Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 250

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 250
Publication Date: June 2013

With its 250th issue, Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic had officially been in print for twenty years. That was a major accomplishment in the precarious world of comics, where even major superhero characters can’t go more than a few years without being rebooted. Even more so for a silly licensed book based on a video game series that was, let’s face it, way pass its peak popularity and cultural relevance. Take that as a lesson, kids. If you can cultivate an obsessive fandom partially composed of autists and furries, your comic book will run for decades too.

Sadly, the comic’s porcelain anniversary did not come during the smoothest time. The book was wrapped up in the back half of the “Worlds Collide” crossover, meaning Sonic had to share the spotlight with Mega Man. The book was also two issues away from having all its continuity wiped out. It’s kind of hard to seriously celebrate a comic’s success when the book is busy boosting another series and about to throw its entire history in the trash.

But never mind all that. We’ve got a crossover to sell! Part nine of “Worlds Collide,” subtitled “All Out War,” begins with Sonic, Mega Man, and their friends stationed under the Death Egg. Inside, Wily and Eggman are preparing another Genesis Wave that will completely reshape both of their worlds. The villains send a massive army, composed of every Robot Master Wily has ever built, to stymie the heroes. Sonic and Mega Man try to fight their way through the forces, so they can rescue Rock’s dad and stop the bad guys.

Last time, I said I had the feeling that Flynn was just wasting time in the middle act and really wanted to get to the big fight scene. This issue holds that out. Flynn is so eager to get to the violence that he doesn’t even properly introduce Shadow and Omega. They, along with Silver and Blaze, show up at the beginning without an immediate explanation. We couldn’t get a panel or two showing them teleporting under the Skull Egg? It seems a little sloppy, adding to a comic story arc that already seems a little sloppy.

It seems this issue is mostly about luxuriating in the literally hundreds of Robot Masters that Wily has built over the many “Mega Man” games. The issue opens with a two page spread showing off a few of them. Some of them have more general purposes, like spraying water or generating walls or concrete blocks. Others are way more specific. Over the years, Wily has created clown, vampire, water pump, pirate, flying saucer, sheep, magician, mosquito, electric plugs, centaur, swami, Indian Brave, and pineapple I think themed robots, among many others. No, we never get much in the way of development for any of these bots. However, one thing Capcom is really good at is designing visually appealing characters. So all these weird robots are neat looking, if nothing else.

Flynn seems to delight in contrasting the various Sonic characters with similarly themed Robot Masters. Napalm Man’s countless fireballs are met by Omega’s equally impressive fire power. Blaze faces off against six separate pyromaniac robots. Vector fights Snake Man. Charmy fights Hornet Man. Espio fights the ninja-themed Shadow Man. Tails flies against a trio of flying Masters. Sonic races against a cadre of fast Masters. Amy faces off against Splash Woman, seemingly the only female member of the Robot Masters. There is, admittedly, some minor fun in seeing so many different variations on the same sort of archetypes.

The business aboard the Skull Egg proves a little more compelling than the battlefield. There’s a tense conversation between Dr. Light and Dr. Wily. This moment gives us a look at Wily’s neurosis. He really, really resents Dr. Light. He’s obsessed with what he perceives as Light’s lack of vision and the belief that Thomas is jealous of his genius. Dr. Light silences him by pointing out both doctors’ tendency to try and control things they can’t handle. It feels a bit like an asshole kid trying to stand up his dad and failing spectacularly.

All that’s well and good but Eggman’s approach is more direct. Upon realizing Dr. Light is a serious threat, that he’s aware of their plan and has been feeding information to Sonic and Rock, he decides to just straight-up murder him. Coldly and calculating, he grabs Dr. Light, drags him to the Egg Skull’s port, and tosses him out. And he’s smiling as he does, cutely waving as Light falls to his doom. That’s how you make an intimidating villain, by showing them wiling to do anything to further their goals. Sort of wish he had done this a lot sooner.

But, hey, it’s a pretty looking comic. Ben Bates comes aboard for this crossover and does stellar work. He’s the first artist to work on this crossover that feels like he knows how to write characters from both franchises. The Sonic and Mega Man cast not only look like they can co-exist but also looks awesome together. The action sequences are beautifully executed, with a sense of motion and speed. Everyone looks awesome, with lots of funny facial expressions.

Oh yeah, there’s a reprint shoved in the back too. In order to celebrate the “Sonic” comic reaching 250 issues, half of issue 229 is reprinted after the cover story. I guess this story was chosen because both this one and that one deal with the Genesis Wave rewriting the world. However, I really don’t understand the intention behind reprinting half of a story. Is this supposed to drive people to the back issues? Because it really feels like Archie wants to prestige of a double-length issue without actually writing a double-length issue. I do like the little “yearbook page” included, which features some pithy remissness from a few of the artists and writers.

So it’s a nice looking book that’s packed full of action and one or two decent character interaction. Eh, I guess I’ll take it.  [6.5/10]