Luke Owen reviews Sonic The Hedgehog #248, part three of the Worlds Collide series…
It’s Sonic versus Mega Man – Round One! The fight that every fan of both the Blue Blur and Blue Bomber has been waiting for is here at last, and it looks like Sonic’s got the hometeam advantage! Can Mega Man cope with the Blue Blur in a land of loops? Meanwhile, Dr. Wily is concerned his old rival might cause problems, which sets Dr. Eggman’s sites on Dr. Light! Don’t miss a moment of this historic crossover event as the heroic fights and evil friendships rage on!
After a tantalising two week build, Ian Flynn and his team finally pay up this week by giving us our first taste of what we wanted – the showdown between Sonic and Mega Man. And, just like the previous two issues, it’s a lot of fun.
Flynn made the right choice by building up to this moment over the two previous issues as it didn’t feel like Sonic The Hedgehog #248 needed to do anything more than giving us some fight scenes. And even then, he manages to slightly address some of the previous plot threads left over from the first two parts (which I had taken issue with). It’s a really tight comic with never a dull moment. While the fight between Sonic and Mega Man was excellent to see, I’m almost drawn to the idea of a permanent Eggman and Dr Wily comic where they just sit around and complement each other all day long. They’re hilarious together.
The wonderful artwork from Jamal Peppers, Jim Amash and Matt Herms shines through once again as it mirrors Flynn’s writing style. I would have liked to have seen more ‘battle damaged’ Sonic and Mega Man as we only see it them a couple of panels, but there’s always time to give us more of those.
But of course, Sonic The Hedgehog #248, just like the rest of Worlds Collide, has been excellent due to Flynn’s brilliant script. There are several obvious gags in there and the banter between characters is top notch, but he also has this great knack of adding in little references for the fans of the franchise which never overshadow the story in a nudge, nudge, wink, wink fashion – including one excellent line from Wily saying Sonic will clearly win the fight because he has spikes, something Mega Man has issues with. It reminds me of Erik Burnham’s scripts for IDWs Ghostbusters series – writing brilliant stories for everyone to enjoy while dropping in little Easter Eggs for the fans.
The fight between Mega Man and Sonic is really good and a lot of fun. I’m really glad that Flynn has decided stretch this first showdown out with the final panel teasing us for Round Two. Flynn also adds a level of logic into the battle with both Sonic and Mega Man questioning why the person they were chasing is now different. It may not seem like a big deal, but have you ever read a comic book and questioned characters motivations? Annoying isn’t it.
Some might say that the fight is a little one-sided, but I think this is just Flynn establishing Sonic has ‘home field’ advantage and with the Blue Bomber now back on his own turf, we could see Sonic get a dose of his own medicine.
Once again, Flynn and his Worlds Collide team have knocked this out of the park with Sonic The Hedgehog #248. With 9 more issues to go, I have a lot of faith that this could be one of the best comic crossovers in recent memory. I had a lot of love for Mega Man #24 – but this has now become the benchmark that everything will be marked against.