Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 165

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Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 165
Publication Date: August 2006

Issue 165 provides a bit of breathing room for Archie's “Sonic the Hedgehog” series. New head writer Ian Flynn had just wrapped up his first big story arc, with “The Darkest Storm.” Next, he would be taking us back to the still unresolved “Mobius: 20 Years Later” setting before ending the A.D.A.M plot point. Sandwiched between these big events was a single one-shot devoted to resolving past ideas, filling in some characters' back stories, and slowly urging us towards future set-ups.

In “Leak” - maybe not Flynn's most inspired title – the Freedom Fighters have captured Rouge the Bat. Last seen fraternizing with Scourge the Hedgehog, the Knothole crowd suspects her of being up to no good, the inverse of good. She is interrogated by the Chaotix. The bat, meanwhile, claims that she has broken up her relationship with Scourge and Dr. Finitevus, after learning the depths of Finitevus' evil plot. Meanwhile, Tails is captured by Scourge and the Destructix, leading to a scuffle between Sonic and the bad guys.

Since her introduction back in issue 98, Archie hasn't given Rouge the Bat much of a chance to shine. She's popped up a few stray times but it's clear that the book never had much idea of what to do with her. Ken Penders' plan to ship her with either Locke or Anti-Sonic seems like a rather desperate move, in retrospect. With “Leak,” Flynn finally provides some insight into Rouge's mind. From Fiona – more on her in a minute – we learn that Rouge has a long history of competing in underground fight clubs, stealing ancient relics, and also robbing banks. Yet the bat's seemingly sincere decision to cut ties with Finitevus and Scourge re-centers her personality as self-interested but not evil, even potentially a force for good.

Through this avenue, Ian gets a chance to indulge in his favorite fetish. I mean cutting through the mess the previous writers left, as well as redirecting some misused characters. Turns out the Destructix got dumped by Mammoth Mogul, prompting them to team up with Scourge. More amusing to me is how Flynn throws one of the dumbest recent arcs in the trash bin. Finitevus apparently wanted to utilize the nuclear arsenal that was discovered in “The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown” Through Rouge's flashback, the writer drops the nugget that Isaac's data was corrupt, if not outright wrong. Moreover, the frozen Kintobor he was guarding was dead, not sleeping. Seems like the robot went crazy after being down there for millennia. In just a few sentences, the new writer successfully dismantles one of the previous writer's least promising ideas.

Like Rouge, Fiona the Fox's history is also under explored. Ian continues to run with his decision to make her a somewhat ambiguous figure trying to do good. In “Leak,” more hints are dropped concerning Fiona's checkered past. She reluctantly reveals some detail about her time as a traveling criminal, tying her history in with Rouge's. After a short conversation with Sleuth Dawg, hints are dropped that Fiona has a history of treachery. This foreshadows her upcoming heel turn. Which will honestly be a bit of a bummer, as I've grown to like Fiona as someone atoning for past misdeeds. Either way, in his last six issues, Flynn has done more for the character than any other writer did.

All this plus some fucking fights! Still eager to prove himself as a serious threat (and his creator eager to prove himself an important villain), Scourge speeds into the Great Forest and grabs Sonic for another fist fight. This leads to maybe my favorite bit of action that Tracy Yardley has drawn for the book thus far. The two hedgehogs run up a pair of towering pine trees. They leap off the bows, thrown at each other like arrows. Scourge gets a boot to the face before he slugs Sonic in the jaw. He then slides Sonic's face into the side of the tree as they ride it all the way down. I love the panel after that, devoting to showing how pissed off this makes Sonic.

That fight scene ends somewhat suddenly, when Sleuth Dawg holding Tails as a hostage. Luckily, the writer tosses in one neat action beat after that. In the interrogation room, after the other Chaotix leave, Julie-Su and Rouge have a confrontation. Julie-Su informs the bat that she doesn't appreciate her hitting on Knuckles. Rouge fires back that taking “precious things” is her specialty. I have mixed feelings about this. On a strictly superficial level, Julie-Su knocking Rouge on her ass is awesome. She's even about to call her a “B” word before getting a knee in the gut! It does seem a little petty for Julie-Su to corner Rouge like this. And I'm not a huge fan of the way she describes Knuckles as the center of her universe. This potential love triangle wouldn't go much further. Still, at the time, I was curious about how the comics would handle the obvious sexual chemistry the echidna and the bat share in the games.

Issue 165 features a back-up story, entitled “Call of Duty.” No, it doesn't feature Sonic massacring Russian citizens inside an airport. Instead, the plot concerns Knuckles being called downstairs to a monitor, where Locke has called him from the Floating Island. The Guardian informs his son that Angel Island needs him. The dingoes have continued to advance on the island. A civil war has torn the Dark Legion apart, one side led by Lien-Da and the other by a brand new Grandmaster. Knuckles insists that his place is in Knothole, stopping Robotnik at the source. This infuriates Locke and the conversation between father and son ends poorly.

Conceptually, “Call of Duty” squares away some of the lingering fall out from the “Return to Angel Island” story line. Angel Island is still in chaos, Locke is still pissed with his kid, and the idea of the Dark Legion civil war is introduced. The upcoming reveal that Remington has now become a grandmaster of the Legion is foreshadowed in this story too.

As it plays out though, “Call of Duty” is a cathartic argument between father and son. Locke attempts to manipulate his son into participating in the island's new war, either in person or via the Chaotix. This pisses Knuckles off. When Knuckles says his dad's isolationist politics can shove it, this pisses off Locke. When Locke tries to manipulate Knuckles into coming back by saying he can't guarantee his mother's safety, Knuckles punches the fucking TV screen. Who knows what Ken had planned for Knuckles and Locke's separation but Ian's take on it is certain. Knux is discovering that his dad is an asshole, that his dad has always been an asshole.

Steven Butler draws the back-up story. His typically excellent, gritty work is peppered with some more cartoony expressions, though I don't mind it too much. It's so weird to see Butler's pencils accompanying a Knuckles story that wasn't written by Penders. (Butler was one of the few classic period artist who would continue to work on the book into the new era.) I'm pretty happy with issue 165, which nicely balances character development, discarding worthless ideas, introducing some new ones, and still leaving room for some action. [8/10]