Tails (Mini-Series): Issue 3

 
Tails (Mini-Series): Issue 3
Publication Date: December 1995

Issue 3 of the “Tails” mini-series opens with exposition and more exposition. Athair confirms what we suspected in the last issue. The Great Crater is where the Floating Island, and a scientifically advanced city of echidnas, floated into the sky to avoid a white comet from striking them. Athair then explains that he’s Knuckles’ great-grandfather, thanks to some helpful illustrations on the wall of his cave. Possessed by the spirits of the Ancient Walkers, Tails then expounds on how the Chaos Emeralds fell from the sky in prehistoric times, granting a few dinosaurs immortal life… And how the gems’ great power has been abused over the years, most prominently by an echidna scientist. (Yet again, this is more foreshadowing for Knuckles’ mini-series in Tails’ comic.) Lastly, a prophecy about someone bringing all the chaos emeralds together is dropped, with Tails hinted to be that person. If Tails is going to develop into a great hero, he certainly doesn’t show it any here, since he spends the whole series getting his butt kicked.

At least Tails actually gets a little involved in the action this time. CrocBot activates his secret weapon, a giant robotic ram called... Sigh... the CD-ROM Ram. This tosses Barby Koala all the way into Tails’ lap, setting up that doomed ship. Tails flies her back into the action, distracts CrocBot enough so that Robotnik’s supply blimp pulls a Hindenburg, and helps Guru Emu take out CrocBot at the very end. Even then, Tails is only assisting the story’s real heroes save the day. You get the impression that Mike Gallagher wanted to write a DownUnda Freedom Fighters mini-series, not a Tails mini-series.

Listen, I like the convoluted mythology of the Archie “Sonic” series. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be wasting so many hours reviewing the damn things. Yet I’ve never been a super big fan of the book’s tendency to favor long-winged prophecies. Do prophecies in fiction ever actually work? All it does it build up to some big event that the story can, in no way, live up to. The Chosen One concept has become one of the most overused and stuffy plot points in modern genre fiction. Tails being a Chosen One is one of those storylines that the “Sonic” book wouldn’t be bothered to resolve for years. Forcing it into his mini-series, when he seems especially incompetent, certainly doesn’t boost the legend’s believably any. It mostly just bogs the book down in a bunch of mumbo jumbo.

What about that action? After spending two issues doing nothing but scheming, CrocBot finally gets to show off his villain credentials some. As goofy as it is, the CD-ROM Ram does wreck the Downunda Freedom Fighters’ collective shit. Yet when he has the opportunity to murder his enemies, when he leaps in a battle tank, CrocBot instead just runs away, making himself vulnerable to his defeat. The dude’s a giant robotic crocodile in a nuclear-powered murder tank. Why didn’t he make mincemeat of the Downunda Freedom Fighters, especially when they were already weakened from a previous battle?

The “Tails” mini-series ends with Tails realizing that he’s needed back in Knothole, despite currently being in a now badnik free country with a hot older koala woman who definitely wants to jump his bones. The story could’ve spun this into Tails learning a lesson. After spending three comic books being way in over his head, maybe he should’ve realized that Sonic and Sally are right to treat him with kid’s gloves. The book doesn’t really play that up. There are some tearful goodbyes before Tails jumps in the Sea Fox and heads home.

The “Tails” mini-series was seemingly built upon wasted potential. Devoting a whole book to Tails, especially when he was at his most angry and annoyed, could’ve deepened his personality considerably. The mini-series introduces a bunch of new characters but doesn’t have the time or patience to develop them much. All the mythology-building and prophecy-humping the book did would be more successfully expounded upon in other series. It’s a shame. In the post-story editorial, even Scott Fulop doesn’t seem enthusiastic about telling future stories about Tails. The best thing the book does is expand upon Sonic’s world, which probably would’ve happened any way.

It’s a bummer. The main book would continue to struggle with what to do with Tails, exactly. Eventually, Sega would decide that Tails was a kid genius mechanic. However, Rotor already held that title in the comic. It wasn’t until Rotor was slightly retired that Tails would start to find his niche. That’s a long ways off, readers. All of this is character development that could’ve been handle in this book. The weirdest thing about the “Tails” mini-series is that Tails himself doesn’t play nearly a big enough role in it. [5/10]