Sonic the Summer Special

Sonic the Summer Special (1994) was a one-shot, 68-page special edition of Sonic the Comic. It was first released on 18 June 1994, the same day as Sonic the Poster Mag #5. (It was therefore released shortly before Sonic the Comic #28.)

Sonic the Summer Special features the first appearance of the STC version of Knuckles the Echidna, and the first STC story featuring Doctor Robotnik as the main character.

Sonic the Hedgehog - "Doctor Sun, Parts 1 and 2"

 * Art: Ferran Rodriguez

Synopsis
Johnny Lightfoot brings a blindfolded badger named Mister Stripes into Sonic's Secret Underground Base. Mister Stripes' son, Stripes, has gone missing and been taken in by a cult run by Doctor Sun in the Mystic Cave Zone. Even though Sonic doesn't believe this is his problem, he's bored and thus agrees to check it out.

Sonic and Tails use a Star Post to get to the Mystic Cave Zone, where they are immediately attacked by a Crawlton. Sonic defeats it, releasing the canary trapped within, but is then cornered by Flashers and forced over a cliff. Tails stops him from falling into some spikes, but then knocks his head on a rock and they both become trapped in a pit that starts to close in on them from either side. There is a handle above them, and when Tails pulls it the spikes retract.

Just then Doctor Sun himself appears with his followers. Stripes is there, but says he doesn't want to go back with Sonic - he wants to stay with Doctor Sun. Doctor Sun shows Sonic and Tails back to his headquarters, where he maintains a sanctuary for those who wish to hide from Robotnik. All day long the children read comics and play video games, and when they feel ready to join Doctor Sun's order they may pass through the Salvation Doorway into the inner sanctum. Sun offers to let Sonic join, but he refuses.

However, Sun accidentally says the word "Eggsactly", and Sonic realizes that Sun must really be Robotnik! Inside the inner sanctum is a machine to turn Emerald Hill Folk into badniks. Robotnik is furious at having been exposed. People were actually volunteering to be badniks (though they didn't realise until it was too late). Sonic steals Robotnik's Egg-O-Matic and crashes it into the machine, destroying it and Doctor Sun's church.

All of the children are taken to safely, but Sonic expects Robotnik will have escaped. He's always got an escape route and, when Sonic's involved, he always needs one.

Appearances

 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Porker Lewis
 * Johnny Lightfoot
 * Amy Rose
 * Mister Stripes
 * "Doctor Sun"
 * Doctor Ivo Robotnik
 * Badniks:
 * Crawlton
 * Flashers
 * Followers of Doctor Sun:
 * Stripes
 * A penguin
 * A rabbit
 * A squirrel
 * A walrus
 * A mouse
 * A chicken
 * A bear
 * Many others

Continuity

 * Stripes last appeared in Sonic the Comic #4, "Day of the Badniks".

Doctor Robotnik: The Interview
Reporter Bob "Scribbly" Cosgrove sits down to interview Doctor Robotnik, the ruler of Mobius. Cosgrove's repetitive impetuous questions so infuriate the doctor that he is motivated to demonstrate one of his newest weapons.
 * Transcribed by: Nigel Kitching

Continuity

 * This interview contains the first mention of Robotnik's second Death Egg satellite (the first having crashed in Sonic the Comic #6, "Attack on the Death Egg"). This satellite is seen crashing in the Knuckles story in this special, "Guardian of the Chaos Emeralds".

Doctor Robotnik in... "Test Drive"
Grimer presents Doctor Robotnik with a new Egg-O-Matic, resembling his boss vehicle from the Aquatic Ruin Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Robotnik tests the machine's hammer on a statue of Sonic, but then decides he really needs a moving target... so he starts chasing Grimer instead! Having cornered Grimer, Robotnik decides to use the Mega Attack Lever (despite Grimer's earlier warnings not to), and the hammer strikes Robotnik so hard he smashes through the bottom of the machine!

Synopsis
Tails is on his way back to Sonic's Secret Underground Base when he is attacked by several flying badniks. He hastily avoids them by flying through some trees (leading some of the less maneouvreable to crash), then into a dark cave where he destroys the rest. However, one wait outside, and when Tails emerges the badnik ambushes him. Tails is saved at the last moment by Sonic, who is surprised that Tails couldn't handle one badnik. Tails tries to explain that there were many more, but Sonic just doesn't listen and speeds away.

Appearances

 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Badniks:
 * Buzz Bomber
 * Buzzer
 * Turtloids
 * Nebulas
 * Unidentified badniks

Continuity

 * The unidentified badniks, one of which is the badnik defeated by Sonic at the end of the story, previously appeared in Sonic the Comic #14, "Hero of the Year".

Knuckles - "Guardian of the Chaos Emeralds"

 * Art: Nigel Kitching

Synopsis
On Mobius there is a legend of a Floating Island in the sky, but unlike other legends this one is true! The island's sole inhabitant is Knuckles the Echidna, who guards the island's secret Chaos Emeralds with his life. He has been alone all his life, waiting for his people to return.

One day, he sees something like a meteor fall out of the sky and crash somewhere in the Ice Cap Zone. He takes one of the island's Zoom Tubes to reach it quickly, and finds that it is not a meteor but a space satellite. Wary of an attack, Knuckles encounters a floating remote camera, which relays the voice of someone trapped inside the ship, pleading for assistance. Knuckles asks whether the individual is one of Knuckles' people, but no - it is a humble inventor. The main engines failed and he was forced to make an emergency landing on Mobius. Knuckles is forced to explain that the ship has not landed on Mobius, but rather on the Floating Island. And when Knuckles mentions that he guards the sacred Chaos Emeralds, the voice becomes very interested indeed.

Knuckles is led to the source of the voice, which is revealed to be Doctor Ivo Robotnik, trapped under some rubble. He warns Knuckles of a grave danger that threatens his island... a threat in the form of Sonic the Hedgehog!

Appearances

 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Doctor Ivo Robotnik

Continuity

 * This story acts as a prequel to the Sonic the Comic adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. It leads directly into the events of Sonic the Comic #33, "Enter Knuckles, Part 1".
 * The events of this story take place after the events of Sonic the Comic #30, "Metamorphia", which features Robotnik before his crash on the Floating Island.
 * Although Robotnik's satellite is unnamed in this story, it is in fact his second Death Egg.
 * This story reveals that there is a second set of Chaos Emeralds on the Floating Island, in addition to those currently in the possession of Sonic the Hedgehog, which were last seen in Sonic the Comic #25, "The Sonic Terminator, Part 2".
 * Knuckles reveals that the Chaos Emeralds allow the Floating Island to fly.

Other features

 * The History of Sonic
 * Tails: The Profile
 * Sonic the Pin Up
 * Speedlines Overspill
 * Q-Zone Special
 * Knuckles: The Profile
 * Super-Sonic Tomy Competition
 * In 2 Action
 * Sonic Crazy!
 * Sonic's World - A list of badniks from Sonic 1, Sonic 2, and Sonic 3