History ComicBook / SonicTheHedgehogPromoComic

His tale begins back when he was a prickly, brown hedgehog, with him accidentally burrowing into Kintobor's underground laboratory. By chance, the good doctor is working on a machine called the Retro-Orbital Chaos Compressor-- [[FunWithAcronyms or just R.O.C.C. for short]]. The machine is powered by six mysterious objects called the Chaos Emeralds, with their power kept in check by a series of gold-colored Containment Rings, and as soon as he finds the seventh Gray Emerald to counteract the other six in the machine, he plans to use the machine to rid the world of all evil by absorbing it directly into itself. Sonic and Kintobor become [[JustForPun fast friends]], and after a freak accident involving a treadmill (due to Sonic wanting to kick the mass versus velocity theory in the dirt) Sonic's fur is turned from brown to cobalt blue, and his quills are permanently fused together from the heat of the speed he was going at--as a token of goodwill, Kintobor promptly gives him a special pair of friction-less shoes to replace his old ones.

* OffModel: The artist simply could not make up his mind about how big or small Sonic's features, head or girth are.

The comic was [[ContinuityDrift initially]] meant to be the canon backstory in some form or another for the western branch of the Sonic the Hedgehog series, [[AllThereInTheManual per word of the]] [[http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Sonic_Bible original]] [[Script/SonicTheHedgehogBible US series bible]], distinguishing it from the storyline of the series Japanese branch. However, none of this backstory was ever brought up or acknowledged in any of the video games (understandable, since Creator/SonicTeam had no involvement with Sega of America's western localization of Sonic), and it is [[CanonDiscontinuity no longer considered canon]] (if it ever was in the first place) due to VideoGame/SonicAdventure permanently merging the Japanese storyline of the Sonic games with that of the western Sonic games. It did provide the backbone for Fleetway's ComicBook/SonicTheComic, which borrowed the same origin story (and curiously did an adaptation of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' without nullifying any of the previous continuity).

You can find the comic in question in its entirety [[http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_(promotional_comic) here.]] It was included in some older early 90's comic books, and was also included in the october 1991 issue of ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'', ComicBook/{{Superman}} #62, issue #8 of ''Sega Visions'', ''Disney Adventures'' Vol. 2 No. 1 (the latter in a heavily abridged form that chopped out the entire Kintobor to Robotnik part) and others. Predictably, it was also given away as a standalone promotional issue.

** The idea of the Chaos Emeralds being able to control evil energy is an idea that would be used later in ''Sonic Adventure'', albeit referred to as the Chaos Emeralds having both positive and negative energy inside of them.

* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: Strangely, despite the original manual for the first Sonic game saying his sneakers are what gives him his speed [[note]]although this was likely a reference to the Power Sneakers power-up, which made Sonic go faster than normal[[/note]], the comic makes it clear that Sonic was already capable of breaking the sound barrier on his own without explanation. He does acquire a pair of fancy friction-less sneakers from Kintobor, but that was to replace his old ones that got burned to a crisp from the friction of him running so fast and ensure Sonic could run without having to replace his shoes each time.

* EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference: This comic was produced when "[[WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM Sally]] [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics Acorn]]", "[[Comicbook/SonicTheComic Porker Lewis]]", and "[[Comicbook/SonicTheComic Johnny Lightfoot]]" had not yet undergone DivergentCharacterEvolution and were still just Creator/{{Sega}} of America's names for Sonic's [[WoodlandCreatures Animal Friends]]. This early version of Sally is notably just a [[http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091002173929/sonic/images/e/e4/Ricky_(Sally_Acorn)_1.png Ricky]] [[TertiarySexualCharacteristics with a bow on her head]].

* ArtEvolution:
** The unnamed squirrel girl is almost certainly a template for Sally, and she appears very different. Unlike Sally from [[WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM the show]] or the ComicBook/{{SonicTheHedgehog|ArchieComics}} one, who is pretty anthropomorphized, this very is more realistic in body and very diminutive.
** This version of the squirrel is essentially [[http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091002173929/sonic/images/e/e4/Ricky_(Sally_Acorn)_1.png Ricky]] with a bow on his head, trying to pass for a girl.
** Also applies to the unnamed rabbit (a Johnny Lightfoot prototype) and Porker Lewis. Thankfully, the current incarnations are not photorealistic humans with animal heads, however the new ones are more anthropomorphised.

* ExcusePlot: Lets face it, the next [[ComicBook/ActionComicsNumber1 Action Comics #1]], this story wasn't. When you look past all the additional backstory and characters added, its a transparently obvious showcase mini-comic made solely to get kids to [[NowBuyTheMerchandise buy the video game after theyre done reading it]].

JustForFun/TheOneWith EarlyInstallmentWeirdness.

* ExcusePlot: Lets face it, the next [[ComicBook/ActionComicsNumberOne Action Comics #1]], this story wasn't. When you look past all the additional backstory and characters added, its a transparently obvious showcase mini-comic made solely to get kids to [[NowBuyTheMerchandise buy the video game after theyre done reading it]].

TheOneWith EarlyInstallmentWeirdness.

** The unnamed squirrel girl is almost certainly a template for Sally, and she appears very different. Unlike Sally from [[WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM the show]] or the ComicBook/{{Archie Comics|SonicTheHedgehog}} one, who is pretty anthropomorphized, this very is more realistic in body and very diminutive.

No relation to the ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'', which has a completely different backstory and continuity, despite also being ([[ContinuityReboot or rather, was]]) set on Mobius.

** Also, the idea of Sonic's shoes being designed to be heat-resistant was carried over to three other Sonic continuities; the WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog cartoon, [[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog the Archie Sonic comics]] and the [[ComicBook/SonicTheComic Fleetway Sonic comics.]]

->'''Kintobor''': "Who in tarnations are ''you!?''"
->'''Sonic''': "Don't you ''know?'' I'm '''[[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic the Hedgehog]]'''[[TradeSnark ™]]"

No relation to [[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comic series]], which has a completely different backstory and continuity, despite also being ([[ContinuityReboot or rather, was]]) set on Mobius.

** The unnamed squirrel girl is almost certainly a template for Sally, and she appears very different. Unlike Sally from [[WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehog the show]] or [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog the Archie series]] who is pretty anthropomorphized, this very is more realistic in body and very diminutive.

But one day, Kintobor [[NiceJobBreakingItHero spills a drink on the R.O.C.C. controls]], causing the machine to go haywire; not only scattering the R.O.C.C.'s Containment Rings all over South Island, but also bathing Kintobor in 10,000 bolts of [[FunWithAcronyms Pure Evil Energy,]] causing him to transform into the evil [[BigBad Dr. Robotnik]], who chases off Sonic

* AlternateContinuity: The comic was meant to provide a distinctive backstory for western audiences of Sonic, which does not match up with that of the Japanese branch of the Sonic games.

The comic starts on the planet Mobius, with Sonic rescuing his friends from several badniks created by Dr. Robotnik, as they question where their friend [[SdrawkcabAlias Dr. Kintobor]] is--only for Sonic to drop the bad news that Kintobor IS Robotnik! He then flashes back into an origin story, where Sonic explains how he first met Kintobor.

His tale begins back when he was a prickly, brown hedgehog, with him accidentally burrowing into Kintobor's underground laboratory just as he is working on a Retro-Orbital Chaos Compressor-- [[FunWithAcronyms or just R.O.C.C. for short]], which the good doctor intends to use to rid the hedgehog's planet of all evil as soon as he finds a Gray Emerald to counteract the other six in the machine. Sonic and Kintobor become [[JustForPun fast friends]], and after a freak accident involving a treadmill (due to Sonic wanting to kick the mass versus velocity theory in the dirt) Sonic's fur is turned from brown to cobalt blue, and his quills are permanently fused together from the heat of the speed he was going at--and Kintobor promptly gives him a special pair of friction-less shoes to replace his old ones.

But one day, Kintobor [[NiceJobBreakingItHero spills a drink on the R.O.C.C. controls]], causing the machine to go haywire; not only scattering the R.O.C.C.'s containment rings all over South Island, but also bathing Kintobor in 10,000 bolts of [[FunWithAcronyms Pure Evil Energy,]] causing him to transform into the evil [[BigBad Dr. Robotnik.]]

The comic starts with Sonic rescuing his friends from several badniks created by Dr. Robotnik, as they question where their friend [[SdrawkcabAlias Dr. Kintobor]] is--only for Sonic to drop the bad news that Kintobor IS Robotnik! He then flashes back into an origin story, where Sonic explains how he first met Kintobor.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The backstory presented here for Sonic and Robotnik is very odd and quite different from their more straightforward rivalry in the games proper. And because this was made as part of the long abandoned western storyline for the Sonic games, it also has outdated story elements that were ignored and later dropped from canon, such as Sonic being on Möbius instead of Earth.

* CanonDiscontinuity: ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' brought the original japanese storyline back into the western Sonic games, knocking this early backstory out of the game canon forever from 1999 and on.

** The unnamed squirrel girl is almost certainly a template for Sally, and she appears very different. She is not humanoid at all (the [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog current one]] is essentially a [[HumanoidFemaleAnimal photorealistic naked human with a anthro animal head stuck on]], especially under Stevn Butler), wearing a pink bow (the current one has boots and a vest) and very diminutive.

* AdaptationExpansion: The game tries to elaborate on the backstory for the original game and explain elements of it, such as the purpose of the Chaos Emeralds (they were magical items intended to be used for good purposes and rid the world of evil) and the rings (which are [[HandWave handwaved]] as being "Containment Rings" for the R.O.C.C. machine and its energy, which got scattered all over the island when the machine went haywire).

A very interesting entry from the earliest days in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series, this 16 page oneshot promotional comic (simply named ''Sonic the Hedgehog [[Title1 Number 1]]'') was crafted by Sega of America, with writing and artwork by Francis Mao, in an attempt to provide an origin story for Sonic in the western world, as well as promote his [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog debut video game.]]

No relation to [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comic series]], which has a completely different backstory and continuity, despite also being ([[ContinuityReboot or rather, was]]) set on Mobius.

** Also, the idea of Sonic's shoes being designed to be heat-resistant was carried over to three other Sonic continuities; the WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog cartoon, [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog the Archie Sonic comics]] and the [[ComicBook/SonicTheComic Fleetway Sonic comics.]]

* AltumVidetur: Kintobor refers to Sonic as an Erinaceus Europaeus, which a footnote claims is Latin for hedgehog--specifically, the Latin taxonomical name for the European Hedgehog species.