Sonic Universe: Issue 19

Sonic Universe: Issue 19
Publication Date: August 2010

Aw, that's a cute cover, isn't it? We can't forget that, during “SatAM” and the comic's early days, Antoine D'Coolette was basically the “Sonic” crew's goofy comic relief. In the intervening years, Antoine has been redefined as an honorable soldier, driven by his sense of duty and his love for his wife, Bunnie. Sometimes recently, Antoine has gotten a little too serious. So it's refreshing to see a silly cover of the coyote posing dramatically with a goofy inner-tube. It speaks to the depth of the book's cast that Antoine can be both a comedic character and a serious one without loosing a beat.

The third part of 'Trouble in Paradise” begins with Antoine's seemingly fatal plummet from the doorway. The comic clues us in early that this may not be what it appears to be, since Bunnie smiles upon looking out the door. She tries to uphold her double agent charade with the Battle Bird Armada but Speedy is suspicious. Consulting Eggman's network, he discovers that Bunnie is a Freedom Fighter. He has Dr. Fukurokov, the Armada's resident mad scientist, whip up a special weapon for him. Meanwhile, Tails and Antoine re-team with Bunnie, pursuing a plan to sink the Armada's base into the sea.

I've generally been enjoying “Trouble in Paradise” but there's been one problem with the story arc thus far. I'm not super invested in the actual plot. In this issue, Tails makes a discovery about the architecture of the Battle Bird Armada's base. Something about it being built on tunnels above the ocean. Listen, I don't give a shit about this. This is revealed to us through clunky narrative techniques, Bunnie handing T-Pup a USB full of info she swiped. Moreover, the Armada still isn't a particularly interesting threat, striking the reader as a mostly incompetent mini-diaspora. Flynn should have focused more on the rivalry between Tails and Speedy, as that's more compelling. At least Speedy has a definable personality.

Having said that, what I do like about this story arc is the interaction between the established characters. After Tails rescues Antoine from his dive, the two return to the island. While wandering around the island's underbrush, Antoine begins to reminiscence about Tails' earlier days as a Freedom Fighter. How he had to be rescued twice while in Downunda, how he was once a helpless little kid. This scene, amusingly, concludes with Antoine ruffling Tails' hair. Which seriously pisses the young fox off. This further shows how far Tails has come since the book's earlier day, further establishing himself as a more fully defined character.

Bunnie gets some cool moments in this one too. I like the scenes between her and Speedy. How she has to double down on her spy lie, pointing out how Antoine's apparent death would blow her cover. This leads to a fantastic sequences, a little later, where Bunnie swoops into the caverns with Tails, unexpectedly saving them. She's super-happy to see Antoine and, compared to her husband, ribs Tails in a cute, funny way. Like I said, the history between these characters is such that simple dialogue like this becomes delightful.

The Battle Bird Armada still isn't very developed as an organization. We got to see a little bit of the BattleKukku in the previous issue, though we don't have much of a bead on the guy. This issue also introduces Dr. Fukurokov, one of the bosses from the “Tails Adventure” game, a kooky inventor with an unpronounceable name. He's supposed to be an owl – his name is a pun on the Japanese word for “owl” – but looks more like a parrot. He's deeply annoyed by everyone's inability to pronounce his name and pretty insecure about his contribution to the Armada. This makes the character come off as a bit annoying, a series of simple comedic gimmicks. And it's not as if the book doesn't already have a mad scientist with a somewhat child-like personality.

Honestly, the most interesting about Dr. Fukurokov is a throwaway line. While going over Bunnie's history with Speedy, it's mentioned that the rabbot was partially robotocized many years ago. Fukurokov denounces robotocization as “rule-bending, pseudo-science magi-tech malarkey.”  Now, Flynn might be trying to cast aspersions on Fukurokov as a lesser scientific mind than Robotnik. Yet referring to robotocization as “magi-tech” is interesting. Is that reference to the technology initially being powered by Power Rings? Or is this one little line shedding some light on the somewhat mysterious way the process actually work? I don't know but it intrigues me, especially since Robotnik himself would dismiss all magic in the future.

There's some decent action beats in issue 19 of “Sonic Universe,” such as Bunnie matching a giant robot punch for punch. Or an earlier scene where Tails and Antoine punch out some Battle Bird Armada stoodgies. There are some elements in this one that allows me to like it but, overall, Flynn is spending a little too much time developing a new threat without making the audience care about it any. Maybe the pieces will really come together in the final part. Or maybe not. We'll see. [6/10]