Reading guide 06 · 7 issues
Knuckles and the Floating Island
The crash of Robotnik's second Death Egg brings Sonic to the Floating Island and into conflict with its guardian, Knuckles. Their first encounters are shaped by Robotnik's manipulation and his pursuit of the Chaos Emeralds. The sequence moves from Enter Knuckles through Power of the Chaos Emeralds and Robotnik's Revenge, giving the island a continuing place in the comic instead of treating it as a single game setting. Knuckles becomes both an opponent and a potential ally as the threat to his home becomes clearer.
Read in order
Issue 033 · 2 September 1994
Sonic the Comic #33
- Enter Knuckles, Part 1 Sonic the Hedgehog
Robotnik's Death Egg II vanishes mid-descent, and the Kintobor Computer steers Sonic and Tails toward the legendary Floating Island. They touch down in the Marble Garden Zone, smash a wall-carved face that fires arrows, and nearly slide off the rim before Tails hauls Sonic back through an underside tunnel. A spiked Badnik forces Sonic to raise an unfamiliar forcefield, then Robotnik steps between the pillars—only for Knuckles the Echidna, the Island's guardian and new bodyguard, to knock Sonic cold.
Issue 034 · 16 September 1994
Sonic the Comic #34
- Enter Knuckles, Part 2 Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic wakes to Robotnik spinning a tale that he wants the Floating Island Chaos Emeralds; twisted words send Knuckles back on the attack. Sonic and Knuckles trade tornadoes, ground-shaking punches and an underground chase while Tails nets Robotnik from the Tornado and hauls him clear. Sonic later boasts he could have beaten Knuckles easily—then privately admits the echidna was genuinely tough.
Issue 035 · 30 September 1994
Sonic the Comic #35
- Power of the Chaos Emeralds, Part 1 Sonic the Hedgehog
Imprisoned Robotnik intimidates Porker until Knuckles bursts through the floor to free him, still sure Sonic is the villain. With Porker hostage, Robotnik trades for the refrigerated Chaos Emeralds, then admits a tooth-mounted beacon led Knuckles to the base. Their egg pod flees, Sonic cracks it onto the Floating Island, and Knuckles smashes free vowing Sonic will not stop him again.
Issue 036 · 14 October 1994
Sonic the Comic #36
- Power of the Chaos Emeralds, Part 2 Sonic the Hedgehog
Knuckles traps Sonic in giant stone hands and flees with Robotnik to the Temple of Chaos, but Sonic was only feigning captivity to follow. Robotnik merges twelve Emeralds back into six, betrays Knuckles and turns Tails to glass; Knuckles then reveals he kept the Grey Emerald all along, drains Robotnik's power and sends him home. He declines Sonic's Freedom Fighter invite, preferring to wait alone for his people among the stars.
Issue 037 · 28 October 1994
Sonic the Comic #37
- Robotnik's Revenge, Part 1 Sonic the Hedgehog
With the secret base blown, Sonic and the Freedom Fighters scramble to evacuate while Porker still wrestles Kintobor's software onto his golden ring. Robotnik storms in aboard a spiked Squeeze Tag Machine; Sonic brings the tunnels down on it, but the doctor seals every exit. On the Floating Island, Knuckles raids the Launch Base and stages his own "death" over Grimer's radio, leaving Robotnik none the wiser.
Issue 038 · 11 November 1994
Sonic the Comic #38
- Robotnik's Revenge, Part 2 Sonic the Hedgehog
Cornered in the ruined base, Sonic steels himself for a last stand against the Squeeze Tag Machine—until Knuckles tunnels through the ceiling and admits he ordered Grimer's false death report. One punch cracks the cockpit glass; Sonic rips the roof off, Knuckles leads them topside, and the pair out-swagger each other while Robotnik slips away. Debt paid, Knuckles flies home in a Flying Egg to purge the Island; Sonic, Porker and Johnny rejoin Tails and Amy as Bob Beaky's Travelling Circus, moustaches and all.
Issue 039 · 25 November 1994
Sonic the Comic #39
- Sonic No More Sonic the Hedgehog
Robotnik and Grimer blast Sonic with a Neinstein energy ray, draining him back to brown and turning the doctor into a blue, streamlined speedster. Freed only so Mobius can mock its fallen hero, Sonic later confronts them alone—until loyal Batbrains attack the blue blur they were ordered to stop. Grimer reverses the transfer to save his boss, restoring Sonic as well; the hedgehog smashes the transmitter and boots Robotnik on his way.