NegaMetallix

  Wait-a-minute, something about that 'History' section seems odd:   "It would be these skills, among others, that would prove invaluable when a disruption in the space-time continuum altered her reality..." "With the reset of her reality [...] During the battle of Portal, the time-space continuum was reset again..." "It was during this time that the fallout from the various shifts in the time-space continuum began to manifest into..."   ...A-are these supposed to be referencing... the Genesis Waves?! He's (possibly) trying to CONNECT it to the Sonic reboot?! GAH!

Huh, seems pretty early to already be getting preview pages for SU #76. I thought we'd be getting STH #272 and MM #49 before this. Oh well, I can't really complain. That being said, however, the art style's... a little different from the norm. It might take a little getting used to for me, but it's certainly not terrible from these previews.

While it's a little disappointing that Bass won't be in the crossover, it makes sense why he isn't. After all, we haven't reached 'Mega Man 7' yet, and there doesn't seem to be any major time-skip for Mega Man's world this time around (hence why we have Break Man still). Plus, I'd rather wait to see Bass created than see him just thrown in for another crossover. Anyway, I come bearing news from the Bumbleking forums and its leader, Ian Flynn. Some of you might recall, back in Sonic #252, that NICOLE mentioned a "first wave" stripping Naugus of his magic (kinda similar to the after-effect he suffered in the old world). Someone on the forums recently asked if this 'first wave' was the one that kicked off 'Worlds Collide' in the new continuity, instead of 'Genesis'. This was Ian Flynn's response to the question:     This means that 'Genesis' AND 'Worlds Collide' canonically happened in the new continuity too. So at some point before #252's events (in the 'new' world): - Eggman had a Chaos Emerald (most likely the blue one, of course) that he used to reset the world with a Genesis Wave. - The events of 'Genesis' more-or-less happen exactly as they did in the Graphic Novel (re-telling of Sonic 1&2 with the Freedom Fighters). - Everything is restored back to normal, but Naugus loses his magic as an after-effect. The blue Emerald disappears. - While Ian says the '???' part will be revealed early on in 'Worlds Unite', for now I'm guessing that Wily still finds the blue Emerald before the events of 'Blackout'. - Something happens during this time (I'll leave this blank, since it'll be revealed soon anyway) at least involving Eggman and Wily teaming up. - A second Genesis Wave is fired, kicking off the events of 'Worlds Collide'. Again, this goes more-or-less exactly like it did in the Graphic Novel. - Mega Man and his world are restored back to normal, and nobody remembers the crossover. I'd imagine this stays the same for simplicity's sake. - Sonic 'restores' his world too, but Eggman's interference causes the planet to shatter when they return. (Note that there is no 'old continuity' in this version.)   I know that last one doesn't make too much sense, considering Sonic's state in #252 and 'Countdown to Chaos', but that's how things are now. Again, as Ian has pointed out in his post, there basically IS NO old continuity anymore. Nothing about it is connected to the new one anymore. It's done, kaput. End of the line.

  You'd be correct. In fact, I believe Ian stated not too long ago that he's pretty much done with shipping characters. Much less hassle that way.

Okay, just to recap, all seven Chaos Emeralds have now been found, in this order:   - Purple: Found and retrieved by the Freedom Fighters in STH #261 ('Light in the Dark'). Currently in their possession. - Red: Found by Chip and given to Tikal in SU #66 ('The Great Chaos Caper'). Presumably with the FFs now, given Tails' "6-to-1" line in SU #75. - Grey: Found by Thunderbolt's Egg Army and used as bait, but retrieved by the FFs in STH #265 ('Control'). Currently in their possession. - Blue: Found by the Egg Army, used as bait to trap the FFs, and retrieved by Eggman ('Ambushed'). Currently in his possession. - Green: Found by the S6, and used as Breezie's Championship prize. Almost stolen by Metal Sonic, but retrieved by Tails in STH #271 ('Champions'). - Yellow: Found in the Lake of Rings by Tails and Big, and retrieved by them in SU #74 ('Spark of Life'). Currently in the FFs possession. - Cyan: Found by Metal Sonic after STH #272 ('Protector'), but retrieved by Sonic and Silver in another zone during SU #75 ('Fury'). Currently in the FFs possession.   So, the only Emerald that the heroes don't have is the blue one, which Eggman has... again... just before a major, world-changing event... again. Seeing a pattern yet?

Just read the new issue, and it's a fun little adventure. It seemed to go by pretty quickly for me, but that might be due to the fact that, aside from the opening and end, it only really focuses on three characters in a burning wasteland, fighting for a Chaos Emerald. I wasn't really bothered by this issue referencing later/delayed issues (honestly, I already have an idea as to how the Genesis Portal Origin might play out...) because it doesn't really impact this story at all.

And now for even MORE previews! This time, it's the covers and solicit for the second Battle Book, focused on the Sonic characters:       Knuckles vs. Break Man, eh? Sign me up! I suppose this also confirms that Mega Man's world will still be set between Mega Man 3 and Mega Man 4 during the crossover.

We talking about the Transformers movies? Well, in that case... let me just get this off my chest: I enjoyed the first one as an action film, despite some dumb moments (*coughtheparentscough*), I ABSOLUTELY LOATHE the second film for all it's worth (first time I fell asleep in a cinema, at the age of 13... you know, the TARGET AUDIENCE?!), I surprisingly didn't mind the third film, and... hoo boy... I found the fourth one to be a massive guilty pleasure of mine. (Yep, I said it. I don't regret it.)   Now, as for the Sonic movie, I'm interested in seeing the final product, if only to see which end of the film-making spectrum it lands on. ('Actual thought' vs. 'Money')

...And right on que, we have Part 11's covers and solicitation. So here's the penultimate issue (Sonic The Hedgehog #275). Just one more part to go:       So, it seems by this point of the crossover, the worlds' heroes are all united, ready for the final battle. Though the thought of Sigma reaching god-status is certainly worrying. Not so much the idea of Sigma becoming all-powerful, but the idea that the Chaos Emeralds might be required once again. I could be wrong though.

Guys, I just realised something. (Potential Spoilers Ahead!)

  Yeah, I had a problem with adding those covers; either it wouldn't let me post them because the 'extension isn't supported on this community', but when I did get the right ones, there were too many images on the post (keep in mind, I was also posting Parts 5-7's covers too) so I cut it down to the main cover only. Then again, I personally prefer the main over all the variants anyway (aside from the last one, but that's part of a much bigger cover). ESPECIALLY that one with 'Quake Woman' and... Xander Payne's undead corpse?! (Well, that's what I think it looks like. Honestly, that art is so un-Mega Man that I question how it even got approved.)

Time for some more crossover covers and solicitations, courtesy of yours truly! We end Act 2 with Part 8 (Mega Man #51)...   (I know we've already seen the variant, but it doesn't hurt to add it again... right?)     No word on Part 11 yet (Sonic's big 275th issue), and the finale (MM #52) won't be revealed until next month, along with the first post-WU Sonic/Universe/Boom issues. As for what we have so far... it's certainly a lot to take in. I understand that a few of you here don't know who some of these characters are, so I'll post a quick summary sometime later. In the meantime, just take a moment to enjoy the sheer beauty of that 'Bald is Beautiful' variant cover... ("MY EYES!")

Thanks, everyone! I had plans for the day, but they've been postponed for unfortunate reasons. That won't stop me from enjoying the day, though!

Geez, how much Worlds Unite content is there now?! As if the main story wasn't enough, we now have these 'Battle Books' coming out:       From what's been said (via interviews and the BumbleKing Forums) it seems like these one-shots are gonna be like 'extended battle scenes' in the sense that, while these fights will likely be seen or mentioned within the main issues of the crossover (like the Robot Masters vs. Sonic Man fight) this book will show even more of said fights, without cutting to other characters. I should also note that this particular book is only showing fights from the 'Mega Man [X]' characters' side of things, with another book showing off the 'Sonic [boom]' character fights. Also, while it's debated that these will only be two issues, I'm actually guessing that there will be six; three for each side, one for eact Act in the crossover.

We're back in business, baby! Here's the next four covers and solicits for Worlds Unite. We finish Act 1 with Part 4 (Mega Man #50)...    

  I've just looked it up, and the monster at the back (known as 'Gore Magala') is definitely from Monster Hunter. It originates from MH4, the latest one in the series.

  I'll give Okami a go if I ever get the chance. Just one question, though: how do you use the power-ups/drawings in the PS3 version? I understand you use the Wiimote on the Wii version, but I don't know how they changed it for the HD port. Anyway, NiGHTS is supposed to be genderless, hence why it has a female voice in 'Journey of Dreams' (the Wii game) but is referred to by the other characters as a 'he'. (Something like that, at least.) And the reason I called Alex a 'failed' mascot is that, while his games might not have been bad (I don't actually know, since I haven't played any) he never came close to rivalling Mario and Nintendo. So, in a sense, he did kinda fail.

... ... ...     That's... a lot of franchises, so let me just make sure that I've got this right. Alongside Sonic, Mega Man, Boom and X, we also have: - Street Fighter (Pretty obvious choice. I haven't played the games, but I have a vague understanding of the characters.) - NiGHTS (I've seen both of his/her/its games, so I know about this world.) - Ghosts 'n' Goblins (I at least know that these games are RIDICULOUSLY hard.) - Billy Hatcher (Seen the game, not interested in playing it, though. I'd rather eat a GINT Egg...) - Monster Hunter (Well, there is that new one out, so it makes sense to have a representitive, I guess.) - Alex Kidd (All I know is he was the 'failed' mascot... maybe that's all I need to know?) - Okami (Never played the game, but it's slowly grabbing my interest.) - Skies of Arcadia (I hear that this franchise has a cult following. Not too interested in RPGs, though.) - Viewtiful Joe (Seen the first game, and it looks pretty fun.) - Panzer Dragoon (Seen the first game, pretty standard rail-shooter a la the 'Starfox' series. I've heard of an RPG entry that's widely loved, but incredibly rare.) - Breath of Fire [3] (...I might've heard of it, but not much. Like, at all. Apparently, the third one is the most loved entry?) - Golden Axe (Some kind of arcade fantasy beat-em-up, I believe? It had a character and lava track in 'Sonic All-Stars Transformed', I at least know that much.)   Unfortunately, it's a little concerning that I don't really recognise, or am interested in over half of these franchises. But with that said, I think I may have an idea as to how this crossover might play out: (WARNING - THESE MAY BE POTENTIAL SPOILERS, SO READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!)     I know that this makes it sound almost like a repeat of 'Worlds Collide', minus the rebooting of a world, but that's just a general idea I'm getting from the teasers so far. I'd love to be proven wrong come the middle of March (or whenever the solicits for Parts 4-7 are revealed), but we'll see what happens when that time comes. Either way, I'm looking forward to see how this all plays out. (One thing I'd like to see: Ryu and X both performing a Hadouken and/or Shoryuken together. Why not?)

  Wow. This just went from being a Sonic (Boom) & Mega Man (X) crossover... to a full-blown CAPCOM & SEGA CROSSOVER?! For some clarification, I believe at least two of these silhouettes are supposed to be NiGHTS and Viewtiful Joe from their respective series. But in all seriousness, this'll probably all be saved for the finale. Still, I'd be lying if I didn't say that this is starting to worry me. I mean, I know all about Sonic, and I know enough about Mega Man and X to let that slide, but... these guys?