Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 161

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 161
Publication Date: April 2006

The cover for issue 161 proclaims that a new kid is in town. Of course, it's referring to Scourge the Hedgehog, a revamped version of Anti-Sonic that would become a genuine adversary to the heroes and be quite popular with readers. Yet the cover can't help but have two meanings. With their first issue, Ian Flynn and Tracy Yardley had already established that they knew what they were doing. They were shaking things up and improving the book. Nobody would've guessed that they would still be working on the comic a decade later. The new kid in town was destined to stay.

The second part of “Birthday Bash” begins with a cute double panel, showing Sonic and the newly minted Scourge sharing some thoughts. By Freedom HQ, Sonic and Shadow fight with CroctoBot, deemed an unimpressive threat by the hedgehog. Using the Master Emerald, Scourge teleports to Sonic. After briefly teaming up to destroy CroctoBot, Sonic, Scourge, and Shadow begin their fight. Though the scuffle doesn't last long, it's clear that more confrontations are forthcoming.

A theme throughout Ian's first year as head writer would be reorganizing the series, which meant cutting elements that nobody much liked and improving on other ideas that were underdeveloped.  Issue 161 accomplishes some of those goals in a roundabout way. Firstly, it puts Locke in his place. Anti-Sonic becomes Scourge and immediately lays the smack down on Knuckles' dad. Narrative wise, this proves that Scourge is a genuine threat, since Locke was besting Shadow just a few issues ago. But these panels also features one of Flynn's new characters beating the shit out of Ken Penders' self-insert. It's hard to imagine Ken ever allowing Locke's clock to be cleaned so thoroughly. And it's totally satisfying to see, since the old man was always insufferably smug. It also makes Ian's mission statement as head writer abundantly clear.

To a much lesser degree, another element of the comic's previous writing regime also gets dealt with. While Locke was an important character to the comic's mythology – probably too important – there probably wasn't much fan interest in Crocbot and Octobot. So Ian combines them into CroctoBot and immediately kills him off, with the trio of hedgehogs quickly reducing him to pieces. Before that, he makes sure Sonic almost passes out from laughing at the mechanical mash-up. A giant, robotic crocodile/octopus would probably be terrifying in real life but Sonic – and, by extension, Flynn – isn't much impressed. I actually sort of liked Crocbot and Octobot but even I wasn't upset about their destruction.

In truth, so much of “Birthday Bash” is devoted to Sonic mocking CroctoBot and Scourge establishing how tough he is, that the title fight seems sidelined. Having Sonic immediately form a truce with Scourge makes him seem a little less tough, even if he reneges just as quickly. The fight between the three hedgehogs only last three pages. Mostly, it proves once again that Scourge is an even match for Sonic and Shadow. While the action scenes are pretty compelling – I like the panel of Scourge shoving Sonic's face into the dirt – I wish we got a little more of this stuff. The action heavy focus ends up pushing Shadow and Rouge to the margins of the story.

I've read these books before so I know Ian will turn his attention to the Freedom Fighters soon enough. It is, however, a little disappointing that Sally and the gang have so little to do in this two-parter. They scuffle briefly with Scourge and Rouge but mostly stand back and watch the fight. The only Freedom Fighter that gets much attention is Fiona. There's an interesting collection of panels where Bean and Bark flee Freedom HQ. They ask Fiona if she's coming with them and, when she answers in the negative, question her commitment to the cause. This stuff is so interesting – Fiona not knowing if she's cut-out to be a hero – that Ian's upcoming decision to have her go fully over to the dark side becomes retroactively disappointing.

The fighting continues in the back pages. In the second half of “Sonic Rush,” Blaze and Sonic duke it out for a while. The cat's fire manipulation abilities makes her a challenge for Sonic but he subdues her after applying a little strategy. Afterwards, Blaze informs Sonic that she's not that bad, drops a few ominous words, and then disappears, leaving Sonic and the readers a little confused.

After a promising first half, “Sonic Rush” quickly dissolves into the game promo it was meant to be. Sonic and Blaze fight, he uses an oxygen-sucking tornado to beat her, and then she disappears. That's about it, as any relation to the game mythology is quickly rushed through in dialogue. I guess I prefer a brief two-parter over a series derailing adaptation but it's clear that Archie just didn't have time to incorporate the events of the video game into their comic. Which might explain why Blaze the Cat wouldn't appear for a while following this first appearance. All of which is somewhat disappointing, as Blaze made an impression this time. We're going to see more of her but it'll be a bit.

The script is slightly disappointing but the artwork remains solid. The humor Yardley naturally brings to the series is well utilized in the cover story. Sonic's reaction to CroctoBot makes the story. Yardley's sense of action is strong too, as Scourge's fight with Locke and the duel between Scourge and Shadow is pulled off well. I also like a few stray panels, showing Amy Rose's confusion or Fiona's self doubt. As for the back-up, Tania del Rio backslides slightly. Blaze or Sonic look a little too stiff in a few panels. Yet it's still not a bad looking comic, with everyone staying on model, and del Rio's shows a decent grasp of action.

After really blowing the doors off with his first issue, Ian's grasp slips slightly in his second go around. Maybe I was expecting too much. Starting his run with a relatively low stakes two-parter was no doubt intentional on his part. Sally and the gang, Scourge, Fiona, Rouge, Shadow, and the rest will be getting their due time soon enough. Just seeing Sonic have fun after so much misery is worthwhile, I'll admit. It's light but still action packed. And, instead of stagnating, the comic's world is evolving once again. That counts for a whole lot. [7/10]