Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 235

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 235
Publication Date: April 2012

The transformation Ian Flynn pulled off with Silver the Hedgehog is pretty impressive. At least for me personally, I was initially dismissive of Silver. He struck me as a desperate attempt to copy the fan popularity Sega had achieved with Shadow. You know, basically a recolor of Sonic with a flashy gimmick. This time, psychic powers instead of the stoic bad-ass routine. However, by playing up both his earnestness and his inexperience, Flynn managed to humanize Silver and make him far more likable. Yet, despite his prominent presence on the cover of issue 235, Silver's appearance is not the most important thing going on here.

“Remember the Fallen” begins in the distant future, with Silver uncovering a previously hidden library. After uncovering Antoine's journal, he comes to the conclusion that the coyote was the traitor to the Freedom Fighters that he's been looking forward. As he goes back in time, stranding himself in the past by using up his last Chaos Emerald, Silver discovers the truth. Antoine is still in a coma. And the Freedom Fighters are still mourning his sacrifice, each in their own way.

“Remember the Fallen” has Ian Flynn forcing the Freedom Fighters to deal with something they don't normally endure: Failure. The loss of Antoine, even if he's only comatose and not dead, is weighing heavily on all of them. Each one is dealing with this trauma in their own way. Tails has locked himself up in his work shop, devoting himself to rebuilding the Tornado. Amy Rose is focusing on her work in the city, in hopes of distracting herself. Sonic has holed up in his bedroom, playing his guitar. Even Geoffrey St. John, who was pretty pissed at Antoine just a day before, pays his respects to the fallen soldier. It's interesting to see these cartoon characters dealing with the quasi-death of a friend.

Flynn does not retreat from the emotion of the situation. There's a lot of crying and hugging in this issue. Tails' dad snaps him out of his exhaustive working state, leading to tears and hugs. Sonic's parents ask Amy about her obviously fractured mood, causing her to break down and cry. Most controversially, Bunnie runs away from Mobotropolis after having a talk with her husband's comatose body. Would Bunnie, someone who has never backed down from a challenge before, run away like this? It's hard to say, seeing how she's never dealt with the potential death of her husband before. Sadly, this is a story arc that would be left largely unresolved because of the impending reboot. Meaning Flynn would never really get to justify this possibly out-of-character moment.

The hugging and crying is not limited to the corporeal characters. The distrust against Nicole rising in the city reaches its crescendo. Naugus convinces the Council of Acorn to exile Nicole. How do you exile a computer program that lives in every corner of the city? Well, it has something to do with limiting her personality strictly to the computer monitors in HQ. It's a shaky plot turn. Personally, it bugs me that the Council of Acorn, including Uncle Chuck, would allow this to happen. Only Rotor is so disgusted that he retires. Pushing the Freedom Fighters into such a desperate situation is one thing but most of the stuff dealing with the politics in Knothole continue to bugs me.

The emotional core of the story is so clear and strong that it's not immediately apparent why Silver is in this comic book. The flash-forwards to him in the ruined, post-apocalyptic city are literally hundreds of years apart from the story's current events. Silver walking around Knothole, looking for Antoine, doesn't even provide much of a framing device to seeing the Freedom Fighters in their mourning state. However, Silver's role in the story becomes evident soon. Believing Antoine is the traitor provides shaky reasoning for Silver to get stranded in the past, taking a one-way trip to the book's present. In the final few pages, a despondent Silver is recruited by Harvey Who, further setting up the Secret Freedom Fighter story arc Flynn will be debuting soon.

Oh yeah, Silver's also in this issue to provide the seven-to-twelve-year-old boy crowd with a required action beat. When Sonic hears that Silver believes Antoine is the traitor, he looses his temper. The blue hedgehog spin-dashes at Silver through the wall of his hut, grabs Silver by the quills, and drags him into Antoine's hospital room. It's mostly an unneeded action beat in an otherwise emotionally driven issue. However, it does lead to one fantastic moment. Enraged by the loss of his friend, Sonic ends up snarling at Silver, dismissing him as a fool who dishonors the loyalty of his friends.

Yardley's pencils are pretty good too. I especially like the little touch that the windows of Sonic's hut are shaped like the logo he popped out of in the very first Sega game. It's a really strong issue, dealing with serious themes, that is downgraded from a really high score do to Silver's odd role in the story or the unconvincing subplot involving Nicole. Otherwise, I admire Flynn for going deep with the emotions. In 2012, I found this issue the latest in a long line of bummers for the book. Separated by a few years, I can see the honesty and rawness of the emotions he's employing. [7/10]