Knuckles the Echidna: Issue 9

 
Knuckles the Echidna: Issue 9
Publication Date: December 1997

By the end of 1997, Archie really had established a shared universe with its “Sonic” books. Issue 9 of "Knuckles the Echidna" directly reflects the events of issue 55 of “Sonic the Hedgehog." The issue ends on a cliffhanger resolved in issue 56 of “Sonic.” This was quite confusing for people like me, as I was only reading the “Sonic” books at the time. But maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. Issue 9 wraps up the “Dark Vengeance” story arc, bringing the second proper story in the “Knuckles the Echidna” book to an end.

Convinced he’s finally banished Knuckles, Enerjak faa-vhooms over to where the Dark Legion is. Allowing this story to finally continue, he leads the army on a march to Echidnaopolis, generating a golden bridge that will take them directly to the city. There, Remington and the ESF team up with the Dingoes Army, both defending against the invaders. Yet a higher power is watching out for Knuckles. He rescues the Chaotix, left for dead, and Archimedes teleports them into the center of the fray. However, another force is at work and intervenes before either side can achieve victory.

I shouldn’t like Issue 9. It’s got so many problems and features some pretty lazy writing. Knuckles survives being de-atomizied at the end of the last issue because the Ancient Walkers save his ass. The omniscient and horribly mysterious dino-wizards stepped in and saved the day. They then zap him over to the Chaotix’s location, where Knuckles can save his friends. After that, he somehow uncovers where the Legion buried Archimedes, Dio, and Charmy Bee. (I think this is the first time Charmy has appeared in this story.) Someone –we don’t know who – left a canteen full of water so that the Chaotix can be rescued from the edge of dehydration.

The laziest story turn is the ending. Mammoth Mogul appears, points the Sword of Acorn at Enerjak, and sucks the power of eleven Chaos Emeralds out of him. The script doesn’t clarify that Mogul is the one who drew Enerjak back to Mobius in the first place. We just have to assume he did. Knuckles himself has very little direct effect on the plot. Higher beings resolve all of the major plot points.

And yet, I still kind of like issue 9. If nothing else, the resolution to “Dark Vengeance” is a lot smoother then what “The Dark Legion” or “Lost Paradise” story arcs got. The bit about the echidnas and the dingoes working together to fend off a mutual attacker is a nice touch. It shows that both species can put aside their differences in the name of the greater good. I’m not sure if this was a deliberate correction for the echidnas acting like such huge cocks but I like it anyway. I also like Enerjak finally getting his shit together and targeting Echidnaopolis. After wasting an entire issue tormenting Knuckles, it’s nice to see the villain actually have a focused, direct plan.

The book also returns the focus to Knuckles’ supporting cast but not in an entirely satisfying way either. What has Julie-Su been up to throughout this story? Presumably, after Enerjak dropped her off back at the Dark Legion camp, she pretend to go along with the group just in order to survive. Okay, that’s fine. But it would’ve been nice if Penders’ script could have clarified that. (Maybe he’ll get around to resolving this once the Mammoth Mogul plot is wrapped up.) Disappointingly, the Chaotix are once again sidelined. They spend the first half of the book chained up in the desert. Later, they join the fight against the Legion in Echidnaopolis. Basically, they spent most of this story arc outside the main plot and only appear for some brief smashy-smashy at the very end. Come on, Ken, you’ve got to utilize that ensemble a little better.

(Lara-Le, meanwhile, is not involved in this issue at all. Locke spends the whole thing deliberating over what to do before finally calling the Freedom Fighters, as shown in issue 55. That last point is totally extraneous and just exists to set-up the up-coming crossover.)

Having Enerjak drained of his powers and return to mortal, instead of merely killed off, was a nice touch. Julie-Su being taken into captivity with some other Legionnaires makes for a far more captivating cliffhanger then the business with Mammoth Mogul. Galan’s artwork is strong… Though his weird quirk of emphasizing Dimitri’s teeth continues to appear and Mogul looks awful tiny in his style. Issue 9 of “Knuckles” features some of Ken Penders’ worst tendencies as a writer. Yet I still sort of like it, if only because the story structure is way more organized then the ending of Knuckles’ last two arcs. If omniscient higher powers continue to intervene in the book, it might become a serious problem. [6/10]