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The subject of this article appeared before the Super Genesis Wave.
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This issue takes place roughly between Sonic the Hedgehog #46#47
Sss1
Sonic Super Special
Publication Details
Issue 

1

Date Published 

May 1997

Publishing Company 

Archie Comics

Production Staff
Cover Artist
Frontispiece
Writer
Pencils
Inks
Letters
Colors
Editor
  • Justin Freddy Gabrie
Managing Editor
  • Victor Gorelick
Editor in Chief
  • Richard Goldwater
Special Thanks

to Susan Suarez and Hellen Ball

First Appearances
Characters
Locations
Only Appearance
  

Archie Sonic Super Special Issue 1 was the first issue of the Sonic Super Specials.

Summary[]

Story One[]

"Battle Royal" - Part One

The Freedom Fighters travel to the Floating Island to retrieve the Sword of Acorns from Knuckles and help him defend the island from an unknown force. The group searches the island but is unable to find Knuckles or any sign of a battle having taken place. While searching they're ambushed by the Chaotix, who tell the group that the sword allowed them to defeat their enemies and that, as per Knuckles' orders, they refuse to give it back. Vector, Espio, Mighty and Charmy refuse to listen to reason and briefly scuffle with Sonic and his friends before escaping in a cloud of smoke. Sally is puzzled by their behavior and encourages the group to help her discover why Knuckles is being so unreasonable as they continue to search the island.

Elsewhere on the island, Vector, Mighty, Charmy, Espio and Knuckles discuss how the Freedom Fighters are acting strangely. Just then, the Freedom Fighters arrive and the Chaotix ask why they were threatening to attack them. Tails barks back that they're sick of waiting for Knuckles to hand over the Sword of Acorns. Bunnie, Sally, Tails, and Sonic attack them, claiming that Knuckles has been dawdling with the sword for over a month. The Chaotix object, explaining that Knuckles only found the sword recently, and manage to subdue the Freedom Fighters. The group of no-good do-gooders escape, telling the Chaotix that they'll be back with reinforcements. Once out of sight, the group of "Freedom Fighters" is enveloped by a cloud of smoke. Knuckles and friends wonder what just happened when Archimedes appears, warning them that things aren't as they appear. Before he can explain, the Freedom Fighters show up, demanding that Knuckles explain himself.

"Battle Royal" - Part Two

The Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix start to fight, with Sally pleading with the group to be reasonable and Archimedes deciding he needs backup to calm them down. Sonic and Knuckles are evenly matched and end up lying down, exhausted from trying to keep up with each other. Meanwhile, Archimedes telepathically directs Charmy to lure the Dulcy toward Sally. Dulcy spits her fire breath towards Charmy and Archimedes counters with his own fire powers, causing a massive explosion. As the dust settles, the Chaotix and the Freedom Fighters are nowhere to be seen.

The Sword of Acorns firmly in his grasp, Mammoth Mogul reveals himself and the Fearsome Foursome to celebrate his victory. Sergeant Simian asks if they're being a bit presumptuous, but Mogul zaps him with the sword and begins ranting about their plans in response to his insolence. Mogul recounts that, although they gave the Chaotix an easy victory in their last encounter to assess their skills, the combined might of the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix could actually foil his plans. Seeing an opportunity with the Sword of Acorns up for grabs, Mogul altered the radio messages the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix sent to each other when planning to transport the sword. He then used his illusion powers to disguise the Fearsome Foursome as members of the Chaotix and the Freedom Fighters to engage both sides and make sure the two groups would eventually fight and eliminate each other.

As he finishes recapping his genius plan, the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix jump out of hiding and ambush the Fearsome Foursome, easily defeating them. Mogul is confused at first, but Sally and Knuckles explain that they had Archimedes teleport the group out of the way when his fire blast connected with Dulcy's and listened in on Mogul's rant. The group also points out all the mistakes in his ruse, from Archimedes "teleporting" the Chaotix without being anywhere near them to Bunnie lifting boulders with her organic arm, Sonic being a bit slow, the fact that only four members of each group attacked the other, and Mighty and Sonic not recognizing each other. Antoine demands that Mogul hand over the sword, but he instead flies into a rage and explodes with power, sending the group flying.

The fighters try to dog pile on to Mogul, but the Sword of Acorn makes him too powerful from to handle. As the group grapples with him, Archimedes appears and places a Chaos Emerald against the emerald in Mogul's cane. With a flash of light, Mammoth Mogul and the Fearsome Foursome disappear. Knuckles finds the Sword of Acorns lying nearby and hands it to Sally, who knights him as Sir Knuckles. Both groups celebrate and the Freedom Fighters head back to Knothole. That night, Sally asks Rotor to contact Uncle Chuck to help retrieve the Crown of Acorns before heading off to do some research of her own with NICOLE. As she looks for answers, Rosie takes her to see her father, who has miraculously recovered from his crystallization. Meanwhile, back on the Floating Island, Mammoth Mogul gloats over his victory, having tricked the Freedom Fighters into obtaining a fake Sword of Acorns while he still possess the genuine article.

Story Two[]

"The Map" - Part One

Searching through his father's possessions, Antoine discovers half of a map hidden in the hilt of a sword. Bunnie drops by for a visit, but Antoine asks to be left alone while he pours over the secrets of the map. All he can figure out is that the map points to an area in Robotropolis called the Budding Circle. Meanwhile, in Robotropolis, Snively looks for a weapon to defeat his uncle, Dr. Robotnik. Searching through some files, he comes across the opposite half of Antoine's map, which also points him to the Budding Circle. After a bit of research, he learns that the Budding Circle was a site on the south side of Mobotropolis that was previously overrun with Krudzu before the pressure of the mechanical plant gave way and the area collapsed.

Antoine, determined to find what his father left behind, maps out his journey and heads to Robotropolis alone while Snively deploys his Eggbots to dig up the ruins of the Budding Circle, hoping to find Krudzu seedlings to use against his uncle. Antoine overhears Snively's plan and mention of the other half of the map. Antoine is certain the map couldn't be pointing to the location of the Krudzu seeds, certain that his father would not hide such a thing, but decides to return to Knothole to warn the Freedom Fighters about Snively's plan. However, he slips on a pile of metal bars and causes a commotion. Snively sends his Eggbots to silence the intruder to keep his plot a secret.

"The Map" - Part Two

With the Eggbots in pursuit, Antoine narrowly avoids their laser beams by falling into the sewers. The Eggbots swarm into the sewers, forcing Antoine to pull a Power Ring out of his pack. Noting that rings are able to empower those with pure hearts, he begs for the ring to help him just this one time. He takes a swing with his sword and slices the pursuing Eggbots in half. Unfortunately, more Eggbots blast their way into the sewers and chase Antoine to a junction. Using a prism and a remote, he casts a double image of himself entering both paths out of the sewers, confusing the Eggbots.

Antoine makes his way to the base of the Robotropolis Spy Network, finding Uncle Chuck and explaining his adventure. Chuck informs him that Rotor detected some seismic activity in the area already and went to investigate it with Sonic and Bunnie. Antoine realizes his friends are in danger, blames himself for not explaining his plan to them, and hands his half of the map to Chuck before leaving to assist his friends. Back at the Budding Circle, he finds Sonic, Rotor and Bunnie surrounded by Eggbots. Antoine gets Sonic's attention and throws him the Power Ring, which Sonic uses to thin out the enemy forces. The Eggbots retreat when a group of SWATbots fly in. Antoine offers to lead the way back while Bunnie notices that the SWATbots aren't following them at all.

The SWATbots stand at attention as Dr. Robotnik arrives on the scene. He demands that Snively explain the rumors he's heard of attack robots that are far more powerful than his own. Snively tries to talk his way out of the situation, explaining that he had a group of "digging" robots that the Freedom Fighters destroyed. Back at Knothole, Antoine takes a melancholy look back over his half of the map, wondering if he'll one day discover its secrets.

Quotes[]

  • Bunnie: "What we have heah is a failure to communicate!"


  • Bunnie: "Why aren't the SWATbots following us down here? It's like they didn't come here for us."
  • Sonic: "You can write them a letter and tell them how you feel later. But right now, we gotta go."

Key Events[]


Background Information[]

  • The cliffhanger ending of "Battle Royal" would be resolved in KtE #9 and STH #56.
  • This comic was originally published as "Sonic vs. Knuckles: Battle Royal." When the Sonic Super Special series was made into a quarterly publication, it was reprinted as "Sonic Super Special: Battle Royal" with the cover text changed to match.[1]
  • Unlike the other issues of the Sonic Super Special series, this issue's Sonic-Grams page is called "Battle Royale mail." This is due to the issue not initially being printed as a Super Special.
  • The first printing of this comic had a cover price of $2.00 (USA) / $2.50 (CAN), while the Sonic Super Special reprint had a cover price of $2.25 (USA) / $2.75 (CAN).
  • The second story in this issue, "The Map", is similar to both the second story of issue #23 "The Vol-Ant-Teer" and the Sonic the Hedgehog episode "Hooked on Sonics" because Antoine carries out a covert mission alone in Robotroplis.

Cameos & References[]

  • Bunnie's quote (listed above) is a reference to the movie Cool Hand Luke.
  • In his flashback, Mammoth Mogul thinks "I control the horizontal -- I control the vertical --" while altering the radio messages of the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix. This is a reference to the introduction sequence to the famous 1960's television show, The Outer Limits.

Errors[]

  • "Battle Royal" is listed as "Battle Royal!" on the credits page.

Reprint History[]

This issue has been reprinted in the following places:

External Links[]

Archie Sonic Super Special Issue 1 at Sonic Wiki Zone, the Sonic wiki.

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