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Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 123 was the one hundred and twenty-third issue of the main Sonic the Hedgehog comic series.
Summary[]
Story One[]
- "Heart Held Hostage" - Part Two
Sonic arrives at the decrepit manor where Nack the Weasel and his gang are holding Sally hostage. Mina Mongoose catches up, thinking about how much she adores him, and Sonic asks where the Freedom Fighters are. Mina admits that she left them back at Castle Acorn and Sonic realizes they both ran ahead without thinking. Mina tries to make small talk, but Sonic is concerned about their lack of backup.
Inside, Sally asks Nack why he decided to kidnap her. He explains that, by holding Sally ransom, he can extort a hefty sum of money from the king and queen for her safe return. Sally, unimpressed by his plan, implies that Nack isn't as clever as she thought. Nack asks Sally what she would do in his place. She explains that, if she joined their gang, she could keep pretending to be a "hostage" and her parents would keep paying the gang for nothing. The weasels are dumbfounded, and Sally tells them that she hates how her parents control her wealth. Nack approaches the princess, admitting that he's surprised by her "teenage resentment" towards her parents and he understands her pain. While his guard is down, Sally knees Nack in the groin and swipes his gun. The other two weasels hold her at gunpoint, but Sally holds Nack hostage and warns them to put their weapons down.
Meanwhile, Sonic and Mina enter the mansion. Sonic suggests they split up to find Sally, but warns Mina not to be reckless. Mina is distracted by her close contact with Sonic and absentmindedly agrees, thinking that she would do anything to prove her love. The weasels chase after Sally, firing warning shots at her. Sonic and Mina hear the shots as Sally attempts to fight off her attackers. Sally ends up cornered in a hallway, out of ammo, as her pursuers draw near.
Sonic arrives and easily disarms and knocks out the weasels. Sally runs to Sonic just as Mina steps into the room. They embrace, Sally declares her love, and the couple shares a kiss. Mina, overcome with heartache, stumbles out of the room in tears. She berates herself for not realizing how Sonic felt about Sally, but thinks to herself that even now she would do anything for her love. Sonic and Sally stroll hand-in-hand through the mansion, wondering what happened to Nack. Just then, Nack takes aim at the princess, intent on getting revenge. Mina, trying to hide the fact that she'd been crying, ends up spotting Nack as he prepares to pull the trigger. Aghast, she runs in front of Sally as Nack fires, taking the bullet in the process. Nack escapes as Sonic holds Mina, who manages to tell him that she loves him before passing out.
Mina wakes up in the hospital with Sonic and Sally at her bedside. Sonic says that what she did was dumb, but also brave. Mina turns to Sally and asks if she's okay, and Sally replies that she is while asking Mina the same, adding that she was "hurt pretty bad." Closing her eyes and tearing up slightly, Mina tells her that she'll get over it.
Story Two[]
- "Afterlife" - Part Three
Knuckles and Aurora watch a younger Knuckles and Princess Sally enjoying time together on Angel Island as children. Aurora teases Knuckles about having been "quite smitten" with Sally back then, but Knuckles points out this was long before he met Julie-Su. He wonders why the young Knuckles and Sally don't notice them, and Aurora explains that the Virtual Zone they inhabit allows them to reflect on the past. They move on, remembering happy times where Knuckles trained with this father, until Locke left for the Forbidden Zone. Knuckles admits that it was hard on him. Aurora assumes that this was because he felt pressure to take up the position of Guardian, but Knuckles says that he just missed his father.
Knuckles thinks about how he became friends with Vector the Crocodile and explains that being the Guardian was easy until Sonic and his friends started to show up. He then remembers Archimedes, who would train him, and the revival of Dimitri, the first Enerjak. He thinks about his battles with the Dark Legion, and how he met Julie-Su as a result, and Aurora suggests that these battles were less difficult to deal with than the reappearance of Echidnaopolis and his reunion with his mother Lara-Le. Knuckles admits that most of the time he'd rather have dealt with Enerjak than his parents. Aurora asks whether their relationships were really that difficult, and Knuckles admits that it wasn't really as bad as when he realized how "different" he really was.
Story Three[]
- "The Last Robian"
Sonic wakes up one morning to find that his family has disappeared, and it soon becomes apparent that all of the world's Robians have gone missing. While Sonic and friends suspected Dr. Eggman to be responsible, they couldn't find him anywhere. The citizens of Knothole comfort each other while dealing with the loss of their Roboticized loved ones, such as Isabella Mongoose and General D'Coolette.
Almost three weeks later, Sonic received word from Deerwood Forest that Muttski had been found . To Sonic's surprise, Muttski had been deroboticized. Over the course of the next few weeks, other missing Robians reappeared - though now flesh and blood. None of them could remember what had occurred, but considered what had happened a miracle. Eventually, all of the former Robians had been found except Jules Hedgehog. After some time he reappeared, but unlike the others he remained a Robian. Uncle Chuck, with assistance from Tails and Rotor, attempted to find a way to restore Jules as well, but was unsuccessful. Over time, Jules began to feel like an outsider in his own family, unable to eat with them or sleep like them.
Sonic, angered by his father's cruel fate, confronts Eggman. He asks why Jules was the only Robian that wasn't deroboticized. Eggman tells Sonic he would never deroboticize the Robians and he doesn't know why they returned to normal. Back in Knothole, Sonic explains the situation to his family and says he thinks Eggman isn't responsible. Chuck insists he'll keep working to help Jules, but Jules tells his brother to give up. He explains that he doesn't want to see Chuck strain himself anymore, and he'd rather focus on the fact that everyone else has been returned to normal. Sonic agrees, reaffirming that they'll always be a family, but he silently thinks that he'll figure out who was responsible.
Bonus Features[]
Gag Strips[]
Knuckles gets a foot rest for the editor, and Barby Koala and Walt Wallaby bring him some "fresh tucker from Downunda." Bunnie offers the editor a massage as he mentions that, whenever there's a big issue coming, everyone starts kissing up to him for a cameo. Written by Mike Gallagher, art by Nelson Ribeiro.
Quotes[]
- Nack: "Of course. I feel your pain..."
- Sally: "Really? Does it feel anything... like this?"
- Mina: "Stupidstupidstupid! He loves the princess, not me. I've been fooling myself all along. It doesn't matter. Even though he'll never care for me like he does her... I'll still do anything for him."
Key Events[]
- Sonic and Mina rescue Sally from Nack and his gang.
- Sonic and Sally reveal their feelings for each other.
- Mina takes a bullet for Sally, but survives.
- Knuckles discusses his life with Aurora.
- All the Robians are derobiticized, except Jules.
Background Information[]
- Minerva Ifill, the namesake of Mina Mongoose and Karl Bollers' grandmother, passed away shortly before this issue's publication. "Heart Held Hostage - Part Two" was dedicated to her memory.
- This issue was published on the tenth anniversary of the first printing of Sonic the Hedgehog #1.
- "Afterlife" - Part Three serves as a recap story, where Knuckles and Aurora review events from Sonic the Hedgehog #13, Knuckles Chaotix, the Knuckles Miniseries, Knuckles the Echidna #1, Knuckles the Echidna #4, Knuckles the Echidna #8, and Knuckles the Echidna #11.
- Jules' deroboticization never happened due his injuries, which wasn't relieved until issues #126-#129 and explained in #134.
Errors[]
- The cover blurb reads "who's heart" instead of "whose heart."
- There are multiple artistic errors in "Afterlife" - Part Three and "The Last Robian"; Bernie, Lara-Le, Julie-Su and almost every member of the Wolf Pack are miscoloured, while the Chaos Chamber, Amy Rose and Bunnie Rabbot are drawn incorrectly.
External links[]
- Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 123 at Sonic Wiki Zone, the Sonic wiki.