Super Sonic (Sonic the Comic)

Super Sonic is a powered-up form of Sonic the Hedgehog, who appeared in Sonic the Comic, the UK publication by Fleetway Editions. Unlike in other continuities, the Fleetway Super Sonic is portrayed as a psychotic demon-like entity who manifests himself in Sonic's body under conditions of extreme stress or exposure to Chaos Energy. Sonic frequently had to battle to keep this alter-ego in check, because Super Sonic's immense destructive powers, hyperaggression, sadistic humour and lack of restraint frequently endangered innocent civilians and even Sonic's own friends. Indeed, Super Sonic seems to enjoy the prospect of killing Sonic's friends: in issue #184 he deliberately holds back to prolong the pleasure of killing them.

Super Sonic was created when Sonic absorbed a dose of evil energy that had been absorbed by the Chaos Emeralds.

Early appearances
Sonic first transformed into Super Sonic shortly after the events of the first Sonic the Hedgehog video game, having successfully regained all six of the Chaos Emeralds. However, when brought together outside of extreme cold (or certain other stabilizing conditions), the Chaos Emeralds become unstable, and radiate Chaos Energy, generating a spatial warp that sends them into the Special Zone. This happened when they were collected in Sonic's Secret Underground Base, and Sonic took the full force of the energy, and transformed into Super Sonic.

Some time later (but before the events of the series proper, presumably during the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 2), Tails witnessed Sonic transform into Super Sonic when he absorbed too much Ring Energy from the Golden Rings of Mobius. (In Sonic the Comic, the Golden Rings had been used as a means of channelling evil energy into the Chaos Emeralds by Doctor Ovi Kintobor's ROCC.)

Super Sonic's first appearance in the series occurred while Sonic and Tails were helping to clean up the Oil Ocean Zone. An Aquis badnik attempted to burn Sonic alive, having lured him into an oil trap, but failed when Sonic transformed into Super Sonic. This was the first time that Sonic had transformed without absorbing Energy from external sources: Sonic later revealed that he had absorbed so much energy over the years that he could now tap into his latent Chaos powers whenever he became stressed or extremely angry. Though Sonic was fully aware of Super's existence, he had no memory of what happened while Super was active. Due to Super's uncontrollable nature, these transformations were extremely risky: on this first occasion, Super Sonic attacked the small rabbit he had freed from the Aquis, as well as Tails and their friend Red, until Tails was able to remind Sonic who he was and calm him down enough that he reverted to his usual cool blue persona.

Sonic continued to transform into Super Sonic, first to escape a volcano in the Hill Top Zone, and then again in the Oil Ocean Zone while searching for a Super Bomb. On these occasions, he was still aggressive, but his power could be directed. For example, in the Hill Top Zone, Tails managed to curb Super Sonic's destructive instincts through reverse psychology, leading him to prevent the destruction of a village just to show that he could.

As time went on, Super Sonic became both more powerful - able to fire energy beams from his eyes and wield explosive Chaos Energy - and more dangerous. After intentionally dosing himself with Emerald Power from the Master Emerald, Super Sonic tore apart a Metallix robot, then began to savagely beat Knuckles until Sonic returned to normal. When Super Sonic fought Commander Brutus, destroying the robot's Troopers and tearing off his arm, Super nearly killed Amy Rose when Brutus tried to use her as a human shield, noticing too late that Super wasn't stopping.

Separate entities


A turning point came when Sonic went to visit Porker Lewis on the Floating Island and accidentally fell into the pit in the Emerald Chamber over which the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald were suspended. Super Sonic was even more deranged (sporting jagged fangs) and, with no immediate threat to occupy him, decided to go destroy Amy Rose and the other Freedom Fighters. After a destructive battle, the Freedom Fighters used the Tornado as a decoy while they escaped; when Sonic returned to normal, he believed he'd killed his friends and so went underground. The Freedom Fighters managed to track Super Sonic's energies using the Kintobor Computer, after he had transformed again during a bar brawl. To save Sonic from himself, his friends channelled the Emerald radiation out of him, through a Star Post into the Special Zone; but so great was the energy that Super Sonic was now given an independent existence in the Special Zone.

The new Super Sonic allied himself with a crime kingpin called Lord Sidewinder, using Sidewinder in order to bring the original Sonic to him. The instant Sonic arrived, Super Sonic turned on his new associate, destroying Sidewinder's mansion, but protecting Sonic and Sidewinder's gang with energy shields so that he could have the pleasure of destroying each one personally. He brushed aside the attacks of Sidewinder's minions, but before he could destroy Sonic, they were interrupted by the arrival of Chaotix. A titanic battle ensued, which ended when the Omni-Viewer absorbed Super Sonic into his energy field and used his space-time manipulation powers to freeze time inside it, immobilizing both of them. Eventually, however, it transpired that Omni had only managed to reduce time to a crawl, and Super Sonic would eventually escape. Sonic and Chaotix sealed the Omni-Viewer in the Black Asteroid, hoping that even if Super Sonic escaped from the Omni-Viewer he would still be trapped.

Somehow, Super Sonic was able to work out what had happened. He charged himself up with energy, turning into an electron bomb and forcing the Omni-Viewer to release him from the time field. Omni escaped, but Super Sonic continued to charge up, heating the Black Asteroid to millions of degrees so that from the planet below it looked like a second Sun. The explosion of the Black Asteroid would create an electro-magnetic pulse that would wipe out all electrical circuitry, so in the moments before the explosion Sonic had Omni teleport the Asteroid to Mobius. On Mobius, the electro-magnetic pulse deactivated all of Doctor Robotnik's badniks and computers, contributing to the downfall of the doctor's dictatorial rule over the planet. However, Super Sonic was somehow changed by the explosion, becoming unable to store energy, and he lost both his powers and his memory.

Turning good
Wandering the streets, unaware of who he was, Super Sonic was taken in by two old-age pensioners (Madge and Arthur) once back on Mobius' surface. He was plagued by nightmares of a terrible demon trying to destroy him (in fact his former evil self), and eventually he decided to try and find out who he was. Madge gave him Arthur's beer money and sent him on his way. Super Sonic applied for work at the Groovy Train, a coffee bar owned by the witch Ebony and her psychic friend Pyjamas. They attempted to help Super Sonic recover his memory before finding the truth behind his identity. In the process of fighting the villain Bio-Hazard (who sought to capture Super Sonic for Lord Sidewinder), Super's memory returned but his new amiable personality remained, he was then placed under a spell, in his own fantasy by Ebony's magic while Pyjamas erased Super Sonic's memory of the incident; he immediately renounced the use of his powers for fear of becoming his former demonic self once more, with Ebony and Pyjamas performing the same actions they did before. He then resided with Ebony and Pyjamas from then on, living a peaceful life.

During the comic's adaptation of Sonic Adventure (STC's final story), it was revealed that Super Sonic was dying as his Chaos Energy was running out. Ebony helped him reach the site of the confrontation between Sonic, Robotnik, and the monstrous Chaos creature, hoping to recharge him. Super Sonic hurled himself into Perfect Chaos, absorbing all the Chaos Energy from the creature and reverting it back into its Drakon state. Unfortunately, the re-energized Super Sonic had reverted to his demonic state. In order to save the planet from him, Sonic and Ebony worked together to trick Super Sonic into getting close enough so that Sonic and Super Sonic could be reintegrated into a single being.

Powers and abilities
Super Sonic possesses even greater speed and physical strength than Sonic normally does, an example being that he was able to carve a giant statue of himself out of lava as a volcano erupted. He is so strong that he can even tear and damage solid Megatal, a Mobian metal long believed to be completely indestructible. Super Sonic is also essentially invulnerable, being immune to flames and most other forms of damage.

Super Sonic has a myriad other powers derived from emerald radiation. Among his most commonly used powers are the ability to fly at tremendous speeds, and the ability to fire highly destructive beams of energy from his eyes, which are always depicted as maniacal red spirals. He can also cast energy shields, and super-charge his body to cause massive explosions. One such explosion caused an electro-magnetic pulse powerful enough to knock out electricity all over Mobius. In his final appearance, whilst fighting against Knuckles he used a green mist to leech energy, draining the echidna of his power.

Future plans
When writer Nigel Kitching was asked if he had any future plans for Super Sonic before the comic's cancellation, he pointed out that Ebony, despite being Super's friend, had not seemed upset when he was destroyed. Kitching mentioned an idea that perhaps Ebony had secretly used her magic to save him, although he had not planned out any details. He suggested that Super Sonic may not have been rejoined to Sonic as everyone believed, but that he might now be part of Ebony just as he was once part of Sonic.

In Sonic the Comic's unofficial fan-made continuation, Sonic the Comic - Online, Sonic has turned into Super Sonic twice; the first time, was due to exposure to Chaos Energy and Dr. Zachary took control of him, but Sonic changed back. The reason why is unknown, but Sonic blieves that Zachary was talking too much and "bored Super Sonic into defeat". Possibly making Zachary the only person to defeat Super Sonic. The second time, Sonic was pursuing Shadow the Hedgehog across the Death Carrier, but fell from a beam. The stress of the fall caused him to transform and brutally beat Shadow before Sonic regained control. Other times, he was threatened with transforming. Like in the very first issue of Sonic the Comic-Online; Sonic was exposed to Chaos Energy, but felt a pure presences (which turned out to be Tikal) and when Sonic had to find a deactivate all the bombs in Casino Night. He managed to find the last bomb just as it was about to blow and he used his super speed to contain the explosion. He states that he almost went Super.

Trivia

 * Super Sonic could have inspired the evil Super Sonic from the Archie Comics continuity, who was temporarily separated from that continuity's Sonic by the red Chaos Emeralds. Archie's evil Super Sonic has a similar personality and powers to STC Super Sonic.
 * In Super Sonic's very first appearance, Super Sonic's quills remained pointing downwards after his transformation. In later appearances, Super Sonic's quills were depicted pointing upwards to be consistent with his games appearances.