And you instantly know this is bad.
The Inside Story is a complete Sonic the Hedgehog story which featured in Issue 239 of Sonic the Comic Online and heralds the beginning of Sonic's fall from grace.
Staff[]
Story: Ed Reynolds
Art: Stiv
Letters: Mike Corker
Story[]
The Inside Story is told mainly in the style of a television documentary, aired by the Kane Broadcasting Company. It opens with footage of Sonic surrounded by his adoring fans in his glory days with narration about who Sonic is, but the footage quickly takes on a red tint, the Sonic on screen appears to have a sinister look directed at one of his younger fans, and the narration suggests that Sonic has a darker side before the title card is displayed. We next see an obviously darkened photo of the Control Centre in Emerald Hill Zone and the narrator talks of Sonic can keep tabs on the whole planet, before mentioning the Kintobor Computer, and an interview with a very nervous Porker who talks of the sensors in every zone. Porker however seems to be giving a different answer than to what was apparently asked. It next cuts to an interview with psychologist Ronald Bartholomew who talks of Sonic's need to be in control, and then an interview with Chicio Marxio, who is portrayed as a victim, the Marxios' crimes glossed over. Next, some CCTV footage is shown of Sonic apparently attacking some children, before cutting to clips of him calling Tails 'pixel brain' and calling Sonic a bully.
An obviously edited interview with Tails paints him as being scared of Sonic, before cutting to another interview with Bartholomew, who talks of Sonic surrounding himself with easily manipulated weak-willed people. When Porker is supposedly asked if he is such a person, he merely stammers uncontrollably and the documentary cuts to a shot of him supposedly crying after discussing Sonic's 'bullying'. It goes on to ask who Sonic's 'real' friends are and accompanies it with a statement from none other than Captain Plunder. Next, Chaotix are asked about Sonic saving the day when it counts (Espio: "When the Special Zone was destroyed... He was pretty useless.") and bringing back the Special Zone through time-travel. When asked about the consequences of tampering with history, Charmy babbles about how Robotnik was created. With that in mind, the documentary questions Cornelius Hoot of Metropolis City University, who thinks Sonic and the dictator may have worked together and how getting rid of Robotnik just might have really helped Sonic. The documentary goes on to suggest that Sonic can become Super Sonic whenever he wants, interviews Choy on his and Hobson's attempt to hunt Super down, and asks Porker about the matter, who says Sonic only goes Super when he's mad, before quickly cutting back to Chicio saying Sonic's always mad about something. The documentary cuts to footage of some of Super Sonic's rampages, but is cut short by a live broadcast.
Sonic has come to KBC to find out just who's made the documentary and is NOT happy. He soon finds the answer he seeks in the form of Hobson and Choy, who want to show Mobius who Sonic really is. Before the blue blur can lay into them however, he is asked by a reporter if there's anything he wants to say while on air. Sonic tells the audience not to believe any of it but is interrupted by queries of whether the Super Sonic footage is fake and if it's true about how Robotnik was created. A somewhat tormented looking Sonic responds in the affirmative to both, but before he can explain about the Brotherhood of Metallix, the broadcast is abruptly replaced by a KBC test card....
Trivia[]
- This starts off an arc of stories where Sonic's reputation is degraded, ending with him becoming framed and a fugitive in "Goodbye, Mobius".
- Kane himself doesn't appear until The Fandom Menace.
- Sonic 'attacking' the children refers to Issue 143 of Sonic the Comic.
- Captain Plunder is obviously referring to the uneasy alliances he and Sonic have shared in the past.
- A picture of Blockhead Bill and Society Max is visible in the background in the interviews with Vector and Mighty.
- Kane was originally going to appear before this story, and as a more villainous figure, with The Inside Story as a pre-emptive strike on Sonic. As that story was dropped, Kane would end up in his appearances as unscrupulous and amoral, but not an outright supervillain. (Unfortunately, a line is left in The Inside Story that refers to "Kane" as if Sonic's already met him)
Timeline[]
The previous Sonic the Hedgehog story was The Sky Is Falling. The next story was Dicing With Death.