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Fractured Mirror - Part One: Through the Looking Glass - Sonic Universe #25

Sometime ago I decided to cover all of the alternate versions of Bunnie and Antoine that appear through out the series. We get some possible alternate versions in this story arc, (sorta, its not made very clear) but they don’t appear in this particular issue. However I feel like I need to cover the initial set up for the arc before we move on. 

In the future Silver is training with Mogul when they sense a strange presence. 

Well which is it? An alternate timeline or another dimension? The comic has always been a bit shaky on the differences between the two despite the fact that they’re treated as two completely separate things. And this story line does not make anything clearer. I’ll talk about this as we go further along, but the story keeps hinting that we’re dealing with an alternate future but a lot of little details undermine that idea. 

Anyways the intruder is revealed to be an alternate Vector. He picks a fight with Sliver and the Guardian Edmund. We also get confirmation that Edmund is Lara-Su and Argyle’s son. Tying Silver’s future to Mobius Years Later once again. 

The Vector double escapes back to where he came from and Silver follows. There he fights more alternate Chaotix as a mysterious figure watches in the shadows and we get the big reveal. 

Yeah so this is Kunckles as Enerjak. This is the Dark Future that Jani-ca (StH 106) is from. One where Knuckles stayed evil. According to the Sonic wiki this is meant to be a divergent timeline, that everything was the same as the main comic up until the end of The Green Knuckles arc. However, I don’t fully buy that theory as there’s just too many things that are, well,“off” for that to add up. 

My first piece of evidence that this is really an alternate zone, like Anti-Mobius, is Sally up there wearing a formal gown. That doesn’t look like something our Sally would wear. Certainly not when there’s an on going threat of a mad man like Enerjak running around. 

And we’ll see even bigger incongruences as the story goes on. 

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“In Service to the King” Parts I & II - Sonic the Hedgehog #219 & #220

So while these issues don’t feature our two leads, I can’t really skip over them as this story is far too important to upcoming character developments for the both of them. 

Here lately Geoffrey St. John has been the center of some controversy within the Archie Sonic fandom. I’m not here to talk about that, but it’s nothing new concerning this particular character.  

Geoffrey has always straddled the line between jerky-hero and shady antagonist. Swinging between being a rival and a comrade in arms. However, unlike say Knuckles or even Shadow, Geoffrey would never really cement a friendship with any of the main cast. Nor would he warm to fans of the book. He has his supporters, but how much of that is due to Flynn’s take on the character is up in the air. 

For you see this is the story where Geoffrey becomes a full blown villain. 

No-Longer-”King” Max has completely lost his marbles and orders Geoffrey and Sonic to help him regain the throne. Geoffrey suggests getting a chaos emerald from the special zone to humor the former monarch and to keep a powerful MacGuffin handy.   

With Sonic’s help they do succeed in obtaining the the stone, only for Geoffrey to seal it and shoot Sonic in the back while at it. He then delivers the jewel to Ixis Naugus, calling him “master” and restoring his powers. 

I’ve seen both praise and criticism for this plot twist, and I can see it both ways. I mostly enjoy the concept but there are a few lapses in logic and presentation that somewhat undermine it. But I’ll get into that more as we discuss the upcoming story arcs dealing with the fall out. 

In the mean time enjoy these Antoine and Bunnie cameos. 

Antoine is not happy when he hears of his rival’s latest shenanigans. He’s probably telling everyone “I told you so!”right now. 

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“Thicker than Water” Part Two - Sonic the  Hedgehog #218

I had a hard time reviewing this one. I think I talked about everything I wanted to talk about in the first part already. From here on I’m just summarizing. 

We pick back up where we left off last issue. Sonic and Bunnie fighting. But because Ian is actually smart and respects the characters, there’s no long drawn out melodrama. 

They’re already discussing the problem while throwing punches and they come up with a solution together fairly quickly. 

An awesome solution that plays up their characters and team dynamic. Sonic and Bunnie is a really under used and under appreciated team. 

Unfortunately both the Sandblasters and Uncle Bo cotton on to what really going on and move into fight. 

Just more evidence that Bo disproves of Antoine. A plot point that’ll sadly go no where but can be useful to all ya’ll fanfic writers out there. 

Bunnie and Sonic then team up to fight the Sandblasters. 

And did I mention how awesome a team they are? 

Or how great a villain the Sandblasters make? 

I love this dynamic where the “heroes” are the real villains and the “bad guys” are the ones who are noble. It’s a great dichotomy that really shakes up the book.  Also Jack is just the right amount of nasty and petty to be a great rival, not a big bad, but a personal thorn in the heroes sides.

Well I say Uncle Bo isn’t one of the abusive parents in the book, and he isn’t, but he isn’t above verbal insults when angry either. As I said he’s complex. He’s not evil but neither is he a paragon of virtue. 

Take special note of how he uses Bunnie’s married name as an insult. He’s not just expressing his disapproval of the D’Coolette’s and the Acorns here.  He’s actively belittling the person who Bunnie has chosen to be.

Bunnie has struggled her whole life with accepting herself. She’s ashamed of her past. She feels awkward in her own “skin”. She’s afraid of becoming the living weapon that Robotnik originally designed her to be.  ect. That name she choose to share is attached to the one person who has helped her the most in combating these insecurities.

 And there in lies the core of the Antoine/Bunnie/Uncle Bo conflict. It’s not just political. It’s Bunnie having to choose between the man who accepts her, loves her, and supports her for who she truly is and the man who raised her, who loves her like a daughter, but can’t move past the fact that she has a mind and identity of her own now and isn’t simply his “little girl” anymore. 

And it’s true. Bunnie still hasn’t “chosen” a side yet. Sadly she’ll never will due to the reboot. But it’s a fascinating conflict that adds a lot of depth to her character. And just to show that, while flawed, he isn’t Max levels of dickery, Bo calls her by her new last name when saying good bye as a way of apology. Acknowledging who she is now while still not fully supporting her decision.  

And speaking of Max, the story ends on this bit of foreshadowing. 

Looks like we’ve now got to deal with Antoine’s rival coming back. Goody. 

PS. Do you think Bunnie ever told anyone about how her parents died? I would think she’d at least tell her husband but who knows. 

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“Thicker than Water” Part One - Sonic the  Hedgehog #217

Finished KH3 and now I’m back with one of the best Bunnie stories ever written.

The story opens up with Sonic and Bunnie throwing down. 

This is of course a bit of opening action to get the readers intrigued as we flashback to the events that led to this moment.

Turns out the Sandblast Freedom Fighters sent out a call for help and, due to their past run-ins with them, Bunnie and Sonic were chosen to go. Though Bunnie’s not happy about it, as well she should be. 

If you recall back in issue 119, Bunnie was captured by Jack Rabbit, the leader of the Sandblasters, and forced to fight a bunch of Robians to the death. The events there and in this issue pretty much makes Jack the closest thing to a arch-rival she has in the pre-reboot.

Soon Buunie and Sonic are separated when the Sandblasters “mistakenly” attacks them. 

This leads to Bunnie being “captured” by the local Dark Egg Legion chapter. And Sonic agrees to help the Sandblasters fight them in order to get her back. 

Meanwhile back with Bunnie we meet …..

Uncle Beauregard! 

Her uncle was first mentioned way back during the Mecha Sonic arc. It was at first just an off-color joke about the American Civil War, which Flynn has decided to turn into a bit of mythos for the comic. 

So according to the The Complete Sonic Comic Encyclopedia, The Southern Baronies were a colony of the Kingdom of Acorn and most there-in resented the rule of the monarchy. There’s no details about how the Acorns treated the Baronies but given that Bo calls them “the oppressors” and the fact that King Max is a Grade-A-Jackass, one can assume that they wren’t always treated fairly.

Also according to Flynn, Bunnie first ran away from home when Bo told her about how her parents died. Fighting for the Overlanders against the Acorns during the Great War. This actually revels a lot about Bunnie as a character.

First her tendency to just run away from her problems is yet again reinforced.

Second it explains why she was living by herself back in issue 3.

And last off it kind of explains her reason for dreaming to be Sally’s hairdresser specifically and why she’s so loyal to the Acorns despite being raised otherwise. She’s ashamed of her family’s past and wants to at least distance herself from it.

Which is why not having her and Antoine present during the Prower’s uprising was such a missed opportunity. Does she fully agree with her husband on the Acorn’s rule or is she able to see the other side’s point of view given where she grew up?

Also while the dynamic between The Baron and Antoine could be potentially interesting, both caring for the same woman but being on opposite sides of a conflict,  I’m more interested in where Bunnie stands. We don’t ever really her thoughts on the matter. She dismisses the argument here and we never get back to it, which is a shame. 

Regardless though, Beauregard proves to be one of the most interesting and complex parental figures with in the comic. He’s not abusive nor manipulative, like Max, Locke, or Rosemary. Neither is he the wise heroic father figure like Jules, Armand, and Wynmacher. He’s flawed. He’s fighting on “the wrong side”. He has his prejudices and his fair share of mistakes. But he’s also kind, caring, considerate, and is at least tryingto do what is right by those he protects. 

I would have love to see where this character progressed as the comic went along but sadly the reboot and Penders stole him from us. 

Originally posted by tellsatanyoulovehim

Anyways Bunnie agrees to help out her uncle and this leads back into the fight we saw at the beginning of the story. 

Which naturally ends in a cliffhanger.

The back up story introduces Vanilla and Cream though, so they’re now officially in the comic. 

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Family Matters and Future Tense - Sonic the Hedgehog #215 & #216

So here just a quick run down of a few events that’ll become more relevant as time goes on. 

“Family Matters Part 1″ StH #215

Rotor’s herd is brainwashed again and he comes out of retirement to save them. It’s the first time we see the ‘Iron Rotor’ suit. 

Nicole builds a exoskeleton suit for Rotor to fight in, allowing a work around his injured back. Make note; it will appear again. 

“Future Tense Part 1″ StH #215

Meanwhile, Silver is still hunting for the traitor in the far future. He hits upon the idea that it might be Rotor while researching in an old library. But the big take away is that Silver’s future is indeed connected to Mobius XX years later as we see images of the Future Freedom Fighters everywhere.  

Did they have a hand in fighting whatever destroyed Mobius? Was it even after their time? What did Lara-Su do to earn a statue of herself? Like, not even Sonic or Knuckles have one of those lying around in any of the futures we’ve seen so far.  If the apocalypse is post Mobius XX Years Later than why bother going all the way back to Sonic’s time fighting Eggman? What would the traitor have to do set those events in motion decades after their initial betrayal? Especially since things seemed to be fine and dandy, all thing considered, when we last saw the Future FFs. 

Look, I know we never got to see The Traitor arc play out like Fylnn wanted. and we’ll never see the answers to a lot of those questions; but like there’s a real disconnect between the Years Later series and what eventually happened in the main story. So much so that I’m struggling to see how they were ever meant to fit together. 

Also the library here is important. Remember it. 

“Family Matters Part 2″ StH #216 

Anyways long story short, Silver comes around to Rotor and helps him free his herd. Also Sonic and the Arctic FFs are there for some reason. They don’t really do anything useful. They’re only there because Sega demands Sonic’s presence.

However the part we’ll be focusing on is at the end of the story when we get a prologue for the next arc we’ll be covering in the retrospective.

(I really like Bunnie and Twan’s outfits here.)

  “Future Tense Part 2″ StH #216

And to finish everything off we get an epilogue with Silver where we meet the guardian Edmund. 

He says he’s over a hundred years old giving us a hit of a time frame. But as I hate the idea that the Guardians are near immortal with every fiber of my being, I’m going to choose to believe that he’s exaggerating.   

Also the Ark from Sonic Adventure 2 is here. I guess that was meant to tie together with the traitor arc somehow. 

Originally posted by proceleon

And then we see that Silver has another teacher and it’s…..

DUN, DUN, DUUUNNN!!!

Not that this plot point will amount to anything… because Fuck Penders! 

Anyways be sure to tune in next time when we start in on a Bunnie centric arc. Whoo Hoo! 

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A “NSFW” Valentine’s Day Special 

First off, I apologize for this being way later than I originally promised. A lot of personal stuff went down, then it was the holidays, and then the Tumblr purge happened and I wanted to see what it would do, and though I think I‘ve found a work around, I wanted to wait till V-day to post since I thought it’d be a nice way to celebrate. 

So what is this Valentine’s special? Well, below the “keep reading” I’ll be discussing potential head-cannons for how Bunnie’s robotics work, how they may effect her physical relationship with Antione, and possible fun bedroom head cannons that I and other contributors have come up with. Mainly concerning the pre-reboot continuity. 

(Sadly though, there will be no visuals as I’m staying on the safe side with Tumblr.) 

Theory #1 - Bunnie is fully robotic from the waist down. 

How does it work: It’s simple enough. All of Bunnie’s organic parts have been replaced by robotics. Not just her limbs but her interior organs as well, meaning instead of a digestive system she has wires and gears, ect. Which means no vagina to speak of. 

Evidence for:  This is a pretty popular fan theory as it’s the most tragic. It means she can no longer enjoy and take part in things she once did as a fully organic being. Hence an added intensive for her desire to be normal besides just feeling “different” or unattractive. And after all, why would Robotic need robots who could eat or reproduce? Wouldn’t robotization get rid of those features? 

Evidence against: There’s actually a lot of evidence against this particular theory. For starters Bunnie has been seen eating and drinking on panel, something she wouldn’t do if she no longer had a working digestive system. Second, how would she even live with out a working digestive system? Also Robotnic didn’t invent robotization, so it’s possible that’s simply not how it works. Third there’s several times where she’s drawn with an organic tail, hinting that she’s not 100% robotic from the waist down. (thought you could site that as an artist error, but it comes up a lot through out the series by lots of different artists, so…) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Last but not least, Ian Flynn has stated in questionnaires online, I believe it’s on Bumbleking forums, that Bunnies robotics, to quote, “function just like organic parts would”. That’s not a definitive statement off how much her body is robotized but it does shoot this theory in the water. 

How does it effect her relationship: Well if she doesn’t have a vagina or a bum than she can’t have penetrative sex. She can however pleasure Antoine in other ways so there’s still grounds for a physical relationship, even if she can’t get off herself. 

Sexy head-cannons: Regardless of how her robotics work, I would think Bunnie would still be into oral. Given how insecure she is of her robotics, giving oral would take the focus off of herself allowing her to be less self conscious. Plus she just enjoys the funny faces Antoine makes when she’s pleasuring him. 

Theory #2 - Bunnie is fully robotic from the waist down, but her robotics function the same as her flesh and blood organs and limbs would.  

How does it work: Basically she has a digestive system and a vagina but they’re all fully metal and cybernetic. 

Evidence for: Flynn’s comments on how Bunnie’s robotics work would be well reflected here. Also given that Uncle Chuck originally invented the robotizer as a medical treatment it makes sense that your vital organs would still be intact and working even if they were metal. 

Evidence against: If Robians have working organs than why is it repeatedly shown that they don’t need food, or sleep, or other basic bodily functions? Plus you can still she her fully organic tail is some panels. 

How does it effect her relationship: Well even with a metal vagina, penetrative sex  would be theatrically possible, but it’s questionable how much pleasure she would get from it as she wouldn’t be able to feel things the same way as if she was organic. Also how safe it would be for Antione is questionable as well. Plus it’d either be really really cold or really really hot down there at any given time. 

Sexy head-cannons: On the occasions where I’ve seen Bunnie and Antoine’s sex life discussed online the subject of toys tends to come up. For insistent I’ve had one follower suggest that Antoine might be into pegging, which would most likely involve a dildo of some sort. As for this particular headcannon, if Bunnie truly is fully metal down there, then she might enjoy strong vibrators as they could give her some sensation down there. Even if it’s not quite the same as being titillated. (And even if she is organic then, hey vibrators are always fun)   

Theory #3 - Bunnie is partly robotic through out her whole body

How does it work: So rather than being fully metal from the waist down, or fully organic from the legs up (minus her arm), Bunnie would have some cybernetics integrated into her mostly flesh body. Like she’d have a working vagina but you could see glowing wires and pieces of metal from where the robotization process started but then was stopped half way through. 

Evidence for: Well the robotization process was stopped before it could be completed. Also it makes sense that there would be parts of her body that we can’t see that would be robotic as well. Like a robotic spine to support her limbs, a computer chip attached to her nervous system to control said limbs, and/or various wires and cybernetic components that could convert her “life force” as it’s called into a usable energy for her limbs, ect. ect.  

Evidence against: Theoretically, if there’s various bits and pieces of robotics through out her body instead of just her limbs then there should be more visible parts than just her limbs as well. 

How does it effect her relationship: Lots and lots of lube. Also you’d have to probably take things really really slow. 

Sexy head-cannons:Not really related to this particular theory, but an interesting discussion that I’ve had with Sonic fans nonetheless. Just how much of real life animal behavior and anatomy actually effect Mobians? Particularly in the bedroom, in this instance. Do they like doing it doggy style? Does Antoine prefer to give oral before going down on her? Does Bunnie have a tendency to jump in the air randomly? Does Antoine have a bulbus gland? Does Bunnie have two uteri? Like things can get pretty wired and kinky the further down the proverbial rabbit hole you go. (Bad pun, I know) I personally tend to see their actions and anatomy as more human like but you could cherry pick traits to come up with some interesting scenarios to say the least. 

Theory #4 - Only Bunnie’s limbs are robotic

How does it work: Perhaps the simplest solution to the conundrum. Bunnie’s fully organic save for her legs and left arm. The metal part we see around her lower torso is just a harness to hold her limbs limbs in place.  

Evidence for: As I said it’s the simplest answer. It explains how most of her internal bodily functions work; same as everyone else’s. It also, explains why her organic looking tail often sticks out. 

Evidence against: It doesn’t fully explain how her limbs feed off her “life force” or some of the other health problems she’s had with her cybernetics. It’s seems almost too easy an answer, and honestly a little thematically underwhelming given how much her struggle with being being bionic is built up through out the comic’s run. 

How does it effect her relationship: Well there’s nothing stopping her and Antoine from doing all of the dirty stuff they want to, but it might be a little awkward working around the harness. Either it’d have to be completely removed, along with her legs, or there a flap that opens up and you’d have to maneuver around that. 

Sexy head-cannons: Once again, not really related to the theory at hand but interesting discussion to be had anyways. A follower once asked me who would be more dominant in the bedroom. I personally see it as a more give and take situation that can go either way. Bunnie probably started off more assertive in the early days of there sexual relationship but Antoine probably built up more confidence as time wore on. They probably take turns initiating encounters and with alternate being on top and bottom.   

So that’s it. I didn’t get into the reboot stuff as it’s made much clearer how her robotics work there. Also this stuff will become more relevant once we reach certain pre-reboot stories. 

If you have any theories or sexy head-cannons of your own you want to share, or want to discuss further the ones mentioned here feel free to share. 

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“The Finale” Trouble in Paradise IV - Sonic Universe #20

So first off sorry about this being late. I know I made some promises regarding posting dates for this series but some real life stuff got in the way that had to be taken care of first. Most notably my nephew was in the hospital for a few days last week. He’s out now and doing better but I had to re-juggle my work schedule and babysit his siblings.  

But enough excuses, here’s the finale part for the best arc ever. 

If you remember where we left off last time Tails, Bunnie, and Antoine were fighting a giant mech. 

We get some action scenes and a few quips but soon Tails takes charges and gives our heroes a plan. 

I joked last time about Tails taking center stage because he’s the Sega owned game character, and from a meta stand point that is true, but from a story perspective it works as a character beat in his development. Tails whole deal through out the comics has been his need to be recognized as an equal by his peers. He’s been slowly gaining more responsibilities and trust from his fellow freedom fighters but this is the first time they’ve readily coincided leadership to him.  

And keep in mind both Bunnie and Ant are experienced soldiers. The earlier half of the comic served to remind us that they are special operatives that out class the regular goons. Capable of making plans and thinking on their feet. Antoine himself has lead field missions before and is commander of the royal guard.   

Them following Tails isn’t the secondary comic relief characters playing second fiddle to the main protagonist. This is two highly intelligent and able bodied heroes acknowledging that their friend is more adept at navigating this particular challenge.This is them placing trust in their friend and his skills. 

The plan is fairly simple though. Tails dismantles the mech using his tech knowledge while Bunnie and Ant sabotage the base. 

It goes off without a hitch, Tails confronts his rival Speedy, and they all make their escape. 

However this exchange is very nice to see cause even though they trust Tails he’s still the youngest and the least experienced (next to Amy) of the group, and while he’s a tech expert he’s still not a field leader, yet. One could argue that this whole arc was a rite of passage for him even more so than they Tails miniseries. 

Originally posted by nickelodeon

We have some verbal approve for Tails just to confirm the above points that a I made. And after some foreshadowing for some feature arcs we close out on some more cuteness. 

Thus concludes the best Buntwan arc ever. Sure it’s not as important in the grand scheme of things as say Endgame or Union. It doesn’t add anything in terms of character development nor furthers their personal stories. It’s just a really well constructed story. Well paced, even focused, fun dialogue and character interactions, ect. There’s really nothing wrong with it. Nothing to nitpick. Nothing to annoy. It’s cute sweet and simple story with characters we know and love and that’s all it needs to be. 

Though the question does remain; did Bunnie and Ant ever get their sexy alone time? Cause their tent kind of burned down and I think that’s just a one room cabin they’re sharing with Tails. Kind of puts a damper on the whole honeymoon thing. :P 

Oh well I guess that’s another question we’ll have to answer on the next special NSFW addition of the  Antoine and Bunnie Retrospective!