Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 261

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 261
Publication Date: June 2014

From its inception, the “Sonic Universe” spin-off series has revolved around four issue long story arcs. With the exception of the occasional one-off, it’s a structure the series has stuck with. This worked fine for “Universe,” as each story arc focused on a different set of characters. Following the reboot, the main “Sonic” series would adopt a similar structure more often. This resulted in stories that probably only needed to run for two or three issues going on for four. Like the “Waves of Change” arc, which is already starting to wear out its welcome.

In part two of “Waves of Change,” Sonic, Rotor, and Amy are escorted out of the Chao temple by the very grumpy Meropis royal guard. Apparently, outsiders are forbidden from entering the sacred site and Razor and Coral broke a big rule letting the Freedom Fighters in. Sonic tries to make his case to the underwater city’s monarchs but they are unimpressed. Coral is to be exiled from her position. This stresses the young girl out as night falls, preventing her from putting up the magical shield that will keep the city safe from the Dark Gaia monsters.

For whatever reason, pop culture tends to depict underwater cities as being run by assholes. As a long time “Aquaman” fan, it’s something I’ve encountered a lot. There’s even a TV Tropes page devoted to the topic. I guess a society isolating itself on the ocean floor suggests certain things about their rulers. Sonic experiences this first hand here. The royal guard, led by a mantis shrimp named Striker, seems to relish a chance to bully Coral. The boy-king, King Puff, is as immature as his age suggests and often has literally self-inflating temper tantrums. His queen, an unusually attractive angler fish named Angelica, is rather draconian and bitchy. As he learned many times in the prior continuity, the bureaucracy of the royals is one place where Sonic’s speedy attitude is of little help.

It’s a little hard to get too involved in any of this stuff. This issue is our first impression of Meropis as a city and it’s a largely negative one. However, there is one element keeping the reader involved in all this. Coral is such a vulnerable ball of sad emotions that the reader can’t help but feel bad for her. Everyone is determined to protect this sad puppy dog fish girl. Razor’s devotion borders romantic. Sonic is viscerally annoyed by the royals’ treatment of her. Amy is so frustrated by the girl’s firing that she starts Piko-ing trees. Throughout all of this, Coral remains on the verge of tears. The character comes close to being too whiny and ineffectual but we still feel bad for at this point. Being fired from your dream job sucks.

This story is still pretty low on action thus far, which is not a complaint. This allows some decent interpersonal tension to arise. Sonic wants to stay in Meropis long enough to help Coral. Rotor, meanwhile, believes the gang should focus on finding the Gaia Temples. The two old friends nearly come to blows over this. It’s a good depiction of both characters’ attitudes towards saving the world. Rotor thinks the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Sonic doesn’t see in such broad spectrums. He thinks even the smallest injustices deserve to be undone. It’s a good moment of character development that the reboot ‘verse would sometimes lack.

In the back pages, “A Light in the Dark” continues. Instead of finding a monster at the end of the tunnel, Sally, Tails, Antoine, and Nicole discover a cavern full of gorgeous crystal. Using Nicole’s tracker, Tails flies deeper into the cave and easily finds the Chaos Emerald. The gang is ready to leave, knowing Eggman will then fruitlessly search the precious cave for something that isn’t there. Sally is having second thoughts though. She doesn’t want such a beautiful place destroyed just to spite their enemy. The Freedom Fighters decide to stay and battle the reactivated robotic forces.

I probably should’ve mentioned this last time. “A Light in the Dark” was not written by Ian Flynn but was the debut of Aleah Baker, who is Mrs. Ian Flynn. Why you may be tempted to shout nepotism, Baker would prove herself to be a strong writer in her own right. The second half of “A Light In the Dark” is clearly the middle chapter of the story. The conflict is set up, leading us towards the next part’s resolution. However, Baker shows a strong grasp on the characters. Sally standing up for something, which may not be practical but is undoubtedly the moral decision, is a nice sight to see. The Freedom Fighters defending a natural wonder from Robotnik’s industrial exploitation also recalls “SatAM” and you know I like that. It’s an uneventful story but one that seems to understand the cast, their world, and their feelings about it.

There’s a lot of strong character development in this issue but it still ends up feeling somewhat listless. I generally like both stories but neither exactly moves. Which seems counter-intuitive for a “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic book. The ending of “Waves of Changes: Part Two” sets up a fight with the Dark Gaia monsters next time, which also doesn’t seem very promising. It’s a weird case of a comic book I like but still feel like I can’t give it anything above a [6/10].