Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics)
Sonic the Hedgehog was an American comic book series published by Archie Comics and Sega of America, based on the Sonic video game franchise, and especially the 1993 Sonic saturday morning cartoon. After debuting with a three-issue miniseries cover dated February to May 1993, the first full-length issue was published in July 1993 and ran until December 2016. The series follows the Freedom Fighters, an organization of heroes led by Sonic and Sally Acorn in their battles against Doctor Eggman and other villains.
While largely consisting of its own continuity, certain issues incorporated elements of the Sonic video games into their plots and settings. Over its history, the series had several spin-off series set in the same continuity, including Knuckles the Echidna, Sonic Universe, and two crossovers with Archie's Mega Man series. Alongside the series, Archie also produced multiple comics series based on the Sonic X and Sonic Boom TV series. Following a 2013 lawsuit between Archie and former lead writer Ken Penders, Archie rebooted the series, removing many comics-original characters from its cast, and bringing it closer to that of the games. 2013 would also start the Post Genesis-Wave section of the Sonic Archie Comics lifetime.
Sonic the Hedgehog ran for 290 issues for over 20 years in the U.S.A., earning a place in the 2008 Guinness World Records for being the "longest-running comic series based on a video game". It became the longest-running franchise-based comic series in 2015 before it was confirmed cancelled in July 2017, following Sega of America and Archie Comics' decision to discontinue their business relationship.
After IDW Publishing acquired the license through Sega of America, they began publishing their own Sonic the Hedgehog series in April 2018, adhering more faithfully to the continuity of the games. Several artists and writers who worked on the Archie comics, including lead writer Ian Flynn, went on to contribute to the IDW series.
Publication history
The Sonic the Hedgehog comic debuted in the US as a four-part miniseries running from February to May 1993. The first issue was previewed in a free six-page Sonic the Hedgehog #¼, released November 1992. The miniseries was followed up two months later by the series Sonic the Hedgehog. Numerous one-shot specials and several reprint series' followed.Synopsis
The comics follow the adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends, called the Freedom Fighters, who battle against the evil Doctor Robotnik. Initially based on the plot of the 1992 animated series, the comic later incorporated elements from the games and other media. When Ken Penders, former head writer of the comic got sued by Archie Comics because he allegedly breached his contract with them, the comic led to a continuity reboot with all established characters created by Penders and other writers being removed, save those of current writer Ian Flynn, who penned the new continuity, and those created for assorted animated series, to which Sega retains the rights. The new continuity is a world much closer to the world depicted in Sega's games.The original universe, which remained canon until the comic's 247th issue, is set on the planet Mobius, a science fantasy and post-apocalyptic version of Earth from tens of thousands of years into the future, and where animals were mutated into the anthropomorphic Mobians. Dr. Robotnik is depicted as a tyrant, ruling from Robotropolis, following a coup d'état against the Kingdom of Acorn. A small band of heroes, the Freedom Fighters, fight back against his forces from the secluded village of Knothole. Amongst the group are Sonic, his best friend Miles "Tails" Prower, love interest and team leader Princess Sally Acorn, French-accented Antoine D’Coolette, cybernetic Bunnie Rabbot, technician Rotor the Walrus, and Sally's handheld computer Nicole. Other allies like Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, and Sonic's Uncle Chuck join them in later chapters. Robotnik in turn is aided by his nephew Snively.
Robotnik meets his demise in the fiftieth issue, erased from existence by his own superweapon. An alternate version of Robotnik from a parallel world becomes the lead antagonist, first introduced as "Robo-Robotnik", but later takes on the name of Dr. Eggman. New antagonists were introduced, including the evil sorcerer Ixis Naugus; Scourge the Hedgehog, Sonic's evil counterpart from a parallel universe; and the Dark Egg Legion, a union of other factions like the Iron Dominion and the echidna-led Dark Legion. Game storylines like Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 were adapted, introducing Shadow the Hedgehog as a recurring character.
The Xorda, an extraterrestrial race whose past actions led to Earth's apocalypse and the subsequent creation of Mobius and the Mobians, try to destroy the planet. Sonic defeats them, only to end up lost in space, but returns home a year later. Sally's father, King Maximillian, is poisoned by Antoine's evil counterpart, Patch, and hands the throne over to his son Prince Elias. For a brief time, Snively defects to the Freedom Fighters only to betray them, bombing Knothole with the Egg Fleet. The citizens are imprisoned in the Egg Grapes, but Sonic frees them. Nicole uses nanites to create New Mobotropolis. Tails’ father Amadeus tries to bring democracy to the city against the monarchy, Sally preventing a civil war by establishing the Council of Acorn, consisting of royal and public officials.
Eggman suffers a massive mental breakdown due to Sonic foiling his plans for world domination one too many times and is temporarily institutionalized, allowing Snively and the Iron Queen, Regina Ferrum, to take over his empire in the interim, leading to a lengthy war against the Freedom Fighters. Naugus comes to rule New Mobotropolis as king, due to a deal Sally's father made with him. Eggman returns to power and sanity, unleashing the Genesis Wave, altering Mobius, but Sonic reverses it. Sally sacrifices herself to stop Eggman's superweapon, the World Roboticizer, and becomes a robot. The Freedom Fighters reform as Team Freedom, Team Fighters, and the Secret Freedom Fighters to combat Eggman and Naugus.
Eggman activates a second Genesis Wave, transporting himself, Sonic, and other characters into the world of Mega Man, leading to the crossover Worlds Collide. A second crossover Worlds Unite happened in 2015, featuring characters from other Sega and Capcom titles.
The original multiverse ceased to exist when Dr. Eggman launched the Super Genesis Wave in conjunction with Dr. Wily, causing the Prime Zone to be irreversibly rewritten and the multiverse surrounding it to collapse in on itself, destroying every prior known reality and creating new ones in their place.
In the new continuity, Sonic and Dr. Eggman retain their memories of everything they both knew before the Super Genesis Wave. These memories are later restored onto Nagus, Tails, Rotor, Antoine, Bunnie, Sally and Amy when they make contact with Nicole. However, Earth is split apart, awakening Dark Gaia, leading to the events of Sonic Unleashed. The comic also introduces Naugus' sister Wendy, a witch who pledges allegiance to Eggman and plots to gain the Cacophonic Conch.
Spin-offs and other related series
The series was originally published as a four issue mini-series, with the first issue labeled as "issue 0". At the end of 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.Alongside 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 Acorn, Tails and Knuckles.
Because of the popularity of the specials and Miniseries featuring Knuckles, in 1997, Knuckles the Echidna became an ongoing series. Knuckles' stories featured its own cast of characters, including the Chaotix. In 2000, the series was cancelled, but the stories were continued in the pages of Sonic the Hedgehog until it was phased out completely by Sonic issue 125. In this form, a typical issue of Sonic included a Sonic story and a second, shorter Knuckles story afterwards, though eventually this phased out as well.
To allow for stories that focused more on side characters than primarily on Sonic-most notably the other characters featured in the Sega games-the Sonic Universe comic line was introduced. This series has included a wide range of characters previously introduced in other comic issues, as well as allowing for the introduction of additional characters to the comic cast. Typically, the series is broken up into four-issue long story arcs focusing on a select character or group of characters, though one-issue stories have also been released.
Archie has also produced two Sonic series based on other branches of the Sonic franchise, namely the Sonic X anime and the Sonic Boom cartoon. The Sonic X series began in September 2005, and ended after forty issues in January 2009, the last of which featured a crossover story with the main Sonic the Hedgehog series that served as a prequel to the first Sonic Universe issue. The Sonic Boom line began in October 2014, and was later incorporated into Worlds Unite before concluding with its eleventh issue in September 2015.
The Archie Sonic series has also produced several Free Comic Book Day issues, which typically feature either reprints of older issues or new stories that fit into the series continuity. Since 2013, these issues have served as a combination free comic special with the Mega Man series; a free Sonic issue serving as a prequel to Sonic Lost World was also released in 2013 for Halloween Comic Fest. Various compilations have also been put together, such as the Sonic Saga Series, Sonic Archives and Knuckles Archives, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Universe and standalone graphic novels, Sonic Legacy, Best of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Super Digest and Sonic Super Special Magazine. Following Worlds Collide the latter two series and the Free Comic Book Day issues began featuring stories in a series entitled "Sonic Comic Origins", which detailed the histories of various characters in the post-reboot continuity.
A short, three-panel comic strip similar to those found in a newspaper at the end of some issues called Off-Panel. It was originally found in the main series of comics, and was later continued in the spinoff series Sonic Universe. Earlier strips involved fictional version of staff interacting with comic characters. While later strips removed this element, it always retains elements of comical gags relating to the issues main story, often containing fourth wall breaking.