Sonic the Hedgehog 013 (Archie)

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Sonic the Hedgehog #13 "Sonic the Hedgehog"
Writer: Michael Gallagher
Pencils: Dave Manak, Jon D'Agostino, Bill Yoshida, Barry Grossman, Scott Fulop, Victor Gorelick and Richard Goldwater
Cover artist: Dave Manak/Jon D'Agostino
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Sonic the Hedgehog 13 is the thirteenth issue of the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series. It was released in August 1994.

This comic features two stories: This Island Hedgehog, and Space In Yo' Face.

This Island Hedgehog

Tails and Sonic, on the Tornado head out to the sea to find Dr. Robotnik's hovercraft, coming upon a floating island called Angel Island. Tails wonders why the island is able to float, while Sonic thinks it could be due to a Chaos Emerald. They fly over the floating island to investigate. On the island itself, a figure watches the duo fly over. The mysterious figure fires a missile (complete with an unwelcome mat on it), destroying the Tornado. Sonic and Tails bail out just in time. Tails, using his tails to fly, grabs Sonic and lands him safely on the island as the remaining pieces of the Tornado crash nearby. The duo travel across the island in an attempt to find somebody to help them return to land. The mysterious figure continues to watch over them, and has another trap prepared for them. The duo encounter a huge flamethrower, narrowly avoiding getting burned, and look over to see an Assaulting Batter Blimp. As they continue to avoid the machine's flamethrower, Sonic becomes encased in an energy shield. Taking advantage of the shield, Sonic and Tails both jump into a nearby pond, escaping the machine.

The duo drop down the water into a blocky area. Sonic loses his shield, forcing him to hold his breath, same with Tails, as they get forced into a tunnel by a current. They blast through a brick wall and end up in another tunnel that has a very strong current. Sonic grabs a nearby vertical pole. He can't hold on and he and Tails get sucked into a drain by the current into a dark area. The two, losing their breath, black out as they enter the drain.

In a dark area, Sonic and Tails wake up, only to find themselves tied up and sitting down on the ground. They hear the voice of the mysterious figure from before, but it doesn't sound like Robotnik, as Sonic had expected. He steps out of the shadows and introduces himself as Knuckles the Echidna, the last of the Echidnas and protector of the Chaos Emerald. He had heard about their arrival through Robotnik, as well as that they were coming to steal his emerald.

From his lair, Robotnik watches Knuckles and the duo from a monitor. With the three distracted, he plans to go to Angel Island and steal the Chaos Emerald himself to recharge his hovercraft. He continues to watch as Knuckles begins to interrogate Sonic and Tails, believing he was right because Tails knew about the Chaos Emerald, despite him mentioning it directly to them when they woke up. However, rather than pummelling the two, he offers them a chance to leave the island and his life. He gives them a 10-minute head start to leave before he comes after them. The two race out, but instead of leaving the island, they decide to use the 10 minutes to prove their innocence.

Robotnik, watching through his monitor, yells at Knuckles for releasing them, claiming that he is a Freedom Fighter. Knuckles tells him to carry on with his business and ends the communication. Robotnik leaves the room angerly and goes over to a Swatbot, asking if Crabmeat has arrived with his new power source. The Swatbot confirms, as Crabmeat is beside him, who walks over and presents Robotnik a Chaos Emerald on a pillow. He picks it up and is overwhelmed by the power that it holds, thinking of what he can do with it.

Back on Angel Island, Sonic and Tails travel along through a forest looking for a way to prove their innocence. Behind them, Knuckles watches their every move, believing even more so that they are trying to steal the Chaos Emerald. To get a head start on them, he takes an underground passage way and arrives at the Chaos Emerald, only to find it is missing. He looks over to see Tails and Sonic just arriving, realizing they couldn't have taken it, realizing that it was Robotnik all along. He asks the two to take him to Robotnik to deal with him himself.

On Robotnik's hovercraft, the Chaos Emerald has been used and has recharged the machine. They are ready for take off as Robotnik continues to stare at the Emerald, believing it may still be of use in the future. Suddenly, the emerald disappears right out of his hand. He looks aside as Sonic leans against the wall, with the Chaos Emerald, and with Knuckles at his side readying his knuckles. Robotnik orders his legion of Swatbots to get the two. A messy and dusty fight occurs, with Sonic and Knuckles easily winning the conflict. The two high-five for their effort as Tails arrives, asking where Robotnik is. They look around for him as the hovercraft's engines start up. The three of them bail out of the vehicle as it hops off the island back to Robotropolis, with Robotnik in tow.

With Robotnik gone, now Sonic and Tails are stuck on the island with the Tornado damaged. Knuckles, however, while the two were out cold, had collected all the pieces of the plane. With all the pieces present, Sonic quickly puts them back together like a puzzle and gets it back into operational order. The two take off into the sky, with Knuckles waving them goodbye, despite knowing that they'll likely meet again.

Background Information

• Knuckles the Echidna makes his first appearance in this issue.
• Tails' Tornado appears for the first time.
• This issue uses Sally's original pink style.
• This Island Hedgehog pays homage to Sonic 3, including the plot altogether, and the appearances of Angel Island Zone, Monkey Dude, Fire Breath, the water shield and Hydrocity.
• Outside of Knuckles' cave, a sign states 'Gotham City 14 Miles', referencing the primary setting of the Batman series.