Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 106

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 106
Publication Date: January 2002

At the start of 2002, Archie’s “Sonic” series was headed back to Station Square. Depending on your perspective, this was either because Karl had wrapped stuff up in Knothole or made such a huge mess of it that leaving was the best option. It’s not quite a blank slate to start the year on but it’s at least take our mind off the tangle of plot lines back home.

In “Crouching Hedgehog, Hidden Dragon” – a punny title that barely connects with the story – the Freedom Fighters head to Station Square on a diplomatic mission. They hope the city will accept the Overlander refugees from Robotropolis. Politics turn out to be trickier to navigate than Sonic expected. All negotiations are interrupted when an angry dragon descends on the city, bathing it in flames. Sonic kicks into action.

You’re not used to seeing the Freedom Fighters on a political mission. Usually, they’re bashing robotic heads and clashing with supervillains. Putting established characters in situations they aren’t used to is a good way to introduce conflict. Which it does, to some success. Two pages devoted to Sonic and the Freedom Fighters schmoozing with the locals is cute. Station Square offers to accept the Overlander refugees if the Freedom Fighters do something for them in return. This seriously pisses Sonic off, who expects people do stuff simply because they're the right thing to do.

(Sonic doesn’t consider the following. Since all the Overlanders have radiation poisoning from living in Robotropolis, they would put a serious strain on the city’s presumably limited medical resources. This isn’t the same as a superpower like the U.S. accepting refugees. Station Square has been living under a mountain for thousands of years, with zero contact with the outside world. Who knows what condition their hospitals are in? Station Square probably should accept the Overlanders but there are a multitude of issues to consider. This is why negotiation – social and economical – isn’t the hedgehog’s strong suit.)

It’s a mildly dramatic moment and one I wish the book explored more. Instead, Sally shushes him and takes over, an admittedly cute moment. The hedgehog is next seen brooding in his hotel room. Karl returns to a vein he’s previously visited with positive results. Sonic wonders about his role in this new world. He doesn’t understand the human’s ways, which frustrates him. The King ordered him to protect Sally, not to navigate social-political constrains. The hedgehog is used to running fast and wrecking shit. Thinking in abstract terms puts him in a tricky position. Sadly, this promising story thread is cut short when Tails shows up and asks Sonic to visit the local video arcade.

In fact, everything that’s interesting about the story – the political implications of the Freedom Fighters’ mission, Sonic’s musing on his place in this strange new world – stops dead when the dragon shows up. Instead, subpar action sequences take over the issue. The dragon explodes a city block. Sonic leaps around, gets whacked with by a tail, nearly burned alive, and then flees into a lake. The dragon then leaves afterwards, for no defined reason. It leads up to the conclusion, where Sonic promises to solve the city’s dragon problem if they solve their refugee problem. But it’s a disappointing conclusion. Ron Lim’s artwork is typically uninspired, making a weak action scene even more underwhelming.

In the back pages, Ken Penders throws a similar curveball at the increasingly tiresome Chaos Knuckles story. A new figure appears in the abandoned streets of Echidnopolis: A young, female echidna with distinctive spikes on her knuckles. It’s clear she’s arrived from another time period with a yet undisclosed mission. Her search through the city is interrupted by Knuckles’ latest attempt to reverse the Quantum Beam’s effects. She then runs into Remington, who is apparently still on the island and is apparently also responsible for Knuckles’ future death.

“Reunification” introduces Lara-Su, Knuckles and Julie-Su’s future flung daughter. The book tries to keep coy about Lara-Su’s parentage but her spiked knuckles make it obvious. The story idea, of a child sent from the future to prevent a disaster in the past, isn’t new. It seems likely Ken was inspired by Trunks from “Dragon Ball Z.” Lara-Su arrives via a swirling ball of blue energy, a visual quote from “The Terminator.” (Sega would, years later, take a stab at a similar premise, with Silver the Hedgehog.) The character would be immediately popular with fans. Not because of anything to do with her personality but because of her eye-catching design. The sprout of purple hair, tiny John Lennon glasses, and stylish jacket would impress the Sonic fandom. Unsurprisingly, we have Dawn Best to thank for this, who is evolving into a fine illustrator.

Lara-Su’s introduction overshadows how nothing actually happens in “Reunification – Part 1.” Some Dark Legionaries search the empty city streets. Dimitri and Lien-Da banter for a page. Knuckles appears in a single panel, screaming to the heavens while attempting to undo the Quantum Beam’s power. Remington’s reappearance is a surprise but one that seems especially inane, considering we clearly saw him get sucked into another dimension. Seems like Ken is tossing yet more plot points into the air, in a further attempt to stretch this story out even more.

So it’s a mixed bag. The cover story has some interesting ideas but abandon them for sophomoric action stuff. The back-up introduces a promising new character but at the cost of doing anything else. The future remains as uncertain as ever but at least I don’t entirely hate this one.  [5/10]