#stc issue 64

[samobservessonic]

I know it’s supposed to be that they’re running back across the bridge, but this accidentally looks like the others are just kind of walking away because they got fed up of Knuckles and Trogg fighting

No Morain, what you need to understand is that he’s Sonic & Knuckles. Get it?? (I’m sorry that I keep making this tired joke)

We get what I assume is an unintentional parallel to when Sonic knocked Robotnik off the Floating Island and felt bad about it, as Knuckles does exactly this with knocking Trogg off the bridge into the no-dimension soup. I’m counting this as a SonKnux hint - the couple that has heroic regrets together stays together

Everyone made it home safely! Once again, I wish I knew if the Enchanter Kings are gay, buddies or related, because depending on the answer to that depends on if I can joke about one of them making bedroom eyes at the other one lol

Knuckles is still having a great time going along with the joke, even if Morain is onto him at this point

But then… but then… Errol’s back!! He’s safe! Generic fantasy twunk fox guy, my beloved! He’s back again, so I can stop planning my fan comic about how he gets turned back to normal

Thank you to everyone for not spoiling this for me. I know it’s tempting to tell me stuff sometimes, but I’m grateful to be able to discover these early stories without spoilers. Honestly, I was convinced that Errol stayed a monster, because for some reason I thought Morain angsts about that later on. But he’s here and thus my headcanon that he at some point dated Elias Acorn from Archie Sonic can continue

I love how Morain takes one second to be glad her brother is safe and then goes right back to “No wait, I’m still angry”

Speaking of still angry, Trogg somehow survived becoming nothing

He tells them that he just managed to hold onto the rope and now he’s back for revenge. But before that can happen, he keels over like a guy who’s just been tossed out of the village pub

…Turns out he did change back, it just took longer! So now we have our third Enchanter King, who I think was called Shirob? Regardless, I’ll just be lumping him in with the other Enchanter Kings for my tagging system now and dropping the Trogg tag. Oh, and I guess these kings are categorically “companions”. That’s still vague enough I can joke about them being "roommates" while confirming they’re not related to each other - hooray!

Aww, Shirob has a nice smile! And with Morain’s question remaining unanswered, the duo head off back home. I also like the tongue-in-cheek reference to how many letters they get asking for these characters, with Kitching saying that angry Tails fans should write in about Knuckles being the one to get the next solo story. But there’s no shortage of StC comics for both of these characters in future, so nothing to worry about there

So yeah, I really like this story. I mean, obviously I like the Nameless Zone stuff, I’m pretty transparent about that. But now that Morain’s here, it feels like that cast is complete. Not to mention that my boy Errol gets to be saved and even though Trogg was great, now that he’s defeated I guess we’ll have to see what other enemies the Nameless Zone has to offer next time Tails visits

But wow, Tails has missed a lot in the main plot, huh?

[samobservessonic]

I think this kid could see the future, because that legit looks like Finn from Adventure Time

Also, I continue to run with every generic example of the British “ace” compliment (or at least I assume it's British? I feel like I don’t see it used outside the UK and even here it’s kinda outdated now) to be like “ace headcanon confirmed”

[samobservessonic]

If you guessed the outcome of last issue’s cliffhanger was going to be “Sonic is too fast to get hit by their guns” then you’ve probably been a Sonic fan for at least two minutes. Congrats!

Robotnik is predictably unhappy about Brutus going off without orders and we get our Receptionik appearance for today along with that

Back at Pleasant Zone, Brutus is proving too tough for Sonic to attack directly, but this isn’t Sonic’s first time at the rodeo

Bye bye Brutus!

Or not

And naturally, Brutus doesn’t want to listen to Robotnik either, which I’m sure we’ll see the outcome of later

While Amy doesn’t want herself to be used as bait, Sonic isn’t willing to risk it. I’m a broken record at this point, but StC Sonic does genuinely care about his friends under all the snark. Not that he has to worry here, since Robotnik’s response to being ignored is “Call again, but louder”

Just like Robotnik would do in his place, Brutus lies about his actions. But that doesn’t matter, since he’s caught Sonic and that’s all Robotnik cares about for now

We end part two with the remaining Freedom Fighters being carted away, while Brutus brags about how much better he is than Robotnik. I have a few thoughts about this story already, but I’m going to save them for the last part just to see what comes next

[samobservessonic]

With Knuckles & Tails’s adventure wrapped up, we rejoin Shortfuse & Tekno for the next part of Tekno’s introduction story. I love that Tekno can fly, but Shortfuse is carrying her here - maybe because he’s faster? It’d be funny if he just didn’t know she can fly. She’s a canary, dude

You just gotta know where the secret tree branch lever is

We then get a bit of backstory for Tekno, who reveals she was working as an engineer for Robotnik, before he caught her stealing materials to make weapons of her own. We see plenty of Mobians working for Robotnik in StC, but I do like that one of the future Freedom Fighters started out as a villain herself and her reason for stopping being evil was that she got caught out on her five finger discount

“As long as you want it to blow up, I can make you a bomb”

I love Tekno, she’s so unhinged

I’m sorry Shortfuse, but this is the most textbook example of mansplaining I’ve ever seen and you got what you deserved for that comment

Tekno gets given three days to make that bomb that isn’t built to last, before Metamorphia gets another chance to show what she’s worth to Robotnik. Also, I think this might be the first direct mention of Tekno being a canary? I don’t remember if they said it last issue

Upgraded! Shortfuse gets a new look and this’ll be the one he keeps up until, well, without saying too many spoilers, the end of his character arc

BUT ALSO!! We now get to see Tekno having ditched the prison clothes and wearing her regular outfit. And see? I told you she could fly!

I feel like that image of Tekno standing on the beam is one I always come across when looking for images of her

You have to respect that Tekno took the time to decorate the bomb in her incredibly Beano-core sense of style

With that, Metamorphia arrives just in time to give this story its cliffhanger ending

[samobservessonic]

Megadroid has also been given a little hat for the occasion

[samobservessonic]

You never know who’s going to be hiding behind your free Sonic Halloween mask