Knuckles the Echidna #21 Corner Box: No. 21 Feb. $1.75 (no picture) Cover: Knuckles stands in front of a tube

"The Many Facets Of The Truth"
Ken Penders: Writer
Manny Galan: Penciler
Andrew Pepoy: Inker
Barry Grossman: Colorist
Vickie Williams: Letterer
Justin Gabrie: Editor
Victor Gorelick: Managing Editor
Richard Goldwater: Editor-in-Chief

(Introduction page)
Fate has paired Locke with his ex-wife Lara-Le, Knuckles with his ancestors, and Geoffrey St. John with Elias, the supposed son of King Acorn.

The rope tethering Heavy and Bomb to a tree breaks, and they begin to drift down the river. Geoffrey is shocked, but Elias has faith that they will be saved. As the robots approach a waterfall, Locke uses his powers to make them float in the air.

Knuckles finds himself in Haven, surrounded by his ancestors. After a brief introduction, Moritori offers to escort Knuckles to the sick bay and make sure that he is feeling well. As they walk, Knuckles is surprised to find himself walking by a member of the Dark Legion. Once Knuckles steps inside the sick bay, he sees Grandfather Hawking on a bed. Moritori explains that Hawking is on life support as he prepares a syringe.

With the secret service onboard the hovercraft, Locke activates the auto-pilot for Haven and then begins to explain the day of the crash. As the Brotherhood inspected the wreckage, they found a baby before some Overlanders arrived. Sabre spoke with the Overlanders, who wanted to inspect the wreckage. Sabre said that everyone was killed and asked that they respect the echidna's neutrality in the war. The Overlanders believed Sabre's words and left. Soon afterwards Spectre found Queen Alicia barely alive. Both Elias and the queen were taken to Haven while the wreckage was disposed and the deceased were buried. After analyzing Queen Alicia's condition, the Brotherhood decided to preserve her until they were able to restore her brain activity. In order to stay out of Overlander affairs, the Brotherhood never informed King Acorn of the situation. Elias became a prodigy, and when he was ten, he was allowed to explore the Floating Island. The Colonel was discovered later by Moritori (still referred to as Tobor) and did not inform the Brotherhood in order to see how the Overlanders would react. Locke finishes his story and then pilots the hovercraft through a holographic wall of flame.

Moritori tries attacking Knuckles with the syringe, but Knuckles grabs Moritori's arm and kicks him in the face. Knuckles says Moritori's name, which provokes him into attacking again. When Knuckles punches Moritori again, he says is shocked that with all the power Knuckles has, he only uses his fists. Moritori then uses his eye unit to shoot a laser at Knuckles.

Geoffrey, Valdez, and Walt stare in awe as Elias welcomes them to Haven. Suddenly an alarm blares, and Locke says he must go save someone else. Lara-Le refuses to get off the hovercraft, and the hovercraft leaves Haven. Elias leads the secret service around Haven, explaining that each guardian raises a son to protect the echidnas from harm. As Moritori walks around, he hears a voice saying that he cannot hide. Panicking, Moritori begins to shoot laser beams everywhere and almost hits the secret service. Knuckles appears and punches Moritori to the ground. A door begins to close, and Knuckles jumps through it in the nick of time. The Brotherhood watches on a monitor, shocked that "Tobor" has betrayed them.

Elias decides to take another path when Knuckles arrives. Knuckles mentions the Dark Legion and the Brotherhood appears to investigate. Spectre opens the barrier, but Moritori is gone and the word "shinginta" remains on a wall. The phrase is from an old echidna dialect and means that they will soon be friends with death.

Locke sends down a lift to save the team that originally tried to save Lara-Le. Wynmacher introduces himself to Locke and then makes his way to Lara-Le to hold her in his arms.

The next day Elias shows Geoffrey the chamber that holds Queen Alicia. Geoffrey says he must return the queen to Mobotropolis and asks if Elias wants to stay in Haven. Elias says he must leave so he can meet his father. Knuckles hopes that now he will get some answers.

Knuckles Fan Art - 1 page

Pro Art - 1 page

Fistful of Letters highlight:
~ Short family tree: Hawking is the father of Tobor, who is the father of Spectre, who is the father of Sojourner, who is the father of Thunderhawk, who is the father of Janelle-Li, who is the mother of Athair, who is the father of Sabre, who is the father of Locke, who is the father of Knuckles