Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 274

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 274
Publication Date: July 2015

I guess comic book companies putting out misleading covers is a trend that will never stop. Issue 274 of “Sonic,” part seven of “Worlds Unite,” has a cover that suggest the “Sonic” cast and the “Mega Man” cast will be fighting. This is technically true but it only happens due to the influence of the Deadly Six, the robotic heroes fighting it all the way. In this day and age, covers and solicitations of comics come out several months in advance. So, sure, if you had just read the last part of “Worlds Unite,” you know how misleading this cover is. If you’re looking at it several months before hand, you might really assume Sonic and the Megas will fight it out for any number of reasons. I guess that’s a pretty smart marketing tactic.

So, anyway, “Worlds Unite, Part Seven: Gears and Wills” does begin with the Zetis turning Mega Man, X, and all their buddies against the Freedom Fighters. (Bunnie is disabled as well.) Though the heroic robots do everything they can to fight the psychic influence, they are still trying to kill their allies. Sally is forced to leave the bridge and fight alongside the other Mobians. Ultimately, Eggman and Wily arrive with a big weapon that breaks the spell. However, this still gives Sigma time to evolve into his deadliest, largest form yet.

After the extremely satisfying sixth part, part seven of “Worlds Unite” starts to feel a little sluggish. One comic book devoted to a massive battle was awesome. A second issue at that same break-neck pace, composed of a somewhat contrived conflict between friends, starts to feel exhausting. Seeing so many divergent characters fighting together against a common foe was fun. Seeing them fight among themselves feels more like typical comic book bullshit. I know this was inevitable, what with the Zetis’ superpowers (and the rule that all crossover events most contain fights like this), but I wish Flynn had sneaked this stuff into an earlier part of the narrative.

Now, don’t get me wrong. There’s some bad-ass moments here. Sonic and Sally working together to kick some ass, for the first time in what feels like forever, sure is nice. The scene where she orders a thoroughly drained Zavok to surrender is probably the issue’s best. Knuckles, who hasn’t been given much to do in this crossover, gets to deliver a big upper cut to the mind-controlled Gemerl. Eggman and Wily appearing to save the day is somewhat contrived, as they bust out a huge gun that instantly disables all the robots, but it’s also sort of funny. Even the villains get an impressive moment, when Zeena runs along the exterior of the ship, taking over all the cannons installed there. As it did last time, Edwin Huang’s excellent artwork goes a long way towards selling these moments.

Maybe one reason why part seven feels so much more hollow than part six is the lack of personal moments among all the fighting. The focus is much more on clashing factions, instead of establishing a heart in the heat of battle. Still, Flynn does try. Sally insisting on joining the fray, putting her own life in danger to protect her friends, is the exact reason why so many of us still love this character after so many years. After the battle pauses, there’s an adorable scene where Cream puts a band aid on Sally’s arm. There’s a sort of cute moment, where Rotor is attacked by Snake Man and not convinced he’s doing this totally against his will. I just wish there could’ve been more of this stuff.

These little humanistic moments stand in contrast to the tedious in-fighting that occurs in the last third. After the Zetis are captured, Zero insists they keep on fighting, continue to march on Sigma. Sonic agrees with this. Sally and the Mega Men think they should probably take a breather, which doesn’t seem like an unreasonable request. It all ends up being a moot point, as Sigma soon emerges from Lost Hex in a new kaiju-sized body along with an army of roughly fifty thousand “Mega Man X” bosses. The argument between the heroes feels like Flynn filling page space before he can cram in that cliffhanger.

In the middle of all this, there’s a scene devoted to Sticks. She’s still stuck in the “Street Fighter” world, being interrogated by a still-obscured Chun-Li. This scene is obviously setting up the further cross-overs that will soon occur in this storyline. She begins with a rambling, incoherent story about pasta. After some urging, she then explains the business about Sigma and the Genesis Portals. What’s funny about this is Sticks’ nonsensical blabbering is totally indistinct from the actual plot relevant information. (I’m not sure why Chun-Li takes one theory more seriously than the other.) I guess describing the plot of comic book crossovers really isn’t any less convoluted than real world conspiracy theories.

We’re at the half-way point of “Worlds Unite,” right before the other Sega/Capcom properties are brought into the fray. Which might explain why things are starting to drag a little. It’s certainly not a bad comic book. It’s only when compared to the excellent previous issue that it feels a little tired. Hopefully, the introduction of more universes will perk things up a little next time. [6/10]