Dr. K's Waiting Room

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Sonic the Hedgehog was first introduced to gamers worldwide on June 23 1991 and, since then, has become not only SEGA’s most enduring and popular character but also a beloved videogame icon. Thus, in keeping with tradition, I’m dedicating some time to celebrate SEGA’s supersonic mascot.

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Quick Facts:
Thanks to an aggressive marketing campaign, Sonic briefly usurped Super Mario and his mainstream popularity saw him expand into comics. Sonic the Comic (StC) was published fortnightly in the United Kingdom, based its lore from the now defunct Mobius storyline, and boldly portrayed Sonic as an egotistical narcissist. Though eventually cancelled and survived by an online continuation, these four issues spelled the end of both an ongoing story arc and Doctor Ivo Robotnik’s dictatorship over planet Mobius.

The Review:
“Doomsday” and “The Final Victory” marked not just the historic 100^th issue of StC, but also the culmination of a months-long story arc that saw pig-headed freedom fighter Sonic the Hedgehog trapped in the Special Zone. This happened after he went on a rampage as Super Sonic, his demonic, Chaos-powered alter ego. Using a Star Post, Sonic’s allies – namely Miles “Tails” Prower and Amy Rose – separated Sonic and Super Sonic into separate beings. Sonic then ventured into the Special Zone (a chaotic alternate dimension guarded by the Chaotix Crew) to keep his destructive alter ego from hurting anyone, eventually being stranded when Super Sonic was time locked within the Omni-Viewer, a benevolent, sentient television screen that was Sonic’s only way home. This meant Tails, Amy, and the other Freedom Fighters faced an uphill battle against Doctor Ivo Robotnik, who had conquered Mobius some years prior, without their point man and Sonic embarked on many strange adventures in the Special Zone trying to find a way home. This brought him into conflict with devious crime boss Lord Sidewinder and his gang, who seek to harness Super Sonic’s power for their own nefarious ends in part one of “Doomsday”. This story also sees Sonic and the Chaotix Crew (fresh off being framed as criminals) stopping Doctor Plague from unleashing a deadly virus upon New Tek City. Even when Dr. Plague launches a bunch of vials into the air, Sonic quickly retrieves them with a flourish. His gloating is interrupted by a desperate call from Porker Lewis, his neurotic childhood friend, and the sudden appearance of two suns in the sky. Super strong Mighty the Armadillo states such an occurrence is said to herald the end of the world, an event more likely than ever as the damaged and panicked Omni-Viewer soon appears.

The Omni-Viewer reveals that he was unable to trap Super Sonic within his interdimensional vortex since the demon was far too powerful. Instead, he slowed time to a crawl, meaning it should’ve taken years for Super Sonic to escape. Instead, he somehow retained his consciousness and slowly built his power, turning the Black Asteroid he was imprisoned in into an electron bomb, hence the “second sun”. Although Sonic demands that the Omni-Viewer transport him back to Mobius to help Porker, team leader Vector the Crocodile begs him to stay to combat Super Sonic. It’s all moot anyway, though, as the Omni-Viewer is too weak to help and Lord Sidewinder’s mage, Lightmare, suddenly appears. Naturally, Sonic and the Chaotix Crew attack Lightmare before she can explain, forcing her to trap them in living nightmares using her Pandora’s box. After being surprised by Espio the Chameleon’s invisibility, Lightmare reveals she’s Lord Sidewinder’s daughter and begs them to stop to her father’s plot before it kills him and their gang. While Sonic and the others go to stop Lord Sidewinder, who loads himself and his gang into a rocket to head to the Black Asteroid, Vector stays behind to help the Omni-Viewer think up a plan to deal with Super Sonic. Vector restores the Omni-Viewer at the Equinox laboratory, where a scientist also reveals that an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) will be generated when the Black Asteroid explodes, causing chaos as every computerised system will immediately fail. Apparently driven mad by his ambition, Lord Sidewinder scoffs at any danger posed by the Black Asteroid, causing the oafish Bio-Hazard and Mister Fry to question his sanity and logic. This, as much as the pressing threat, allows Sonic and Mighty to easily rough up Lord Sidewinder’s goons, though Sonic remains conflicted between his duty to protect Mobius and the imminent destruction of the Black Asteroid.

However, upon learning of the EMP, Sonic has a genius brainwave and demands that the Omni-Viewer transport the Black Asteroid into the skies above Mobius, where it promptly explodes. As Dr. Robotnik’s entire army and operation consists of or is run by machines, this effectively disables all his Badniks and systems, releasing all the woodland critters from their mechanical prisons, shutting down the biological computer Dr. Robontik hooked the Emerald Hill residents up to on the Floating Island, and disabling Vermin the Cybernik, thus saving Sonic’s allies and allowing Knuckles the Echidna to rescue the Emerald Hill folk. Naturally, the demonic Super Sonic immediately goes on a warpath, desperate to destroy Metropolis City and attacking Sonic right as he reunites with Tails, Amy, and Johnny Lightfoot. Initially toying with his prey, Super Sonic unleashes a barrage of energy beams, cackling maniacally and overwhelming his more benevolent doppelgänger. However, right as Super Sonic is poised to deliver the killing blow, his energy suddenly drains and he’s forced to flee, with the Omni-Viewer revealing that the explosion somehow changed Super Sonic’s biology. With no time to ponder this or celebrate, Sonic has the Omni-Viewer transport him to the Floating Island, where a confused and troubled Dr. Robotnik orders his ally, turncoat, semi-cybernetic echidna Doctor Zachary, to destroy Knuckles. Although Dr. Zachary can’t use the ancient Guardian robots due to the EMP, he’s somehow still able to use his cybernetic weapons, though he’s quickly blasted by Sonic right as Knuckles was playing possum and summarily trapped in a gorge courtesy of the super strong echidna. Despite the two realising they’ve been so distracted with their rivalry and battling Dr. Zachary that they’ve forgotten about Dr. Robotnik, they’re amazed to find Porker has apprehended the tyrant.

While a confused, powerless, and amnesiac Super Sonic wanders Metropolis City and is taken in by a kindly resident, Sonic wastes no time in parading the fallen despot through the city, gleefully proclaiming the end of his rule to the cheering masses and delivering him to the city courthouse so he can be locked up and eventually tried for his crimes. Though humiliated, Dr. Robotnik remains defiant, even more so when his long-abused assistant, Grimer, suddenly shows up riding an antique, steam-powered robot and promptly rescues his master. Although Sonic easily smashes the machine, the confusion allows Grimer to get Dr. Robotnik to safety. As they know every inch of the city, the two promptly vanish, frustrating Sonic so much that he chastises Tails for distracting himself with Vermin. Prompted by Johnny, Sonic realises that Dr. Robotnik and Grimer must’ve fled back to their ominous citadel using the city’s sewer system and promptly gives chase, crashing in right as Dr. Robotnik is ordering Grimer to start up the clunky emergency generator. Desperate to keep Dr. Robotnik from getting his machines back online, Sonic knocks Grimer aside and speeds around the generator, which overloads the power core and causes the ostentatious citadel to dramatically explode. With the immediate threat ended and the symbol of Dr. Robotnik’s rule in flames, Sonic finally celebrates their victory alongside his friends and the liberated inhabitants of Metropolis City. However, Dr. Robotnik and Grimer escaped the explosion using the sewers and retreat to the outskirts of the city. Although Grimer wallows in despair, Dr. Robotnik is practically frothing at the mouth at the indignity and vows to take a terrible revenge upon his enemies for ousting him from power.

Final Thoughts: 
As an avid collector of Sonic the Comic back in the day, I was beyond hyped for these four issues and StC’s big 100^th issue release. The months leading up to “Doomsday” had seen all the Sonic-related back-up stories deal with his exile to the Special Zone and Dr. Robotnik’s plot to use the Emerald Hill folk to power his giant supercomputer, meaning “The Final Victory” was the culmination of not just years of the dictator’s stranglehold over Mobius but months of semi-connected storytelling. It’s therefore fitting that “The Final Victory” takes up the entirety of issue 100 and showcases many of StC’s artists, though Richard Elson remains the gold standard and I do wish he’d illustrated the entire story as it’s very jarring to go from his beautiful, epic artwork to the comparatively basic and cartoonish illustrations of Nigel Kitching. Although you could argue that using an EMP was a contrived and convenient way to defeat Dr. Robotnik in one fell swoop, it was also the best and most efficient way. For years, Sonic and his friends settled for scoring minor victories, liberating the odd Zone or taking out garrisons, battleships, or Dr. Robotnik’s commanders, but were unable to strike a decisive blow against the tyrant. As Dr. Robotnik is all about machines and robots, an EMP is the perfect way to knock out his army and end his rule, ushering in a new age of StC as Sonic struggles to define his role in a world without war and conflict and Dr. Robotnik schemes to return to power. This story also saw the Emerald Hill folk return home after being given sanctuary on the Floating Island, Super Sonic have a few side adventures as a distinct character, and marked the beginning of Amy’s journey into an independent character.

The timeline of events are a bit strange, however. Super Sonic apparently frees himself, or the Omni-Viewer decides to abandon him to get help for the impending explosion, and is seemingly unable or unwilling to stop charging his power for his dramatic escape. Given how powerful Super Sonic is, it’s strange that he wouldn’t just burst free of the Black Asteroid as soon as possible. This threat is also subdued very quickly, which is a shame as it might’ve been fun to somehow involve him in Dr. Robotnik’s scheme to restart his systems (perhaps he could’ve taken Super Sonic’s unconscious body and used it as a battery?) Knuckles also gets a bit side-lined, though it’s clear his focus is on helping the Emerald Hill folk since Dr. Zachary’s been taken care of and Dr. Robotnik’s in custody. I liked that Sonic never broke character here: he still gives Tails shit, mocks Knuckles, and acts like a jackass even though he’s won the day. I also liked how conflicted he was between helping the Special Zone and getting back to Mobius. StC-Sonic might be an insufferable prick most of the time, but he’s dedication to defeating Dr. Robotnik and saving lives is never in question, even if he does alienate those closest to him. I also enjoyed seeing Dr. Robotnik humiliated and aggravated by Sonic’s taunting and the cheers of the Mobians, and that he still had a few tricks up his sleeve despite his machines being knocked out. I’m not sure why Dr. Zachary’s weapons were unaffected by the EMP, but the steam powered robot was a nice touch, so much so that I kind of wish Dr. Robotnik had hopped in a steam-powered mech for one more brutal fight with Sonic. Still, this as a satisfying conclusion to years and months of storylines. It was great to finally have Sonic back home and to see Dr. Robotnik so utterly defeated so quickly, and to finally give the good guys a decisive victory after years of simply chipping away at Dr. Robotnik’s rule.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

Were you impressed by Sonic’s final victory over Dr. Robotnik? Were you a little confused about how Super Sonic escaped from the Omni-Viewer? Would you have liked to see Super Sonic play a greater role as a villain in the end? Do you agree that Richard Elson should’ve illustrated the entire final story? What are some of your favourite StC stories and how are you celebrating Sonic the Hedgehog this year? Whatever your thoughts on Sonic the Comic, or Sonic in general, drop a comment below and donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest other Sonic comic stories for me to review.