Archie Sonic Universe Issue 1

Sonic Universe #1

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Sonic Universe #1
Publication details
Issue	1
Date	24 February 2009
Publishing company	Archie Comics
Cover price	$2.50 (US)
Production staff
Writer	Ian Flynn
Cover artist	Patrick Spaziante
Pencils	Tracy Yardley Steven Butler
Inks	Jim Amash Steven Butler
Letters	Teresa Davidson
Colors	Jason Jensen Paul Kaminski
Editor	Mike Pellerito
Managing editor	Mike Pellerito
Editor-in-Chief	Victor Gorelick
Special thanks	Kristin Parcell and Cindy Chau at SEGA Licensing
Issue chronology
Next	Archie Sonic Universe Issue 2

Archie Sonic Universe Issue 1 is the first issue of the spin-off Sonic Universe comic series published by Archie Comics.

Official solicitation

"Living Weapons": This is the comic the fans have waited for - an ever-expanding, all-encompassing series revolving around Sonic's many friends and foes whose continuity aligns with the regular monthly Sonic comic. Along the way, we'll deliver some of the popular supporting cast from the many Sonic video games, including many who have never appeared in the comics before! The first issue of "Sonic Universe" debuts with a story that's out of this world - literally - as Shadow and Metal Sonic continue their series-spanning fight and wind up in a whole new dimension! And things are bound to heat up when Blaze the Cat and a Chaos Emerald enter the mix! Don't miss the explosive beginning of this universe-spanning series!

Featured stories

Living Weapons

• Writer: Ian Flynn
• Pencils: Tracy Yardley
• Inks: Jim Amash
• Colors: Jason Jensen
• Letters: Teresa Davidson
• Editor & Managing Editor: Mike Pellerito
• Editor-in-Chief: Victor Gorelick
• Special thanks to: Kristin Parcell and Cindy Chau at SEGA Licensing

This story takes place after Sonic #196 and Sonic X #40 and during the course of Sonic #197.

After Shadow the Hedgehog and Metal Sonic are transported by Chaos Control to another zone above the ocean, Shadow attempts to convince Metal Sonic to join sides with him. Instead, the robot kicks him into the water and expects him to drown, flying away. However, Shadow swims back up and is saved by Blaze the Cat and Marine the Raccoon on the Ocean Tornado. Shadow then explains to them that he has been fighting Metal Sonic through various zones because of its special engine and Shadow's Chaos Control abilities.

Blaze tells Shadow about how she knows Sonic the Hedgehog, her mission to recover the Sol Emeralds, how Marine met with Sonic and Tails, and their battle with Captain Whisker's crew, with Marine stretching the truth about how she had contributed to saving the day. They then pull into the nearest port to find Metal Sonic attacking the villagers, demanding they inform the robot where their zone's version of Doctor Eggman is.

Blaze attacks Metal Sonic, but he proves immune to her pyrokinesis and attacks her. Shadow then tries using Chaos Control again, but Metal resists him. Marine then tries to take down Metal Sonic by grabbing on to his head and punching it, making it all the more difficult for the others to land a hit on Metal with Marine in the way. After rotating its head multiple times in an attempt to throw her off, Metal throws Marine off himself and into Blaze.

At this point, Shadow tries to convince Metal to rebel against Eggman and help save Mobius, but Metal says that Shadow's "function" is to protect Mobius while his function is to serve Dr. Robotnik. Metal attempts to convince Shadow that he, too, is a living weapon, but simply one with more than one function. Regretfully, Shadow then tells Blaze to distract him with her pyrokinesis so he can attack Metal, sending the robot flying into the air damaged. Metal Sonic was destroyed by Marine using the cannons of the Ocean Tornado, destroying the engine along with it.

After putting out a fire, Shadow asks Marine to build him a boat like she did Sonic and Tails, but she admits that Tails actually built it and she "oversaw development", bringing the normally stoic Shadow to the brink of losing his temper. She backs away from him nervously. Blaze then gives Shadow a Chaos Emerald so that he can return to Mobius Prime, as a gesture to repay the debt owed to Sonic for helping her.

Shadow then teleports back to G.U.N. Headquarters where Commander Tower and Hope Kintobor are waiting. The Commander commends Shadow for completing the mission to retrieve a Chaos Emerald and tells him to rest up for his next mission.

Appearances

Characters:

• Blaze the Cat
• Coconut Crew (first appearance)
• Dr. Eggman Nega (Flashback)
• Dr. Eggman (mentioned)
• Gardon (only appearance)
• G.U.N.
  • Abraham Tower
  • Hope Kintobor
  • Shadow the Hedgehog
• Marine the Raccoon
• Metal Sonic
• Miles "Tails" Prower (Flashback)
• Sonic the Hedgehog (Flashback)
• Whisker's pirate crew (Flashback)
  • Captain Whisker (Flashback)
  • Johnny (Flashback)

Locations:

• Prime Zone
  • Mobius
    • Eurish
      • Guardian Mountain
        • Guardian Units of the Nation Headquarters (first appearance)
• Sol Zone
  • Southern Island
• Special Zone (mentioned)

Items:

• Chaos Emerald
• Rocket-skates
• Sol Emeralds (mentioned)
• Zone-Breaching Platform (first appearance)

Vehicles:

• Ocean Tornado (first appearance)

Misc.

• Chaos Control (mentioned)
• Chaos Spear

Off Panel

• Writer: Ian Flynn
• Pencils & Inks: Steven Butler
• Colors: Paul Kaminski

The story opens with Sonic and Knuckles the Echidna in what looks like Haven, saying how great it is to have a second book to stretch out in again. Knuckles says that he is excited to finally be getting back to his own adventures, but Sonic reveals that Shadow had dibs on the book just as he and Rouge the Bat walk in. Knuckles becomes enraged by this, saying that he had dibs nine years ago, and that while he could understand Rouge, that he was Sonic's "maybe evil rival first".

Appearances

Characters:

• Knuckles the Echidna
• Rouge the Bat
• Shadow the Hedgehog
• Sonic the Hedgehog

Jazwares comic book pack

The toy company Jazwares included this issue in their exclusive action figure/comic book pack, with 3.75" figures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat. The pack included the first ever action figure of Blaze. Another pack was released featuring 3.75" figures of Classic Sonic and Classic Amy.

Blaze and Sonic

Classic Sonic and Classic Amy

Trivia

• This is the first issue where Doctor Eggman Nega is shown, though he is mostly silhouetted.
• If one looks closely at Eggman Nega's silhouette at the flashbacks, one can notice that he is holding the Jeweled Scepter from Sonic Rush Adventure.
• This issue officially marks the return of the Off Panel strips to the Archie Sonic titles, this time taking a different approach than the old ones.
• In the unedited version of this issue's cover, Marine had a different face and Metal Sonic had a black hole in his right hand. The reason for these changes remains unknown. However, in the graphic novel Sonic Universe Volume 1: The Shadow Saga, the hole in Metal Sonic's hand reappears.
• This is the only issue of Sonic Universe not to have a colored border at the top showing what saga it is in. This could be because the idea did not come along until after the cover had been finalized.
• Shadow's left eye was originally going to twitch after Marine said "[she] oversaw development?" and leave, but the twitching part had been scrapped off by writers due to the schedule of deadline.
• The boat that Sonic and Tails used to travel back to their world was most likely the SS Tornado EX, a ship that Sonic and Tails uses at the end of Sonic Rush Adventure to teleport back home.
• In the first panel of Marine's tall tale story, she is seen with a bright green ball of energy. This is alluding to the scene in Sonic Rush Adventure where Marine is shown to have some type of unknown power.

Gallery

Cover artwork

Cover artwork, from Sonic Universe Volume 1: The Shadow Saga.

Front cover, raw.

Pencil artwork

Gallery
Page one Page six Page eight Page nineteen

Preview pages

Gallery
Page one Page two Page three Page four Page five

Archie Comics issues