Other-M, "Into the Fire"
issue #15, 15 pages
Review written by Matthias Johnson, a.k.a. Tergonaut
tergonaut@aol.com
Summary: Sonic and Bean are in disagreement when Predator Hawk
enters scene to ask what the next mission is, but the
appearance of the mysterious Omega changes plans when not only
their intentions but hers combine to create a dire situation.

Credits:
Cover: Lady Laguna
Story: Ian Potto
Art: Lady Laguna
Lettering: Lady Laguna
Other-M logo design: Jeffrey "Z-Kara" Houston

Plot: The scene opens in the subterranean room where Naugus is
sitting, and the remaining of the two ninja-like mystical
warriors enters the room to kneel before Naugus.  Naugus
perceives that Omega (which is the name of this mysterious
character, finally revealed after her appearance in issue #1)
still grieves for Alpha (her brother, who died in issue #10). 
She tries to be brave, but she can not hold back her tears at
the loss of her brother.
     But business now must be dealt with, as Naugus proclaims
that an end to the conflict is approaching...but it will not
come without price.  Omega is regretful of having to cause
more death, even if it is to end the current strife, but she
goes to obey Naugus's command to "take the charlatan, the
leader and the outsider to the evil's keep."  She does not
leave to do this, however, until after she asks about Amy
Rose, whom she is told is now safe.  Omega then leaves,
although the shadow across her face tells that she is not
satisfied with what she must do.
     The scene switches to Echidnaopolis, inside the battered
new home of the rebellion, where Sonic is idly scratching a
crude image of Fiona into the ground.  Bean comes in and
notices what Sonic is doing, and Sonic admits that he isn't
the best artist in the world.  Bean thinks that Sonic does
better than himself, but then Sonic makes a comment which
suddenly changes the nature of this meeting from one of casual
friendliness to a more hostile and inflammatory one.
     Fortunately, this argument about whether the rebellion's
current strategy is wrong or right is not wholly without
direct informative value.  We learn from Bean's explanation
that Warlord Kodos had been given lordship over the Guardian's
holdings of the former Acorn Kingdom, and that Kodos has
become feral and barbaric.  It's obvious that the current
situation on Lower Mobius is truly terrible, and we now learn
that the goal of the rebellion is to force the Guardian to
give the Acorn kingdom back to the non-echidnas, where the
rebellion will then deal with Kodos and his rapidly-devolving
rule.  But the argument remains that Sonic doesn't want to
continue killing innocents, and that Bean sees it as the only
way to force the Guardian to give them what they want.
     Predator Hawk comes down the ladder from the roof, his
presence ending the argument temporarily.  Bean seems glad to
see the vigilant‚, although Sonic is not half as enthusiastic
and even questions just what kind of help Predator Hawk
provides.  Predator Hawk remains enigmatic about that subject,
and asks whether there is something going on that night for
the rebellion.  Bean explains that he is having problems
planning the next move, only implying Sonic's resistance as
the cause of the problem.
     But just when it seems like things are about to go sour
again, Omega suddenly makes her appearance known by asking
whether she couldn't suggest a course of action for the
rebels.  At first, Bean and the others are surprised and
suspicious of this mysterious young woman who has just
appeared out of nowhere, but after she explains that she is
the sister of Alpha (whom Bean and Sonic assisted in
recovering Amy Rose in issue #10), they forget their
suspicions when they consider the beautiful appearance of
Omega, and Bean offers his condolences for her brother's
death.  Her reply of saying that it might have been better off
for them all to be dead, however, draws solid disagreement,
especially from Sonic.  Still, Omega offers to bring them to
the Guardian's inner sanctum like her brother did for them
before, at which point they were free to do as they wished. 
This offer is accepted, and as they hold on to her, she uses
her mystical abilities to transport them directly inside the
Guardian's most closely-guarded location.
     Once inside, their goal seems to be to get the king out,
but they are met by Dr. Kintobor, who greets them warmly. 
Sonic seems to be unbelieving of seeing the Other-M universe's
version of Robotnik, and he has a low opinion of this doctor
since he transfers his knowledge of what he thinks this
Kintobor should be like.  Kintobor, on the other hand, asks in
a friendly manner about Sonic's feet and whether they were in
good working order.  Bean explains that Sonic "lost" his
memories a while back (we know what really happened, back in
issue #1, although we have yet to have a full explanation of
exactly how and why it happened), and Kintobor goes into his
own explanation about the robotic upgrades that were given to
Sonic, Fiona and Bark by himself.  Kintobor then asks about
Fiona and Bark, and is informed that Bark was killed recently.
     Bean tries to steer things back to business as he brings
up the matter about getting King Acorn out of the inner
sanctum, to which Kintobor points out that the Guardian was
really angry after they had taken Amy Rose from the sanctum,
and that he would suffer the consequences if the king was
taken as well.  Bean offers that they could take the doctor
with them, but Kintobor doesn't seem very convinced that it
would work, especially since he isn't sure how they got inside
in the first place.  Bean begins to tell about Omega, but then
the three rebels turn around and see that-
     Omega is not there.
     And the issue ends with the Chaotix and the Legion
appearing inside the sanctum, making the situation a very bad
one indeed for the rebels.

Analysis/Opinion: Okay folks, as I've mentioned before, it's
clear that Alpha and Omega are none other than Other-M's
version of Prince Elias Acorn and Princess Sally Alisha Acorn. 
Anyone vaguely familiar with the Archie comics will be able to
see that.  I would be greatly surprised if it turned out
otherwise when Omega's mask finally comes off (if it does).
     That said, it's clear that Omega is regretful of the
deaths that have already happened and of the deaths that must
yet occur by the machinations of her "father" Naugus.  I
certainly disagree with her sentiment that it would have been
better for them all to have been dead, but it's hard not to
sympathize with her when she is really only a tool to place
the rebels into danger.
     The indirect references that Naugus uses, that is the
"charlatan, leader and outsider," refers to Predator Hawk (a
vigilant‚ who disguises his true identity), Bean (the leader
of the rebellion), and Sonic (whose essence has come from
another universe), respectively.  Just to make sure no one was
confused about that.
     The argument between Sonic and Bean about how the
rebellion operates is interesting because Bean truly is losing
his aspect as the tough-yet-capable leader of the rebellion. 
He's almost fanatical in his insistence that terrorism be used
against the Guardian, no matter what the cost to civilian
lives or to the image of the rebellion.  Sonic strongly
disagrees with that, as he sees that such an approach only
creates real reasons for the rebellion to be stopped in the
eyes of the Guardian and the echidnas.  His will clashes with
that of Bean's over this issue, and we'll have to wait to see
whether some end to the argument can be made.
     The sight of this jolly round man in a hoverchair and
identifying him as this universe's equivalent of Robotnik is
at the same time heartening and humorous.  Heartening, because
it shows that not all of the things in this alternate universe
have been corrupted.  Humorous, because the personality of
Kintobor clashes so badly in comparison to that of Robotnik
that one cannot help smirking at seeing him greet Bean and
Sonic in such a warm and friendly manner.  It's also pretty
funny to see Sonic's expression as he recognizes the voice of
who had been his greatest foe in his original universe.
     The ending of this issue is indeed a cliffhanger.  We are
at once angry at Omega for betraying the rebels, and concerned
for their future as the Chaotix and the Legion suddenly make
their appearance.  The rebels are in the innermost sanctum of
the Guardian.  There is no way out besides the magic that
Omega could have given them.  Everything looks bad, as my
talent for stating the obvious once again makes itself
manifest in my reviews.

Artwork: Lady Laguna did the artwork for this entire issue,
including the cover.  On this issue's cover, we see Naugus
facing to the left, Kintobor facing to the right, and both of
them are looking sideways at Omega, who faces us while having
between her open hands a minuscule Sonic, Bean and Predator
Hawk.  In the background, the words "charlatan, leader,
outsider" are repeated over and over.  This clearly
demonstrates the manipulation that is about to take place
within the issue.
     Overall, I think that Lady Laguna has done a good job in
displaying the emotions of the individual characters, and of
conveying the tenseness and the humor in their respective
situations, not only through the characters' expressions but
through the use of shading to alter the mood as is
appropriate.  I even think that in a few of the panels that
her rendition of Sonic isn't quite as disproportionate as in
previous issues, although a few panels do hearken back to Lady
Laguna's work in issue #12.  I probably shouldn't harangue her
so badly about this, especially since it's not that big a
deal, but I still find Sonic's legs and body to be so vastly
different in scale when compared to just about every other
character that it is noticeable, and it's the sort of thing
that I hope Lady Laguna can forgive me for.  But that's just
my sensitive, unoffensive nature talking.  Anyway, I think
she's heard me from previous reviews, so that's that.
     Oh, and one last thing: on the final page, where the
Chaotix are assembled, Julie-Su has one robotic dreadlock.  My
question is, where did that come from?  In this universe, as
far as I can tell, Julie-Su never received the same cybernetic
upgrades that she had in Sonic Prime's universe.  I'm pretty
sure that this is just a minor error, perhaps done because
Julie-Su is typically drawn as the Archie character.

Final Word: Naugus is once again taking steps to direct the
future of the Other-M universe, and one must wonder whether he
is truly seeing visions of a grand peace or whether he is
delusional and dragging the Other-M world into greater misery. 
I personally tend to distrust people who say that peace can be
assured if certain persons can be killed.  I don't think too
harshly of Naugus, since he's supposedly one of the "good
guys," but I wonder just how far he is willing to go.
     Some people on the Other-M message board thought that
Omega was a...well, I'm not going to say that word, but my
point is that I disagree with them.  Omega didn't maliciously
do this so that she could enjoy watching them die at the hands
of the Legion and the Chaotix.  In fact, she wishes that she
didn't have to do this sort of thing, something clearly
demonstrated by her sentiment early on in the issue.  But she
does go ahead and obey the will of Naugus despite her
feelings, and so in effect she will be at least partly
responsible for what happens to the rebels next.
     Bean, Sonic, and Predator Hawk are all trapped in the
inner sanctum of the Guardian.  Will they be able to escape? 
Will they manage to accomplish something besides escaping? 
What of Kintobor, and more importantly Omega?  And
finally...will anyone die, and who?  Talk about your
cliffhangers!