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Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic Volume 3 was the third and final volume of Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic, a manga published in Japan between June and July 1991 in the Japanese magazine Mega Drive Fan. It was created to promote the release of Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Mega Drive.
Volume 3 contains a nine-page comic story, "Sonic Rampage!!", which concludes the adaptation of the game Sonic the Hedgehog, and an unrelated illustrated text story called "Story Gaiden", which tells of a fictional real-world origin for Sonic.
Featured Stories
"Sonic Rampage!!"
Synopsis
From a mountain lair, Dr. Eggman vows revenge on Sonic the Hedgehog, who is constantly getting in his way. Eggman has captured three of Sonic's animal friends (Pecky, Flicky and Rocky), whom he intends to use to lure Sonic into a trap.
Elsewhere, Sonic destroys two robots (a Motobug and a Burrobot). He is in the Clock Work Zone, searching for Eggman and his kidnapped friends. He reaches a dead end, but while he is wondering where to go next, a small hole opens up ahead of him. He rolls in, only to hear Eggman's voice over loudspeaker claim that he has fallen into a trap. Sonic is dropped down a secret hole at the bottom of the complex, and lands in the stone ruins of the Labyrinth Zone. A sudden wave of water washes him down a steep slope and into the lake at the bottom. Sonic is ambushed by two Jaws, but is unable to defend himself because he cannot do a Spin Attack underwater. Luckily, he makes it to the surface and evades the robots.
Sonic finds himself outside Eggman's lair. Eggman himself soon appears in his Egg Mobile, with Flicky, Rocky and Pecky tied underneath it. Eggman wants Sonic to stay put so he can kill him, otherwise he'll crush the three animals in Sonic's place. However, while Eggman is gloating, Sonic manages to free all three of them. When Eggman asks how, Sonic explains: he's the fastest thing alive!
Sonic attacks Eggman with multiple rapid-fire Spin Attacks, destroying the Egg Mobile and leaving Eggman to finally wave the white flag and surrender. All of Sonic's friends cheer: free here on, peace will return to South Island.
In the final panel, Sonic tells the readers that he'll see them again "in the game".
Appearances
Trivia
- The entrance to Eggman's cave lair is shaped like a turtle, the head of which resembles the statues from the Labyrinth Zone of Sonic 1.
- In this story, Eggman's collar is colored red instead of yellow.
- The Scrap Brain Zone is referred to as the "Clock Work Zone", which was the level's name during early development of Sonic 1.
"Story Gaiden"
Synopsis
In 1974, there was a pilot in the American Air Force named Henry Gordon, who was nicknamed the Hedgehog. Because of this, he had a hedgehog emblem (resembling Sonic) sewn onto his jacket. He and Chuck Yeager participated in a test flight in an attempt to break the sound barrier, and swapped jackets for good luck beforehand. Although Gordon broke the sound barrier first, his plane exploded and he was killed. Yeager was recognized as the first man to break the sound barrier, although he felt sad that Gordon was not remembered. Yeager kept Gordon's jacket and nicknamed it "Sonic the Hedgehog".
Over time, many more pilots began to attach "Sonic the Hedgehog" emblems to their jackets. Ten years later, such jackets were in high demand, but nobody remembered Henry Gordon. Also, nobody who wore a Sonic jacket ever suffered an accident.
One day, Chuck Yeager visited the Gordon family and gave the Sonic jacket to Henry's daughter Meg, now an adult working as a freelance photographer. When wearing the jacket, Meg felt like her father was watching over her. One day, while wearing the jacket, she attended an air show where there was a midair collision. This caused a big fire and Meg was trapped. Just as she was about to lose consciousness, she saw Sonic the Hedgehog and moved towards him, away from the flames. Before she blacked out, she saw him wag his finger, just as her father had once done.
Meg awoke a week later in hospital. She was relieved to find her jacket nearby, only to discover that Sonic had disappeared.
Trivia
- Chuck Yeager was a real-life flying ace, who was the first man to travel faster than the speed of sound.
- An American fighter pilot named Henry C. Gordon served in the Korean War and over Vietnam. He became an astronaut in 1960 and lived until the age of 70 (1996).
- This story was adapted into the "Mary Garnet" origin of Sonic, produced to publicize the tenth anniversary of the franchise. It was released by the Sega Technical Institute.
- The translated scan of the first page identifies the year as 1974, but Chuck Yeager famously broke the sound barrier in 1947. This is presumably a transcription error.
| Shogakukan | Sonic the Hedgehog | Shogaku Ichinensei · Shogaku Ninensei (1, 5, 6) · Shogaku Sannensei · Shogaku Yonensei (The Adventures of SONIC the Hedgehog) · Shogaku Gonensei (Sonic Hurry to the Rescue???, Eggman Uses Sport's Day to Set Up a Trap...Don't Lose, Sonic!!) · Shogaku Rokunensei · Corocoro (Big Dreams Make Sonic Propel Forward!!, Big Dreams Are My Energy!, Come On, Guys! Let's Daaance!!, A New Buddy, Tails, Enters the Stage!!) |
|---|---|---|
| Dengeki Nintendo | Sonic World Adventure · Sonic and the Black Knight · Sonic Chronicles · Sonic Colors · Sonic Generations | |
| SEGA | Sonic Superstars Start Book | |
| Other | Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic (1, 2, 3) · Sonic the Hedgehog Book · Sonic the Hedgehog 2: Mega Drive Official Guide Book · Dash & Spin Super Fast Sonic (1, 2) | |