Sonic Universe
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| Sonic Universe | |
|---|---|
Patrick "Spaz" Spaziante Jamal Peppers Ben Bates | |
| Inker(s) | Jim Amash |
| Letterer(s) | John Workman Jack Morelli |
| Colorist(s) | Matt Herms Josh Ray Ray Dillon Jason Jenson |
| Editor(s) | Mike Pellerito Victor Gorelick Paul Kaminski |
Sonic Universe was an
The series follows a unique format, in which its lead character and story arc change every four issues, and usually occur concurrently with those in the flagship Sonic title, though within different locations. Sonic himself usually does not appear in these stories, except for occasional supporting appearances.
Sonic Universe was published monthly by Archie Comics alongside its parent title Sonic the Hedgehog. The first issue was released in February 2009, following the cancellation of Sonic X;[1] issue #94 was the last, released in January 2017. An official Sonic Universe blog was run on Archie Comics' website that would occasionally go into further detail about the events in the stories, such as revealing what happened in the alternate timeline Silver the Hedgehog traveled to in The Silver Saga after he left, but it has since been discontinued.
The series subsequently surpassed
In July 2017, Sega announced the discontinuation of their business relationship with Archie Comics, and thus the latter will no longer release any further Sonic the Hedgehog comics, including Sonic Universe.
Synopsis
Issues #1–50
Issues #1–4, entitled "The Shadow Saga", follow Shadow the Hedgehog continuing the events from Sonic the Hedgehog #196 and Sonic X #40. Shadow and Metal Sonic end up on the alternate world that is home to
Issues #5–8, covered "Mobius: 30 Years Later", featuring a return to a possible
Issues #9–12, known as "Knuckles: The Return", in which Knuckles and his teammates, the
Issues #13–16, called "Journey to the East" (a parody of the Chinese story
Issues #17–20 were a loose adaptation of the
Issues #21–24, named "Treasure Team Tango", starred a variety of SEGA characters. The premise of the arc involved Amy and Cream teaming up with a reluctant Blaze the Cat, dubbed "Team Rose", to locate a nearby Sol Emerald, a magical gemstone that's needed to save Blaze's homeworld. Their search is complicated by the arrival of other parties seeking the gem, including Team Dark, who have been ordered to capture the gem for G.U.N., Team Hooligan, consisting of classic SEGA characters
Issues #25–28, entitled "The Silver Saga", featured Silver the Hedgehog visiting another alternate future. In this apocalyptic reality, he teamed up with alternate versions of characters from the present-day series under the leadership of Jani-Ca, the daughter of a corrupted Knuckles the Echidna and his love interest in the series, Julie-Su. Together, this group fought against the villainous Enerjak and his minions, who consisted of robotic slaves created from the stolen life force of various characters previously introduced in the series. The first installment marked the series' first landmark issue.
Issues #29–32, called "Scourge: Lock Down", focusing on Sonic's evil counterpart from an alternate dimension, Scourge the Hedgehog. Having previously been handed over to an inter-dimensional police force known as the Zone Cops, Scourge had lost much of his confidence and become the punching bag of many of his fellow inmates. However, things change when the Destructix, former allies of his and led by his girlfriend,
Issues #33–36, known as"Babylon Rising", continued the story of the Babylon Rogues and the Battle Bird Armada. The trio of renegades ended up being forced into rejoining the Armada, and together the two forces set out to locate their lost homeland of Babylon Garden. In this way the arc adapts concepts from the video game Sonic Riders, though again with elements from the ongoing comic series playing a heavy role. This was one of the few arcs to feature Sonic with some prominence, as the Armada eventually attacked the Freedom Fighters' home city in search of their homeland.
Issues #37–40, entitled "Scrambled", focused on the culmination of a rivalry between Dr. Eggman and his nephew Snively. The latter, having departed the Eggman Empire and set out on his own, disrupts Eggman's operations to some degree, forcing him to restore order. After a brief stop in the United Federation, where Snively approaches his half-sister Hope about joining him and Eggman engages military forces under E-123 Omega, Snively heads to the Dragon Kingdom. There Snively rescued his love interest, the imprisoned Iron Queen, before engaging his uncle in a heated showdown.
Issues #41–44, covered "Secret Freedom", starring Silver the Hedgehog and his new teammates, the Secret Freedom Fighters. This group, a
Issue #45 was the first single-issue story, and served as an adaptation of the racing game Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. It is not set in the main continuity.
Issues #46–49 starred Team Chaotix in "Chaotix Quest", who traveled to the regions of Mercia and the Great Desert in search of their missing teammates,
Issue #50, Forged In Fire was the second milestone in the series, it would feature a story focusing on Metal Sonic battling
Issue #51–94
Issues #51–54 were included in Archie's "
Issues #55–58 encompassed the "Pirate Plunder Panic" saga, which directly followed up on the events of the Worlds Collide Crossover, and had connections to the previous Treasure Team Tango arc and the first Sonic Universe arc The Shadow Saga. Amy Rose and Cream the Rabbit, along with recurring anti-villains Bark the Polar Bear and Bean the Dynamite, are transported to the Sol Dimension, the world of Blaze the Cat. The two heroines join up with Blaze and her sidekick,
Issues #59–62 covered the "Shadow Fall" saga, which is a sequel of sorts to the video game
Issues #63–66 encompass the "Great Chaos Caper," which runs parallel to the Sonic Unleashed adaptation taking place in the main series. In this, Knuckles and the Chaotix join forces in the hunt for Chaos Emeralds to help the Freedom Fighters in the quest to restore the world to normal after its shattering. In the process, they must contend with the minions of Dark Gaia and the Hooligans, a team of classic Sonic game villains consisting of Nack the Weasel, Bark the Polar Bear, and Bean the Dynamite. Along the way they meet Chip, the Light Gaia.
Issues #67–70 make up the "Total Eclipse" arc, a sequel to both "Shadow Fall" and "Great Chaos Caper", continuing Knuckles and Team Dark's plotlines from both as Eclipse and the Dark Arms land on Angel Island. Team Dark arrives in pursuit of him, and Knuckles reluctantly joins forces with them to hunt down the threat. However, when Eclipse sets out to claim the Master Emerald, Shadow decides to turn it over to G.U.N., enraging Knuckles who fights him to keep the Emerald on Angel Island. Their infighting results in Eclipse taking the Emerald, forcing Knuckles to shatter it and thus leading to his involvement in the main series' storyline. Combined, "Shadow Fall", "Great Chaos Caper" and "Total Eclipse" make up the "Dark Trilogy".
Issues #71–74 are the "Spark of Life" arc, which focuses on the artificial intelligence Freedom Fighter known as Nicole. Taking place in a both the "Digital World" and on Isolated Island (from the game Knuckles Chaotix), it introduces the malevolent computer program Phage and Nicole's creator in the new reality, Dr. Ellidy.
Issue #75 is the standalone story "Fury", in which Sonic and Metal Sonic must race to retrieve one of the Chaos Emeralds. The story involves both characters passing through a gateway known as a Genesis Portal and meeting Silver the Hedgehog, who has been traveling across time and space to shut the portals. Metal Sonic ends up stuck in space at the end of the issue.
Issues #76–78 form part of the story of Archie's "
Issues #79–82 comprise "The Silver Age", which follows Silver as he confronts the threat of the Genesis Portals. Helping him on his mission are scientist Professor Von Schlemmer (a character from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog) and Gold the Tenrec; opposing them is the evil Onyx City Council and their force of Civil Protection Robots. The events of this arc are set prior to the "Worlds Unite" crossover, despite the issues forming it being released afterward.
Issues #83–86 contain the story arc "Eggman's Dozen", the title of which is a parody of The Dirty Dozen. The title refers to Dr. Eggman's Egg Bosses-his regional enforcers and leaders of the various units of his Egg Army cyborgs-being assembled by Eggman in order to reclaim the Sonic Unleashed location of Eggmanland from the Naugus Twins. These two villains consist of Walter Naugus-the recurring comics villain formerly known as Ixis Naugus (who first appeared in the Sonic the Hedgehog TV series)-and his sister Wendy Naugus-a new character based on the main antagonist from the game Tails' Skypatrol.
Issues #87–90 make up the story "Shattered", in which Knuckles and Amy search for the few remaining shards of the Master Emerald, which had previously been shattered in the final issue of "Total Eclipse". They are joined by Team Dark, who is currently hunting down Eclipse and his Dark Arms; Walter Naugus returns from Eggman's Dozen, plotting to reconstruct the Master Emerald, and disguises himself as an ancient echidna called Nixus to trick Knuckles into giving him the shards.
Issues #91–94 make up the story "The Case of the Pirate Princess". In this one the Chaotix try to save Princess Undina from the Pirates of the Setting Dawn and get caught up in a treasure hunt. This was the last Sonic Universe story to be released until Archie and Sega ended their partnership and cancelled the comic.
Trade paperbacks
See also
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Sonic X
- Knuckles the Echidna
- Sonic Boom
- Archie Comics
- Sonic the Comic
- Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW Publishing)
- Ian Flynn
- Tracy Yardley
References
- ^ "Comics Continuum by Rob Allstetter: Tuesday, November 4, 2008". Comicscontinuum.com. 2008-11-04. Retrieved 2010-12-27.