Grab your coats, gang, we're going to the movies!  Anyone who wonders whether film has an influence on popular culture would do well to read this story, which contains a fair number of film references.  Hey, this isn't the first time it's happened: remember the eleven scattered reference to [mostly Beatle] song titles in "The Good, The Bad, and The Hedgehog" [Sonic #11]?
     In the starring role is "Sonic's friendly nemesis", Knuckles.  Sure, it's a mouthful, but how else do you explain to the kids that a) Knuckles rates his own miniseries, despite the fact that b) every time he and Sonic are in the same time zone they try to pound the electrons out of each other?
     OK, we're here.  This theater has everything, even a video game in the lobby.  Oops, my mistake, that's an ATM so you can withdraw $20 in case you want to buy a tub of popcorn and a box of Sno-Caps.  Change?  As if!
     The story starts off simply enough: Knuckles has entered the Grand Conservatory and has to avoid a fair share of booby traps [Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade].  This he does with style, including a VERY nicely-done two-page spread where flames, bullets, shurikens, etc. are all headed his way.  After that splashy action sequence, we put on the brakes for a two-page exposition of the plot.  Good thing, too, because this story started way back with "The Hunt Is On" [Chaotix Special #1] which began, what, only about SIX FREAKIN' MONTHS AGO!!!  I know that three of those months were spent running in place story-wise, but c'mon!  We cover that development, fast-forward  through "Fathers and Sons", then cut to the chase of "A Sense of History", the 3-parter that was the prelude to all this.  Everyone understand the plot?  Don't worry, this isn't the first time our memories will be refreshed.
     Flashback's over, cue the Knuckles-Being-Chased-By-A- Boulder-In-A-Direct-Quotation-From-"Raiders of the Lost Ark" scene.  A nice three-panel progression on page 8 of Knuckles trying to stay one step ahead of the boulder doesn't negate the fact that Indiana Jones is fully entitled to say "Been there, done that."  What took me a while to figure out on my first read, however, is that page 8 also begins a split-screen sequence; once you know what's happening, it works well.  Anyway, Knuckles manages to avoid becoming roadkill, and discovers a "concussive blaster" in a nearby storeroom.  Using it to punch through a doorway, he hears Archimedes' earlier taunt and begins following it.
     INTERMISSION: Sonic/Tails artwork.  Mother Of The Year honors go to Dorion Barill's mom for stitching together a Knuckles costume.
     Knuckles traces the voice to a room where the Chaotix have apparently been partying since their abduction all those months ago.  While considering renegotiating his contract, Knuckles
spies Archimedes, who turns out to be a fire ant standing on the table.  To better see him, he speaks into a video camera and his image is shown on the back wall [Wizard of Oz].  He also
apparently shops at the Paul Hogan "Crocodile Dundee" Boutique because he's decked out in an Australian digger-style hat, vest and a necklace of...hmm, what kind of teeth ARE those, I wonder?  After a quick demonstration of his ability to disappear and reappear in a puff of smoke [remember that -- it's important to the plot], as well as his knack for breathing fire, he starts to cop an attitude because "my people have pulled echidna fat out of
the fire more times than I can count."  This is no way to get on Knuckles' good side, but before the echidna can call the Orkin Man, who should appear but the mysterious figure from the split screen sequence.  He announces that Dmitri "is no more."  He has a new look; some have called it Egyptian, but from here the mask looks more African than anything else (Memo to the Ancient Walkers: THIS is the kind of look you should have been aiming for!).  For me, the effect is spoiled by the fact that Dmitri has rechristened himself with the unfortunate name "Enerjak."  Still, like the Wing Dingoes of "Southern Crossover" the look is impressive even if the name is a little on the stupid side.  Knuckles and the gang attempt to rush him and are hurled aside by a single gesture (Memo to Kent Taylor, with a carbon copy to Mammoth Mogul: THIS is how a being with limitless power is supposed to act!).  While keeping the Chaotix, Enerjak hurls Knuckles and Archimedes out into the middle of a desert waste.
     INTERMISSION: Map of the Floating Island: Don't know anything about the game zones, but it's nice to have if you want to write any Knuckles fanfic and need to get your bearings.  Now we know where John Ritts got the idea to ask for a map of Mobius in his letter in Sonic #40.  And speaking of stupid names, whose bright idea was it to christen the Letters column "Knuckles Sandwich"?  Letters establish that Knuckles is 15 (that's 16 in DiC years) and that the barbs on his gloves really do grow out of his hands.  Wonder if he's tried soaking them in dishwashing detergent?
     KNUX II: THE SEQUEL: How much trouble can Knuckles and Archimedes get into in the middle of nowhere?  Plenty, if you're about to become lunch for that latest desert cliche peril: the giant sandworm [Dune, Beetlejuice, Tremors; face courtesy of Alien].  Anyone else catch the tribute to Bob Clampett on page 4?  Utilizing a convenient rock and his disappearing shtick, Archimedes makes short work of the foe and that evening our heroes sit down to a repast of grilled sandworm, yum yum.  Time for the next flashback: Archimedes needs three pages to inform Knuckles that ants helped loosen the foundation of Echidnapolis so that it could become the Floating Island -- does this mean that the Chaos Emeralds are overrated?  Anyway, Archimedes cycles through the rest of "Sense of History", followed by a quick cut to Dmitri/Enerjak beginning to reconstruct Echidnapolis, now bearing the snappy new name "Necronopolis."  All this happens in split screen (again); as for Knuckles and Archie (hey, even though it's supposed to be pronounced "Ar-Key" we know you can't spell "Archimedes" without "A-R-C-H-I-E", right?) they throw in a comic relief bit where a delirious Knuckles mistakes Archie for a spicy meatball, with predictable results.  Knuckles, faint from heat and hunger, then sees a vision: his father appears before him [Hamlet -- OK, THAT one is a stretch!] who tells him that he must be brave, that Enerjak can be defeated, and that he must take his place in the Circle of Life [The Lion King].  Oh, and did I mention the oasis over the next hill?  After some brief R&R, the oasis vanishes.  We hope you enjoyed your visit to Deus Ex Machina Resorts; please come again.  Knuckles and Archie don't have time to debate much about it because the city that Dmitri/Enerjak has been conjuring up during the split-screen looms ahead of them.
     INTERMISSION: Knuckles art.  Consider it a short art film.
     Despite never having been to the place that I know of, Knuckles recognizes the place as a "dark, corrupted reflection of Echidnapolis."  We then get to see "Enerjak's Citadel" [while the audience gets bludgeoned to death with references to "Wizard of Oz"].  Knuckles comes out swinging [not a Tarzan reference], but soon finds himself surrounded by Mecha-Nauts (low-budget SWATbots).  He takes cover in the Citadel, only to discover Dmitri/Enerjak's defenses consists of the Chaotix, who are under Enerjak's control.
     INTERMISSION: Map of Necronopolis, and a second Knuckles Sandwich.  Candice White observes that the names of the Chaotix make identifying the characters rather difficult.
     KNUX III: THE FOREGONE CONCLUSION!  And welcome to the Necronopolis Wrestling Federation's "Brawl To Win It All!"  It's tag-team action with the Chaotix up against Knuckles and Archie.  Archie starts with a fire-breathing offence he learned from Ricky The Dragon Steamboat, which Vector counters with a firehose.  In the resulting steam, Archie and Knuckles disappear.  After a quote borrowed from Lamont Cranston [The Shadow], Knuckles comes out swinging again.  Less than satisfied with the performance of the Chaotix, Enerjak administers a remote-control sleeper hold that puts out the lights for Knuckles and Archie.  With the hero out like a light, it falls to Dmitri/Enerjak to supply this issue's two-page exposition of the action, but not before a short
     INTERMISSION: more Knuckles fan art.
     Dmitri/Enerjak's account of the events starting with "Sense of History" is accurate but self-serving.  By now Knuckles has come to, and (in the course of small talk) realizes that Enerjak is clueless about the oasis.  He also nudges Archie into beginning our final split-screen of the series, by which in response to a telepathic command from Archie the ants come marching.  Enerjak moves to finish off our heroes, but they pull that vanishing stunt once more.  While Enerjak searches for his elusive prey and the Chaotix are called out, ants from the surrounding area converge on the Citadel.  Knuckles re-enters the fray, and while he and Enerjak fight/banter, the ants are chewing away at the Citadel's foundations.  Thanks to some rocket boosters that attached themselves to the Citadel from out of nowhere (courtesy of the Deus Ex Machina Jet Propulsion Labs), the Citadel takes off like...well, like a rocket.  Knuckles and Archie manage to escape as Enerjak rockets out of sight.  Speaking of out of sight, Necronopolis vanishes as well, leaving only the Chaotix as remnants.  The Good Guys party down, the cloaked figure from "The Big Picture" (Sonic #33) is revealed to be Knuckles' father, who has apparently traded in his Luke Skywalker jacket for a Ben Kenobi robe, Knuckles quotes the curtain line from "Casablanca" and, in a final bow to "Star Wars," we get a final shot of the Citadel hurling through space, like Darth Vader's fighter.
     OK, we'll stick around for the closing credits: a layout of the Citadel, and a final Knuckles Sandwich.
     I have no real kick against the use of motion picture allusions in the story.  Face it: the core audience for the comics isn't really primed for originality.  If they can be eased through a story while leaning on the cozily familiar icons of popular culture (film, other comics, pop songs, etc.), who am I to say?  Credit Penders and Kanterovich for not slavishly following film plot lines (though some references, like the "Oz" set-up outside the Citadel, was just heavy-handed enough to be unforgivable).
     In a way, it's good that the series arrived late.  After the "Rage/Mecha/Court Martial" series with its uneven Gallagher scripts and shifts in artwork from Spaziante to Manak, it was good to settle back and watch the Sonic Comics A-Team in action.  Ken and Mike have delivered a strong story, despite the delay in getting it launched.  The action was plentiful and, once you got the hang of the split-screen layout, easy enough to follow.  More important, the character of Knuckles had a chance to expand and it made the most of it.  There was a hint in "Fathers and Sons" that Knuckles' problem-solving skills (When in doubt, punch it out) were due for an overhaul, and Archimedes proved an apt foil.  His bag of tricks might seem meager (disappearing and breathing fire) but, hey, all Sonic has going for him are speed and attitude, and look how far that's taken him.  Still, Knuckles actually broadened his character by the time the story was over; he was still Knuckles but not so much of a lone wolf.  THIS was the kind of scripting that "Growing Pains" demanded yet never achieved.
     Mawhinney's artwork may lack the splash and dash of Spaziante, and is certainly not in the same league as Manak's cartooney style.  It's a straightforward meat-and-potatoes kind of artwork, well-suited for this kind of storytelling.  Though the design of Enerjak was a little confusing (try looking less like Dmitri, why don't you?), it was still powerful in its own right.
     All in all, an extremely well-done series.  There have been recent rumblings about developments in the story in the coming months.  If those developments are anything like the ones in this story (where not a whole lot changes fundamentally but broadens and deepens in terms of narrative and characterization), it will be a major improvement to the series as a whole.
     Anybody remember where we parked?