Sonic The Hedgehog #75 Review by Rolland Theirren
"I Am The Eggman"
Karl Bollers(W)
Steven Butler(A)
Well, here we are, 25 issues after Sonic finally beat Robotnik; and Sonic and his friends have had quite a wild ride trying to rebuild their lives. Now, this is were everything changes!
We start by finding out the guy who's been passing himself off as Robotnik for the past few issues is actually Robo-Robotnik! How did this happen? Okay, this is where it gets a bit confusing. After Robo got his body smashed in #19, and Cyborg Sonic took the head home, he got his mind trapped in that satellite where Ivo Robotnik found him (oddly enough, the Sonic seen in that "future" wasn't a cyborg). When he sent Ivo back to our Sonic, Robo tapped his memory to find out what happened to Giant Borg (which explains why he sent Evil-Sonic to send for it in SSS#10, and why Evil trusted him. The two have worked before.) He used a piece of Giant Borg left in his own future to rebuild his body, then, in a show of ultimate cold-bloodedness, blew up his world's Mobotropolis, royal family included. Then, when he found out Sonic had beaten his Robotnik, and since he'd beaten his own Sonic, he decided they could replace each other's foes.
Oh, and if you're asking why he decided to rebuild that orbital instead of just sending an invitation to his coming out party, it's simple: while the FFs were up in orbit, an army of those shadowbots seen last issue have gotten down to the planet, to invade Mobotropolis, left without it's greatest champion. With only Nate, Amy, Geoffery and the Secret Service (whom, I must admit, are doing a good job of saving lives) to defend the city, King Max has no choice but to have the civilians evacuate to Knothole (good thing it's now deserted, huh?). Then, Robo-Robotnik reveales himself, and tells the king his daughter, whom he just noticed was missing, is in his clutches, and points out the poor relationship the king has with her (and here you thought the guy never helped).
The king offers his life for hers and her friends' (showing he's not such a bad guy), But Robo decides just to take it and keep the princess as well (proving he is). Elias saves the day and beats the shadowbots with some quick thinking, letting everyone escape.
Back in orbit, the FFs are imprisonned in an "Egg-Cell" (An egg-shaped force-field; why is it half his toys are named after eggs?), while Robo revels in the fact he's gotten all the Robians back under his control, including Sonic's parents. Sonic, mad as hell at seeing his folks slaving for Robo, futilly charges the field and gets zapped. After a while, (with Sonic trying to break the shield a few more times, getting zapped everytime), Snively show up and frees the FFs! Turns out, he knows this guy ain't the Uncle he knew and hated, and knows this guy is likely to roboticise him! So he's helping them, so they can help him escape (real nice, ain't it?)
Sally has Nicole get the Shuttle in place so they can escape, then sets an explosive charge to blow up the station. they can afford to do that, since Robotnik is sending the Robians back to Mobius. Sonic decides to take some of the 5 minutes before the explosion to go get his family back.
Charged with a power-ring, he confronts Robo, who's having the Robians loading in the shuttle back to Mobius. Robo and Sonic fight, with Sonic losing, when Sonic's parents, who seem to have their free wills (their power-ring wedding bands are protecting them), who distract Robo long enough for Sonic to carry them back to his shuttle.
As they barely escape, the Space station blows up, with Robo still inside, apparantly, and Sonic and friends share explanations and congratulations, with Sonic only regretting not being able to save his Uncle Chuck and Muttski. (sounds familiar, huh?)
Dusk, in what is once again Robotropolis. In a secret sub-basement underneath the castle, a row of Robotic bodies, all in a variation of Robotnik's image, lay dormant. One, in the shape of SA's Dr Eggman, awakens: "It takes more then a mere explosion to do me in, Sonic. That I promise!" Well, talk about your escapes/make-overs! At least, they gave us a rationnal explanation as to why Robotnik's looks change. And, may I say, those are the best looks I've ever seen for a villain.
And finally, as in the last two milestones, we get a splash page with all the heroes (and Snively) making a pose, with the new intro box (you know, it's that caption usually found on top of the first page, telling you the premise for the series).
Rating:  Rings
Well, what can I say: THIS ISSUE ROCKED!!! Aside from some confusing issues (what timeline those this guy come from again? Future family man Sonic's, or Cyborg Sonic's?) , this was a great book! Steve and Pam's art is great, and Karl wrote some great stuff! Sonic, at many points, showed us he did have some emotions, and the art made us see it. All in all, this issue was a great relaunching point for the series, as things are now more or less back to the way they were in the start: Robotnik in Robtropolis, and the FFs fighting him all the way! This makes this issue a great jump-in point for new readers, as it brings things back to the long-absent essence of the book: Sonic vs Robotnik. And Robotnik and Sonic's new look is a teaser for the up-coming Sonic Adventure adaptation yet to come! Things are looking up! |
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