Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 253

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 253
Publication Date: October 2013

Issue 253 of Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog,” the second issue in the reboot, would begin the Shattered World Crisis. This crisis would go on for nearly three years. A mere two issues after that story arc wrapped up, the comic would be abruptly canceled. So I hope you like Sonic and his friends running a world that’s literally falling apart, because we’re going to be talking about that for pretty much the reminder of this retrospective.

The first part of “Countdown to Chaos,” subtitled “The Builder,” begins with Sonic and Tails running through the jungles around the Ancient Ruins. They’re looking for Rotor, the first Freedom Fighter they’ve gotten a lead on. He’s been building a secret project, a flying base called the Sky Patrol. The happy reunion is interrupted by a group of Badniks, led by a Silver Sonic. Luckily, Big is there to help. Meanwhile, Eggman is rescued by his own army in the plains of Efrika. He soon discovers that something is wrong with the planet.

There’s a totally bogus plot thread running through this issue and the next few. Nicole’s functions are still scrambled. Upon handing her to Rotor, as happened to Sonic and Tails last time, he is overwhelmed by a flood of memories from the old timeline. This restores Nicole somewhat. Sonic realizes that in order to fix Nicole, he must locate all the remaining Freedom Fighters and have them undergo a similar process.

Let me tell you why this is bullshit. This plot point sure makes it seem like the old continuity is going to have some sort of effect on the new one, doesn’t it? Perhaps the Freedom Fighters will maintain their original memories? But, as Flynn would be forced to clarify repeatedly, the old continuity is gone forever, never to return. Sonic and Tails mention that their old memories are slowly being absorbed by new ones. Eventually, they’ll forget everything. So why tease us? Why have any remnants of the old world survive at all? It’s just an awkward attempt to bridge the reboot to the old continuity. It will have no further effect on the story once it’s completed. And that’s bogus.

As the subtitle indicates, this issue introduces the rebooted Rotor. The comic has struggled for years with what to do with Rotor, writing him out for stretches or sticking him on the Council of Acorn. His original role of mechanic has largely been filled by Tails and Nicole. Despite that, Flynn returns Rotor to this role. The walrus’ specialty now seems to be weapons and vehicles, which seems to differentiate him from Tails’ slightly more computer oriented skills. But it’s Rotor’s attitude that gets the biggest overhaul. He’s tougher and more action-oriented. This is reflected in his new design, which ditches the potbelly for a brawny, barrel-chested physique.

I don’t like this. Yeah, Rotor has been building weapons for years now. He even got increasingly involved in the action recently. Yet something rubs me the wrong way about making him into a more generic tough guy, the kind that quotes “Kung-Fu Panda” while blasting enemy robots. It’s hard to imagine Cam Brainard’s gentle voice coming out of this guy. I also dislike the new design. Old Rotor was pudgy and cute. New Rotor has a stock parts "big guy" look, which is a lot less charming. It’s not surprising that my favorite Rotor moment in this issue is the panicked vulnerability that overcomes him after receiving his old memories, the only time he feels like the character we know, instead of a stranger.

That moment, by the way, is quickly tossed aside so Rotor can introduce Sonic to his new objective. That’s because this issue is not really about characters. It’s about establishing the new status quo. It introduces the soon-to-launch Sky Patrol, a mobile base that will largely overtake Mobotropolis as the Freedom Fighters’ headquarters. Eggman discovers he still has an army of loyal/terrified followers. (Including Axel the Water Buffalo, one of about a hundred new characters Flynn would introduce in the next year that seemed important but actually weren’t.) He also learns that interrupting Sonic’s Chaos Control at the end of “Worlds Collide” seriously fucked up the planet too. The rules of this new world, and the plot points going forward, are clearly more important to Flynn than the cast we’ve been reading about for twenty years.

This is most apparent in the characters Flynn did salvage from the old ‘verse. This issue confirms that Big the Cat and T-Pup survived the reboot. Oh boy. Flynn emphasizes Big’s strength, when he easily tosses the massive Silver Sonic into the air. This is a trick to make the typically vacant and monosyllabic cat seem more useful than he actually is. Rotor is now also a big, strong guy so I can assume Flynn included Big more out of desperation more than anything else. As for T-Pup? He does nothing, besides sitting around and being a crime against nature. Seriously, man, you brought back fucking T-Pup but couldn’t find some way to resurrect Julie-Su? Flynn’s priorities are all fucked up, is my point.

At least the issue looks nice. Lamar Wells, who previously provided the cover for issue 147, makes his in-comic debut here. The credits say he’s working from Yardley’s outlines but Wells’ work clearly owns this issue. He owes more to Steven Butler’s gritty, detail oriented pencils than Yardley’s loose and cartoony work. This is most obvious in the pages devoted to a ragged, battle damaged Eggman wandering the plains. His action is decent too, though a little stationary. Still, Wells is a welcomed addition to the Sonic family.

I guess it makes sense for Flynn to focus more on setting up the new universe over anything else. But, this early in the game, so much about the reboot rubs me the wrong way. There’s little heart. The emotional investment we had in the old timeline and its cast is essentially being used as a false lead to keep us reading the rebooted comic, a move that really fucking annoys me. Upon re-read, it’s more apparent than ever that the reboot was a slapped together affair. [5/10]