So here we come to the infamous Image crossover issue. And honestly I haven’t got much to say about it. But it does set up a important (though stupid) plot point for later.
Antoine makes a passing mention to a previous love affair. One that wasn’t Sally, and it apparently didn’t end well. Said love will make an appearance much later on down the line in what is perhaps the dumbest Antoine/Bunnie story, but more on that later.
He jokes, but Linkara’s reaction perfectly demonstrates the main problem of this story. To us fans, we know that Antoine really is a genuinely nice person who is stuck in this transitional period during this part of his character development. But to non-fans, and any Image fans picking up the book at the time, wouldn’t know that from the way the characters are presented here. Same goes for the Image characters. If you’re here for the Sonic portion, you’re going to be left high and dry wondering just who the fuck are these people.
The comic does a very poor job of defining everybody, their individual stories, and personalities. Though I guess, given how little they’ve been featured this era, we should be grateful that the FFs were still deemed worthy enough to appear rather than Knuckles extended family.Though, Dimitri and Locke still manage to make a cameo anyway.
Oh and apparently this story takes place before the World Tour arc; despite not being released until said arc was nearly over.
What is with the Super Special series and flashback stories? Why can’t they release things in semi order?
Anyways, if you want a more thorough break down of what is wrong with this comic I highly recommend Linkara’s previously mentioned review. http://atopthefourthwall.com/sonic-super-special-7/ The guy gives a pretty fair and unbiased opinion on the individual work itself rather than trying to drag the whole series like some reviewers have been known to do.
So we finally come upon another birthday episode for Sonic. Keep in mind these’s are important since they are our only marking for the passage of time in the book. And this one is extra important, since we are finally given an age for Sonic himself.
This gives us approximate ages for the rest of cast. Sally should be the same age as Sonic and according to issue 9, her birthday is right before his. Back in issue 46, in the fan letters, Rotor’s age is given as 16 already. Depending on when his birthday lands, he is either the same age or just a year older than Sonic. Bunnie’s age is stated in the fan letters of issue 90 as being 17, meaning she is definitely one year older than Sonic. As for Antoine, we are give two points of reference for his age, in #46 he is 18 and in #90 he’s stated as being 19. So Ant is two years older than Sonic and his birthday possibly comes earlier in the year than any of his friends. There is no point of reference for Amy or Tails, but canonically I think they’re suppose to be ten here.
So the real question is how old was everyone back in the beginning of the comic? Because most sources don’t give a timeline for those years. Sonic’s age wasn’t stated in the last birthday issue. And given just how many events occurred between the two, one could make the convincing argument that it was more than a year.
Between the two birthdays, we have approximately 95 individual adventures. Not counting certain solo adventures that could overlap with with those, (the Knuckles series for example) or untold stories that’ll be filled in later through flash back. Even if every adventure happened approximately with in a week’s time of each other than we are still looking at over a hundred weeks. An earthly year is only 52 weeks, and even if Mobius follows a different calendar it still wouldn’t be that far off to ours given what we’ll find out later with the planet.
To further back up this claim, the Mobius wikia has this issue during the year 3236 while placing both the Mecha Madness arc and Endgame at the beginning of and end of 3235 respectively. Anything before Mecha Madness is simply stating as taking place before 3235, but with no indication of precisely when.
So we are effectively missing a birthday story. One that should take place in around Mecha Madness. So here’s my timeline of everyone’s ages based of the information given.
I’m going to theorize that three years have past since the first issue of the Sonic Miniseries, and that this is the start of the fourth, and the starting ages for the FF’s was thus….
Sonic, Sally, & Rotor - 13
Antoine - 15
Bunnie - 14
Tails - 7
So where to place the missing birthday….hmm…. well everyone was attending a big dance party at the end of issue #30. The event could be Sonic’s birthday, and would roughly align with the rest of the timeline so I’m going with that as a place holder for now.
Anyway’s this story also formally introduces Elias to the rest of the Freedom Fighters and hints at the larger story arc with the satellites from issue 62 causing a meteor shower.
“Shadows in the Dark” Lupe and the Wolf Pack part I -Sonic the Hedgehog #67
Not a whole lot going on in this story I just wanted to point out a few things.
First, the wolf pack is returning to their own home and says goodbye.
I like this exchange because it just builds off of what I was talking about last review. In order for the world to feel more believable than the characters need to interact with other characters outside of an established group. Not only does this scene show that Sally and Lupe are friends, but that Lupe must also be acquaintances with Antoine as well.
The second point? Bunnie shows up. We haven’t seen her in like forever it feels.
She and Sally talk about Sonic’s upcoming birthday. We’ll discuss it more when it actually happens, but this is only the second time Sonic’s birthday has been mentioned in the comic. Even though it feels like it’s been longer than a year since then.
Last thing to cover is Lupe tells us how she met the FFs in flash back form. Turns out Antoine was involved.
How much involvement he had will be discussed later in a different issue. (and it won’t be pretty viewers)
The rest of the issue has parody of Indianian Jones. (which, fun fact, is a homage to Uncle Scrooge comics in of itself so we’ve come full circle) It features a convenient flashback to get ya’ll up to speed on what was skipped over during this retrospective.
Anyways the whole point of the story is to introduce “the ring of acorns” which can grant wishes and is more powerful than other rings. Even though we already have the 1 billionth ring.
Like the Source of All, the ring of acorns is an unnecessary, convoluted piece of mythology that winds up being redundant. But it least it accomplishes something. Even though said plot point could have been more elegantly achieved if the writers had expanded up the powers of the billionth ring instead of ignoring continuity and shoehorning in their own pointless macguffins.
“What Ever Happened to Queen Alicia?”The Forbidden Zone I - Knuckles the Echidna #19
Oh look, Antoine actually does appear in an issue of the Knuckles series and gets to do something useful.
Too bad he doesn’t get to stick around.
Yeah I know, I’m grasping at straws here. As much as I enjoy this era of the book, there is like next to nothing for Ant and Bunnie to do. Especially Bunnie, who has really gotten the shaft story wise here lately.
I also thought it interesting enough to show off this scene since it’s one of the few times Ant interacts with someone other than the FF. And all on his own too without Bunnie, Sonic, or Sally hanging around.
It just helps to give the book and its world a sense of believably. People don’t just exist within their own little circles all the time. They have to get out and interact with others, have friends that aren’t necessarily friends with their group, acquaintances that they run into while indulging in a personal hobby, or coworkers that they don’t get along with but have to tolerate anyways.
Like with Ant and Geoff here. They aren’t trying to kill each other anymore,but they clearly don’t respect one another. In many ways Geoffrey is Antoine’s rival in the same way Knuckles and Sonic once were. They fight for the same cause, they both dislike and think little of the other, and over time will grow a begrudging respect for one another. Only they’ll never become real friends, like Sonic and Kunx did.
Anyways the whole point of this story arc is to introduce Queen Alicia and Sally’s brother Elias.
We’ve come to the last of the stories in SSS#5.There is some mater of debate over the chronological placement of this story. Some sources have placed it between issues #38 and #39, while others have it as late as issue #54. Either way, it’s still a flash back.
Sonic, Sally, and Antoine are investigating an energy signal, when they come across reactivated Combot.
They say it was left over from the ambush in issue #38. Hence why some sources place the story right after it. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that it does. This one was skipped over after the initial clean up and could have been laying there for who knows how long. Not to mention that in the next page both Ant and Sonic talk about Robotnik in the past tense as if he was already gone.
My personal theory is that this takes place right before A Brave New World. The Freedom Fighters would have had to do some clean up of the more dangerous bots before everyone could move back into Robopolis.
Anyways, everybody gives their own personal account of how they defeated the combot. And it gives a lot of insight into how each person views themselves and their peers.
First Sally claims she took out the robot by creating a landslide with her phaser. She views herself as a “brains over brawn” type person who’s always cool under pressure. This isn’t too far off the mark, but she still exaggerates her abilities by down playing the boys.
Both Sonic and Ant are portrayed as being useless scaredy cats, who both get knocked out at the very beginning. Now depending on where you place this story, that might be true of Antoine but obviously Sonic is out of character.
Then Sonic claims to have blown up the robot by running into it very fast. Like he usually does. However, his portal of everyone is even further off the mark than Sally’s was.
We’ve always known that Sonic has a bit of an ego, but this really puts things into light. He’s really bought into the hero worship over the years, and if this takes place before SSS#2 he’s in for a rude awaking very soon.
As for Antoine’s account? Well I’ll just let you read it for yourselves.
So what do we learn from this?
First off never mess with Ant’s uniform if you want to live.
Second, he’s disagreeing with Sally of all people. If this took place back when he was still crushing on her I doubt he would have said anything. So yet another point for placing this story before SSS#2.
Third, Antoine is still growing as a character. As we’ll come to find out, he isn’t out right lying here, but he’s still exaggerating just a bit. He’s gotten better but his bragging tendencies still haven’t completely left him yet.
Last, but not least. Antoine doesn’t portray his friends in a bad light! If this did take place before Mecha Madness you would be sure he’d take this as an opportunity to diss Sonic, but he doesn’t. Remember what I said last time about Twan craving respect, but also giving that respect in return? Antoine knows how it feels to be looked down upon and since the events of Mecha Madness and Endgame, he’s grown to understand that petty pot shots do nothing but hurt others and himself. It also proves that in many ways, Ant is the maturest person in the group.
So what really happened? Turns out Nicole had a camera on her and recorded the whole thing. Everyone’s story was true in some regard.
Also this coloring/inking here hurts my eyes. Like I understand why they did it and the effect they were trying to go for, but it really doesn’t work.
Also Twan is apparently really good a math. The End.
“Stop…Sonic Time!”Sonic Kids II - Super Sonic Special #5
This is the story of how Tails got his shoes.
*cricket chirping*
Yeah, I know that premise sounds dumb but let me explain. Sonic’s shoes are specially made by his Uncle Chuck to not wear out when he runs. Tails, wanting to be “just like Sonic”, wished for his own set of special shoes.
So at his (good grades?) party, everyone is giving him presents and here’s what Antoine gave him.
Turns out that medal belonged to his dad. Also, by this point, said dad is now MIA, and possibly proclaimed dead.
“Wait, just last review you said Antoine hadn’t lost his parents yet!”
Yeah, but we can infer that sometime has past since then and at the very least his father is now gone. (maybe even his mother too) There are three reasons why I believe this.
First everyone is slightly older here. Tails is in school now, Rosie’s taking care of everybody not just Sally, and Sonic can run off on his own.
Second is Antoine’s behavior.
He’s taken up his bragging behavior in order to live up to his father and possibly to avoid acknowledging his loss. Hence why he acts as if his father’s medal was his own. To impress those around him and it’s one less reminder that he may never see his dad again. Given his later attachment to his papa’s sword and uniform, one could infer that the loss was very recent and he’s right now in the denial stage of grief.
But less we forget, this is still a very important artifact for Antoine. Even if he’s in denial of his father’s death and is putting up a front, he still knows deep down that he’s gone. And he wouldn’t simply part with it for just any old thing.
He gave the medal to Tails specifically for a reason. He cares about him! Tails is in many ways the little brother he never had and the rest of the Freedom Fighters are now his only family. Antoine may not be as close to Tails as Sonic is, but they are still extremely close. And the medal is Twan’s way of saying that “you are important to me.” Antoine craves respect and admiration from those he loves, but also gives that same respect and admiration back. In his eyes Tails deserves that medal.
Anyway’s the third reason for beveling the kids are now older than in “When You and I Were Young, Sally.” Is that this is also Sonic’s first battle with Robotnik.
After picking up the shoes from Tails’ Uncle Merlin.
Yeah, so Tails’ story parallels that of Sonic’s. Only his shoes and uncle are magic based instead of science based.
Sonic comes back to Knothole to discover everyone frozen in time due to Robotnik’s freeze ray. Sonic of course puts a stop to his plan and gives Tails his present.
And we can already see the seeds of jealousy between Antoine and Sonic being sown.
Anyways be sure to back next time when we wrap up the rest of SSS#5.
“When You and I Were Young, Sally”Sonic Kids I - Sonic Super Special #5
In truth, I should have covered this issue before the “Icon” arc, seeing as it was released after “The Forgotten Tribe”. But I suppose it doesn’t really matter since every story in it is a flashback. And since each story offers up something new to talk about, I’ll be covering each individually rather than making one ultra long post.
This story covers the formation of the Freedom Fighters. How they set upon the path of rebellion and founded their headquarters.
We open up with everyone as kids, all playing together and rough housing inside. That is until Rosie runs them outside.
This exchange always puzzled me. Didn’t Rosie take care of all of the children? Why would she be so condescending and contemptuous towards them? I can understand being annoyed at the mess they made, but this feels out of character. Wouldn’t it be better to give this attitude to Julayla? You know instead of making her all knowingly perfect? You could have fleshed her character out while also highlighting her’s and Rosie’s different philosophies. Julayla is logical and prizes education and hard work above all else, while Rosie is more emotionally driven and understands the importance of relationships better. This could have all been conveyed beautifully if the writers had just switched their dialogues around a bit. And doing so wouldn’t have changed the plot in the slightest.
Anyways, while the kids are playing outside,Tails starts to feel a little down.So Sally tries to cheer him up.
Ha! Even as children Sally still always had nice things to say about Ant. They are besties guys! Why doesn’t anybody else understand the beauty of their broship, sides me?
Also he does indeed have an amazing voice. Isn’t that right Mr. Paulson?
Moving right along, Sonic gives Tails the idea that he can fly using his tails,and against all logic it works. Only he can’t control his flight path and lands inside the hollow log that now serves as the entrance to their HQ.
And thus it begins.
Now for a little theorizing before we close things out. When does this take place precisely? How long has it been since the coup,if most of them don’t understand the full implication of what’s been happening? Surly Ant, more than anybody, would have if his father has been proclaimed missing in action. Or maybe this is before he lost his parents? He seems pretty happy right now and that wouldn’t be the case if his mom had just died. And he’s right at that age where it would have happened, so…… I’m guessing this is just before the tragedy struck.
It could also explain Rosie’s earlier behavior if she hasn’t officially become his foster parent yet. Even though she would have been for all the other kids anyways. I guess she still thinks the war will be over soon and views herself more of a babysitter currently? It could be that the death of Antoine’s parents is what made her realize that her job as caretaker was a little more long term than expected.
“Cult of Personality”Icon Part 2 - Sonic the Hedgehog #63
So when we left off last review, Sonic and Tails had met Jack the Rabbit and his group of Freedom Fighters. Believing them to be friends, Jack had tricked them into staying at Sandblast City. However they quickly became prisoners under the town’s electric force field.
Jack wanted use Sonic as an insurance policy against the Robians. Needless to say, things didn’t work out too well for him and his city when Sonic broke the force field to escape.
I know it sound’s like he’s just making the usual generic empty threats that most villains make. But Jack is one of the few who’ll follow through, and his revenge plan involves a certain rabbit cyborg friend of Sonic’s.
Oh and Snively, along with the other traitors, manage to make a jail break.
The second story for this issue is a continuation of the Geoffrey’s story from last issue. Only with some of Max’s abusive douchebaggery with his daughter thrown into the mix.
So we’ve spent the last couple of reviews setting up future stories for Antoine. Now it’s Bunnie’s turn.
Meet Jack the Rabbit and his band of Sandblast Freedom Fighters. Sandblast City is located in the Southern Baronies, the area that Bunnie is from. And what makes Jack and the Sandblasters unique is that they are actually villains.
They’re fulled with rage and blinded by prejudice. They fight Robotnik/Eggman not for freedom for all, but to further their own agendas. And in many ways Jack could be considered Bunnie’s arch rival. (that same role could also be given to her Uncle Bo, but more on him later)
Somewhere in orbit is a satellite that appears to be commanding them, unbeknownst to everyone else. However who is controlling them and why, is yet to be seen.
The rest of the issue continues a story arc about Geoffrey and his newly formed secret service strike squad. The only important thing of note here is that one of the new recruits is his future wife, Hersey.
There’s is an, uh.. interesting relationship, to say the least.
So we have yet another story that doesn’t directly involve Antoine, but is important to future story lines concerning him later on down the road.
King Acorn reveals the Source of All to Sally. What it does and what her duties as royalty entails. All while proving just how much of a colossal dickhead he really is.
I hate Max. Like I really, really dislike this dude. There is no other character in the entire Sonic franchise I despise more. He is a moronic, self-absorbed, entitled, asshat who never fucking learns. He just keeps making the same mistakes over and over and over again.
But that’s not the worst part. The worst part is no one ever calls him out on his BS, ever. The idea of this king you’ve worked so hard to restore to the throne turning out not to be the benevolent ruler you’ve remembered through hazy nostalgia, could have made for compelling drama. But compelling drama requires change. And if the character himself won’t develop than the character’s around him and the his relationships with them need to change instead.
However, all we’re ever going to get is Sally (and occasionally Elias) crying her/theireyes out but never actually breaking the cycle of abuse. Sonic making snappy quips and breaking laws but never actually challenging the king’s authority. Geoffrey being a sneaky undermining influence, but for his own beliefs/ends not out of his abhorrence of Max in general. While everyone else just goes along without question.(and before you mention the Powers, they hated monarchy in general and tried to dethrone Elias instead)
Anyway’s Max disapproves of Sonally, because the Source has shown him the future and he claims to know who the real endgame is.
That’s right, Old Maxie here is a rare Saltoine shipper, and not in the BrOTP way that I am, either. (Is it Saltoine, Saltwan, or Antlly, guys?)
Ok there are two things here to discuss. First, this is set up for a future story line that is way on down the road. One which won’t become relevant until after the Source has long been gone and forgotten. Just know that the Source of All is a laying bastard that only shows half-truths.
The second; What the hell makes you think Antoine would even be interested in marrying Sally, Max? He’s already in a steady relationship with someone he loves. Or haven’t you met Bunnie yet? Or do you think he’ll just accept your orders without question because he’s a soldier? Or perhaps you’re just the delusional type of shipper that pervades tumblr and insists that your OTP is cannon/endgame after it’s been officially over for 4 months now and the rest of the fandom has moved on, and believes that everyone else who disagrees with you is just too blind or politically incorrect to see it?
(Great, now I want someone to RP Max as a pedantic tumblr shipper. It would be comedy gold guys!)
So Max threatens to disown Sally, cause he’s an abusive dick. Only Sally’s been in charge for longer than he has, has more political followers, and would continue to lead with or without his approval/title. If it came down to a power struggle between the two of them she would be the one who’d realistically win. It’s just she’s been thrown for a loop emotionally by these turn of events. His actions don’t line up with his “loving father” image she and others have cultivated over the years; which is how real abusive relationships often work.
Yet this also leads back into Antoine. We all know he would decline the offer to marry Sally, and when he did what would Max do? Threaten to take away his title and duties as well? That wouldn’t stop him from fighting and protecting people, all it would do would make him question his loyalty to the crown? Would he call Ant a traitor for disobeying his wishes and throw him in jail or banish him? All that would accomplish would be to turn the rest of the Freedom Fighters against him. So anyway you look at it Max’s plan is stupid.
And Sally knows it’s stupid. She knows Antoine better than Max could ever hope. She knows he wouldn’t accept the marriage proposal and would stand by in her decision not to marry. And she knows all her friends would as well.
This could have made for a really interesting story if Sally had just told her friends what her dad attempted to make her do. If Max really had had that talk with Twan. Or if the stupid Source of All wasn’t such a dead end tale. Shame really.
The second story this issue features the return of Monkey Khan and the first appearance of The Iron Queen.
She’s honestly my favorite villain in the whole comic.
“Journey’s End” The Forgotten Tribe III - Knuckles the Echidna #12
This is our first, and quite possibly, only foray into the Knuckles series. It’s very rare for Antoine and Bunnie to interact with Knuckles or the Chaotix and when they do it’s usually along side the other FFs. Not always, but usually.
Today we wrap up the Mercia arc. Knuckles, Sonic, Tails, and our Robbin Hood proxies team up to rescue the tribe from General D’Coolette. What follows is a huge action sequence.
Afterwards, while making their escape, Tails asks the elephant in the room.
Interesting choice on Sonic’s part. Just a few issues ago, Sonic was furious at his Uncle Chuck for keeping his parents’ robotization a secret. Now here, Sonic is deciding to do the same thing to Antoine. Presumably, for the same reasons as Chuck; because he cares. He doesn’t want Ant to go through any unnecessary pain. But is he in the right? He also doesn’t help his case when he makes the excuse that it’s “Rob’s problem now.” As if he was trying to avoid all responsibility at this point.
Speaking of Rob, in true Robin Hood fashion, we get a show down between him and the High Sheriff D’Coolette.
I’ve always enjoyed Robin Hood and its various incarnations. I also have a strong interest in the evolution of fairy tales, folklore, and mythologies. Retellings and adaptations tend to perk my curiosity, especially if they can put a unique spin on things.
This story is no different. By casting the sheriff as someone who was once good. As someone who was corrupted against their will. As someone who was once respected and still personally means a lot to our main heroes. We the audience, suddenly have a reason to root for the villain.
We don’t want this version of Robin Hood to fully win. That doesn’t mean we dislike him or necessary want him to lose either. It’s just we’re more invested in the villain’s story than his.
That isn’t something most Robin Hood adaptations can lay claim to. Moral ambiguity isn’t usually presented in these types of legends. ( and if it is, suspect it to be a darker, gory, ADULT version. Ick! )
Anyways Rob survives the explosion. He and Mari-An decide they want to marry each other after only knowing one another for less than a day! He also leads the tribe to the lost city of Albion. A standing in for the fabled city of Avalon. Mixing in some Arthurian legends into this Robin Hood tale.
All in all, I enjoyed this little arc, even though it could have befitted by being an issue or two longer. We some many characters running around, things start getting a little cramped story wise.
“Friendly Rogues and Foul Villains” - Sonic the Hedgehog #58
Things we missed out on since last review….
The Dark Legion
The rediscovery of Echidnaopolis , along with the brotherhood and Knuckles’ mom
Dimitri returns but looses his power
Mammoth Mogul is defeated by Super Sonic, Hyper Knuckles, and Titian Tails and is then encased in the new master emerald
The real sword of acorn is returned
Ixis Naugus possess the King and causes riots between the Robians and Mobians
The real sword of acorn restores the King both mentally and psychically
A clip show
Sonic and Tails decide to travel the world and hunt down Naugus
Knuckles helps his grandfather Athair and the Ancient Walkers (they’re kind of like Mobian gods) with getting a lost tribe of Echidnas home.
Now that that you’re all caught up, this issue picks up on Knuckles’, Sonic’s and Tail’s world quest. While it doesn’t directly involve Antoine. It still impacts his on going story in a big way.
Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and the lost tribe all arrive in the land of Merica. The kingdom is a proxy for north western Europe. Mainly Anglo-Saxon culture but with some Celtic, Gaelic, Brythonic, Roman, French, and even Norse mixed in. Not unlike the real UK.
Sonic, Tails, and the tribe are captured by rouge robots left behind by Robotnik as soon as they arrive. Knuckles, along with another echidna named Mari-An, evade capture and team up with Rob O’ the Hedge. Rob is a very clear parody of Robin Hood and is Amy Rose’s cousin.( He looks just like Sonic only a lighter shade of blue. Which makes Amy’s crush on Sonic all the more creepy IMO.)
Tails is brought to the torture chamber for questioning and Sonic escapes to rescue him. Discovering a very unsettling truth.
I wonder if robotiztion took away his french accent?
That’s right, Antoine’s dad was alive all along. Only robotized by Robotnik and made into his sub-boss for this region.
We get a bit more background info on both Armand and Antoine and a rare look at Ant’s mother, Marie.
According to Sonic, Armand fought in the resistance against Robotnik in the very early days of the war. (which is why Antoine thought that map might mean something important to the cause) Meaning, unlike most of the other Freedom Fighters, Antoine manged to escape to Knothole with his entire family. Only to have his father go MIA on a mission. For years everyone, including Ant, thought Armand dead.
Now to really break your hearts. According to The Complete Sonic Comic Encyclopedia,Marie died for real from an illness not too long afterwards. Leaving Antoine, for all intends and purposes, an orphan.
“Big deal! All of the FFs were effectively orphans in Rosie’s care. And turns out none of the them had truly lost all of their family, not even Antoine. Right?”
Wrong. While true, many of the FFs had little to no contact with their family during the war, (and many would also have long lost parents suddenly show up) they at least all knew that that they had family out there.Rotor had his mom and little brother. He couldn’t visit them often but still had a means of communicating with them. Sally knew her dad was still alive somewhere and always looked for him. Sonic had his Uncle Chuck, though robotized, always knew his whereabouts and had the hope of saving him someday. Bunnie had her Uncle Bo, who she was fortunate enough to grow up with. Who she also left on her own terms. The only exception to this was Tails, who didn’t remember his folks and always considered the FFs and Rosie to be his family anyways.
So unlike the rest of his friends, Antoine had no hope of ever seeing any of his family ever again. He had no one to fight for. No one personal he hoped to save. The only ones close to him were his friends and Rosie. They were his reasons for fighting. The hope that no other little kid would have to go through what did, was his reason for continuing on. Perhaps, more so than any other FF, Antoine had the smallest personal stakes in the conflict at hand and yet the biggest motivation of all.
And while we on the subject of family, Rosie does not get enough love. Not in the comic and not with in fandom itself. She was essentially everyone’s foster parent for ten years. And in Antoine’s case, the closest thing to a mother he has left.
Sonic frees Tails and tries to reason with Armand.
So, unlike the rest of the Robians, Armand doesn’t remember his past life. Did he sustain damage? Did the effects of U.A. not reach this far? Or is there something more sinister at work here? Hmmm……and it’s not just him either, but a whole horde of his lackeys as well.
Tails temperately defeats the general and both make their escape. On the way out they run into Rob, Knuckles, and Mari-An. Though before they can leave Armand orders the execution of one of the tribes leaders. Leading this story into a cliffhanger for our next review.
The rest of book has a big old exposition dump made by King Max explaining the origins of the sword and crown of acorns and we get our first mention of the Source of All.
You know I’m fine with Sword of Acorns being this magic MacGuffin that can heal anything and is a super powerful weapon. But I’ve always felt that the Source of All was an unnecessary, ill defined, and confusing addition to the comic’s mythos. A plot point that never really went any where. But more on that later viewers, much later.
