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Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 6 was the sixth issue of the main Sonic the Hedgehog comic series.
Summary[]
Story One[]
- "The Spin Doctor"
The story begins with the Knothole Freedom Fighters—Sonic, Tails, Sally, Antoine, Rotor, and Bunnie—running ahead into battle, having Sonic take charge as they aim to launch a surprise attack on Robotnik, Inc. in Robotropolis that will shut down Dr. Ivo Robotnik once and for all. When they arrive however, they are surprised to see that the factory has been shot down once and for all. Sonic then finds a note on the front door from Robotnik that says that he has moved his roboticization operations to inside the active volcano on Mount Mobius, and warns Sonic to not try and stop him. Despite his friends' protest, Sonic heads out to confront Robotnik.
Soon after, Sonic finds himself at a lake of lava with Robotnik's Veg-O-Fortress sitting right in the middle, with only a pair of rails leading into the fortress. As Sonic wonders what the rails are for, Robotnik, who is observing Sonic from his control room, activates a pinball flipper right behind Sonic that knocks him towards the lava pool. For a few moments, Sonic skips across the lava, burning his rear on the surface, until he reaches the rails. Realizing that he run on the rails like a pinball, Sonic hurries into the Veg-O-Fortress. Robotnik is not set back by this though, noting that Sonic has no chance of surviving his fortress, and that once he is eliminated, he will roboticize all of Mobius.
Making his way through the pinball defense system into the Toxic Caves, which he notes reminds him of Casino Night Zone, Sonic muses about the toxic environment until he is caught by Rexxon, who brings him before the boss of Toxic Caves: Scorpius. Going into a Sonic Spin however, Sonic smashes the Badniks and proceeds forwards. Robotnik, having observed Sonic on the monitors, is displeased by Sonic's progress, but reminds himself that he will not make it through the Lava Powerhouse level. Upon arriving there, Sonic takes a Freight Car and continues through the pinball defense system. Along th way, he meets Hip and Hop, two mobian kangaroos who escaped Robotnik, who warns him of the Ferrons up ahead. Furious, Robotnik notes to roboticize the pair as they decide to escape. Soon after, Sonic comes across the Ferrons, who surround him on all sides. Sonic, however, takes them all out swiftly, much to Robotnik's anger.
Immediately after, Sonic hears the sounds of mobians in distress, but wonders where they are. H gets his answer soon after when a pinball flipper knocks him into a tube leading up to level three: The Machine. Arriving in a large room, Sonic finds a container full of mobians prepped for roboticization. Sonic prepares to free the captives, but gets distracted by dozens of massive botanical Badniks attacking him. Sonic proceeds to jump into a chute labeled "To Robotnik", only to discover that it is a trap as the door closes behind and shuts him inside a room. There, Robotnik contacts Sonic in Showdown, where he praises his progress through his fortress's pinball defense system before prematurely rejecting him from the fortress with a Spring below the hedgehog. As Sonic flies out of the top of the fortress, Tails arrives in time to grab Sonic in midair, telling him that Sally put him on hover patrol. Thanking Tails for the save, Sonic remarks that he has a feeling that he will probably make another trip into the fortress again someday.
Story Two[]
- "Sonic's Christmas Carol" - Part One
The story begins with Sonic telling the reader about the A Christmas Carol and that this will be his version of the story.
Inside a snow-covered office, "Robotnik Scrooge" accuses "Rotor Cratchit" of calling him a cheapskate. Rotor, however, insists that he was only saying that he should spent his money on fixing the roof. Scrooge angrily declines that request, insisting that he spends his monkey however he wants. Regardless, seeing that Scrooge seems in a good mood, Rotor tries asking Scrooge for a day off tomorrow so he can celebrate Christmas with his family. Noting the absurdity of that, Scrooge reminds him that he needs his factory to run 24/7 all year long in order to achieve his master plan of turning every being on Mobius into robots. When Rotor promises to make up for the time though, Scrooge allows it on the condition of reducing Rotor's five minute lunch break to one minute for the next ten years. Scrooge then sends Rotor back to work with a threat, who wishes Scrooge merry Christmas, only for Scrooge to reply "Bah Humbot!"
That night, Scrooge is sitting in his industrial mansion, expressing his hatred for the peasants' jealously of him down in Whoville while eating his pudding and watching rubbish burning on television, but takes comfort in knowing his master plan will soon be complete. Suddenly, however, Scrooge's teleivion starts showing his former partner-in-evil, "Jacob Snarley". Scrooge thinks it is a glitch until Snarley starts talking to him, telling him that now that he is a ghost, he is being punished for his sins in life (helping Scrooge's master plan) by being forced going from television to television for all eternity. Tired of listening to Snarley, Scoorge asks him what he wants. Snarley tells him that he is here to warm him that he will share his fate if he does not change his evil ways. When Scrooge declines, Snarley warns him that he will be visited by three ghosts. Scrooge responds by destroying his TV.
That night, Scoorge is in bed, believing no one can touch him. That is when the The Ghost of Christmas Past shows up and takes Scrooge back in time despite his refusal. There, the ghost shows Scrooge his younger self spending the day with Sonic and Uncle Chuck. When Chuck leaves to fix lunch while the two kids are setting up the Christmas tree, Scrooge gets in Chuck's tractor, intending to knock the tree over and blame Sonic for it.
- "Sonic's Christmas Carol" - Part Two
As Scrooge approaches the tree, Sonic digs a ditch around the tree with his speed to protect it from the rampaging young Robotnik. Furious at this memory, which reminds him of how Sonic always spoils his fun, Scrooge lunges forward, attempting to get revenge on the hedgehog. However, instead, he lands face first in a bowl of Christmas mush. Confused, he finds out that he is in the present, in Cratchit's home, having been brought there by the The Ghost of Christmas Present. In the home, Tails arrives with a present for Rotor's family of Freedom Fighters, which they deduce is from Scrooge. Scrooge laughs, as the present is a turkey-shaped bomb that he mailed to the senders. As Scrooge demands that they open it however, Sonic zooms by and takes the bomb from group, and marks it "Return to Sender" as he notes that they cannot trust Scrooge. Furious, Scrooge tries to stop Sonic, but the Spirit of Christmas Presents reminds him that he cannot be heard or seen.
Immediately after, Scrooge finds himself in a wasteland and laughs at an old coot passing by. That is when the The Ghost of Christmas Future shows up and reveals that it is sixty years later, before showing both Scrooge and the Freedom Fighters as elders. Scrooge then almost repents when he learns that, by striving to achieve his master plan and destroy the planet, he ends up with nothing left in the world to rule over. However, Scrooge then sees that future Scrooge has a robot that captures the old Freedom Fighters, making present Scrooge giddy over his eventually victory. As the future Sonic tries to stop Scrooge again, only to trip trying make a Sonic Spin, however, the future Scrooge receives a package marked "Return to Sender" that was mailed fourth class—the slow way. Present Scrooge recognizes it as the bomb he sent to Rotor, which Sonic then sent back to him. Scrooge tries to stop his future self from opening it, but it is too late and it explodes.
Back in reality, Sonic is woken up in his bed by Rotor who tells him that he almost slept through Christmas, and Sonic realize it was all a dream. Noticing that they are down to the last page in the story, Sonic speeds off to wear a Santa outfit, flying through the air in a giant shoe pulled by reindeer and wishing the readers happy holidays as the Knothole Freedom Fighters sing carols and Robotnik cries out "Bah! Humbot!"
Bonus Features[]
Short Stories[]
- "Here Comes the Bribe!"
Sonic is surprised to find a letter from a fan demanding more Antoine appearances in the comic. As the letter goes on to congratulate Antoine and celebrate how great he is, Sonic gets suspicious. Sonic bursts into Antoine's room and finds him composing a letter to the fan, thanking the fan for writing the letter he asked for and explaining that he'll be sending him a paycheck.
Quotes[]
- Robotnik: "How Kanga-rude those two fugitives were! But I'll robotcize them after Sonic's demise!"
- Hop: "Let's hop out of here, Hip!"
- Hip: "I'm Hip, Hop!"
- Sonic: "Like they say... 'All is Ferron love and war'..."
Key Events[]
- Sonic locates and attacks the Veg-O-Fortress.
Background Information[]
- The main story is the comic tie-in to the video game Sonic Spinball. This story is the first adaptation of a Sonic video game in the comic's history.
- This is the first issue where "Boomer" is called Rotor.
Cameos & References[]
- Rexxon is probably named after the gas company, Exxon, due to him being a toxic oil monster.
- It is also likely a reference to Roxxon, the massive petroleum corporation which appears in the shared Marvel Comics Universe.
Non-Canon Material[]
- "Sonic's Christmas Carol" adapts A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. Due to it simply being a humorous parody of the tale that has no connection with the main continuity, it is non-canon to the actual series.
- Snively Robotnik makes his first appearance in this story, but does not make a canonical appearance until Sonic the Hedgehog #8.
Reprint History[]
This issue has been reprinted in the following places:
- Sonic Archives Vol. 2
- Sonic Legacy Book 1
- Sonic Super Digest #6
- "The Spin Doctor" was reprinted in Sonic Super Digest #1 and Sonic: The Games - Classic
External links[]
- Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 6 at Sonic Wiki Zone, the Sonic wiki.