Luke Owen reviews Sonic Universe #51, part two of the World’s Collide crossover…
There are strange things afoot as Mega Man’s world is menaced by a super-fast, blue attacker. Sonic’s world is being stalked by a blue-armored figure with a cannon for an arm. Could these mysterious villains be Sonic and Mega Man? Or are they some kind of sinister copies? Mistaken identities and explosions galore in this explosive second part to the historic Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man crossover!
Writer Ian Flynn puts it best at the end of the comic when he says that we’ve “come full circle” as Sonic Universe #51 ties up the loose ends that began in Mega Man #24. We now know why Dr Wily and Dr Eggman are working together and we now know why Sonic and Mega Man are fighting each other.
I absolutely loved Mega Man #24 because it was such a well-written and beautifully crafted comic. I don’t think I can say I had the same level of love for Sonic Universe #51 as it didn’t leave me the massive grin I had last week, but I would never say that this is a bad comic. In fact I’d say the opposite – it’s really great.
The artwork from Jamal Peppers and Jim Amash is stunning and it recreates the worlds these two characters inhabit with such grace. The bright and vibrant colours leap of the page and the designs of Tails Man, Knuckles Man et al are all well conceived. Despite their differing art styles, Peppers and Amash have brought these two classic universes together very nicely.
As I said earlier, the story basically ties up all loose ends from the first part of this story only this time told from the prospectives of Sonic and Mega Man. But we also get to see a little more of the Roboticized Masters (enough to make us want more) as well as introductions to the story for Silver The Hedgehog, Copybot, Metal Sonic and The Chaotix crew. The ever-growing cast list could hurt the story (too many cooks) but Flynn crams a lot into this issue and never makes it feel crowded. You get a wonderful noir-esque scene with Copybot and The Chaotix, a freeway action scene with Mega Man and the Roboticized Masters and a Green Hill Zone chase between Sonic and Copybot. It’s a lot of fun.
Frustratingly, from a certain standpoint, my complaints from last month’s issue are still prevalent as Flynn hasn’t really explained how the time warp has worked. Given that this issue gives Dr. Light’s introduction to the story, we can only hope he offers some much needed exposition in the next couple of issues.
If you couldn’t tell, I am in love with this World’s Collide story line and now that all the set-up is complete, we can look forward to it all kicking off in Sonic The Hedgehog #248. This issue is a lot more action orientated than Mega Man #24 which is a nice change of pace, but I’d like to see future issues have a nice balance of the two.
Luke Owen is one of Flickering Myth’s co-editor and the host of the Month in Review show for Flickering Myth’s Podcast Network. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.
Originally published April 18, 2013. Updated November 6, 2019.
