“I swear, I returned the book to the library.”
Sonic Universe #2
Archie Comics Publications (May 2009)
“Shadow Saga part 2: “Time And Again”
WRITER: Ian Flynn
PENCILER: Tracy Yardley
COLORIST: Jason Jensen
LETTERER: Teresa Davidson
EDITOR: Mike Pellerito
Just before Sonic and the Freedom Fighters are ready for a huge attack on Robotnik (something going on in the main title), Shadow and Rouge the Bat recruit him to take out a cannon that threatens all our heroes. During the story, there are flashbacks to the Sonic Adventure 2 video game, showcasing how the relationship between Sonic and Shadow have changed over the years, as the former rivals now respect each other, if not befriended each other.
ADDITIONAL INFO: In the present, Robotnik has a weapon that will destroy the Freedom Fighter’s force field around their invasion base as well as part of the “Egg Dome” (I’m not up to speed on current events in the main comic at the time.) In the past, it’s about Shadow’s character arc as it matches up with current event (the Sonic Adventure 2 flashbacks mentioned in the original review). The weapon is too strong for both Sonic and Shadow, so Shadow takes off his inhibitor rings and use Chaos Control to divert the laser away from the others. Sonic returns to his allies to prepare for the final battle as Shadow and Rogue leave.
What they got right: It’s interesting to see how Sonic and Shadow, former enemies, have become sort of allies in their various struggles. I haven’t been following the main title (I stopped when they tried to shoehorn three stories into one normal sized comic), so I don’t know the extent of their friendship these days, but I do like reformed villains and new friends.
What they got wrong: There’s at least one point where they didn’t note in captions when they were in the past, and that’s when you realize that without them you wouldn’t know when their in SA2 and when they’re in the present. I remember back when the game came out, the main title had a teaser to the game, but you had to play it in order to find out what happened. It was never adapted properly either in the main title or in a special. As the “Off-Panel” strip noted, it’ll be forever until they get to Sonic Heroes, if at all. If the games are now canon in the comicverse, this should be addressed.
Additional thoughts: The flashing back and forth, even when the captions do remind us which is when, isn’t a great flow, though they do serve the narrative of seeing how far the two hedgehog heroes have come.
What I think overall: I would eventually return to the main comic, and this new series was getting off to a good start. Hopefully it stays that way during this new readthrough, which I haven’t been able to do since I bought the comic.
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