Archie Sonic Universe Issue 54

Archie Sonic Universe Issue 54 is the fifty-fourth issue of the Sonic Universe spin-off comic series published by Archie Comics. It is the eleventh and penultimate part of the Sonic & Mega Man: Worlds Collide crossover event.

Official Solicitation

 * Sonic and Mega Man fight for their lives in 'When Worlds Collide': Part Eleven of Twelve! The evil doctors Eggman and Wily have completed their ultimate battle-weapon: the Egg-Wily Machine X-Powered by the Chaos Emeralds, it is the most powerful battle machine ever constructed! As our heroes do battle, Metal Sonic and Bass join the fray! Will the combined might of the Wily/Eggman arsenal be too much for Sonic and Mega Man to handle? Featuring a zone-shattering new cover from Patrick 'SPAZ' Spaziante and a special behind-the-scenes 'Pencil Ink Color' variant! Concluded in this month's Sonic the Hedgehog #251!

When Worlds Collide - Part Eleven: Worst of the Worst
Dr. Eggman and Dr. Wily are finishing the Egg-Wily Machine X, when they hear damage from Duo's fight with the Chaos Devil. Wily states that their fight could disrupt the Genesis Wave generator, reseting their worlds, and Eggman says that the Genesis Wave is at such a delicate stage, that not only might their dimensions revert, they could collapse. Eggy tells Wily to focus, and Albert says that he's not wild about the name. Eggman states that "Egg" and Wily Machines" are each of their naming conventions, and "X" is the crossover of their designs. While they keep finishing the machine, they continue to plan on finishing each other.

Meanwhile, Sonic and Mega Man are battling Bass and Metal Sonic. Sonic tries to attack Metal, teasing him that he has beaten him in every race and every fight, and even when he was the dragon monster. However, Sonic gets hit by a right hook from his copy, and the two charge at each other. Bass shoots at Mega Man, who is staying behind a block for defense. Treble comes to Mega Man, but Rock shoots him, aggravating him heavily. Bass mistakenly shoots Sonic, getting the hedgehog lightly burned.

When the two are failing, Mega Man and Sonic decide a new strategy: Since the robots are only programmed to beat their respective counterparts, switching partners would beat them quicker. However, Sonic barely misses Bass' shots, nearly gets chomped by Treble, and gets kicked in the abdomen by Bass. Mega Man tries to use a charged shot to blast Metal, but the robot hedgehog activates his Black Shield, and charges into Rock.

Sonic states that he and Rock should team up when they blitz one of the robots, and Mega Man should use the Master Weapons from Sonic's rescued friends to storm them. Sonic distracts Bass, who is hit by Mega Man when the Blue Bomber uses Shadow Man's Chaos Cannon on him. Sonic spins through Bass' stasis bubble, and Treble tries to assist him, but is frozen by Mega Man using Silver Man's Psyco Burst. Mega Man uses telekinesis on Bass, and puts him in a position where he can be attacked by Sonic. Metal and Treble try to attack Rock, but the blue hero hides using Espio Man's Chroma Camo. Mega Man uses Vector Man's Acoustic Blaster on Bass, and the black villain is kicked by Sonic and knocked out by Rose Woman's Piko Hammer. Mega Man uses Tails Man's Tails Wind on Metal, and tries to use Knuckles Man's Sharp Knuckle to finish him off, but Metal uses his V. Maximum Overdrive to push him away. Mega Man uses Charmy Man's Rapid Stinger to dent Metal, who is defeated by Sonic.

Just when they are to beat the doctors, Sonic and Mega Man are stormed and knocked out by the Egg-Wily Machine X. Later, when they wake up and are trapped in capsules in the Wily Egg's main room, they see that the docs have all the Emeralds, and the Roboticized Masters were just a distraction. When the docs say that they can use all the gems to make a super-charged Genesis Wave, Mega Man is confused, saying that the worlds have already been rebooted. The docs state that they could only alter some things with THIS Genesis Wave, and with all the Emeralds, they can become gods, do anything with the universes, and even erase Sonic and Mega Man from existence.

Off-Panel
Bass, standing with Metal Sonic, declares that the heroes may have previously defeated them, but that now they will face their combined power. The pair are then shown playing electric guitars, with the billing "Metal and Bass!" Sonic rocks out to their song, while a surprised Mega Man admits that he was expecting them to fuse together as Bass usually does with Treble.

Reception
Flickering Myth gave the comic a positive review, praising the writing, pacing and art, and stating that it raises the fans' excitement levels for Sonic #251.

Trivia

 * Soniccd05.jpg panel where Sonic and Metal Sonic are about to clash with one another, after Metal Sonic threw an object at Sonic, is similar to the artwork of the same characters clashing in Sonic the Hedgehog CD.
 * In that same page, Sonic mentions how he has beaten Metal Sonic even when he was a dragon. This is a reference to Metal Sonic's transformation into Metal Overlord in Sonic Heroes.
 * Originally Bass was to fuse with Metal Sonic in the same manner he does with Treble, but the idea was rejected. The concept was, however, alluded to by Mega Man in the issue's off-panel, where he expressed confusion about Bass and Metal Sonic's team up being a merger similar to what Bass does with Treble.