Little Planet
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The Little Planet (sometimes referred to as the Miracle Planet) is a fictional satellite in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, and the setting of the game Sonic CD. According to legend, the Little Planet appears over Never Lake one month out of every year, and vanishes completely for the remaining eleven months. It is unclear where precisely it vanishes to, although its appearance above Sonic the Hedgehog's homeworld (Earth or Mobius, depending on continuity) would suggest that it is in geostationary orbit.
Also notable is that the Little Planet is home of the so-called Time Stones. These gems replaced the Chaos Emeralds as collectable objects during Sonic CD. They cause various temporal anomalies on the Little Planet, and may be largely responsible for the planet's annual disappearance. Through the use of special signposts (similar in design to Star Posts), it is possible to travel to three distinct time periods - the present, the distant past, and an unspecified point in the future - although in Sonic the Comic's adaptation of Sonic CD this sort of time travel was only possible if in possession of one of the Time Stones itself.
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[edit] Sonic CD
During Sonic CD, Doctor Eggman attempts to conquer the Little Planet, using Metal Sonic as his primary minion. In fact, it is one occasion when Eggman actually succeeds in creating his "Eggmanland utopia", by using the Little Planet's bizarre chronology to invade the planet in the Past so that it would be under his control in the Future. He connects the Little Planet to a rock formation carved with his face by means of a massive chain.
The grim future of the Little Planet ruled by Eggman is bleak and mostly in ruins, though, with the badniks around the levels broken down and deteriorating. Through destroying Eggman's machines in the past and/or collecting the Time Stones (finding all 7 of which automatically gives a good ending for all levels), it is possible to liberate the planet from Eggman, and institute a truly utopian "Good Future".
At the end of the game, Sonic rescues Amy Rose (who had been kidnapped and taken to the Little Planet) and lands back on Mobius as Robotnik's fortress falls apart around him. As he does so, the chain linking the Little Planet to Sonic's world will shatter, and the Little Planet will rise away from the planet's surface. In the bad ending, it will disappear and later reappear still covered in Eggman's machinery. In the good ending, however, it will be a grassy utopia. It will disappear in a flash resembling Sonic's head, and sparkles will drop down onto the surface of Sonic's world, and where they land a field of flowers will immediately grow (these flowers resemble the ones created when Sonic destroys a badnik in the game). In the good ending, the Little Planet does not reappear.
Little Planet has not appeared in any game since Sonic CD.
[edit] Areas of Little Planet
- Palmtree Panic, a lakeside palmtree resort with invisible standing blocks and vertical ramps.
- Present, a nice grassy plain with some hills and palmtrees.
- Bad Future, the lake and air are polluted, pipes are scattered all over and the trees are robotic.
- Good Future, almost exactly like the Present, but there are pink stars and its still robotic.
- Past, very much like the Present, but with somewhat paler colors.
- Collision Chaos, a pinball-themed stage with bumpers and spikes at every turn.
- Present, like Palmtree Panic at dawn, but with some mechanical objects such as pipes.
- Bad Future, contains a dark sky, and several mechanical "enhancements."
- Good Future, much like the Present, but all mechanical objects are gone, and there is more plantlife.
- Past, a large forest.
- Tidal Tempest, a subterranean underwater labyrinth filled with vacuum pipes.
- Present, old ruins in a watery cave.
- Bad Future, a rusty, broken sewage system.
- Good Future, a bio-mechanical greenhouse with various plants.
- Past, a prehistoric volcano. Strangely, it does not have any lava.
- Quartz Quadrant, a mine-like cave with conveyor belts.
- Present, a gem-filled cave.
- Bad Future, an industrial city inside a gigantic cave.
- Good Future, a city with tall skyscrapers.
- Past, set inside the cave (which has less gems), and next to a large peaceful lake.
- Wacky Workbench, an area featuring electrical conduits and an electrified floor.
- Present, a factory filled with strange-looking machinery and pipes.
- Bad Future, a dark, rusted factory.
- Good Future, an amusement park-like area.
- Past, a construction site near a mountain.
- Stardust Speedway, an area containing a complex network of highways.
- Present, a city with golden highways and a giant Robotnik statue under construction.
- Bad Future, an industrialized city with polluted air, blue highways, and a finished Robotnik statue.
- Good Future, a carnival-like city with purple highways and a cathedral in the distance.
- Past, a jungle filled with large vines and what appears to be some ancient buildings.
- Metallic Madness, Robotnik's personal base, filled with mechanical contraptions.
- Present, a typical Robotnik Zone. Fully metallic and with tons of traps and robots.
- Bad Future, the base is rusty and falling apart.
- Good Future, a peaceful city with lots of plantlife.
- Past, the base still under construction.
[edit] Sonic the Comic
In Sonic the Comic, the Miracle Planet appeared in the adaptation of Sonic CD, and then made recurring appearances throughout the series. It was consistently referred to as the Miracle Planet, save for a single mention in the backup Sonic's World story of Sonic the Comic #25 ("Prologue: Once Upon a Planet...") that some people know it as the Little Planet.
[edit] Characteristics
In this continuity, the Miracle Planet appears in the sky over Mobius for three days out of every month, rather than for one month a year as in Sonic CD.[1] It is not clear where the Miracle Planet goes to, although from the Miracle Planet's surface it is actually Mobius that seems to vanish.[2]
The Miracle Planet is connected to Mobius by means of a huge chain, which was apparently put in place by Doctor Robotnik after he conquered planet Mobius.[3] On Mobius, the chain is anchored to a rock carving of Robotnik's head (in his original form) at Never Lake,[4] while on the Miracle Planet it is attached to a similar statue of Robotnik's head, but made out of metal plates.
The chain does not prevent the Miracle Planet from disappearing and seems to possess certain magical properties that nobody understands. Although it seems to be hundred of miles long, it is possible to walk the entire length of the chain in just a couple of hours.[1] When the Planet vanishes, the chain remains visible from both planets,[2] however one only needs to stand a few yards along the chain from the Miracle Planet (approximately 16 links) to remain in the same dimension as Mobius. In either case, while the two planets are out of phase, the chain appears to end in space, supported by unknown means.[5]
Before Robotnik's intervention, the Miracle Planet was unspoiled and completely uninhabited. (This is in keeping with the fact that, in Sonic CD, no captive animals are released from destroyed badniks.)[6] Although lush and abundant in plantlife, it seems mostly devoid of animals, although a butterfly was once seen there.[1] Since the chain was put in place, it is possible for anybody to travel between the two worlds. Robotnik stationed some of his badnik army in the Miracle Planet's zones,[7] and even Mobian animals (such as rabbits) have been known to travel there.[8]
The legendary Time Stones also originate from the Miracle Planet, and possess the power to control time itself. They are apparently the reason Robotnik travelled to the Miracle Planet in the first place.[6] The Miracle Planet has on two separate occasions been converted into metal and used as a power source for the Metallix robots. On the first occasion, the machine was powered by a Time Stone,[9] although on the second, the Alpha Device drew power from the Brotherhood of Metallix to begin the process.[1]
[edit] History
After anchoring the Miracle Planet to Mobius by means of the giant chain, Doctor Robotnik somehow transported a "living" machine to the planet. Powered by one of the Time Stones, it grew and spread its machinery across the whole planet, all within the time between appearances above Mobius.[9]
Metallix lured Sonic to Never Lake by kidnapping Amy Rose, and then took her along the chain to the Miracle Planet, forcing Sonic to follow.[4] He attempted to battle Metallix, only to discover that the machine that had roboticized the world was supplying the robot with limitless power. Metallix was close to defeating Sonic, until Sonic was rescued by a future version of himself.[10] This future version gave Sonic a Time Stone, with which he travelled into the past and prevented the machine from covering the planet. He travelled to the future again, gave the Time Stone to his past self, and watched as the time-lines reorganized themselves: the planet reverted to its green form, the machinery disappeared, and even Metallix ceased to exist. By this time, however, the Miracle Planet and Mobius were out of phrase, and Sonic had to wait for a whole month to return home with only Amy for company.[9] It was later revealed that in this time he spent two days pretending to be lost in a network of underground caves, just to hide from her.[1]
In an attempt to confuse Sonic, Robotnik once ordered B.A.R.F. agents Cam and Bert to bring badniks that he had stationed in the Palmtree Panic Zone to the Green Hill Zone on Mobius, where Sonic wouldn't expect them.[7] The Freedom Fighters took advantage of the empty Zone to have a brief holiday,[11] and when the badniks were later returned the Freedom Fighters had no trouble destroying them all.[12]
When the Brotherhood of Metallix broke free of Robotnik's control, they sought to use the Miracle Planet as a power source, just as the original Metallix robot had done when it fought Sonic.[13] To this end they kidnapped Grimer and forced him to build the Alpha Device,[14] intending to use it to re-shape the planet and release its unlimited power.[1] The Freedom Fighters attempted to stop them, but failed, and Porker Lewis was trapped with the Brotherhood of Metallix for a month when the Miracle Planet vanished.[5]
[edit] Trivia
- When the Miracle Planet was first covered by Robotnik's machinery, the landscape resembled the level Metallic Madness from Sonic CD, complete with shrinking rays. Other levels of the game, in particular Palmtree Panic, were established as separate zones (regions) of the planet.
- The Sonic's World story "The Three Badniks" (from Sonic the Comic #59 to #62) does claim that the Miracle Planet appears in the last month of the year, but this is presumed to not be in continuity.
[edit] References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Sonic the Comic #61, "The Brotherhood of Metallix, Part 3"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sonic the Comic #27, "The Sonic Terminator, Part 4"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #9, "Back to Reality"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sonic the Comic #26, "The Sonic Terminator, Part 3"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Sonic the Comic #62, "The Brotherhood of Metallix, Part 4"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sonic the Comic #25, "Prologue: Once Upon a Planet..."
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Sonic the Comic #59, "The Seven Badniks, Part 1"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #60, "The Seven Badniks, Part 2"
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Sonic the Comic #28, "The Sonic Terminator, Part 5"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #27, "The Sonic Terminator, Part 4"
- ↑ #61, "The Seven Badniks, Part 3"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #62, "The Seven Badniks, Part 4"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #59, "The Brotherhood of Metallix, Part 1"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #60, "The Brotherhood of Metallix, Part 2"
