Rat Race is a complete story starring Tails that appeared in Issue 140 of Sonic the Comic.
Staff
- Lew Stringer - script
- Mick McMahon - art
- Tom Frame - lettering
Story
Tails is chasing yet another criminal, this time a pig on roller skates that has just robbed a bank. The fox is saved a lengthy battle after the pig trips in a drain and is carted off by the police. New resident Rat Bratt saw the chase and calls Tails lucky for the way he caught the crook. Bratt then proclaims that he turned to crime, Tails would have a much harder time catching him. To press home the point, Bratt challenges Tails to a race; if Bratt wins while running, the flying Tails is no longer allowed to patrol the Zone. Tails initially refuses, but relents when he notes the people losing confidence in him and is certain he'll win while flying.
The next day, the two competitors are set on their way by the race referee. Tails takes the first leg slowly, noticing he's left Bratt way behind. To his surprise, Bratt has somehow gotten past him and is waiting for him at the first checkpoint. Affronted, Tails decides to pour on the speed but still can't make it to checkpoint two before his rival. Determined not to lose, Tails flies faster than ever but notices that a helicopter has been following Tails all the way through the race and is quite sure it's not a news crew. At the finish line, Bratt inevitably wins and Tails congratulates him for being faster than any other rat. After hearing Bratt accept this praise, Bratt's twin brother emerges from the bushes, angry that he's not getting any of the credit. Tails reveals to the onlookers that the rats took it in turns to run legs of the race, the other one flying to the next checkpoint in the helicopter. Angry that the Bratts have cheated, the Zone's residents chase the crooks out of town. Tails was quietly confident one of them would rat out the other!
Trivia
- The Zone is left unnamed.
- Rat Bratt and his brother make their first and last appearance.
- The undergrowth shouldn't have been dense enough to cover up the arrival of the helicopter. However, the citizens were completely fooled.
- Tails breaks the fourth wall to tell us how he came up with the answers.
Timeline
The previous Tails story was Bite Back. The next is Skeleton Crew.