Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 148

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 148
Publication Date: April 2005

Dear readers, I feel like we can level with each other. When Archie first published the “Good/Bad/Unknown” story arc, I was barely reading the comic. At this point, I'd yank the issues out of my comic shop bag and skim them. So, in a way, this is the first time I've ever really read this story. What I remember of this one is a plot that went nowhere and got loaded down with exposition. I guess what I was really remembering was Issue 148, which certainly features both of those elements.

Last time, Sonic and the gang were left in precarious positions. Sonic, Shadow, Isaac, and Metal Sonic fell down a hole in the floor, accidentally activated by Tails. Rotor and the others, meanwhile, got caught in one of the complex's traps. The group was in the process of being electrocuted to death. Tommy immediately sets out to rescue the Freedom Fighters. Sonic, meanwhile, awakens in an underground tram way. There, his rivalry with Shadow continues while Metal gets a lecture from Isaac.

In my previous review, I characterized this four-parter as being an excuse for Sonic and Shadow, and to a lesser degree Metal, to fight. I still think that was a good summation of this arc. However, if that was Penders' goal, he screwed up on this one. Sonic and Shadow barely fight in issue 148. After running into each other on the underground tram way, Shadow briefly puts Sonic in a choke hold. By slamming on the bumper car's brakes, the darker hedgehog gets tossed into the dirt. And that's about it, as far as erinaceinae fisticuffs go. This really puts a damper on Steven Butler's awesome ability to draw fight scenes, which where the sole highlight of the last two issues.

Instead, most of the story is devoted to Isaac laying some heavy-handed exposition on us. For some reason, Metal Sonic is being civil to Shadow. He patiently listens, sitting in a roller coaster car with Isaac, as the shinier robot drones on. And on. And on. When Metal Sonic notices that Isaac's creator was named Kintobor, it causes the other robot to launched into an unending lecture about his origin. Ken even takes a page from the Christian Weston Chandler playbook, as Isaac's narration carries over panels depicting unrelated events. Instead of just saying “Yeah, Kintobor was the guy who dissected the Xorda ambassador. Afterwards, he built me and this underground lair to survive the apocalypse,” the robot delivers a monologue about Mobius' entire history. It's just the worst, you guys.

If that wasn't bad enough, Archie is still struggling with what to do with the other characters. I honestly don't why Ken had Tails and the Freedom Fighters join Sonic on this journey. All they've done is hang back while the hedgehogs fight. Maybe it was all a ruse, another attempt to make Tommy Turtle interesting. In this installment, Tommy saves Rotor and the gang by donning a rubber glove and smashing a circuit box. There's two problems with this. First off, considering how long they were being shocked, I'm pretty sure Fiona and the others are already dead. Secondly, drawing the pudgy, slow moving turtle in such a heroic light is unintentionally hilarious. This summarizes the Freedom Fighters' involvement in this story.

Archie continues to fill each issue with three stories. What's weird is the back-up tales are clearly set at a different period then the cover story. “Playing Around,” for example, is a total goof with no affect on anything. It shows Sonic and the others putting on a play for Sally and the orphans. Sonic clearly wrote the play himself, as its an ego-stroking account of a time he rescued Sally from Robotnik. That's pretty much it.

The humor in “Playing Around” mostly comes from the bizarre casting decisions Sonic made in his play. Only Sonic and Uncle Chuck play themselves. Only Big as Robotnik makes much sense. Rotor is Tails, Tails is Snively, Bunnie is St. John, Vector is a SWATBot, and – seemingly to throw a bone to the slash shippers – Knuckles is Sally. The cross dressing and fat jokes have limited appeal but “Playing Around” did make me laugh once. When somebody gets punched, Amy holds up cards with sound effects on them. Otherwise, there's little reason to check this one out.

Rounding out issue 148 is “Destiny's Child,” a story starring Tails. Sadly, the plot does not involve whether or not somebody is ready for this jelly. Instead, Tails is sitting in Knothole, wondering why everybody else has gotten their parents back but him. That's when a disembodied voice starts talking to him. Turns out the floating head of Athair has come calling again, informing Tails of his great destiny as the Chosen One. Before this conversation reaches any sort of point, Athair disappears again, leaving Tails and the reader greatly annoyed.

All “Destiny's Child” really accomplishes is to remind the reader about Tails' status as the Chosen One. Athair expounds on his first encounter with Tails in that Australian crater, that time he helped beat Mammoth Mogul, and that whole business about Tails being cloned. Throughout this, Athair mentions Tails' magician uncle Merlin, who the fox claims to have never met. This is either a plot hole or only the copycat Tails met Merlin. At this point, I can't be asked to keep this shit straight. “Destiny's Child” ends by promising that this Chosen One business will be resolved soon. God, I hope so.

How about that artwork? Steven Butler is still doing a pretty good job on the cover story, even if the script continues to disappoint. Nelson Ribeiro, who we haven't seen in a while, returns to draw “Playing Around.” Ribeiro's artwork has never been very good. His characters remain overly furry, soft, and squishy. The last one is drawn by a newcomer named Tim Smith 3. Smith's artwork strike me as what Dave Manak's drawings would look like if he was really into anime. It's okay but pretty angular and loose.

The title story continues to drag further and further into uselessness. The “Tails is the Chosen One” plot point returning hardly excites this particular reader. The middle story is cute but pretty dumb. Right now I'm counting down the days until we reach Ian Flynn coming onto the book in issue 160 because this period of Sonic is as dire as I remember. [4/10]