Sonic Super Special: Issue 2 - Brave New World

Sonic Super Special: Issue 2 – Brave New World
Publication Date: September 1997

In the months leading up to its release, Archie heavily promoted the “Brave New World” one-shot. Though technically the second issue of the Sonic Super Special quarterly publication, it was truly the first. “Battle Royal” was retroactively declared the first after development on “Brave New World” had already started. After “Endgame” concluded, fans asked one question: What does Sonic’s world look like without Robotnik? “Brave New World” set out to answer that question, establishing the new status quo and exploring what happens to the rebels after they actually win.

As the story begins, the Freedom Fighters are entering Robotropolis for the first time since Robotnik’s defeat. They are quickly attacked by Snively... Who is even more quickly defeated. Surveying the polluted, mechanical city, the group begin to wonder if their Mobotropolis is even salvaging. Meanwhile, Uncle Chuck slowly reveals an entire underground community of Robians, robotocized Mobians who have suddenly regained their free will. Among them are Jules and Bernie, otherwise known as Sonic the Hedgehog’s parents.

Even as a kid, it struck me how low-key a story “Brave New World” is. There’s one major action beat, early in the comic. When the Freedom Fighters – who should probably get a new name – enter Robotnik’s control room, a Dynamac-3000 bursts through the wall and attacks. The machine grabs Tails, Antoine, and Hershey while Sonic pings around the room. Bunnie drops the robot by shocking it with a loose wire and Geoffrey St. John yanks Snively out of his control room. Without his robot, Snively is easily subdued. That’s it. The rest of the book is devoted to what Sonic and Sally make of their victory. It’s a story focused on characters and emotions. Penders’ ambitions are right there on the cover. The writer actually had the balls to name his funny animal adventure book after a novel by Aldous Huxley.

Sally’s conflict directly considers what happens when the tyrant falls. Robotropolis is a nasty place to live, an industrial nightmare of jagged steel and rusty metal. (Considering it was nuked less then 20 issues ago, it’s presumably radioactive too. This is a fact the writers have apparently forgotten.) Sally wonders aloud if the city is even worth saving. Robotnik has ruined Mobius’ once proud capital, transforming it into a hellish nightmare. Yet it’s a place wrought with memories for Sally. After defeating Snively’s token attempt, the Princess finds one of the few rooms unaffected by Robotnik’s reign and quietly weeps. Yet Sally is a problem-solver. In times of stress, she looks for a practical solution. She sends teams around to find sources of water and power. Secretly, she despairs. Publicly, she continues to lead.

Sally’s story line is compelling but Sonic’s story is probably juicer. The book doesn’t make it clear if the community of free Robians have existed for a while or are a result of Robotnik’s fall. (I’m assuming the latter, as Uncle Chuck appeared to be the only free Robian previously.) The book presents a story development SEGA adamantly wouldn’t allow today. It introduces Sonic’s parents. Though featured in flashbacks before, this is our first introduction to Jules and Bernie. Presumed causalities of the Great War, Sonic is shocked to discover his mom and dad are still live. Worst, he’s incensed that Uncle Chuck kept this from him. Though Penders’ overwrought dialogue makes it harder to parse out, Sonic’s reaction isn’t unreasonable. During a long conversation with Tails, Sonic mentions how Sally searching for her father is what drove her. Knowing his parents lived, even as mindless robots, would’ve given Sonic something to fight for too. It’s not as clearly illustrated as it could have been. Yet we’re not used to seeing Sonic distraught, sad, or confused. It shows a rarely glimpsed, emotional side of the blue hedgehog.

All 48 pages of “Brave New World” are devoted to this one story. Even then, there’s a few plots underdeveloped. The Robians decide to create their own community, not feeling accepted with the organic folk. The only oppression we see them receive is one shitty comment from Hamlin, a notorious asshole. While it ties into Sonic’s conflict, this storyline is slightly underdeveloped. We see some SWATBots still going about their business, mindlessly, remnants of Robotnik’s empire outliving him. There’s one scene devoted to this. A brief segue has Arlo the Armadillo, of the Substitute Freedom Fighters, getting trapped from a cave-in. I’m not exactly sure what this moment conveys. For some reason, King Acorn continues to worry about espionage, fearing that Uncle Chuck could be a spy. We don’t know who he’d be spying for. Once again, it feels like Penders has tried to squeeze too much into too few pages. It’s easy to imagine “Brave New World” as a sprawling graphic novel, the increased length only coming by expanding a few of these underserved plot points.

Snively’s minute-long takeover isn’t a clipped subplot. Instead, it’s an intentional subversion. Snively has been scheming behind Robotnik’s back for years, planning to usurp him. However, as fans already knew, Snively is not dictator material. He’s a lackey, not a leader. This is built into the character’s DNA. During the final minutes of SatAM's last episode, we saw Snively slotting himself into the vanquished Robotnik’s throne. Yet his empire was always designed to quickly fall. Instead of trying to build an awkward, on-going plot out of this, Ken smartly smothers it prematurely. From his prison cell on Devil’s Gulag, Snively claims to still have a plan. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn’t. Either way, it’s clear that he’s not in the same league as his deceased uncle.

How many times has the Sonic/Geoffrey St. John rivalry been resolved? In “Brave New World,” Sally definitively explains to the skunk that she doesn’t love him, that her heart belongs to Sonic. He deliberately chooses to ignore this statement and moves in for a kiss. For the first time, I understand why people think St. John is a creeper. Speaking for the audience, Sonic leaps up and slugs him in the mouth. These guys fight as often as Sonic and Knuckles, with only slightly more motivation. Sally concludes the fight by spraying both with a water hose and decrying their macho hormones. The script heavily suggests that Sonic is taking his frustration with Uncle Chuck out on St. John. Mostly, it seems to be here to insert another action beat into a lower key story.

Ken chose to illustrate “Brave New World” himself. Of the comic’s regular artists, Penders was roundly the weakest. His compositions are flat, the action scenes looking like still lifes. He seems to have trouble drawing Sonic and other hedgehogs. Too often, their faces look like flat objects stuck on round heads. He also clearly doesn’t know how to draw Sonic’s spines. Any shot of the hedgehog’s back look really weird. Sally, Tails, and other characters frequently go off-model. In one panel, Rotor’s jaw looks like it’s dislocated. Snively’s head looks like an upside down tear drop growing out of his shrunk, stubby body. Tails’ hair sits awkwardly on his head. On time, Sally’s head seem swollen. Of all his weaknesses, Penders’ worst artwork is visited upon the Robians. They look unintentionally horrifying. Jules has a horribly unappealing design, with a grate-like mouth, a dagger-sharp nose, and pointed eyes. Spaz did some uncredited work on this book. The contrast between his drawings and Penders’ are immediately obvious. A shot of Sonic looking sad, Sally looking contrite, and some Overlanders during the opening flashback are obviously his work.

“Brave New World” ends with the Freedom Fighters flying from their new base. On the sign outside the city, they have hastily written over Robotnik’s message. It’s an affecting visual metaphor. They may have reclaimed the city but there’s still so much work to do. Though hampered by bad art and some shuffled around writing, “Brave New World” is still a really good book. It’s a surprisingly moody Sonic story, showing the Freedom Fighters as more exhausted then excited about their victory. [8/10]