Sonic the Comic Issue 26


 * Editor: Richard Burton
 * Assistant Editor: Deborah Tate
 * Design: Clare Gillmore
 * News Hound: Garry Penn
 * Managing Editor: Steve MacManus
 * Publisher: Chris Power

Sonic the Hedgehog - "The Sonic Terminator, Part 3"

 * Script: Nigel Kitching
 * Art: Richard Elson
 * Lettering: Steve Potter

Synopsis
Sonic, Tails, Porker and Johnny are having a relaxing day in their secret underground base. Sonic is becoming frustrated with his new Marxio Brothers Game: "Who cares about the adventures of three electricians?" They receive a call on the vid-phone from Amy, who manages to say she's at Never Lake before her transmitter is destroyed by a figure with a metal hand and the connection is terminated. Before the others can even react, Sonic has written a note explaining that there are no Star Posts at Never Lake and rushed off on foot to save her.

Sonic is surprised to find that a forest around Never Lake has disappeared, and that the Miracle Planet in orbit above is chained to Mobius and covered in terrible machinery - Robotnik intends to turn the whole planet into a new base for his operations. Amy is stranded at the top of a spire of rock, having been put their by Metallix, the Metal Sonic, who introduces himself by attempting to crush the original Sonic with a rock. Sonic evades the hurled rocks and attacks Metallix. The two fight at such a high speed that Amy cannot even see what is happening.

When the dust clears, Amy sees a figure wandering towards her: it's Metallix and he intend to terminate her! Just then, Metallix malfunctions and collapses, and Sonic appears out of the dust behind him. Sonic won after all!

Sonic is suddenly struck from behind - Metallix is on his feet again. However, he is operating at only 30%, and decides to make a tactical retreat with his "live bait". He grabs Amy and runs up the chain towards the Miracle Planet. Sonic, irritated by the necessity of rescuing Amy again, speeds after them...

Appearances

 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Amy Rose
 * Metallix
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Porker Lewis
 * Johnny Lightfoot

Continuity

 * Although this is the halfway point of "The Sonic Terminator", this issue marks the beginning of Sonic the Comic ' s adaptation of the game Sonic CD. The adaptation concludes in Sonic the Comic #28.
 * Sonic mentions in his note that he'll see the other Freedom Fighters at Never Lake. They arrive in Sonic the Comic #27, but too late to help Sonic on the Miracle Planet.
 * Metallix introduces itself, using its name for the first time.
 * Sonic comments that Amy should be a professional hostage. She is captured twice in this issue, bringing the total to four kidnappings since her introduction five issues earlier.

Trivia

 * Sonic tells Amy that pink is his least favourite colour, although this is possibly just to annoy her. It doesn't work.

Streets of Rage - "Skates' Story, Part 2"
Murphy is attacked in a local store and shot dead, by corrupt police officers. Axel and Blaze tell Murphy's stepson, Skates, that they want to catch the people responsible but that they'll need a disk that Murphy had in his possession. Skates brushes them off, but when he returns home he finds that his apartment has been ransacked and his mother terrified. However, they didn't find the disk, which was hidden in the toilet tank. Skates calls 911, but doesn't know who to ask for... there's no-one he can trust.
 * Script: Mark Millar
 * Art: Peter Richardson
 * Lettering: Tom Frame

Trivia

 * An LP on the floor of Skates' apartment is apparently by a singer called "Mark Miller". The story was written by Mark Millar.

Sonic's World - "Part 1: Kintobor spelled backwards is..."

 * Script: Nigel Kitching
 * Art: Mike Hadley/John M. Burns
 * Lettering: Ellie de'Ville

Synopsis
The Kintobor Computer relates the story of Sonic's early adventures, picking up immediately after Doctor Ovi Kintobor's transformation into Doctor Ivo Robotnik, who immediately fled the scene in order to think and plan. The machine that exploded to cause this transformation was Kintobor's Retro-Orbital Chaos Compressor, which contained the Chaos Emeralds. The explosion freed the Emeralds from the stabilizing effect of the Mobius Rings, and they warped back to the Special Zone, changing them from identical green gems to multi-coloured ones.

At the same time, one of the Mobius Rings started to talk. Sonic contacted his brainy friend, Porker Lewis, who realised that the ring had been imprinted with the brainwaves of the dearly departed Doctor Kintobor. Porker was able to use this ring to construct the Kintobor Computer.

However, not long after this, Porker disappeared. Neither Sonic nor his friend Johnny Lightfoot could find him. While they were searching, they were attacked by three strange robots, who claimed to be badniks that served Robotnik. Two of these badniks attempted to absorb Sonic and Johnny inside them. Luckily, Sonic had been working on a manoeuvre called his Sonic Spin Attack, which he used to defeat the three badniks. To their horror, they found that the third had contained Porker Lewis, who was being used as a sort of power source. Porker explains that Robotnik captured him, and that the madman intends to conquer the whole planet!

In fact, Mobians were being turned into badniks all over the planet. But Robotnik had no memories from his time as Doctor Kintobor, and he did not expect interference from Sonic. Sonic was able to free all his friends, and even collect the six Chaos Emeralds before Robotnik could get hold of them. It seemed as though Robotnik was defeated for good...

Appearances

 * Kintobor Computer
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Doctor Ivo Robotnik
 * Porker Lewis
 * Johnny Lightfoot
 * Badniks:
 * Buzz Bomber
 * Motobug
 * Splats

Continuity

 * The narrative picks up directly after the events depicted (in flashback) in Sonic the Comic #8, "The Origin of Sonic". It covers the period between Kintobor's transformation into Robotnik and the events of the original Sonic the Hedgehog game (which is directly mentioned in an editorial comment).
 * It is explained how the Chaos Emeralds turned from their green forms (as shown in issue #8) to their differently coloured forms (as in Sonic the Comic #25, "The Sonic Terminator, Part 2"). Their ability to warp back to the Special Zone is mentioned again in Sonic the Comic #27, "Part 2: A Tale of Tails".
 * Porker Lewis and Johnny Lightfoot are established as Sonic's closest allies even before the events of Sonic 1. There are no signs of other characters such as Sally Acorn or Joe Sushi.
 * The origin of the Kintobor Computer is placed prior to the beginning of the series, contradicting Sonic's statements in Sonic the Comic #6, "Attack on the Death Egg", that he only used Kintobor's hologram to make the computer easier to use.

Wonder Boy - "in Ghost World, Part 5"
Shion is in cage, listening to his dinosaur captors decide which one of them will eat him. At night, Wordsmith sneaks in and rescues Shion, then needs to be rescued in turn by Shion when he is attacked by a guard. The two of them go to rescue Lukout from the Dinosaur King's palace, using a magic wand to turn her from stone to flesh again. Shion uses a Potion of Ignorance on the King, but the King wakes up angry. It doesn't seem to have worked...
 * Script: Mark Eyles
 * Art: Bojan Djukac
 * Lettering: Steve Potter

Other features

 * Control Zone
 * Review Zone
 * News Zone
 * Graphic Zone
 * Q Zone
 * Speedlines