Sonic Universe - What was your favorite storyline?

[Eskana]

Hey there, Archie fans....

 

I was recently thinking back to the good old Sonic Universe title, and realized how many good stories they told that really fleshed out the world, not to mention peppering in alternate universes and timelines. It was really a fantastic way to build up the world and let other characters shine. I mean, even the Secret Freedom Fighters got their own run!

I have to say I'm partial to any storyline with Knuckles, so the third one, sold now as "Knuckles Returns," was pretty high up there. So was the alternate future with Silver fighting Enerjak. (Sad tears about "Endangered Species" going nowhere...) I wanted to like the Phage/Nicole backstory one a lot more than I did, and was glad that Ray and Mighty got one as well. There's just so many!

So, what was your favorite?

[Sega DogTagz]

Eggmans Dozen probably takes the top spot, but I could hear an argument for the one featured Knux and Shadz going at it.

 

I've always been fond of how the current staff writes Eggman to have a casual flare for appallingly evil behavior and Dozen puts that front and center. The way he plays his allies and enemies into working for him is classic supervillain and the series gives you a rare focus on how much pressure the Doctor puts on people outside of the immediate reach of the freedom fighters. Its gut wrenching to see good people submit themselves to him, because he's really given them no other choice. Many of the Eggbosses themselves are fascinating characters. Neph, Cassia and Clove, Kuku - I enjoyed seeing all of them go to work and the rationalization loops they had to jump through to get there.

[Rabbitearsblog]

I liked issues 13 - 16.  These were the issues that tied into the Iron Dominion arc where Sonic, Tails, Khan and Sally went across the world to find the leaders of various clans that were tied to the Iron Queen.  I really liked these issues because it was nice seeing Sonic and friends just go on peaceful negotiations, something that is very different from the franchise.  Also, I still loved the close relationships between Sonic, Tails, Sally and Khan here.

[Cayenne]

Shadow Fall. It's been a time since I've read it, but I remember loving how Team Dark was written and their interactions between themselves and GUN. Eclipse was also an excellent(and even sympathetic)character and had very interesting scenes with Shadow.

At first, I though the story took itself too seriously at times, but, honestly? This is what makes it so good. I wish Shadow, Rouge, Omega and even GUN still had this kind of chemistry in the IDW comics(thanks for the mandates, Sega. Very cool.).

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Eggman’s Dozen, Spark of Life, and Dark Enerjak take my high list.

Eggman’s Dozen takes number one because it shows Eggman in action with his elite super soldiers, the Egg Bosses. Their mixed ranges of loyalties aside (really telling, because two of them decided to duke it out with each other out of spite before Eggman pulls their leash), you don’t often see Eggman with that kind of back up and I wished that out of all the things to come back to IDW, it would be the Egg Bosses. I find Eggman having flesh and blood members working alongside his machines and Badniks to be more interesting than just Eggman and his Badniks alone—I want to see Eggman with some actual pull and influence over people who follow his commands. That, and I got to see more of my favorite character, Conquering Storm, which despite the limited screen time she got, is better than nothing because she could very well have not even made it into the Reboot to begin with.

Despite what I hear with Spark of Life, I actually enjoyed seeing the Nicole and her background, as well as her development—born from the death of the daughter of the scientist who created her, there was this sense of new life from something bittersweet. That and I was starting to really grow into liking Nicole ever since Pre-Reboot. 

As for Dark Enerjak, I was more interested in seeing Silver in action against an Demi-god, and boy did it deliver. I’ve always believed that Silver was potentially one of the most broken characters with his telekinesis, and that arc gave him the opportunity to really show what he’s made of when you have someone meet his match, and show how he could creatively use his powers against someone far more powerful that he is.

Really, most of the Universe arcs are high favs, but these are ones that stood out for me for their highlights.

[DabigRG]

Eggman's Dozen, no hesitation, hands down. 

That's absolutely not discrediting all of the other arcs, as there are several others that are good and might even be seen as contenders. But Eggman's Dozen has so many aspects of what made Archie such a interesting greater experience while also being a fairly tidy self-contained story that it just earns the spot with or without much thought.

Fun premise headlined by a game character? Check

Narrative that allows some interesting shine on what makes the character tick? Check

Cool exclusive characters that work well on their own merits as well as adding something neat to older characters? Check

Revival of older or forgotten characters in a way that puts a creative spin on them? Check

Plants seeds for element that you want to see more of? Check

Intricate worldbuilding that expands the world in a way that opens new possibilities? Check

Engaging sequences that acts as a memorable declaration of the characters involved? Check 

I'm honestly having a hard time thinking of something it doesn't have within it's control

 

[Dr. Mechano]

As many others have said, Eggman's Dozen is fantastic. A great showing for Eggman himself, culminating in a battle where Eggman fights a magically-crystalized Metal Sonic, and wins. He's so cool here.

The Egg Bosses are also really wonderful characters, and add a lot of variety to Eggman's forces beyond typical robot underlings. Seeing organic operatives of the Eggman Empire - each with wildly different reasons for serving him - makes the world feel more alive and interesting, and I think the arc did a good job of giving most of them decent focus.

Wendy Naugus was also a really fun antagonist for Eggman to square up against. It semi-adapted Witchcart from Tails Sky Patrol into the comics, which is great, and you know I like those bombastic hammy baddies.

Scrambled was really good too. Oh, what's that? Iron Queen can magically control electronics? No problem, Eggman just busts out a manually-controlled giant mech with pulleys and ceramics, and beats her anyway. It's awesome.

[Red]

Shadow Fall by far. It's got everything I ever wanted and is pretty much the sequel to Shadow the Hedgehog we'll never have. Plus it introduced us to Eclipse! 

I wish IDW Shadow got to be as cool as Shadow in that arc.

[MetalSkulkBane]

My favorite will probably always be issue #1

It's only 20 pages but manages to do everything: comedy, action, emotions, all while using some of my favorite characters. If I wanted to convince someone to check Sonic comics with a single issue, this would be it. And man, I miss Shadow who could kick ass and show some emotions.

For full arcs, it would be Treasure Team Tango (so many characters, so fun, so energetic), followed closely by Silver Saga (dark enerjak. pure epic)

In fact, here's my full list

Spoiler

For an easier job, I'll make 3 categories: Single issue stories, Preboot Arcs, Reboot Arcs.

SINGLE ISSUES (from worst to best)

- 45 All-Star Racing: Only story I kinda disliked. Good art, but it's blatant commercial.
- 2 Recap of SA2: A bit too much recapping for me.
- 4 Vs Feist: Simple fun story, nice emotional talk with Hope. With that said Preboot Shadow was sliiightly too mopey, at this issue it was getting tiring.
- 75 Sonic & Sliver & Metal. Simple story but with good action and nice/clever talk between Sonic and Silver about knowing the future.
- 3 Omega and Gamma: Fun, fascinating to see them interact, and some great panels.
- 50 Shard Vs Metal. HECK YEAH. So badass, finally see Metal in full glory, just so good, in action and emotions Read while listening to "The Quick And The Blue", it's glorious.
- 1: Shadow and Metal and Blaze and Marine. An absolute winning combination. My golden standard for 1 issue story, arguably my favorite Sonic comic ever. It manages 4 characters while telling a story that is fun, action-packed, and has stakes and some emotions.

PREBOOT (from worst to best)

- Scourge Arc: I don't like prison stories, never did. I didn't enjoy rooting for the jerk who's being bullied by bigger jerks, and half of the cast are boring knock-offs I have never seen and will never see again. I respect updating Destructix, but they are okay at best. Climax didn't grab me that much.
- Journey to the West Arc: Eh it was alright. Espio spilling secrets was hilarious and it worked as expanding of the world, but as self-contained stories, they don't rock the boat.
- Chaotix arc: I just don't think Preboot Chaotix clicked correctly. Plus I don't care for Bow and his plot, except for that song. Jack and Matilda were much better though.
- Rouges arc: It did a lot right, but similarly to Preboot Chaotix, Rouges aren't that fascinating protagonist. And the climax is super easy, just break a cube. With that said it had nice stakes, an interesting Jet/Speedy dynamic and a fantastic fusion of Riders lore.
- Knuckles arc: Okay, the finale was absolutely epic, BUT the road to it was a biiiit tedious. Some ruins I'm still unsure of the origin, some dingo bots, some DEL, nothing fancy. And the biggest sin, Knucles/Finitevus team-up was a LIE, they don't work together even for a minute. So an amazing finale, dragged a liiite by stuff before.
- XYL arc: Watching Freedom Fighters Kids doesn't sound too fun, but to my surprise I enjoyed it a lot from that arc. It is almost movie size, in action and story, while managing to balance many characters, with some shocking moments. And kids were cute.
- Tails arc: We're reaching arcs where I have no big flaws to point out, just ask which is more awesome. Legionisation misunderstanding was a bit of a stretch here, but everything else was a pure simple enjoyable story. Seeing Tails grow, Ant and Bunnie together, was just a nice laid-back story.
- Secret FF arc: Close tie with Tails, but I think Geoffrey situation touched me more. I was excited to learn more about the group, and Naugus down spiral was quite captivating.
- Eggman arc: Gotta love Eggman. it was so much fun watching him being a jerk to everyone (but without harsh vibes of Scourge arc). What to even say he's the Eggman.
- Silver arc: That was pure epic. The scale, the fights, the Dark Enerjak design. And colorist Ray Dillon is seriously underrated, his colors just add an extra level of depth.
- Team Tango: Rouge would not destroy a world for a gem. That is my only complaint. Other than that, this arc was pure joy, just so much fun, and so many lovely characters at once. It could end up being a mess, but everyone was so enjoyable to watch, it ever so slightly beats Silver arc.

REBOOT (from worst to best) I will say right now that Reboot is much harder to rate. It has no stinkers, but no BESTS EVER too.

- Knuckles & Chaotix arc: IDK, I didn't enjoy a lot of comedy. The whole story felt kinda dragging. But I do love Relic, from the first page I saw her she was great.
- Silver arc: Fun start of Silver adventures (it's clever how it can be Silver's first adventure of just one of many), great climax, but too many questions, too few answers. Mystery can be a great thing to have, but you never know if the comic gets canceled and then the whole setup falls kinda flat. You must make a setup fun on its own, not hinge on future stories.
- Knuckles & Amy arc: Those two should get paired up more often, they work so well together. Decent story, but you can feel that Team Dark is tacked on to pad the story. I really think it would work better not as a 4-part story but 2+2 or 1+3 format.
- Eggman arc: It should not work with so many characters at the same time. But it did! Until the climax, which gets way too chaotic. And don't spoil the plot twist armor on the cover! Rude. But it's always great to watch Eggman be Eggman, plus I was truly fascinated by all the Egg Bosses, so much better roster than Preboot.
- Nicole arc: I have no soul because Nicole story didn't touch me as much as everyone else. It did, but way less.
- Chaotix arc: Finally a perfect Chaotix arc. I just loved their interaction in this one. And them doing real detective work. The new characters were neat too. My only real complaint is just a pathetic conclusion: no treasure, run to a boat, win. Eeeeehhh.
- Knuckles & Shadow: Epic duel between my favorite boys and Eclipse and his babies and Relic? Heck yeah! I love how you set up the fight. Shadow and Knuckles were basically fighting for the reasons for their existence. Neither of them was wrong or right. To this day I'm not sure what was the right course of action. Even if they calmed downed and talked, there was no easy solution. I really wish I could put this higher, BUT I'm not a fan of big duels that end in a tie. That leaves a slightly sour taste in my mouth. And there was a simple elegant solution: let Knuckles win because Shadow was weakened from the fight with Eclipse. With that one change, it could be my top pick.
- Blaze: Simple but fan pirate story. No greater thought, than just a fun pirate adventure. Love Captain Metal design, my girl Marine is here. What else to ask for?
- Shadow arc: Even my top pick has minus: mind control on Shadow is way overdone. It's even said so in the story. But Eclipse is just a such perfect addition to the franchise. I genuinely felt his pain when he begs to stay and fight. Plus I think Reboot Shadow might be my favorite version of him. He's not as mopey as Preboot, but not as soulless as IDW. If he could just have a smidge of SA2 ham-ness he would be perfect.