STC25 is a day-long celebration of the UK’s Sonic the Comic and its online continuation: Sonic the Comic Online this June in Manchester, UK! With special guests including Nigel Kitching, Nigel Dobbyn, Carl Flint, Ferran Rodriguez, Richard Elson, and for the first time ever at a Sonic event – Lew Stringer, STC25 is bound to be an incredible day! For more updates, visit our Facebook event page.

Hey, look, it’s me! No, not the crocodile. No, not the one with the monocle. No, not Sonic! The handsome one! Let me bring you up to speed, so to speak. Monocle man is Lord Sidewinder, a feared supercriminal in the Special Zone. You’ll remember Sonic and Super Sonic were separated into two forms- well, Sidewinder hoped to rule the Special Zone with Super Sonic at his side. That went about as well as could be expected. So Sonic had the bright idea of asking me to freeze Super Sonic in time… inside me! Some thanks I get for all the help I do. Well, the end result is Sonic was trapped in the Special Zone so he spent some time with the Chaotix Crew. Meanwhile, I’d been unable to freeze time completely, but I was able to slow time to a tiny fraction of its usual speed. As soon as Sonic and Chaotix figured out Super Sonic was very slowly making his way to freedom, they put me inside the Black Asteroid. Charming! Well, at any rate, I was able to teleport to safety at the moment Super Sonic broke free of my control. At Sonic’s instruction, I teleported the entire Black Asteroid to the skies above the Metropolis Zone, just as Super Sonic detonated it with a burst of enormous energy from within! Sonic explained his reasoning- Vector’s scientific friends at Equinox Labs had discovered the detonation of the asteroid would cause a planet-wide electromagnetic pulse, knocking out all electrical systems on the planet. Now, they expected it to affect Planet Meridian- but it was Mobius that got the blast! Meanwhile, Super Sonic had got himself free… and he wasn’t very happy! The electromagnetic pulse took immediate effect, destroying the Badniks that were terrorising Amy and Johnny while following orders from Robotnik lackey Vermin the Cybernik! Vermin, as a Cybernik, was down but not out while his backup systems rebooted, but the Badniks popped open, freeing their captives! At this moment, Sonic made his triumphant return to Mobius! On the Floating Island, Robotnik’s attempts to turn the Emerald Hill Folk into an enormous biological computer were thwarted by the electromagnetic pulse! While Robotnik tried to figure out the cause of the pulse, Knuckles realised this could be his chance to take the dictator down… Back on the planet’s surface, Sonic and his friends were pleased to find every Badnik they encountered was deactivated. Their joy was short-lived, however, as Super Sonic made his terrifying presence known! Initially toying with the heroes, Super Sonic pretended he wasn’t cruel enough to kill them. His hubris, however, cost him as when he finally attempted to destroy Sonic with his eye lasers he could only manage a pitiful crackle of energy that barely tickled Sonic! Super Sonic couldn’t hold energy anymore! As I recall, the explosion had somehow changed Super Sonic- perhaps he’d used all his energy in the blast. It’s not clear and maybe we’ll never know. But Super Sonic stumbled away in a stupor as Sonic and his friends discussed what had happened. Satisfied that the greatest threat was dealt with, Sonic leapt into my gorgeous face and I transported him to the Floating Island… On the Floating Island, the situation was dawning on Robotnik. He realised that if his biological computer had been taken down, so too must all of his machines on the planet’s surface! Trying to buy time, Robotnik instructed Doctor Zachary to call upon the Guardian Robots to attack Knuckles as they rely on ancient echidna technology and were not affected by the electromagnetic pulse. Unfortunately for the two baddies, though, the modern technology Zachary used to control the Guardian Robots was knocked out! His weapons system apparently having manual control, however, Zachary took on Knuckles at Robotnik’s command. Thinking tactically, Knuckles feigned defeat in order to lure Zachary in closer- that’s when I arrived with Sonic! Naturally, Sonic decided to use his speed to take Zachary out. Naturally, he then bragged about it. Naturally, he and Knuckles got into a big row. So predictable, those two. As the boys continued their argument, Zachary tried to make his escape- not that Knuckles was going to allow that to happen, of course! Delivering an earth-shattering punch, Knuckles caused Zachary to slip into the ground, knocking him out for the count. Before they could get into another squabble, Sonic and Knuckles realised they had to stop Robotnik. But the Emerald Hill Folk, led by Porker Lewis, had rallied against Robotnik and captured him! Robotnik was baffled, he couldn’t understand how the electromagnetic pulse had occurred. Sonic certainly wasn’t about to tell him, leading the now-former dictator to seethe in anger! Robotnik defeated, Sonic took command and returned the eggy evildoer to Mobius’ surface. Sonic paraded Robotnik through the streets of the Metropolis Zone as citizens cheered and whooped at the downfall of the tyrant! Robotnik was still boiling with anger, but things weren’t done just yet… Elsewhere in the city, Super Sonic stumbled around, his memory completely gone. He had no recollection of Robotnik, or even what had just happened… he couldn’t even remember his name! He happened upon the home of Madge, a kindly old lady who was very happy Robotnik had been ousted from power. Confused and powerless, Super Sonic took Madge’s offer of something to eat. The evil Super Sonic was gone… for now, at least. Back with Sonic and his friends, things were about to get a bit weird! Grimer- who had recently done a very poor job of holding off against a citizens’ revolution against Robotnik’s empire- stormed the streets at the controls of a steam-powered machine! As it used no electric power, this antique robot wasn’t affected by the electromagnetic pulse! After rescuing Robotnik and freeing him from his bonds, Grimer set the machine loose on the streets of the Metropolis Zone. In the confusion, the two baddies fled while Sonic and his pals were left to deal with the machine and the chaos it was wreaking! Sonic, for his money, had had enough with robots for one day, especially ones that belong in a museum! With all his might, Sonic obliterated the machine, much to the dismay of a nearby Professor! Though the immediate threat had been dealt with, things were still far from over as Robotnik and Grimer had disappeared. Sonic knew he had to act fast. Fortunately, “Fast” is Sonic’s middle name. That’s a joke, by the way, don’t add it to the wiki. Scouring the streets, Sonic and his friends come up with nothing in their search for Robotnik and Grimer. They do manage to capture Vermin, but that does little to please Sonic as he worries about his nemesis’ whereabouts. The gang soon figured out that Robotnik and Grimer had taken the only way back into Citadel Robotnik that wasn’t being guarded- the sewers! Sonic preferred to take the direct approach, not to mention keep his sneakers clean! Bursting through the wall, Sonic found Robotnik and Grimer trying to manually restart the Citadel’s generator, which would have given Robotnik enough of a foothold to rebuild his empire! Shoving Grimer out of the way, Sonic took the manual controls of the generator and started spinning the machine up… faster… and faster… and faster! Robotnik thought Sonic didn’t know what he was doing and was actually doing their work for them! Grimer, however, had it- Sonic was overloading the power core of the generator! The two baddies had no choice but to escape as Sonic put his plan into action… …And detonated the Citadel! In true Sonic fashion, he was able to make a speedy retreat to safety, much to the admiration of his impressed friends. Sonic announced to the gathered crowd that they were finally free from Robotnik! Declaring it V.R. Day (Victory over Robotnik), Sonic led the Mobians in the greatest party they’d ever seen! Elsewhere, defeated, Robotnik swore revenge… but he’s never reclaimed Mobius yet!

What did you think?