Sonic the Hedgehog 070 (Archie)

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Sonic the Hedgehog #070
"Facing the Fury of Kodos"

Cover date: May 1999

Release	Date	RRP	Code	Rating
US	1999-02-24^[1]	$1.79	?
CA	1999	$1.99	?

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Sonic the Hedgehog #70 is the seventieth issue of the ongoing Sonic the Hedgehog comic series published by Archie Comics. The issue would be reprinted in Sonic the Hedgehog Archives Volume 18.

Official solicitation

Stories

saving nate morgan

Continued from issue #69.

In an act of quick thinking only Sonic the Hedgehog is capable of, Sargent Simian's grenade is tossed high into the air, where it explodes upon reaching the juice bar's skylight. Everyone is safe, though a bit worse for the wear post-brawl, but the juice bar is completely wrecked. The bar's owner verbally lashes out in anger at the absent Nate Morgan, while Sonic maintains Nate was targeted because of his scientific knowledge. The owner is not interested in the story, telling Sonic to go tell the Secret Service, waving him off. Sonic will do one better than the Secret Service, as he and the Freedom Fighters march towards Castle Acorn to inform the King.

Meanwhile in the castle's throne room, the Secret Service is telling informing the King of the prison break at the Devil's Island Gulag. Geoffrey St. John insists that the prisoners crashed and perished, just as Sonic and the gang drop in and deliver the contradictory news. Doctor Quack corroborates this with evidence provided by the imprisoned prison guards. Deducting that Snively and his gang are on Big Kahuna Island, Sonic and his friends hatch a plan to rescue Nate and recapture the prisoners, only to be stopped on the orders of King Max. With the Kingdom no longer at war with a powerful enemy, the crown no longer expects nor wants children to do fight it battles. The rescue operation will be spearheaded by Geoffrey with his Secret Service, and the Knothole Village Freedom Fighters are officially disbanded.

A few hours later, a submarine emerges next to Big Kahuna. Geoffrey's troops emerge from the depths, while Geoffrey debriefs the team on the climb up. Big Kahuna Island, aka West Robotroplis allegedly housed dangerous Robotnik-built experiments. At the top of the climb, Geoffrey is surprised to find Sonic is already on the island, mockingly waiting for Geoffrey to catch up. Sonic offers his services as a "Free Agent". Sonic is allowed to remain, but only under the condition that he be a team player and yield to Geoffrey's command. But Sonic objects to Geoffrey's plan, which is to simply surround the facility and order their surrender, as that would make Nate a hostage and put him further in peril. Geoffrey is not terribly concerned with Nate's safety, he is an Overlander, a race which Geoffrey openly disdains. This admittance of prejudice is enough to prompt a physical spat between the hedgehog and the skunk, but the fight is quickly broken up by Prince Elias, who had discreetly joined the expedition as a helmeted soldier.

Inside the compound, Nate is given once last chance to join Snively and his gang "Or else". Nate chooses "Or else". As Kodos readies his ax, Bomb bounces inside ready to blow. He fizzles instead. Sonic leads the rest of the team in a surprise charge.

In a faraway place, space, yet another satellite is brought to life. A mysterious voice initiates its startup procedure: "R-Sat Unit back online. Commencing System location of target. Target acquired, system locked, and beginning activation... NOW!"

Down below, the fight continues, this time with Sonic and the Secret Service having the upper hand. Just as Nate is freed from his captives, an earthquake disrupts the battle. A giant mechanical mutant emerges from the rubble, causing everyone to flee. Bomb, however, is caught in its grips, where he counts down and explodes, defeating the creature. A renewed bomb emerges from Heavy, most of the crooks recaptured and all seems well... Until Sonic and Geoffrey spot Predator Hawk, Arachnis and Kodos, making off with Sonic's bi-plane and the remains of Crocbot.

Statue of Limitations

Sonic is flying his bi-plane high above Sandblast City, when suddenly his ride completely disintegrates. He plummets, plummets for what seems like hours, until he spots beneath him the statue of himself that he had to smash to escape from the city. It is laughing at him, mocking his very existence. Then he wakes up, in a sweat, questioning why this dream keeps recurring. Tonight, he is resolved to see the dream through, so he falls again, literally diving into the mouth of madness, breaking it once again.

After that the dream transitions and he looks around, very confused by the sight that now surrounds him. Everything, the leaves on the trees, fire hydrants, trash cans and flowers bears his face. He is solicited by a Mobian fanboy, who offers him a Sonic branded T-shirt. The Mobain promptly recognizes Sonic as the real deal, and he is quickly surrounded by hundreds of other T-shirt-wearing fanboys, all wanting to meet Sonic the "Legend". Sonic wades his way through the crowd, wanting to know just what the heck is going on. He had never been to this strange land before; he just wants to know how everyone knows who he is. The Mobian fan shows him the door of the "Sonic Adventure Archivists".

Inside this hallowed archive, a walrus, an ape and an equine are busily in conference reviewing and debating Sonic's chronicles. The Mobian fan intervenes, shouting "Sonic The Hedgehog is Here!". The come to attention, surrounding Sonic. They ask the hedgehog intrusive questions, like why he and Sally are not an item. They don't buy that Sally was revived by Sonic's kiss, claiming she'd be a much stronger emblem to the Freedom Fighters' cause as a martyr. But the all agree on one thing: Sonic can do no wrong. Sonic can do no wrong. Sonic can do no...

Sonic awakens in a scream. Tails joins him as he sits on his bed in depression. In a moment of candor, he admits to his friend that he's not sure what this hero business is all about. He regrets leaving Sandblast City to be ransacked by the Robians, and he's just not comfortable with all this responsibility, all this burden. Tails tells him to think instead about all the lives he's touched. Being a hero is not about being perfect; it's about being a caring person who goes where he's needed. Tails doesn't know where he would be without Sonic, he's his best friend, his hero and his brother all rolled into one. This cheers Sonic up, and the story ends on a framed picture of Sonic, Tails and Sally.

Other features

Sonic-Grams
- In lieu of fan mail, the original line art of pages 2 and 3 for "saving nate morgan" are reproduced. Meant to be a double page spread, it was forced to be cut down and redrawn to a single splash page.
Find Your Name in Print
Sonic Fan Art
- Three pieces of fan art, one photograph.
Pro Art
- Sonic the Hedgehog strikes a pose on a now defeated badnik. Drawn by David Brewer and Andrew Pepoy.

Off Panel

Sonic looks above him, seeing an unknown craft flying high in the sky. Wondering if it's a spy satellite, he uses his Figure Eight Spin to hover up into the air. He cuts himself off mid-sentence when he realizes his comments now have the dreaded editor's note attached, the Freditor asking the "True Blue Crew" to write in if they remember what issue the figure eight move was introduced in. Sonic, much to his chagrin, is then buried under a list of fans who wrote in with the correct answer.

Development

After the publication of "Statue of Limitations," author Paul Castiglia wrote an open letter to the online Sonic fandom at the time, sending it to Ron Bauerle's mailing list and allowing it to be forwarded to alt.fan.sonic-hedgehog, among other locations. Castiglia wanted to make clear that the purpose of his story was not to make fun of the Sonic fandom, but to celebrate it, even if the creatives and the fans did not always see eye to eye.

“	As far as I'm concerned, everyone has a right to their opinion, and the right to voice it -- since they are opinions, they're certainly valid -- because I believe that if just one person holds them, they are validated -- even if I or others disagree with a particular [opinion]. So the point of the story is, no one opinion of Sonic is necessarily "the right one" in lieu of the others; and no one opinion is necessarily "the wrong one". To use cliches, variety is the spice of life; to each his own.	„
— Paul Castiglia, writer and editor on Sonic the Hedgehog^[2]

Castiglia went on to explain the themes of the story he wanted to explore: "what makes a legend?" and how a hero engages with the idea of hero worship. His note ends with pointing out that the credits as printed mixed up the names of the letterer and colorist.^[2]

The "Sonic Adventure Archivists" in the story were inspired by members of the Sonic fandom, Castiglia reaching out and asking permission to use them as inspiration.^[2] The walrus was based on Alessandro Sanasi, the dialogue "Sally got what anyone gets - she got a lifetime!" being a paraphrase of Sanasi's usenet signature. The other two archivists were based on Thaddeus "X" Boyd and Juan F. Lara.^[3]

Sonic the Hedgehog 070 (Archie)

From Sonic Retro

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