Comic Review: Worlds Unite #1

This week saw the beginning of the Archie Action series super event, Worlds Unite #1 (aka Sonic Universe #76), which begins a year long multi-universe spanning adventure starring your favorite heroes from Sega and Capcom. From the looks of their preview images this thing is set to include pretty much any IP from both companies though I suspect the majority will be in the form of single panel cameos in some kind of massive heroes vs villains climax.

Never the less, I want to focus on the here and now by sharing my thoughts on the most current issue of this new saga. I promise not to discuss any spoilers, other than the blatantly obvious, such as Sigma being a major player (c'mon he's on the freakin cover).

The story opens in Mega Man X's timeline where we quickly learn that Sigma has discovered the existence of the Genesis portal anomalies left over from the toying of reality done by Dr. Wily and Dr. Eggman in the Worlds Collide story arc. As such he's been using them to scout out other realities looking for baddies he can recruit in his grand scheme of conquering all realities. X arrives just in time to see Sigma blip out of their reality without a trace.

We cut to Mega Man and Sonic's current comic book timelines where Mega Man is enjoying a more peaceful time and has actually taken up more of his original helper robot duties. Sonic on the other hand is still dealing with the shattered world (think Sonic Unleashed) also caused by the Worlds Collide arc.

After catching up with the main heroes, we see that Sigma has forcefully employed both Wily and Eggman as little more than laborers in constructing his army of conquest. As expected, they begin their own scheming though it's more along the lines of trying to escape Sigma's clutches.

I can't reveal much more other than by the end of the issue you'll find out who the new "eight masters" will be. The story continues in Sonic Boom #8 though the cover will clearly read Worlds Unite #2, so be on the lookout for that.

The artwork is top notch and though the material is based upon flagship mascot video game characters, the writing has more depth than I would expect. They've actually been carefully setting the stage for these events to take place in the past two years of the main Mega Man and Sonic comics, though don't let that intimidate you as they give you the information you need to catch up. It's enough so that you can jump right into this story arc without being lost on anything. I do however recommend picking up the trade paper backs of the first Worlds Collide arc (Archie actually has deals on them now on their website) especially if the idea of a huge climactic battle between all the Sonic characters and every robot master there ever was excites you.

Fair warning, whether you're a Mega Man or a Sonic fan or even Capcom and Sega in general, if you pick up this story you'll likely be hooked. If you grew up with the 8 to 16 bit console generations this story is ready to grab your nostalgia by the heart and never let go.

Click here to check out Issue 2!

Thanks for reading!