Sonic Universe: Issue 62

Sonic Universe: Issue 62
Publication Date: March 2014

Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” comics have always wanted to be movies. Over the years, the writers and artists have used film terminology when talking about the book. The extended re-release of issue 50 was called a “director’s cut,” even though comics really aren’t directed the same way movies are. The farcical Off-Panel stripes, which are almost as old as the comic itself, treat the characters as if they’re actors in-between scenes. The misbegotten longer Off-Panel stories have even made jokes about make-up departments, award shows, and editing physical reels of film. (Not to mention Ken Penders’ actual efforts to get the comic made into a movie.)

This obvious jealousy the comic creators felt for filmmakers continued with 2014’s “After the Credits” months. This name makes no sense, as the credits - which are very different from cinematic credits - usually appear at the start of a comic book. So there’s always stuff after the credits! Obviously, the book was attempting to replicate the tactic used by Marvel Studios, where short little teasers appear at the very end of the movie. This forces people to sit through the credits, seeing the names of everyone who worked on the movie, and also provides a neat preview of the next adventure or a cute little joke. In a comic book, it just means an extra page in the very back of the book. Which you can flip to with minimal effort. So, for many reasons, “After the Credits” month was definitely one of the dumber gimmicks Archie would employ.

Issue 62 is the final part of “Shadow Fall.” Shadow confronts Black Death, hoping to defeat the leader of the Black Arms hive mind. Deeper within the comet, Rouge and Omega search for the nuclear bomb meant to destroy it. Eclipse the Darkling appears before them, determined to stop them from destroying the last remnants of his species. Even after the villains are defeated, there’s the issue of getting off the massive comet before it explodes.

Most of “Shadow Fall” has been devoted to fight scenes of varying types. Its final part is no different. Shadow fights Black Death. The alien psychically opens small portals, tossing meteorites at Shadow. Shadow responds by taking off his inhibitor rings, unleashing the full wrath of his powers. Meanwhile, Omega pelts Eclipse with heavy fire. This enrages the alien to the point that he transforms into a giant super-form. As much pomp and circumstance as these fights have, both conclude in underwhelming fashion. Shadow does some sort of super attack, bathing the whole room in fire. This incinerates Black Death so quickly you wonder why he just didn’t do that in the first place. Eclipse, meanwhile, can only maintain his pumped-up form for a few minutes. So Omega just has to survive a few rounds of punching and Eclipse deals with himself.

The fight scenes end weakly but this issue has other things worth recommending. For the first time, Flynn makes us care about Eclipse. First, he confronts Omega with one of those giant Black Arm soldiers. The robot kills the brute in seconds. Seeing this, his brother killed so cruelly and quickly, brings him to tears. This establishes the new villain as someone with feelings, personal connections. He doesn’t see the Black Arms as just his race but his family. So his struggle is made a little more personal, making him a deeper character. He’s not just trying to conquer Earth because that’s what evil aliens do. He’s protecting what he loves. It’s a little moment but it makes all the difference. You really should have led with that, Flynn.

That’s not the only time this issue reminds us that these cartoon rats running around are actual characters, with histories and personalities. During his battle with Black Death, Shadow takes a minute to have a psychic phone call with Rouge. The bat informs him that they’re about to activate the nuke, that he has a limited amount of time to kill the bad guy and get out of there. Not only does Rouge care about Shadow but the little smile he makes proves he cares about her. She cares if he lives or dies and that makes Shadow more invested in his own life. The cast actually having meaningful connections makes us way more invested in their fates. Go figure!

Flynn even manages to engineer a mildly suspenseful ending. Black Death is dead. Eclipse is defeated. But the entire comet is about to about to explode. Shadow has to run through the entire comet, in hopes of reaching Rouge’s shuttle in time. The comic even has the time counting down on panel, which is a good way to build suspense. Naturally, Shadow makes it out. But the way it’s portrayed - he Chaos Controls onto the shuttle minutes after the comet is nuked - is a nice touch.

Despite the clear improvements this issue makes over the previous three, it’s still stymied by some contrived, video game bullshit. The boring-ass space marines are still floating around. The issue only devotes a few panels to them, seemingly aware of how little they brought to the story. (And making you wonder why they were included in the first place.) Eclipse’s super form is ridiculous looking, the little guy expanding to Schwarzeneggerian proportions in seconds. Once Black Death is killed, all the other Black Arms soldiers fall over dead. He’s a classical load-bearing villain, the kind of logic that works fine in a video game but just seems like poor planning in an actual narrative. He couldn’t have psychically transferred those duties to Eclipse at the last minute or something? At least make sure the rest of the Black Arms go down fighting.

The last part of “Shadow Fall” injects a little feeling into what’s otherwise been an exercise in expanding Sega’s lame-ass lore. That help takes what’s been a painfully dull story arc out on a slightly higher note. Still, the issue is hampered by many of the same problems that have faced the rebooted “Sonic Universe” thus far. I remember it being quite a while before this spin-off finally gets back on its feet again. [6/10]