Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 270

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 270
Publication Date: March 2015

The regular cover for issue 270 of Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” is serviceable enough. It shows the four Sega-approved protagonist of the series, posing and displaying their various superpowers. Compared to the alternate cover though, it comes off as totally plain. I’ve expressed my fondness for the original two “Marvel vs. Capcom” games, which Archie previously did a throwback to. The alternate cover is another reference to that game. Drawn by  Brent McCarthy, it pays homage to the famous Japanese box art, showing Sonic and friends facing off dramatically. In a nice touch, it even includes a white curve to the left, befitting a Dreamcast game. And if you missed the joke, this cover is referred to as the “Marvel at This Showdown” variant.

Part three of “Champions,” subtitled “Raising the Stakes,” continues the fisticuffs and behind-the-scenes intrigue. Nack and Knuckles win their matches against Bean and Amy, Sonic and Tails watching from the bleachers. This builds towards the semi-final showdowns: Sonic vs. Honey and Knuckles vs. Nack. Meanwhile, Eggman watches from a distance, plotting on sending Metal Sonic in at the last minute.

Aside from presenting us with a bracket that I don’t think makes any sense, “Champions” does get slightly more psychological in its third part. It seems intimidation and out-thinking your opponent is just as important as brute strength or speed. During her fight with Knuckles, Amy is so distracted by thinking about Sonic - and whether she wants to fight him or not - that Knuckles easily smashes her. (This is cute, even if it’s hard to imagine the grizzled badass that was preboot Amy loosing like that.) Nack attempts to use psychological tactics against Knuckles, playing towards what he perceives to be the echidna’s mental weaknesses. This doesn’t work but it’s good to know Flynn considered brains as well as brawn in this fighting tournament arc.

The insight into the cast’s minds doesn’t just occur inside the ring. While watching Bean humiliate Nack, Sonic notices that Tails is feeling a little down. Apparently the fox is feeling a little embarrassed about his loss to Honey. There’s a good panel of Sonic’s face, showing how he had never considered his young friend feeling this way. He reassures him, saying that the world has seen Tails saving it many times, and that’s the end of that plot point. However, it’s nice that the comic took the time to acknowledge the characters’ feelings in between all the fighting and grunting.

There's been a light and humorous feeling running through most of “Champions.” This goes even further in the third fight, where the combat is mostly played for comedy. Aside from Amy being squished because she's lost in her own thoughts, the fights involving Nack are both played for laughs. As he's bombarded with bombs by Bean, he gets more and more irritated before snapping and giving the duck a harsh beatdown. As for his bout with Knuckles, the echidna calmly waits out the weasel's teasing before slamming him to the ground, back and forth, by his tail. There's even some humor in Sonic and Honey's fight, as she surprises him early with a body slam.

Adding to the humor, as it did last time, is Diana Skelly's artwork. Seeing Nack loose his shit, as Bean pelts him with explosives, is good for a laugh. It’s not the only time this issue plays the weasel’s misery for laughs. The scene of Knuckles whipping him back and forth like a koosh ball is pretty funny. So is Sonic’s blank expression of surprise when Honey flips him. The panel of Bean the Duck somersaulting through the air while doing different pose is goofily amusing too. While I really like Skelly’s artwork, I sometimes feel it’s a little too loose and cartoony at times. In the final set of pages, Sonic and Knuckles both go a little off-model.

Another cute element in this issues are the fake ads peppered throughout. Throughout the fights, we see the commercials that play through the televised fight. (Even though it’s clarified as being on pay-per-view later in the book.) We see Wes Weasely shilling Chao Cola, a commercials for a Chao version of “Sonic Boom” and “Chao in Space 3,” and some sort of program starring oddball ‘06 character Sonic Man. You’ll notice all of these are lame in-jokes that aren’t funny at all. However, I do like how these little moments expand on the comic’s world.

By turning the story into a farcical comedy in its third part, the “Champions” arc perks up a lot. If the whole thing is meant to be a goofy comedy, it becomes a lot easier to swallow all the logic holes in the story. I still don’t care who wins the tournament and gets the Chaos Emerald or whatever. But at least I’m more entertained now. [6/10]