Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 196

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 196
Publication Date: January 2009

In retrospect, Ian Flynn devoting nearly half of 2008 to Scourge and the Suppression Squad was probably not a great idea. By the time the first part of “Hedgehog Havoc” rolled around, readers were pretty sick of the rivalry between the parallel Sonics. And, keep in mind, we actually liked Scourge. So I'm happy to see Flynn was wrapping that shit up in 2009's first month. It wouldn't be the last time a storyline overstayed its welcome. Anyway, on with the review.

“Hedgehog Havoc: Part 2” begins with Sally talking the Suppression Squad into heading back to Moebius to rescue Sonic and Amy. What they find is Super Scourge standing over his defeated foes. The Freedom Fighters and their evil counterparts do their best to defeat the tyrant but it's not enough. Even the combined strength of Sonic, Shadow, and Silver fails to put down the super powerful villain. Sonic then realizes the secret needed to win the day...

Issue 196 proves something fans probably could've guessed. Super Scourge is a super asshole. That opening image of Super Scourge floating above all the fighters from the last issue is a decent shock. Of course, none of them are dead. In fact, most of them get right back up. But that's still a startling panel to start a story with. That Scourge immediately swoops down and beats the shit out of the Freedom Fighters and the Suppression Squad in only a few panels further proves how strong and ruthless he is. That he takes such pleasure in thrashing the good guys really sells this scene.

Just watching the bad guy whoop the heroes isn't quite entertaining enough. Flynn continues his characterization of Sally as a shrewd tactician. After everyone gets back on their feet, Sally immediately formulates a plan. Silver pauses Scourge with his telekinesis while Bunnie and Boomer blast him. She has the entire cast dog pile on Scourge, hoping they can hold him still until his super form runs out of juice. None of these plans work but it's nice to see Sally thinking so clearly even after getting tossed across the room by a super powerful hedgehog.

At his best, Flynn has an ability to sneak in cute, small moments between the characters that really beef up the story. We get a few of these in “Hedgehog Havoc: Part 2.” The seething distrust between Antoine and Patch is a nice touch, as the two have the biggest reason to hate each other. Miles – as in Anti-Tails – immediately makes a run for it. It says a lot about Miles' personality that he's a cunning little schemer until the shit hits the fan, at which point he skedaddles. Probably my favorite little moment in this issue occurs after Scourge knocks Rosy unconscious. Rob o' Hedge then ties the girl up, taking the time to apologize to Amy first. Ostensibly, he's restraining the unhinged girl. Yet this also shows how much concern Rob shows for his niece.

Of course, there's still a lot of dangling threads to deal with from the last story. Early on, Metal Sonic attacks Sonic, picking the hero as his priority now that Scourge is too powerful. Shadow zips over and immediately Chaos Controls them out of this dimension and into the crossover in the last issue of “Sonic X.” Silver contributes to the fight but, otherwise, has no personal reason to be here. I'm glad Flynn cleans up these plot points as quickly as possible but it proves that Shadow, Metal Sonic, and Silver were thrown into the fight last issue just because it was cool, not because it made sense.

I don't know about you guys but I read comic books because I like to see heroes fighting bad guys. Issue 196 of “Sonic the Hedgehog” really features a stand-out moment. Sonic puts his own life on the line, running out of the castle so Scourge will chase him, keeping his friends safe. An often overlooked aspect is that his thinking is often as fast as his feet. Sonic realizes he can't outrun, outfight, or outlast Super Scourge. Instead, he targets Scourge's ego, getting the villain to power down. Afterwards, he gives the now powerless Scourge a nice speech about the difference between them. He tosses his crown aside and pushes him to the ground. After Scourge has been such a massive asshole for the last few issues, it's satisfying to see Sonic give him such a total beat down.

The only problem with this is how Sonic bests Scourge. Out of nowhere, he comes to a realization. When Sonic powers down from Super Sonic, he's in a euphoric state at the peak of his normal abilities. He figures out that, since everything is backwards on Moebius, when Scourge powers down from a superstate, he'll be drained. Okay, did I miss that this is a plot point? In what previous appearance of Super Sonic did this info come up? Maybe I'm not remembering something but it feels like Flynn really pulled that one out of his ass.

Flynn wraps up by setting up some future story lines, promising that Silver is still out there and that the Suppression Squad still have some wicked plans up their sleeves. Sure. Anyway, “Hedgehog Havoc: Part 2” hinges on a pretty bullshit plot point but, otherwise, it's a big improvement over the first part. The action is solid, it's cool to see Sally thinking on her feet, and Sonic gets a strong hero moment. Even as a Scourge fan, I'm happy to see Flynn going easy on that character for a while. I guess 2009 is off to a solid start. [7/10]