Archie Sonic (Reboot): Genesis of a Hero

 

After promising to cover Archie Sonic on here countless times, it's amazing to actually start talking about it. But you might be asking yourself, why did you start with the reboot? Well because after I while I realized that preboot was a big mess to even comprehend for myself. It would be like if I tried to explain the entirety of Kingdom Hearts and FNAF lore combined on here. So yeah, sorry preboot fans but I want to keep myself limited for now. I might go back to preboot sometime later but right now, I don't feel like it.

When the reboot happened, I originally thought that SEGA would force Ian to basically remove any traces of DIC Entertainment material as quick as possible. They did that in IDW after all. I was pleasantly surprised to learn the opposite however but something was different. Before the reboot, the mentality of the comic was ''changing game elements to fit in better with the American canon'' but in the reboot, the opposite is true. Which is very interesting. SATAM cast's designs were all altered while still having the foundation of preboot stories. Like Antoine and Bunnie getting married still being canon in the rebooted universe. 

But enough rambling, let's just jump into Genesis of the Hero first! I'm aware that Genesis of the Hero was the final arc written for the comic before it was cancelled but it does come first in the timeline so I thought it would be fitting to talk about it first.

ISSUE #288

To kick things off, let's start with a Sonic 1 adaptation. Specifically the final zone in the game, Scrap Brain Zone! The artstyle is pretty neat looking although a bit rushed. Tracy Yardley's lines are a bit odd. I have seen this guy's IDW work before and they don't look as choppy as this.

Now the question you might be having right now is... who the hell is this?

Well that's Snively Robotnik... at least he used to be called that. See when the reboot happened, all the SATAM characters that were connected through blood were forced to be removed due to SEGA. In SATAM, Snively used to be Robotnik's nephew.

But because of this limitation, he was changed to be Robotnik's old partner in crime in the past of this universe. And his name was changed to Doctor ''Julian'' Snively, a G.U.N scientist.

But back to the issue, afterwards Robotnik and Snively drop Sonic into... Scrap Brain Zone Act 3 aka the Labyrinth Zone clone. Honestly I adore that so much, it's such a fun throwback to the original game.

After that frankly amusing last panel, Sonic catches up with the two. And now he has to fight the Sonic 1 final boss but with the two now controlling it which is also a fun callback.

But yeah, after kicking their butts Sonic goes back to Knothole Village, the village the Freedom Fighter reside in.

We will talk about each of the Freedom Fighters in detail once their respective issues in the ''Countdown to Chaos'' arc. But for now, have this neat final page to see all of them in action!

ISSUE #289

This issue like the last one is an adaptation of the one classic games. This time being Sonic 2.

After this amazing take on the Tails' plane crashing scene from the original game, Sonic arrives at Wing Fortress Zone which is a really fun set piece for dynamic action pages.

When he enters the headquarters, there's an interesting twist. Instead of Robotnik getting caught off guard and then using the mini boss of the zone, it's Snively who releases the boss onto Sonic.

And yeah that also means Snively caused Sonic to arrive at the Death Egg instead of Robotnik as well.

And the iconic running away from Sonic while being faster than him?? That part one was funny even in the game but it's even more exaggrated here.

And then the poster boy, Silver Sonic, shows up! Wow the size difference is funny isn't it?

Tho he is taken care of him too quickly which is a shame.

And ironically the issue ends with the Death Egg Robot facing Sonic... not even in a battle sequence either. How odd. I guess they ran out of pages to show the conclusion of the story of the game? Oh well, I honestly wanted to know how these exact events happened in this canon anyway so it doesn't bother me that much.

ISSUE #290

This issue was the last issue that was published in the mainline Archie Sonic comic before being cancelled. Yes, we didn't even get a Sonic 3 adaptation before the rights got moved to IDW.

But aside from that, this issue is an adaptation of... well Sonic CD! It marks the first point where Sonic and Amy meet.

I'm glad the turret cards were also implemented in here since the manual's said that she was a fortune teller. IDW also recently referenced this fact in one of their arcs as well as Sonic Origins with the newly animated opening cutscene.

But back on track, this issue is really just a straight up adaptation of CD. There's literally nothing that changed from the original source material here. Even Snively isn't here.

Tho this is a neat detail, I will give them that. It's referencing how some guy says ''past'' and ''future'' when you touch these sign posts in the actual game.

Yeah there's nothing I can even add here, it's just CD's story but in comic form. This racing scene is cool tho.

And yep, this was the final art drawn for this entire comic series.

ISSUE #291???

Wait??? I hear you saying. ''You just said the comic series was cancelled, where did this come from?'' Well my friends because the artists who drew this issue released all the inked pages online after the cancellation. And looking at these... it's literally just the ending of S3 but in comic form. Granted there are still some neat drawings on here like Knuckles fight scenes.

Mecha Sonic also appears towards the end.

And the issue ends with the two running around in Death Egg Zone. Yeah no Snively or mentions of DIC material here either. Weird.

And that was it. What a weird way to start our journey, eh? Overall, the first half was strong while the other two was just straight up ripped from the games with no interesting twists. Mixed bag, basically.