INFO BURST

Format: Single issue comic book
Initial Release Date: July 1991
Feature characters: Sonic the Hedgehog
Villain: Doctor Ivo Robotnik
Other Characters: Badniks (Buzz Bomber, Batbrain, Crabmeat, Moto Bug, Caterkiller, Newtron, Jaws, Chopper, Orbinaut), Animal Friends (Chirps the Chicken, Sally Acorn, Johnny Lightfoot, Joe Sushi, Tux, Porker Lewis, Flicky), Doctor Ovi Kintobor
Locations: Mobius, South Island (Green Hill Zone, Labyrinth Zone, Star Light Zone, Scrap Brain Zone), Special Stage
Items:  Rings, Giant Ring, Chaos Emerald, The Retro-Orbital Chaos Compressor, Supersonic Treadmill, Badnik Transforming Machine
Continuity: Single-Entry Continuities
Synopsis: Having rescued some of his friends from Doctor Robotnik’s Badniks, Sonic is urged to get the help of Doctor Kintobor. Unfortunately, Sonic has to relate the story of why that is impossible: Kintobor is Robotnik! Sonic relates the tale of how he met Doctor Kintobor and became friends with him, including the tale of how he became blue after breaking the sound barrier as part of one of Kintobor’s experiments. Unfortunately, an accident with Kintobor’s Retro-Orbital Chaos Compressor saw all the evil energy stored in the Chaos Emeralds transferred directly into Kintobor- who was transformed into the hate-filled Doctor Robotnik! Since then, Sonic has been collecting the Rings which powered the R.O.C.C. in the hopes of reverting Robotnik back to Kintobor. Sensing his friends have lost hope, Sonic realises he must chase Robotnik down alone. Managing to acquire one of the Chaos Emeralds from the Warp of Confusion which transports Sonic to a weird pocket dimension, Sonic is able to chase Robotnik to his secret base in the Scrap Brain Zone. However, it is all a set-up as Robotnik has kidnapped Porker Lewis and tied him to a death trap. Robotnik forces Sonic to drop the Chaos Emerald and Sonic saves Porker as Robotnik swipes the precious gem. Robotnik flees but Sonic is able to claim a victory all the same by destroying his Badnik Transforming Machine. Sonic warns his friends to stay out of Robotnik’s way, planning to end their problems once and for all when he gets his hands on the doctor.
Notes: The first North American adaptation of the Sonic series.

CREDITS

Writer & Artist: Francis Mao

Review

And so we come to the first attempt by Sega’s North American arm to publicise the Sonic the Hedgehog series. This would, of course, not be the last- and there’s no sign of that time ever arriving! This comic was available for sale in North America around the time of the release of Sonic the Hedgehog on Mega Drive (or, rather, on Genesis) but would also be reprinted in Britain where it was given away for free (albeit in a smaller and modified format) in Mean Machines Sega magazine.

What we have here is a different take on Sonic’s backstory to that seen in the Story Comic, but there are enough consistent elements that they almost feel like companion pieces. The major change is Eggman- who, of course, isn’t Eggman in this telling. The Robotnik name would be the one Sonic’s villain would be known by in the west (and, indeed, to this day the two names are largely interchangeable among western fans of the series). Instead, we get the first publicly told telling of the Kintobor backstory- that being that Doctor Ivo Robotnik was once the kindly Doctor Ovi Kintobor before an accident in a lab transformed him into his evil inverse! Between this and Sonic also turning blue and streamlined in another experiment gone wrong (or, perhaps, gone right!), it all feels very much like a superhero comic, and that feels like a good approach for the series to take.

Sonic’s friends also get reasonably well fleshed out for the small amount of dialogue they get and Sonic’s relationship to them is clear. This is a Sonic who is always looking out for his friends but knows they can’t stick up for themselves, making him a defender of the defenceless- the superhero comparisons just keep coming, don’t they?

Francis Mao’s script is a delight, with plenty of great gags and some well-paced thrills, with Sonic and Robotnik coming off pretty well evenly matched in their encounters. As a result, the villain is never undermined and always remains a consistent threat- because if Robotnik isn’t a threat it doesn’t mean anything when the player defeats him in the video game. In addition, Mao’s art is a lovely fit for the story and Sonic himself looks superb (and also pretty darn cute in a lot of panels).

This is a really lovely introduction to the character and, in many ways, it’s a shame the Kintobor backstory wasn’t able to stick for subsequent games and adaptations because it’s such a good fit for the characters and despite the ridiculousness of it, it all just somehow works. Fortunately, however, even if North America abandoned it almost immediately, Europe- and particularly Britain- would adopt it and get plenty of mileage out of it.