Archie Sonic Universe Issue 18

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Sonic Universe #18

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Sonic Universe #18
Publication details
Issue	18
Date	July 2010
Publishing company	Archie Comics
Production staff
Writer	Ian Flynn
Cover artist	Tracy Yardley
Cover coloring	Ben Hunzeker
Pencils	Tracy Yardley Ben Bates
Inks	Jim Amash
Letters	Phil Felix
Colors	Jason Jensen Paul Kaminski
Editor	Mike Pellerito
Assistant editor	Paul Kaminski
Managing editor	Mike Pellerito
Editor-in-Chief	Victor Gorelick
Special thanks	To Cindy Chau and Jerry Chu at SEGA Licensing
Issue chronology
Previous	Archie Sonic Universe Issue 17
Next	Archie Sonic Universe Issue 19

Archie Sonic Universe Issue 18 is the eighteenth issue of the spin-off Sonic Universe comic series published by Archie Comics.

Official solicitation

"Trouble in Paradise Part Two": An island ablaze and a vacation turned disastrous; what's a two-tailed fox to do?! Tails must fight the impossible odds and the vengeful Speedy to rescue his friends! Can he do so before Bunnie succumbs to the dark side... or before Antoine makes a fatal mistake? You can't afford to miss this thrilling installment!

Featured stories

Trouble in Paradise Part Two: The Honeymoon's Over

• Writer: Ian Flynn
• Pencils: Tracy Yardley
• Inks: Jim Amash
• Colors: Jason Jensen
• Letters: Phil Felix
• Assistant editor: Paul Kaminski
• Editor & Managing editor: Mike Pellerito
• Editor-in-Chief: Victor Gorelick
• Special thanks to: Cindy Chau and Jerry Chu at SEGA Licensing

Speedy begins mocking Tails, who states that he had better not have hurt his friends. In reply, Speedy states that Tails' friends should have already been captured and that he is alone. Tails questions Speedy why he attacked him and states that "all we came here to do was relax!". Speedy states that he isn't stupid and that "you invaded our private training grounds, and your friends will tell us why." He then expresses his vehement distaste for Tails' unusual flying abilities, stating that the sky belongs to birds, and birds to the Battlebird Armada. Tails then inquires about Bees, Bats, and Flying Squirrels, to which Speedy retorts that at least they have something resembling wings. Tails then has T-Pup launch a sneak attack on Speedy, giving both of them a head start to escape. Speedy pursues, eager to punish the offense and demonstrating his power by smashing through rocks as Tails and T-Pup lead him into a cave in hopes of losing him. Despite this, Speedy finds himself barely able to keep up with Tails, particularly as they fly up through a chute with a powerful updraft.

Speedy then manages to pass Tails, striking him in the process, only to lose his adversary and then be ordered back to base by the Battle Lord. Tails, meanwhile, hides himself on a covered ledge in the chute, and imagines that Sonic would probably handle this situation quite easily. However, he realizes that he needs rest and time to think, and so goes to sleep while T-Pup stands guard.

Tails thinks of what Sonic might do if he were with him

The next day, in the Battle Fortress, Bunnie is escorted from her cell, while Antoine struggles with a guard and is able to obtain the key to his cell. Bunnie is led to meet Battle Lord Battle Kukku XV, who has mistaken her for a member of the Dark Egg Legion due to her cybernetics. Taking advantage of his mistake, Bunnie introduces herself as "Kommissar Bunnie D'Coolette, Deep Cover Agent," quickly coming up with the cover story of marrying Antoine and infiltrating the Freedom Fighters on Dr. Eggman's orders. The Battle Lord apologizes for the mistake, remarking that the Armada has ties with the Eggman Empire, but their status outside any Legion chapter leaves them behind on intelligence. Bunnie continues to play her part, fooling the Battle Lord into revealing more about the Armada. He describes his people as an "ancient order of avians aspiring to command the skies, find our fabled homeland, and unlock the mysteries of our forebears." He then blames their failure to this point on a group of renegades, and Bunnie realizes that he is referring to the Babylon Rogues. The Battle Lord's curiosity is aroused, and Bunnie mentions their encounter with Sonic.

The Battle Lord asks if the "rebel" she mentioned happens to be Tails, who he reports eluded his forces the previous night. Bunnie is relieved, though she quickly covers it by passing Tails off as a weapons expert. At the same time, Tails wakes up and starts working on a plan to rescue his friends, retrieving the Sea Fox by knocking out the guards with gas bombs from his workshop. He then heads for the third island he noticed the previous day, suspecting that it must be the Armada's headquarters. Unable to find any entrances, he discovers a subterranean passage leading between the base and Cocoa Island itself but is then attacked by a force of Battle Bird Armada submarines. Back at his cell, Antoine discusses cooking with his guard, who then leaves to find a friend of his who also enjoys cooking. Antoine then uses the key he stole earlier to escape his cell, only to run into Speedy, who sounds an alarm that interrupts Bunnie and the Battle Lord. Bunnie runs off to assist Speedy, staying in character as a Legionnaire.

Back in the ocean, Tails is engaged in an underwater battle with the submarines, and through radio compliments them on the technology used to sneak up on him. One soldier is flattered, remarking that "we've got this great inventor guy, Doctor Fu...Foo-Foo...er", before being told by one of his colleagues to focus on taking Tails out. However, the Sea Fox's weapons prove too much for the enemy submarines, though the sub takes damage and forces Tails to surface. Meanwhile, Antoine finds an escape hatch, only to discover that it is at the top of the artificial island with no apparent way down except jumping. Speedy and Bunnie then arrive to apprehend him, and while arguing Antoine learns of Bunnie's ruse, but comes to believe that it is the truth. Though Bunnie tries to convince him otherwise, but he refuses to believe her, citing Silver the Hedgehog's reports as a traitor and her suggesting the honeymoon in the first place. He then jumps out the hatch, leaving Bunnie to watch in horror as he plummets towards the water.

Off Panel

• Script: Ian Flynn
• Pencils: Ben Bates
• Inks: Jim Amash
• Colors: Paul Kaminski

Off Panel

Tails tells his interviewer that he can't name T-Pup "Tails' pup" as it would make people think of Tails as a toddler and he can't him Mecha Tails as it would lead people into believing there is a mechanized and evil version of Tails.

Trivia

• Antoine's cooking-based conversation with the Battle Bird guard watching him is reminiscent of a confrontation between him and Snively in the Sonic the Hedgehog episode "Spyhog", in which Snively attempts to get Antoine to reveal information to him by improperly (at least in Antoine's opinion) preparing French cuisine.
• Speedy vaguely references the Wizard of Oz when he yells at Tails "You'll pay for that! You and your little dog-robot-thing too!".
• Bivalve from the Forty Fathom Freedom Fighters and Kine the Fish from the Kirby series make cameo appearances in this issue.
• The keycard Antoine swipes from his guard has the code "SU018", a reference to this issue's number.

Gallery

Cover artwork

Gallery
Cover sketches from Sonic Universe Volume 5: The Tails Adventure. Cover line art from Sonic Universe Volume 5: The Tails Adventure. Main cover, raw.

Miscellaneous

Page sketches, from Sonic Universe Volume 5: The Tails Adventure.

Preview pages

Gallery
Page one Page two Page three Page four Page five

References

Archie Comics issues