Sonic Universe: Issue 85

Sonic Universe: Issue 85
Publication Date: May 2016

In the past, I’ve mentioned my tendency to take breaks from writing these reviews, just because reading a comic and writing a 1000 word long review of it every single day can get tiresome. (It’s very much by design that you guys never notice this, as I started banking reviews a full two years before I started posting them. So I’m not even sure why I’m mentioning it all.) Inevitably, I always end up doing this midway through an arc. So I come back to the comic after a cliffhanger I can no longer recall. But I’m back to the grindstone now, dear reader. There’s only thirty updates left to write before the Archie Sonic retrospective is over forever. 

So where were we? Oh, yes, “Eggman’s Dozen.” Last we left – *checks notes* – Eggman and his team of Bosses were getting thoroughly hosed by the Naugus siblings’ defense. However, supervillains have a way of turning shit around at the last minute. Axel rescues Eggman from careening into a pool of lava. The other bosses manage to turn the tables on the various Badniks and Dark Gaia Monsters attacking. Their defenses shut down and Eggman closing in, Wally and Wendy look screwed. But the wizards have a trump card up their sleeves.

As previously established, most of Eggman’s lackeys hate him. Some, like Tundra and Ahklut, even hate each other. Yet there’s an interesting element of team work here. After Axel yanks Eggman’s metaphorical yolk out of the rather more literal fire, he explains that, back home, everyone on the team watches out for each other, regardless of how they feel about one another. The survival of the whole outweighs the petty squabbles of the few. Eggman likes this advice so much that he parrots it to the entire team. And there is something satisfying in seeing these bad guys display some courage and common humanity towards one another.

As with the previous issue, the interaction between the team members remains the highlight of this story. What I really like is how dorky these dudes are. Lord Hood is a coward but his partner, Conquering Storm, couldn’t even be bothered to read the mission dossier. Tundra and Ahklut’s fighting discombobulates each other, forcing them to pause and put aside their differences. Most amusingly, Clove takes pity on Thunderbolt’s obsessive love for Eggman, explaining that she doesn’t want to compete with the overzealous chinchilla. That interaction actually makes me like Thunderbolt. Flynn extends this to the Nauguses as well, as Wendy ends up mocking her more serious brother.

As fun as it is to watch these nerds play off each other, this is still an action comic based off a highly gimmicky series of video games. Flynn, once again, does that annoying thing where he pauses the plot to show off everyone’s superpowers. Some of these are carried over from the preboot verse. The Battle Kukku can still hurl an infinite supply of bombs. Lord Hood has a hypnotizing cobra gaze. Most of these are new though. Tundra has freezy breath. Ahklut has super sonar. Most bafflingly, Maw has the ability to swallow all his enemies in a burst of blue energy or something. (I can only assume this was inspired by the thylacine’s ability to open its jaw really wide.) That’s a mystery Maw promises to explain later but, of course, the book never got that chance.

I don’t really give a shit about any of this stuff but I do appreciate Flynn’s attempt to deepen the mythology some. While Naugus and Witchcart are arguing, he mentions that the big ominous god of dark stuff he worships is named Ixis, proving that Penders didn’t get that particular phrase in the law suit. (Though not explaining why Flynn hassled him with a name like “Wally.”) This seems to put Dark Gaia and the like in the same category as comic book Lovecraftians like Shuma-Gorath and such. Though I doubt Flynn was planning on introducing a Cthulhu expy into the Archie Sonic-verse, this one line of dialogue at least hints at something bigger, weirder, and creepier out there. Bummer we never got to see it either.

It must be said that this also continue to be a pretty well paced story too. It's very neat and orderly how all the pieces come together. Our villainous anti-heroes overtake the forces that oppose them and accomplish their goals of knocking out various broadcasting towers. Eggman's Dozen then flocks around the Naugus siblings, all the pieces having come into place for the final show down in the last part. It's very satisfying to watch stuff slot into their correct position like that, ya know? It's something Flynn is really good at when he brings his A-game.  I'm actually excited to read the final installment of this story.

Adam Bryce Thomas' artwork is strong too, even if his action scenes veer a little too abstract at times. Over all, it's another fun issue. I enjoy watching these characters bounce off each other and Flynn's story construction is pitch perfect, which is something I feel like I haven't had a chance to say in a while. I'm not a fan of everything here - the Witchcarters remain an utterly underdeveloped band of generic baddies - but this one gets a positive rating from me. [7/10]