Sonic Universe: Issue 69

Sonic Universe: Issue 69
Publication Date: October 2014

Part three of the “Total Eclipse” story arc is subtitled “Shadow Boxing.” Which is, admittedly, a pretty good pun. Knuckles and Shadow’s conflict over the Master Emerald gets heated very quickly. The so-called Ultimate Lifeform attempts to teleport the Emerald away. However, Knuckles instead tosses the hedgehog hella’ far, taking their fight to an obscure corner of Angel Island. Rouge has the brilliant idea to just let the boys wail on each other for a while, instead of actually doing anything. This allows Eclipse, armed with his super powers-lending Dark Arms, to march right in and grab the Master Emerald.

The first two issues of “Total Eclipse” flirted with allowing the whole story to collapse into a mindless fight fest. Both issues were better because of it. Issue three, however, fully gives in to temptation. Most of issue 69 is devoted to Knuckles and Shadow beating the crap out of each other. It looks like the issue may be side-winding this entire tendency, when Shadow Chaos Controls out of Knuckles’ way early in the issue. But nope. The next twenty issues are filled with punching, kicking, special attacks, choke holds, and gritted teeth. It concludes with both fighters stumbling over a waterfall like a pair of jack-asses.

What makes this fight even more useless is the comic’s flagrant admission that it’s all a pointless dick-measuring contest. Shadow is fighting Knuckles either because Eclipse is still messing with his head – a plot point that should’ve been explored more, if this is the case – or because his ego is still stinging over the alien getting away. Knuckles, meanwhile, has become unreasonably protective of the Master Emerald because it’s been stolen or destroyed five separate times. (That’s a side effect of all the Sega games being canon with the comics now. You suddenly realize Knuckles sucks at his job.) So the fight is less of a real conflict and more because of bruised male egos. Rouge just standing back and letting this huge waste of time progress is some seriously lazy writing. But she’s probably right that the big, strong, baby boys just need to get this out of their systems.

Sadly, the book’s tendency towards mindless fighting does not cease there. While Shadow and Knuckles homoerotically wail on each other, Eclipse sneaks in and steals the Master Emerald. He effortlessly disposed of Team Dark with his new superpowers. Confirming my suspicions that they’re meant to be evil counterparts to the Wisps, we learn that Eclipse’s Dark Arms siblings were deliberately crossbred with the aforementioned alien power-ups. So each one can fuse with Eclipse, giving him a new ability. One gives Eclipse super hard skin, one gives him wings, and another turns his hand into a natural laser blaster. This allows him to tear a huge hole in Omega and dislocate Rouge’s shoulder.

This stuff just bores me. If the villain decimated the heroes because he genuinely outmatched them, mentally or physically, that’s one thing. The bad guy temporarily coming out on top because he just grabs new superpowers out of the air is not compelling writing. Moreover, it takes away from what’s interesting about Eclipse’s personality. Up to this point, Eclispe protected his Darkling offspring not just to ensure the survival of his species but because he genuinely loves them. This tender side, his need to nurture his siblings, made him more complex. By taking them into battle with him, using them as power-ups and weapons, that makes Eclipse look a lot more callous. Subsequently, that makes him way more boring.

There’s really only two things going for this issue. First, there’s some likable comic relief here. Relic doesn’t get much to do but she have a few spotlight moments. She meekly attempts to protect the Emerald by proclaiming she’s “read about many forms of martial arts.” This is just one example of how Relic’s personality, a completely non-physical academic, adds some variety to the cast. Also, Omega and Fixit’s antagonistic relationship continues to be a decent source of humor. Finally, there’s a panel where Eclipse calls Snively “lunchbox” and that made me laugh.

Being a fight heavy issues, Tracy Yardley does get a chance to show off. The sequence where Eclipse is fighting around with his new red wings, making short work of Rouge, is especially dynamic. I also like Yardley’s character work. Like Eclipse’s warm expression when the Wisps cuddle up next to him. After reflecting on his failures, Knuckles makes a big, scream-y, defiant face. Which is a nice touch. So the book looks good.

“Total Eclipse” has been tittering in this edge of being interesting and being tedious. With part three, it plummeted over to the tedious side. From the looks of it, more fighting and bickering is forthcoming in the finale. Oh boy, can’t wait. [5/10]