Sonic Super Special: Issue 4 - Return of the King

Sonic Super Special: Issue 4 – Return of the King
Publication Date: January 1998

In Sonic Super Special Issue 2, Archie stole their title from Aldous Huxley. With Sonic Super Special Issue 4, Archie stole their title from J.R.R. Tolkien! Well, if you’re going to steal, steal from the best. Anyway, I have a specific memory attached to “Return of the King.” At some point, I left the comic in the bathroom as commode reading. Afterwards, my mom actually picked up the comic and read it. She really liked this story, which surprised me. I didn’t bond with my parents over Sonic the Hedgehog that often, I can tell you that.

Picking up after that ridiculous Mammoth Mogul business was resolved in issue 56 of “Sonic,” the Freedom Fighters arrive in Mobotropolis. King Acorn greets them and claims to be of sound mind. This is in contrast to the last time they saw him, when he was yelling about dismantling all the Robians. The Freedom Fighters act unusually antagonistic towards the Robians and re-convince the King to commit genocide against the robotic citizens. Later, the Freedom Fighters seemingly re-arrive in the city, which is gripped by civil war. Their plane is shot down and they find themselves targeted by soldiers of the king and Robian rebels. After Uncle Chuck is nearly killed, Sonic realizes something is up.

Too often in recent memories, the “Sonic” series has fallen back on magic and omniscient higher powers manipulating events. That doesn’t change any in “Return of the King.” Readers will immediately notice how out-of-characters the Freedom Fighters are acting. Considering Sonic and Uncle Chuck’s reconciliation in issue 54, the hedgehog continuing to blame his uncle is definitely an uncharacteristic moment. King Acorn continues to act like a huge cock, a brief talk with his daughter being all the convincing he needs to massacre the Robians.

The Mobian soldiers and Robian rebels taking shots at everyone is also explained as an act of magical manipulation. That’s right, guys. Ixis Naugus is back in town and fucking with everybody’s shit. On one hand, this nicely explains where the evil sorcerer has been since the end of issue 53. He’s been hiding inside King Acorn, possessing his body. However, as an explanation for the King’s extreme actions and a motivator for the plot, it’s undeniably lazy.

Also lazy: The role the Sword of Acorn plays. Three times, the Sword is used to heal someone in this story. After a soldier with an itchy trigger finger blows Uncle Chuck away, Sonic grabs the sword, ready to murder the guy. Luckily, the blade repairs Chuck and frees everyone from Naugus’ manipulation. After realizing Naugus has possessed the King, Sonic flashes the sword to exorcise Max’s body. The magic also saves both from falling to their deaths. On the story’s final page, the Sword reverses King Acorn’s crystallization. Gee, is there anything the Sword of Acorn can’t do? Apparently an alternate spelling for “sword” is “deus ex machine.”

For one last ass-pull, Karl Bollers remembers that the King’s magical crown was lost in the Halls of Limbo. After being de-crystalized, the Crown reappears on Acorn’s head. Get this!: the Halls of Limbo where located within his own mind.

Despite these narrative problems, “Return of the King” is still a solid page-turner. Though he has some annoying tendency, I admire Bollers’ willingness to take these characters and their world seriously. After Uncle Chuck is shot, his body has a huge hole blown through his chest. Smoke billows from his vacant eyes and opened mouth. Sonic is outright ready to kill the shooter after that, pointing the sword at his chest. Holy cow, is this still a kids’ book? What resolves this moment marks the first time Sonic’s parents have done anything since they’ve been introduced. Jules and Bernie appear and talk Sonic back from committing homicide.

Sonic isn’t the only character who re-connects with a parent. After his mind is freed from the wizard, Sally gives the King a deep hug, father and daughter truly reunited for the first time. During the fall, the Sword landed upright in a stone. In a nice mythic touch, King Max pulls the sword from the stone, the action that restores him fully.

Sam Maxwell pencils the story. While I was impressed with his debut in “Battle Royal,” Maxwell’s subsequent work has underwhelmed me. The artist is back in form with “Return of the King.” I continue to love the way he draws Princess Sally, which filters her original design through an anime lens. That style, which includes big heads and spindly bodies, takes some getting use to. I like it though, as it recalls the original game artwork. Maxwell is also really good at action, bringing a dynamic energy to the sequences, framing the panels like cinematic story boards.

The second story in “Return of the King” takes us back to “Endgame.” In “Down and Out in Downunda,” Antoine and Bunnie recount how they escaped Crocbot’s prison camp in the spaces between issues 49 and 50. Basically, Bunnie outsmarts her captive. She slips her organic hand out of her shackles, blows the explosive collar, and knocks down the cell door. The Downunda Freedom Fighters prepare to make scrap metal out of Crocbot’s robotic soldiers. While they whoop ass, Bunnie and Antoine sneak aboard Crocbot’s cargo ship. There, they defuse a plan by the reptilian mechanoid to nuke Robotnik’s city.

“Down and Out in Downunda” continues the gritty tone established by the title story. Barby and Walt Wallabe worry that Crocbot has murdered their team meets. Later, their captor out-right proclaims his desire to kill his captives. When Bunnie frees their cellmates, they are so pissed off. The Downunda Freedom Fighters may not have the most defined personality but there’s one thing they do well: Kick ass! Watching them tear apart the bad guys is so satisfying.

The business on the ship is a lot less interesting. An entire panel is devoted to a recording of Robotnik explaining what the Ultimate Annihilator is. Though Crocbot planning to betray Robotnik is definitely in character for the robotic minion, I’m not exactly sure why Bunnie and Antoine defuse this plot. You’d think they see it as a chance to take out their greatest enemy. Or did they figure that Sonic would be in town by that point?

Parts of “Down and Out in Downunda” where originally intended to appear in issue 50. Most of the story would be reprinted when the extended cut of the issue was presented as the sixth Sonic Super Special. Nelson Ortega does the artwork and it’s swell. His image of an angry Barby, showing her claws, is probably my favorite drawing of that character. His action is brutal and direct. His facial expressions are serious. His artwork both pairs well with Sam Maxwell’s work on the main story and has a gritty energy and gravitas all its own.

Truthfully, I like a lot about “Return of the King.” The artwork is good throughout, the script wraps up several story arcs, the book has a serious tone and an emotional heart. I just wish the plotting was a little less contrived. Oh well, that’s comic books, I suppose. [7/10]