he did the moment he initially transformed and when he said that, unlike his evil twin Scourge who is left weakened after powering down, he experiences a "boost." This just might remain one of the many mysteries of Sonic the Hedgehog's legacy that will never be answered definitively.
