Mobius Encyclopaedia
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The subject of this article appeared before and after the Super Genesis Wave.
SonicCover1

Cover of Sonic the Hedgehog #1

Sonic the Hedgehog was a series of comic books published by Archie Comics, featuring SEGA's mascot video game character Sonic the Hedgehog. The series ran for a total of 24 years (1993-2017) and 290 issues before its cancellation. The series held the records for longest running video game-based comic and longest running licensed comic series.

The main basis for the Archieverse, the series featured a mixture of characters, settings and storylines from the Sonic the Hedgehog SatAM cartoon show, the Sonic the Hedgehog video games by SEGA, and various other incarnations of Sonic. It also included many elements unique to the comic universe.

Overview[]

The main focus of the comic's storyline was the title character, world-famous hero Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic is endowed with super speed and a hatred of oppression, which puts him at odds with the nefarious Dr. Eggman. Sonic is in many ways different from his game counterpart - in the comics, he is depicted as having important ties with his family and friends, a characteristic absent from other incarnations. He is also portrayed as having a deep sense of duty - in the games Sonic treats his ongoing conflict with Eggman as just an opportunity to have a fun time, whereas in the comic he holds a personal grudge against the Doctor and understands his ability to protect the world from this menace.

Although Sonic normally goes adventuring by himself in the video games (with the occasional company of other player characters), in the comic he is affiliated with the Knothole Freedom Fighters, a ragtag rebellion that was formed to counter the tyranny of Dr. Ivo Robotnik and his legion of unquestioning, warlike robots. The basis of the original issues were designed to closely mirror Sonic SatAM, as well as the names and likenesses of Sonic's allies in the Freedom Fighters. Since then, the series has integrated many elements from the video games, which has led to ongoing story arcs involving, Knuckles the Echidna and others.

Setting[]

Initially, the series kept to a single continuity that lasted for the first 247 issues, as well as most spin-offs, before switching to an altered continuity from issue 252 onward. While the two continuities are completely different to each other at their core, they are still connected in terms of overall storyline, with an in-continuity reason for the switch.

Issues 1-247

At the beginning of the series (in its original canon), the year was 3235, though by the end it was 3237 (due to the relativity of Sonic's "year" in space, in which several months passed while he was gone on Mobius while only weeks passed for him). Sonic had lived on Mobius in New Mobotropolis by the end of the series. It was eventually revealed that Mobius was actually a future Earth (in an alternative reality), the year being 14,015 AD by our calendar. (StH: #148, #157)

Originally, the date the Xorda attacked Earth was the year 0 by the Mobian calendar (during the 21st century by our calendar), and that was known in Echidna theology as the first "Day of Fury". However, the date of the Xorda attack was retconned to have occurred roughly twelve thousand years ago from the current Mobian year. The reason for the Mobian date only being 3237 with the currect retcon is unknown.

At the onset of the series, Sonic's original home was Knothole Village, a secret woodland base hidden within the Great Forest outside of Robotropolis. Since then, other areas of Mobius have been featured in the series. Additional main areas of setting include Angel Island, Downunda, New Megaopolis and Station Square.

Issues 252-290
Sonic 252

The cover of Sonic the Hedgehog #252, the first issue to take place in the current continuity

The comic officially entered into a new continuity from its 252nd issue onward. The switch to this new canon was initiated in issue 247 when Mobius was hit by the reality-warping Genesis Wave, which in turn led to a 4-month long crossover with another licenced video game-based comic series. The crossover event culminated in the fabric of Sonic's entire Multiverse collapsing in on itself, which resulted in Sonic's world returning in an almost completely unrecognisable state, and all alternate realities (excluding the Sol Zone) being completely destroyed and replaced by new ones.

The comic, from there on, took place in a world that bore a closer resemblance to the games, but with several concepts being carried over from the old continuity. It's unknown how much of the elements introduced in the old continuity still remained.

Alternate Futures/Timelines[]

The backstory of StH #131-144 introduce the famous Mobius: 25 Years Later storyline, providing readers with a glimpse into the future. In this future reality, Sonic is king of Knothole and married to Sally. Knuckles has attained the rank of Guardian and is (unofficially) married to Julie-Su. However all is not well as the timeline is in danger of collapsing into destruction. Sonic and Knuckles try with the help of Rotor to prevent this catastrophe. Sonic ends up saving the universe, but it is unfortunatly reset with alterations, which are seen in issues #166-167. A continuation of this universe, known as Mobius: 30 Years Later, was told in Sonic Universe #5-8, taking place five years after the events of StH #167.

Another future version of Mobius was seen in StH #103 and #104, which was home to the Freedom Fighters of the Galaxy. Taking place in the year 4235, this dark version of the future reveals that the various members of the Knothole Freedom Fighters survived, while the rest of Mobius became uninhabitable due to Robotnik's victory (which costed him his own life). Thus the surviving Freedom Fighters left Mobius in space ships, each settling on a different planet, resulting in societies being born each looking similar to the Freedom Fighter that landed there. However, a violent race simply called "The Shark" began a war against their planets, and thus a member from each of the four races gathered together and formed the Freedom Fighters of the Galaxy. Eventually they met up with that universe's version of Sonic, who had also survived, and together combated Silver Snively and later Robolactus.

Other future versions of Mobius have been seen in various issues. The future reality which NICOLE hails from was seen in the Sonic In Your Face special and StH #119. The universe Robo-Robotnik comes from which was home to Cyborg Sonic was seen in StH #19, and another future universe where Sonic and Sally were married and had a son Manik and a daughter Sonia was seen in StH #22.

It remains unknown if the universes seen in StH #19 and StH #22 were two distinct universes or the same, given that they appear to be very different. However, Robo-Robotnik comes from them. Given the dialogue, it is possible they are both distinct universes, and Robo-Robotnik originated in one but somehow ended up in the other. This is the theory assumed by this site's canon policy, as it is supported by dialogue.

Unique Story Elements of the Chaos Emeralds[]

The comic's mythology surrounding the Chaos Emeralds is quite different from what is seen in the games. In the Archieverse, the green Chaos Emeralds on Mobius were the result of radiation from the Xorda's Gene Bombs reacting with beryl deposits over ten thousand years ago, resulting in the Coming of the Chaos Emeralds.

This explanation has been considered false as it contradicts past origin tales for the Chaos Emeralds, and the storyteller Isaac has been rebuked as insane. However, other elements detailed by Isaac are considered canon as it is not contradicted by anything.

Six other colours of Chaos Emeralds exist but were spread across different planets throughout the universe. These major differences between the Archieverse and the games has recently been reduced. During the "The Great Harmony", Turbo Tails and Super Shadow pulled all of the universe's different coloured Chaos Emeralds to Mobius, where they sent them to the Zone of Silence. Once there, the Emeralds were combined by Feist into a single gem for each color, thus creating seven Chaos Emeralds total. The Zone of Silence was also transformed into the "Special Zone", which looks more like the games' special stages. Feist has subsequently forced people seeking Chaos Emeralds to undergo challenges to obtain them, all of them being based off versions of special stages from the Sonic games.

The origins of the Master Emerald are also significantly different from the videogames. In the Archieverse continuity, the Master Emerald was only created recently in 3236, as a result of Super Sonic, Hyper Knuckles and Turbo Tails defeating the super powerful Master Mogul, with help from Athair and the Brotherhood of Guardians channeling their powers to turn Mogul's energies into the Master Emerald.

Mobius was also home to seven colored "Super Emeralds". The Super Emeralds in the Archieverse were a result of the "Seven Server Chao" transforming into them while absorbing Chaos' power and weakening him. They transformed back into Chao after Perfect Chaos was defeated and thus the Super Emeralds no longer exist.

Storyline - Synopsis of Issues and Story Arcs[]

Early Issues[]

During the first two years, the comic consisted mostly of isolated stories. The continuity of the series was such, that only a few exceptions, the early issues could be interchanged with no noticeable effect. The only ironclad continuity during this period were the introductions of characters (such as Bunnie Rabbot, Knuckles, and Super Sonic) that would become familiar and lasting faces as the series continued. With little in the way of established character development, the team of writers had a largely free hand when it came to writing them. This resulted in a large amount of verbal and visual humor, with each issue built around Sonic and his allies constantly foiling Robotnik's plans- whether it be to tear down a forest or find the hidden location of Knothole Village or to build a robots of mass destruction. These stories often carried tongue-in-cheek environmentalist messages, with many of Dr. Robotnik's plans involving deforestation and pollution.

During the third year of the comic's run, the issues started to gain of sense of continuity, as a number of ongoing story elements were introduced. This is most notable with the addition of the Mecha Sonic story in issue 39 and the Mecha Madness special. Sonic is captured and turned into "Mecha Sonic" by Robotnik and then sent out to attack Knotthole Villiage. Knuckles submits himself to being roboticized in order to defeat Mecha Sonic.

From here, the storyline would be further developed into what is now a fully continuous one. Following the defeat of Mecha Sonic, the Freedom Fighters come together in issue 46 to discuss ways to attack and defeat Robotnik once and for all. The loyalty of many of the Freedom Fighters comes into question, particularly notable in a feud between Sonic and Geoffrey St. John, who claimed to be a member of the Acorn Secret Service.

End Game and After Robotnik's Death[]

The series then set out on an ambitious four-part storyline, the renowned End Game saga, that would culminate in the special 50th issue and profoundly change the direction of the series.

Spanning issues 47-50, the saga begins with a mission by the Knothole Freedom Fighters and the Wolf Pack, led by Lupe, to attack Robotnik’s base deep inside his city. Sally recalls that her father, King Acorn, suspects Sonic of being a traitor and will likely reveals himself during the mission. Just as thing appears to be going according to plan, Sally is hanging from a rope- in danger of falling- when Sonic appears. Just as it seems that he's going to rescue her, he takes a knife out and cuts the rope, sending her plummeting to the ground. The mission is called to retreat, and the Freedom Fighters move back to Knothole Village.

Meanwhile, Sonic is battling Robotnik inside the base (when he apparently left Sally for dead). Robotnik escapes and Sonic leaves the base wondering where the rest of his companions have gone. He returns to Knothole only to be arrested and put on trial. He's spared the death penalty in lue of his services, and is sentenced to life in the inescapable prison, the Devil's Gulag- along with other traitors, such as Sleuth Doggy Dog. While Sonic is being transported, SWATbots attack the vessel and it crash lands. Sonic manages to escape the wreckage and sets out to clear his name- with the story taking narrative and visual cues from "The Fugitive".

King Acorn learns of Sonic's escape and demands the recapture of Sonic by St. John. On the run, Sonic takes refuge in a cavern. Meanwhile, Bunnie and Antoine discover that Drago (a member of the Wolf Pack) has been working with Robotnik in order to frame Sonic. They're captured by SWATbots, and are sent off to a prison colony in Downunda (Run by a rebuilt Crocbot). King Acorn's increasingly erratic behavior culminates when he decrees that his new "Warlord" will be Robotnik. Sonic continues his run from St. John's "manhunt" temporarily escapes them with the aid of Dulcy the Dragon. Robotnik reveals the king is a duplicate by making it self destruct and his true plan then become evident to all. All this would lead up to Sonic's return to Knothole in issue 50, where Sonic clears his name and heads to Robotropolis for a final showdown with Robotnik.

As the issue notes, Sonic is uncharacteristically devoid of his usual humor as he approaches Robotnik's main base of operations- silently cutting through everything in his path. Sonic reaches the center of the building, where he mockingly addresses the Doctor as "Julian". During their final battle, Robotnik’s Ultimate Annihilator goes off and the room is destined for destruction, but Robotnik and Sonic remain to fight to fight to the end. A blinding white flash engulfs everything, and Sonic emerges victorious and Robotnik dies (due to Snively tampering with the weapon to only target Robotnik). Sonic returns to Knothole, where Dr. Quack that Sally's fall left her comatose, and that her "coffin" was actually a life-support system. Sonic arrives at the memorial, where he revives the princess with a kiss (and an unheard admission of his feelings for her).

Story lines continue after the End Game Saga. Mobotropolis is retaken in Super Special #2 and reconstruction soon begins. Ixis Naugus makes his first appearance in issue 53. Although temporarily defeated, he would return in Super Special #4, which lead into Sonic and Tails' world tour of Mobius- chasing down Naugus. He reappears in issues 64-66, along with the first appearance of Nate Morgan, who would go on to become a member of the regular cast. Ixis is defeated this time by Ultra Sonic and Hyper Tails and re-imprisoned in the Zone of Silence.

Following this, Sonic and Tails return to Mobotropolis, only to be surprised by the return of Prince Elias Acorn (who was brought back by St. John and his Secret Service in the now ongoing Knuckles the Echidna series issues #19 - #21). The next several issues involve numerous strange incidents by a mysterious figure on board a satellite which bears striking resemblance to the late Dr. Robotnik. In issue #71 Sonic's appearance is altered to resemble his Sonic Adventure game counterpart and Knothole is returned to regular time and space (since the Ultimate Annihilator was fired, it was trapped in its own zone 3 hours in the future).

Arrival of Eggman and Aftermath[]

Issues #74 has the Freedom Fighters go to outer space to discover the nature of the mysterious satellites and destroy them. Once on board, they are greeted by what they all believe is the original Dr. Robotnik. However, after being hit by corrosive acid, his fake exterior is melted and it is revealed to be Robo-Robotnik (first seen in issue #19 and later #22). Robo-Robotnik explains how he killed his enemies in his own reality, and decided to replace the late Dr. Robotnik in this one, having nothing left to do in his own universe. Robo-Robotnik is defeated and his satellites destroyed with help from Snively, but his "conscience" is downloaded to a new body below Mobotropolis, thus giving him his Sonic Adventure and "Dr. Eggman" appearance for the upcoming game adaptation.

Issue #76 marks Mobotropolis falling to "Eggman" and everyone forced to return to Knothole. Sonic Adventure is readily adapted into the series with the appearance of Chaos, beginning in issue 79. The saga ends with Sonic successfully defeating Perfect Chaos, the final form of Chaos after absorbing all of the emeralds, by transforming into Super Sonic in issue 84. Chaos returns to his imprisonment in the Black Emerald along with Tikal.

Issue 85 features Silver Sonic II, a scaled down version of the Silver Sonic seen in the Death Egg Saga. The next two issues (86 and 87) feature the return of Metal Sonic (first seen in Sonic the Hedgehog issue #25 and once again in the Knuckles Chaotix Special). Despite being able to defeat Sonic and Tails with ease, Metal Sonic realizes he can be more than his programming, and sacrifices himself to save Sonic and Tails from a lava flow.

The next several issues deal with the return of the Overlanders, including Robotnik's brother and Snively's father Colin Kintobor. They also launch the Chaos Knuckles saga in the back stories, beginning in issue #94. Sonic Adventure 2 comes into adaptation for one issue (#98) featuring Shadow the Hedgehog and his backstory. The majority of the issue leads up to the events of the game, and brings back Silver Sonic II, only to have him destroyed by Shadow.

Issue #100 marks the death of Nate Morgan and the restoration of the roboticized Mobian's free will via the Sword of Acorns. It also introduces Dr. Eggman's ability to roboticize individuals with a mere touch. In the issues leading up to #125, Dr. Eggman is transformed into an organic life form, all of the roboticized Mobians are restored to their organic state (with the exception of Sonic's father Jules and Bunnie, neither of which could survive in an organic state).

Issues #124 and #125 introduce the Xorda and establish Mobius as Earth, albeit thousands of years in the future. The Xorda attempt to wipe out all life on the planet, but Mobius' inhabitants unite and fight back, successfully defeating the Xorda. However, Sonic is subsequently transported thousands of lightyears off Mobius when he prevents the Quantum Dial from going off, resulting in everyone believing him to be dead. The final scene depicts dozens of characters gathered in mourning at his funeral (including the President of the United Federation in his only in-person appearance in Knothole).

Change in Status Quo[]

Sonic's journey through space leads up to many interesting story lines, such as the return of Super Sonic in issue 126, and Sonic's discovery that Tails parents are still alive on a far off planet. Sonic returns in issue 130 where he reveals to everyone that he is indeed alive and well. He learns that Eggman has engaged in all-out war with the Kingdom of Acorn and the United Federation (Station Square's population), the status quo having severely changed as a year has passed on Mobius since his presumed death, Angel Island having fallen to the Eggman Empire and Knothole a technological Mobotropolis.

Issues 138 through 141 feature the Return to Angel Island arc, where many Echidnas from the Knuckles series are featured or killed off, Hunter returns as an operative for Eggman, the Brotherhood of Guardians and Dimitri are revealed to be missing, Lien-Da controls the Dark Legion and Knuckles regains his powers of gliding and his knuckles, which he'd lost after returning from the afterlife in issue #124.

Issue 145 features the return of Shadow, who continues to be a player, fighting both Sonic and a newly created Metal Sonic, in issues 146 through 149. This arc heavily touched on the history of Mobius (from the original conflict with the Xorda on Earth to prehistoric Mobius), all provided by the ancient robot Isaac which has existed since the 21st century, prior to the first Xorda attack.

The backstories of issues #149 and #150 deal with Tails being the Chosen One and defeating Mammoth Mogul (who at this point has the ability to destroy entire universes and realities), trapping inside his own Chaos Emerald. The main stories deal with Anti Sonic and his attempt to impersonate the real Sonic in the primeverse. Following this, the next few issues deal with Anti Antoine and his attempts to take over the Kingdom of Acorn by poisoning King Max. It is finally revealed that Patch has been impersonating Antoine for almost a year, having replaced him some time during Sonic's absence in space and only now has been discovered. He is sent back to Anti Mobius and the real Antoine is returned home. After this, Sonic and Fiona Fox begin a relationship.

Issues #160 and #161 deal with Sonic's eighteenth birthday and Anti Sonic's transformation into Scourge. Following this, Fiona disappears frequently, her shady past brought to light, as well as Dr. Finitevus's plans slightly touched upon. Issues #162 - #164 main story once again bring a major change to the status quo, with the Ancient Walkers and Sir Connery killed off, Naugus returns and becoms a loyal minion to Mammoth Mogul along with the Arachne and Destructix, the Source of All is totally destroyed, and by the end of the arc, Eggman's robotic "daughter" Mecha is killed, while Mogul, Naugus, the Arachne and the Destructix are all prisoners in the Egg Grape Chambers. It is revealed in issue #165 and #173 that the Arachne die in the Egg Grapes while the Destructix are freed and begin working for Dr. Finitevus, while Mogul looses his Chaos Emerald and is freed with Naugus, the latter having been reduced to a mindless beast.

Issues #168 and #169 finally reveal the mysterious identity of Anonymous, turning out to be Eggman's artificial "son" A.D.A.M. instead of the suspected original Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Tommy Turtle is killed in this arc as well. Another significant change in the status quo is that Tails and Shadow send all of the Chaos Emeralds (except the Master Emerald) in the galaxy into the Zone of Silence, which is transformed by the deity Feist into the Special Zone in the following issue.

Once again the status quo undergoes a massive change in the "Eggman Empire" arc spanning issues #175 - #177, in which Knothole is completely destroyed by the Egg Fleet and Sonic suffers a major defeat, with only him, Knuckles, Tails, Amy and NICOLE having not been captured. Things quickly turn around when they five free everyone and NICOLE has them transported to New Mobotropolis, which acts as their new home.

Issues #178 and #179 feature Tails and Sonic fighting and Amadeus and Rosemary Prower, Tails' parents, initiating a revolution and a fight for political change. The arc ends with King Elias agreeing to the creation of the Acorn Council, which transforms the Kingdom into the Republic of Acorn.

Issues #180 through #184 mark the long-awaited return of Enerjak, this time being Knuckles instead of Dimitri however. Major changes occur in this arc; the history of Finitevus is finally explained, along with Albion's destruction, what happened to the missing Brotherhood members and Moritori Rex, and the death of Kage Von Stryker and the end of the Dingoes control over Angel Island. Additionally, the Egg Fleet is totally destroyed and along with New Megaopolis. Enerjak is finally defeated by Super Sonic, but only due to Locke, Knuckles' father, sacrificing his life.

Turning of the Tides[]

Following the Enerjak arc, Mammoth Mogul is featured in the next four issues, once again becoming immortal by obtaining a Chaos Emerald, provided by Sonic after Mogul threatens to kill off Tails, Mina and Mighty. Following this he takes over the former Casino Night Zone and employs former Badniks from the early days, including Scratch, Grounder and Coconuts, along with original SWATbots and other badniks like Crabmeat and Motobug.

Issues #189 and #190 reintroduce the former Anti Freedom Fighters as the Suppression Squad, now subservient to Scourge who has made himself king of Anti Mobius (now called "Moebius") and made Fiona (who betrayed Sonic and became Scourge's girlfriend in issue #172) his queen. The Suppression Squad attacks and takes over Freedom HQ, while the Chaotix attack the Dark Egg Legion in the ruins of New Megaopolis. Dimitri explains to Knuckles his true intentions for joining the Eggman Empire, hoping to weaken it from the inside.

In issues #191 and #192, Sonic returns to Freedom HQ, to briefly fight Scourge, and Metal Sonic, who was sent there before Sonic's arrival, and later on Metal Scourge, as Dimitri's plans are complicated when it is revealed that there are bombs implanted inside the cybernetics given to the Dark Legion members.

Issues #193 - #196 deal with the Freedom Fighters combating the Suppression Squad and eventually working with them when they mutiny against Scourge and Fiona. Scourge ends up being sent back and trapped in Moebius with Sonic and Amy by the Suppression Squad, giving Sonic a chance to defeat him. Meanwhile Silver the Hedgehog arrived in Mercia where he told Rob O' the Hedge he needed to find Sonic. The two then travel to Moebius and a massive brawl between Sonic, Shadow, Metal Sonic, Amy, Rosy the Rascal, Scourge and Silver ensue, though Scourge triumphs after transforming into Super Scourge. The Suppression Squad returns to their home zone and are beaten by Super Scourge, but Sonic manages to trick Scourge into de-powering and defeats him finally.

Issue #197 has Sonic take Scourge to No Zone where he was imprisoned. While in the No Zone, Zonic explained that Mobius Prime Sonic needed to fight some version of Dr. Robotnik for the zone's stability, and thus he would not be taking Dr. Eggman away. Learning this, Sonic is convinced to defeat Eggman once and for all. Sally was also charged with treason for focusing on the Suppression Squad earlier, despite the Council of Acorn's ruling to focus on fighting the remains of the Eggman Empire. Hamlin led the prosecution, but ultimately the charges against Sally were dropped.

Issues #198 - #200 deal with the combined might of the Knothole Freedom Fighters and Chaotix launching an all-out assault on the Eggdome. Despite Eggman and the Dark Egg Legion's efforts to fend them off, the two groups break into the Eggdome. Snively, scheming with Dimitri to betray Eggman and wait for his girlfriend, the Iron Queen, to show up, orders the Dark Egg Legion to let Sonic through to fight Eggman alone, knowing that Eggman's sanity was hanging by a thread. Sonic managed to defeat Eggman's Egg Tarantula, though this defeat ultimately results in Eggman going into complete insanity. Snively informs the Freedom Fighter's they've won and they return to New Mobotropolis. Meanwhile, Snively locks the maddened Eggman in a padded room, and following this, welcomes the Iron Queen and her cohorts to New Megaopolis.

New Faces of Evil[]

Issues #201 - #202 reveal the new face of evil which has usurped the Eggman Empire: the Iron Dominion. Having taken over the ruined capital of New Megaopolis with no resistence, the Iron King and Queen gain control of the Dark Egg Legion, as they fail to provide a means for them to disable the explosives Dr. Eggman placed in their cybernetics. When Sonic and Monkey Khan attempt to defeat the new threat, they are easily forced back by the combined might of the Dark Egg Legion, the Yagyu Ninja and the Iron King. Issue #203-#204 has the Iron Queen and Snively go on the offensive, as the Iron Queen uses her Magitek powers to control Bunnie Rabbot first, then Monkey Khan, having them attack the Freedom Fighters from within New Mobotropolis. Issues 205-206 show Eggman escaping from his cell and a failed attack on Sonic. These issues also show Lien-Da's past and her taking the Grandmaster title away from Dimitri. Issue #208 New Mobotropolis is taken over by the Iron Dominion after the Iron Queen takes control of NICOLE through her nanites, though in the next issue NICOLE regains control of herself and pretends to be controlled, through her Iron persona, so that Sally, Sonic, Tails, and Monkey Khan can defeat the Iron Dominion's forces after breaking their support lines. In issue #210 Snively goes to visit his uncle's padded cell only to find that Eggman had recovered his sanity, although Snively keeps him locked up. Afterwards Amy Rose, Geoffrey St. John and Antoine D'Coolette attack a public Legionization. In issue #211 Sonic and the other heroes return, bring news of the four clans breaking ties with the Iron Dominion. With the heroes soon gaining the upper hand, a terrified Snively frees Dr. Eggman from his cell, and both flee with the Dark Egg Legion to the Eggdome. Soon after, the combined might of the heroes defeats the Iron Dominion.

Freedom Fighters Around The World[]

In issues #213 - #218, Sonic will travel to different locations to aid local Freedom Fighter groups against the Dark Egg Legion chapters, travelling with Sally to the Cat Country to reconcile with the Wolf Pack, going to the Northern Toundra to help liberate the Walrus horde (with help from Silver & Rotor) and take Bunnie on a trip to Sand Blast City to destroy the Oil Ocean Refinery. Little did Sonic know that most of the problems he encountered where related to Eggman and his newest plan...

Return of Old Enemies[]

After coming back to New Mobotropolis, Sonic was tasked to retrieve a Chaos Emerald from the Special Zone with Geoffrey to seemingly aid King Max . While travelling to the Zone (and encountering Feist again), they succeeded in claiming a Chaos Emerald , only for Geoffrey to shoot Sonic in the back and take the Emerald for himself, leaving Sonic astray in the Special Zone. This act was none other then a ruse from Geoffrey to restore Ixis Naugus to sanity. Sonic managed to escape the Zone, but Geoffrey was nowhere to be found. While Naugus & Geoffrey where preparing their plan to take over New Mobotropolis, Sonic & the Freedom Fighters enjoyed some "peace", having no enemies around. The people of New Mobotropolis grew scared of Nicole's power due to the Iron Dominion invasion, and their fears were amplified by Naugus' magic, causing tensions around the city.

In the meantime, Eggman finished his preparations for his latest plan and recovered a Chaos Emerald from the Special Zone to power up his latest creation.

Naugus & Geoffrey started their attack, with the former heading for the Castle Of Acorn to "discuss" with the Republic Council and the latter fighting the Freedom Fighters. Sonic rushed to confront Ixis Naugus, only for the Council to decide that this new matter should be dealt with words and not with fists.

When an earthquake shook the ground, noticing that Naugus had nothing to do with it, a truce was established and everyone discovered with horror that Eggman was back... in the Death Egg Mark 2 (which was the Eggdome).

Sonic, Naugus & the Freedom Fighters rushed to fight the battlestation. Naugus' magic was ineffective, but Sonic & Sally managed to get inside. They followed the opening doors to a big room where Eggman greeted them, and sent them a newly created Silver Sonic III to fight the heroes. Sonic engaged the robot, and Sally understood that it was just to stall them. She rushed through a hallway, and was seemingly shot down by a hidden turret. Sonic rushes in tears to Sally, only for the world to be washed in white... Eggman had successfully launched Operation: Clean Sweep. (#219-#225)

Genesis[]

In a new strange world, Sonic is looking for missing people and animals, stumbles accross Snively who is capturing them, saves Sally, Rotor & Antoine in Green Hill Zone, and confronts Eggman in Marble Zone before chasing him with the group in Labyrinth Zone & Scrap Brain Zone. Sonic then brings the Freedom Fighters to Emerald Hill Zone to introduce them to his friend Tails, and after a new powerful earthquake, the group leaves to shut down Eggman's power sources, beginning with Chemical Plant Zone. After having a flashback from Sally being shot, Sonic decides to leave the group to confront directly Eggman (while Tails followed), so that all the others could be safe elsewhere. The rest of the Freedom Fighters went to Oil Ocean Zone to shut it down, being secretly spied on by Aquis. Sonic & Tails went to Metropolis Zone for the final showdown with Eggman. In the meantime, we learned that the Death Egg Mark 2 had its energy drained because of the launch of Operation: Clean Sweep and that when recharged by the 7 Chaos Emeralds Eggman collected through unknown means, it will be able to roboticize the whole planet in one shot. The earthquakes that have been shaking the planet throughout the saga are a result of reality being stretched by Operation: Clean Sweep and fighting to snap back (Snively quotes this as the falling apart of all space-time continuum). Sally, Rotor & Antoine manage to shut down Oil Ocean Zone, depriving Eggman's bases from fuel and power. Eggman escapes to the Death Egg Mark 2 with Sonic hopping on his shuttle. The two fight aboard the flying fortress with Eggman gaining the upper hand until Sonic uses the Chaos Emerald powered cables to transform into Super Sonic. He defeats Eggman with ease, and realising that this world is falling apart, uses Chaos Control to change everything back to normal. (#226-#229)

End Of The Freedom Fighters[]

Sonic's Chaos Control managed to change the world back how it was, ten seconds before Eggman hit the Cosmic Reset Button, hence before Sally was shot down by the turret. Sonic acts fast and saves her, with the turret hitting Silver Sonic 3 instead. They go through the Death Egg to find the World Roboticizer. They are greeted by Eggman, and a big fight ensues opposing Sonic to Eggman, Metal Sonic and Silver Sonic 3 (who just arrived, damaged). Sally uses the distraction to get into the systems of the Death Egg to try and stop the roboticizer, but Nicole can only convert the beam to her exact location. As Sally says her goodbyes, she presses the button, and the roboticizer blows up, destroying Metal Sonic & Silver Sonic 3, and severly damaged the Death Egg. Sonic & Eggman come out of the rubble, and as Sonic prepares himself to stop Eggman, Mecha Sally emerges from the rubble.(#230)

She grabs a still shocked Sonic by the throat, and throws him out of the Death Egg under Eggman's orders. He is caught by Tails on the Tornado, and with the Freedom Fighter Special, they try to get back on the Death Egg. Eggman releases Projects Titan and Deadly Cuddles (Titan Metal Sonic and Tails Doll respectively) on the city. Bunnie and Naugus fight Titan Metal Sonic, and while Naugus crystallizes the monster, Bunnie is caught in the cross-fire. Eggman fire the Annihilator Beam at the city, but Naugus uses the now crystallized Titan Metal Sonic to take the hit, destroying it and saving the city. Sonic and the Freedom Fighters and forced to bail out of the planes, pinning them down on the ground. They are forced to let the Death Egg retreat and go back to the city to see Naugus being praised by the people. (#231)

Naugus is elected King by the people due to his recent actions in Elias' place. He de-crystallizes Bunnie, but her cybernetics disappear as a side effect. Sonic goes to Angel Island to see if Knuckles can lend him a Warp Ring to get to the Death Egg, but they have a fight and Sonic goes back home empty handed, just in time for Geoffrey's trial. But they are cut short by the Battle Bird Armada who attack the city to dig up the Babylon Garden. Sonic & the Freedom Fighters push off the attack at the price of the city being destroyed. Nicole & Rotor slowly rebuild the city for the trial to occur. Geoffrey is accused of treason and found guilty thanks to Antoine, but Naugus gives him the annual royal pardon and let's him go scot-free, much to the displeasure of everyone. (#232,SU #35,#36,#233)

Elias decides to leave the city with his family to move to a safer place, but not before approaching Harvey Who to find a means to get his crown back. He is escorted by the Freedom Fighters but thanks to Naugus plotting in the shadow with Eggman, they are attacked by the Death Egg. Eggman sends his new Egg Swats, Mecha Sally and Metal Sonic to fight the heroes. Sonic stalls Sally but Metal Sonic goes for Elias' vehicle, only to have Antoine jump in to get him away. Eggman detonates Metal Sonic, critically injuring Antoine. (#234)

Antoine is taken to the hospital, and in the meantime Amy tries to comfort everyone in the city. Silver arrives from the future, having clues to who is the traitor. Bunnie leaves the city, blaming herself for what happened to Antoine, saying she will find a solution. While Amy is being comforted in turn by Sonic's parents, Sonic sees Silver outside the window and calls him. Silver says he is looking for the traitor who he thinks is Antoine. Angered, Sonic spin dashes through his window right to Silver and rushes him to the hospital to throw him against Antoine's bed, who is in a coma. After arguing with Silver and sending him away (as well as Geoffrey), Sonic realises that the Freedom Fighters are gone. (#235)

The Rise of Teams Freedom and Fighters[]

Things begin to look up again when two new teams where formed to replace the collapsed Freedom Fighters: Sonic, Tails, Amy and T-Pup join together to create Team Freedom, while Rotor, who had recently resigned from the council in protest of Nicole's exile, assembled Team Freedom, made up of Big, Cream & Cheese, and a newly rebuilt and reprogrammed Heavy and Bomb. Team Fighters set off to chase the Death Egg across the planet, rescue any civilizations that are terrorized by the Doctor along the way, and eventually rescue Sally. Meanwhile, Team Freedom remain in New Mobotropolis to protect the city from any local threats (unaware that "Operation Deadly Cuddles" is causing trouble right under their noses, secretly causes the Nanite structures of New Mobotropolis to became unstable and collapse: which the others believe to be simple technical difficulties). Meanwhile, development also began in secret by Harvey Who to bring together a secret Freedom Fighter team to keep tabs on King Naugus. (#236-237)

Team Fighters began their journey when they travelled to and saved Furville from Eggman's attack. They then followed the Death Egg to the Wolf Pack Nation, where they managed to prevent Lupe from being Legionized, and again to Feral Forest where Eggman's forces where deployed to go after Elias and his family. Eggman also took advantage of Sonic being away from home by launching an attack on New Mobotropolis, not counting on Team Freedom to take action. At the same time, Harvey Who's newly formed Secret Freedom Fighters had officially been formed, consisting of Silver the Hedgehog, Larry Lynx, the Wolf Pack twins Leeta and Lyco, who had been despatched to the city not long after Team Fighters visit to the Wolf Pack Nation, Elias, who had managed to escape the wrath of Eggman's forces in Feral Forest (not being spotted by Tails, who was sworn to secrecy), and the newly rebuilt Mecha Sonic, now going by the name of Shard. Council of Acorn member Sir Charles Hedgehog and the exiled NICOLE where also in on the teams activities. The new group, unbeknownst to anyone else, also aided in Team Freedoms efforts to ward off Eggman's forces. The Secret Freedom Fighters would soon begin their main mission to keep tabs on King Naugus and his apprentice. It was revealed that Naugus was planning to enslave the city and rebuild the Order of Ixis, as well as the fact that he had began to mutate, making him more dangerous. Geoffrey, who was slowly beginning to realise the error of his masters true intentions, tipped off Silver about Naugus' plan to cast a spell over the Royal Military Headquarters, where the Council would be meeting to ratify the new constitution for the Republic of Acorn. The team successfully thwarted this plan, leaving Naugus's mutations to slowly become worse. He and his secretly treacherous apprentice later attended Mina Mongoose's latest concert, which she had put together in order to convince the citizens that the city needed NICOLE back, much to the corrupt kings dismay. The concert ended abruptly after the Tails Doll, in it's latest act of behind-the-scenes campaign of terror, causes the stage to collapse, however this event only supported Mina's case that NICOLE needed to be around to keep the Nanites stable, which would lead to the council immediately lifting her exile. Pushed to the edge over everything that's been happening to him, Naugus's mutations elevated to agonising proportions, leading Geoffrey to finally lashing out at his master over his recent evil deeds. To prevent his apprentice from breaking his contract, Naugus possessed Geoffrey's body, in order to sustain himself. Acting as Geoffrey, he continued to appear on the king's behalf, claiming him to be gravely ill. (#237-241, SU#41-44)

Battle for the Echidna Race[]

After being briefly distracted by a new Titan Metal Sonic under the control of the Krudzu, Team Fighters followed the Death Egg to Albion, to find that the city had already been ravaged by that chapters Dark Egg Legion, as well as Eggman's latest addition to the Metal Series, Metal Knuckles. When the attack began, Constable Remington had sent out a distress call that had reached Haven, where Knuckles the Echidna was working to get the place back online. With the prospect of facing his people after his stint as Enerjak in mind, Knuckles reluctantly arrived in the city to find the whole place deserted. It turned out during Team Fighters ongoing battle against the DEL legionnaires, Tails attempt to use the legions electrical stun traps-spread throughout the city-against the legion themselves, caused the system to overload and emit an electrical wave knocking out heroes and villains alike, rendering them unconscious. The lack of unconscious echidnas littering the streets was revealed to be the work of Thrash the Devil, who had taken advantage of the situation by banishing each and every echidna through a super charged warp ring to an unknown location, thus completing his long sought-after revenge for the echidnas treatment of his species. Additionally, Thrash had also ambushed and banished Julie-Su and Saffron Bee at Shrine Island shortly after Knuckles had departed. An enraged Knuckles battled Thrash with the help of Team Fighters, before all being sidetracked by the revived Metal Knuckles, now under the control of the Krudzu. Thrash departed through his warp ring during Metal Knuckles attack, with Knuckles chasing after him, leading to a continuing tussle across several different areas on Mobius, all of which culminated on Shrine Island where Thrash had escaped, leaving only a drained warp ring behind. Back in Albion, the tides where turned when an unexpected ally joined the battle: Shard the Mecha Sonic. After questioning whether or not he should be trusted, the reformed 'bot helped Team Fighters put an end to Metal Knuckles once and for all. After Shard had repaired the crashed Tornado (secretly placing a tracker on it in the process), Team Fighters continued their pursuit of the Death Egg, while Shard journeyed back to New Mobotropolis with what was left of the Krudzu, with the intention of getting it reprogrammed into a de-roboticizing agent for use on Mecha Sally. With knowledge of where Team Fighters are heading, thanks to the tracker, Shard informs fellow SFF member, Silver, who, thanks to Harvey Who, now knows the identity of his "traitor", and that he's nearly too late. (#241-246)

Team Fighters finally caught up with the Death Egg, docked at the Egg Bunker in the Northern Tundra, where they reunited with the Arctic Freedom Fighters and formulated a plan to storm the flying fortress. Soon, Silver the Hedgehog had arrived from New Mobotropolis, to the annoyance of Sonic, still ripe with the resentment at the time traveller for his previous accusation, and was about to fly off the handle once again after Silver identified Sally as the traitor, before Tails insisted that he allowed Silver to explain himself first. Based on the research conducted by Harvey Who, Silver explained that Sally's status as a "traitor" was only due to the obscured historical records from his future, and that in reality, Sally's act of treachery was not of her own free will due to being under Eggman's control as a robot, something that only came about due to her selfless act of inverting the world roboticizer on herself. With Silver promising that his objective has now changed, so that he now intends to rescue Sally, Sonic agrees to let him help them. Once the Freedom Fighter teams successfully infiltrate the Death Egg (avoiding an underwater run-in with the Arctic DEL in the process) Eggman dispatches his forces, including Mecha Sally, to deal with the intruders, before setting off to prepare for his latest plan with "Albert". Back in New Mobotropolis, meanwhile, a ceremony commemorating the opening of the newly rebuilt Castle Acorn was disrupted by a building collapse, caused once again by the Tails Doll. Noticing that the doll always seems to be missing whenever these bad things happen to the city, Cream the Rabbit suspects that her new "inanimate friend" may be more than it appears to be, to which she alerted Team Freedom leader Rotor, who agreed that Cream may be onto something. Putting this theory to the test, Team Freedom set up a plan to catch Tails Doll in the act: tricked into thinking it had once again been left free to cause more trouble, it crawled away to the power station where Team Freedom ambushed the demented dolly. Realising the jig was up, "Operation: Deadly Cuddles" transformed into its true, monstrous form, it's murderous sights set on the team. Back at the Northern Tundra, Silver proved himself the hero of the hour, paralysing Mecha Sally with his psychokinesis, seconds before the former princess could finish off Team Fighters. Mecha Sally had been stopped, but the celebration was short-lived, as once again, Sonic found his view being obscured by a sea of white. A new Genesis Wave had been unleashed. (#247)

When Worlds Collide[]

The new Genesis Wave had been unleashed once again by Doctor Eggman, only this time he had some outside help. Several weeks before, the Doctor had a chance meeting with an evil scientist from an alternate reality. This man, Dr. Wily was hiding out in a rainforest on his world when one of his robots discovered a mysterious blue gemstone out in the jungle: the blue Chaos Emerald that had vanished from Sonic's world after the first Genesis Wave was reversed. Using his technology to examine the gem, Wily had accidentally interrupted a video conference between Eggman and his DEL troops. Initially infuriated by this, Eggman soon learnt of Wily's situation: particularly of how he concocted evil plans that where constantly thwarted by a hero in blue, which Eggman related to. Realizing the potential of what they could accomplish together, the two constructed the Skull Egg Zone, a pocket zone between their two worlds that allowed them to meet, where the two of them would devise a plan. Combining their resources to build the Wily Egg, they launched a Genesis Wave across both their realities from the Skull Egg Zone, which allowed them to retain their memories of the old and altered realities.

In a bid to gain the power to rewrite their universes without limitations, Eggman and Wily set out to collect the remaining Chaos Emeralds, and captured several of Sonic's friends in order to create new agents to do so: the Roboticized Masters, Robians modified with technology from the Robot Masters of Earth 20XX. After having Copy Robot capture several of Sonic's allies and having Metal Sonic attack Mega Man, the evil doctors tricked the two heroes into battling each other. However, the two eventually realized that they had been deceived, and joined forces in order to oppose the doctors and rescue Sonic's friends and Mega Man's kidnapped creator, Dr. Light. Journeying into the Skull Egg Zone with several allies, they began systematically restoring the Roboticized Masters to their normal forms while pursuing the Wily Egg.

Eventually, the heroes-joined by Sonic's various allies-engaged the evil doctors' Robot Master Army in an epic battle outside the Wily Egg. After the rescue of Dr. Light, Sonic and Mega Man made their way aboard with Tails and Rush, though the latter pair retreated after Tails was injured in battle with the Mega Man Killers. A battle between the two heroes and the Chaos Devil was interrupted by Mega Man's old ally Duo, who took over the fight and allowed the heroes to continue on. Sonic and Mega Man were then forced to battle Metal Sonic, Bass, and Treble, and proved victorious only to be captured by the doctors in their Egg-Wily Machine X. After learning of the doctors' plans to permanently change their realities with the Super Genesis Wave, the pair were rescued by Knuckles, Proto Man, and Dr. Light, who were able to come to their aid thanks to the arrival of the Light Robot Masters. Drawing energy from the Chaos Emeralds, the two became Super Sonic and Super Mega Man in order to battle the doctors as the Super Genesis Wave washed over the Skull Egg Zone and both their home realities. The two heroes defeated the villains and attempted to restore their home realities to normal, but Super Sonic's efforts were disrupted by Dr. Eggman. (MM: #24-27, StH: #248-251, SU: #51-54)

The New Sonic Comic Universe[]

Sonic awoke after the Super Genesis Wave in the middle of Mobotropolis, to find that he and Tails where seemingly caught in a battle with the transformed Tails Doll. Tails displayed confusion at Sonic's claim that they where just on board the Death Egg rescuing Sally: likewise, Sonic appears downright clueless over Tails explanation that they have returned from a journey to follow-up on NICOLE and King Acorn. Meanwhile inside Castle Acorn, King Naugus (no longer in possession of Geoffrey St. John, the latter nowhere to be found) watched as the monster caused carnage outside, as he waited for Nicole (confined to her old handheld form) to finish creating a power ring that would restore his powers, which he had apparently lost at some point. Angered by the holo-lynx's snarky attitude, he grabbed her: leading to the corrupted King receiving a jolt that brought back memories of a different world. Spooked, he fled the castle, smashing through a window. In the ensuing mayhem, Tails discovered Nicole's handheld laying in the grass outside, and she appeared to be heavily glitching out. Tails reached towards her to examine her, only to be zapped with a jolt of new memories upon contact. After the duo finally disabled the Tails Doll, by taking of its power gem, Tails informed Sonic of what he's just experienced, finally realizing what Sonic's earlier confusion was about. Upon rescuing King Acorn, the two determined that their best course of action would be to find the other Freedom Fighters. At the same time, Dr. Eggman arrived back on the planet as well, retaining his memories of the original timeline. (StH: #252)

Sonic and Tails quickly discover that things have changed about their world as they find Big the Cat no longer living in their home city and Rotor Walrus as a burly fighting mechanic. Eggman also discovers changes to his empire, the Dark Egg Legion having been replaced by the Egg Army, but also learns that the planet is becoming unstable. Sonic and Tails restore Rotor's memories and later Antoine's-since in this new reality he never ended up in a coma-but Sonic is exposed to a strange substance that has begun leaking from out of the planet. They then find and restore the memories of Bunnie, who is once again a cyborg, before finding Amy, Cream the Rabbit, and Sally (who is no longer roboticized). Upon restoring Amy and Sally's memories, they learn from NICOLE-at the same time Dr. Eggman learns from the Death Egg's scanners-that the Super Genesis Wave not only irreversibly altered the Prime Zone, but has caused the entire multiverse to collapse in on itself. To make matters worse, it's also discovered that the remaining energy from the wave is piling on top of the planet. Unable to take the strain, the planet splits apart. (StH: #253-256)

Shattered World Crisis[]

The Freedom Fighters almost immediately launch into relief efforts using their new Sky Patrol base, while Dr. Eggman searches for a means of repairing the planet. After learning of the legend of Dark Gaia and Light Gaia, he kidnaps Uncle Chuck and Professor Pickle to learn more and subsequently dispatches his forces to locate the Chaos Emeralds and the ancient Gaia Temples. The Freedom Fighters manage to rescue the kidnapped scientists, and begin their own search for the jewels and temples. (StH: #257-259)

The Freedom Fighters' quest took them to the undersea city of Meropis and the Crystal Cave, where they found new allies and a Chaos Emerald, respectively. Sonic, Rotor, and Amy joined in Meropis' defence from Dark Gaia's Minions, and learned that Chaos and Tikal were active once again and trying to help with the current crisis. Traveling to Soumerca, the Freedom Fighters met old allies Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel while searching for another Chaos Emerald; a confrontation between them and Egg Boss Thunderbolt led to the end result of mutations caused by Sonic's exposure to Dark Gaia's essence: his transformation into the Werehog. After a brief rampage, his friends managed to help him recover his senses, and he took up training with Mighty and Ray's mentor Moss the Sloth while his friends went after another Chaos Emerald. Despite another attack from Thunderbolt and several of Eggman's E-100 Series robots, the heroes all survived, though Eggman got the Emerald in the bargain. (StH: #260-267)

Sonic, Tails, and Amy then entered the Chaos Emerald Championship organized by Sonic's old enemy Breezie the Hedgehog in order to win another Chaos Emerald. This forced them to compete against a number of other fighters, including the Hooligans, Segata Sanshiro, Pane the Boar, Espio the Chameleon, and Knuckles the Echidna. At the same time, Eggman dispatched Metal Sonic to attack Breezie's facilities. (StH: #268-)

Worlds Unite[]

Race to Fix the Planet[]

Genesis of a Hero[]

Story Arcs[]

The bolded titles are major and significant story arcs
  • The Beginning (#0-3 Miniseries)
  • First Adventures (#1-8)
  • Zone Hopping & New Faces (#9-25)
  • Other Problems (#26-35 + Super Sonic vs Hyper Knuckles)
  • Turning Point (#36-38)
  • Mecha Madness (#39-40 + Mecha Madness Special)
  • Preperations For War (#41-46 + Sonic Quest Miniseries + Sonic Live!)
  • End Game (#47-50)
  • Effects Of Victory (#51-#55 + KtE#9 + Sonic Super Special 1-2-4)
  • World Tour (#56-#63 + Knuckles the Echidna #11-#12)
  • The Naugus Trilogy (#64-#66)
  • Trouble at Home (#67-#71)
  • Rise of the Eggman (#72-#76)
  • A New Beginning (#77-78)
  • Sonic Adventure (#79-84 + Sonic Super Special #13)
  • Heading Home Again (#85-#87)
    • The Big Payback (#85)
    • Heart of the Hedgehog (#86-#87)
  • Negative Relations (#88-97)
  • Sonic Adventure 2 (#98 + SU #2)
  • No Rest For Heroes (#99-102)
  • Freedom Fighters of the Galaxy (#103-104)
  • Myth Taken Identity (#103-105)
  • Crouching Hedgehog, Hidden Dragon (#106-107)
  • Cleaning Time (#108-112)
  • When A Mammoth Returns (#114-118)
  • Prelude To Crisis (#119-121)
  • Heart Held Hostage (#122-123)
  • Sonic Adventure 2.5 Omega (#124-125)
  • Tossed in Space (#126-129)
  • Home (#130-134)
  • Mobius: 25 Years Later (#131-144, #166-167)
  • The Tommy Trilogy (#135-137)
  • Return to Angel Island (#138-141)
  • The Original Freedom Fighters (#142-143)
  • Shadows Of Hope (#145)
  • The Good, the Bad and the Unknown (#146-149)
  • The Chosen One (#149-150)
  • Evil Sonic Havoc (#151-152)
  • Songoose (#153-154)
  • Line of Succession (#155-156)
  • System Shutdown, Reconfiguration, and Reboot (#157-159)
  • Birthday Bash (#160-161)
  • The Darkest Storm (#162-164)
  • Leak (#165)
  • Order From Chaos (#168-169)
  • Family Meetings (#170-171)
  • Joy Before Cry (#172-174)
  • Eggman Empire (#175-177)
  • House of Cards (#178-179)
  • Enerjak Reborn (#180-184)
  • Mogul Rising (#185-188)
  • The Bold New Moebius Saga (#189-197) (Made into 4 two-part arcs + 1 Issue)
    • A Bold New Moebius (#189-190)
    • Metal and Mettle (#191-192)
    • Otherside (#193-194)
    • Hedgehog Havoc (#195-196)
    • Consequences (#197)
  • The Battle to Bring Down the Eggman (#198-200)
    • Egg Phoenix Down (#198)
    • Knocking on Eggman's Door (#199)
    • Turnabout is Fair Play (#200)
  • The Iron Dominion (#201-212 + Sonic Universe #13-16)
    • Change in Management (#201)
    • Dangerous Territory (#202)
    • Heavy is the Head (#203-204)
    • On The Run (#205-206)
    • Blackout (#207)
    • Iron Dominion (#208-209)
    • Journey To The East (Sonic Universe #13-16)
    • Home Invasion (#210-211)
    • The Roads We Take (#212)
  • Problems Abroad (#213-#218)
    • Reining Cats and Dogs (#213-#214)
    • Family Matters (#215-#216)
    • Thicker Than Water (#217-#218)
  • Rise of King Naugus (#219-#224)
    • In Service to the King (#219-#220)
    • Changing Tempo (#221)
    • The World Can Wait (#222)
    • Chaos and the Crown (#223-#224)
  • One Step Forward... (#225)
  • Genesis (#226-#229)
  • ...Two Steps Back (#230)
  • Fall of The Freedom Fighters (#231-#235)
    • Lost In The Moment (#231)
    • Dark Tidings (#232)
    • The Trial Of Geoffrey St.John (#233)
    • Unthinkable (#234)
    • Remember The Fallen (#235)
  • New Teams To Cry Freedom (#236-#241 + Sonic Universe #41-#44)
    • Cry Freedom ! (#236)
    • Loyalty (#237-#238)
    • Heroes (#239-#240)
    • Secret Freedom (Sonic Universe #41-#44)
    • Unraveling (#241)
  • Endangered Species (#242-#246)
    • Unfriendly Skies (#242)
    • Endangered Species (#243-#246)
  • At All Costs: Part 1 (#247)
Pre-Super Genesis Wave Timeline ends here
  • When Worlds Collide (#248-#251 + Sonic Universe #51-#54 + Mega Man #24-#27)
    • Kindred Spirits (MM #24, SU #51, StH #248, MM #25)
    • Into the Warzone (SU #52, StH #249, MM #26, SU #53)
    • Chaos Clash (StH #250, MM #27, SU #54, StH #251)
Post-Super Genesis Wave Timeline starts here
  • A New Sonic Comic Universe (#252-#256)
    • At All Costs: Part 2 (#252)
    • Countdown to Chaos (#253-#256)
  • Sonic Unleashed (Part 1) (#257-#272 + Sonic Universe #63-#66 + Sonic Universe #71-#74)
    • Damage Control (#257)
    • The Chase (#258-#259)
    • The Great Chaos Caper (SU #63-#66)
    • Waves of Change (#260-#263)
    • Control (#264-#265)
    • Ambushed (#266-#267)
    • Champions [Sonic the Fighters] (#268-#271)
    • Spark of Life (SU #71-#74)
    • Sonic Comic Origins: Into the Unknown (FCBD: #9)
    • Ray of Hope (#272)
    • Fury (SU #75)
  • Worlds Unite (#273-#275 + Sonic Universe #76-#78 + Sonic Boom #8-#10 + Mega Man #50-#52)
    • Deadly Fusion (SU #76, SB #8, StH #273, MM #50)
    • Broken Bonds (SU #77, SB #9, StH #274, MM #51)
    • Allied Forces (SU #78, SB #10, StH #275, MM #52)
  • Sonic Unleashed (Part 2) (#276-287 + Sonic Universe #83-#90
    • Cold Hearted (#276)
    • Thunder, Rain and Lightning (#277)
    • Face of the Enemy (#278-279)
    • Eggman's Dozen (SU#83-86)
    • Keys to Victory (#280)
    • Wings of Fire (#281-282)
    • The Mission (#283)
    • Panic in the Sky (#284-287)
    • Shattered (SU#87-90)
  • Genesis of a Hero (#288-291) (fourth chapter unreleased)

Milestones[]

  • Sonic the Hedgehog #25: "Go Ahead, Mecha My Day": A loose adaptation of the game Sonic CD, featuring the Archieverse debuts of Amy Rose and the original Mecha Sonic. (July 1995)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #50: "The Big Goodbye": The fourth and final chapter of the "Endgame" story arc. Features the final battle between Sonic and the original Dr. Robotnik, ending in the latters demise, and the end of the First Robotnik War. (June 1997)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #75: "I Am The Eggman": The "resurrected" Dr. Robotnik is revealed to be his alternate future counterpart, Robo-Robotnik, who takes over from his predecessor in his conquest of Mobius, beginning the Second Robotnik War. Features the debut of Robotnik’s modern "Dr. Eggman" design. (July 1999)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #100: "Reunion"/"Welcome to the Dark Side": The Robians are freed from Robotnik’s control, and Nate Morgan is roboticized. Meanwhile, Knuckles joins the Dark Legion. (August 2001)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #125: "Sonic Adventure 2.5: Omega": The people of Mobius unite against the Xorda to stop them destroying the planet. The war ends with Sonic making the ultimate sacrifice, seemingly resulting in his death, but is actually sent across space. (July 2003)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #150: "From Hero To Zero In No Time At All"/"The Chosen One: Part 2": Antoine is revealed to have been replaced by his Evil Mobius counterpart at some point during Sonic’s time in space. Elsewhere, Tails teams up with his own countless alternate-reality counterparts to defeat Master Mogul. (June 2005)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #175: "Eggman Empire": Eggman launches a surprise assault on Knothole, resulting in its total destruction. The first in a three-part arc leading to the creation of New Mobotropolis. (May 2007)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #200: "Turnabout is Fair Play": The supposed "final" battle between Sonic and Eggman, leading to the Doctor completely losing his grip and going insane. Also sees the beginning of the Iron Dominion’s takeover of the Eggman Empire. (May 2009)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #225: "One Step Forward...": See’s Eggman’s return after his loss in #200, the launch of the Death Egg Mark 2 and first Genesis Wave, leading into the "Genesis" saga. Coincided with the comics celebration of Sonic’s 20th Anniversary. (June 2011)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #250: "When Worlds Collide: Part 9": The ninth chapter of the Worlds Collide crossover, and the first chapter of its third and final act. The heroes of Sonic’s and Mega Man’s worlds begin their final assault on the Wily Egg, and Dr. Eggman attempts to kill Dr. Light. This 48-page issue, coinciding with the comic’s own 20th Anniversary, also includes a partial reprint of "Genesis: Part 4" (StH#229). (July 2013)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog #275: "Worlds Unite: Part 11": The eleventh and penultimate chapter of the Worlds Unite crossover. The Unified Army begin their final battle against Sigma. Sonic and Mega Man attain their respective super transformations to turn the tide. This 48-page issue also includes a reprint of the sixth Sonic Comic Origins story "Into the Unknown". (August 2015)

Specials, Miniseries, and Knuckles Series[]

Sonic the Hedgehog was originally published as a four issue mini-series, with the first issue labeled as "issue 0" and the second as "issue 1" (despite the note on issue 1 that it was the "first issue"). At the end of issue 3 (the fourth issue of the series), it was announced that Sonic would return in a regular series, and the next issue was published as "issue 1" of the regular series.

In addition to the main Sonic series, Archie Comics published various special issues. Longer than typical issues of the comic, these specials feature stories involving Sonic and other related characters. Several miniseries have also been published, featuring characters such as Sally, Tails and Knuckles.

Because of the popularity of the specials and Miniseries featuring Knuckles, in 1997 Knuckles the Echidna became an ongoing series. Knuckles's stories featured its own cast of Characters, including the Chaotix and Knuckles's romantic interest, Julie-Su. Like the Sonic comic, Knuckles's comic is filled with background information about Knuckles's family history. Knuckles's family has split into two factions: the Brotherhood of Guardians and the Dark Legion. Knuckles is a member of the former, and Julie-Su used to be a member of the latter. Much of the conflict of the comic surrounds the relations between these two warring factions.

In 1999, the series was cancelled, but the stories were continued in the pages of Sonic the Hedgehog. After Knuckles's cancellation and until issue 125, a typical issue of Sonic included a Sonic story and a Knuckles story, sometimes even including a third story. This led to each story getting considerably less space than it previously had. Recently, Knuckles's appearances have been infrequent but his story continues within Sonic's stories.

The creators also have a comic strip similar to those found in a newspaper at the end of some issues called Off-Panel. Off-Panel was in every issue for a long time and continues infrequently in the comic series. The strips parody the lives of the editor and the writers as they walk around the office and interact with characters from the comic in various ways. However, it has recently return in Sonic Universe and the main series, and is focusing on the characters themselves and their interactions Off-Panel.

Sonic and other characters from the series have also made guest appearances in other Archie Comics publications. Sonic has appeared in three crossovers with the main Archie Comics cast (all of which are considered non-canon), the most notable of these being his crossover with Sabrina the Teenage Witch, a story which began in an issue of the latters comic series, and concluded in Sonic Super Special #10. More recently, and more notably, Sonic appeared in a 12-part crossover with Archie's Mega Man series (based on the CAPCOM video games). The story spans over 4 issues each of both characters books, as well as the Sonic Universe spin-off series. Unlike the above crossovers, this one is considered canon, and in fact its events served to bring about the continuity reboot for the Sonic books. Later a second Sonic and Mega Man crossover would be produced, this one including elements from the Mega Man X series and bringing the new Archie Sonic Boom comic into the mix as well.

Production Staff[]

List of Writers[]

  • Karl Bollers
  • Paul Castiglia
  • Romy Chacon
  • Angelo DeCesare
  • Joe Edkin
  • Clayton Emery
  • Danny Fingeroth
  • Ian "Potto" Flynn
  • Mike Gallagher
  • Mike Kanterovich
  • Benny Lee
  • J. Oliveras
  • Ken Penders
  • Tania del Rio
  • Tom Rolston
  • Evan Skolnick
  • Frank Strom
  • Kent Taylor

List of Pencillers[]

  • Chris Allan
  • Jeff Axer
  • Ben Bates
  • Gary Bedell
  • Dawn Best
  • Al Bigley
  • Steven Butler
  • Renae De Liz
  • Colleen Doran
  • James Fry
  • John Hebert
  • Michael Higgins
  • Kyle Hunter
  • David Hutchison
  • Manny Galan
  • Jon Gray
  • Sanford Greene
  • Ron Lim
  • Dave Manak
  • Art Mawhinney
  • Sam Maxwell
  • Harvey "Harvo" Mercadoocasio
  • Nelson Ortega
  • Ken Penders
  • Jamal Peppers
  • Nelson Ribeiro
  • Tania del Rio
  • Scott Shaw!
  • Tom Smith III
  • Patrick "Spaz" Spaziante
  • Frank Strom
  • Brian Thomas
  • Jim Valentino
  • Todd Wahnish
  • Tracy Yardley!
  • Ben Bates
  • Jamal Peppers
  • Evan Stanley
  • Diana Skelly
  • Terry Austin
  • Jack Morelli
  • Jonathon Grey

List of Inkers[]

  • Jim Amash
  • Saleem Crawford
  • Jon D'Agostino
  • Pam Eklund
  • Mike Higgins
  • Rich Koslowski
  • Harvey "Harvo" Mercadoocasio
  • Al Milgrom
  • Jay Oliveras
  • Ken Penders
  • Andrew Pepoy
  • Jeff Powell
  • Aimee Ray
  • Josh Ray
  • Nelson Ribeiro
  • Henry Scarpelli
  • Phil Sheehy
  • Brian Thomas
  • Conor Tomas
  • Bill White

Background Information[]

  • Sonic The Hedgehog was the last title to bear the markings of "Archie Adventure Series", a sub-brand dedicated to more action-adventure series outside of Archie's usual Slice of Life stories. The title was phased out after Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 159 in favor of "Archie 65th Anniversary" special branding, with the exception of Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 175. From Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 180, the title bore the normal Archie logo.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog is the longest running video game-based comic ever. Counting other Sonic-related publications, Sonic the Comic would be second and Sonic Universe third. Minus them, Top Cow's Lara Croft: Tomb Raider comic series would be in second. It is also the longest-running franchise-based comic book series ever, surpassing Marvel Comics' Conan the Barbarian (which lasted 275 issues from 1970-1993).

Reboot[]

  • The reason behind the comics reboot in 2013 can be attributed to several issues behind the scenes. One of the biggest, and arguably most infamous reasons, is due to the settlement that resulted from the long-running legal battle between Archie Comics and former Sonic writer Ken Penders, in which he copyrighted several of the characters and concepts he brought to the series, which made up sizeable chunk of the Sonic comic universe. This has rendered said characters and concepts unusable in new stories, making the original continuity impossible to work with since so much of it depended on Penders concepts.
    • The reboot came at rather short notice for the comic. Ian Flynn has gone on to state that he had plans for the original continuity for as far as issue 300.

Cancellation[]

The Archie Sonic the Hedgehog series was cancelled in 2017.

The reasoning for the title's ultimate cancellation is officially unknown. Various third-party sources, however, seem to hint at a number of missteps, including:

  • The various licensing fees needed for Worlds Unite and the storyline being barely enough to recoup the costs.
  • The "Riverdale Reborn" initiative, which saw the main Archie titles cancelled and relaunched, notable for the company bringing out a Kickstarter to fund the launch of three other titles and being forced to shut it down after much backlash.
  • The TV series Riverdale, which proved to be something of a critical darling for Archie.
  • A second lawsuit, this one involving former artist Scott Fulop.

External links[]

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