Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 268

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 268
Publication Date: January 2015

As the rebooted “Sonic” comic rolled into its second full year, fan favorites were already started to emerge. The “Champions” story arc, which would begin in issue 268, remains one of the most beloved storylines in the Post-Genesis Wave timeline. Once again, I found myself deviating from fandom opinion. I thought this arc was a hopelessly lame waste of time when I first read it. But maybe I was just bitter, my fanboy heart still stinging after the reboot. Let’s give “Champions” another read and see how I feel about it now.

Once again, the Chaos Emeralds turn out to be an all-purpose MacGuffin. Breezie, an old Eggman double agent turned wildly successful businesswoman, is holding a fighting tournament and an Emerald is the prize. Naturally, the world’s greatest heroes and villains are entering. Sally sends Sonic, Tails, and Amy to compete. Eggman sends the Hooligans and Metal Sonic. Vector sends Espio to keep an eye on things. Knuckles is drawn to the casino district by his Master Emerald senses. As you can probably guess, this is one of those issues all about setting up the premise and introducing the key players.

One of the reasons I didn’t like “Champions” – a loose adaptation of “Sonic the Fighters,” if you hadn’t guessed – is because I didn’t think it made much sense. The fighting tournament arc is a common troupe in action anime and manga, so “Sonic” taking a wack at it eventually was probably inevitable. But is now, when the entire world is in peril, really the time for it? Flynn tries to justify this, with Sally saying it would be wrong to just steal it and that Breezie refused every asking price. Fuck, girl, the world is at stake! If Breezie is that much of a ruthless capitalist, she deserves to have her shit stolen anyway. The excuses don’t wash and the comic continues to feel frivolous while the apocalypse is going down. Flynn should’ve ended the Crisis way sooner and thrown “Champions” in after as a cool-down arc.

Speaking of Breezie! The turquoise lady hedgehog/android only previously appeared in one episode of “Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.” But Sonic fans never forget, especially a female character specifically designed to be seductive. So, twenty years later, Breezie would graduate from minor cartoon character to slightly less minor comic character. The redesign is pretty sharp, while pointing out that this Breezie is fully organic. A totally amoral businesswoman, who only cares about her bank account and business interest, is also a different sort of villain than what we’ve seen before in this comic.

Breezie also serves another purpose. As a casino owner and side-villain, she fills a role roughly similar to Mammoth Mogul’s part before the reboot. This is a tactic I wish Flynn had utilized more: Replacing the now off-limits preboot cast with obscure DiC stuff Archie could still use. I long thought Catty Carlisle could’ve filled a role similar to Mina, of a Freedom Fighter turned pop star. In fact, this issue confirms that some version of AoStH’s events occurred in the comic’s past. Scratch, Grounder, and Coconuts are still floating around, while Wes Weasely has a cameo. Flynn would use at least one other character from the goofy old cartoon in the book and, if the comic hadn’t been canceled, probably would’ve used others eventually too. (Katella and Merna could’ve been revamped in cool ways, I think.)

The book also introduces Honey the Cat. A furry version of a “Fighting Vipers” character that was cut from “Sonic the Fighters” but reintroduced in the 2012 re-release, the comics would also turn her into a fan favorite. Honey is similar to Breezie, in that she’s a fierce businesswoman. However, she has an immediate rapport with Amy, a fan of her work, and promises to give the Freedom Fighters the Emerald if she wins. What makes Honey interesting is the contrast between those two attributes. She doesn’t seem trustworthy, does she? I seem recall Flynn mining that for some minor suspense. It’s good to as, otherwise, Honey is just another girly female character with an action-y streak, a type this comic already has several of.

The story may make little sense but it’s still fun to read. Seeing Eggman attempt to negotiate with the thoroughly unintimidated Breezie is amsuing. (Though the comic’s explanation for why Robotnik doesn't just carpet bomb the casino district and steal the Emerald is flimsy at best.) Amy’s enthusiasm when meeting Honey is cute, as is the way she ropes the Freedom Fighters into promoting her product. When Knuckles shows up, he brings Chip with him, who is really impressed with the casino, a cute touch. I also liked the little panel that suggest a Espio is a little too fond of the slots. All this stuff is funny.

Further selling the book is Diana Skelly’s artwork. Previously confined to Off-Panels and covers, Skelly makes her proper debut here. Her work is extremely cartoony without reaching Jon Grey levels of ugly. There’s a lot of stretch and squish in this issue, which brings an energetic feeling to the action scenes and comedic beats. I also love the way Skelly exaggerates the characters’ facial expressions. Eggman rages in one panel, Sally gets awkward when asking her dad for money, Amy squees and Honey seethes with greed. Skelly is good at other stuff too, as Metal Sonic’s one page appearance is appropriately sinister. It’s a really fantastic debut.

So I’m not sure how to feel about this one. I love the artwork. The script makes a lot of funny or interesting decisions. The premise, however, remains totally senseless and that’s hard to get around. I like it more than a six but not enough for a seven so, fuck it, I’m busting out the decimals. [6.5/10]