Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 84

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 84
Publication Date: May 2000

Issue 84 of Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” series picks up right where the last one left. Sonic and Perfect Chaos continue to battle their way across Station Square. While the super-charged hedgehog continues to counter the physical god, Knuckles and the Freedom Fighters think of a way to stop the unstoppable liquid creature. Will he succeed? Did you play the video game? Meanwhile, Locke finally gets around to rescuing the Chaotix from the Mysterious Cat Country.

Archie decided to devote two whole issues to the battle with Perfect Chaos. So what does that decision result in? Well, a couple of cool panels of Sonic and the monster grappling. He flies around the water serpent, bursting out of his mouth. The two slam each other into buildings, acting a bit like a kaiju and his undersized opponent. If nothing else, these sequences are a showcase for Steven Butler’s awesome artwork. His strength for both action and detail make him an awesome choice for the big fight.

As much press as the big fight gets, the conclusion is underwhelming. After knocking each other around for a while, Sonic leads Perfect Chaos into some power lines. A jolt of electricity is enough to defeat Perfect Chaos, transforming the monster into a peaceful water being once again. Tikal, that living exposition mouth piece, then swoops in and transports Chaos away. In other words, it’s the perfectly disappointing conclusion to Archie’s half-assed adaptation of the “Sonic Adventure” story.

So what’s Knuckles up to during all of this? While Sonic and Chaos are battling it up, Knuckles is responsible for reactivating the Station Square power plant. This results in two things. First off, there’s one of those blatant Marvel references that Ken Penders love so much, this one to "Amazing Spider-Man" Issue 33. Secondly, Knuckles has to access his super secret Guardian powers in order to save the day. Christ, I thought we were done with that stupid shit? Isn’t Knuckles’ great abilities and grand destiny resolved by this point? Yeesh.

All of that lameness aside, there are one or two cute moments here revolving around the Freedom Fighters. After Antoine gets injured by falling rubble, he tries to convince Bunnie to leave without him. The cyborg rabbot is, typically, not having it. She’s insistent on staying by her lover’s side. Sally, sadly, doesn’t even get that much of a moment. She barks some orders and is flown around by Tails. That’s another reason I dislike the entire “Sonic Adventure” ordeal. It really sidelined the Freedom Fighters.

You’ll notice that Knuckles wasn’t a big part of the Perfect Chaos boss battle in the video game. Knuckles being forced into the fray – another example of Ken Penders pushing his own mythology into the story – hasn’t gone unnoticed by Penders haters.

But that didn’t bother me anywhere near as much as Locke’s subplot. The book finally follows up on Locke rescuing the Chaotix from those crazy cat people. How does Locke save the day? He takes his shirt off and wrestles a big bad cat warrior to the ground in seconds using his superior martial skills. I’ve always suspected that Locke was Ken’s idealized self-insert character and this confirms it. Having him be a wise sage who is never wrong isn’t enough for Penders. Locke has to be a bad-ass warrior too. Geez.

Despite Knuckles and Locke playing a major role in the cover story, they still get their own back-up feature. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” – which was published uncredited but was obviously written and drawn by Ken – features Knuckles gliding back to the Floating Island. He restores the Master Emerald, allowing the island to rise back into the sky. Afterwards, he reconnects with the Chaotix. While on the mainland, Knuckles gets a history lesson from his dad. Turns out the Guardian had some fucked-up ancestors.

“Bridge Over Troubled Water” has several potential emotional moments. Such as Knuckles being reunited with Julie-Su, the Chaotix finally being rescued, and the Floating Island rising back into the sky, signaling the end of Knuckles’ latest quest. Instead of focusing on these character moments, Ken uses the back-up story for stupider shit. First off, the Brotherhood places the newly reunited Master Emerald into a new Shrine, which brings the comic more in-line with game continuity. The latter half is entirely devoted to Locke explaining the Brotherhood’s connection with Sega’s Knuckles Clan. (Which inadvertently reveals that Locke named his son after a genocidal warlord.) Honestly, with everything else that’s been going on, this is the last thing I care about.

Well, at least it’s finally over. The entire “Sonic Adventure” story arc has been ill-conceived from the beginning, mostly devoted to awkwardly inserting video game exclusive concepts into the comic book world. The writers couldn’t even re-tell the video game story line in an interesting or compelling way. Honestly, I just wish Archie had ignored the entire tie-in, instead of interrupting the main story line for so many months. Maybe things can get back to normal now? Yeah, probably not. [5/10]