Archie Sonic Reviews: Prelude to Worlds Unite

Hello again, everyone.  For anyone who was actually looking forward to more of my reviews, I'm sorry for the inactivity.  I had been thinking that maybe I'm not cut out to be a reviewer, and I still have doubts about my critiquing skills.  Even so, I won't get better if I don't practice, so let's do this.  I said during my Countdown to Chaos review that the Archie Sonic comics have become far more polarizing as of late, but I don't think either Ian Flynn or myself were prepared for the extent to which that statement is true.  Many people have begun to turn their backs on the series, questioning if it was ever good in the first place, and even saying the stories are as boring as the recent Sonic games.  And with a second Sonic/Mega Man crossover already underway, these sentiments have only worsened.  While I personally find these statements offensive, I can agree to an extent that the new world just hasn't been as engaging as it should be.  Still, I want to look at these comics with an open mind, so I'm going to review the last three issues that came out before Worlds Unite: Sonic FCBD 2015, StH#272, and Sonic Universe #75.  These three issues actually had a pretty wonky release schedule, but I'll be reviewing them in chronological order of what happens in the comic.  I honestly wanted this review to be up before Worlds Unite started, but I had quite a bit of trouble getting my hands on these issues, the Free Comic Book Day one in particular.  Anyway, that's enough rambling; let's get to the review.

Since Sonic once again shares a FCBD issue with Mega Man, the story in this issue is reduced to a mere ten pages.  There's no sense talking about the Mega Man half, since it's just a bunch of reused panels involving a character who will be a major player in the crossover.  So, what happens in the Sonic half?  Well, Sonic and Eggman meet up again for the first time since Worlds Collide, the Ifrit from Sonic Rivals 2 appears out of nowhere, Silver arrives to save Sonic and help him defeat the Ifrit, they manage to drive it back through the "Genesis Portal" it came from in the first place, and Silver then explains what these portals are, with Eggman secretly listening.  Sounds like a lot to cram into ten pages, huh?  Well, you'd be both right and wrong.

First of all, yes, this issue does suffer from some major pacing issues.  The Ifrit attack is completely random and not foreshadowed at all, and honestly just feels like it's there to give the issue a mandatory fight.  Considering this is also the first time Sonic and Eggman had met personally since the reboot, I was expecting it to have a bit more emotional weight for both of them, but they act like it's no big deal.  Also, Silver only gets a single page at the very end of the issue to explain exactly what's going on, using a flashback (or flashforward, since it's the future?) involving a scientist named Professor Von Schlemmer, a character originally from the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon.  As someone who never saw the AoStH episodes he appeared in, I don't have much to say about him.  And while Eggman listening in on the whole thing was interesting... you want to use the Genesis Portals to conquer more worlds, Eggman?  Really?  Haven't you learned not to play with fire at this point?  Chalk up another one for no character development for Sega characters.

Still, that doesn't mean this is a bad issue.  While the Ifrit fight felt forced, the fight itself was very entertaining.  Seeing Sonic barely able to scratch it and needing Silver's help really raised the stakes, and the panels focusing on their teamwork were very fun and creative.  This is magnified by the iussue having a new artist, Adam Bryce Thomas.  To me, his art style seems like a mix of Jamal Peppers and Tracy Yardley's, which I won't complain about at all.  We also get some more of the usual Sonic banter, from time-travel puns with Silver to remarking on the state of the Ifrit's home dimension. And while VS (that's what I'm calling him for short) is barely in the issue, his explanation about the Genesis Portals being the result of reality shattering from Sonic's botched Chaos Control does make sense.  I also really like his redesign and accent, which I'm sure were much more ridiculous in AoStH.  All in all, this issue got its job done just fine; it had action, it had comedy, it had questions and it had answers.  It was certainly worth all the trouble I had to go through to get it.

Next up is Sonic #272, the last main issue before the crossover.  Here, Sonic and co. are in Apotos in search of an old man named Gregorios, who may hold the key to fixing the shattered planet.  Inside the Gaia Temple, they find the Gaia Gate, which will allow them to acces all seven temples at once with the Sun and Moon Keys.  He also gives them the names and locations of the people who have the keys (well, that's convenient).  However, nighttime falls, and Sonic the Werehog and Antoine have to deal with the nightly Gaia Monster attack, including a Dark Gaia Titan.  More Freedom Fighters arrive, they defeat the monster and get the Master Emerald shard it was carrying, and save the town.  Amy decides to go with Knuckles to help out on his Master Emerald shard hunt, and Rouge contacts the team with a lead on another Chaos Emerald.  Unfortuantely, Metal Sonic found it first...

As much as it pains me to list the art as a negative for an issue, I just can't get used to James Fry's style.  His odd proportions and off facial expressions make up the first half of the issue, while art for the second half is done by Evan Stanley.  Although she isn't my favorite artist, I'll take her art over Fry's any day.  Incidentally, the first half of the issue takes place during the day, while the second takes place at night.  Had the art been better, this could be seen as clever rather than desperate.  We get plenty of character interactions this time around, and while they are entertaining for the most part Amy's grudge against Knuckles annoyed me a bit.  It was entirely her fault for not paying attention, and Knuckles himself calls her out on it.  Plus, we already had a fight with a Dark Gaia Titan in Great Chaos Caper, so having the same thing again seemed redundant, especially when there are so many other Dark Gaia Monsters they could've used.  Also, Amy being able to use her Mystic Melody to find the Master Emerald shards seemed pretty contrived, althouigh I never really liked her having that ability to begin with.  Of course, that doesn't even compare to being able to reach all the Gaia Temples at once... in the Sonic Unleashed game, Sonic had to travel all over the world to find them.  And he still does here, except it's just for the Sun and Moon Keys.  So same thing in the end, but it still seems like Ian's rushing things.

Again, all this doesn't mean the issue is bad.  We get plenty of GOOD character interaction as well, especially between Sonic and Antoine.  We finally get to see more of their rivalry from the old universe, with Sonic's cockiness and teasing clashing with Antoine's more cowardly personality.  In fact, Antoine is probably the best character in the issue.  He makes it clear that he is terrified of the Dark Gaia Monsters, but still fights.  That earns respect in my book.  Plus, we get more of Chip's goofiness, Rotor's pragmatism, teamwork from Knuckles and Amy, and even Cream wanting to prove herself as a fighter.  The fight against the Titan is entertaining enough, especially since the other Freedom Fighters get more of the action than Sonic himself.  It makes it seem like he still can't fully control his Werehog form, which I like.  The end of the issue shows Eggman about to invade the Lost Hex, which is another important setup for the crossover.  Although I feel they should've done a bit more with it, it was still nice to see.  I'd have to say this is probably the weakest of the threee issues, but again, I don't find it particularly bad either.  Really, it's biggest problem is that it just seems more like a filler issue than anything, and as the last issue before the crossover, I was expecting a bit more.

Finlly, we have Sonic Universe #75, the third milestone issue in the Sonic Universe series.  The issue starts up after Metal Sonic has already stolen the Chaos Emerald that G.U.N. located, with Sonic, Tails and Bunnie in hot pursuit.  Metal attempts to escape through a Genesis Portal, only for Sonic to follow him through it.  There, Sonic meets up with Silver again, and the two team up to steal the Emerald back from Metal.  Eventually, they leave Metal stranded through another portal, and Sonic departs back to his world.  Meanwhile, Eggman has alrady conquered the Lost Hex at this point, and is enraged to hear about Metal Sonic's defeat.  He orders Orbot to fetch him a sandwich, but the spherical robot has other plans...

Funnily enough, this issue came out before the other two, even though it takes place last chronologically.  Therefore, I was a bit lost reading this for the first time since Sonic and Silver acted like they'd already seen each other before, and already knew what the Genesis Portals were.  Still, the issue was written in a way that it was easy enouigh to understand what was going on without reading the previous issues, so I'll give it a pass.  And although it's good that Silver has a new mission to close these Genesis Portals, it doesn't really compare to his old mission of saving his future.  Plus, him and Sonic meeting again so soon in two completely unrelated incidents seems WAY too convenient.  And Sonic's speech about teamwork to the other Freedom Fighters seemed a bit out of place, since they did absolutely nothing in this issue.  As a final minor gripe, it seemed like there was room to tell more between Sonic #272 and this issue.  At the end of 272, Metal had only just reached the emerald, and at the beginning of this one, he had already defeated the G.U.N. soldiers guarding it and the Freedom Fighters had already arrived to chase him.  It's not much, but I feel there could've been another issue in between these two.

Anyway, it's time for the positives, because this is actually my favorite of the three stories by far.  Having a Sonic Universe issue focusing on Sonic himself may seem like a bad idea, but it works very well in this case.  Seeing him and Silver interact even more is always pleasant to see, and their converstaion about Sonic wanting to know if he really would end up saving the world in particular was very interesting.  After all, knowing the answer could either make Sonic depressed or cocky, which could affect history.  And Sonic acknowledging that he had a role in shattering the planet was great.  THIS is the stuff I've been wanting in the new universe.  Not forgetting about the old universe entirely, but using their memories of it to enrich the new one.  Plus, the art; you guys know I'm a sucker for Tracy Yardley's art.  His work in the recent Spark of Life arc was decent enough, but he definitely brings his A-game here.  Sonic and Silver's fight with Metal Sonic is done fantastically, especially with the strategy of using the Genesis portals to their advantage.  Metal's face upon realizing his defeat is outright murderous, especially for a robot.  And although the other Freedom Fighters don't really do much here, their plan to rescue Sonic showed that their teamwork was as strong as ever.  So yeah, this issue definitely lived up to being a milestone, and I can only hope the 100th two years from now will be even better.

Well, that was certainly a wild ride.  These three issues were far from perfect, but I found they all got the job done in their own ways.  The first introduced the Genesis Portals, the second set up what Sonic and co. would have to do after the crossover, and the third was just a plain blast to read.  The comics may have changed drastically ever since the reboot, but I still find them entertaining enough for my simple tastes.  I don't know if and when I'll do another review, but I do know that my adventures with this comic are far from over.  So for now, take care everyone, and bring on Worlds Unite!