Knuckles the Echidna: Issue 18

Knuckles the Echidna: Issue 18
Publication Date: September 1998

In the past, Ken Penders has displayed the bad habit of setting up a decent story line, full of interesting questions or plot developments, only to drop the ball in a serious way before the conclusion. We saw it in “Endgame” and in just about every story arc in the “Knuckles” book. The “Deep Cover” story arc only spanned two issues, given Ken far fewer chances to screw things up. I’m not saying this story line is flawless or nothin’ but at least its short.

Picking up where we left off, Knuckles and Kragok have a little talk in the latter’s jail cell. Since a Guardian and a Dark Legion leader are incapable of being civil, this quickly escalates into a fight. Because of some ill defined magical juju on Knuckles’ behalf, the two of them wind up transported into an alternate universe. In Haven, Locke and Sabre continue to repair the damages caused by the unseen saboteur. Meanwhile, Tobor has a heart-to-heart with Julie-Su and Lara-Le. All the plot lines wind up awkwardly colliding at the end.

Most of issue 18 is devoted to Knuckles and Kragok’s fight. Introduced as an effectively unhinged villain in “The Dark Legion” mini-series, Kragok hasn’t shown up too much since then. Instead of examining the character’s motivation, the story immediately turns into a fight scene. Knuckles wildly abuses his power as a state-sanctioned vigilante, wailing on Kragok with little provocation. The Legionnaire shoots him with an electric blast out of his robot arm and Knuckles then punches him in the dick. If you’re wondering why the police allowed Kragok to keep a weapon in his prison cell, you’re probably smarter than the writer.

Instead, the issue takes a hard left turn. Something weird happens, Knuckles and Kragok ending up in an alternate universe. Kragok, in another exposition-laden flashback, explains this is the Twilight Zone. No, not that Twilight Zone. This Twilight Zone is the pocket dimension Steppenwolf sent the Dark Legion to centuries ago. How did Knuckles and Kragok end up here? Was it something the villain planned? If so, why did he wait until now to deploy it? Or are Knuckles’ still developing powers to blame for this? Once again, the book provides no answers. Instead, we get some funky artwork of the hero and the villain floating around a surreal landscape. Man, Ken loved his surreal landscapes.

The emotional heart of issue 18 lies in Tobor’s conversations with Lara-Le and Julie-Su. Lara-Le asks the questions on everyone’s mind. Namely, how Tobor’s dad confuse his son with someone else. This plot hole is hastily justified, sort of, before Tobor mentions that he got his weird robot eyes from Dr. Quack. Emotions is pushed aside in favor of some more plot juggling. However, there’s still a brief moment, where Lara-Le asks Tobor whether a Guardian is responsible more for his island or his family. We don’t get a direct answer, the comic cutting away. All we get is one sentence, Tobor explaining that a Guardian’s responsibilities are super important. No wonder Lara-Le is frustrated. Nobody gives her a straight fucking answer.

The stuff in Haven is not especially compelling. Locke and Sabre go about repairing the damage done while the other guys debate why their entire system could be brought down so easily. Damn, the Brotherhood is boring. Do they ever do anything besides squabble among themselves? If you’re expecting the plot point about Moritori Rex disguising himself as Tobor to be resolved, look else where. However, there is one development to this side of things. Sabre tells Locke to lighten the fuck up and take some time off. Could this signal some much needed growth for Knuckles’ constipated dad? Probably not but, you know, hope springs eternal.

Issue 18 wraps up very awkwardly. Knuckles and Kragok dropped out of the sky through a portal. Tobor feels a disturbance in the Force and leaps out of Lara-Le’s apartment window. He flies up to the portal, grabs Kragok, and they stumble back through the riff in space/time. I know there was only two issues to resolve this plot but that’s hasty, isn’t it? Knuckles doesn’t even get to bid his distant grandfather a goodbye. What exactly did Tobor accomplish in these two issues? Make it back to the Island, tell his great-grandson he exists, and then disappear again. Why are echidnas so fucking evasive?

The story at least wraps up on a cute image. As Knuckles approaches the apartment, Lara-Le tells Julie-Su that she’s setting herself up for trouble if she plans on pursuing a relationship with a Guardian. Julie-Su denies any romantic attraction in a way that confirms said attraction. As he comes through the window, Knuckles receives a double hug from his mom and love interest. Aww! The book needs more cute moments like this and fewer strangled attempts at grand self-mythologizing. But, you know, Penders gotta Penders. [6/10]