Sonic Universe: Issue 1

Sonic Universe: Issue 1
Publication Date: February 2009

Rumors persist that Archie's “Sonic X” ended not because sales were bad or because it sucked. Apparently, one of those legal snafus that trouble Archie so much was responsible. The blame is usually placed on some sort of conflict between Sega and the cartoon's producers. Yet Archie clearly liked having a second “Sonic” book on the shelves every month. So Ian Flynn pitched them a replacement series.

Remember in the nineties, when Archie would periodically crank out mini-series devoted to Sonic's supporting characters? “Sonic Universe” would, more or less, function on the same principal. The spin-off would let a non-blue-hedgehog character take the spotlight for each story arc. Continuing the connection to the old mini-series, each arc would run for a specific number of issues: Four. The result was a book that was more varied than Sonic's main title. Sometimes it was even superior, strictly because of its ability to do something different. The approach would be popular with readers. “Sonic Universe” would be published alongside Archie's main “Sonic” book up until the entire line's own abrupt cancellation.

The first “Sonic Universe” storyline would focus on that perennial fan fave, Shadow the Hedgehog. After grabbing Metal Sonic and Chaos Controlling out of the “Sonic X” zone, Shadow and the robotic double pop up in Blaze the Cat's world. Blaze has partnered with caffeinated raccoon/would-be pirate Marine, to continue her quest for the Sol Gems. This is interrupted when Metal Sonic continues to be a huge asshole, attacking the local village. The so-called Ultimate Lifeform has to team-up with the two female if they hope to stop the rampaging machine.

Flynn did a lot to fix Shadow the Hedgehog's characterization with 171's “I Am.” Yet the character's recent motivation has been a bit vague. Why has he been following Metal Sonic from dimension to dimension? Flynn answers that question with “Living Weapons.” Shadow relates to Metal Sonic, seeing parallels between their mutual origins as artificial beings created to be weapons. During their struggles, Shadow attempts to reach out to Metal Sonic, telling him he doesn't have to obey Robotnik. It doesn't work, as Metal Sonic's programming is absolute, leaving no room for free will. But it's nice to know the two aren't just fighting because the plot demands it. Shadow has changed his own life and he wants to see change in other lives as well.

Other characters get some development too. We only got a hint at Blaze's personality in the “Sonic Rush” two-parter that introduced her. In “Living Weapons,” we get to see much more of Blaze. She's even on her home turf. Blaze doesn't seem too complex. She's a hero who doesn't take kindly to evil robots wrecking her homeland. Yet Flynn expands past the cat's fire-starting abilities, her previous sole bit of personality. Instead, we see that she has doubts and regrets, feeling bad about fighting with Sonic last time. She shows a sense of humor, tolerating Marine's manic fits with a smile. It's not a lot but Blaze is still way more defined now than previously.

I've had mixed feelings about Archie's handling of the various video game adaptations. On one hand, just sticking a short prologue in the back of the book gets the game adaptions out of the way. On the other hand, it's about the laziest way to handle things and draws attention to the stories' status as extended advertisements. (It doesn't help that I don't play most “Sonic” games, leaving me missing out on the rest of the story.) As a nice middle point, Flynn essentially sticks a short adaptation of “Sonic Rush” and its sequel into the middle here. We learn about how Blaze and Marine met up. How they got Sonic and Tails back home. How they fought a robot-pirate Eggman. Dr. Nega also shows up but only in silhouette, since Sega still had a weird stick up their ass about that character. Anyway, it's nice to actually see that stuff covered, filling in some narrative blank spots.

This extended flashback is interrupted by crude illustration of the events, provided by Marine. The wild and crazy raccoon almost walks away with the entire story. She peppers her dialogue with slang like “crikey,” “oy,” 'g'day,” and the especially baffling “strewth.” Her energy is indomitable. Shadow tosses a towel in her face, ignores her declarations of being a ship captain but she remains undeterred. That tenacity later reappears after she jumps on Metal Sonic's back, attacking him despite being hopelessly unmatched. She even enjoys the rush of combat, forcing herself to suppress a “wheee!” Marine easily could've been annoying yet she stays on just the right side of endearing. The character adds a lot of color and humor. It's a bummer Flynn would pretty much never use her again.

The conflict between Shadow and Metal Sonic, and how the black hedgie is attempting to reach the robot, gives the inevitable fight scenes some weight. This is best emphasized at the end, when Shadow makes a last ditch effort to reach the machine. When that doesn't work, he has Blaze melt him with a fire ball and Marine blast him apart with a cannon. This is what's been missing from the fight-a-thons in the main book. Just a little emotion, a little purpose, to get us invested in who's punching who. The fights are well illustrated too. The spinning fireball kick Blaze performs on Metal Sonic is a neat trick.

Shadow manages to Chaos Control home after Blaze hands him a spare Chaos Emerald. At that point, we finally figure out what Shadow's been up to recently. Apparently, he's shacked up with G.U.N. And so has Hope Kintobor, who Flynn is now characterizing as a genius. (Because if there's anything this comic needed, it was another kid genius.) I honestly preferred Shadow as a morally ambiguous free agent, walking the Earth like Kaine in “Kung-Fu.” Yet there's no doubt that making him a G.U.N. agent would allow Flynn easy way to set up future stories. And I'm glad he found a place for Hope, who always had unrealized potential.

“Sonic Universe” is off to a pretty good start. This is a good example of what Flynn can accomplish when he's really on the ball: A good balance between character and action, concise and straight-forward storytelling, exciting pacing and a good handling of the comic's mythology. I know “Universe” wasn't always this good but it's a really solid beginning. [8/10]