Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 51

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 51
Publication Date: July 1997

Following the conclusion of “Endgame,” a huge question faced Sonic and the Freedom Fighters: What next? Dr. Robotnik was dead. They had won. Truthfully though, it looked like Archie was holding back on honestly answering that question until the “Brave New World” special. In other words, issues 51 and 52 of “Sonic the Hedgehog” were running in place until the story could truly continue. We had to wait two months to truly see what a world without Robotnik is like.

For his efforts in defeating the enemy, Sally awards Sonic with a special gold medal. Considering the next scene has Sally appearing in Sonic’s bedroom, it would appear she rewarded with something else too. Anyway, the Princess awakens Sonic from his sleep in the middle of the night. She takes him out into the middle of the forest. Instead of receiving some late-night nookie, Sally orders a troop of Combots to attack Sonic, revealing herself as a robot. Sonic quickly finds Tails, who also reveals himself as a robot. The same fate has befell Bunnie. While racing back to Knothole, Sonic keeps seeing visions of Uncle Chuck. Once in the village, Sonic is faced with Dr. Ivo Robotnik, who boasts he has won. Naturally, it’s revealed to all be a dream. Someone infected the medal with a virus.

“Reality Bytes” could’ve been an interesting idea. Sonic has spent the last five years fighting Robotnik and his forces. After finally defeating his enemy, his mind must be full of thoughts. And fears too. “What if Robotnik really isn’t gone?” Sonic must think. Thus, the backbone of the story is formed. He has a bizarre and dark nightmare in which all his friends have been robotocized, Robotnik is still alive, the Power Rings have no effect on him, and Knothole has been conquered.

“Reality Bytes” is certainly structured like a nightmare. Characters appear out of nowhere. A Buzzbomber is referred to as a dragonfly. When Sonic slides down the old entrance to Freedom HQ, he appears to be running through surreal darkness. Unlike most Robians, Sally, Tails, and Bunnie look quite horrific as robots here. Their metal skin is ragged, their teeth are razor sharp, and their eyes are blood red. One panel has the landscape spiraling in a similar unreal direction. Even discounting Uncle Chuck’s hologram face appearing, “Reality Bytes” is still a kind of weird story.

Disappointingly, I don’t think any of this was entirely intentional. Instead of just treating the story as the nightmare it is, we’re given an official explanation. The medal Sally gave Sonic was coated in a mechanical virus that infected Sonic’s brain. Uncle Chuck’s appearances were due to him using a device to contact Sonic. (You’d assume this would be related to Dr. Quack’s dream machine from Issue 43 but no such connection is made.) Who is responsible for slipping Sonic the drugged medal? We don’t know! The post-“Endgame” comic would quickly jet off for other directions, leaving this plot point behind, never to be resolved. Eventually the fans would write and ask Archie about this, to which they’d shrug their shoulders and say “We guess Eggman did it?”

“Reality Bytes” is the proper debut of Karl Bollers, the new head writer for the book while Penders was busy in Echidna Land. It’s not a particularly great debut. Aside from the dropped plot point of who was responsible for the infected medal, the issue is full of bizarre dialogue. Such as “Hasta la vista, meestah!,” “Cheeky monkey,” “Whoops apocalypse,” and “This ring’s got no thing!” Though the story comes off as quite dream-like, it’s hard to tell if that was Bollers’ intention. This is also the issue that revealed a horrible truth about Sonic: He sleeps in a race car bed. Keep in mind, he’s officially fifteen years old. Though Boller’s run would ricochet up and down in quality, fans would never stop making fun of that stupid race car bed.

Sam Maxwell provides the artwork. Though Maxwell provided bright, energetic, if slightly abstract work on “Battle Royal” and “Endgame,” his pencils here are not up to snuff. Sonic’s face often contorts in bizarre ways, his lips frequently puckering for no reason. A couple of times, his head is too big, his body bending in odd directions, his eyes frequently vacant. The attempts at the anime-esque action that is Maxwell’s trademark mostly come off as incoherent here. A newcomer named Andrew Pepoy did the inks here. Maybe that’s why the artwork is so off?

Though starting with an interesting idea, issue 51 is ultimately a disappointment. It would take the book a few more issues to find its footing after the death of Robotnik. [5/10]