Rouge goes Rogue!
Written by Joe "Welcome back!" Edkin
Art by David "Can't think of a nickname" Hutchison
The moon emerald (not related to the Chaos or Master emerald) has been stolen! The prime suspect is Rouge as she is seen on camera stealing the artifact leaving a GUN lipstick laser behind. Sonic, Chris and Tails see this on T.V.. Sonic believes Rouge might be set up, since the same thing happened to him when Shadow was commiting crimes. The president orders Topaz to find and arrest Rouge, but Rouge has gone missing.
Rouge ends up on Knuckles floating island. She tells Knuckles that she's being framed, and asks him to let her stay there and help him protect the Master Emerald till things cool off. Before he can say no she tries to attack him from behind. They fight, but Rouge gets the upper hand and steals the Master Emerald. Leaving behind a really ticked off Knuckles.
Sonic meets up with Topaz and Agent Westwood. Followed shortly by ticked off Knuckles who smashes through the office window. Sonic says they have to draw her out of hiding, so they can prove her innocence. They set a fake museum opening with the worlds biggest Chaos Emerald on display. The emerald is actually a big fake cubic zurconium, and Sonic is worried it will more than likely draw out Eggman.
He would be correct, as Eggman spies the opening festivities, he sends out his latest robot to steal the emerald....A robotic copy of Rouge!! Dun, dun, duuuuuuuunnnnnn! (Yea, like you didn't see it coming.)
Sonic and co. spot the real Rouge on the scene and Knuckles is the first to attack. Rouge tries to explain her innocence, but Knuckles isn't hearing it and they fight some more only to have Sonic get into the fray. Westwood uses this opportunity to use a harpoon net and captures all three. Topaz objects, but Westwood insists they're probably all guilty in some way. (He doesn't explain why, if you haven't been reading the book he's a jerk agent who doesn't like Sonic and his furry friends and tries to get them imprisoned, so he can rise up the military ladder. He's a great villan for the book.)
Rouge, Sonic and Knuckles escape from the net only for Knuckles to attack Rouge again. (This is one abusive relationship!) Just as they smash though a wall, they find the fake Rouge stealing the emerald. They attack the fake Rouge only to have Westwood hit them with the net again. All the while, Eggman is observing the situation, and decides to take matters into his own hands. He attacks the museum with his own lame looking robot. He steals the fake emerald and grabs the attention of Sonic and Knuckles. They go after Eggman, Rouge goes after fake Rouge. Eggman is defeated and escapes, while Rouge throws the robot Rouge into Westwood, then rips it's head off. The giant robot housed the Master Emerald and the Moon Emerald which it used as an energy source.
Back at the white house, the president congratulates Rouge and lets her have the giant fake emerald as a reward.
REVIEW:
Story; What we have here is something different. It's not a "light-hearted comedy" issue, nor is it a "Dark Drama" issue. Maybe it can be called a "light-hearted drama" issue. It doesn't have those funny moments that Joe usually provides, but it's a very solid story with well written dialouge. Once again, Joe proves he's the best writer on this book.
Art: This is David's best issue by far. He really makes good use of the anime style, and is good with 3-D space. There are some little nuances that help the issue too. At once point Westwood puts his hand on Sonic's shoulder. Sonic is giving him a dirty look. It really helps with character detail.T he only negative is that there are quite a few panels with no background detail. It's a very minor complaint.
If I had anything negative to say, it would be that there isn't that slight romantic tension between Knuckles and Rouge in this issue. He just comes off as hating her guts, and she doesn't give him one flirtatious line in the whole book. I know those two fight a lot, but there's usually a tiny hint of romance between them.
Overall: This is probably the best one shot issue in the last 8 months or so. Very well written, and a must read for Rouge fans. 9/10 
I really wish Archie would leave the book to Joe. Ian does a good Job, but no one can beat Joe on Sonic X.
P.S. I know you guys like the regular book more, but c'mon! Please leave some replies, and show the Sonic X book some love.
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They fight, but Rouge gets the upper hand and steals the Master Emerald. Leaving behind a really ticked off Knuckles.
Get a new job, knuckles ! A job you can handle decently, please ! 
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He would be correct, as Eggman spies the opening festivities, he sends out his latest robot to steal the emerald....A robotic copy of Rouge!! Dun, dun, duuuuuuuunnnnnn! (Yea, like you didn't see it coming.)
What kind of Robotic copy, a silly one like Pseudo-Sonic or a cool one like Metal or Mecha Sonic ?
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Rouge, Sonic and Knuckles escape from the net only for Knuckles to attack Rouge again. (This is one abusive relationship!)
Knuckles and romantism still don't work well together, or Knuckles like it rough.
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Eggman is observing the situation, and decides to take matters into his own hands. He attacks the museum with his own lame looking robot.
I need a scan.
I hav'nt gotten my issue yet, but I'll post my opinions and maybe even one of those funny psuedo reviews I did for Sonic X #17. Really upsets me that this is a more serious issue though. 
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What kind of Robotic copy, a silly one like Pseudo-Sonic or a cool one like Metal or Mecha Sonic ?
It's an exact copy of Rouge. Good scheme actually. Steal emeralds and let someone else take the blame.
The only plothole is that there was a GUN lipstick laser left behind by the fake Rouge. Normally only GUN agents like Rouge and Topaz have one. How did Eggman get ahold of it?
Looks like the funny will be back next month with the Vegas issue.
Robot copy of Rouge? Aaaaawwww, I had the exact same idea for my own series... Then again, whenever I have an idea, someone else uses it and it looks like I'm copying them.
You're not the first or last person who has had the idea for a robotic Rouge. =p
I have just got Issue 18, the storyline and art was very cool =), about the GUN lipstick plothole I got a simple answer, If Eggman can build a huge Mecha and a perfect copy of Rouge I dont think it could have been hard to make a GUN lipstick replica.
Then again, good point, Toby. I guess all the Sonic characters have been made into androids at one point or another...
My suspicions were correct, this was a very boring issue. I may do a review later, but really that's all I have to say about it.
You were bored? I thought it was a nice change of pace not to have a campy issue. Even if the plot was a bit predictable.
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This is probably the best one shot issue in the last 8 months or so. Very well written, and a must read for Rouge fans.
That was such a true statement. I think it was the best issue (including #19--sorry) since #11-12 (though I did like #16 a lot too).
I disagree with the flirting part though. It just wasn't laid on as thick as it has been in past issues. I actually was glad that it wasn't considering what went on in the story. Rouge was a bit preoccupied with getting rid of her knock-off to be spending too much time making Knuckles annoyed/uncomfortable.
Here's the thing. First off, we have the president deciding that the animals from Sonic's world can't be trusted-- AGAIN. How many times do they plan to do that?
Second, out of all the characters in the series, would'nt Eggman and Rouge BOTH know that there aren't any more than seven Chaos Emeralds? And it does'nt even stop there.
They go so far as the call it "The World's Largest Chaos Emerald". And to make it even more rideculous, the gem is'nt even SHAPED like a Chaos Emerald. Yet Eggman and the Rouge robot still go after it like it's the most valuable thing they've ever seen.
And this last one just bugged me. How many times do we have to go through Westwood capturing Sonic, or Rouge, or Knuckles, or the Rouge Robot or all of the above? Two or three times? Got old fast.
1) The President didn't decide not to trust the animals--just Rouge. That's a big difference.
2) Besides the fact that there have been made up chaos emeralds that have been discovered in the Sonic X anime, it's just a name. While not technically related to the "Sonic X" series, I've seen so many different shapes/sizes for chaos emeralds (and the Master Emerald) in Archie that I can't see how the shape can be a big deal.
3) It only happened twice and I found it funny both times. 😉
