Archie Sonic Universe Issue 52

Archie Sonic Universe Issue 52 is the fifty-second issue of the spin-off Sonic Universe comic book series published by Archie Comics. It is the fifth part of the Sonic & Mega Man: Worlds Collide crossover event.

Official Solicitation

 * The second act of the epic Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man crossover event BEGINS HERE! "When Worlds Collide" Part Five of Twelve: Sonic, Mega Man, Tails and Proto Man enter the strange world of the Skull Egg Zone. They don't receive a warm welcome, either, as the Genesis Unit and Copy Robot attack! Eggman and Dr. Wily wait in the wings with an even more sinister surprise waiting to be unleashed! You cannot miss this action-packed issue, featuring new cover art by Patrick "SPAZ" Spaziante, and choose YOUR favorite hero with the "Team Sonic" and "Team Mega Man" variant covers!

When Worlds Collide: Part Five - The Advance Guard
When Sonic, Mega Man, Proto Man, Tails and Rush arrive at the Skull Egg Zone, they're surprised by what they find. Sonic says that Eggman and Wily have poor taste, and this world reminds him of the Special Zone. Mega Man gets confused when hearing the word “zone”, but Tails tells them that a zone is an alternate reality, with Proto Man mentioning that it makes sense since Earth has no animals like Sonic or Tails, as Tails mentions Mobius has robotics, but they're nothing compared to Mega Man or Proto Man.

The Copy Robot tries to attack Sonic, but the hedgehog is saved by Rush. Recognizing him as the one who kidnapped Silver, Sonic's about to turn him into scrap metal, and after hearing that Proto Man swiped most of his friends as well, Sonic states that it's “all the more reason to kick him square in his metal underpants”. When Copy Robot summons the Genesis Unit to attack, Sonic remembers something when hearing “Genesis”.

Meanwhile, in space in Mega Man's universe, Duo is meditating around Jupiter, but is disturbed by an incoming transmission from Dr. Light, telling him that Light Labs has been invaded by strange robots and he should return to Earth as soon as possible to help.

Mega Man fights Copy Robot, annoyed by the fact that he impersonated him, Sonic dukes it out with Buster Rod G, feeling the sense of something familiar, Proto Man battles Mega Water S, and Tails takes on Hyper Storm H.

Two Chao (one of them looking like a Mettar) film this event to the mad doctors. as they enjoy the fact that their enemies are fighting for their lives, the evil duo then receive the last Chaos Emerald from Blaze Woman and Silver Man. After having an argument on who's world is superior, they place a bet: whoever nemesis manages to survive the longest can claim their world is superior.

Sonic insults Buster Rod G's name, saying that “Kiki” (the name of a monkey badnik) would work better, causing the robot to run create alter-images of him, confusing the hedgehog. Tails gets attacked by Hyper Storm H's vacuum breath before getting punched by him. Proto Man and Mega Water S exchange shots, and because they both timing block, NO ONE gets the upper hand. Same goes for Copy Robot and Mega Man, until Mega Man reveals that he got a weapon from Tails Man-the Tails Wind. He uses it on Hyper Storm H, Buster Rod G and Copy Robot, destroying them easily. When Mega Water S realizes he lost, he tries to run away, but gets shot down by Proto Man.

With Copy Robot and the Genesis Unit disposed of, the team begins questioning what's going on. Mega Man and Proto Man explain that these enemies were defeated a long time ago in their past... they were defeated so badly that their Integrated Circuit chips (source of a robot's personality) were completely destroyed, making it hard to replicate them (noting that Wily did so only once due to some help). Sonic then has a feeling that the laws of the universe [[Genesis Wave#Worlds Collide|have been manipulated by the two doctors.

Eventually, the group makes it to the Wily Egg, where they are greeted by the 8 Roboticized Masters: Silver Man, Rose Woman, Knuckles Man, Shadow Man, Vector Man, Blaze Woman, Espio Man and Charmy Man.

Off-Panel
Sonic and Mega Man spot a trio of shadowy figures, whom Mega Man identifies as the Genesis Unit. Sonic suddenly has a vision of a Genesis game console with wings and a halo, and promptly attacks Mega Man, declaring that "The console wars are never over!" As he strikes in the name of the Saturn and Dreamcast, Mega Man protests that he is "multi-platform."

Trivia

 * The front cover is a homage to the Sonic Adventure 2 art style.
 * Just like Part 1, this issue has two "Team" variant covers. Both covers feature the same artwork of Sonic and Mega Man, but the Team Mega Man variant has Mega Man appear in front of Sonic (who is faded out), along with Dr. Wily's Skull Castle in the background. Meanwhile, the Team Sonic variant has Sonic up front, with a faded out Mega Man in the back, and the background appears to be a shot of Green Hill Zone from the original Sonic game on the Genesis. The border of the Team Sonic variant appears similar to the one that was used on the covers for Sonic #226 and #227.
 * The background artwork of Green Hill Zone appears to be a mirrored version of the background from the Sonic FCBD 2011 cover.
 * On page 19, Sonic makes a reference on every time he crosses a bridge an Orca attacks him.
 * It's interesting to note that the mountain of springs and the bridge at the top that the group where traversing when the line was said is in fact taken a from a portion of Emerald Coast itself (it's possible that this was what prompted Sonic to mention the whale in the first place).
 * The line of dialogue Copy Robot says to Mega Man about how he's a perfect copy, to the point that he knows everything he's going to do, is a slightly altered reference to a similar line spoken by Sonic to Metal Sonic in the Sonic OVA. The following line "Strange, isn't it?" is also a direct reference to that scene.
 * The Off-Panel makes a reference to the "Console Wars" of the 90's. Sonic thinks of the Sega Genesis video game console when Mega Man mentions the Genesis Unit, and he says the names of the Sega Saturn and Sega Dreamcast when he attacks Mega Man. Mega Man ends the strip by reminding him that he's "multi-platform", in reference to how his games have, for the most part, always been released across different consoles from different companies.