Sonic the Hedgehog: Worlds Unite - Battles: Issue 1

Sonic the Hedgehog: Worlds Unite - Battles: Issue 1
Publication Date: July 2015

The second half of the “Worlds Unite: Battles,” ostensibly focused on the “Sonic” part of the cast, was only published a month after the first. Yet, in terms of story within the crossover, it sure seems like we’ve come a long ways since then. Flynn made sure to leave plenty of empty spaces in the narrative to fit in these mindless fight scenes, sometimes egregiously so. Even, having the “Sonic” half of this fight-centric mini-series come out just as the story is reaching its grimmest point, sure feels trivial. The heroes are about to be crushed by Sigma’s forces! Do we have time for this bullshit right now?

The first story chronicles Sonic’s battle with Zavok, Zeena, and Zor – otherwise known as half of the Deadly Six – that occurred at the start of the crossover, which already feels like it was ages ago. Apparently, the fight was a lot more expansive than we first thought. After the three Zetis fall out of the sky and start wailing on Sonic, the trio are tossed through several portals. They end up in Station Square, where the Zetis threaten the human citizens, before being blasted into a random Eggman junk yard. There, Zavok activates a bunch of old Badniks and quickly overwhelm Sonic.

While the “Mega Man: Battles” one-shot felt like a lively and fun extra, the “Sonic” half of the duo starts off feeling utterly mercenary and lifeless. This is a terrible story. Somebody named Joel Enos writes the script. This was his first and last contribution to Archie’s “Sonic” books. It’s easy to see why. Everybody speaks in catch-phrases. Sonic makes repeated references to his homing attack, which feels deeply unnatural. Most of the Zetis’ dialogue references their own special attack. Save for the emo Zor, who wants everyone to know how bored and listless he is. They throw out hoary lines like “Oh, brother!” or “A heap of trouble!” Sonic’s defeat is humiliating, taken down by the reanimated corpses of Badniks he crushed when he was a child. The final insult is that this story doesn’t connect with the first part of “Worlds Unite.” There, Sonic was abducted from the green field. Here, he’s carried off from the scrap heap.

The artwork is similarly uninspired, breaking the trend of excellent art we’ve seen in this crossover thus far. Tracy Yardley contributes some of the worst pencils I’ve ever seen from him. The characters look weirdly blocky and undefined. The Zetis’ facial expressions are utterly lifeless. The action is routine and lacks energy. Maybe Yardley was just having an off day. Maybe he thought a half-assed script deserved half-assed art. Either way, it’s some truly disappointing work.

Luckily, things perk up quite a bit in the second story. It depicts Sticks and Roll’s fight, which we’ve see several references to. Roll is invited to the training simulation room, even though the letter is addressed to “Red.” Turns out Sticks has sprung an ambush on her, attacking with countless robots, traps, and high explosive. The humble housecleaning robot proves surprisingly adapt, surviving the attacks. Once they’re face-to-face, it becomes apparent that Sticks’ target is not Roll. Rather, the badger is convinced the robot’s broom is some sort of spy. Oh, what a hilarious misunderstanding!

Despite veering dangerously close to overbearingly zany, this story is pretty funny. It keeps up the “Sonic Boom” tradition of breaking the fourth wall, as well as adding “ka-“ to all the sound effects. It doubles down on that joke, as Sticks comments on the onomatopoeia getting her species wrong at one point. Sticks interrupts the opening page, which transforms into an overzealous, pro-wrestling style announcement. It might be too wacky but the conclusion is amusing. Sticks explains her reasoning for thinking the broom is malicious – its bolts look a little like angry eyeballs – and Roll’s decision to humor her is cute.

Artist Ryan Jampole both writes and draws this story. It’s a nice surprise that his script is pretty decent. While I’ve found his illustrations underwhelming in the past, he does a lot better here. While a few of his anime-style facial expressions are kind of weird looking, a few – such as Roll’s look of surprise when the door slams behind her – made me laugh. His action scenes are energetic and fun. There’s even a fairly impressive page, a visual montage of a Roll overcoming Sticks’ machinations. It would seem silly stories like this, which allow for looser character work, fit Jampole’s style more than straight-ahead action stories.

The last story is the most recent, chronologically speaking. It’s set during the battle on the Sky Patrol, after the Deadly Six assumed control of Mega Man and his robot pals. Break Man – who is secretly Mega Man’s brother, Blues – is firing on Knuckles, under no will of his own. Blues suggest Knuckles damages his nuclear core, causing an explosion that will wipe out Sigma’s forces. Knux is deeply disturbed by this kamikaze plot. He encourages Blues to fight the psychic manipulation and they eventually work out a plan: Knuckles beating him into unconsciousness.

Ian Flynn sat out this entire issue, handing this last story to Aleah Baker. Emotion driven plots are Baker’s trademark and she even manages to sneak some of that into an extended fight scene like this. When Break Man explains his suicidal plan to Knux, his slow realization – spreading from child-like confusion to fiery rage – is both funny and touching. See, Knuckles doesn’t give up on anyone. He tells Break Man that he barely knows him but understands what he’s going for, that he can’t give up. Break Man responds with knowing silence, signaling that he agrees. Baker manages to take a fairly hollow story and put some heart and soul onto it.

This story is also the best drawn in this book. Diana Skelly contributes some energetic artwork. The humor and pathos of that page, where Knuckles realizes what Break Man is planning, works just as much because of Skelly’s pencils as Baker’s words. She makes Knuckles’ dopey realization adorable and his fiery rage afterwards palpable. That furious energy continues into the fight scene, Skelly making Knuckles’ punches seem especially passionate. The panel of Knuckles ducking under a big energy blast is funny too.

So we have a real mixed bag here. The first story is atrocious, earning a [4/10] for its awful writing and mediocre artwork. The second story is a lot better, funny and zany with matching artwork. I’d give it a satisfying [7/10]. The last story turns nothing into something, Baker’s writing and Skelly’s artwork elevating what should’ve been a totally disposable extra. It gets a [8/10]. “Mega Man: Battles” was a trifle but an entertaining one. “Sonic: Battles” is extremely uneven but ultimately worth for that last story.