Changes: Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 44

Latest revision as of 06:03, 23 March 2024

Sonic the Hedgehog #44

Original
Digital

Publication details

Issue

44

Date

January 1997 (release date)
March 1997 (publication date)

Publishing company

Archie Comics

ISSN

10705090

Production staff

Writer

Ken Penders

Cover artist

Issue chronology
Previous	Next
Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 43	Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 45

Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 44 is the forty-fourth issue of the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series published by Archie Comics.

Official solicitation

Black and Blue and Red All Over

Leather jackets and black berets? Smells like MOEBIUS to me! Anti-Sonic and Anti-Knuckles are after the floating island's chaos emerald, and only our universe's Knuckles stands in their way! With the help of the Freedom Fighters, Knuckles and the anti-heroes venture back to Moebius and uncover a fiendish plot to flood the submerged city of ATLANTINOPOLIS!

Featured stories

Black and Blue and Red All Over

Writer: Ken Penders
Pencils: Manny Galan
Inks: Andrew Pepoy
Letters: Vickie Williams
Colors: Barry Grossman
Editor: Justin Freddy Gabrie
Managing Editor: Victor Gorelick
Editor-in-Chief: Richard Goldwater

Synopsis

Part I

Rotor shows Sonic a weapon he created in his laboratory, emphasizing its immense firepower, though Sonic is skeptical due to its small size. Rotor then shakes it, and the gun expands into a much more massive form that Rotor introduces as his Party-Hearty Quadra Sonic Rock 'N' Roller, a weapon he claims can blast a hole through anything. He reports that it can even penetrate zones, though such a measure would only be under extreme circumstances. Rotor is about to dig into some lunch when an alarm goes off. According to the sensors in his lab, something is happening on Angel Island, meaning that Knuckles could be in trouble.

The Freedom Fighters immediately set off to aid their ally, unaware that Knuckles is investigating an apparent earthquake in the Chaos Chamber. He then spots a figure who appears to be Sonic, though clad in a leather jacket and sunglasses, who accuses Knuckles of being a thief. Before Knuckles can react, he is attacked by another figure, whom he engages briefly before being defeated. The two then depart through a portal in the chamber, and Knuckles is surprised to see that his opponent appears to be a double for himself wearing a tam. Archimedes then arrives and accosts his pupil, reporting that he came upon learning about the trouble in the Chamber. The two then discuss their intruders, and exit the Chamber to see that the Freedom Fighters have arrived. Knuckles informs them of the situation, and Sonic recognizes one of the assailants by description, and proposes taking them by surprise before they can return.

Part II

The Freedom Fighters take their plane into the Cosmic Interstate with Sonic taking the lead, while Knuckles questions whether Sally has told Sonic anything about their history. Sally responds in the negative, and the two think back on how they met when Sally and her father visited the Floating Island, discovering a common connection in their ancestral obligations as Princess and Guardian. However, Sally concealed her friendship so that Knuckles would not get in trouble, and continued to do so up to the present time. Knuckles asks whether she plans to tell Sonic, and is then asked whether he is having any luck with his quest for the Crown of Acorns. He reports no success, and the plane lands before they can speak more, allowing the group to disembark on Anti-Mobius.

Sonic explains to the group that this world is the reverse of their own, with the Freedom Fighters terrorizing robots and Robotnik living as a kind doctor. Tails suggests contacting him, but Rotor deploys his Remote Scanner to survey the area from the air instead. Sonic remarks on the irony of their use of technology against Robotnik, though Rotor feels justified in his devices. The group are then attacked by Evil Sonic and Anti Knuckles, the two alternate Mobians taking on their counterparts. Sally questions whether they should intervene, but Rotor points out that the two heroes can handle themselves. Sonic and Evil Sonic quickly launch into a race and battle of wits, while Knuckles and Anti Knuckles trade punches. However, just as Tails is getting bored, Anti Knuckles suddenly stops fighting, while Sonic tackles Evil Sonic into the ground. Knuckles questions his counterpart's sudden stop, and Anti Knuckles explains his pacifistic view, even in the face of his homeland being destroyed should its Chaos Emeralds lose all their energy. Anti-Knuckles' attitude sickens Knuckles, who reminds him of his role as Guardian, only to learn that Anti Knuckles guards the Sunken Island rather than a Floating Island.

Part III

The group takes an underwater car towards the city of Atlantinopolis, which is slowly leaking air into the surrounding ocean. Hearing loud machinery in operation, the group use NICOLE to pinpoint its location, and arrive to find none other than Robotnik, who reveals that he has been using this Mobius as a source of materials and for the development of new weapons. The doctor activates a new device, opening a portal that would have drawn Freedom Fighter attention back on Mobius Prime, but that provokes no response on the Anti Mobius. Evil Sonic compliments the doctor's malicious misuse of his world, while the tyrant has his SWATbots take the Freedom Fighters and their allies away. Tails is the first to be ejected into the open ocean, while Evil Sonic is outraged to be included in the expulsion of the Mobians. After the SWATbots are disabled, Rotor goes out to recover Tails while Evil Sonic is interrogated about his role in Robotnik's plan.

Knuckles and Sonic then confront Robotnik, revealing their newly gained knowledge of his alliance with Evil Sonic only to have him turn his dimension breaching machine on them. Archimedes then appears to Knuckles, the machine having created a portal to Mobius Prime and the Chaos Chamber, and suggests that the two versions of Knuckles do something to stop Robotnik. While Sally and Sonic distract the doctor, the two Guardians take hold of the Floating Island's Chaos Emerald, which Robotnik then decides to destroy since he has the Anti Mobius supply. His energy beam is reflected back at him and he disappears, allowing Anti Knuckles to recover the Chaos Emeralds from his destroyed weapon and replace them in the Sunken Island's containment field systems. With his home safe, Anti Knuckles pilots his allies back to the surface, explaining that Robotnik's attempt to destroy Knuckles' Chaos Emerald has most likely teleported him back to Mobius. Rotor and Tails rendezvous with them on the surface, with Evil Sonic complaining about being tied up by the irate heroes. The Walrus then remarks glumly that his Remote Scanner proved virtually useless, given that most of their adventure took place underwater.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Infobox comic
-{{Issue order
-| previous = Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 43
+|title          = ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' #44
+|image          = <gallery>
-| next = Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 45}}
+StH44.jpg|Original
-{{Infobox Comic
-|title = Sonic the Hedgehog
+Archie Sonic 44 digital.jpg|Digital
+</gallery>
-|width =
+|issue          = 44
-|image =
+|date           =
-|issue = 44
+*January 1997 {{C|release date}}
-|date = December 1996
+*March 1997 {{C|publication date}}
-|publisher = Archie Comics
+|issn           = 10705090
-|coverartist = Patrick Spaziante, Harvey Mercadoocasio
+|publisher      = [[Archie Comics]]
-|writer =
+|coverartist    =
-|layouts =
-|pencils = Pat Spaziante
+*[[Patrick Spaziante]]
+*[[Harvey Mercadoocasio]]
-|inks = Brian Thomas
+|writer         = [[Ken Penders]]
-|letters = Vickie Williams
+|pencils        = [[Manny Galan]]
-|colors = Barry Grossman
+|inks           = [[Andrew Pepoy]]
-|editor = Freddy Mendez-Gabrie
+|letters        = [[Vickie Williams]]
-|managingeditor = Victor Gorlick
+|colors         = [[Barry Grossman]]
-|editorsupreme =
+|editor         = [[Justin Freddy Gabrie]]
-|editorinchief = Rich Goldwater
+|managingeditor = [[Victor Gorelick]]
-|chairman =
+|editorinchief  = [[Richard Goldwater]]
-|copublisher =
-|president =
-|vp =
-|directorofcirculation =
-|artdirector =
-|specialthanks =
-|other =
-|firstappearances =
 }}
-'''''Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 44''''' was the forty-forth issue of the main ''[[Archie Sonic the Hedgehog|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' comic series. This is the 44th installment of the long running comic series, Sonic the Hedgehog.
+'''''Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 44''''' is the forty-fourth issue of the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie comic series)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' [[comic]] series published by [[Archie Comics]].
+==Official solicitation==
-== About this Issue ==
+===Black and Blue and Red All Over===
+:''Leather jackets and black berets? Smells like MOEBIUS to me! Anti-Sonic and Anti-Knuckles are after the floating island's chaos emerald, and only our universe's Knuckles stands in their way! With the help of the Freedom Fighters, Knuckles and the anti-heroes venture back to Moebius and uncover a fiendish plot to flood the submerged city of ATLANTINOPOLIS!''
+==Featured stories==
-==Summary==
+===Black and Blue and Red All Over===
-===Story One===
+*'''Writer''': [[Ken Penders]]
-:''"Black and Blue and Red All Over"''
+*'''Pencils''': [[Manny Galan]]
+*'''Inks''': [[Andrew Pepoy]]
+*'''Letters''': [[Vickie Williams]]
+*'''Colors''': [[Barry Grossman]]
+*'''Editor''': [[Justin Freddy Gabrie]]
+*'''Managing Editor''': [[Victor Gorelick]]
+*'''Editor-in-Chief''': [[Richard Goldwater]]
+====Synopsis====
+=====Part I=====
+Rotor shows Sonic a weapon he created in his laboratory, emphasizing its immense firepower, though Sonic is skeptical due to its small size. Rotor then shakes it, and the gun expands into a much more massive form that Rotor introduces as his [[Party-Hearty Quadra Sonic Rock 'N' Roller]], a weapon he claims can blast a hole through anything. He reports that it can even penetrate zones, though such a measure would only be under extreme circumstances. Rotor is about to dig into some lunch when an alarm goes off. According to the sensors in his lab, something is happening on Angel Island, meaning that Knuckles could be in trouble.
+The Freedom Fighters immediately set off to aid their ally, unaware that Knuckles is investigating an apparent earthquake in the Chaos Chamber. He then spots a figure who appears to be Sonic, though clad in a leather jacket and sunglasses, who accuses Knuckles of being a thief. Before Knuckles can react, he is attacked by another figure, whom he engages briefly before being defeated. The two then depart through a portal in the chamber, and Knuckles is surprised to see that his opponent appears to be a double for himself wearing a tam. Archimedes then arrives and accosts his pupil, reporting that he came upon learning about the trouble in the Chamber. The two then discuss their intruders, and exit the Chamber to see that the Freedom Fighters have arrived. Knuckles informs them of the situation, and Sonic recognizes
-== Other Features ==
+one of the assailants by description, and proposes taking them by surprise before they can return.
-=== 1st ===
-=== 2nd ===
+=====Part II=====
+The Freedom Fighters take their plane into the Cosmic Interstate with Sonic taking the lead, while Knuckles questions whether Sally has told Sonic anything about their history. Sally responds in the negative, and the two think back on how they met when Sally and her father visited the Floating Island, discovering a common connection in their ancestral obligations as Princess and Guardian. However, Sally concealed her friendship so that Knuckles would not get in trouble, and continued to do so up to the present time. Knuckles asks whether she plans to
+tell Sonic, and is then asked whether he is having any luck with his
+quest for the Crown of Acorns. He reports no success, and the plane lands before they can speak more, allowing the group to disembark on Anti-Mobius.
+Sonic explains to the group that this world is the reverse of their own, with the Freedom Fighters terrorizing robots and Robotnik living as a kind doctor. Tails suggests contacting him, but Rotor deploys his [[Remote Scanner]] to survey the area from the air instead. Sonic remarks on the irony of their use of technology against Robotnik, though Rotor feels justified in his devices. The group are then attacked by Evil Sonic and Anti Knuckles, the two alternate Mobians taking on their counterparts. Sally questions whether they should intervene, but Rotor points out that the two heroes can handle themselves. Sonic and Evil Sonic quickly launch into a race and battle of wits, while Knuckles and Anti Knuckles trade punches. However, just as Tails is getting bored, Anti Knuckles suddenly stops fighting, while Sonic tackles Evil Sonic into the ground. Knuckles questions his counterpart's sudden stop, and Anti Knuckles explains his pacifistic view, even in the face of his homeland being destroyed should its Chaos Emeralds lose all their energy. Anti-Knuckles' attitude sickens Knuckles, who reminds him of his role as Guardian, only to learn that Anti Knuckles guards the Sunken Island rather than a Floating Island.
-=== 3rd ===
-== Trivia ==
+=====Part III=====
+The group takes an underwater car towards the city of [[Atlantinopolis]], which is slowly leaking air into the surrounding ocean. Hearing loud machinery in operation, the group use NICOLE to pinpoint its location, and arrive to find none other than Robotnik, who reveals that he has
+been using this Mobius as a source of materials and for the development of new weapons. The doctor activates a new device, opening a portal that would have drawn Freedom Fighter attention back on Mobius Prime, but that provokes no response on the Anti Mobius. Evil Sonic compliments the doctor's malicious misuse of his world, while the tyrant has his SWATbots take the Freedom Fighters and their allies away. Tails is the first to be ejected into the open ocean, while Evil Sonic is outraged to be included in the expulsion of the Mobians. After the SWATbots are disabled, Rotor goes out to recover Tails while Evil Sonic is interrogated about his role in Robotnik's plan.
+Knuckles and Sonic then confront Robotnik, revealing their newly gained knowledge of his alliance with Evil Sonic only to have him turn his dimension breaching machine on them. Archimedes then appears to Knuckles, the machine having created a portal to Mobius Prime and the Chaos Chamber, and suggests that the two versions of Knuckles do something to stop Robotnik. While Sally and Sonic distract the doctor, the two Guardians take hold of the Floating Island's Chaos Emerald, which Robotnik then decides to destroy since he has the Anti Mobius supply. His energy beam is reflected back at him and he disappears, allowing Anti Knuckles to recover the Chaos Emeralds from his destroyed weapon and replace them in the Sunken Island's containment field systems. With his home safe, Anti Knuckles pilots his allies back to the surface, explaining that Robotnik's attempt to destroy Knuckles' Chaos Emerald has most likely teleported him back to Mobius. Rotor and Tails rendezvous with them on the surface, with Evil Sonic complaining about being tied up by the irate heroes. The Walrus then remarks glumly that his Remote Scanner proved virtually useless, given that most of their adventure took place underwater.
-{{Sonic Comic List}}
-== Image Gallery ==
+====Appearances====
-== Comic References ==
+'''Characters''':
-<references/>
+*[[Doctor Ivo Kintobor|Anti-Robotnik]] {{Mention}}
-==External Links ==
+*[[Archimedes]]
+*[[Badnik Horde (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)|Badnik Horde]]
+**[[SWATbot (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)|SWATbot]]
+*[[Doctor Ivo Robotnik (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)|Dr. Ivo Robotnik]]
+*[[Scourge the Hedgehog|Evil Sonic]]
+*[[Knothole Freedom Fighters]]
+**[[Antoine D'Coolette (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)|Antoine D'Coolette]]
+**[[Miles "Tails" Prower (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)|Miles "Tails" Prower]]
+**[[Nicole (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)|Nicole]]
+**[[Rotor Walrus]]
+**[[Sally Acorn (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)|Sally Acorn]]
+**[[Sonic the Hedgehog (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]
+*[[Knuckles the Echidna (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)|Knuckles the Echidna]]
+*[[O'Nux|Knuckles the Echidna (Anti-Mobius)]]
+*[[Locke]] {{Flashback}}
+*[[Maximillian Acorn]] {{Flashback}}
+*[[Sweep-bot]] {{G|fantasy}}
+'''Races and species''':
-{{template:comics}}
+*[[Mobian]]
+**[[Fire Ant]]
+*[[Mobini (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)|Mobini]]
+*[[Overlander]]
+'''Locations''':
-[[Category:Archie Comics issues]]
+*[[Moebius|Anti-Mobius]]
+**[[Demon Island|Sunken Island]] {{1st}}
+***[[Atlantinopolis]] {{Only}}
+*[[Cosmic Interstate]]
+*[[Prime Zone (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)|Prime Zone]]
+**[[Mobius (Archie)|Mobius]]
+***[[Angel Island (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)|Floating Island]]
+****[[Shrine Isle (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)|Chaos Chamber]]
+***[[Northamer (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)|Northamer]]
+****[[Great Forest]]
+*****[[Knothole Village (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)|Knothole Village]]
+'''Items''':
+*[[Air Containment Field]] {{Only}}
+*[[Anarchy Beryl]] {{Only}}
+*[[Chaos Emerald (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)|Chaos Emerald]]
+*[[Particle Beam]] {{Only}}
+*[[Party-Hearty Quadra Sonic Rock 'N' Roller]] {{1st}}
+*[[Remote Scanner]] {{Only}}
+*[[Sonic's sneakers]]
+'''Misc.''':
+*[[Figure-Eight Peel-Out (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)|Figure-Eight Peel-Out]]
+*[[Roboticization (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)|Roboticization]] {{Mention}}
+====Trivia====
+*Some individual characters and panels in this story were drawn by [[Patrick Spaziante]], who is not formally credited.
+*Hangar 18 is incorrectly spelled "Hanger 18".
+*Rotor's lab contains a couple of references:
+**A poster stating "You want it when?"
+**A [[w:c:starwars:TIE/LN starfighter|TIE/LN starfighter]] from ''[[Wikipedia:Star Wars|Star Wars]]''.
+*When [[Sally Acorn (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)|Sally]] asks [[Knuckles the Echidna (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)|Knuckles]] about the progress of his quest, he erroneously states "''No luck finding the crown yet''", despite his quest being to locate the [[Sword of Acorns]].
+*Anti Knuckles' line, "''No energy--no life,''" echoes {{Plain link|https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Starscream_(G1)|Starscream}}'s line in the 1980s ''[[Wikipedia:The Transformers (TV series)|The Transformers]]'' episode "{{Plain link|https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Starscream%27s_Brigade|Starscream's Brigade}}".
+==Other features==
+*Fan Art
+*The "Find Your Name In Print Page"
+*Sonic-Grams
+==Quotes==
+:'''Knuckles''': "We? Who else is with you?
+:'''Anti-Knuckles''': Me, m'lad! An' I'm not one to trifle with once I get me Irish up!
+:'''Knuckles''': Pal, you just bought yourself a one way ticket back to Bozotown!
+:'''Knuckles''': Why don't you be a good boy and say uncle?
+:'''Anti-Knuckles''': I don't have an uncle--but I do have this kindly ol' aunt!
+==Trivia==
+*Although he appears in his standard outfit on the issue's cover, Evil Sonic wears a pair of Sonic-style sneakers in the actual issue as opposed to his black leather boots.
+*This is the first issue to have the ''[[Sonic X-treme]]'' themed order form while [[Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 51|''Sonic the Hedgehog'' #51]] is the last.
+==Gallery==
+===Preview pages===
+{{Gallery start}}
+<gallery widths="200">
+Black&blueandredalloverpage1.jpg|Page one
+Black&blueandredalloverpage2.jpg|Page two
+Black&blueandredalloverpage3.jpg|Page three
+Black&blueandredalloverpage4.jpg|Page four
+Black&blueandredalloverpage5.jpg|Page five
+</gallery>
+{{Gallery end}}
+==External links==
+*{{ME link|Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 44}}
+*{{Plain link|http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_044_(Archie)|Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 44}} at Sonic Retro
+{{ArchieIssues1}}
+{{Italic title}}
+[[de:Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Ausgabe 44]]
+{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonic the Hedgehog 044}}
+[[Category:Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics) issues]]
+[[Category:1997 issues]]
+[[Category:Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics) issues written by Ken Penders]]