Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 284 is the two hundred eighty fourth issue in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series published by Archie Comics.
Official solicitation[]
- SONIC and friends get into some BIG TROUBLE in “Panic in the Sky” Part One: Sonic’s Freedom Fighters are finally ready to restore the planet! Unless, of course, someone does even more damage! Cue: the evil Dr. Eggman (of course)! He has a plan of his own and strikes first! The mad doctor launches a multi-pronged assault that will leave you speechless-everything has been building up to this moment! The final chapter to the Shattered World Saga begins here! Featuring the first of four EPIC connecting covers by mega-talent Dan Schoening and an “Evil Win” variant by the wonderful Lamar Wells!
Featured stories[]
Panic in the Sky Part One: The Best Laid Plans[]
- Writer: Ian Flynn
- Pencils: Diana Skelly
- Inks: Terry Austin
- Colors: Gabriel Cassata
- Letters: John Workman
- Editor: Vincent Lovallo
- Editor-in-Chief: Victor Gorelick
- President: Mike Pellerito
- Publisher & Co-CEO: Jon Goldwater
- Special thanks to: Sandra Jo & Mai Kiyotaki at Sega Licensing Department of SEGA Corporation
Synopsis[]
Sonic and the team start planning their celebration party for fixing the world, much to the concern of Sally, who thinks the celebration was premature since they have not fixed the world yet. Sonic and Chip reassure her that there is no way they could be stopped due to Dr. Eggman not knowing their plan. Nicole detects an anomaly in her systems, finding out that some of the systems were shut down. She searches further to find Tails Doll linked to the Sky Patrol's systems. Phage emerges from this data link and attacks Nicole.
The attack shuts down the Sky Patrol's systems, just before it is rammed by the Battle Fortress, the flagship of the Battle Bird Armada. Battle Lord Kukku XV sends his troops to hit the Freedom Fighters with everything they've got. Sonic, Bunnie, and Antoine go outside to deal with the attackers, while Tails and Rotor try to give Nicole support and get the systems back online. Sally, realizing Tails Doll leaked their plans to Eggman, runs off with Chip, fearing the Battle Bird Armada is after him.
Meanwhile, the Hooligans, the Witchcarters, and Metal Sonic begin their attack on Mobotropolis. Metal Sonic, accompanied by some badniks, fights Gemerl and the Witchcarters fight the Royal Guard, allowing the Hooligans to bust into the castle. They are met by King Acorn who defends the vault, using his energy sword and shield. King Acorn puts up a fight, but he is defeated by Bark. Nack then orders Bean to blow up the vault, allowing them to steal the Chaos Emeralds and the Gaia Keys. The trio regroup with their cohorts outside and Nack tosses Metal Sonic the briefcase containing the emerald and Gaia Keys. The Hooligans and Witchcarters then distract Gemerl while Metal Sonic flies away with the briefcase.
On the Sky Patrol, Sonic, Antoine, and Bunnie are currently fighting the Battle Bird Armada, noticing a lack of Speedy's presence and leadership. Unknown to them, Speedy and two soldiers infiltrated the ship to find Chip. Sally, having locked Chip in the brig for his safety, gets beaten up in defending him from Speedy. Chip, unable to bear the sight, flew out from the safety of the cell to aid her. Unfortunately, he is easily captured by Speedy, leaving Sally to fend for herself.
Tails and Rotor keep searching for Tails Doll with their RCs, Omochao, and T-Pup. T-Pup finds the doll hiding in a vent and brings it to Rotor so that he could remove his link to the systems. Tails gives Nicole a Red Star Ring so that she can fight Phage as Overclocked Nicole. Overclocked Nicole manages to get some systems back online, though Phage makes it hard for Nicole to catch her. Sally orders either Tails or Rotor to go topside to help with the defenses and Sonic and the D'Coolettes to stop Speedy from taking Chip. However, the Battle Bird Armada planted explosives on the Sky Patrol's engines, and at that moment, Battle Kukku XV gives the order to detonate them.
As the crippled Sky Patrol begins plummeting towards the ground, Sonic, in desperation, tells Bunnie to throw him up to Speedy, despite the risk that he could be shot in the air. Meanwhile, Phage decides that Overclocked Nicole has been delayed long enough and disappears, leaving Nicole to realize they were being stalled. She also notices something is wrong with the Red Star Ring and tells Tails to disconnect it; Tails tries to do so, only to get burned by the ring as it rages a blue and yellow flame. Back outside, Sonic fails to reach Chip in time and falls back downwards, yelling his name as the Sky Patrol below him descends towards lava.
Appearances[]
Characters:
- Badnik Horde
- Buzzbomber (multiple)
- Nebula (multiple)
- Spinner (multiple)
- Super Badniks
- Chip
- Cubot
- Dr. Eggman (mentioned)
- Egg Army
- Freedom Fighters
- Amy Rose (mentioned)
- Antoine D'Coolette
- Big the Cat (mentioned)
- Bunnie D'Coolette
- Cream the Rabbit (mentioned)
- Miles "Tails" Prower
- Nicole the Holo-Lynx
- Omochao
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Sonic the Werehog (cameo)
- Sally Acorn
- T-Pup
- Gemerl
- Hooligans
- Knuckles the Echidna (mentioned)
- Nigel Acorn
- Orbot
- Phage
- Tails Doll
Races and species:
Locations:
Items:
- Chaos Emerald (mentioned)
- Chili dog
- Extreme Gear
- Gaia Key (mentioned)
- Miles Electric
- Omnitool
- RC Balloon (only appearance)
- RC Bomber (only appearance)
- RC Fighter (only appearance)
- RC Helicopter (only appearance)
- RC Hovercraft (only appearance)
- RC UFO (only appearance)
- Red Star Ring
- Ring-Blades
Vehicles:
- Battle Fortress
- Marvelous Queen
- Mole Mech (first appearance)
- Sky Patrol
Misc.:
Trivia[]
- This story's title arc shares its name with the main story from the Sonic & Knuckles one-shot special.
- One of the foods on the table onboard the Sky Patrol is "Wang's Box Lunch", a consumable that can be purchased from Wang's Emporium in Sonic Unleashed.
- This story officially reveals King Acorn's first name as "Nigel" since his introduction in Sonic the Hedgehog #252.
- The subtitle in Overclocked Nicole's intro box, "Blast Processing", is a reference to the slogan used in the American Sega Genesis commercials.
Off Panel[]
- Script: Aleah Baker
- Pencils: Evan Stanley
- Inks: Gary Martin
- Colors: Elaina Unger
Synopsis[]
Off Panel
Aboard the Sky Patrol, Rotor informs his teammates via intercom that they are approaching some turbulence. Overhead signs informing the crew to put their seatbelts on appear, which Cream does. Once the turbulence arrives, everybody is sent flying by the disturbance, except for Cream and Cheese. Nicole, dressed as a flight attendant, appears informing everybody that the seatbelt sign is more than a polite suggestion.
Appearances[]
Characters:
Races and species:
Vehicles:
Quotes[]
- Phage: Hello again, Nicole. It is time for you to expire. End. Die.
- Sonic: Now can I handle it real quick?
- Sally: At sonic speed, please!
- Sonic: Woo-ha! You've got it!
- Nack: You know, I've never pulled a job in Mobotropolis. For a nation's capital, it always seemed so...quaint. Something too pretty to mess with. But there's a first time for everything--am I right? Hahaha!
- Gemerl: Oh hey! It's you! The original copycat with the identity crisis!
Trivia[]
The full image of the four connected covers.
- This issue's regular cover is the first piece of the 4-part panoramic connecting cover art by Dan Schoening.
- Metal Sonic's pose on the main cover is reminiscent to Hyper Metal Sonic's standard position from the Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie.
Gallery[]
Cover artwork[]
.jpg "Sonic the Hedgehog 284 Variant cover (raw).jpg (211 KB)")
Concept artwork[]
| Gallery |
|---|
Interior artwork[]
| Gallery |
|---|
 Page one pencils. Art by Diana Skelly.  Page three pencils. Art by Diana Skelly.  Page four pencils. Art by Diana Skelly.  Page eight pencils. Art by Diana Skelly. |
Preview pages[]
| Gallery |
|---|
 Page one  Page two  Page three  Page four  Page five |
References[]
|
External links[]
- Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 284 at Mobius Encyclopaedia, the Archie Sonic wiki.
- Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 284 at Sonic Retro
