Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 202

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 202
Publication Date: July 2009

There's a moment late in issue 202 of “Sonic the Hedgehog,” the issue where the Iron Dominion event really got rolling, where Sonic admits to the council of Knothole that the Iron Queen has adsorbed Robotnik's forces. The face of their villain has changed but, otherwise, Mobotropolis remains as under threat as always. This points out my serious problem with the Iron Dominion story. Yes, there's a certain novelty to seeing another villain replace Robotnik as the book's reigning Big Bad. Yet, for the most part, the book's world remains unchanged. Compare this to the direction Archie took “Sonic” in post-”Endgame” and maybe you'll understand my disappointment. The phrase “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss” has never been truer.

Anyway, the plot. “Dangerous Territory” picks up where 201 left off, with Sonic and Monkey Khan heading towards Megaopolis. Their entrance into Robotnik's former city is not as gentle as they hoped. The two are attacked by, in succession, the Dark Egg Legion, the Iron King, and a group of ninjas, including Espio and Lightning Lynx. Sonic and Khan remain totally unprepared for this attack and slink back to Knothole after getting their asses kicked.

As that plot synopsis suggest, issue 202 is primarily composed of a long action sequence. The book gets right to it, with a pretty cool panel of Monkey Khan deflecting laser fire with his staff on page two. In fact, Khan's various powers are well utilized. He tosses Lien-Da back with a lightning blast and later shocks Lightning Lynx right in the crotch. He also uses the staff as a projectile in one eye-catching panel. There's also plenty of leaping, punching, kicking, and spin-dashing throughout. The fist fights with Lightning Lynx, Espio, and the bat ninjas are all neat visuals.

And a cool fight scene is all well and good. What makes the extended action theatrics more meaningful is the conclusion to the fight. Sonic and Monkey Khan don't win. They get beat badly. The only reason they walk – or rather fly away, on Khan's magic nimbus – is because the Iron King refuses to kill his enemies when they're down. (He does it because he wants to see them humiliated. We all know the real reason is because comic book villains are dumb.) Considering Sonic's cocksure attitude, and he's extra snarky throughout this adventure, seeing him get trounced so totally makes for a compelling turn of events. It certainly establishes the Iron Dominion as a serious new threat, even if they are just taking Robotnik's place.

The conclusion of the battle isn't the only thing that gives this fight scene actual meaning. The self-doubt Sonic feels once he realizes he's outnumbered is a good moment. More powerful is when Espio walks up to Sonic, seemingly gives him a helping hand, before socking him hard in the jaw. Espio's betrayal would certainly have more meaning if Sonic and the chameleon were closer friends. Imagine how shocking that punch would be if Knuckles were on the receiving in. Still, it's a good moment and almost justifies Espio's convoluted reasons for switching sides. (Less interesting is Flynn heaping exposition on the reader, Khan letting us know about the various Brides and Clans found in his home country. It's a yawn.)

Even if I could care less about the mythology surrounding Monkey Khan, I do admire Ian Flynn's continued attempt to humanize Frank Strom's formerly perfect hero. First off, Sonic's loss is Khan's too. Again, I can't imagine Strom allowing his self-insert to be so totally bested. After informing the Council of their defeat, Khan confesses that this is just the latest in a long string of failures for him. (He also admits that his real name is Ken, another humanizing touch.) I continue to have mixed feelings about Flynn hinting at a romance between Khan and Sally. However, making the monkey a pathetic loser certainly goes a long way towards actually making the reader invested in him. At the very least, he's not an unstoppable badass who spews lame catchphrases.

“Dangerous Territory” sees Steven Butler return to pencil the main book. If you discount his occasional contributions to “Sonic X,” this is the first time Butler has illustrated the comic in quite some time. And it's clear he's a little rusty. You can tell Butler is trying to fuse his grittier, sexier style with Tracy Yardley's more cartoony pencils, which have become the default look for the book by this point. This results in a few panel where it looks like a super-cute head is stuck on a more detailed body. (He still manages to make Sally and Lien-Da look curvier than Yardley ever has.) Still, Butler finds his footing pretty quickly. The action scenes look great. The ruined city setting certainly leaves plenty of room for Butler's love of grimy detail. It's still a really great looking comic, even though Butler has done better work in the past.

So we get a back-up story too. “A Lonely Girl's Story” begins with Snively and the Iron Queen lounging on a couch somewhere in New Megaopolis. Presumably before getting down to some disproportionate nooky, Snively asks Regina about her childhood. She regales him of a childhood within a “technomagic” cult, where she was taught how to manipulate robotics and electronics with magic. She also reveals that such practices were outlawed by the Overlanders, leading to Regina's family being executed and her being exiled from the city. She wandered the world, honing her abilities, before arriving in Monkey Khan's corner of the world and taking it over.

Flynn has made an effort to expand on the backstories of various obscure characters. Since the Iron Queen is going to be an important character within the book's next year, it's certainly a good idea to provide some context for her actions. The quasi-tragic beats of Regina's troubled youth seem like standard attempts to give the villain some complexity. Considering the Iron Queen is still a cackling she-beasts in the present, that doesn't count for much. What I ultimately like about this peak into Regina's past is the insight it gives us into Overlander society. That all magic was banned in their city certainly makes sense, further contrasting him with the mystical Kingdom of Acorn.

“A Lonely Girl's Story” is also the debut credit of Jamal Peppers. Handing this story to a new artist might've been a deliberate move. This one mostly revolves around non-furry people, something Tracy Yardley is just passable at. Whatever the reason, it's a good debut for Peppers. The panels devoted to a young Regina mastering control of a goofy looking robot is cute. Peppers conveys Regina's emotions nicely. A panel which shows her smiling evilly upon discovering Khan's valley is awfully atmospheric.

It's a good, not great, issue. The opening story features some nice action and a few decent emotional beats, though none of it is as powerful as perhaps it could've. The Iron Dominion story remains a little overly invested in its own mythology. The back-up story has a few decent moments but still can't quite get me to care about the Iron Queen. The artwork is pretty good though. Eh, I'll take it. [7/10]