Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 103 is the one hundred third issue of the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series published by Archie Comics.
Official solicitation[]
Freedom Fighters of the Galaxy, Part One[]
- A tribute to the Guardians of the Galaxy brought to readers by the team that created them, writer Mike Gallagher and artist Jim Valentino. In an alternate future, Sonic comes back to Mobius after being in space for a thousand years to find the planet in worse shape than when he left it. Teaming up with the descendants of the original Freedom Fighters, the heroes combat an evil so great, they wish the original Robotnik was back.
Myth Taken Identity, Part One[]
- The Return of Downunda Freedom Fighters, squaring off against the Bunyip in a tale recalling the early days of the Sonic comic series.
Featured stories[]
Freedom Fighters of the Galaxy - Part One[]
- Writer: Michael Gallagher
- Pencils: Jim Valentino
- Inks: Harvey Mercadoocasio
- Colors: Stephanie Vozzo
- Letters: Vickie Williams
- Editor & Art Director: Justin Gabrie
- Managing Editor: Victor Gorelick
- Editor-in-Chief: Richard Goldwater
Synopsis[]
Chapter One[]
At an intersection in the Cosmic Interstate, Zonic the Zone Cop introduces himself and heads into a Zone 1,000 years ahead of Sonic's time—the year 4235, in an alternate future where Mobius has become nearly uninhabitable. A spaceship crash lands on the planet's surface and a shadowy figure watches it from afar. This zone's version of Sonic, Sonik stumbles out of his ship, glad that his black suit guards him from the planet's toxic atmosphere, when he is suddenly attacked by a fox that resembles Tails. Sonic, using his suit's ability to convert his speed into psychokinetic energy, blasts his attacker and explains his situation. In the year 3235, Dr. Robotnik launched him into space. He was saved by a race of wandering beings known as the Pearlmen, who gave him his suit and sent him in stasis back into space.
The fox, having studied ancient history, explains that shortly after Sonik left the War of the World began and the planet was nearly destroyed in the process. Only a few lifeforms, such as his ancestors, survived and adapted to the dying planet. He then introduces himself as Tailon. Sonik begins to introduce himself when a gang of rampaging robots, the Brass Knuckles, attack. Sonik and Tailon easily take down the robot, but reinforcements flood into the streets. Suddenly, the Freedom Fighters of the Galaxy (Rotor-27, Saleta, Twan-Du, Bunni, and Hawkhawk) arrive to help Sonik and Tailon, easily defeating the robot horde.
Chapter Two[]
With the battle over, the Freedom Fighters explain what really happened during the War of the World to Sonik and Tailon. Robotnik's roboticized world ended up imploding on itself, killing the doctor. With nearly the entire planet dead, the four surviving members of the Knothole Freedom Fighters; Sally, Rotor, Bunnie, and Antoine; headed to Robotropolis to find way off the planet. Each took a single-passenger rocket to a different planet, hoping to adapt to their new lives. Over time, evolution took hold, and each of the Freedom Fighters' descendents gained supernatural powers to adapt to their new environments. However, several generations later, an alien race known as the Shark attacked each planet, leaving only one survivor on each. Hawkhawk scouted each of them out and formed the Freedom Fighters of the Galaxy.
Rotor-27 asks Sonik and Tailon to join the Freedom Fighters, but Sonik is unsure. Hawkhawk demands they join in order to stop an imminent apocalypse. Sonik asks what he is talking about when the Silver Snively appears heralding the Robolactus, eater of worlds.
Appearances[]
Characters:
- Brass Knuckles (first appearance)
- Dr. Ivo Robotnik (first appearance) (flashback)
- Forty Fathom Freedom Fighters (mentioned)
- Freedom Fighters of the Galaxy
- Knothole Freedom Fighters (only appearance) (flashback)
- Antoine D'Coolette (only appearance) (flashback)
- Bunnie Rabbot (only appearance) (flashback)
- Sally Acorn (only appearance) (flashback)
- Rotor Walrus (only appearance) (flashback)
- Silver Snively (first appearance)
- Sonic the Hedgehog (mentioned)
- Robolactus (mentioned)
- Zonic the Zone Cop
Races and species:
- Mobian
- Overlander (flashback)
- Pearlman (first appearance) (flashback)
- Shark (first appearance) (flashback)
Locations:
- Bluto (first appearance) (flashback)
- Cosmic Interstate
- Mobius (first appearance)
- Robotropolis (only appearance) (flashback)
Vehicles:
- Lipdock (first appearance)
Misc.:
- War of the World (first appearance) (flashback)
Trivia[]
- The Freedom Fighters of the Galaxy and their universe are a parody of the Guardians of the Galaxy series by Marvel Comics:
- Sonik is based on Major Victory
- Rotor-27 is based on Charlie-27
- Twan-Du is based on Yondu Udonta
- Bunni is based on Nikki
- Saleta is based on Aleta Ogord
- Tailon is based on Talon
- Hawkhawk" is a parody of both Starhawk and Jim Valentino's character, ShadowHawk.
- Silver Snively is based on the Silver Surfer
- Robolactus is based on Galactus
- A lengthy editor's note explains that The Shark were created when the Forty Fathom Freedom Fighters launched a spaceship full of hydrotechnology during the War of the World.
- Originally a story arc planned for a Sonic Super Special before the cancellation of that series, "Freedom Fighters of the Galaxy" was used as the main story for this issue and the next issue in order to cover a schedule slip caused by Ken Penders ' poor health at the time.
Myth Taken Identity - Part One[]
- Writer: Michael Gallagher
- Pencils: Dave Manak
- Inks: Harvey Mercadoocasio
- Colors: Frank Gagliardo
- Letters: Vickie Williams
- Editor & Art Director: Justin Gabrie
Synopsis[]
The Downunda Freedom Fighters are holding auditions to replace Wombat Stu. Every candidate that they come across ends up being pathetic or troublesome and the group begins to reminisce about when the team was first formed.
Walt Wallabee, Guru Emu, and Duck "Bill" Platypus all happened to run into each other in the Outback, and Bill had heard that illegal activities were being carried out nearby. The three of them stumbled upon a prison holding dozens of mobians who were due to be experimented on. They freed the mobians, wondering who could possibly have created the prison, when Wombat Stu appeared.
Stu told them about Crocbot and his schemes to create an evil empire in Downunda. The group went to Crocbot's headquarters when they bumped into a wandering mercenary, Barby Koala. Interested in taking down Crocbot as well, Barby asked if they could form a team. Calling themselves the Downunda Freedom Fighters, they battled against Crocbot and his minions.
In the present, the group wonders who is causing their problems now that Crocbot is gone when suddenly one of their failed applicants cries for help. The bird blames the Bunyip for his pain before passing out, and the Downunda Freedom Fighters decide to find and defeat the Bunyip.
Appearances[]
Characters:
- Aborigines (mentioned)
- Badnik Horde (flashback)
- Crocbot (flashback)
- SWATbot (flashback)
- Wing Dingo (flashback)
- Bunyip (mentioned)
- Daredingo (first appearance)
- Dr. Ivo Robotnik (flashback)
- Downunda Freedom Fighters
- Barby Koala
- Duck "Bill" Platypus
- Guru Emu
- Walt Wallaby
- Wombat Stu (mentioned)
- Ram Merino (only appearance)
Races and species:
Locations:
Trivia[]
- Daredingo is a reference to the Marvel Comics hero Daredevil, a blind lawyer with enhanced senses.
Other features[]
Fill-In-The-Blank Knuckles Family Tree.
- Fill-In-The-Blank Knuckles Family Tree: Two page spread of Knuckles' family tree without the names of his relatives. A word bank is given for readers to fill in the blanks in the tree.
- Sonic-Grams
- Sonic Checklist
Quotes[]
- HawkHawk: Within my beak dwells all information, that is why I am called 'The-One-Who's-Nose-Knows!
- Kookaburra bird: (Wheeze)... M-me and the other applicants were o-on our way home...discussing forming The Legion of Substitute Downunda Freedom Fighters * ... (choke)... suddenly, the m-monster attacked!"
- Editor's Note; * Don't even go there! -- Overworked Editor.
Trivia[]
- The Knuckles family tree featured in this issue is presented as a fill-in-the-blank activity. The "completed" family tree was featured in Sonic the Hedgehog #109, omitting any character who had not appeared in the comics at that point. A fully-completed tree was printed in Sonic the Hedgehog: The Complete Sonic Comic Encyclopedia.
- The Knuckles family tree suggests there were two female Guardians due to a printing error where Voni-Ca and Tobor's boxes were colored-coded incorrectly. This was corrected in the Sonic-Grams section of Sonic the Hedgehog #105.
- This is the first issue of the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series published by Archie Comics to feature the writing of Ian Flynn, who wrote his thoughts on Sonic the Hedgehog #100 under "Ian Potto" in the Sonic-Grams section, with the letter needing to be condensed by Ken Penders for reasons of space. Flynn would go on to become the head writer of American Sonic comics from 2006 until 2020 when he began sharing his duties with Evan Stanley in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by IDW Publishing. Furthermore, twenty years after the fan-letter was published in this issue, Flynn would serve as the script writer for Sonic Frontiers.
Gallery[]
Cover artwork[]
Preview pages[]
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External links[]
- Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 103 at Mobius Encyclopaedia, the Archie Sonic wiki.
- Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 103 at Sonic Retro
