Bet you never expected to see this face on The Panel Biter. Trust me, neither did I. Once and a while when I talk about obscure comic book characters I like to expand out of DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Don't get me wrong, with over seventy-five years of comic book history there are plenty of obscure characters to highlight. But among obscure comic books there is The Sonic The Hedgehog Comic Book series. I like Sonic and I like comics, so let's get nuts and talk about this week's Z-Lister Sally Acorn from Archie Comics' "Sonic The Hedgehog".
First things first: Yes, this is an actual comic book series. After the release of "Sonic The Hedgehog 2" and "Sonic CD", Archie Comics published a mini-series based on the title character in 1992, in 1993 the series received an ongoing which adapted stories from the Sonic games, Sonic TV shows, and original stories. The "Sonic The Hedgehog" comic book title is the longest running comic book based on a video game ever and has never received a renumbering. Along with the inclusion of classic Sonic characters like Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Doctor Eggman, the comic has expanded and created original characters like Scourge, Bunnie Rabbot, Snively Robotnik, and today's topic character Sally Acorn. If a lifespan of over twenty years isn't enough to impress you this Sonic comic spun-off series like "Knuckles The Echidna", "Sonic Universe", and Archie even produced a comic series based on Capcom's Megaman and had the two universes crossover. And just put icing on the cake of Archie's Sonic Universe, it was rebooted in 2013 after a writer named Ken Penders sued over the use of his original properties.
But on to Sally "Got me on a list" Acorn. She was created in 1992 by Michael Gallagher and Scott Shaw in "Archie Sonic Miniseries #0". Because this comic tied into the cartoon "Sonic The Hedgehog" TV show, it is possible her creation started in that show. Regardless, Sally was originally designed as one of Sonic's friends. Since Sonic's only game-canon ally was Tails, she and many other characters were created to fill the cast. Sally Acorn in particular was Sonic's first love interest. Also, before I get into the dirt of this it's important to note the Sonic Comic Universe is populated by anthropomorphic animals, is called Mobius and originally ran on Medieval lineage rules while also housing multiple dimensions and futuristic technology. Ah, jeez.
Okay! So! Sally Acorn was the princess of this kingdom, but the royal advisor-the man who'd become Doctor Robotnik-had planned on overthrowing Sally's father. On the night of the mutiny Sally was taken to a far-off village by her nanny Rosie while Robotnik claimed the kingdom for himself and turned it's people into robots. In the village Sally met Antoine D'Coolette, Rotor Walrus and Sonic The Hedgehog. With these friends and more Sally formed a team called The Freedom Fighters and over the course of many years (and plenty more issues) Sally and The Freedom Fighters managed to defeat Robotnik, free the King, and regain control of the kingdom.
Over the past twenty years of the comic's publication, Sally has battled an evil version of herself, rallied various groups of civilians into taking action, and even went into a coma. Heavy stuff. Sally is a martial artist and an ace leader, but she also has this laptop with an AI named NICOLE. NICOLE is a super-computer who helps Sally do things typical Sonic characters can't: Not punch anyone. NICOLE would eventually create a hologram body modeled after a lynx. Yep. In order to destroy a fleet of ships built by Dr. Eggman, Sally voluntarily sacrificed herself to crash the main ship. In the wreckage, Sonic and Dr. Eggman were surprised to see Sally hadn't died, but was turned into a robot. As Mecha Sally, she became one of Sonic's most personal foes and was one of the main villains during the Sonic and Megaman comic crossover.
Then in 2013 Ken Penders sued and Archie had to reboot their Sonic Universe and remove all the characters and stories Ken created. The new version of Sally Acorn isn't too different, only now she wears more clothes and carries rings that create blades. Awesome. I meant the clothes not the blades. She and Amy Rose also accessed a terminal that gave them memories of the previous universe. Knowing she had become a killer robot in that universe drove Sally to try harder as a Freedom Fighter.
Look, when I do these Z-Lister posts I usually pick the character, research and then write the post up. I never knew Sally outside of occasional snippets of the comic I'd see online. I knew she was a comic character and a love interest of Sonic, but I never looked into the comics that much. And digging through twenty years of Sally and her universe I can see why so many people find it difficult to get into comic books. Time travel, death and resurrection, parallel universes, robots, talking animals, computers turning into animals, universal reboots and memory rearranging! Gosh, how do I do this!? I don't know jack about taxes or the economy, but I can name every Crisis relaunch in DC Comics? I can tell you exactly how many Hulk personalities are inside Bruce Banner? I can see why people like the Sonic comics and I'm sure Sally's story is important to them, but being on the other side of the wall and just reading what I've read Sally Acorn is-at most-an awesome character who will never come to my mind again. She's an A-List character from a comic series that's just not for me. Wait, if she's an A-List why would I talk about her-oh never mind!
Thanks for reading.
If you're in the Manchester, New Hampshire area come to Granite State Comicon on September 17th to see me and my friends do a live episode of The Comic Buffet Podcast! It's at The Radisson Hotel in Manchester, NH on September 17th, the show is at 6:30pm! See ya there!
But on to Sally "Got me on a list" Acorn. She was created in 1992 by Michael Gallagher and Scott Shaw in "Archie Sonic Miniseries #0". Because this comic tied into the cartoon "Sonic The Hedgehog" TV show, it is possible her creation started in that show. Regardless, Sally was originally designed as one of Sonic's friends. Since Sonic's only game-canon ally was Tails, she and many other characters were created to fill the cast. Sally Acorn in particular was Sonic's first love interest. Also, before I get into the dirt of this it's important to note the Sonic Comic Universe is populated by anthropomorphic animals, is called Mobius and originally ran on Medieval lineage rules while also housing multiple dimensions and futuristic technology. Ah, jeez.
Okay! So! Sally Acorn was the princess of this kingdom, but the royal advisor-the man who'd become Doctor Robotnik-had planned on overthrowing Sally's father. On the night of the mutiny Sally was taken to a far-off village by her nanny Rosie while Robotnik claimed the kingdom for himself and turned it's people into robots. In the village Sally met Antoine D'Coolette, Rotor Walrus and Sonic The Hedgehog. With these friends and more Sally formed a team called The Freedom Fighters and over the course of many years (and plenty more issues) Sally and The Freedom Fighters managed to defeat Robotnik, free the King, and regain control of the kingdom.
Over the past twenty years of the comic's publication, Sally has battled an evil version of herself, rallied various groups of civilians into taking action, and even went into a coma. Heavy stuff. Sally is a martial artist and an ace leader, but she also has this laptop with an AI named NICOLE. NICOLE is a super-computer who helps Sally do things typical Sonic characters can't: Not punch anyone. NICOLE would eventually create a hologram body modeled after a lynx. Yep. In order to destroy a fleet of ships built by Dr. Eggman, Sally voluntarily sacrificed herself to crash the main ship. In the wreckage, Sonic and Dr. Eggman were surprised to see Sally hadn't died, but was turned into a robot. As Mecha Sally, she became one of Sonic's most personal foes and was one of the main villains during the Sonic and Megaman comic crossover.
Then in 2013 Ken Penders sued and Archie had to reboot their Sonic Universe and remove all the characters and stories Ken created. The new version of Sally Acorn isn't too different, only now she wears more clothes and carries rings that create blades. Awesome. I meant the clothes not the blades. She and Amy Rose also accessed a terminal that gave them memories of the previous universe. Knowing she had become a killer robot in that universe drove Sally to try harder as a Freedom Fighter.
Look, when I do these Z-Lister posts I usually pick the character, research and then write the post up. I never knew Sally outside of occasional snippets of the comic I'd see online. I knew she was a comic character and a love interest of Sonic, but I never looked into the comics that much. And digging through twenty years of Sally and her universe I can see why so many people find it difficult to get into comic books. Time travel, death and resurrection, parallel universes, robots, talking animals, computers turning into animals, universal reboots and memory rearranging! Gosh, how do I do this!? I don't know jack about taxes or the economy, but I can name every Crisis relaunch in DC Comics? I can tell you exactly how many Hulk personalities are inside Bruce Banner? I can see why people like the Sonic comics and I'm sure Sally's story is important to them, but being on the other side of the wall and just reading what I've read Sally Acorn is-at most-an awesome character who will never come to my mind again. She's an A-List character from a comic series that's just not for me. Wait, if she's an A-List why would I talk about her-oh never mind!
Thanks for reading.
If you're in the Manchester, New Hampshire area come to Granite State Comicon on September 17th to see me and my friends do a live episode of The Comic Buffet Podcast! It's at The Radisson Hotel in Manchester, NH on September 17th, the show is at 6:30pm! See ya there!
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