Sonic X: Issue 26

Sonic X: Issue 26
Publication Date: November 2007

There's no getting around this. Issue 26 of Archie's “Sonic X” is the comic were Dr. Eggman begins moonlighting as a pro-wrestler. I don't want to say the book was running out of ideas. In truth, Eggman's side career as a masked wrestler actually seems quite popular with fans. Yet it's pretty far off from the kind of character the villain was in the main “Sonic” book. This, once again, illustrates the differences between the tone and approaches of the two series.

This story has the fittingly big title of "La Layenda del Gran Gordo! The Legend of the Great Big Guy!" Chris Thorndyke has suddenly gotten really into pro-wrestling. His favorite wrestler is the masked luchador El Gran Gordo. Sonic immediately recognizes the masked man as Eggman, a suggestion that incenses Chris. In hopes of appeasing his young cohort and uncovering his enemy, Sonic agrees to grapple El Gran Gordo in the ring. Of course, Eggman is El Gran Gordo and he uses his robotic skills to throw the fights in his favor. Sonic has to navigate this shit.

Let's get this out of the way: Eggman pretending to be a pro-wrestler is dumb. His justification is apparently yet another scheme to earn money. Which is weird, since getting getting beaten up in the ring seems like a hard way to grab some quick cash. Having said all that, the El Gran Gordo story line does present some amusingly silly moments. My favorite of which is how Eggman actually grows quite fond of his alter ego. Flynn doesn't go into it here but the suggestion seems to be that, after spending so much time as the bad guy, Eggman is enjoying a chance to be beloved by the public. And, if nothing else, the goofy luchador mask is fun to look at.

The supporting cast's reaction to this turn of events is not as consistently humorous. Chris Thorndyke suddenly becoming a huge pro-wrestler fan is acceptable, I guess. He is a young boy and they tend to become passionate about stupid bullshit. But Chris being so convince that wrestling is real, that he's willing to choke-slam Sonic when he points out how obviously staged it is? That pushes belief. I mean, Jesus, Chris' dad and grandfather are both geniuses. Surely he'd be able to tell when someone is pulling a punch.

How Eggman's henchmen react to his new persona is more amusing. Decoe and Bocoe are actually quite annoyed by Eggman's latest scheme. They hate the dumb costume they have to wear. (In a nice touch, Becoe is forced to dress like Don King) The thought that Eggman's henchmen are getting increasingly exhausted by their boss' shenanigans is a fun thought.

I'm a fan of a good training montage. Who doesn't love those? “Legend of El Gran Gordo” features one such montage that got a chuckle out of me. Knuckles takes on the trainer role, forcing Sonic to do push-ups and crunches. The hedgehog seems to struggle with them, which strikes me as slightly unlikely. Cleverly, these panels are mirrored by similar images of Eggman hopelessly attempting to work out. The mad scientist having more trouble doing heavy exercise seems a little more believable. It's a mildly cute gag but, instead of commenting more on sports movie cliches, Flynn's script just stops there. Missed opportunity!

There's so much build-up to Sonic and Eggman's bout that the actual fight can't help but come off as disappointing. Eggman's secret in the ring is revealed early. The sequins on his wrestling suit are actual nanobots that attack the opponent. Sonic quickly learns this, after a few close calls with the bad guy. There's a few energetic panels of Sonic dodging Eggman's cape or attempting to yank off his mask. Yet the bulk of the fight is limited to four panels, with Sonic quickly kicking and punching El Gran Gordo into submission. And in order to preserve Chris' childlike innocence, Sonic doesn't unmask the wrestling baddie either. I don't know why Sonic hangs out with this kid.

James Fry returns to pencil this one. His panels devoted to Sonic, Knuckles, and especially Eggman's wrestling get-up are quite nice, with a good sense of motion and details. However, his version of Chris looks really awkward and weird. This issue also ends on a really baffling cliffhanger, suggesting this wrestling stuff is going to last at least one more issue. Okay, I didn't hate it but do we really need another issue of this kind of thing? I guess we'll find out soon enough. [6/10]