C. OTHER SOURCES
Michael Teitelbaum, _Sonic the Hedgehog_ (c)1993; _Sonic the
Hedgehog: Robotnik's Revenge_ (c)1994; _Sonic the Hedgehog:
Fortress of Fear_ (c)1994; _Sonic the Hedgehog: Friend or Foe?_
(c)1995: Mahwah, New Jersey: Troll Associates.
_Sonic the Hedgehog_ synopsis:
Note: Any resemblance between this book and the original comics
miniseries shouldn't be surprising; what IS surprising is how far
from the TV series this is. Herewith, the "Cliff's Notes"
description:
Ch.1: At the beginning, Sonic is 7, Robotnik is 15, and both are
staying with Uncle Chuck (you get some idea of how non-canonical
this is going to get!). While Robotnik is only interested in
gadgets, Sonic is only interested in running fast. While Uncle
Chuck works on perfecting a power ring, Robotnik cannibalizes
parts from Uncle Chuck's old tractor for a robot. When Uncle
Chuck starts up the tractor, it goes out of control and heads for
Robotnik. Ch. 2: Sonic interrupts a game of one-against-nine
baseball to move the tractor which has pinned Robotnik and Uncle
Chuck. He's able to move it with the power ring and he takes
both Robotnik and Uncle Chuck to the hospital. Ch. 3: After
being released from the hospital, Uncle Chuck and Robotnik return
home. Robotnik's robot confesses to Uncle Chuck that he was put
together with the stolen tractor parts, and Robotnik is grounded.
Robotnik cobbles together another robot from Uncle Chuck's major
appliances; it grabs Uncle Chuck but Sonic defeats it by wrapping
it up in a garden hose. Robotnik leaves. Ch. 4: "Eight years
passed." Sonic, 15, has a pet dog, Muttski, and works as a
delivery hedgehog for his Uncle Chuck's chili dog stand. Sonic
tests his new sneakers (designed by Uncle Chuck) while filling a
large order, but in his absence Robotnik returns and arrests
"Uncle Chuck" and his robots trash the stand. Ch. 5: Sonic
delivers the chili dogs to an old factory, walking into a trap.
He escapes and returns to what's left of the stand. He destroys
a couple of robots who try to capture him and learns that
Robotnik is responsible. He heads off for Robotnik's factory.
Ch. 6: Stopping in the forest just outside the factory he
encounters "a cute little chipmunk girl": Princess Sally Acorn.
She shows Sonic a short-cut to the "Ro-Bo-Machine." Ch. 7:
Reaching the fence around the factory, Sonic sees that Uncle
Chuck has already been roboticized. Sally tries to stop him, but
Sonic goes over the fence. Ch. 8: Sonic goes into Sonic Spin and
takes out the SWATbots. With Sally's help, they get Uncle Chuck
and Muttski and head for the Great Forest. Ch. 9: Sally leads
them to "Knothole Village" which is "under the forest floor."
(cf. Sonic #0). Sonic uses a power ring to restore Uncle Chuck
and Muttski. None of the other Freedom Fighters are introduced.
_Sonic the Hedgehog: Robotnik's Revenge_
PLOT SYNOPSIS: Ch. 1: Snively interrups Robotnik while he's in
the middle of roboticizing Mobians to report that Sonic has
joined Sally's cadre of freedom fighters. Robotnik comes up with
a plan (via Snively) to capture "one of the weaker freedom
fighters" to lure Sonic into a trap. Ch. 2: Nothing much happens
as characters are introduced as Sally tries to get a meeting off
the ground. A deroboticized Uncle Chuck is part of the Knothole
crowd. Ch. 3: Bunnie, Sally, Rotor and Antoine are on patrol
when they are attacked by buzzbombers. In the process, Bunnie is
captured. Ch. 4: While Bunnie is held prisoner, the Knothole
gang comes up with a "Trojan Robotnik" ploy to get inside.
Information about the inside of Robotnik's HQ is provided by
Uncle Chuck with the aid of a power ring. Ch. 5: You think
Robotnik was born yesterday? He lets the image of himself inside
his HQ, and still manages to cage Sonic, Sally, Rotor, Antoine
and Muttski. Ch. 6: Sonic goes into a spin and cuts the bars of
the cage. Sonic takes out a number of bots, and the crew head
for Bunnie's holding cell, only to find it empty. Ch. 7: With
Muttski tracking the scent, the freedom fighters reach the room
where the roboticized is. Sonic has to get past some SWATbots to
get inside, but the roboticization of Bunnie has already begun.
Ch. 8: Sonic spins into the machinery, destroying it. They get
the half-roboticized Bunnie and split. They reach a wall as
Bunnie comes to. Angered by what's happened to her, she kicks a
hole in the wall. Epilogue: Back at Knothole, Uncle Chuck can't
undo what's been done to Bunnie. But she's still got her friends
and her heart, so she accepts her new designation as Bunnie
Rabbot.
_Sonic the Hedgehog: Fortress of Fear_
PLOT SYNOPSIS: Ch. 1: Rotor is being held prisoner by Robotnik in
the old royal fortress, which is now Robotnik's headquarters. He
shares a cell with a woodchuck named Digger, who says he's from a
Freedom Fighter group on the western edge of the Great Forest.
Digger tells Rotor about the King's list of freedom fighters.
Snively takes Digger away and tells Rotor that Robotnik's looking
for the list as well. Ch. 2: Sonic & Bunnie arrive at Robotnik's
fortress to bust Rotor out of his cell. Guided by a small
transmitter in the lining of Rotor's cap, they locate the cell,
take out the bots and "haul some serious haunch" back to
Knothole. Ch. 3: Snively reports the escape of Rotor to an
unconcerned Robotnik, who is preparing to rip the fortress apart
to locate the list. Rotor tells the others about the list and
Robotnik's search for it. Sally guesses that the list in
question was one of "brave and true warriors" compiled by Sally's
father when she was a girl. A box of her father's papers turns
out to have a secret compartment which yields the following
fragment:
...beside your bed safe and...
...tucked in tight...
...you cannot fall...
Ch. 4: Sonic, Sally, Bunnie, Rotor and Antoine set out the
following evening. Using a high-frequency generator, they
scramble the circuits of the SWATbots at the front gate. Antoine
suggests beginning the search with the safe in her father's
bedroom. Ch. 5: While Robotnik leads a search of the main level,
Snively detects the Freedom Fighters' entry into the fortress.
Thinking to score points with Robotnik, Snively plans to capture
them himself. The Freedom Fighters arrive at the bedroom, but
find Snively and a platoon of SWATbots. Sonic and Bunnie take
out the bots while Antoine trips up Snively before he can grab
Sally. Unfortunately, they notice that the safe door is open and
the safe is empty. Ch. 6: Thinking of the second and third lines
of the fragment, Antoine suggests that it might be Sally's old
crib--a bed from which one cannot fall. Sneaking to the nursery,
they discover that Robotnik hasn't gotten there yet. Rotor tears
the mattress apart but finds nothing. Snively arrives and locks
the Freedom Fighters in the nursery. Ch. 7: While Snively goes
off to find Robotnik, Rotor accidentally bumps into an old music
box. Sally suddenly realizes that the fragment of "clues" is
actually part of the lyrics of an old lullaby sung to the tune
the music box is playing. The lyrics make mention of a clock,
which is no longer in the room. Sally guesses that it was hidden
in one of the towers. She also remembers a secret passageway
from the nursery to the tower. Moving a book on a shelf, a panel
slides back, revealing a staircase. Ch. 8: Ascending the
staircase, they find the clock in a room filled with old
furniture and such, but also find that the clock has been torn
apart. Noticing that several pieces of SWATbot are lying about,
Sonic and Bunnie get inside the metal parts and act as if the
"bot" were escorting the others as prisoners. Robotnik's
exultation at finding the list is interrupted when the bot and
its "prisoners" arrive. Sonic grabs the list, lays out Robotnik,
and the Freedom Fighters escape.
_Sonic the Hedgehog: Friend or Foe?_
PLOT SUMMARY: [If you know the plot of the "Game Guy" episode
[second season], you pretty much know the plot of this book,
though there are several major differences.] Ch. 1: Sally has a
nightmare wherein Robotnik displaces her father. Referring to
the list that was captured in _Fortress of Fear_, and noting that
its descriptions of locations are extremely general, she plans to
begin searching in the Caverns in the Great Unknown. Ch. 2:
Rotor tests a magnetic field generator, managing to snare Bunnie.
While exploring the caverns, they use the generator to dislodge a
boulder. Spooked by a swarm of bats, Antoine becomes lost in the
cave. Ch. 3: Antoine is found by the bank of an underground
river. Using an inflatable raft, they head down the river and
are almost hurled over a waterfall. They bed down for the night
but awaken in the morning to the sound of approaching SWATbots.
Ch. 4: The SWATbots take no notice of the Knothole gang,
concentrating on an escaping figure. Sonic helps out the
escapee, who turns out to be Ari on his way to free other freedom
fighters in his group being held by Robotnik. Ch. 5: Ari
explains how his group, which originally numbered 20, has lived
on the run. Sonic is all for helping him, but Sally doesn't
trust him. When Sonic goes off alone with Ari, Rotor is able to
unscramble the bots' orders: to pretend to pursue Ari in order to
lure Sonic to a trap. Ch. 6: Sonic and Ari reach the fortress,
but not before Sonic pulls Ari out of quicksand. Once inside,
Ari lets Sonic get captured. Ch. 7: Sally, Antoine, Rotor and
Bunnie are in pursuit of Sonic and Ari. Sonic is deposited into
the large pinball game/arena, with the object of avoiding the
energy vortex. Ari realizes that his comrades have been
roboticized and he's been double-crossed. Ch. 8: The Knothole
gang arrive at the fortress and manage to save Ari. He leads
them to Sonic. In a major reversal of the TV plot, Ari manages
to pull Sonic out of the vortex, then helps him escape the game.
As the group approaches Knothole, Ari returns home on his own.
OVERSEAS BOOKS:
Martin Adams, _Sonic the Hedgehog and the Silicon Warriors_
(c)1993; _Sonic the Hedgehog in Castle Robotnik_ (c)1994; _Sonic
the Hedgehog in the Fourth Dimension_ (c)1993; _Sonic the
Hedgehog in Robotnik's Laboratory_ (c)1993: London: Virgin.
Attention WEB-Slingers:
The following individuals have set up Sonic the Hedgehog
home pages on the World Wide Web. You can access them at:
[Note: these addresses are current as of the date of this FAQ
file edition; beyond that, I make no claims as to the accuracy of
accessing these pages. Many WEB sites do have links to other
Sonic pages so give 'em a shot]
http://rat.org/bookshire (was:
http://www.PrimeNet.Com:80/~rotor/)
http://www.ysu.edu/~ptighe/sonic.html
http://rat.org/sonic/
ftp://ftp.hff.rat.org/pub/sonic
Received on Fri Aug 25 1995 - 09:56:09 PDT