Other-M, "Veni, Vidi, Vici"
issue #11, 36 pages
Review written by Matt Johnson, a.k.a. Tergonaut
Summary: A year and a half has passed, and the rebels have
gotten comfortable enough to let down their guard, unwittingly
at the crucial moment when the Guardian finally strikes back
in spades.

Credits:
Cover: True Flyer
Story: Ian Potto
Art: RONE
Lettering: Ian Potto
Other-M logo design: Jeffrey "Z-Kara" Houston

Plot: It has been one and one half years since the events of
last issue.  Knuckles is in a poor mood when his ward, Miles
"Tails" Prower (although he hasn't been referred to by that
nickname in this world), begins to poke at the Guardian about
how the rebellion has been successful over the course of time.
     Miles isn't just doing this to get himself killed, of
course.  He had apparently been taking resources out from
under the Guardian's nose for a special project of his own. 
Knuckles had full knowledge of the act, but apparently did not
know what the main project was, since his face lights up with
fiendish delight when he sees the Flying Battery aerial
battleship.
     The reason Miles built the Flying Battery was to assault
the main rebel base (which we know is at Mt. Deaqua on Angel
Island).  When Knuckles points out that the rebel base still
hasn't been found yet, Miles begs to differ and offers a
roundabout explanation for where the rebel base is.  Only when
Knuckles orders him to take it apart and to stop wasting his
time does Miles get to his point, which is to allow him
(Miles) to attack the real base on Angel Island.
     Knuckles decides to let Miles go, but only after ensuring
that his ward is educated on the matter of questioning his
authority.  His teaching technique in this case involves
lifting Miles up by the throat and informing him of the fact
that his existence is only continued by the will of the
Guardian.  After making it clear that his final word should
never be challenged again, he drops the two-tailed fox onto
the ground and gives him the authority to launch the attack
whenever he sees fit.  Miles tells him that the attack will be
launched at once, and Miles is left kneeling on the catwalk in
his dark thoughts as he watches the Guardian walk away.
     We change our perspective to the rebellion at Mt. Deaqua
on Angel Island.  The core members of the rebellion (that is,
Bean, Bunnie, Bark, Antoine, Rotor, Fiona, and Sonic) are all
sitting around on top of the mountain, obviously enjoying
themselves after a string of victories against the Guardian
over the last year and a half, the same string of victories
that are the Guardian's losses.  Spirits are high as a few
hopeful comments are made, accentuated by Sonic's
overconfident remarks.
     Then Amy Rose, who is standing on the edge of the cliff
away from everyone else and looking rather sad, calls to
Sonic, referring to him as "Mr. Sonic."  She is still wearing
the black skin-suit and metal head-pieces that she had been
wearing one and a half years ago when Sonic and Bean first
rescued her.
     Sonic acknowledges her call and is about to go down to
chat with her when Fiona states the obvious: Amy is a strange
little girl.  More specifically, there's something that isn't
right about her.  Bean then points out that a lot of things
were downright weird that night when they had rescued her, but
from his standpoint, saving her from the Guardian was the
important thing.  As Sonic slides down to Amy, Fiona makes the
passing statement that she doesn't believe that they should
get rid of Amy, it's just that she's so...different.
     Sonic gets down to Amy and greets her in his jaunty
manner, and is glad to find that she likes living with the
rebellion.  Things take an interesting, and darker, turn when
Amy begins saying things like, "Too bad we'll be leaving
soon," and "And I'm sorry he has to die."  Needless to say,
Sonic is confused and concerned, but before he can question
Amy there is a cry from Antoine as he points out something in
the distance.
     The situation immediately becomes no-nonsense as Bean
takes control of the situation and has Rotor give him a set of
binoculars.  He hands them to Bunnie, who then takes a closer
look at the speck in the distance that is steadily heading
toward them.  It's clear that it's an attack ship, and that
it's heading straight for the rebellion!
     Bean hands out the orders to evacuate the mountain,
taking only necessary equipment with them.  He has Antoine
keep an eye on the incoming ship so they can know just how
much time they have left, which isn't very long now.
     We're aboard the Flying Battery now, and Miles is also
handing out orders.  Unlike Bean's authority, which has been
earned through respect and trust, Miles makes it clear that he
is the supreme commander and even has the officer under him
respond to commands with "By your will, Prelate Miles!"  The
important thing, however, is that the orders are to engage
full thrusters.  They will reach attack range in two minutes!
     Back inside, rebels are scurrying back and forth,
carrying bags and packages, and going through the underwater
exit.  Antoine has just come back in, and when Bean asks the
status Antoine is wide-eyed as he tells Bean that the attack
ship just suddenly came right on top of them!  They are
interrupted when the whole mountain starts shaking, and Bean
starts shouting for everyone to forget the supplies and just
get out alive!
     Back outside, the Flying Battery is over the mountain and
the rebels are pouring out of every hole and crevice, trying
to get down the mountain.  Miles casually gives the order to
open fire, and the echidna ship operators activate the ship's
weapons, large energy cannons and high-yield bombs.  Rebels
are consumed in flares of released destructive force, men,
women and children alike.
     It's at this point where we follow Sonic as he races
inside the mountain and finds Bark still there, looking for
anyone who might have been left behind.  Suddenly, there's an
explosion, and Bark holds up a huge chunk of rock that has
fallen from the ceiling.  The silhouette of a person is in his
shadow, and when Bark tells Sonic to come and get her, he zips
forward and finds that the last person who hadn't managed to
escape was Amy Rose!
     Amy apologizes to Bark, but Bark tells her that it isn't
her fault.  Sonic picks Amy up into his arms and dashes out
from under the huge rock, which has the whole mountain falling
in on it.  Bark is battered and bleeding from all of the rocks
that have been falling, and he is visibly shaking.  He
certainly can't hold out much longer.  When Sonic tells him to
drop it and get out of there, Bark refuses because if he does,
then the whole mountain will fall in on all three of them.  He
pleads to Amy, who responds with a quiet "Yes sir" and she
teleports herself and Sonic out of the mountain.
     Sonic is visibly angry with Amy and demands to be sent
back, but she sheds a solitary tear as she says, "It's too
late."
     Right then, the whole upper half of the mountain
explodes, and Sonic leaves Amy there far away from the
mountain to head back.  He's just about to reach some lone
rebels when they are immolated right in front of his face, and
he's thrown back by the explosion.
     The last scene shows Amy offering her hand to Sonic, and
as a flower in the foreground loses its petals Sonic is
weeping for Bark, a dear friend to all of the rebellion.

Analysis/Opinion: This is a major turning point, both in the
war between the rebellion and the Guardian, and in the series. 
The rebellion had been getting more and more successful ever
since Sonic came from his dimension into this sideways world,
and it seemed like the war was in their favor before this
happened.
     A terrible catastrophe.  Lives lost, hopes shattered. 
Over the course of this series, we've gotten to know the key
members of the rebellion pretty well, and I'm sure that many
folks out there have their favorite rebel or like some quality
within each of the rebels.  To lose one of these key members,
the one who was so strong and yet so kind and caring, was a
loss that saddens me, because I especially liked Bark.  He
represented the kind of hero I wish to be like, strong of
heart and sturdy of character.  He was a solid friend who
listened to others.  Above all, he gave his life to save those
that he could.
     A friend of mine commented that psychics like Amy Rose
may 'force' reality to conform to their predictions using
their powers.  In a sense, that line of reasoning means that
Amy, whether she had a full knowledge of it or not, was the
one who killed Bark.  I dislike that idea intensely, partially
because I don't like destiny (since it directly conflicts with
the idea that we all choose our own paths in life), and
partially because I don't necessarily see Amy as the type who
would do that.  Still, if she had been outside and safe, then
perhaps Bark would not have died.
     Amy's powers are still largely unknown to us as readers,
so we don't really have enough information to judge just how
much actual power she has.  The reason this is important is
because it might have been possible for her to have teleported
Bark out along with herself and Sonic.  After all, she had
teleported Bean and Sonic and herself all at once before,
during her rescue from the Guardian's sanctum.  But perhaps
her powers do have definite limits, and Bark was too massive
to teleport.
     I realize this sounds like I'm trying to blame Amy for
Bark's death, and maybe I am.  But ultimately I really don't
think that Amy planned on Bark's death.  Still, it makes me a
little angry to think that she knew what was going to happen
and didn't even try to change it.  She had the power to see
what was about to happen, she had the power to teleport to and
fro.  I think that perhaps she thought she couldn't, because
her powers scare her and ironically she feels powerless
because of them.  Even though she's incredibly advanced
mentally, that doesn't mean that a nine-and-a-half-year-old
hedgehog who spent most of that time in a testing tank has the
experience or capacity of an adult or even a teenager.  She's
a little girl who has these visions and warnings and powers. 
Wouldn't that be scary, seeing people die before the event
actually takes place?
     This may seem rather irrelevant and frivolous, but I
really hope those cans that the rebels were drinking from on
top of the mountain weren't beer or the Mobian equivalent. 
Aside from the health issues and the moral implications (not
to mention the fact that it would be putting on a bad example
for any kids reading this comic), it wouldn't be practical for
the rebels to be getting drunk, even after a victory.  What if
they drunkenly happened to let the enemy get wind of their
secret base?  But since they seemed well in their minds, I'm
pretty sure it was some non-alcoholic beverage.
     And as for Amy Rose's skin-suit and head-pieces, why is
she still wearing those?  Can't the rebellion, with all of the
victories it has won against the Guardian during the last year
and a half, even afford to spare some new clothes or at least
a pair of shoes for this girl?  One explanation that is
possible, but incredibly unlikely, is that people noticed that
she was different
     Why is Fiona bringing up Amy's oddness now when they've
had over a year and a half to get to know her?  The only
reason I can think of is that it had to be mentioned somehow
in the plot and there wasn't much opportunity elsewhere since
we jumped ahead nearly two years.
     Sonic and Fiona are pretty comfortable with each other in
the first scene on top of the mountain, but since it's been a
year and a half (as I keep on saying in this review, if you
haven't already had it hammered right through your skull with
my repetitiveness), now I can understand how they've gotten so
close.  By now they've had plenty of time to get to know each
other, so the romance seems more likely now than ever.
     The rebellion did not seem to have really prepared
themselves for an evacuation effort, nor did they have any
real early-warning systems.  Surely they must have realized
that the longer the war dragged on, the more likely it was
that the Guardian was going to find them and attack them.  But
how does one prepare for a battleship that can level a
mountain within minutes?

Artwork: True Flyer was the artist who handled the cover of
this issue.  It shows Mt. Deaqua with some explosions while
the Guardian is chuckling off on one corner of the cover, and
Sonic is looking shocked near the other corner.  The overall
theme of the cover represents the thundering blow that the
Guardian has dealt to the rebellion.  Nicely done.
     RONE is the artist for the inside of the issue.  Now, I'd
like to apologize for being so rough on RONE and her artwork
in my review for the second issue, especially since other
artists have drawn the Mobians with more human-like
proportions.  I would have to say, though, that by this issue
her art has definitely improved, and I applaud her for it.
     Like in her work in issue #2 and #6, she captured the
darkness of the sideways world of Other-M in her artwork, and
in this issue accentuated the Guardian and Miles' evil. 
Furthermore, expression from the characters was excellent.  To
take an example, Amy's downcast face and eyes told us just how
serious and thoughtful she is, while at the same time how
saddened and even scared she is of the future that she has
seen in her visions.  Amy had her arms crossed and her back
slightly hunched just after she told Sonic of her foresight,
like she was trying to draw herself inward to protect herself
from the cold reality that was coming to pass even as she
stood there on the mountain ledge.
     However, Miles and Amy both look older than either of
them actually are.  Miles is supposed to be eleven years old,
and yet he looks like a teenager.  This is accentuated by the
dialogue written for him, which makes him sound like a
teenager as well.  And Amy, while she looks young because of
her lack of quills, still could pass for perhaps ten years of
age, give or take a year.  And since she's supposed to have
been retarded to the point where her eight-year-old body is
physically five years old, that's a pretty big difference.
     Knuckles doesn't have his knuckles at all.  This is
perhaps the most common art mistake I've seen throughout the
series.  The original point of Knuckles's character concept
was his knuckles, the two spikes on each hand that he could
use to smash things.  The fact that this is a different
universe doesn't make me blink, seeing that Miles still has
his twin tails and Sonic is still super-speedy.  I apologize
if I sound overly anal about this detail, but the fact remains
that Knuckles should have his knuckles, even as an evil
villain.
     Of course, I already commented on RONE's use of Sonic's
speed, but I'll say it again: I like it, and it makes sense. 
He just sort of zips from here to there, with the line of his
travel easily marked by the rush of wind.  His roboticized
feet really have made a difference in his speed, and RONE's
artwork reflects this well.
     And ultimately RONE gave Bark's final moments the justice
that he deserved.  Even though we can clearly see that he is
bleeding from several wounds in his body and he's beginning to
shake from the tremendous strain, he still holds on underneath
the mountain with sheer willpower.  It's clear from his
pleading face near the end that he is in terrible pain, and we
can practically hear the weariness in his voice.  Bravo, RONE.

Final Word: And thus ends a certain era of the rebellion, and
begins a new and bleaker future.
     The rebellion isn't dead.  It is sure to continue onward
even in the face of this terrible defeat.  Sonic will have to
find the strength and courage to go on without his best friend
in this strange Other-world that he has landed into.  He has
to, because it will require that courage to inspire the rest
of the rebellion to keep on living despite what has happened.
     Miles has certainly proven himself to have his own
agenda, and yet he emulates his Guardian more than he might
ever care to admit.  It's amazing just how easily you can
compare Knuckles and Miles to Robotnik and Snively.
     Bark is dead.  He was a listener and a philosopher, a
thinker and a doer, a helper and a guide, but most of all, he
was a friend who wanted nothing more than liberty.  May this
review stand as a testament, to make known to all the
sacrifice of this noble Mobian.  We salute you, Bark the polar
bear.  May you find your rest at last.