Sonic Free Comic Book Day 2007

Sonic Free Comic Book Day 2007
Publication Date: May 2007

Before 2007, Archie rarely acknowledged Free Comic Book Day. A nation wide event that occurs every May, primarily to give people an incentive to visit their local comic shops, I don't think Archie participated in the event before that year. I don't know if this was Ian Flynn's idea or, more likely, someone in editorial making this decision. Either way, “Sonic the Hedgehog” would regularly get Free Comic Book Day stories from this point on, many of them original stories created especially for the day.

In “Unburying the Hatchet,” Sonic has been captured by Eggman, thanks to some help from his latest Metal Sonic model. Instead of just killing the hedgehog when he has the chance, Robotnik plans something a little more devious. Next we see Sonic, he's running into Knothole and wailing on all his friends. It turns out Robotnik has inserted a mind control chip into Sonic's ear and is now controlling him via remote. Sally has prepared for this. Knuckles and the Chaotix are sent in to beat the shit out of Sonic until the device is dislodged.

Sonic turning against this friends isn't exactly a new story. Archie first took a stab at the story in a two-parter published in issue 27 and 28, when an amnesic Sonic was tricked by Robotnik into attacking his friends. A little while later, the “Mecha Madness” story line would run with a similar premise. That time, Sonic would be robotocized, literally loosing his free will to his greatest enemy. “Unburying the Hatchet” tells a story halfway between these two extremes. Sonic has lost control of his body but can still see, feel, and think about everything that happens to him. Sadly, Flynn doesn't explore how this weighs on Sonic's mind very much. He feels bad about it but that's about the only insight we get.

Having said that, there's a reason those earlier story arcs worked as well as they did. There's a certain amount of drama inherent in seeing Sonic turn against his friends. There's also a degree of comic book-y fun derived from watching heroes fight heroes. Sonic knocks his fellow Freedom Fighters out with ease, taking down the entire team with one spin-dash. The Chaotix fall just as easily, with a few well placed punches and kicks. The image isn't exactly shocking – we've seen it before – but it still counts for something.

Knuckles, on the other hand, is a more of an even match for the hedgehog. Sonic and Knuckles fought so much in the book's early days that a fight like this wouldn't have been very exciting in 1996. But that was a long time ago. Seeing the two, long since established as friends at this point, wail on each other has a certain fun factor. It's a good fight too, the two crashing through walls. The blow that takes Sonic down is a head kick from Tails and an undercut from Knuckles, vividly illustrated by Tracy Yardley.

The resolution to the fight is a bit disappointing though. After Sonic gets punched hard enough that Robotnik's mind control device gets crushed, Robotnik and Metal Sonic fly into the castle, determined to take care of business themselves. Instead, Sonic points out that he's surrounded by all of the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles destroy Metal Sonic in seconds and Robotnik high-tails it out of there. That's underwhelming. I get there's only so many pages here to explore but the bad guy just being scared off is a bit of a bummer.

Probably my favorite moment in the first “Sonic” FCBD special doesn't involve Sonic at all. While Robotnik controls Sonic with a handheld controller, Snively gets pissed at him. He believes the doctor is wasting his time and resources. He then attempts to sabotage some of Robotnik's other robots but he's quickly interrupted. Once again, Snively's uncle has foreseen his treachery and planned accordingly. But it's fun to see Snively up to his old tricks again, always power hungry but too incompetent to ever succeed in his plans.

2007's Free Comic Book Day adventure is ultimately fairly minor. The story should have high stakes but the approach remains fairly low key. I suspect the story was intentionally designed that way. This one is a treat for long time fans and newcomers. It's not meant to interrupt or contribute to the main book's on-going story arc, though it does nod towards Robotnik's plans for issue 175. It's mostly an excuse to watch Sonic and Knuckles fight, which is fine. However, it's not especially memorable and, if this one isn't in your collection, you're not missing anything important. [6/10]