Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 90

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 90
Publication Date: November 2000

While issue 89 did a good job of balancing action and character development, issue 90 is less well balanced. In truth, I think this issue may begin a long downward spiral that the comic would take years to recover from. At least, that’s how I remember it. The comic’s forthcoming issues are the ones I have the least fond memories of: Melodrama, love triangles, and plot twists that drag on forever: That’s what Archie Sonic fans had to look forward to at the start of the new millennium.

The issue picks up where the last one left off. Sonic races through the Great Forest, the Sword of Acorn in hand. He’s headed for Mobotropolis, hoping to restore his beloved Uncle Chuck’s free will. Instead, he runs into Mina, who is preparing her own journey to the tyrant’s city. However, both of their trips are cut short when a new squad of Com-Bots, with advanced cloaking abilities, ambushes them. Meanwhile, Sally and Elias’ reunion with their mother is upset by some startling news and Robotnik discovers that his city is in peril.

“Sword of Omens” – which is, I’m sad to say, not a Sonic/ThunderCats crossover – front-loads with action. I have mixed thoughts about Sonic and Mina’s confrontation with the Com-Bots. The robots’ new ability to cloak themselves, being rendered more-or-less invisible, makes them a somewhat cheap threat. They can spring around, getting the drop on their opponents. It also doesn’t make much sense, as they frequently uncloak. Wouldn’t staying invisible and sniping their opponent from a safe distance have been a better strategy? Instead of allowing Sonic to rise to this new challenge, using his wits instead of his speed, the hedgehog hero gets knocked unconscious very quickly. The robots quickly snatching the Sword of Acorns and flying away is also a bummer, sticking both the hero and the villain with a lame fetch quest.

The story also moves Mina the Mongoose, a character that’s been on the back burner for a while, to the forefront. Mina gets some good moments, like when she expresses her hatred over Robotnik. The tyrant did take all her loved ones’ away. She has a good reason to be angry. I also like Sonic needing a minute to recognize her. He's probably rescued a lot of teenage girls. However, after solid character beats like this, Mina hits a bit of a snag. First off, it’s her fault that the bad guys get away with the sword, which doesn’t endear her to the readers. Secondly, Karl gifts her with a Sonic-like super speed. This dumb gimmick, along with her crush on Sonic, would define Mina as a character for far too long. There’s also no damn reason for her to have super speed either. It’s as if Bollers was struggling with what to do with her.

The writer also doesn’t do the best job juggling the other subplots. Since before the end of the Naugus story, Bollers has hinted at something coming from outer space for Robotnik. Looks like he’ll finally get around to resolving that soon. The doctor’s villainous gloating is interrupted by asteroids falling from the sky. Considering the narrative stakes are already pretty high, it’s an odd decision to shove this in here too. However, our still new Robotnik gets one amusing moment: When he begins dancing and singing, secure in his victory over Sonic.

A strong point of the last issue was Sally and Elias’ concern for their parents. Issue 90 continues to handle this in a mixed way. The sequences devoted to the King and the siblings being reunited with their mother are sweet. However, emotion-based character moments are cut short by incoming narrative contrivances. King Acorn discovers he can’t feel his legs, paralyzed following the robotic blow to the head. Yes, the moment is delivered with as much melodramatic emphasis as you’re imagining. This sequence also introduces Elias reluctantly taking the crown, a plot tumor that would be passed around for a while longer.

What about the artwork? At least it’s good, right? Well, half of it is. James Fry draws the first chapter of the story. His action scenes aren’t as dynamic as his character work, save for a cool panel of Sonic wrecking a Com-Bot. However, his grasp of composition and emotion work well during the slower moments. There’s only one problem. The dreaded and dreadful Ron Lim takes over for the second half. There’s a terrible panel where Queen Alicia is double Sally’s size and looks like she’s about to swallow her whole. Lim can barely draw Elias and Mina, both characters being deeply off-model in his style. Robotnik, meanwhile, looks ridiculous, like a goofball cartoon. Get use to Lim’s bullshit cause he’s not going away for a while.

In the back pages, Ken Penders’ latest underwhelming Knuckles epic moves forward. Last time, Knuckles and Antoine’s robotic dad were trapped in a sudden explosion. “Between a Rock and a Hard Place” picks up with Gala-La and some Albion echidnas retrieving Yanar and the High Sheriff from the wreckage. Bunnie, Antoine, Amy, and Rob o’ Hedge quickly arrive at the blast site, following an unnecessary costume change. What they both discover is that Knuckles is now radioactive green, glowing like a shard of Kryptonite.

If you’re still wondering when we’ll be getting back to the Floating Island, and actually resolving the question of where everyone fucking went, you’ll have to wait longer. We’re still stuck on Albion. Ken shifts the focus to the supporting cast here. Despite Antoine and Rob taking up most of the pages, somehow, the quartet still feels sidelined. Instead of getting meaningful interactions, the characters waste time. A whole panel is devoted to the gang angrily waiting on an elevator. For no particular reason, they steal some firefighter uniforms to sneak closer to the blast site. Was that step necessary? What should’ve been the emotional center of the story – Antoine facing his father – is instead reduced to a curt series of panels. Penders is also in an annoying, with his tendency to emphasize both Rob and Bunnie’s obnoxious speech patterns.

As for what happens to Knuckles… It makes me sigh. Thus begins the Chaos Knuckles saga. I seem to remember Knuckles being lime flavored for-fucking-ever. It’s definitely a plot line I tired of as a kid. Lastly, Knuckles going Eco Mode is supposed to be the accumulation of all that build-up about his grand, terrible destiny. Mostly, it makes his budding Guardian powers even more of a lazy plot device. In the story’s final pages, he magically zaps everyone away from Ablion. Amy and Rob are back in Mercia. Antoine and Bunnie, along with Antoine’s dad, are on a plane headed towards Knothole. Apparently, the ability to quickly wrap up plot points is one of Knuckles’ awakened powers. It does not bode well for what awaits us.

Is the Dork Age upon us? I guess we’ll find out soon enough. Both the cover story and the back-up introduce some less then welcomed story turns. Both writers have some trouble juggling the stories they’re given. Bollers loose sight of the emotional center with all the upheaval. Penders, meanwhile, once again gets distracted by his own bullshit mythology. Among solid work from James Fry and Steven Butler, we get some shitty-ass Ron Lim pencils. Maybe the forthcoming stretch of comics are going to hurt less then I remember? Yeah, right. [5/10]