Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 273

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 273
Publication Date: June 2015

I love how this cover treats Sonic being turned into a villain like it’s a big deal, as if it’s never happened before. I guess it’s never happened in the rebooted timeline before, so it’s a big deal to the characters. What happens when the sun sets? Does Sonic Man turn into a robot Werehog? I’m sorry, I’m rambling off-topic, what with my reasonable questions and nerdy memory. I know it was obviously a scheduling thing but does anyone else think it’s a little weird that the Sonic/Mega Man Book crossover didn’t involve an issue of the main “Sonic” book until its third part? Just me? Alright, that’s cool. Let’s get on with the review.

“Clash of the Corrupted” – see, that’s a good subtitle, Flynn – begins with Sonic Man and M’Egga Man laying siege to each other’s world. Sonic Man quickly defeats Light’s first wave of reformed Robot Masters. (He says they weren’t built for combat, though Bomb Man seems to have few other practical applications.) He sends in re-enforcements, yet more reformed Robot Masters, but they are also easily stomped. On Mobius Sonic’s World, it doesn’t take M’Egga Man much longer to subdue the Freedom Fighters. They install Sigma’s Unity Engines, which will combine the two worlds and fuel Sigma’s transformation into a physical god.

Obviously, this issue is hoping seeing the heroes, even corrupted versions, wail on the good guys is shocking. For regular readers of the “Mega Man” comics, maybe the scenes of Sonic Man wrecking the Robot Masters are exactly that. For me, M’Egga Man crushing the Freedom Fighters is a little more effective. All of his abilities are taken from Eggman’s various boss vehicles. So he counters the heroes’ abilities with hammers, drills, wrecking balls, and explosive balloons of himself. Aside from him punching people with dinging bumpers, which is just silly, it’s surprisingly effective watching this guy take down the heroes with such ease. And, once again, just seeing the established Archie cast get in on the crossover action is thrilling.

Like I said, as someone not really interested in “Mega Man,” the Sonic Man sequences mean a lot less to me. Sonic Man draws upon the blue hedgehog’s own abilities. So he’s super fast, even for the robots that can slow down time. He shoots buzzsaws, homing attacks, and gold rings. Most of the Robot Masters don’t even get to use their unique attacks before Sonic Man disables them. Seeing an evil version of the hero best up people you’ve never meet before is kind of cool but doesn’t make me feel much. I wish Flynn spent a little more time developing the gang, such as a brief scene where Quake Woman, apparently a comic exclusive character, expresses a weird protective streak towards Roll.

It’s a fairly serious issue but Flynn still has to include some comic relief, most of which comes off as horribly out-of-place. Such as when Big the Cat bodyslams M’Egga Man. It’s literally a scene of a big fat guy sitting on a skinny dude. If even shouts “Hoo-Ray! I’m helping!” as he does it, furthering his image as an annoying simpleton. Then there’s Eggman and Wily sharing an “Silent bro-fist” while plotting behind Sigma’s back, a moment that’s simply embarrassing. Sonic Man and M’Egga Man probably should’ve been kept silent characters, as their quips really don’t add much to the story.

This issue does make me like Gemerl way more than I did previously. An obscure villain-turned-hero from an underplayed hand-held title, I never gave the guy much thought before. A powerful robot, he seems to mostly act as Cream and Vanilla’s caretaker and briefly appeared right after the reboot started. Here, he’s called in as the last resort against M’Egga Man, which he fails spectacularly at. What makes the robot amusing is how he acts like a perturbed suburban dad. He calls the invader “buddy,” doesn’t like it when people cause “a fuss,” is obsessed with firewood, and cracks lame puns. I bet he has strong opinions about the local softball team, charcoal vs. propane, and those teenagers playing their music too damn loud. Can IDW use this guy? Flynn, please find room for “Not Mad, Just Disappointed” Stepdad-Bot in the new comic.

Once again, Dan Schoening does the breakdowns while Tracy Yardley finishes it up. It proves to be an even more fruitful combination than before. The scenes of M’Egga Man attacking Mobotropolis are dramatically drawn, with the Freedom Fighters looking great. The scenes set on Mega Man’s world aren’t as sharp, as the Robot Masters all look pretty silly. I don’t know if Schoening is getting used to these characters or if Yardley is just handling the action scenes but they’re feeling a little livelier and less pre-posed than before.

Still, “Worlds Unite” is rolling at a decent clip. It’s already better paced than “Worlds Collide” was at this point. Honestly, having more characters and jumping between more worlds is keeping the story energized in these somewhat awkward beginning chapters. I'm going to be talking about some other bullshit for the next two updates but we'll get back to “Worlds Unite's” actual story line soon enough. [7/10]