What better way to bring us back to the present than with the finale of the technological terror!
Comicbook.com has the preview for Sonic Universe #74, and there’ll certainly be sparks flying! Sally, having subjected herself to the digitiser, is now fighting alongside Nicole against Phage for the fate of the Digital World. But it’s not just data in peril as Tails, Big and Dr. Ellidy are all under attack from Phage’s influence from the outside. To beat this monster will require wit, strong friendship and something a little extra, otherwise they’re doomed to be done in by the past. See how it all comes to a close in “Spark of Life”: part 4.
SONIC UNIVERSE #74
The final showdown for the fate of the digital realm is HERE! “Spark of Life” Part Four: It’s pandemonium aplenty in this conclusion to the stunning “Spark of Life” story arc! Who, or what, is Phage? Introductions aren’t necessary—she’s creating havoc for our heroes anyway! Tails and Big—menaced by badniks and Dark Gaia Monsters alike! A Chaos Emerald—about to fall into enemy hands! Nicole—on the brink of deletion! Will Sally sacrifice it all to save her friends and the world? Only the dramatic conclusion to SPARK OF LIFE can tell! Featuring cover art from Sonic comic artist extraordinaire Tracy Yardley, and a special SEGA-art TAILS variant cover!
Script: Aleah Baker, Ian Flynn
Art: Tracy Yardley, Jim Amash, Jack Morelli and Matt Herms
Cover: Tracy Yardley, Jim Amash and Ben Hunzeker
TAILS Variant cover art provided by SEGA
On Sale Date: 3/25
32-page, full color comic
$3.99 U.S.
Sonic Universe #74 came out today in comic stores and on digital formats. Get it today and complete the story circuit for yourself!
Source: comicbook.com
You say it’s available for digital formats, but I’m still waiting…
Is it because Mega Man 47 just got released today, too?
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS: Not sure how I feel about the “epic reveal” in this issue. I feel like Phage wasn’t even really the main source of conflict here (just the Ellidy/Nicole relationship), which was disappointing because I wanted to know more about Phage. However, seeing overclocked Nicole was pretty awesome, but I wish we had been given more information on how her “super” form of sorts works. As a soon-to-be computer scientist, I’d really like to know if they respected the way computers actually function, or if they’re throwing it to the curb for the sake of convenience. I genuinely hope it is the previous, because it takes more writing skill to do so and won’t alienate anyone who knows a thing or two about computers…
Which leads me to my biggest point of confusion in this issue: why on earth did Nicole ever seem to be in danger? As an AI, she can be uploaded and backed-up on other servers (which is something they have covered before), so why on earth did the comic make it seem like Nicole was ever in danger of being destroyed? She’s practically like Voldemort, she can create as many instances of herself necessary in order to preserve herself, and unless someone (or something) goes around destroying all her servers (or horcruxes of sorts), she won’t be destroyed. If anyone has any insight on that, let me know, I am truly confused.
Perhaps its like Phage said, shes been a playing Mobian so long that she now does have fear and feels she’s in danger. As for Sally worrying and trying to save her maybe she doesn’t want her to be afraid and feel abandoned.
Also, and I doubt it seeing as there are several genus’ on board Sky Patrol, but what if Nicole’s backups aren’t as current? Would being killed and reverting to that backup be like amnesia?
Despite Nicole being a computer, she wants to be and is treated most of the time as a Mobian and friend. Even if your friend could take the pain and come back if injured, would you want to see them suffer in the first place if you can help them?
That’s just me.
Also, Phage is with Eggman so if she gets a hold of and analyzes Nicole, Eggman might find and delete or corrupt her backups.
Your first point makes a lot of sense, but if that’s the reason alone then the reader probably shouldn’t have felt worried for her (but I got the sense that’s what the writers wanted). I figured the “Sally to the rescue” was just Sally being Sally.
Your second point is definitely a possible issue. However, she could be connected to a network in which there is a central core copy of Nicole and all the backups (which remain hidden, since they are acting as clients) download the most recent version on a regular basis to keep updated. Only the remote Nicole (the copy that’s actively on adventures) pushes her data to the network core on a regular basis to keep it as recent as possible. (If you know it, think Git or Subversion.) It’s the same technique software and game devs use to keep all their separate copies of the code on all their separate computers updated. It’s rather standard practice is my point.
Not to be that “guy” (or “gal” more accurately), but Nicole shouldn’t feel pain. Which kind of makes her a deadly enemy, so it isn’t a bad thing! 🙂 I could never think of Nicole as a buddy personally, but that’s only because I’d be too curious to look at her coding and try to improve it.
The only thing with Eggman possibly analyzing her would give him the ability to make a virus to shut her down (awesome plot possibility). It wouldn’t harm any backups immediately, but just give him a weapon to destroy any copies of Nicole he did happen upon, backups or otherwise.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS: I think your last point was actually the entire point in Phage in the first place. He/she/it was a sentient AI and computer virus who was sent to analyse and destroy Ellidys work, including Nicole, and any organic life in the process (which it attempted to perform via Ellidys repurposed Badniks).
Malicious software that’s an AI… it’s the new frontier of hacking! This makes me want to see MORE of Phage though! 🙁 She (he/it) should make another experience soon!
P.S. Thanks for your discussion! 🙂
But Nicole is no ordinary program either. She was indirectly built off an organic being’s brain. Yes, technically the data could be backed up regularly and may actually be backed up, but what happens if she is deleted? Would that backup have the same “spark of life” that Nicole does? It wasn’t necessarily discussed in the forefront of the story, but I cannot believe the title of this arc was chosen arbitrarily. Nicole is more than the sum of her parts and I think that was the idea behind this story.
I have a feeling Phage will return and I don’t think the cat-like mask is a coincidence either. I think Phage is related to Nicole in some way. Perhaps more of Ellidy’s work gone wrong…a dark version of Nicole that spawned at some point…perhaps it is Ellidy’s daughter.
I was thinking Ellidy’s daughter as well during the start of the arc. Perhaps she was digitized, simply got lost in the network, and was eventually found by Eggman.
Somewhere along the way she must have lost her humanity as well as her interest in the physical world (save for chaos emeralds and red rings).
I liked it. I’m not analyzing it. I just enjoyed it and that last panel made me smile
Super-Sally the über sue inbound.
There was no Super-Sally…she was saved by a form of Super-Nicole..
could you stop posting random negative comments just because you hate the comics already.