Sonic the Hedgehog: Knuckles' 30th Anniversary Special

Sonic the Hedgehog: Knuckles' 30th Anniversary Special

Publication Date: November 20th, 2024

 

While Sega seems to have tentatively discarded the idea that "Classic" Sonic and "Modern" Sonic are alternate universe versions of the same character that exists in different dimensions, the fact of the matter is that the Classic/Modern divide still functionally exists. Classic Sonic stars in retro-style platformers. Modern Sonic takes hits of the ol' Boost Formula. Classic Sonic has a big head and a diminutive body. Modern Sonic has lankier limbs and a more elongated torso. Most pressingly, it would seem that some characters remain locked behind the Classic Era curtain. It might technically be all one timeline now but, as of this writing, cast members like Mighty, Ray, Fang, Bark and Bean remain isolated to the retro titles while the likes of Shadow, Rouge, Silver, and the rest are confined to the post-millennium style of games. 

This extends to the comics as well. IDW continues to periodically publish one-shots or mini-series utilizing the Classic designs, drawing from the Genesis era and modern spin-offs like "Mania" and "Superstars." There's a definite separation between these stories and the on-going comic, much more entrenched in the current wave of games. (Though the comics still seem to exist in some weird extended grey zone between the events of "Sonic Forces" and "Sonic Frontiers," according to the nerds way too invested in continuity.) It will presumably remain this way until Sega says "fuck it" and let's Flynn sneak Bean into the main book or randomly drops Mighty into a PS5 title. From a commercial perspective, I suppose this makes sense. Golden oldies like me prefer the Classic style while those ten or twenty years younger than me have grown up with the newer stuff. It remains frustrating from a storytelling perspective, that the jerboa bounty hunter or super-strong armadillo ostensibly exists in the same world as Emo Sonic and Bat Tits but they'll never interact for some reason. 

By which I mean it's time for another Classic Sonic style anniversary one-shot. Thirty years ago, Knuckles the Echidna smashed his way into our lives, informing a whole generation of kids that egg laying, spiny "anteaters" exist in Australia. Happy birthday, Knuckles. You are middle-aged now. How's your back holding up? Characters like Tails and Amy feel like they've always existed, filling the stock roles of the sidekick and the love interest. Knuckles is the first time I can remember Sega treating the introduction of a new "Sonic" cast member as an event. He was both a friend and a foe, whose truces with Sonic always seemed to exist on unstable ground. That has changed a lot over the years and Sega has used much of the same marketing techniques every subsequent time they've debuted a new character. A slow path from enemy to ally, a mysterious past, so on and so forth. But Knuckles remains special to me, the first of Sonic's "friendly rivals" and probably my favorite of the franchise's Big Three. 

So how did IDW celebrate Knuckles existing for three decades? The story begins with the echidna. standing by his precious Master Emerald and thinking in very ego-centric terms about his success as a Guardian. This is when Angel Island passes over the Northstar Islands, otherwise known as the setting for "Sonic Superstars." Knuckles gets to thinking about Trip the Sungazer and how she's a guardian, much like him. He stops into the island and decides he's going to train the young lizard girl how to be tough and strong. That's when he discovers that he and Trip live very different lives: She has a community, a village, a family of critters like her and this has molded her into a very different type of guardian than himself. Conflict, of a sort, arises. 

Knuckles is a character of contradictions. He is both rather cunning and very gullible, a hardened warrior and a naïve kid, a punch-happy bruiser and an introspective loner. Ian Flynn's script for this one-shot digs right into these two-fold attributes. The story begins with Knuckles thinking rather gloriously about himself, bragging about his supposed victories in his memory. Later, it's brought up that the Guardian has actually made a lot of mistakes too, that each of those victories only occurred because he had help from his friends. By story's end, he's gone from being tough with Trip to treating her with a lot more empathy. In other words, the echidna gets an actual arc here, starting out believing something else and ending having learned a lesson. This plays into the idea of Knuckles as someone capable of abrasive bluntness that can also grow and learn humility and kindness. 

Sonic has almost always had a sidekick, Tails debuting early enough in the franchise's history that he's practically been there from the beginning. With Knuckles, Sega has always emphasized his status as the last echidna, a perpetual loner. The comics have attempted over the years to give him his own sidekick, usually in the form of Charmy Bee, but it's never stuck. It remains to be seen if IDW will run with this idea, much less if Sega will feel the need to incorporate it into their games, but this one-shot decides to pair Knuckles up with Trip the Stargazer. This thrusts Knux into a new role, that of a mentor to a young, inexperienced hero. That Trip is a little kid and prone to big emotions challenges Knuckles' punch-first-and-ask-questions-later attitude. He learns a lesson that we all have to learn at some point: True strength does not come from your muscles or how hard you can hit. Trip is strong in different ways from Knuckles, capable of things he is not. This forces Knuckles to consider that his ways are not always the best, that he has flaws too. In the final set of pages, Flynn employs the cliché of the Master becoming the student, the mentor learning something from his ward in the course of teaching them. It's earned though and makes for a nicely emotional resolution. 

Trip the Sungazer is still a recent addition to the "Sonic" lore. This is only her second appearance in a comic, outside of a cameo in the digital-only Fang story that was published to promote "Superstars," and her first appearance ever in the IDW universe. She's essentially a blank slate, this comic functioning as basically the first chance for the series to expand on her personality. Trip is clearly derivative of other "Sonic" characters. Her arc in "Superstars" was very similar to Knuckles' in "Sonic 3," as a guardian of a MacGuffin who is fooled by Eggman into fighting against Sonic. She's very feminine, much like Amy Rose, and also young and vulnerable, like Cream. It remains to be seen if Trip will be able to evolve into her own distinct character. Or if Sega will allow IDW to use her more. Either way, I found her to be really adorable here. She's clumsy and eager to please, with big glittery eyes and a tendency towards crying. I don't think Trip fills some essential role in the cast but I do like her. She makes a good impression here and I hope we see her more. 

Pairing Trip up with Knuckles is a good idea and their interactions provide the best parts of this comic. The two are similar but different in a lot of ways too. That Trip has a family, a community of folks like her, strikes the isolated Knuckles as a very meaningful change. He tries his tougher-than-leather routine on Trip but it only ends up making both of them look like fools. Generally speaking, I think the contrasts between these two and their situations simply makes for a meaningful, well realized story. We get many cute, minor interactions like Trip pointing out that it's hard for her to see in her armor. Or her grandfather telling her not to give into her self-doubts. The climax of the story is an emotional one, Knuckles admitting Trip that maybe he's not the best teacher. These two make for a smart pairing. If Trip becomes the Tails to Knuckles' Sonic, that would be a useful and interesting placement for her in the cast. 

While reviewing the IDW Annual for this year, I noted that the one-shots seem to be when the comic can focus on character-driven stories, outside the on-going plots of the main book. That is so very true of this story, which doesn't actually feature any major action at all. I kept waiting for Eggman to show up with an evil robot, for Knuckles and Trip to do some Badniks smashing together. That ends up not being necessary for the story to work, the script pulling tension and resolution simply from the two's relationship. The only editorially-mandated action scenes we get in this issue are in the training Knuckles and Trip undergo. That mostly results in largely comedic scenes of Knuckles trying to pummel the kid and getting his toes smashed by her extra hard armor. In the back half, we get a nice montage of the two running through some ancient ruins, which gives a chance to show off some of Trip's unique abilities and expands on her own lore too. I can't resist the charms of a good training montage, so I thoroughly enjoyed these moments. 

Obviously, being a fairly new addition to the cast, Trip still has the most expansion to undergo. The addition of her village, something we didn't see in the video games, and the idea that her armor is hundreds of years old ate decent ways to add more personality to her background. Ultimately though, this is Knuckles' story and he is central to my favorite scene here. The first few pages, that show Knuckles bragging about his past victories, seems to favor the modern, Flanderized take on the echidna, as a big strong idiot with an inflated sense of himself. However, later flashbacks show that Knuckles' stubbornness and commitment to his own duty is, in fact, a positive element of his personality. We see him showing Amy how to throw a boulder smashing blow. Or standing outside Tails' tent during a thunderstorm, keeping the kid safe. This presents the idea that Knuckles may be a bit of a blowhard, maybe kind of dumb, taking himself way too seriously... But that's part of his charm too. These attributes also mean he's protective, strong, and committed to his ethical beliefs. All good things to be! I like that better than playing his gullibility for laughs. (Though this issue does that too, in a self-deprecating manner.) 

It's a good story and it looks good too. Thomas Rothlisberger is back on pencilling duties. His Classic style artwork remains top-of-the-line. He emulates some of Tyson Hesse's quirks that have worked their way into the Classic games. Such as Knuckles making a goofy face when awkwardly hiding his past mistakes. Whenever Trip turns on the big puppy dog eyes, that is extremely well conveyed too. The action scenes aren't merely fluid and dynamic in their movement but the way these guys move also reflect on their personalities. We can see Knuckles' brashness in how he throws a punch, Trip's timidity in how she holds herself. Also, it's funny to see fans embracing the idea of Trip belonging to a town of people the same color and physiology as her... Ya know, the exact same thing Ken Penders did with Knuckles back in the day but everyone hates and derides now. I doubt this will set-up Trip having an elaborate and convoluted destiny of her own but my point is: A little more creativity could have been shown, perhaps, in the designs of the other Stargazers. But the art is aces. Nothing to complain about there.

Some impossible to please fans will probably bitch that this one-shot focuses on Trip nearly as much as it does Knuckles, betraying the promise made in the title and cover art. I'm fine with it though, as the bond he forms with her provides a new angle to explore the guy from. IDW has already announced that they intend to continue the tradition of 30th anniversary specials. Next year will supposedly see the publication of a Chaotix's 30th anniversary one-shot. I wonder if that will acknowledge Mighty, Heavy and Bomb were founding members of that team? Moreover, does this mean we can expect a Big the Cat 30th anniversary comic in five short years? And a Shadow or Rouge centric book two years after that? Good God, now I feel like I might crumble into dust. Anyway, this comic book is good. I enjoyed it and recommend it. Go out and buy a copy today! [7/10]