Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 66

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 66
Publication Date: October 1998

I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned this before so excuse me if I’m repeating myself. Ixis Naugus dates back to the SatAM, of course. Head writer Ben Hurst’s original plan was that, after Robotnik’s defeat at the end of season two, Naugus was going to assert himself as the series’ new primary villain. After Robotnik’s defeat in issue 50, the comic book decided to follow a similar course. While Naugus was a villain with a lot of potential, he never truly lived up to it. The Ixis Naugus story arc, including Sonic and Tails chasing the wizard around the world, technically ran for sixteen issues, including a Sonic Super Special. Of those sixteens, Naugus himself only actually appears in six. Because “Sonic Adventure” was looming around the corner, and the Sega mandated return of Robotnik with it, the Naugus story line comes to its too-soon conclusion here, in issue 66.

After telling his fucking life story last time, Nate Morgan shows Sonic and Tails his secret stash of Power Rings. Morgan’s impregnable fortress turns out not to be entirely pregnable, as the evil wizard immediately sneaks into the ring storage room by fusing with the cave wall. Sonic, Tails, and Naugus adsorb the thousands upon thousands of rings, each transforming into powerful new forms. Throughout the battle, Nate Morgan and Eddy the Yeti try to protect themselves.

Like I said, Nate Morgan did not especially endear himself to readers last time. Maybe even Karl Bollers realized this flaw. Issue 66, christen with the cringe-worthy pun title of “A Friend in Deed,” begins with Sonic reading Nate Morgan the riot act. The hedgehog’s complaint boils down to this: Morgan’s technology can help millions of people. Instead, he hides away in his fortress, after being spurned by two separate kingdoms. In other words, Sonic commands the scientist to stop feeling sorry for himself. One of Sonic’s strengths has always been his ability to cut through the bullshit. Rarely is it so well utilized as here. Or so needed.

Of course, this is an action book. After Naugus pokes his ugly head in, Sonic and Tails take the fight to the wizard. Immediately afterwards, all three of them adsorb the shit ton of Power Rings. In the past, Sonic becoming Super Sonic, or any of the other super forms, meant the situation had gotten very serious. In order to show just how serious the confrontation between heroes and villain is, Sonic and Tails gain a whole other level. That’s right, they go Super Sayian level 2! Sonic becomes Ultra Sonic! Tails becomes Hyper Tails! Naugus becomes Ugly Naugus! (Yes, that’s what they really call him.) I guess inventing another super form is kind of lazy.

It’s also kind of cool. Naugus’ ability to manipulate the elements is increased. Sonic gains this ability as well, counteracting the wizard’s powers with his own. Truthfully, only Tails gets the short of it, as the only obvious power upgrade he gets involves a flock of birds to do his bidding. (Blame Sega for that one, though.) Karl Bollers’ narration boxes can get kind of heavy handed but Steven Butler’s dynamic artwork and the satisfaction of watching the good guys and bad guy fight makes up for it.

And the book squanders plenty of that good will very quickly. Ultra Sonic and Hyper Tails loose their new abilities almost immediately after gaining them. Apparently, the bigger the power, the shorter the fuse. This results not in Sonic and Tails defeating the bad guy but Nate Morgan. With a secret Power Ring cannon in his eye piece, the scientist blasts the evil wizard back into the Zone of Silence, dissolving that plot very quickly. And people complain about Knuckles being Ken Penders’ pet character! Nate delivering the quote-unquote "killing" blow to Naugus is not so much disappointing. It's the ease with which he defeats him that bothers me. Maybe Sega really was breathing down Archie’s back to bring Robotnik back. That would certainly explain how quickly, messily the story line is bottled up.

That’s a problem the story has. Surprisingly, Bollers pulls the issue back together in its final pages. Throughout this issue, we learn that Eddy the Yeti can speak a little bit of English. His most prominent words include “Nate… Friend!” During the fight with Naugus, the yeti does everything in his power to protect the little man. The battle with the wizard is intense enough that it tears the fortress apart, causing it to collapse. Eddy the Yeti holds up the fort, literally, long enough for Sonic, Tails, and Nate escape. Eddy’s final words, before he’s crushed by the rubble, are “Nate… Friend! Nate… GO!” That’s right, he sacrifices himself in order to save his friend. While Bollers’ narration can certainly be overdone, his writing here – about how Morgan has never understood that victory sometimes comes at a grave cost – is awfully effective. When paired with Steven Butler’s artwork, of the heroes standing solitary in the field of snow, adds an impressive degree of emotion to the story.

Since the threat of Ixis Naugus is neutralized for the time being, writer Karl Bollers saw fit to include the character’s secret origin in the back of the issue. Hundreds of years ago, when Mobius was still shaken by the Days of Fury, three wizards conspired to rule the world. Called the Order of Ixis, each of them had mastered one of the four elements. Agunus the Rhino had mastery over the Earth. Suguna the Lobster controlled water. Nusgau the Bat wielded power over the element of air. Only the element of fire, contained within the sun, was out of their reach. The three wizards, each fighting against the other, raced towards the sun. Nusgau betrayed his brothers as they reach the sun. The bat gains control of all four elements while also being physically fused with the other two wizards. The same ritual seemingly transports him hundreds of years into the future, where he literally falls into the Court of Acorn.

First off, the back-up story answers a question I’ve been wondering for a while: What the hell is Naugus? All other Mobians are some sort of anthropomorphized animal. Naugus was a weird goblin thing. Bollers’ answer to this query – that Naugus is a Rhino-Lobster-Bat – proves surprisingly satisfying. I actually like the wizard’s origin. Unlike Ken Penders or Scott Fulop’s pseudo-mystic bullshit, Bollers actually handles myth-making pretty well. The sun symbolizing the power of fire is cool. Naugus betraying his fellow wizards for a chance at more power certainly seems in character. Really, the only aspect of the story that doesn’t work for me is the wizard randomly landing in King Max’s court room. Okay, sure, I can accept that. But the king immediately accepting this weirdo as his court wizard and royal advisor? Now that strains believably.

Still, issue 66 represents some of Bollers’ best work in a while. The story is a solid action tale, featuring some fun combat. Surprisingly, he finds a real emotional heart beating within a high stakes story. The back-up is also pretty good, providing a satisfying origin for the villain and showing that Bollers is better at magic than any of his contemporary “Sonic” writers. [8/10]