Sonic Universe: Issue 28

Sonic Universe: Issue 28
Publication Date: May 2011

It's entirely possible I'm too hard on “Sonic Universe.” By the time issue 28 came out, the series had been running for slightly more than two years. Before the Silver Saga began in issue 25, there hadn't been very many story arcs in the book I wholeheartedly enjoyed. I really love the Shadow arc that began the book. The stories after that either had strong beginnings and weak endings – like the Tails-focused arc or “Mobius: 30 Years Later” – or generally suffered from weak pacing and poor executed, like everything else. “Shattered Mirror” was also not a perfect story but managed to be much stronger than most anything else found in “Sonic Universe,” allowing the spin-off to finally come into its own.

Anyway, where were we? “Picking Up the Pieces,” part four of “Shattered Mirror,” begins with Dark Enerjak and Silver fighting it out. Lara-Su, meanwhile, uses the Sword of Acorn to fight and protect the Prelate, versions of her family and friends that Enerjak has robbed of spirit and enslaved. Silver and the god-like villain rumble until the hedgehog completely gets his ass-kicked. At that point, he realizes a change in strategy is needed.

Most of issue 28 is devoted to the fight between Silver and Enerjak. This is a rumble between probably two of the most powerful characters in Archie “Sonic” lore, meaning Flynn has to go really big for this one. Silver tosses entire buildings at Enerjak, which he disintegrates in seconds. An especially cool action beat involves the hero throwing the villain through the face of his own statue. The fight peaks with two massive comic book style images I really appreciate. Enerjak lifts the entire Floating Island upward, smashing it into Silver. In response, he ensnares the bad guy and drags him across the island's surface at super speed.

Action theatrics of this level are fun but, come on, stuff like this only goes so far. “Picking Up the Pieces” does pause for one or two emotional moment. After dragging Enerjak around, Silver believes for a second that he's actually killed the tyrant. He has a moment of regret, believing he's gone too far. Naturally, Enerjak is functionally immortal so he's very much still alive. But it's a cute little character beat, revealing some of Silver's ethics. Lara-Su/Jani-Ca gets a similar beat. She ultimately decides that saving her friends and family now are more important to here than not hurting them at the time, using the Sword of Acorn to battle them. It's a little but that heart elevates things a little.

All of the crazy action is ultimately a bit of a misdirect. Silver doesn't use brute strength to save the day. He eventually realizes that he's simply not as strong as Enerjak. He can't out-punch him so he has to out-think him. What he comes up with is slightly disappointing. He simply redirects Enerjaks' attacks back at him. That's the kind of shit you do to defeat a level two boss in an old video game, not the kind of raw tactics that take down supervillains. That Enerjak, someone who can easily bend the laws of physics to his whims, falls for it so easily is the underwhelming bit. (This also feeds into a moment where Silver realizes the strength to defeat his opponent have been in him all along, a cheesy but satisfying bit of writing.)

Even these tactics are a bit of a misdirect. Silver's plan is to distract Enerjak until Lara-Su gets an opening. One poke from the Sword of Acorn drains Knuckles' power into his daughter, making Jani-Ca the newest Enerjak. Unlike her dad and ancestor, she doesn't go immediately power mad, suggesting what happens when someone becomes so powerful depends a lot on the person. It's actually a really neat image to conclude on, Jani-Ca gaining her dad's power and, within seconds, showing him up. What happens next – the Guardian undoing all of her dad's evils, off-panel but presumably in minutes – is a bit too much on the clean side.

Such an action heavy issue does allows Tracy Yardley plenty of chances to flex his artistic muscles. I continue to adore Jani-Ca and Dark Enerjak's designs, with all their little details and pointy ends. Silver and Knuckles shooting energy bolts at each other could've been a depicted as the two just tossing fireballs. Yardley makes the action more dynamic, by depicting the two thrusting and parrying with each other. Yardley's mastery of facial expressions is evident in the final confrontation between Jani-Ca and Knuckles, showing her rage and exuberance as she smashes the Sword of Acorn and robs Enerjak of his power forever.

Another disappointment in the book is that awesome reveal – that Enerjak has turned practically every character in the book into a Prelate – doesn't amount to much outside an awesome bit of artwork. Though pretty flawed, this is still a decent comic book. “Shattered Mirror” is still the best “Sonic Universe” arc in quite a while, revolving around a fantastic villain, a cool setting, and a decent bit of dramatic weight from its protagonists. [7/10]