Sonic Universe: Issue 52

Sonic Universe: Issue 52
Publication Date: May 2013

I’ve complained about Ian Flynn’s pacing in the past but his structure is usually pretty solid. He may draw shit out for too long but his dramatic beats usually hit at the appropriate times. Showing that he actually took some storytelling classes, “Worlds Collide” is evenly divided into three acts. Act two of the crossover begins in issue 52 of “Sonic Universe,” which is subtitled “Into the Warzone.”

The actual story contained in this comic book is subtitled “The Advance Guard.” Flynn must really love subtitles. Anyway, the team of Mega Man, Sonic, Tails, Protoman, and Rush enter the Egg Skull Zone. They begin a march toward the floating Egg Skull base, to confront the madmen responsible. The villains send a team of old enemies of Mega Man’s, led by Copy Robot, to block the heroes’ progress.

“The Advance Guard” is mostly devoted to introducing a new batch of fucking weirdos for the good guys to fight. Minutes inside the zone, the Genesis Unit attacks them. These guys are bosses from “Mega Man: The Wily Wars,” a Japanese exclusive re-release for the Sega Genesis of “Mega Man” 1-3. They’re based on that beloved cornerstone of Asian literature, “Journey to the West.” Buster Rod G is a monkey-like robot who wields an extending pole – that’s the second Sun Wukong expy to appear in this comic book – while Hyper Storm H is a giant pig robot based on Zhu Wuneng. They are accompanied by Mega Water S, a kappa-inspired robot based on Sha Wujing. (The jagged plate on Mega Water’s head is meant to represent the traditional water-filled carapace of the kappa but it looks more like a fried egg.) Mega Man has apparently tussled with these guys before.

Each of these weirdies has, as is typical of Mega Man bosses, a special superpower. The monkey droid can generate some sort of energy field around his extended staff, as well as having the generic ninja ability of casting illusions of himself. The pig guy can project powerful gusts of wind from his mouth. The kappa bot has hydrokinesis and can shoot harpoons. You'd hope these special abilities would lead to some inventive action sequences. Honestly, the scenes of Sonic mocking Buster Rod, by comparing him to previous monkey-like robots he's fought in the past, or the direct way Protoman deals with the Mega Water, are more entertaining. The battle is mostly just the characters showing off their different abilities until Mega Man turns the tide by using the special ability he stole from Tails Man. We don't even see the pig robot get defeated on-panel.

One of my favorite things about this issue is the Egg Wily Zone. Allowing Robotnik and Dr. Wily to build their own zone creates a very surreal landscape. First off, the location seems to fuse together aspects from both stock “Sonic” and “Mega Man” levels. Rolling hills, checkered loops, and giant mushroom caps stand alongside floating platforms, electrical grids, and giant gears. The blazing flamethrowers from Scrap Brain Zone run right into the infamous disappearing blocks from the “Mega Man” games. There are also really cute little details. Like the flowers having skulls in the center of the petals or a snowman shaped like Eggman in the distance. At the end, we even see a sun and moon in the likenesses of the mad scientists. It's a twisted reflection of their mutual obsessions.

Of course, this issue is the first time we get an indication that not all is well in Eggman/Wily land. Their egos are beginning to get the best of each other. When Eggman's two newest Roboticized Masters – Silver Man and Blaze Woman – bring him another Chaos Emerald, he suggests that his plan is greater than Wily's. They end up resolving their conflict by deciding to let the surviving heroes decide which world is superior. However, I like the idea that their seemingly perfect friendship has some cracks forming in it. Which makes sense. You never expect villains to really tolerate each other for too long, no matter how friendly they are.

For the last few issues, I've been commenting that Jamal Peppers' artwork has started to look a lot like Tracy Yardley's. Well, Yardley actually draws this issue and I take it back. Peppers' work is a lot stronger than this. While the Sonic cast mostly looks fine, Yardley was clearly adapting to the Mega Man cast. Mega Man's little blue super-shorts frequently look like a full diaper. His limbs are a little too spindly, his hands and feet too big, and his face a little too cartoony. Rush's face looks really silly in a few panels. Then again, the action scenes are fairly well drawn so Yardley is still doing some good work. Still, it's definitely the weakest looking issue of the crossover so far.

Flynn sets up some future story points here. Dr. Light contacts a giant robot out in space called Duo, who seems to be meditating in orbit around Saturn. I have no idea what that is all about. We also meet the rest of the Roboticized Masters, showing what the Chaotix look as robots. As an individual issue, part five of “Worlds Collide” is mostly just an extended fight scene and it honestly feels like a minor step towards a bigger, more important fight. I seem to recall the rest of the crossover being taken over by massive fight scenes and I'm not sure how tedious it'll be on this re-read. [6/10]