Sonic Universe: Issue 40

Sonic Universe: Issue 40
Publication Date: May 2012

Sonic fans are not ones to let a good in-joke get pass them. The cover of issue 40 of “Sonic Universe” takes on a fighting game motif, the second such time an Archie “Sonic” book has done that. The cover is specifically paying homage to “Sonic the Fighters,” an obscure fighting game that only popped up in arcades. A secret character for the game was Honey the Cat, who was herself a homage to Sega's “Vitura Fighter” character. Part of me suspects that Honey actually becoming a proper character in the post-reboot universe wouldn't have happened with all that blink-and-miss-it throwback on this cover. Anyway, on with the review.

The fourth part of “Scrambled” is given the rather delightfully melodramatic subtitle “In the Name of Love.” Snively and the Iron Queen, him armed with the Iron Oni mech and Regina with her techno-magic, faces down Eggman. The mad scientist quickly calls in a giant robot of his own to do battle with his nephew. And then some other stuff happens.

It seems to me that, in all the years that Robotnik and Snively have secretly plotted against each other, I don't think they've ever actually come to blows before. In the conclusion of “Scrambled,” the two finally fight it out. It's pretty well done too. Amusingly, when Eggman drops a giant robot out of his mustache flier, it's an Egg Beater armor made entirely from plastic, porcelain, and polymers and operated entirely with wires. That makes it entirely unaffected by the Iron Queen's techno-magics. Amusingly, Robotnik doesn't even need the armor to defeat Snively. He undermines Snively's Iron Oni with his tool kit more than anything else. Moreover, finally allowing a fight to take place allows all the resentment that has simmered between them for years to boil over.

All throughout my coverage of the Iron Queen's various appearances, I've widely assumed that the Iron Queen has no actual feelings for Snively. That she's only using him. It's a pretty obvious conclusion. However, Flynn has never outright stated that Regina is just using Snively. In issue 40 of “Sonic Universe,” we finally have this confirmed. During the middle of the fight, Eggman yells at Snively that he's obviously being manipulated. In the last part of the comic, it becomes clear to how little Snively actually means to her.

Oh yeah, Monkey Khan is in this comic book too. His role in the plot is pretty minor. He ends up under the control of both Robotnik and Iron Queen pretty quickly but that ends up not contributing much to the story. Ultimately, his role in the story is to keep Mecha Sally from immediately swooping in and destroying Snively. At the end, Robotnik taunts him some more about Sally's current state. But that's about it. Monkey Khan has very little reason to be here but I guess Flynn makes his inclusion pretty painless.

The comic relief in the last few issues have been slightly distracting. There's a little bit of that here, with Cubot and Orbot cracking some jokes. Mostly, however, “Scrambled” concludes on a gleefully mean tone. Robotnik completely destroys Snively. His slapdash attempt to overthrow his uncle is undone. He looses his girlfriend. In the end, Robotnik even completely supplants his role in the Eggman Empire. The real Snively is left in a small prison, beaten and bruised, his spirit totally crushed. And Robotnik mocks him all for it. Astutely, he says that Snively “brought his A-game and [Eggman] still won.”

And that's a bit of a tragedy, isn't it? Once again, “Scrambled” brings attention to the strange balance of pity and disgust we feel towards Snively. He desperately wants to be a serious villain but he just doesn't have the skills to hack it, making his attempts likelier to illicit sympathy. Very few plot points of the original Archie Sonic universe were resolved before the upcoming reboot. There's a few lingering plot points here, like the Iron Queen's new role in the Eggman Empire. However, the rivalry between Robotnik and Snively is brought to a very satisfying conclusion. I'm sure Snively would've been given more to do if the original story had continued. But, as far as I'm concerned, him rotting forever in a cell after yet another failed insurrection is the sad fate he deserves.

Jamal Peppers' artwork is quite good too, the artist no longer being content to copy Yardley. Instead, he's doing his own thing here. After the super lame “Babylon Rising” story arc, “Sonic Universe” is back in prime shape with this one. “Scrambled” is probably my favorite story arc from the spin-off book's entire history. Funny how that worked out, isn't it? [8/10]