Sonic the Comic Issue 118


 * Editor: Deborah Tate
 * Designer: Gary Knight
 * Production: Sarah Colley
 * Marketing manager: Douglas Pocock

Sonic the Hedgehog - "Best of Enemies, Part 3"

 * Script: Nigel Kitching
 * Art: Richard Elson
 * Lettering: Elitta Fell

Synopsis
In the Emerald Hill Zone, a Prosecutor of the Drakon Empire has summoned a gigantic Master Sentinel. Sonic isn't worrie, though: something that big and slow could never catch him. However, the Master Sentinel is not intended to fight Sonic. Unless Sonic surrenders, it will make its way down the coast and destroy the Emerald Village. Sonic insists he will stop the "big lug", and hurls a stone at the Master Sentinel to attract its attention. The stone strikes the giant robot on the back of the head, enraging it enough that it spins around and destroys a loop with a sweep of its hand.

Across the sea in Doctor Robotnik's base on Flickies' Island, the Drakon Emperor Ko-Dorr exults at Sonic's impending defeat and capture. He intends to find out from Sonic where the Chaos Emeralds are hidden, then use them to rule the galaxy. A short distance away, Grimer points out to Robotnik that, when Ko-Dorr interrogates Sonic, he will find out that Robotnik already knows where the Chaos Emeralds are. Robotnik isn't concerned, since his 'Master Plan' will be in operation by the time Ko-Dorr realises he lied. Grimer thinks this plan is far too dangerous and won't work. An angry Robotnik cows Grimer into silence: "My plan is perfect, you cringing coward!" Robotnik intends to be master of the Chaos Emeralds himself.

Back in the Emerald Hill Zone, the Master Sentinel has grabbed Sonic in his fist. Sonic tries out a new manoeuvre he's been working on, spinning in a small cyclone so fast that he forces the Sentinel's hand open. Advising Tails to stay back, Sonic continues spinning to perform his old 'Water Vortex' trick, drawing a vortex of water out of the river to crush the Master Sentinel.

A few moments later the Master Sentinel is nowhere to be seen, and Sonic hops back on dry land, claiming victory. But just as he is about to give a message to the Prosecutor, the Master Sentinel reappears and nearly crushes Sonic by slamming the ground with its fist. It is damaged but intact, with chipped armour all over and a missing chest panel, exposing the mechanisms inside its torso. Sonic asks Tails to keep quiet about his little "miscalculation", although Tails is more worried about the Sentinel than Sonic's ego.

Sonic gets Tails to lift him up to the hole in the Sentinel's armour, which he jumps through. At super speed he rips out all of the robot's mechanical parts, causing it to seize up and topple over, crashing down on the shore. The Prosecutor has escaped, but Sonic is more worried about why Emperor Ko-Dorr was so keen on capturing him.

At Flickies' Island, Ko-Dorr is furious and wants the Chaos Emeralds even more. Grimer approaches and reveals that Robotnik has been lying to them, and that they already know where the Chaos Emeralds are. Claiming to be sick of working for Robotnik, he offers to lead the Drakons to the Chaos Emeralds if they let him join their side. Robotnik calls Grimer a traitor and swears that he'll pay for the betrayal, as Ko-Dorr's Sentinel bodyguards surround him.

Appearances

 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Doctor Ivo Robotnik
 * Emperor Ko-Dorr
 * Grimer
 * Master Sentinel
 * Prosecutor
 * A Sentinel

Continuity

 * The Master Sentinel is the same size as the first Sentinel that Sonic ever encountered, back in Sonic the Comic #29, "The Sentinel".
 * Sonic and Tails previously encountered Emperor Ko-Dorr and the Drakon Empire in "The Evil Empire", from Sonic the Comic #108 to #111.
 * Grimer offers to lead Emperor Ko-Dorr to the Chaos Emeralds. The Chaos Emeralds have been on the Floating Island since Sonic the Comic #36, "Power of the Chaos Emeralds, Part 2". The Drakon Empire will invade the Floating Island looking for the Chaos Emeralds in Sonic the Comic #123, "Order & Chaos, Part 1".
 * Robotnik claims he has a 'Master Plan' to take the Chaos Emeralds for himself, but before the reader can find out what it is Grimer apparently betrays him to the Drakons. In fact, it is revealed in Sonic the Comic #125, "Order & Chaos, Part 3", that the defection is itself part of Robotnik's plan, and in that issue Robotnik finally succeeds in obtaining the Emeralds.
 * The method Sonic uses to defeat the Master Sentinel, ripping out its mechanisms, is similar to the way Sonic defeated another giant robot, Mekanik, in "The Rampage of Mekanik" from Sonic the Comic #57 and #58.

Super Sonic - "Hunter & The Hunted, Part 3"

 * Script: Nigel Kitching
 * Art: Nigel Dobbyn
 * Lettering: Ellie de'Ville

Synopsis
In the back room of The Groovy Train coffee bar in the Metropolis Zone, the psychic sheepdog Pyjamas performs a mind link on the amnesiac Super Sonic. She is overwhelmed by images of the demonic Super Sonic, whose memories are completely restored. Ebony apologises for doubting Pyjamas' premonitions, and demands to know who Super Sonic really is, but they are interrupted by Bio-Hazard crashing through the wall. "Super Sonic, I found you!" Super Sonic recognises Bio-Hazard as one of Lord Sidewinder's gang. Ebony is horrified to discover that her new friend is actually Super Sonic, the evil demon with enough power to destroy a planet. Super Sonic is fairly apologetic about it: "I'm afraid so..."

Super Sonic asks if Bio-Hazard is carrying out another of Sidewinder's "crazy schemes", prompting Bio-Hazard to reveal that Bio-Hazard will teleport Super Sonic back to Sidewinder in the Special Zone, where Sidewinder will absorb his powers and turn himself into an all-powerful god! "That sound crazy to you?" Bio-Hazard grabs Super Sonic, and Pyjamas reveals that when his memories returned his powers came back too - he could easily stop Bio-Hazard. But Super Sonic explains that whenever he uses his energy, he feels an uncontrollable urge to destroy, and refuses to tap into that power ever again.

Before Bio-Hazard can use his teleporter, Super kicks his way out of the robot's hands. Just then, Bio-Hazard disappears. He reappears in Lord Sidewinder's control room in the Special Zone. Sidewinder, Lightmare and Mr Fry have been captured by Lieutenant Furor, who also shut off the "crazy machine" (dimensional teleporter) and brought Bio-Hazard back home. Livid at Bio-Hazard for failing him, Sidewinder declares he will one day be a powerful deity. "Sure you will, Sidewinder," says Lieutenant Furor. "Sure you will. In the meantime, we have a nice padded cell waiting for you!"

Back at The Groovy Train, Pyjamas apologises to Super Sonic, pointing out that he could have used his terrifying power but didn't. She says she sensed such evil energy in him, and Super Sonic says that's why he can never risk unleashing his powers again, in case the demon is released. He considers turning himself in, but Pyjamas says that nobody would believe he had changed and he would be locked up. Instead, Ebony tells Super to grab a broom, giving him that job he came in for in the first place.

Appearances

 * Super Sonic
 * Ebony
 * Pyjamas
 * Bio-Hazard
 * Lord Sidewinder
 * Lightmare
 * Mr Fry
 * Lieutenant Furor
 * New Tek City police officers:
 * A pig
 * A dog
 * A cow

Continuity

 * Super Sonic finally recovers his memory, which he lost in Sonic the Comic #100, "The Final Victory".
 * Lieutenant Furor previously appeared in Sonic the Comic #85, "Heroes & Villains, Part 2".

Sonic's World - "Tall Tails"

 * Script: Lew Stringer
 * Art: Mick McMahon
 * Lettering: Ellie de'Ville

Synopsis
Tails is out shopping for a Christmas Tree, but he's not interested in the small fake ones. He prefers real Christmas trees, but he's not sure if it's right to cut them down. However, a bio-chemist girl claims to have the solution: a special formula to re-grow trees instantly. She applies some of the formula to a tree stump, and it immediately sprouts into a fully grown replica!

Unfortunately, a couple of Robotnik's badniks arrive, having been sent after the formula. Tails saves the bio-chemist, but the formula tank is blown apart and the formula soaks Tails from head to tails. The bio-chemist theorises that the formula won't affect him... but is proven incorrect moments later when Tails grows to three times the size of a house!

In this new giant state, Tails is easily able to destroy the badniks, but when he doesn't watch where he's stepping he also crushes a house. Realising that he has become a danger to the public, he decides to fly away, only for the spinning of his tails to cause a hurricane! The citizens are blown into the air, but Tails is able to catch them, earning a cheer. The hurricane also gathered storm clouds and it starts to rain. Tails is able to shelter the civilians with his giant body. In addition, the rain washes off the growth formula, and pretty soon Tails returns to his normal size.

Though Tails is back to normal, so is the re-grown tree. The bio-chemist says that the formula was a bit of a "wash-out", and Tails concludes that in this case it's probably better that science doesn't interfere with nature. He decides to buy one of the small fake trees, although Sonic doesn't seem to impressed. Still, he says "I suppose we could grow to like it!"

Appearances

 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Bio-chemist
 * Citizens:
 * Rabbit
 * Bear
 * Dogs
 * Badniks
 * Blue flicky
 * Sonic the Hedgehog

Trivia

 * The plot of this story, in which Tails becomes very large and begins to endanger innocent civilians, is similar to "Too Tall Tails", an episode of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Sonic's World: Amy & Tekno - "Multi-Mania"

 * Script: Lew Stringer
 * B & W Art: Bob Corona
 * Colour: Richard Guildford
 * Lettering: Elitta Fell

Synopsis
On Flickies' Island, Doctor Robotnik orders Grimer to prepare a squadron of badniks to attack the Emerald Hill Zone. However, rather than target Sonic, Robotnik orders the badniks to target Tekno the Canary, in order to stop Tekno and Amy from being such great assets to Sonic's team.

When the badniks arrive in the Emerald Hill Zone, Tekno rushes to get the civilians to safety while Amy distracts the badniks... but they completely bypass Amy and head straight for Tekno. She dodges the bullets, until Amy gives her a breather by destroying one badnik. Tekno ducks into her underground workshop and retrieves a device she created for just such a situation: a Multi-Image Creator, which creates numerous holographic images of her. Unsure which is the real Tekno, the badniks start shooting each other in total panic.

Before all of the badniks are destroyed, Robotnik orders them to stop. Speaking remotely through one of the badniks, he demands that Tekno hand over the Multi-Image Creator or he will kill Amy. Amy tells her not to, but Tekno surrenders the device. Later, Robotnik is pleased with the device, imagining that he can force the people to obey him through fear, by creating thousands of badniks images. Unfortunately, as Grimer explains, the device only project multi-images of Tekno. In anger, Robotnik smashes the device.

Back in the Emerald Hill Zone, Tekno and Amy laugh, with Tekno saying she wishes she could have seen Robotnik's face when he tried to use the device. "So do I," replies Amy, "but I guess you can't be everywhere at once!"

Appearances

 * Amy Rose
 * Tekno the Canary
 * Doctor Ivo Robotnik
 * Grimer
 * Badniks
 * Emerald Hill Folk (dog, duck and others)

Continuity

 * The badniks in this story resemble the "Mark Four Flyzippers with twizzled sprockets" from Sonic the Comic #108, "Spot of Bother".

Trivia

 * When Robotnik smashes the Multi-Image Creator, his dialogue balloon is obscured by a box saying "CENSORED".

Double Sonic - "Face to Face"

 * Script: Lew Stringer
 * Art: Mick McMahon
 * Lettering: Gordon Robson

Synopsis
The Emerald Hill Zone is under attack by badniks, but fortunately Sonic the Hedgehog is on hand to beat them. Less fortunately, some of these badniks prove to be tougher than they look, and one of them manages to attack Sonic even after he's hit it with a Spin Attack. Sonic destroys it, but the last two try to catch him in a pincer movement. Realising it won't be easy to outrun them, he instead screeches to a halt and lets them crash into each other, destroying them and releasing the Flickies inside.

A monitor on a mechanical arm emerges from the wreckage of one of the badniks, and Robotnik's face appears on the screen. Robotnik offers to discuss a truce with Sonic tomorrow at Sky High Peak in the Rocky Valley Zone. One of the Emerald Hill Folk says it has to be a trap, but Sonic thinks he has to risk it if there's a chance of peace.

The following day, Sonic meets Robotnik face-to-face atop Sky High Peak. Robotnik offers to never bother anyone again, as long as Sonic gives him just one Zone to rule. Sonic rejects the offer, saying that every Zone is under his protection. Robotnik explains his real plan: in fact, the real Robotnik is not at the meeting, and he is a holographic projection. He reveals a hidden Plasma Ray Cannon, controlled by Robotnik from his secret headquarters, and fires it at Sonic, obliterating the top of Sky High Peak in a massive explosion.

Robotnik (still appearing as a hologram in mid-air) crows that he's finally won... that is, until the dust settles and he sees Sonic is also standing in mid-air, also completely unharmed. Sonic says that he expected Robotnik's trick, so he had Tekno the Canary send a hologram of him to the peak. The real Sonic is unharmed back in her workshop. Irritated, Robotnik ends the transmission.

Appearances

 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Doctor Ivo Robotnik
 * Tekno the Canary
 * Emerald Hill Folk:
 * Dog in striped shirt
 * Capybara in blue overalls
 * Rabbit with a red sweater
 * Cat in a yellow jacket
 * Two green Flickies
 * Badniks

Other features

 * Control Zone
 * STC Sega Pin-Up - Knuckles. (Art from Sonic the Hedgehog 3)
 * Speedlines
 * Snow Business (Graphic Zone)