Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 230

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 230
Publication Date: October 2011

And we're back. In the past, Flynn took his time in-between big story arcs, usually giving the world of “Sonic” some time to catch its breath for an issue or two. Because “Genesis” was essentially inserted into the last act of another storyline, he didn't have that option this time. Issue 230 brings us back to where issue 225 left off. So we're off and running from one big storyline into the next one. Get use to that breathless pace as the original Archie Sonic continuity heads into its final year.

Apparently when Sonic reset the universe at the end of “Genesis,” he pulled a “Galaxy Quest” and dropped himself and Sally back into the Death Egg... Several seconds before they left. This gives the hedgehog and the Princess a chance to avoid the machine gun that nearly killed her. They turn the fight against Robotnik, throwing a monkey wrench into his elaborate plan as it reaches its final stage. While Sonic wrestles with some robots, Sally realizes that she has to make a sacrifice in order to save all of Mobius.

Up until this point, the assumption was that Robotnik's master plan was to shoot a huge robotocizer ray at all of Mobius. It seems like, sometime before “Two Steps Back...” was finalized, someone either reminded Flynn or he realized his own mistake. While confronting Robotnik, Sonic reminds the doctor that those pesky aliens, the Bem, made it impossible to re-robotocize anything that had previously been turned into a robot. I would've forgiven Flynn for forgetting about this plot point, which came during the comic's notorious dork age. I sure as heck did. So, instead, Robotnik's plan gets what's clearly a sloppy last minute rewrite. He'll blast the world with a robot ray... Causing a lot of it to explode! Because, as a footnote helpfully reminds us, the events of Sally's mini-series show that you can't robotocize shit that's already metallic.

Got all that? It's a pretty jumbled bit of information to dump on the reader, especially in an otherwise very action heavy issue. Large portions of the issue are devoted to action, beautifully rendered by Ben Bates' smooth, cartoony, but precise pencils. It ends up dragging “Two Steps Back...” down quite a bit. The book hasn't tangled itself up in its own lore like since the Penders days.

That so much of the issue is consumed by technobabble double-talk is also disappointing, since there's some huge emotional stakes here. Issue 225 ended by nearly killing Princess Sally off,  which would've been the third time Archie threatened to murder her. The Princess' reprieve was destined to be short-lived, at least in her current form. She sneaks down into the guts of the Death Egg, using Nicole in the hopes of hacking Robotnik's master plan. The villain's infrastructure is too strong though. All Nicole can do is turn the ray back on the Death Egg. As everyone knows by now, this results in Sally getting robotocized.

I have... Mixed feelings about this. Once again, the emotional center of this story is underserved by more convoluted plotting. Why did Nicole turn the ray back on the Death Egg? She drops this as the only option, with zero other explanation of how that works or why. There's a nice emotional panel, where Sally grimly realizes she has to do this. She says goodbye to her memories, loved ones, and presses the button. Ultimately though, this decision feels more self-serving by the writer than anything else. Flynn wanted Mecha-Sally in the book, because it's the kind of big shock that sells comic books. And this was the best way he could think of to deliver this plot twist. But it bugs me. It bugs me, man.

Further undermining this serious plot is a lame back-up story shoved into the back of the book, eating up the cover story's page count. “Sonic Generations” is another one of those “Another Time, Another Place..” stories that exist solely to promote whatever new video game Sega put out. Instead of focusing on the team-up between modern Sonic and Classic Sonic – the entire reason people got excited for “Sonic Generations” – this story merely retells the game's prologue. Sonic's friends, which includes Rouge for some reason, throw him a birthday party with chili dogs wrapped up in bows. That's when a huge chasm opens up in the sky and sucks everyone into other dimensions. Then Classic Sonic shows up for a panel at the very end.

What is there to say about this one? There's no explanation of where the portals come from. We only get a brief glimpse of where they lead to: That fan favorite the Green Hill Zone. The artwork from Jamal Peppers is good but slightly below his usual standard, as the characters come off as a little jagged. (He also draws maybe the most unappetizing chili dogs I've ever seen.) Sonic and friends bonding around the birthday table is mildly cute. So is the tenacity the hero shows in rescuing his friends. Otherwise, there's absolutely nothing here. It's a completely hollow, empty, useless story.

I guess this review came off as pretty negative. I don't dislike “Two Steps Back...” The action scenes, such as the fight between Sonic and his various robotic doubles, are well done. The moment where Robotnik freaks out, because Sonic foiled his schemes yet again, before calming himself back down is really well done. As is the scene of the villain pulling himself out of the wreckage of the Death Egg and pointing a shiv at the hedgehog. However, it's an issue bogged down by exposition, brutalizing logic, and an emotional sacrifice happening for reasons that feel less than honest. It's a bit of a bummer, as far as epilogues to an otherwise amiable event like “Genesis” goes. [6/10]