Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 40

 
Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 40
Publication Date: August 1996

I’m a fan of the two-part “Mecha Madness” story arc. It pushed the book in a new direction, creating a story with high stakes, where characters actually seemed in danger. For a book like “Sonic” though, the status quo can only be denied for so long. Sonic might have been turned into a soulless robot, who wrecked his own home and tried to kill his friends, but soon things will be back to normal. Issue 40’s “Court Martial” is devoted to reestablishing that normalcy. It also, unfortunately, features a really dumb plot revolving around Sonic proving his innocence.

At the end of “Mecha Madness,” Sonic had a pair of handcuffs slap on his wrists. Antoine leads with the theory that Sonic intentionally disobeyed Sally’s orders and allowed himself to be robotocized. Despite insisting that this theory is a bunch of baloney, the hedgehog is still tossed into the slammer and accused of high treason. After being convicted by a literal kangaroo court, Sonic talks Sally into giving him twenty-four hours to clear his name. With that time limit in place, Sonic races off to find Nack the Weasel and clue everybody into the real story.

If you’re just judging a story but how it flows and how much action there is, “Court Martial” actually isn’t bad. Yet the entire comic hangs upon an incredibly dumb concept. Why does everyone immediately assume that Sonic willingly allowed himself to be robotocized? Shouldn’t they have at least, you know, asked him first? Sonic may be brash but he’s never disobeyed a direct order before. The real reason Sonic is being railroaded is because of an overzealous Antoine. Look, Antoine may be a weenie and a coward (though he would develop out of both aspects soon) but him intentionally throwing Sonic in jail is just senselessly evil. This is most apparent in the sequence where he needlessly badgers witnesses on the stand. The Freedom Fighters are fighting Robotnik so it doesn’t make much sense for them to be fighting among themselves.

What makes this even dumber is that all of the Freedom Fighters turn on Sonic. Naturally, he did just spend the last two issues wrecking everyone’s shit. However, that wasn’t his fault! He had no control over his actions! I’d understand if Bunnie resented him a little, for beating the crap out of her. She directly threatens him a few time in this story. Still, I’d think Bunnie would have enough empathy to realize Sonic didn’t intentionally smack her around. Why does Sally treat Sonic so roughly? Considering she obviously loves him, you’d think she be more willing to accept his side of the story. Basically, the plot forces Sonic into an unlikely situation and has all his friends act like assholes to him for no reason.

Of course, all of this is in favor of a standard comic book storyline: The hero forced to clear his own name. This results in the action segment of the book. Determined to hunt down Nack the Weasel, Sonic heads to “the Robo Hobo Jungle,” a place where all of Robotnik’s decommissioned badniks hang out. This leads to a pretty fun sequence of the badniks ganging up on Sonic and him successfully thrashing all of them. Considering Caterkiller, Motobug, and the rest haven’t appeared in a while, it’s fun to see them again. This leads Sonic to the Bottom of the Barrel Bar ‘n’ Grill. The book becomes less fun at this point, as Sonic easily bests the gorilla bouncer. The resulting scuffle between Sonic and Nack isn’t worth too much, as the weaselly bounty hunter is easily out-smarted.

“Mecha Madness” was written by Mike Gallagher, a writer who usually wrote goofy, pun-filled comedy stories. “Mecha Madness” was surprisingly serious and grim. “Court Martial” returns Gallagher to his jokey roots. Antoine reads a book by “Martha Shreward.” Amy Rose, apparently Sonic’s sole defender, shouts “Shawshank!” outside his jail cell, which is probably a more relevant pop culture reference then “Attica!” Hip and Hop, the kangaroos from “Sonic Spinball,” become Sonic’s literal kangaroo court. When badgering people on the stand, Antoine removes a literal badger. The badniks deliver some seriously strangled dialogue as they introduce themselves. Sonic decrees the “monkeying around” is over while wailing on the gorilla. It’s all extremely goofy stuff, removing any sense of seriousness the story might have had. Dave Manak contributes artwork which is typically loose, angular, and overly comical.

Of course, Sonic successfully clears his name. He captures Nack, gets the weasel to confess, and all is right in Knothole again. (Well, except for all the destruction still left over from Mecha-Sonic’s rampage.) “Court Martial” could’ve been saved with some honest emotion. Sonic could’ve grappled with his friend’s treating him so callously. The Freedom Fighters could’ve dealt with their guilt from falsely accusing their hero. Instead, we get three panels devoted to Sonic and Sally making up, with some more flirting. What a wasted opportunity.

Or maybe not. Maybe “Court Martial” was kind of doomed with such a dumb concept. If the writers wanted to do the “falsely accused” plotline with Sonic, maybe they should’ve cooked up a more sensible reason why. An overly jokey script and goofy artwork doesn’t help matters either. Mostly, issue 40 is a weak coda to the fairly strong “Mecha Madness” two-parter. [5/10]