Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 206

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 206
Publication Date: November 2009

Ever since “Sonic X” ended, Patrick Spaziante has been contributing covers to Archie's “Sonic the Hedgehog” series more frequently. Not as often as in the good ol' days but still pretty regularly. Spaz' work has been as dynamic as ever but, with issue 206's cover, I really have to question his decisions. It's not a bad cover and represents the book's content fairly well. But drawing a strand of spittle flying from Sonic's mouth was, at the very least, an odd choice. Not really sure we needed to see that.

Anyway, the plot. Issue 206 concludes the “On the Run” two-parter with “Troubles by the Dozen.” Sonic faces off against the Iron Queen and King, along with an army of ninjas. Sonic distracts the bad guys while Tails sneaks the comatose Dr. Robotnik back to Mobotropolis. The ninjas are easy to deal with but the Iron King presents a bigger challenge. Luckily, the Freedom Fighters swoop in to help him out.

“On the Run: Part 2” represents the heroes' first victory over the Iron Dominion. Granted, that comes with a covet or two. The guys still have to race away from the battlefield suddenly. However, Sonic successfully squashes the Queen's foot soldiers. He wrecks her hovercraft, dropping the villain out of the sky. Sonic even gets in some genuinely intimidating trash-talk. He points out to his adversaries that an exact clone of him successfully conquered his world in a few days. Flynn has proven good at this in the past. It's satisfying to see the heroes get one over on the bad guys, especially after loosing several key battles.

Yes, of course, this leads to several big action sequences. Which are fun. Sonic knocks several saucers out of the sky by pin-balling through them. Those Yagyhu bat ninjas are tossed around easily. Maybe showing Sonic wrecking his enemies so easily is intentional, as the next scene has the Iron King knocking him back with one blow. (That scene may be where Spaz got his idea for the cover, since he features a line of spit flying from Sonic's mouth.) Once the Freedom Fighters rush in, we get a cool panel of Tails tossing Sonic through Regina's hovercraft. It's fun stuff.

Steven Butler is still the book's regular penciler at this point. His work is up to his usual quality. What I really like about Butler's work this time is the visual humor on display. Such as Tails huffing and puffing after dragging Eggman back to the city. Or a close-up of the Iron King's snorting nostrils. My favorite sequence begins with Antoine wondering aloud if they can outrun the bad guys. We then get a whole page devoted to Sonic running back and forth, carrying various Freedom Fighters to safety, while Antoine struggles to keep up.

Ian wraps the action up early to make room for some more character-oriented scenes. Sonic has a one-on-one with Dr. Robotnik. The doc is still raving mad. He seems to be confused about which point in time he's at, referring to Sonic as Sir Charles. He leaps back and forth between thinking it's before the Great War or right afterwards. This scene is decent but what follows is better. Monkey Khan confronts Sonic, asking him how he can show Robotnik mercy after all the horrible things he's done. This continues last issue's conversation about delivering justice with a fair hand. Sonic's not-so philosophical answer boils down to him not being interested in revenge. Monkey Khan's reaction – bafflement that Sonic is deeper than he expected – is amusing.

Speaking of Monkey Khan. Ian is still subtly pushing a potential romance between the simian cyborg and Princess Sally. It's evident in little moments. Such as Khan giving Sally an especially welcomed grin when she catches him walking around the village. Or how graciously she thanks him when he carries Robotnik to his jail cell. By this point. Flynn has recuperated Monkey Khan as a character, actually giving him some humility and heart. But pushing him as another potential love interest of the Princess? It's unnecessary and, while the two share a certain chemistry, it's clearly just as friends.

So how does the Iron Queen react to her first major failure? As you'd expect, poorly. That visual sense of humor that characterized the earlier scenes reappears when Snively, crawling across the battlefield, is nearly stomped on by the retreating army. Later, after returning home, he knocks on the door to Regina's chamber. She informs Snively that he won't see her again until they've regained Mobotropolis. Which confirms two things. That the Iron Queen really is just using Snively as a power play, something obviously to everyone but him. And that he really isn't getting laid tonight.

Which brings us to the back pages. The month before, Flynn presented the first half of “Birthright,” which covered Lien-Da's early history. The second half of the story picks up in the modern day. Lien-Da and Dimitri are in his lab, discussing the microchips, which would override the kill switch Robotnik previously installed in the Legionnaire's robotic parts, the new regime has promised them. The conversation goes differently when Lien-Da shatters Dimitri's glass orb, robbing him of mobility. She then hides him in a box in the lab, finally assuming the role of Grand Master of the Dark Legion.

As I've said before, Lien-Da's utter ruthlessness has greatly endeared her to me. In “Birthright: Part 2,” we really see just how far she'll go for power. Imprisoning Dimitri in a box, as nothing but a head, is by far the most evil thing she's ever done. It's somehow even worst than if she had outright murder him. And what did she commit this ghastly act over? A title and a little more power than she already had. That's cold. And, in an especially villainous way, pretty bad ass.

Hey, this is a good comic book! The artwork is strong for both stories, as Jamal Peppers continues to do fine work in the back pages. The script is solid enough, allowing us some peaks into the characters' minds along with decent action beats. That sounds like a [7/10] to me.