Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 265

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 265
Publication Date: October 2014

Last time, I was pretty critical of Ian Flynn’s decision to hold off on introducing the Werehog for a whole year. However, I might have found a possible justification for this with issue 265. Ya see, this issue came out in October of 2014. As in the spookiest, scariest, Halloween-est month of the year. Over the twenty years Archie published the comics, there was only ever one real Halloween special. While the Werehog undermines everything scary about the werewolf concept by being adorably fluffy and keeping Sonic’s personality intact, there was something cool about picking up a “Sonic” comic in October that had a monster on the cover. If Flynn did that on purpose, he earns some major points.

Keeping that cover’s promise, most of “Control Part Two: Unleashed!” revolves around the Werehog. In this powerful new form, Sonic quickly saves his friends and defeats Egg Boss Thunderbolt and her henchmen. However, now the Freedom Fighters have a rampaging Werehog to deal with. Mighty can match the mutated Sonic with his super strength but it’s ultimately Sally and her empathy that reaches out to the beast.

As I've said before, the Werehog doesn’t really understand what makes the werewolf scary. In this form, Sonic is not a murderous monster that kills everything it sees. Nor are Sonic’s darker inner desires unleashed. Instead, he’s just a bigger, grumpier version of Sonic. He’s more prone to violently resolving problems, though he still doesn’t kill anybody. About the only scary thing about him is his tendency to see friends as mocking demons. Though vividly brought to life by Tyson Heese, these hallucinations are fallible. Sally and Amy eventually make it through to Sonic’s mellower inner nature, causing the snarling Werehog to calm down. Turns out, you don’t need a silver bullet to slay this beast, just some soft words. It’s a disappointing execution of the “Sonic becomes a werewolf” premise. And I must point out again how goofy he looks, with his glorious floof, spiky shoes, and utterly inexplicable ability to stretch his limbs.

Once again, the main attraction of the issue appears to be a fight scene. After making mincemeat of Thunderbolt and her forces, Mighty tries to calm down the Werehog. This does not work and the two end up brawling for a while. Mighty is one of the few characters strong enough to stand toe-to-toe with the Werehog. A memorable panel has Mighty grabbing the Werehog by one of its extending arms and then whipping it back around through some trees. What makes this fight scene really neat is that Mighty is doing the opposite of what the Werehog is doing. Even while getting knocked on his ass, he's attempting to keep his emotions under control.

Issue 265's cover story also gives the proper introduction to what is, I think, the worst new character from the post-reboot universe. Meet Thunderbolt the Chinchilla. Yes, she's yet another small and annoying thing. However, Thunderbolt eclipses previously seen annoyance level. Most Egg Bosses work under Robotnik somewhat reluctantly, as a mad scientist/would-be tyrant is not super forgiving of mistakes. However, Thunderbolt loves Eggman and does everything to please him. Which is a new approach, if you ignore her being directly inspired by Harley Quinn, a way more nuanced character. But Thunderbolt screams every line of dialogue. She's at a constant high energy level, like one of those obnoxiously shriek-y kid's cartoons. Just looking at this obnoxious thing makes me irritated. It's been clear for a while that Ian Flynn is way too susceptible to “lol so random” style of humor and Thunderbolt is the apotheosis of that.

Hey, here's another back story. The book continued to bring new talent on at this point which, as far as I can tell, never worked on the book again. So say hello and goodbye to Eric Esquivel, the author behind “The Grand Tour.” The story, set a few issues ago, has Rotor showing the Freedom Fighters around the newly completed Sky Patrol. While they are initially impressed, they are quickly bored by all the hyper-specific niceties Rotor has included. At that point, Dr. Eggman sends a new super-badnik known as the War Walrus – an extremely weird looking robot version of Rotor – to attack the ship. Rotor then shows off the Sky Patrol's extensive defensive capabilities, quickly destroying the War Walrus. But, don't worry, Eggman did that on purpose.

“The Grand Tour” is mostly a comedic story and one that made me laugh. Among the features Rotor has included in the Sky Patrol are a zen garden, an extensive video game collection, and even a commode. Yes, the star/bumper/beach ball emblem is included on the toilet lid. The walrus' enthusiasm for this creation, and his friends' growing disinterest, makes for a decent comedic device. This goofy atmosphere allows Esquivel to get away with an utterly ridiculous creation like the War Walrus. Not much too this one but I liked it.

Once again, I want to spotlight the artwork a little. Tyson Heese continues from part one of “Control” and, once again, does some excellent work. His aptitude for exciting and intense action scenes are on display here. I really like how he focuses on the Werehog's snarling face even as it does goofy stuff, like stretch it's arms around. It is a little weird that he draws four separate characters, over the course of this story, doing Jesus Christ poses. That probably wasn't intentional. James Fry also returns to the back story. His work here is especially animated and unhinged, in a way that's slightly off-model but still conveys the necessary emotion.

Once again, I've finished up an issue and am unsure how to feel. The book definitely features some fun or exciting sequences. Yet the overall execution of the story still needs some work. I just continue to wish Flynn had found someway to make the Werehog actually interesting, instead of basically just doing with it what Sega did with it. Still, the second half of “Control” is slightly better than the first, if just because we really get to see Mighty be a bad ass. [6/10]