Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 39

 
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 39
Publication Date: July 1996

As I’ve mentioned before, as a kid I was totally susceptible to Archie’s hype machine. Even though they published 48-page one-shots on a regular basis, they were always a big deal. Whenever they devoted a comic to Sonic and Knuckles beating the shit out of each other – even though they’ve done that plenty of times before – I always had to scoop it up. As the comic dawned on its 40th issue, Archie cooked up another special event: Sonic the Hedgehog was going to be Robotocized. The unthinkable had happened. The good guys lost, the bad guys won. You can bet your ass that Issue 39’s “Rage Against the Machine” and the corresponding special, “Mecha Madness,” were events for me. As a kid, I re-read both endlessly. But how do they stand up years later?

As “Rage Against the Machine” – the sole story in Issue 39 – starts, Sonic is trying to convince the Freedom Fighters that he should allow himself to get robotocized. His plan is that Rotor’s neuro-overrider will maintain his free will, allowing him to wreck Robotnik’s base from the inside. Remembering how wrong a similar plan went in Issue 29, Sally vetoes this. Annoyed, Sonic zooms off to the previously unmentioned gym in Knothole Village. Nack the Weasel, recently escaped from the also unmentioned prison in Knothole Village, gets the drop on the hedgehog. He takes his unconscious body back to Robotnik. Just killing his most hated enemy doesn’t satisfy Robotnik. Instead, he robotocizes him, turning Sonic against his friends and making him a mindless slave. The new Mecha-Sonic, more powerful then any other Robian before, flies back to Knothole and begins leveling it. Sally has two contingency plans in order: Calling in a newly upgraded Bunnie. When that doesn’t work, Knuckles the Echidna is recruited. Even that fails. Mecha-Sonic is seemingly unstoppable.

These stakes are high as fuck, you guys. A couple of stories have made light of it but the comic has made recent moves to try and reestablish robotocization as Robotnik’s greatest evil. Never has that threat been clearer then here. Sonic, the titular hero of the series, has his free will wrestles around from him and zapped into a mechanical body. And Mecha Sonic doesn’t fuck around. He’s faster and more powerful then any of Robotnik’s previous creations. He immediately begins to destroy Knothole Village. He sets his sights on killing the people who are his best friends.

 
It’s a pretty serious story but, unfortunately, it was also written by Mike Gallagher. Gallagher has done some good work in the past but goofy puns and sight-gags still tend to characterize his work. Despite being a fairly grim story, at least as far as “Sonic” comics are concerned, Gallagher still packs in some goofiness. Robotnik breaks the fourth wall by reading the issue’s script. He has Crabmeat grow to giant size, for some unexplained reason, and threaten Nack the Weasel. In the heat of combat, Bunnie cracks a few too many Civil War themed puns. Tails, during his brief role in this story, is still getting treated like an adorable little kid. Despite Mecha Sonic trashing Knothole, Sally, Antoine, and Rotor just stand around, instead of running for cover. Gallagher’s script has a few holes like: Why does Sonic think being robotocized is a good idea in the first place? Where did the gym and the prison come from? Why doesn’t Robotnik scan Mecha Sonic’s brain for the location of Knothole? Why is Sally acting like such a bitch in the beginning? All questions without answer.

Still, as an action story, “Rage Against the Machine” is top-notch. This is mostly thanks to the artwork. Patrick Spazinate had gotten into the habit of contributing fantastic covers to this series. Whenever he did interior pencils, it was always an event. The artwork in Issue 39 is top-of-the-line. After some shaky art in the last two issues, Spaz’ work is truly a breath of fresh air. Spaz brings a dynamism to everything he draws. Even the early scenes of the Freedom Fighters merely sitting and talking are full of dynamic, energetic poses. The amount of detail Spaz brings makes every panel pop. For a series that sometimes has flat or empty backgrounds, Spaz makes the world of Sonic truly come to life. (I even like his tendency to sneak in Sega in-jokes. Watch for background cameos from Visual On, Bug, and one of the Virtua Fighter guys.) Even when drawing jokey panels – like a moment where Sonic and Bunnie are given cartoonish shocks – Spaz’ work impresses. This is best emphasized in Spaz’ design for Mecha Sonic. While still recognizable Sonic, the design is stream-lined and threatening. Half of the reason this story works is because Mecha Sonic is just damn scary looking.

The action scenes are the obvious attraction here and they’re excellent. The battle between Sonic and Bunnie really shows everything the rabbit is capable of. Rotor apparently gave her some upgrades off-page. Now, Bunnie has rocket-propelled flight, a shield in her wrist, and a blaster in her arm. She enters the battle scene by back-handing Sonic away, a truly impressive panel. Her telescoping legs have him smashing into a tree. When she turns that plasma cannon on the robotic hedgehog, it results in a gorgeous one-page spread. Truthfully, this is the best kind of story Spaz could have drawn, as it makes great use of his incredible skill for action and detail. I also like that Gallagher gives Bunnie, a frequently overlooked member of the team, so much to do. She really is the most powerful Freedom Fighter.

And even that isn’t enough to stop Mecha Sonic, which brings us back to the original point. Issue 39 ends on one hell of a cliffhanger. Knuckles, who apparently teleported from the Floating Island, zips in to save the day. Though, considering normal Sonic and Knuckles always fight to a stand-still, I’m not sure why Sally thought Knuckles could defeat a ruthless, robotic Sonic. By the end of the story, all of their emergency plans have failed. Mecha Sonic is rolling in to destroy Knothole and everyone in it. On the last page, Sally announces one last, crazy plan. In TV Troupes parlance, we’ve crossed the Godzilla Threshold. Of course, what that plan is remains unseen. Basically, if Archie wanted to make sure people bought the “Mecha Madness” one shot, they did a hell of a good job convincing us all.

Despite a script with some holes in it, a story with high stakes and some phenomenal artwork makes Issue 39 a classic. [8/10]