Sonic Boom: Issue 8

Sonic Boom: Issue 8
Publication Date: June 2015

I still have mixed feelings about “Sonic Boom” being rolled into the “Worlds Unite” crossover. On one hand, it seems really unfair to the short-lived series to devote three issues, a third of its run, to a storyline that’s practically unrelated. Shoving this farcical comedy book into a fairly serious crossover crisis was also weird. (Issue 8 of “Sonic Boom” address this tonal inconsistency several times, in a typically a Boom-ian way.) On the other hand, spreading this crossover over four series, as opposed to “Worlds Collide’s” three, seemed to help with the story’s pacing. Most importantly, Sticks is goddamn delightful and her absurd humor was exactly what this big event needed. So I guess including “Boom” in the crossover was good for “Worlds Unite” but bad for “Boom.”

Part two is subtitled “Broken Heroes,” a phrase that doesn’t become significant until the final pages. On Sonic’s world, Eggman and Wily continue to scheme behind Sigma’s back. They intend on transforming Sonic and Mega Man into especially powerful henchmen... But include a secret command for the two to fight each other, hoping to muck up Sigma’s plan. At which point, they will seize control. Meanwhile, the Maverick Hunters from “Mega Man’s” future – X, Zero, and Axl – arrive in the “Sonic Boom” dimension, following an encounter with Silver that we'll talk about sometime next week. They run into Sticks, who is soon convinced to help the heroes track down Sigma.

A big issue I had with “Worlds Collide” was how it simplified everyone, boiling them down to their Sega approved elements. The previous crossover lacked a lot of personality, I thought. By introducing Sticks into “Worlds Unite,” and letting her be her crazy self, that problem is already solved. Contrasting the wacky Sticks with the serious Maverick Hunters makes for some great comedy. Within minutes of meeting X, Sticks is already rambling about laser bees. She helps them primarily because it validates her insane beliefs. When asked to assemble a team, she grabs Comedy Chimp and Fastidious Beaver, who are obviously unprepared for a dimension hoping adventure. By the time they’ve successfully opened a bridge between worlds, Sticks has already forgotten what their mission is. She’s running on pure adrenaline and it’s adorably hilarious.

This issue is also “Sonic” readers proper introduction to the “Mega Man X” crew, since the action-packed opening last time didn’t really give us a chance to get to know them. Despite their grim ‘n’ gritty appearance, they seem good-natured. X seems as mellow and gentle as his present-time counterpart. He makes sure to reassure Sticks that they mean well. Zero, meanwhile, is rougher and more to the point. He threatens Orbot and Cubot when they won’t cooperate, for example. Then there’s Axl. His design can’t help but remind me of “Kill la Kill’s” salacious super suits. Which makes his habit of giggling like a school girl or holding his chin in his palm more noticeable. Is this guy supposed to be one of those effeminate bishonen that the Japanese love? That certainly makes him a character type this comic doesn’t have.

The Eggman/Wily side of the plot is less interesting. There’s more scenes of them hashing out the details of their plan, which we had plenty of last time. It seems odd to me that Sigma isn’t accounting for these two inevitably trying to betray him. (I don’t know, maybe he does, I don’t remember that far ahead.) These scenes are mostly there to push the plot further along. However, there’s one little moment I really like. Eggman realizes Albert has no memory of “Worlds Collide’s” events. Right before launching into a monologue that catches up any reader that doesn’t remember the last crossover, there’s a small panel of Eggman looking a little hurt that his friend/rival doesn’t recognize him. I don’t know, I thought it was cute.

The second half of the issue is devoted to Eggman and Wily setting up their scheme. It all leads to the issue’s cliffhanger. Sonic and Mega Man are turned into Roboticized Masters, named Sonic Man and the hilariously punny M’Egga Man. Sonic Man is sicced on Mega Man’s world while M’Egga Man marches towards Castle Acorn. The latter also has Sally and King Acorn making their first appearance in this crossover. It’s a decent moment to leave the reader on. It’s also super gimmicky. As with the Roboticized Masters from the last crossover, this feels a lot like an excuse to make very toyetic new characters that no one will make toys of. (Though I probably would’ve bought them if someone had.)

While Dan Schoening handled all the artwork last time, this time he hands his layouts over to Tracy Yardley to finish. It proves to be a good combination. It looks like the Mega Man characters are largely Schoening’s work, which his anime-style artwork is a good fit for. Yardley seems to handle the Sonic crew and the crossover does appear to have energized him some. Everyone looks crisp and animated. It’s a good looking issue, the artist complimenting each other nicely.

I enjoyed the second part of “Worlds Unite” more than the first and I think that’s primarily because of Sticks being goofy, making sure this epic event doesn’t take itself too seriously. Flynn still has a lot of balls floating in the air, so we’ll see how swiftly he can juggle things going forward. [7/10]