Shock Tactics! is a complete story starring Miles "Tails" Prower that appeared in Issue 81 of Sonic the Comic.
Staff
- Lew Stringer - script
- Mike Hadley - B&W art
- Steve White - colouring
- Tom Frame - lettering
Story
Tails is currently in the Casino Night Zone, protecting the civilians from yet another Badnik attack. The skies are clear again thanks to the courageous fox but local casino owner Max Gamble thinks Tails isn't moving fast enough. Gamble's losing customers because they're too scared of being attacked, so he threatens sending the "boys" to visit Tails if he doesn't get a move on. Fortunately, local engineers Marks and Sparks have come up with a plan to get rid of all the Badniks at once. Dressing Tails in one of the Badnik shells he defeated earlier, Tails should be able to find the Badniks' secret base and find a way to destroy them there. Tails agrees and jets off, soon finding a trio of Badniks heading to base. Tails tails them back to an abandoned building, but soon realises he's jumped into the deep end when he discovers a room filled with dozens of Badniks. Before he can think of a way to smash them one by one, a plate concealing his twin tails bursts open and his non-Badnik status is revealed.
Quickly thinking a change in tactics is in order, Tails flees from the building, the Badniks in hot pursuit. Marks and Sparks have a Plan B, getting Tails to fly in between two pylons. Once the fox is clear, Sparks pulls a lever that sees a huge surge of electricity rip between the pylons. The Badniks are all caught in the power and destroyed. The three heroes congratulate themselves, but are soon brought back to Mobius when Gamble arrives, saying the plan has caused a power outage, meaning that none of the machines in his casino work. However, the civilians take offence to Gamble's rantings about money and threaten to never use his casino again if he doesn't stop bullying Tails. Outraged, Gamble relents and Tails speeds off to rejoin Sonic the Hedgehog, Amy Rose and Johnny Lightfoot before they can be beaten by Commander Brutus. On the surface, Max Gamble vows he'll get his revenge one day.
Trivia
- This adventure happens almost right after the previous story, with Tails protecting the Zone after interference from Brutus' Trooper patrols.
- Max Gamble makes his first of many appearances, but looks nothing like his future depictions.
- Marks and Sparks, making their first and only appearance, is a play on the slang way of saying "Marks & Spencers".
- Tails says he knows what a tin of baked beans feels like now he's inside a Badnik. He may have forgotten he was once the Robofox Badnik, although that had some degree of freedom to breathe.
- Tails never made it back to join his friends against the Revolution.
Badniks
Timeline
The previous Tails story was Fleabyte Returns. The next is Changing Times.