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Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 97 was the ninety-seventh issue of the main Sonic the Hedgehog comic series.
Summary[]
Story One[]
- "My Secret Identity"
Sonic the Hedgehog, determined to retrieve the Sword of Acorns, creates a black "ninja" costume in order to search for the sword without drawing the Secret Service's attention. At the castle, Nate Morgan is busy trying to restore the message from Uncle Chuck held in the memory of a broken Shadowbot. The message comes out garbled, telling them that Dr. Eggman has the sword. While Nate is unsure, Geoffrey proposes they immediately head out to take the sword back. Sally suggests to her brother Elias that they send Sonic to retrieve it, but Geoffrey furiously objects. Elias decides to just send Geoffrey and his Secret Service team on the mission.
Sonic is sneaking out of Knothole, planning to track down Uma Arachnis, when he hears Geoffrey and his team nearby. Overhearing them discuss their mission to retrieve the sword from Eggman, Sonic decides he'll need to abandon his hunt in order to protect the Secret Service members. In Robotropolis, Colin Kintobor and his assistant, Professor Cheddermund, give Dr. Eggman and Snively a record of their galactic trip. They ask Colin to leave the "eggheads" to talk amongst themselves as Eggman pulls out a device menacingly as he approaches Cheddermund. As Geoffrey and his team attempt to infiltrate Robotropolis, they are quickly spotted by the city's security systems. Sonic takes out the camera, but it's too late and Geoffrey's team is cornered by Shadowbots. Sonic leaps down to help fight, but Geoffrey surrenders to the robots. Sonic, Geoffrey, and the Secret Service team are taken in handcuffs to prison. Geoffrey asks Sonic who he is, and Sonic calls himself "The Sneak," a freedom fighter from Sandblast City visiting Robotropolis on a reconnaissance mission.
Each of them is taken in for interrogation, one by one. While Heavy and Bomb are being interrogated, Sonic tries to talk the group into escaping with him. Geoffrey refuses to leave his friends behind. Before the group is forced to make a decision, Heavy and Bomb return, blowing open an exit. As they escape, Eggman and Snively gloat to themselves about how they reprogrammed Heavy and Bomb to obey their commands. Sonic, certain that Eggman wanted them to escape, heads back to Knothole and stashes his disguise in an log. Before he can head back home, someone sneaks up behind him and places him under arrest.
Story Two[]
- "To the Brink"
Turbo Tails has angered Chaos Knuckles by standing between him and Merlin Prower. They tussle back and forth, trading blows, while Tails tries to reason with Knuckles. He refuses to listen and beats Tails into submission. Suddenly, Knuckles hears the voice of Julie-Su calling for him and teleports away.
Merlin, concerned that Tails didn't even attempt to defend himself, rushes to his nephew's side. Athair is certain that Turbo Tails should have been powerful enough to overcome Chaos Knuckles and decides to probe Tails' mind for answers. He finds that the "Tails" lying before them is actually not the real Tails, but rather a magical doppleganger. Merlin insists they must find the real Tails, but Athair cautions that there may not be a real Tails at all. He instead proposes they simply return the fake Tails to his regular life while they search for answers.
Quotes[]
- Athair: "As astounding as it may be, that is not your nephew you hold in your arms -- but rather his doppelganger!"
- Merlin: "His WHAAAT?!!!"
Key Events[]
- Elias Acorn sends the Royal Secret Service to retrieve the Sword of Acorns from Robotropolis.
- Sonic the Hedgehog goes as The Sneak to help them.
- Heavy and Bomb are reprogrammed as sleeper agents by Dr. Eggman.
- Tails fights Chaos Knuckles and is defeated. Despite finding out that he is not the real Tails, he is sent back to Knothole.
Background Information[]
- The first panels of the first story were drawn by Patrick Spaziante.
- Hershey is only member of the Secret Service to have no dialogue throughout the entire issue. Despite that, Wombat Stu only gets a single line of dialogue simply with "Ugh!".
- The cover of this Issue was featured in Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2008, under "Longest-Running Comic Based on a Video Game".
- Sonic's secret identity is mentioned again by Espio in Sonic Universe #16.
References & Cameos[]
- Sonic's line of "You da man now, hog!" is a nod to the internet meme YTMND.
Errors[]
- Wombat Stu disappears and reappears at random points of the story when the full Secret Service group is intended to be on-panel.
External links[]
- Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 97 at Sonic Wiki Zone, the Sonic wiki.