While the Sonic the Hedgehog video games, animated series, and feature film provide fast-paced but altogether lighthearted, family-friendly fare, the Archie comics are known to have taken a dark spin on the Sonic series. With crazed killers, references to genocide, and a general theme of death and destruction, the Archie Sonic comics are not for the faint of heart.
Based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video games as well as the American-Italian cartoon from 1993, Archie comics put out 290 issues spanning over 20 years, during which time the writers had a lot more scope than other mediums to explore a number of dark, bleak, sometimes downright disturbing storylines.
10 Dr. Eggman's Egg Grapes Were A Means Of Torture
Eggman's Egg Grapes are not as innocent as they might sound. Complete with 3 different modes of torture, the Egg Grape Chamber comprises prison pods that turn life force into fuel for Eggman's city of New Metropolis.
They can also infuse prisoners with toxicity and erase their minds. In issue #176, Eggman destroys the village of Knothole, where Sonic and the other Freedom Fighters were seeking refuge when the bad doctor rocked up and sent Sonic's friends and everyone he cared about to the Egg Grapes.
9 The Gun PSA That Saw An Innocent Chipmunk Get Shot
Issue #72 saw a not-entirely-innocent-looking overlander boy named Paladin and Emerson Acorn in an ill-conceived PSA for gun ownership. Emerson chances upon Paladin at Roundabout Creek, where Paladin shows the unwitting Emerson his weapon. Paladin intends to demonstrate how the gun works by shooting a bird perched on the branch of a tree.
Just as Emerson catches on, he jumps in front of the bird and is shot and killed. Emerson's father, King Theodore, soon discovers his son laying on the ground. Seeing Paladin running away, King Theodore forgoes seeking vengeance but bans his people from coming into contact with the 'fierce and violent' Overlanders.
8 Sonic's Childhood Friend Tommy Turtle Got Vaporized by Dr. Eggman
Sonic's childhood friend Tommy Turtle could turn his shell into anything he wanted thanks to nanites that had bonded with it. This ability wasn't without its drawbacks, however, chiefly that Tommy's consciousness had been taken over by A.D.A.M., an artificial intelligence created by Dr. Eggman, and it was this that ultimately lead to Tommy's tragic demise.
In issue #169, after fighting with Sonic, who transforms into Super Sonic to try and defeat A.D.A.M. and get his friend back, Tommy regains control of his shell. His feeble-looking head peeps out of his gleaming, invincible armor, allowing himself to be unceremoniously obliterated by Eggman's Egg Fleet. Sonic is left holding out his hands to catch the ashes of his childhood friend.
7 Enerjak Banished An Entire Species To The Desert
Enerjak was an omnipotent demigod of Chaos energy who could take over the spirits of echidnas. Issue #181 saw him banishing the Dingoes of Cavum Canus to the desert for their alleged crimes against the echidnas, who he then teleported to Albion in a misguided attempt to lead them to a better life.
The panels showing defenseless Dingoes disintegrating were particularly chilling. If that wasn't enough, at the end of the issue Enerjak takes off his mask to reveal himself to be one of Sonic's most trustworthy companions, Knuckles.
6 Mammoth Mogul Took Control Of Sonic's Friends
A petty villain hell-bent on ensuring Sonic lived a life devoid of peace, Mammoth Mogul had a Chaos Emerald lodged in his chest which enabled him to do Chaos Control. Among other powers and abilities, this allowed him to hypnotize people. After triggering suggestions that he'd implanted in the minds of Tails, Might, and Mina, Mammoth Mogul brought them under his control so that they could recruit Sonic and form the Fearsome Foursome, which would help break him out of prison.
After a failed attempt to recruit Sonic as a fourth member, Mogul forced Sonic's three friends into situations that would mean certain death in an attempt to blackmail Sonic into doing his bidding. Mina was sent to run across the ocean and subsequently drown, Tails was made to fly high into the atmosphere, where he'd eventually suffocate, and Mighty was sent on a suicide mission into New Megaopolis, where he was sure to be mown down by Eggman's army.
5 There Was A Plotline Which Was Reminiscent Of The Holocaust
With the help of Dr. Eggman, the Dingoes took control of the Echidnas' home of Angel Island, imprisoning most of the population and putting them into forced labor camps. The remaining free Echidnas banded together to fight back against the Dingoes, but they split up and entered a civil war.
This arc included a rephrasing of Martin Niemoller's poem about the holocaust, echidnas giving Nazi salutes, and a quote from Mein Kampf. Dark stuff for what was supposed to be a kid's comic book.
4 Scourge The Hedgehog Allegedly Killed His Own Father
Scourge—formerly known as Evil Sonic—was the leader of the Suppression Squad, the evil version of the Knothole Freedom Fighters. Anti Jules, Scourge's father, was a strong proponent of the Great Peace, an era of prosperity on Anti Mobius.
The Great Peace led to stagnation, however, and the Suppression Squad killed Jules and countless other civilians in the name of progress. Scourge resented his father for ignoring him in pursuit of peace, and while it isn't known whether he actually perpetrated the act of killing his father, as the leader of the Suppression Squad, he was the one giving orders.
3 Dr. Eggman Roboticized His Own Brother And Left Him For Dead
Roboticization was the process of turning life forms into lifeless statues. Developed by Professor Charles the Hedgehog, Sonic's uncle, it was initially intended to be a force for good but was later used by Eggman as a means of suppression. In issue #105, Eggman robotized his brother Colin Kintobor alongside the scientist Nate Morgan and two others.
Colin's ultimate demise came when Station Square, a city-state of the United Federation, nuked Robotropolis, sealing the fate of the frozen mechanical Colin.
2 Mello Bee Tragically Died From A Drug Overdose After Eating Spiked Chili Dog Sauce
Mello Bee was the best friend of Charmy Bee, a member of the Chaotix detective agency. Only appearing in three issues of the Knuckles spinoff comic, Mello's short life had one of the darkest storylines to be found in the entire series.
Renfield T. Rodent, owner of Happyland Amusement Park on Floating Island, used a substance called Lemon Sundrop Dandelion (LSD) in the secret sauce for his chili dogs. The cautionary tale hit hard and wasn't so much a PSA for the dangers of drugs as it was a heartbreaking, avoidable tragedy.
1 A Disheveled Future Sonic Lay In The Gutter Lamenting The Loss Of His Children, Who He Accidentally Erased
In a future timeline, a disheveled Sonic lay in the gutter, a half-eaten chili dog sat on a hubcap being used as a plate, a paper bag filled with a box of Power Ring cereal, and a tin can his only possessions.
Tears welled up in the eyes of Sonic, Tails, and Lara-Su as they recount the price Sonic paid for saving the world, namely the children he had with his wife, Sally. Sonic and Sally eventually remarried and had kids that they named Sonia and Malik, the same as the children who would forever remain lost to time.