Archie Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles



Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles was the fifth 48-page Sonic Special. It was first published by Archie Comics in February 1996.

Story One

 * "Crash of the Titans"

The story starts off with Sonic being called to Knothole Control by Princess Sally. When Sonic arrives, Sally tells him that Knuckles the Echidna has been spotted walking along the edge of the Great Forest. Sonic is surprised to hear this, considering that he never leaves the Floating Island. Sonic automatically assumes that Knuckles is up to no good. Sally shows Sonic an image of Knuckles heading towards Robotropolis. Thinking that Knuckles is trying to cut a deal with Robotnik, Sonic heads over straight away to stop him. Sally tells Sonic to try and talk to him first, with Sonic replying "Gotcha Sally." Sally asks Tails what odds markers say, with Tails replying, "4 to 1 that they're in a fight by page 6." Meanwhile Knuckles arrives at Robotropolis and begins having a flashback of a conversation between Mighty the Armadillo and himself where Knuckles is telling Mighty about how he had seen a Chaos Emerald broken in half, which happened in the Sonic Triple Trouble Special. Mighty doesn't believe it but Knuckles tells him that it can and that he won't let it happen to the Floating Island's Emerald. Knuckles says that he needs to try and get another Emerald, and Mighty asks how he plans to get one. Knuckles pulls out the Book of Myths and turns to a page that talks about the mystical Lake of Rings, the only other places besides the Special Zone that Chaos Emeralds can be obtained. Mighty points to a line in the book that says ''"The ring radiates cosmic energy...but the lake's location is lost to history". ''Knuckles says that may not be the case considering the key word is "radiates". Knuckles heads towards the surface of Mobius, where he believes that the Lake may be near Robotropolis. Knuckles' flashback ends and he is seen at a grotto at the edge of Robotropolis, where he finds an apparently useless camera monitoring the Lake.

Without warning, Sonic attacks, punching Knuckles before starting to read a scroll given him by Sally offering a non-violent solution. True to form, Knuckles counterattacks before Sonic can finish, prompting Sonic to counter with his Figure 8 move. Sonic continues past his dazed foe, only for Knuckles to uproot and tree and pull it towards himself, causing Sonic to get caught in it. Sonic then drops the tree down on Knuckles, only for Sally to arrive and intervene to Knuckles' surprise. The two hotheads begin making excuses while NICOLE detects radiation from the hole where Knuckles uprooted the tree, which is revealed to be a portal to another zone. Knuckles leaps in eagerly, and Sonic is about to go after him when Sally makes a comment about having known him previously. After an awkward moment, Sally orders Sonic to pursue Knuckles, while both are amused by the conversation and each other's reactions to it. Inside the zone, Knuckles is collecting Power Rings and Chaos Emeralds, but Sonic quickly makes up for the Guardian's head start, collecting enough to transform into Super Sonic. He then demands Knuckles' surrender, only for the Echidna to surprise him by collecting an equal number of Rings and Emeralds to become Hyper Knuckles for the first time.

Both eager to test out their heightened powers on each other, the two titans begin fighting, trading punches both super strong and super fast. Hyper Knuckles then rips a chunk out of their battleground and smacks it into Super Sonic, only for him to recover due to his invulnerability. The two continue to fight, Hyper Knuckles' reversing Super Sonic's Spin Dash only for Super Sonic to take the momentum into a Super Figure 8 move and hit him in the face with both fists. Knuckles then spins his hands like wheels to launch a super kick at his enemy before the two go into an incredibly fast charge towards one another. The resulting collision releases a wave of energy that destroys the zone and is even detected by Robotnik in Robotropolis. With the battle over, Sonic awakens to learn from Sally that the zone is gone, and with it all its magical contents. Sally then reminds him that they are at the Lake of Rings, and reveals that the camera from before is still functional, and was in fact taking video of the battle. Sally reveals that she returned to Knothole to observe, and then made her way back on her Sky Cycle when the battle ended. Sonic thanks her for coming to get him, and starts asking her a question, which she assumes is about Knuckles and thus becomes irritated, only for him to ask about something entirely different. Elsewhere, Knuckles returns to the Floating Island to meet up with Mighty, who reports that word of his battle with Sonic reached the island, and that it supposedly destroyed all the Chaos Emeralds and Power Rings. Knuckles disagrees, pulling out a Chaos Emerald he managed to retrieve and fulfilling his original task.

[edit] Story Two

 * "Fathers & Sons"

Knuckles thinks back on his childhood, remembering one of the many times his father told him of his future responsibilities as Guardian and then took him to the Chaos Chamber for the first time to emphasize the point. A young Knuckles questioned whether keeping the island aloft was all that the Chaos Emerald did, and Locke reveals that there is more to learn but that he has taught Knuckles "the basics." Knuckles remarks on the similarities between his father's words and those of Archimedes, and thinks how the only difference between them was the voice saying them. He then becomes angry with himself, reminding himself of his duty to find the missing Chaotix. He then thinks back on another instance in his past, when he and his father were observing a mysterious orb. After analyzing it and then getting up close to examine it further, Knuckles decided to attack it before it could present a threat, only for it to explode in his face. His father then reminded him of their most important lesson: "Know your enemy!" In the present, Knuckles remembers how his father tried to prepare him as best he could, but that didn't cover every situation. He then remembers the day his father took him to the edge of the Forbidden Zone and bid him farewell before disappearing into what appeared to be a wall of fire. Knuckles' memories continue through his early encounters with Robotnik and the formation of the Chaotix, something that he at first rejected because of his pride even though he had needed their help and Sonic's in the past. Knuckles then determines that his father had admitted being unable to teach him everything he would need to know, and that some of his lessons would be learned elsewhere. With that in mind, Knuckles renews his determination to find both Archimedes and the Chaotix.

edit Key Events

 * Knuckles goes in search of a backup Chaos Emerald for the Floating Island.
 * Sonic and Knuckles engage in battle at the Lake of Rings and then travel into an alternate zone.
 * Having undergone Super transformations, Super Sonic and Hyper Knuckles continue their battle and destroy the zone.
 * Knuckles reflects on his early years as a Guardian and his more recent experiences as his search for the Chaotix continues.

edit Background Information

 * This was the first issue Knuckles transformed into Hyper Knuckles. During the battle, he displayed the ability to spin his hands at super speed, similar to an ability he used in the Sonic Underground cartoon.
 * Both stories were reprinted in Sonic Select #2.
 * Robotnik's rant on page 27 mirrors his rant at the end of Archie Sonic Miniseries Issue 2, in that in 48 pages, Robotnik only got a one page cameo.
 * This shows that there was a zone called "the Special Zone" that existed before the one we know ruled by Feist. As to whether or not Feist transformed the Zone of Silence into the Special Zone had any relationship to this zone is unknown. There was also called the Special Zone which Zonic had mentioned. It's unknown if it's the same as this one is destroyed, unless it was repaird by the Zone Cops or when Titan Tails restored the multiverse. Either way, neither of these other special zone where never heard from again.
 * "Crash of the Titans" is a reference to the 1981 remake and 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans