Sonic Universe: Issue 39

Sonic Universe: Issue 39
Publication Date: April 2012

Do you think the people reading “Sonic Universe” in 2012 were familiar with “Patton?” I mean, I was because I was a good ten years older than the target audience and also a huge dork. But the six-to-ten-year-olds this comic is ostensibly targeted at? Probably not. It's sort of funny how a pop culture reference like that has reverberated through history, to the point that some have probably forgotten, or were never aware of, where it originated from. This is the shit I think about at 12:30 at night when I'm writing these reviews.

Anyway, part three of “Scrambled” is subtitled “Line in the Sand.” It begins with Eggman and his cronies tracking Snively to the Dragon Kingdom. Snively has traveled to the area to free Regina, his Iron Queen./ex-girlfriend. As usually happens when you try a big gesture to impress your ex, she is not happy to see him. Robotnik starts burning buildings and being an asshole, causing Monkey Khan to fly into the fight, where he is shocked to encounter Mecha-Sally. Meanwhile, Snively is not quite done for.

Something that continually disappoints me about a lot of “Sonic” media is the decision to play Robotnik as a comic-relief villain. Even outside of the grimmer-than-most “SatAM,” this is a guy who has turned living things into batteries for his army of deadly robots, in an effort to take over the world. He should be remorseless. Even though Flynn's Eggman still has a comedic touch, he understands that essential ruthlessness. That's once again on display here. Early on, while talking with Conquering Storm, he demands she legionize her ninja soldier. When she explains that the Raiju are a proud clan that doesn't want to be given an unfair advantage, Eggman says he doesn't care and threatens to completely destroy the clan unless she obeys. Later, he casually commands his troops to burn the Dragon Kingdom to the ground without even thinking about it. That off-hand, nonchalance is played for laughs but is pretty damn evil in-universe. As it should be.

This isn't the only example of how damn cold Eggman can be. When Monkey Khan arrives to defend his city, the evil scientist is informed that the simian cyborg has a soft-spot for Princess Sally. So he immediately deploys Mecha-Sally. Ken is shocked but quickly swings back into battle mode, proving once and for all that his love was not true. Granted, he does attempt to reach out to Sally, hoping a shred of her personality still survives inside the machine. This doesn't work and the whole thing ends up being all a ploy to get Khan to give up his powers, which he totally falls for. I understand why Flynn included this stuff but it does distract slightly from the conflict between Robotnik and Snively, the heart of this story.

Perhaps sensing that this story would be slightly grim otherwise, Flynn throws in some comic relief. Some of it works well. Like Eggman expressing to Regina that, out of all his underlings that could've usurp him, she actually would've been his choice as she's not a filthy furry... However, he balks at her use of magic. Another gag I like is easy to miss. That Cubot and Orbot riding around in similarly shaped, tiny Egg-Mobil. However, the robotic sidekicks are otherwise the source of some unsightly comic relief. Having Cubot talk like a pirate for no reason undermines the seriousness of the situation slightly.

After getting shot down by Hope, “Line in the Sand” has Snively reaching out to the only other human being he's ever had a positive emotional connection to. The Iron Queen has been kept at the bottom of a well by the Dragon Kingdom locals, a prison set-up that doesn't seem entirely ethical. (“Where does she poop?” is just the first question that comes to mind.) Despite that, she's still pretty pissed that Snively abandoned her at the end of the Iron Dominion arc. Of course, it's not like Regina ever actually loved Snively anyway. That he still doesn't realize she was just using him as a means to an end – which is re-enforced when her opinion completely turns around once Snively actually does rescue her, via a Daimajin-esque oni battle-mech – further emphasizes how pathetic and tragic Snively's quest to be loved is.

I've had some mixed things to say about Jamal Peppers artwork throughout this run. He's still trying too hard to emulate Yardley. In this issue, his take on the Iron Queen also seems to be slightly off-model, to my eyes. I can't quite place it but she just doesn't seem right. Otherwise, Peppers does a pretty good job. He makes good use of facial expressions, especially in the scenes where Eggman is scowling at the locals or Conquering Storm is lying through her teeth at the arch-villain. His action scenes are solid too.

Though not quite as solid as the previous two issues, “Scrambled” continues to be one of the strongest “Sonic Universe” arcs in a while. Eggman being a heartless villain and Snively's continued pathetic attempts to succeed has endeared this one to me greatly. [7/10]