Sonic the Hedgehog #36
Corner Box: No. 36 July $1.50 (no picture)
Cover: Sonic and Sally stand before a figure on a horse
"Heart of Darkness"
Script: Ken Penders
Pencils: Art Mawhinney
Inks: Harvo
Lettering: Mindy Eisman
Coloring: Barry Grossman
Editor: Freddy Mendez & Scott Fulop
Managing Editor: Victor Gorelick
Editor-in-Chief: Richard Goldwater
A knight rides on a horse in a strange place as the freedom fighters
discuss the situation.
Part I:
Rotor explains that they are watching the Zone of Silence, thanks to a camera
he sent in there. Sonic says that he was already there (from Sonic the Hedgehog #30), and the
zone doesn't look like the one they are watching now. Rotor tells Sonic
that he was never in the Zone of Silence, but in a dimension different from the
one that King Acorn is
in. He proves this by saying that Sonic and Robotnik were easily able to
move between the two dimensions, while every time they tried to rescue King Acorn
it ended in failure (which happened in Sonic #24). Rotor also adds that Robotnik referred
to the other dimension as "the void." Sally says that there is a reason
for Robotnik's games, and Rotor activates his holographic sensor grid. After
adjusting the scanner, Rotor notices that the magnetic fields are above normal.
Rotor concludes that Robotnik is doing something that has an effect on King Acorn's
zone. Sally decides to let Sonic go after Robotnik.
Robotnik orders Snively to increase the power on the cannon. He
says that they must take action now. Sonic runs into the room and uses
a rope to tie up Snively. Robotnik is upset, which makes Sonic happy.
Robotnik tries to shoot at Sonic, who destroys the cannon. The three
seek cover as the device explodes. Robotnik tells Sonic that he should
be proud of himself since now Robotnik has to save the world.
Part II:
Robotnik explains that before he took over Mobius, he was studying some
papers that his mentor Kodos had left behind. Robotnik discovered that
Kodos was planning on overthrowing the king at the time Kodos disappeared.
Kodos had developed numerous weapons, including the Zone of Silence, which
is another dimension of reality. Robotnik sent King Acorn into the
zone and shortly discovered that the zone was a force of nature. The
zone was starting to grow and merge with whatever was around it. Robotnik
used a Photon Cannon to stop the zone from growing, but this would only
work for a limited amount of time. Robotnik then decided to destroy
the zone before it destroyed Mobius, regardless of whether the king was still
inside.
Robotnik finishes his story by saying he was going to end the problem
when Sonic appeared. Since the right conditions must be present to
move between the zones, Robotnik says it may be possible to use his Energy
Inhibitor. After the device is put in the right place and the button
is pushed, the world will be saved, and Sonic will have rescued the king.
Sonic doesn't trust Robotnik, and Robotnik says it's not easy for him to trust
Sonic. Sonic then asks about what happened to Kodos, but Robotnik refuses
to tell him (the story of Kodos will be revealed in a future issue) and sends
Sonic on his way. As Sonic leaves, Robotnik says he doesn't need to
do the dirty work when he could have Sonic do it for him.
Back at Knothole, Rotor analyzes the Energy Inhibitor. He has no
idea how the device works and says they should use it as a last resort.
Sonic says they should use the device, but Sally says they may not have
a choice. Rotor activates the portal to the Zone of Silence.
Sonic, Sally, Tails, and a scared Antoine walk through the portal and find
themselves floating in the air. The knight that they saw earlier rides
toward them with his troops.
Sonic Art - 1 page
Part III:
The knight demands that they surrender, and Sonic comments that the knight
isn't being friendly. The knight is upset and points his lance at
Sonic's stomach. Sonic runs and punches the troops, knocking them
over. All the knight can see is a blue blur, so he prepares to use
his lance. Sally runs toward the knight and pushes him off his horse.
The mask falls off, and Sally realizes that the knight is her father.
King Acorn uses his lance to knock Sally over and tells her that she should
attack only if she plans to finish her opponent. Sonic tries to run
to Sally, but Tails and Antoine stop him. Antoine says that Sonic
cannot attack the king since he doesn't know who they are. Sonic sees
the Energy Inhibitor floating next to Sally. Sally regains consciousness
as King Acorn demands their surrender. Sonic runs toward the Energy
Inhibitor and activates it.
There is a small explosion, and Sonic wonders what he has done.
Rotor sees everyone on the monitor and realizes that they will overshoot
the entrance to the portal. He fires a lifeline into the portal, and
Sonic grabs it. Soon everyone escapes the portal. Sonic says
that they'll have to find a new way to rescue King Acorn. Rotor assures
Sally that they will kind out what happened and rescue the king.
(The mystery of King Acorn will be revealed in a future issue.)
"A Sense of History"
Script: Mike Kanterovich & Ken Penders
Pencils: Ken Penders
Inks: Jon D'Agostino
Part Three:
Knuckles recalls Edmund and Dimitri's plan to drain the Chaos Emeralds
in hopes to return the Floating Island to the land. However, against
the decision of the scientific elite, Dimitri absorbed the power of the
Chaos Emeralds until the energy flowed in him. Then, from the ground,
a dark tower appeared. Knuckles knows that his father told him this
story, but he doesn't know how it connects to the missing Chaotix and Archimedes.
He thinks that his answers may be what happened next and continues to remember
the story.
Inside the dark tower, Dimitri is pleased that his prisoners are awake.
He says that there is no point in him conquering the world if those that
defy him do not watch. As Dimitri speaks, a green aura surrounds him.
He explains that he has infinite energy and is immortal. He is essentially
a living Chaos Emerald. Chief Magistrate tells Edmund that his brother
must be stopped. Dimitri laughs and says it is too late to stop him
since Echidnapolis has been captured. He had reprogrammed their robots
to do his bidding. Once sails are attached to the towers of the Floating
Island, the island will be like a ship as Dimitri conquers the world below.
Dimitri boasts that his fortress is made from a small portion of his
energy, making it impossible to destroy. He fires at one of the walls,
and the wall reflects the attack. Edmund notices fire ants eating
through the wall, and soon everyone is free. Chief Magistrate says
that the fire ants have eaten the tower's foundation, making the entire
tower collapse. Edmund tells Dimitri that they must escape.
Dimitri is in shock and soon becomes trapped under some rubble. Edmund
escapes from the tower as it collapses into a pile of rubble.
Chief Magistrate says that they owe their future to the fire ants.
Edmund is upset that nothing could save Dimitri from his fate, and Chief
Magistrate says that they must learn from his tragedy. Science has
given the echidnas arrogance, so the echidnas decided to renounce technology.
They destroyed their city, and appointed a guardian to watch the final Chaos
Emerald. Edmund was the first guardian, and he passed this down to
his children. Generations passed until this duty was passed on to Knuckles.
Knuckles realizes that he has come full circle, but then realizes that
there was something he forgot: the Grand Conservatory. The
echidnas did not want to deny their achievements, so they took examples
of their culture and buried them in an underground city that is located
below Mount Fate's shadow. Knuckles thinks that this must be the headquarters
of Archimedes and the location of the Chaotix. Remembering what his
dad told him, Knuckles says that whoever fails to learn the lessons of history
will repeat it.
Preview page - 1 page
The cover of the Knuckles mini-series #1 is presented like a
move poster.
Sonic-Grams highlights:
~ Tails' paws are the same color as his fur
~ Sally is a squirrel and Antoine is a fox
~ "Virtua Sonic" should be on sale in Winter '96 for the Saturn
~ The birthdays of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are classified, but
you can figure the exact day by figuring out when Sonic 1, 2, and 3 were
released
~ Knuckles was born with his knuckles
~ Knuckles is the same age as Sonic
~ Knuckles doesn't know his father's name
