Ooooookay so the first few pages were spoiled so we pick up from there with Eggman doing his best Red Baron impression...again. Though last time he pulled that, Enerjak blew away a good portion of his city...time to retire the getup! Dimitri pleads with him to get his butt in gear and support his Legion. Dimitri notes that a spare badnik horde would do the job but Eggman reminds him Enerjak took care of that...opps.
Lien-Da rallies the troops and prepares them for a rocket powered assualt while Sally urges caution since they still outnumber them. Lien-Da orders fire while Sally has Tails shut them down. So much for that! The Legion freaks out while the FF celebrates their...temporary victory. Too bad they're interrupted by a blast of fire from the horizon...
Why it's the Red...Phoenix, setting the area ablaze with powerful flamethrowers. Everyone runs for cover as the Legion retreats. Sally asks Bunnie if she can put up another force field but that's sadly a no go. Instead she orders everyone to scatter...oi.
Sir Nose and Dimitri watch this amazing (not really) turn of events while Dimitri emos that Eggman almost toasted some of his own people. Sniv tells Dimitri to shove his concerns wherever but Dimitri counters with the fact that he knows a little something. Dimitri tells him that while he was snooping around the networks, searching for a way to help his peeps out, he found out about Sniv and his conversations with the mysterious woman. He threatens to tattle to Eggman about Sniv's little affair but Snively tells him to chill, saying they both can benefit from her arrival...hmmm
Meanwhile, the rest of the FF try to evade Eggman's attack. Knux knows how to deal with it but that involves getting right up to it so that idea is out. Tails points out that the neutralizing mines can stop it but they have to be on the thing to work...crud. Sally however has a plan...
Which first involes Sonic getting Eggman's attention (Not too hard). Then in a stunt pulled right out of Advent Children (Yes, exactly!), Vector, Knux, Tails and Bunnie all take turns propelling Sonic high into the air like a rocket with Eggman close behind. They fly all the way up into space (Don't ask!!) where the Phoenix stalls out...opps.
While they fall (And Sonic lobs insults at Eggman), Ray, Charmy and...forgot the other bee's name tag it with the mines. While the four fly off, the Phoenix falls to a fiery stop. The mines have limited range so Tails has to wait until the bird is barely feet away from them before he disables it.
Eggman is furious and flies off before destroying the bird just as Sonic runs in...which begs the question of why? Meanwhile Sally tells Rotor to set up the shield generator since tomorrow they will attack the Eggdome in the absolute FINAL attack that will decide all the marbles....
okay probably not...
Anywho, Eggman arrives back at the Dome, charred and angry. He tells Dimitri and Snively to prepare the Dark Allian--er Legion because tomorrow is the big day...whooooo! Snively grins and agrees that it will be.
Oooooookay art review: The art is good but the squarish, feminine eyes Sally sports will take some (a lot of) getting used to. I could be more nitpicky but we'll call it a day.
and...forgot the other bee's name tag it with the mines.
Her name's Saffron. 
Aw it's all getting tight now. The plans are in order, and the eve of the attack to oust Eggman. Maybe like #50 when sonic ousted the original Robotnik or something like that. Can't wait to read #200. I liked this issue. You can already tell that Eggman's getting down to a possible final fight with sonic & the mobians, especially when Eggman referred to finishing off "The rodent".
sounds like 200 will be epic. I like the way Ian is taking things. Gotta admit I went "tee hee" when I read the Phoenix stalls out.
Hope mine comes in the mail soon!
It was an okay issue, but the one thing that I really didn't like was/is Sonic's jerk ego, has come back into play! I thought that Robotnik/Eggman was Sonic's greatest enemy, but their not. I think as of right now Sonic's greatest enemy is his own big ego and it will be his own downfall/undoing, because of it? I mean, it was this that kind of ruined the issue for me, when Sonic had to feed his ego by saying this: (Not really, since I count for, like thirty of them.)
Sally, Knuckles and Tails sould have punched him right there on the spot for Sonic letting his out of control ego talk for him.
Yeah, because Sonic has always been the very picture of humility. Especially in the face of a challenge. And Knuckles of all people would be the perfect person to reprimand someone for having an ego.
o_O
C'mon, they've been pushing his "attitude" as a selling point since 1991. When has he not been ridiculously confident in his ability?
What Sonic said wasn't anything out of the usual for him, really. It was pretty tame compared to some of the other things he's said. I think the worst among them in recent memory was saying something along the lines of Tails worshiping him to Rosemary. That was the one that got him slugged.
Not to mention what he said was a pretty accurate statement. Any of the Freedom Fighters / Chaotix can easily take down 20-30 regular minions. The Dark Egg Legion's just normal Echidnas with guns (and whips in one case) that are very easy to disarm apparently. Without their weaponry they don't stand much of a chance considering the Freedom Fighter's roster of strength, power, and abilities.
Anyhow, about the issue itself. Anyone else getting some serious red flags that this Dr. Eggman is an impostor? I thought he was just plain nuts when he slipped up on Snively's name before but now it seems like he doesn't have the foggiest what he's talking about. It's not just the fowl-up with The Dark Legion's name, either, but when he said he'd destroy " all of you " while he and Sonic were falling. He didn't know who the Freedom Fighters / Chaotix were? Has he ever addressed anyone besides Sonic by their proper name?
Edit: I stumbled upon Sonic 192 today and re-read it (Jules is awesome). He did tell Dimitri to prepare against the " Freedom Fighters or Chaotix or whatever ". Still seemed to be skirting the issue of rebuilding the army, though.
And about the Badnik Horde ... Dimitri mentioned that he had plenty of time to build another army because he took the time to churn out yet another Metal Sonic and a modification of Metal Sonic (Metal Scourge). Since then he's made ... yet another Metal Sonic with another modification that too got destroyed. Eggman hinted himself that he had parts in storage to create more Metal Sonics when he needed to. I'm guessing the impostor, whoever he is, doesn't have the insight about the real Eggman's creations to create anymore Badniks but could put together one Metal Sonic after another because all he has to do is put together the spare parts. Before it seemed kind of understandable because he didn't have the time to build anything right after the Enerjak attack that wrecked his city. Now it seems like he's just making excuses.
One more thing; his over-the-top obsession with " the rodent ". Sonic's had his fill of assassins come to try and finish him off since ... say ... his birthday where he was attacked three times that very day. All but two were sent by Robotnik. Scourge very obviously was working in his own interests in picking a fight with Sonic that day and all the times after even when he was under the employ of Dr. Finitevus. Then there was Silver ... who came from a ruined future possibly under the guidance of his mysterious " Master " to assassinate Sonic before he ruined the current future as well. In all the chaos that happened in that arch Silver's arrival and reasons for fighting Sonic could be overlooked. Silver also didn't have the best details about the past that he'd been investigating. He didn't even know what color Sonic was for sure.
... but he recognized Metal Sonic which is the only type of old-school Robot this " Eggman " knows how to make apparently.
Maybe whatever's happening (or already happened) to Eggman is related to Silver and his Mysterious Master.
I don't really think it's an imposter. On Ian's board, especially in the character Q&A in Feb, it's made pretty dang clear the Eggman's going nuts; I just think that Eggy's so obsessed with killing Sonic, he's not thinking straight with how to kill Sonic, let alone caring about the names of the "minor" stuff like the Chaotix, etc.
yeah i honestly think that the move was ripped from advent children. seriously that wasn't cool to do Imo.
yeah i honestly think that the move was ripped from advent children. seriously that wasn't cool to do Imo.
Think? That move WAS ripped off Advent Children...I really need to get a scan up...lol
And yea Eggman is really going senile. I almost want to say he started losing it once he started calling Sonic, 'the rodent'. Depends, how long has he been calling him that?
yeah i honestly think that the move was ripped from advent children. seriously that wasn't cool to do Imo.
Think? That move WAS ripped off Advent Children...I really need to get a scan up...lol
And yea Eggman is really going senile. I almost want to say he started losing it once he started calling Sonic, 'the rodent'. Depends, how long has he been calling him that?
You never know, he might have come up with it himself...
As for Eggman, I believe he's been in a decline since after his great loss to Sonic in #177, which came soon after his great victory in #175. I believe his conditioned worsened after #183 where almost all his city, weapons, forces and machines were taken away from him by Enerjak. If it wasn't # 177, then I'm sure it was #183. After those two big losses for Eggman, I think it's all kind of caught up with him and he has started to lose it (more than he already had).
He's always called Sonic and co rodents and vermin (as derogatory terms), but I think it was most recently used in this last issue.
Ian has been hinting for a while that Eggman has been going through a decline in mental health, so I don't think this is someone else.
Just because Sonic having a big ego is in character, doesn't mean it isn't annoying. I haven't seen this issue, so I don't know how bad Sonic's ego was in this issue though.
yeah i honestly think that the move was ripped from advent children. seriously that wasn't cool to do Imo.
And the story was called "Egg Phoenix Down."
Phoenix. Down. They were a couple of Final Fantasy jokes. I thought the folks who caught it would be entertained, not insulted.
It was entertaining. Some people are just being prissy.
Now me, I read the title and immediately envisioned Eggman going on a slow, madness-induced rampage through New Mobotropolis in suit and tie.
It was entertaining. Some people are just being prissy.
Now me, I read the title and immediately envisioned Eggman going on a slow, madness-induced rampage through New Mobotropolis in suit and tie.
i say one thing, then get jumped on. kinda the usual i guess. i wasn't insulted, i'm kinda glad you admitted it though ian.
...there were more FF jokes? lol maybe I'll pick on the rest later.
And people think Sonic's ego was over the top this issue? I don't see it, like others have said. I saw him being just generally light hearted, it's clear that their fight with the Legion was a large mismatch until Eggman showed up and even he didn't last long. I'd be cocky too...
omg is this comic the debut of the new artist?
Yes, it is.
Got this issue.
UPSET at that. It's like Nicole was all "Sal, I got an idea"
Then Sal was like "LOL THAT'S AWESOME, LETS DO IT BEFORE 200!"
and Sonic was all "BEST PLAN EVER"
Then they puled Advent Children on us. I'm mad because umm...It's so sensible for them to throw Sonic into Space....being tailed by a ship....that stalls out perfectly at the touch of a FINGER..and they don't go floating away? What?!?!?!
Thats why I love Sonic XD. So ridiculously awesome even when it make no sense EVEN FOR THE BOOK! That was so FF: AC I wanted Sonic to be helped by Nate Morgan from the afterlife-getting that final throw LOL.
