Sonic Universe: Issue 44

Sonic Universe: Issue 44
Publication Date: September 2012

In retrospect, it's pretty sad that Ian Flynn spent so much time setting up the Secret Freedom Fighters. After several months, and endless stories it seems, of build-up, the new team finally got their four issue arc in “Sonic Universe.” And then, in a few months, all but one of them would be wiped out by the reboot. I guess that just goes to show that the reboot really was sprang on Ian Flynn and his team at the last minute. Then again, there were some plot lines that got set-up and didn't even get as much payoff as this one. Guess we should've been lucky this story was delayed a few months.

Part four of “Unsung Heroes” is clearly a Public Enemy fan as the subtitle implores you to “Fight the Power.” Naugus' plan to bend the Council of Acorn's collective minds to his will is ready. The Secret Freedom Fighters interrupt the ritual and take the fight to the wizard. Meanwhile, the Council attempts to assemble above. Luckily, Larry the Lynx is there, his bad luck constantly preventing the meeting from going forward.

“Fight the Power” is primarily an action story. It should probably not be surprising that the main way the Secret Freedom Fighters disrupt Naugus' magic spell is with punching. Silver and Shard fight Naugus. Elias and Silver fight Naugus. Lyco and Leeta fight Geoffrey. Elias fights Geoffrey. Pretty much every combination you can think of plays out. As a fight scene, it is pretty cool. There's so much going on that it's hard to get bored. Despite outnumbering the enemy, Naugus and St. John are formidable enough to keep the tension high.

In fact, the stakes get more and more high as the issue goes on. The subplot concerning Naugus loosing control over his own body continues to build here. Even after seemingly winning the day by exploding his magical altar, the Secret Freedom Fighters aren't out of the woods yet. Naugus freaks out, grows more monstrous, and attempts to trap the team in the tunnels. It's a neat trick on Flynn's behalf, keeping the drama going even after the plot is more-or-less resolved.

Luckily, this isn't just a punching and kicking orientated issue. Flynn wraps the comic up with a surprisingly bittersweet series of panels. In narration boxes, Harvey Who talks about how the Secret Freedom Fighters' good deeds can never be publicly acknowledge, how they most operate from the shadows and give up the things they want most. Flynn contrasts these words with shots of Elias looking in on his dying father and Larry watching the other members of the Substitute Freedom Fighters leave the Council building. The last two shows Shard watching Uncle Chuck, Jules, and Bernie have a pleasant dinner together. This page was probably meant to emphasize the personal sacrifices the characters are making by becoming spies. What it actually ends up doing is giving us insight into the sadness and dissatisfaction each member feels with their lives. Which is actually a far more noble goal.

Speaking of Larry! Harvey Who smartly realizes that someone who generates bad luck shouldn't be around during the big fight. Instead, he puts Larry's jinxing to good use. The scenes of the Council of Acorn's meeting being repeatedly interrupted by stupid bullshit – the new bill of rights they've come to sign going missing, the power in the building going off – are pretty funny. It's amusing to see that, even in an action book like this, people can still be inconvenienced by stupid bullshit. These moments also provide decent comic relief to the big fight scene happening underground.

Geoffrey St. John's character arc in this story line has been one of its most promising elements. We got some pay-off to that development here. St. John is still serving his master but not in the most enthusiastic manner. When the Secret Freedom Fighters pop in, he uses the fight as an excuse to not help Naugus. He even rather literally tosses Elias a hint that he's going back over to the side of the angels. In a surprisingly chilling panel, St. John outright leaves Naugus to die in the explosion. Of course, the wizard survives and Geoff has to backtrack but it's still a surprisingly nasty turn of events. It seems St. John really is fed up with his boss' bullshit.

Issue 44 wraps up by promising a conclusion to Silver's quest for the traitor. For those who are reading through these books for the first time, I'll just say the resolution to that is super underwhelming. The Secret Freedom Fighters arc was pretty uneven. However, even its weaker issues managed to be pretty entertaining. If nothing else, it's a fun idea, even if Flynn had to jump through way too many hoops to get it rolling. [7/10]