Other-M, "One Man's Worth"
issue #2, 21 pages
Review written by Matt Johnson, a.k.a. Tergonaut
Summary: The rebellion is planning a mission to strike directly
at the Legion of Justice's headquarters, but when the team needs
a sixth man, Sonic is their only option.

Credits:
Cover: Ian Potto
Story: Ian Potto
Art: Christina Godek, pages 1-2; RONE, pages 3-21
Lettering: Ian Potto
Other-M logo design: Jeffrey "Z-Kara" Houston
Credit also goes to: Erin

Plot: The Legion of Justice's HQ represents the strength and
prosperity of the echidna nation under Guardian Knuckles' rule. 
It is a symbol of purity and righteousness in the eyes of
echidnas everywhere.
     And that's why the rebellion wants to blow it up.
     Bean, along with Rotor, Antoine, Bark, Bunnie, and a female
fox who we didn't meet in the previous issue, are going over the
plan for this direct strike against the authority of the
Guardian.  But before Bean can begin with the details, Bark
interrupts to say that he cannot go on the mission for the reason
that his size would attract too much attention.  While that
reason was accepted, they would still need a sixth man for the
mission.
     Then, coincidentally enough, Sonic strolls casually up to
them and says hi.  When Bean asks him if he could handle a
mission, his enthusiastic reply reaps surprised reactions from
everyone except Bark, who only has a small, knowing smile on his
face.  When Antoine protests, Bean calls a vote, in which Bean,
Bunnie and the vixen vote for him, while Antoine and Rotor vote
against.  With a 3-2 vote, Sonic is on the mission.
     When Bean continues to say that they'll need to get in
quickly, there's another interruption when Sonic mentions he can
provide the speed if they can provide something for everyone else
to sit on.  The complications that are brought up against this
idea are put to rest by sound reasoning and some support from the
vixen.
     The plan requires them to get to the kitchen stock room, and
since today is their delivery day, they have to act fast and hit
hard to liberate the supplies they need and place the bomb
courteously provided by Bean's magic.
     The plan goes well enough, with Rotor and Fiona (the vixen)
stealing the supply truck and driving it away as Bunny, Antoine,
Sonic and Bean stay behind to put a bomb in the cold storage
area.  But then a Legionary runs across them and raises the
alarm, forcing Bunny and Antoine to run outside where Sonic is
waiting.  After rushing them to safety, Sonic speeds back to save
Bean from Duze Remmington and Legion forces.
     Once all is said and done, it turned out that Bean was not
able to summon up the mystical force to create the bomb necessary
for the plan, and so the mission has failed.  But Sonic then asks
him if he could create a bomb now, and when the others protest,
he gives them a determined ultimatum: either Bean makes up the
bomb for Sonic to drop off, or Sonic takes Bean back to make the
bomb on the spot.
     Bean creates the bomb, and Sonic blasts off, drops the bomb
on one side of the building, and races back to the others in time
for the bomb to blow up!  After such an unexpected success, Sonic
carries them all back to the base at his extreme pace.
     We then switch over to the office of the Duze, Remmington. 
The doors are swung open, and we meet the Chaotix, composed of
Vector the Alligator, Mighty the Armadillo, Julie-su, Ray the
Flying Squirrel, Nack the Weasel, and Espio the Chameleon. 
Vector interrogates Remmington about the rebel attack, and makes
it clear that another mistake like that would cost him his life,
using his claws to illustrate that point.
     After the Chaotix leave, the issue closes with Remmington at
his desk and with dark thoughts etched into his face along with
the two bloody marks left on his head by Vector.

Analysis/Opinion: Bark's size obviously has no negative effect on
his brain as he points out the fact that his size would be
detrimental to the team's efforts.  The fact that he values the
team more than his personal glory is a testament to his
character, and perhaps foreshadows his character development as a
'gentle giant'.
     It's interesting that, even though we don't know Fiona's
motivations or character as of yet, she would vote in favor of
Sonic.  Maybe there's development being plotted here...
     Throughout the issue, Sonic's enthusiasm and determination
surprise and amaze his fellow rebels.  His daring and defiant
spirit alone are enough to bring some rays of light into the
Other-M universe.  However, one must ask: what is Sonic's
justification for helping the rebellion?
     To put things in perspective, in his original reality, Sonic
battled against an evil dictator and destroyed countless 'bots. 
There was never a morality issue about destroying said 'bots,
because none of them were really 'alive' (anyone could argue that
some of them MIGHT have become sentient, but that's fan fiction
material).
     But in this world, the rebellion is actually hurting real
live people.  Can Sonic, who has never unjustly killed before in
his life, allow himself to kill Legionaries without even a
thought?  Perhaps Sonic hasn't realized yet that this reality is
not a dream, or perhaps he has reasoned with himself that the
rebellion is in the right, and so while the cost may be high, the
cost of allowing the Guardian to rule unchallenged would be even
higher.  But there doesn't seem to be any hesitation on his part
as he drops Bean's bomb right in front of some Legionaries.
     The dark tones of this issue are accented by RONE's style of
shading, making everything appear to have a shadow or two. 
Somewhat appropriate, if gloomy-looking.  However, RONE has
anthropomorphized the Mobians perhaps one or two steps too many,
resulting in a more 'humans-in-furry-suits' look.  Still, Sonic's
speed is punctuated very well, with streaks that follow Sonic
along the ground at his heightened rate of speed.  We don't even
see his movement in shorter distances, only a streak behind him
that paints the line of travel up to his current pose, which is
realistic if his speed has been enhanced by his roboticized feet.
     The Chaotix, just like almost everything else in the Other-M
universe, has been shifted sideways.  There are a few differences
in the membership, and rather than being a group of friends, they
are the Guardian's personal strike force, who have among their
other duties the job of keeping everyone in line and--
occasionally--killing those who have failed the Guardian one too
many times.
     A minor note: on page 19, there's a butterfly that flutters
outside of the window, which is then eaten on page 20 by a bird. 
This subtle dark touch reminds us that this world has been turned
upside down by the Guardian's misguided evil.
     And on the last page, Remmington is left alone, and we can
see from his face anger.  And considering he lied to the Chaotix
about the one wall being blown up by the rebellion (he said that
a Legionary had run outside with it, but we saw Sonic drop it
outside the building), perhaps he is not truly loyal to the
Guardian.  We don't have any reasons yet, but this foreshadowing
will obviously lead to some explanations later on.

Final Word: This is Sonic's first mission with the rebellion of
this reality, and once again we see that everyone's surprised
that he's so brave, bold and daring.  We still don't know the
reason for this, although it points again to the possibility that
Sonic was incompetent before the grenade blast.  Later issues
will probably tell us the background for this.
     Sonic immediately jumps to the foreground as a key player in
the rebellion as his skills provide salvation and success on the
mission.  His hopeful spirit is something the rebellion
desperately needs, as is proven by Antoine's dark comment near
the bottom of page 9.  We still have questions about what's
really going on, especially since we've just learned that the man
behind the new world order is...Knuckles!?  These questions are
what drive us to want to continue reading on, as we see just how
bad things are in this alternate universe that Sonic has somehow
stumbled into.