Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 146
Publication Date: February 2005
Archie was prepared to double down on this Shadow the Hedgehog thing. In 2005, the black furred hedgehog anti-hero would appear on six covers, nearly half of the “Sonic” comics Archie would put out that year. I guess I can't blame them. The character was hugely popular with “Sonic” fans at the time, enough so that Sega would give Shadow his own video game the next year. (The debatable quality of that game would definitely leave its mark on both the character and the franchise.) Archie was probably just giving the fans what they thought they wanted but, in retrospect, it can't help but look like the book latched onto the aspects of the series that was trendy at the time.
Issue 146 begins a four-part story arc with the unwieldy title of “The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown.” A random selection of Freedom Fighters – Sonic, Bunnie, Rotor, Tommy, Fiona – have tracked down the explosion they noticed last issue. They enter an underground cave, discovering a mysterious laboratory. At that point, Shadow confronts Sonic. He came to uncover some information about his origins but the two hedgehogs quickly get into fisticuffs.
The cover to issue 146 actually crosses out Sonic's name, replacing it with Shadow. This is fitting, as Shadow practically takes over the first part of “The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown.” A good portion of the story is devoted to a flashback, showing Shadow tracking down the cave/lab after hearing a mysterious signal. Ken retroactively sucks the feeling out of last issue's “Shadows of Hope” by revealing that he literately believed Hope to be Maria. I guess his brain was scrambled following that fall? This appears to wrap up the bond between those characters, which is, you might notice, the only interesting thing Shadow had going for him at this point.
“The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown” - is it okay if I abbreviated that awful fucking title? - seems to be building towards some sort of convoluted mystery. Shadow discovers the underground facility after picking up on a mysterious signal, similar to something Dr. Gerald broadcast. Inside, he discovers a robot named Isaac, who looks like a gold-plated E-102 Gamma. The machine confusingly explains his origin or something, eventually revealing that he's thousands of years old. I couldn't care less about this bullshit. Does anyone care about this bullshit?
The only memorable thing about this particular comic is the big fight scene it opens with. We leap right into the action with no explanation. The issue begins with an impressive one-page spread of Shadow socking Sonic in the jaw. The two proceed to dodge, punch, and kick. The fight concludes when Sonic doses Shadow with a blast of water, cooling the antagonistic hedgehog down. Steven Butler draws part one of “TGTBTU” and his dynamic pencils suit this big action scene very well. It's easily the best thing about the story.
Archie sticks three stories into this one. “Out of Your Shell,” a vehicle for Tommy the Turtle, is stuck in the middle. Apparently Rotor and Tommy are cohabiting. Rotor promises the shelled reptile that they'll do something fun that day but Rotor gets called away by work. When he returns to the cabin, he discovers that the bored turtle has reorganized Rotor's notes and files. Instead of kicking him out like most OCD-riddled eccentrics would, Rotor promotes Tommy to his assistant and brings him along to his laboratory.
Tommy the Turtle rejoined the land of the living awhile ago but the book still hasn't figured out what to do with him... Until now! But don't get excited. Tommy is now officially Rotor's lab assistant. The reptile hasn't shown much interest in science before this point. The character has been previously characterized by his slowness but now he's gained a quick wit, it appears. I don't know why Karl came to this conclusion, as the book has no shortage of brainy characters already. Tommy having a natural inclination towards organization seems especially random. Is a prime alphabetizer something the Freedom Fighters really needed? Beyond a lame script, “Out of Your Shell” features some lifeless art from Ron Lim.
Rounding out the book is “Circuit Me,” a five pager starring Sally and Nicole. While wandering around Rotor's lab, with Nicole in hand, Sally trips on some wire. Some sort of pseudo-scientific mumbo jumbo ensues, causing Sally and Nicole to switch bodies. While the Princess is trapped inside the handheld computer, Nicole suddenly experiences having a flesh-and-blood body for the first time in her life. Rotor attempts to reverse this incident but it undoes itself naturally a few minutes later.
“Circuit Me' is an interesting idea. The book has done the body swap premise before, back in Sonic Super Special: Issue 12. But sticking a computerized program into Sally's body is a little more complex. Suddenly, Nicole is feeling things that were literally beyond her a few minutes earlier. She's smelling, seeing, and even picks up on Sally's love for Sonic. A computer learning to be
That final story showed some potential but there's little else to recommend about issue 146. The first part of “The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown” is not promising. I'm dreading drudging through the next three parts of this thing. The middle story continues to struggle to find a purpose for Tommy Turtle. At least two of the three stories have okay artwork. The mediocre years continue to slowly slide by us. [5/10]
"Water! Water will save me!"
ReplyDelete