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ArchieSonic78CoverHD
Sonic the Hedgehog
Publication Details
Issue 

78

Date Published 

October 1999

Publishing Company 

Archie Comics

Production Staff
Cover Artist
Cover Colorist
Writer
Pencils
Inks
Letters
Colors
Editor
  • Justin Freddy Gabrie
Managing Editor
  • Victor Gorelick
Editor in Chief
  • Richard Goldwater
First Appearances
Characters
Only Appearance
  

Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 78 was the seventy-eighth issue of the main Sonic the Hedgehog comic series.

Summary[]

Story One[]

"Changes" - Chapter 1

King Acorn knights Sonic the Hedgehog for his consistent acts of heroism while Prince Elias and Princess Sally present him with a medal of honor. Sally gives him a kiss on the cheek while the king announces to the citizens that Knothole shall be rechristened the Kingdom of Knothole and serve as a safe haven from Dr. Robotnik. In addition, he reinstates the Knothole Freedom Fighters as the kingdom's protectors.

In Robotropolis, Dr. Robotnik has recovered from the virus infecting his systems. Having been forced to dump many of his corrupted memory files in the process, he swears vengeance on his suspected culprit: Sonic. He reminds himself that, while Sonic's parents have escaped his clutches, Sonic's Uncle Chuck remains his mindless slave. Meanwhile, in Knothole, Sonic glumly packs up Uncle Chuck's belongings so Nate Morgan can move into his home. His parents comfort him, assuring Sonic that Uncle Chuck will be back someday.

Elsewhere, King Acorn, Sally and Elias watch over Alicia Acorn in her stasis tube. Elias asks his father if Dr. Quack has determined the reason for her continued deep sleep, but is informed that it's still unclear. The king tells his children that their mother is alive, but may very well never wake from her slumber. Sally and Elias refuse to accept this and plead for their father to keep hoping. The group heads out with Nate Morgan, not noticing that the queen's hand twitches slightly inside the tube. Deep in space, two spacecrafts continue their journey towards Mobius.

"Changes" - Chapter 2

Mina Mongoose wanders through Knothole, wishing that she could have been roboticized so she could be with her loved ones. While stewing over her grief, Rosie Woodchuck approaches her and introduces her to Rory, Snaggle and Sasha. Explaining that their parents were taken by Dr. Robotnik, she asks Mina to look after them while she runs some errands, thinking that the kids would do well to talk with someone who they could relate to.

While on a walk through the village, Bunnie asks Antoine to tell her what's on his mind. Antoine obliges, explaining that he's been troubled ever since Sonic told him that his father is the High Sheriff, Dr. Robotnik's Sub-Boss in Mercia. He swears to save his father someday when Sonic, Tails, and Sally arrive. They put their worries aside and congratulate Sonic on his knighthood. Geoffrey St. John arrives with his Secret Service team and, with a bit of affable reluctance, congratulates Sonic.

Elias watches the Freedom Fighters and Secret Service from a distance and thinks of how they'll never know that their new alliance was his idea. He walks through the village, envying their adventurous lives and regretting his station as prince, when he overhears Dr. Quack speaking with the king.

Quack explains that Alicia has become dependent on the freezing temperatures of her stasis tube: while she's perfectly healthy, leaving the tube would kill her. He tells the king that they only have enough power to keep the tube running for one more week. In Robotropolis, Dr. Robotnik searches his files for a means to destroy Sonic and his friends. Having found a lead in Soumerca, he sends his Shadowbots to find Chaos.

Story Two[]

Tales of the Great War: Part 6 - "What Really Happened"

Sitting around a campfire with several other Mobians in Knothole, Elias asks Bernie to continue her story. With Jules on his deathbed, Chuck and Bernie decided to use Chuck's experimental Roboticizer to save his life. Jules interrupts the story and suggests that saving him was a bad decision since, in his desperation to save Jules, Chuck never noticed that Julian Kintobor sabotaged his invention.

Bernie scolds Jules for assuming things and they continue telling their story. They explain that Julian convinced King Acorn to stake the outcome of the Great War on a one-on-one sword duel with the Overlord of the Overlanders, Charlemagne. Amadeus Prower held back the Overlord's second in command, Colin Kintobor, to keep the fight fair. King Acorn defeated the Overlord, but refused to kill him. Instead he demanded that they keep their bargain as promised and call off the war.

Julian was frustrated by the outcome, with both of his enemies surviving the encounter, but took joy in seeing Chuck lose all confidence in his abilities as a scientist after the accident with Jules. Unable to face the shame, Chuck left home. Bernie was left with her robotic husband, not sure how to explain his condition to Sonic.

Bonus Features[]

Pinup Pages/Activity Pages[]

Pro Art

Pinup page of Sonic with his name in Katakana in the background flicking a power ring with his thumb while surrounded by speed lines. Presented in black-and-white as a coloring page. Art by Harvey Mercadoocasio.

Quotes[]

  • Bunnie: "Congratulations on your knighthood, Sugah-hog!"
  • Antoine: "I as well salute you, mon ami!"
  • Sonic: "Then how about calling me 'Sir Sonic' from now on?"
  • Tails: "Yaaay! Sir Sonic!"
  • Antoine: "I thoroughly am rejecting zat notion!"
  • Sally: "I warned Dad this would happen!"

Key Events[]

  • Sonic is knighted, becoming "Sir Sonic the Hedgehog."
  • The Kingdom of Knothole is established.
  • The Knothole Freedom Fighters are officially reinstated.
  • Queen Alicia starts to show signs of regaining consciousness.
  • The mysterious space vessels rocket closer towards Mobius.

Background Information[]

  • This issue introduces the redesigned Sonic the Hedgehog logo.
  • This issue introduces a new, short-lived footnote system. Footnotes throughout an issue would be numbered, referring readers to a list of notes in the Sonic-Grams section of the book.
  • "Changes" is the first story to feature Bunnie's redesigned limbs, which she obtained in SSS: #11.
  • Tales of the Great War: Part 6 - "What Really Happened" occurs directly after Tales of the Great War: Part 5 in the previous issue, before the events of "Changes".

Cameos & References[]

  • This was the third issue to feature Mobian characters parodying the cast ofTenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki.
  • Monkey Khan makes a cameo appearance in Julian's lab in Tales of the Great War: Part 6.

Errors[]

  • Sonic's medal of honor is called a "metal of honor."
  • Valdez appears alongside the other Secret Service agents in "Changes" despite having been captured and roboticized after the events of StH #75.
  • This issue's Sonic-Grams mistakenly reprinted the Off Panel strip from Sonic the Hedgehog #76.

Continuity[]

  • Both stories occur, chronologically, in reverse order.
  • "Changes" takes place after "Bunnie Rabbot: Upgrade" (SSS#11).

External links[]

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