Worlds Unite Weekly Reviews, Part 7: Sonic the Hedgehog #274

by Mighty No. X

We pick up where we left off last issue, with the robotic half of the heroes at the command of the Deadly Six. The Freedom Fighters can fend off the rogue robots, but only for so long.

Watching from the Sky Patrol, Sally joins the battle but quickly orders a retreat to the Sky Patrol’s lower decks, planning to use the hull’s weapons; unfortunately, Zeena swiftly disables said artillery. At this point the Deadly Six consider ramming the Sky Patrol into Lost Hex, but Zavok refuses on the grounds that they would perish as well.

Eggman and Wily arrive on the scene with the weapon they’ve been building since last issue: an ion ray designed to incapacitate the robots without killing them or harming the Sky Patrol’s systems. It works perfectly, and even frees the Deadly Six from Sigma’s control. The Deadly Six still attempt to fight the heroes without the armor, but all six collapse from exhaustion, leaving the Freedom Fighters and robots as the victors.

While the group debates whether to hesitate to recover or immediately launch an assault on Sigma; during the conversation, Sally realizes Sticks the Badger is missing. Their search is interrupted by an unfortunate turn of events; having amassed sufficient energy, Sigma raises an army of Mavericks and takes the next step towards becoming a god. In the Sky Patrol, the team leaders watch horrified as a mountain-sized Sigma emerges from the ground of the unified world, surrounded by dozens of X’s former adversaries.

Meanwhile, somewhere else, Chun-Li interrogates Sticks in an Interpol facility. Sticks is obsessed with a conspiracy involving a jar of pasta sauce, but Chun-Li manages to draw out the basic details of Sigma’s threat. It’s enough for her; she just needs to make a few calls…               

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The most remarkable part of this issue is definitely the ending: Worlds Unite’s answer to the breath-taking page spread in Worlds Collide where Mega Man and Sonic encountered every non-Mega Man 1 Robot Master at once. It’s also good to see the Deadly Six battle conclude in a rather concise manner, rather than stretching over the rest of the crossover. I do worry whether fighting dozens of Mavericks will provide any sort of coherent plot for the rest of Worlds Unite, but I trust that writer Ian Flynn knows what he’s doing.

I usually enjoy how Flynn portrays Sticks, but her brief appearance in this comic rubbed me the wrong way a little bit. It breaks the pacing, and if it’s meant to serve as a way for mid-series newcomers to get up to speed, then it’s a rather awkward way to achieve that goal.

Yet another issue passes without other characters. Before the crossover started I would have guessed that Act 2 would be the heroes traveling between worlds, but as it stands, the SEGA/Capcom guests really can’t be more than cameo appearances.

It was nice to see Wily and Eggman actually succeed in something as a team for once. I’m honestly fine with the much smaller role the two are taking here; the spotlight is on Sigma and (hopefully) Xander Payne, as it should be.

Easter Egg Watch:

• The character portraits for the mainline Sonic characters on the intro page are a homage to the character select screen from Sonic Advance. 

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Mighty No. X is a member of The Mega Man Network’s User Content Submission System, and the views expressed here reflect the views of the authors alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Mega Man Network.

LBD "Nytetrayn"

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

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