Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 285

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 285
Publication Date: August 2016

To anybody who has been reading the book since at least the reboot started, we already know how important the “Panic in the Sky” story arc is. It’s finally wrapping up a story arc that has lingered, lingered so hard the Cranberries could’ve written a song about it. Just in case we didn’t realize the momentousness of this occasion, Archie threw together a four-part connecting cover. It’s been a while since we’ve had one of those, so it’s pretty cool... even if Dan Schoening, who still hasn’t quite gotten the grasp of these characters, is the one drawing it. What, Spaz wasn’t available?

“Panic in the Sky: Part 2 — Falling into Place” — aw, nice pun there, Flynn — begins by giving our heroes a last minute reprieve. Before the Sky Patrol plummets to the Earth below and everyone dies, Nicole gets one of the engines back online. The Freedom Fighters are still alive but they are beaten and exhausted. Nevertheless, Sally has to rally the limited resources she has to save the day. Especially after Eggman captures the most important Gaia Gate and begins his plan to keep the world shattered and feed off Dark Gaia’s energy forever.

Much like 283’s “The Mission,” “Falling Into Place” is a story largely about getting all the narrative clockwork to line up just right. (This is even reflected in its title.) Yet there’s a big difference between the two. While “The Mission” was largely set in a tension-less void, things are very serious this time. Time is definitely running out, as Eggman is closer than ever before to achieving his goal of complete global domination. The Freedom Fighters are basically getting ready to make a suicide run, Sally assuring everyone that they make not be coming home this time. That’s a considerably heavier emotional stakes than the last time Flynn devoted a whole issue to narrative structure work.

What makes this especially effective is how badly the Freedom Fighters got their asses beat last time. It’s rare that we see our heroes so exhausted, so beat down by their journeys. Sally is especially hit hard. Early on, she and Tails discover Nicole’s burned out handheld form. There’s a panel, a few minutes, where Sally thinks her best friend/lover(?) is dead. And it’s pretty sad. Even after Nicole is revealed as not dead, Sally never quite emotionally recovers. She is totally exhausted in this issue, struggling to keep going. But she does, formulating a decent counterattack as quickly as possible. And that’s why we love Princess Sally.

In fact, this issue does a good job of getting at why we love the Freedom Fighters in general. Among the many things that bug me about the reboot is that the Freedom Fighters are just about on equal footing with Eggman. We rarely get a sense of them being rebels, working underground to disrupt tyranny. (This could also be a fair criticism against Flynn’s preboot work as well, except we had seen the struggles that lead to that comfort before, which makes a big difference.) Well, in this issue, you definitely feel the Freedom Fighters are underdogs. Their resources are low, time is against them. It’s thrilling to be reminded why these are guys are so heroic, to see that need to protect the innocent and stand-up to tyranny, even when the odds are against them.

But that’s enough about the good guys. What about the bad guys? Eggman is having a lot of fun in this issue. When he carries Chip to the Gaia Gate, he gloats happily about how close he is to victory. How sweet it feels to being close to coming out on top. Naturally, this scene also gives the audience more insight into what exactly Robotnik is planning. But, honestly, just seeing the guy so pleased to be so close to enslaving the entire world, controlling a mad god and having an infinite energy source for his war fleet, is justification enough. While I tend to prefer my Eggman on the calculating and vicious side, I do enjoy seeing him ham it up from time to time too. We see that side of him when he steps into the Gaia Colossus, marveling at the controls, or when he ambushes Sonic at the end with the Egg Dragoon. (Though I honestly think of all of Eggman's potential catchphrases, it's weird to me that "Get a load of this!" is the one that has stuck.)

While I have been very critical of Flynn's decision to spend three goddamn years adapting "Sonic Unleashed," roping so much fucking baggage into the book, the game's mythology does lead to a cool moment here. When Eggman activates the final sequence to unleashed Dark Gaia, the Gaia Temples from all over the globe pull themselves from the ground and fly to his spot, to assemble themselves into the Gaia Colossus. The montage of characters watching huge stone buildings levitate into the air and fly off is both funny and surreal, tapping into a vein of cosmic weirdness that has been lacking from the book for some time. It doesn't make up for all that senseless, bullshit MacGuffin chasing, but it is a fun moment. (And it also allows Flynn to reference many of the new characters and locations he introduced here, reminding us what is at stake as the world spins towards total destruction.)

So it's a pretty good comic book! Diana Skelly's artwork continues to be loose and energetic in a likable, even if her character work veers towards the flat and underdrawn in a few panels. I'm also really glad the book finally introduced a decent design for Speedy, one heavily inspired by Drawerlala's excellent fan re-design. Thank god he's not wearing a diaper anymore. So "Panic in the Sky" continues to work very well as a grand finale but actually putting its heroes in a very difficult spot. [7/10]