Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 102

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 102
Publication Date: October 2001

This is the first time I’ve ever read issue 102 of Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” series. If it seems like I’m not digging the book’s direction now, my opinion was even lower as when these issues were new. I went from issue 101 to 103 and never even noticed. Presumably because I was barely reading the book at the time. Years later, when researching the series online, I discovered I was missing this one. Considering how lousy the book was during this time, I never bothered catching up with the missing issue 102. Until now.

There is something to like about issue 102’s “Family Dysfunction.” It finally resolves many of the plot points that have been lingering in the air for a while. The freed Roboians are brought back to Knothole. Princess Sally uses the Sword of Acorn’s powers to restore the Antoine’s Dad’s free will. Robotnik activates his sleeper agents, Heavy and Bomb, who attempt to blow up the royal family. Luckily, Sonic shows up to save the day. The hedgehog almost has a reunion with Sally, until the Princess remembers Sonic’s kiss with Mina. So, in other words, the story’s forward momentum comes to a sudden halt right there. Can’t win ‘em all, I guess.

It seems like Karl took issue 100 as a sign to clean house. He recently killed off Nate Morgan. In 102, he writes Prince Elias out of the story. The prince attempts to use the Sword of Acorn to restore General D’Coolette. He can’t do it, humiliating himself in front of the King. Sally’s bond with the sword is the latest indicator that Elias isn’t meant to be king. Sally is the obvious choice. Elias runs away in the middle of the night, leaving an emotional letter. Considering Sally’s long lost brother has done nothing but whine about not wanting to be king since he got to Knothole, I doubt anyone will miss him.

Elias isn’t the only minor character to get the axe. Considering his long string of recent failures, Geoffrey St. John and his Secret Service decide to take some time off. Robotnik chooses this moment to activate his sleeper agents, Heavy and Bomb. For some reason, Bomb has gone from being one small robot to an army of smaller robots. There’s so many dumb things about this. If Robotnik had Heavy as a spy inside Knothole, I don’t know why he didn’t just call in an airstrike to flatten the resistance. Nobody thought to figure out why Heavy and Bomb were acting strange. But at least Karl finally got around utilizing this plot point.

Continuing issue 100’s focus on action, “Family Dysfunction” does feature Sonic kicking some ass. After realizing trouble is up at the castle, Sonic zips in. He banters with Heavy for a minute before immediately smashing Heavy. Before the Bombs can go off, Rotor swings in and deactivates them with an EMP ray. It’s sloppy. It’s incredibly sloppy and barely makes any sense. But at least it’s sort of fun to read.

The actual plot is a mess but Bollers almost redeems it by including a few genuinely sweet character moments. While the Acorn family is torn apart, the Hedgehog and D’Coolette families are brought back together. Antoine and his dad have a tearful reunion. Uncle Chuck and Sonic’s parent sit around a family photo album. We see the brothers as children, Jules and Bernie’s wedding photo, and a picture of Sonic and Chuck playing when he was a kid. It only occupies one page but it’s still a touching moment.

It’s certainly better handled then the back-up story. Knuckles continues to suck at time travel. For some reason, the echidna is fixated on getting Dimitri’s original plot – to lower the Floating Island back down to Earth – to succeed. He makes two separate attempts to correct history. The first results in the Island exploding and the second turns Knuckles into a robot. Each time, he returns to the present, somehow undoing this time travel fuckery. Never mind that this isn’t how tangent timelines work. Once again, I can’t help but feel that Knuckles’ new godly powers could be better utilized.

It’s a super dumb story further complicated by an abundance of techno babble. Dimitri fills multiple word bubbles with vague, nonsensical explanations for what the hell is going on. Once again, instead of resolving the plot in a direct way, Penders spins his wheels. Is Knuckles ever going to get around to rescuing his friends and family? Dawn Best’s artwork has a certain interesting style but is a bit on the loose side.

In many ways, I should hate issue 102. The plotting is extremely messy. Stupid bullshit is preventing Sonic and Sally from getting back together. There’s at least one pointless scene devoted to Robotnik and Snively, throwing a parade in Robotropolis for no reason. Ron Lim’s artwork is fucking terrible. But at least shit is getting done. At least previously mentioned plot points are getting resolved. That counts for something during the comic’s lowest point. [5/10]