Comic Book Review – Sonic Universe #52

I wasn’t overly enamoured with last week’s Mega Man #25, which I (some might say unfairly) labelled as the first bad issue of the Worlds Collide series. Sonic Universe #52however does pick things up with an action packed issue that has some great dialogue, wonderful artwork and a suspenseful ending. A huge improvement.

Sonic, Mega Man, Tails and Proto Man have all entered into the Skull Egg Zone – a strange hybrid of the worlds of Sonic and Mega Man – in order to save Dr. Light. However they are ambushed by Copy Robot and the Genesis Unit, thought dead by Mega Man.

What I loved about this issue is that it subtly dropped in little nods to set up future plot points of the series. Mega Man and Proto Man are perplexed by the appearance of the Genesis Unit since they were killed beyond dead back in Mega Man #14, which raises questions about where they came from. Not only that, but Ian Flynn has given us our first taste of dissention between Eggman and Dr Wily. It’s a really nice touch seen as though we’ve only seen them as best buds in the previous issues. They appear to have worked out their differences – but we’ll see how long that lasts! Sonic and Mega Man are getting on like a house on fire which is cool, but I’d have preferred it if they were trying to compete with each other (in a friendly manner of course) for hero superiority.

The fight sequence between our four heroes and the Genesis Unit is a joy to read and it does a great job of rebuilding Mega Man, who I felt was made to look like a punk in Mega Man #25. It also features some great ‘good guy vs. bad guy’ banter which highlights just what a fun series this has been. The artwork from all involved is once again fantastic which compliments Flynn’s fun sense of writing. The following sequence of our two heroes battling elements from their separate worlds provides some great visual humour that will appeal to fans of both franchises.

I can only assume that there is more to offer from Worlds Collide as, for the start of the second act, they appear to be in the final stages of the story. This prospect excites me as a reader as it would have been far too standard for the good guys just to make it to the ‘last level’ to fight the ‘final boss’. However, doing so would make it very game-like – which is something you can’t complain about really.

Overall, Sonic Universe #52 has put Worlds Collide back on track after a tiny blip in Mega Man #25. There’s some great action and a couple of funny lines thrown in for good measure. The final page gives a nice tease for the next instalment of the story – something I am very much looking forward to.