Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 288

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 288
Publication Date: November 2016

With the Shattered World Crisis put to rest at last, Archie’s “Sonic” comic could move on to other topics. With the new world and extended cast thoroughly established, Ian Flynn could finally go about telling new and exciting stories in the rebooted world. I believe, however, that Sega had other plans. By fall of 2016, the hype train for “Sonic Mania” was rolling along at full speed. Sonic’s 25th anniversary year was about to wrap up but the franchise would remain focused on the retro side of things for a few more months. I suspect Sega and/or Archie editorial was eager to capitalize on this interest. Thus, a four-part arc paying homage to Sonic’s original 16-bit adventures would round out 2016. (Even though the “Mega Drive” one-shots were suppose to be the nostalgia-grab anniversary titles.)

That’s what I think happened anyway. Regardless, Ian Flynn and everyone else actually working on the comics had no idea that “Genesis of a Hero” would operate as the comic’s abrupt series finale. In fact, the arc wouldn’t even get to end, as the “Sonic” books got canned with one more installment left to go. And so it came to past that Archie’s “Sonic” comic would end its twenty-four year run with the wimpiest of whimpers, instead of the bangiest of bangs.

But, as I tend to do, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s talk about “Genesis of a Hero, Part One: Where It All Began.” The comic begins near the end of the original Genesis “Sonic the Hedgehog,” with Sonic cornering Eggman (accompanied here by Snively) deep within the Scrap Brain Zone. After being dumped into the labyrinth-like ruins underneath, Sonic fights his way back to the villains. He survives their attempts to crush him but Eggman and Snively still get away. Sonic then returns to Knothole, meeting with the Freedom Fighters and the newly returned King Acorn.

As an old “Sonic” fan, I have a lot of fondness for the trilogy of original “Sonic” games. Flynn, who is similarly old, clearly shares this fondness. The first part of “Genesis of a Hero” gets a lot of mileage just out of reenacting the very first “Sonic” game. Of course, so did the similarly named “Genesis” arc, which had an almost identical premise. In order to keep from repeating himself, “Genesis of a Hero” zeroes in on specific moments from those earliest games. Which is why this issue focuses almost entirely on the last level and final boss battle of that last game. Anybody who has ran through the booby-trap laden Scrap Brain Zone, just to finally catch Eggman and then get dumped into another fucking water stage, can share in Sonic’s frustration here.

Flynn and his team rather faithfully recreates that experience. In fact, they might recreate it a little too faithfully. Sonic diving through the pink mega-muck waters of the last stage or being frustrated by the hedgehog-seeking sparks of the boss battle receives a nod of recognition, a satisfying feeling of understanding-that-reference. Yet this only goes so far and eventually you notice the repetitive game play of that boss battle doesn’t make for a very compelling comic book. Why does Eggman stay in one place why Sonic navigates the water-logged ruins? If he has the hedgehog trapped in a room with crushing pistons in the floor and ceilings... Why doesn’t he activate them all at once and guaranteed Sonic being smooshed? Why use a weapon that leaves just enough room for Sonic to avoid being crushed? For that matter, why does he try to kill Sonic with a device so vulnerable to hedgehog blows? You just accept these contrivances in a video game, cause video games work that way, but in a comic book, they really don’t make much sense. ("Genesis" largely avoided this kind of fidelity and was better for it.)

That is not the only way in which this is a very fluffy, plot-light comic book. With so little actual story to work with, Flynn leans on sophomoric comic relief. I guess Flynn has Snively tag along with Eggman, in order to give the doctor someone to talk with. Mostly, it results in Snively saying dumb stuff, getting Robotnik annoyed with him in an exaggerated manner. Sonic remains quibbier than usual in this environment, cracking jokes both before and after swimming through the mega-muck. The worst humor comes when Snively almost pukes while piloting the pistons. While Flynn writes him as at least being slightly intimidated by the boss fight, everything still seems to come a little too easily for Sonic here. I’ve been reading Flynn’s work long enough to know when he’s phoning it in. Repetitive plotting and lame jokes are the most sure-fire signs.

In fact, it’s pretty obvious that the “Sonic 1” re-enactment is not the main point of this comic book. About half the issue is composed of a lengthy epilogue, where Sonic returns to Knothole and touches base with the Freedom Fighters. What Flynn is doing here is establishing the reboot’s timeline, showing what SatAM and old continuity-inspired events were happening around the time of “Sonic 1.” So we learn Sonic rescued King Acorn from the Special Zone during that time... Or at least someone he thought was the King, as Nigel is either possessed by Naugus or Naugus in disguise. (Sonic clarifies that the rebooted Special Zone is just as psychedelic as we remember it, bringing an image to mind of Max floating aimlessly through spirals of jewels and fish.)

It is nice to get a peek at the slightly younger Freedom Fighters, still carrying the more childish personalities we glimpsed in their Sonic Comic Origins stories. Yet Flynn bogs down even these moments in mechanical plotting. Sonic’s conversation with the King focuses in on the exact number of Chaos Emeralds he was able to retrieve. This heads into the Freedom Fighters volunteering themselves for a mission to look for the remaining stones on Westend Islands. This obviously sets up the team joining Sonic on the next issue’s “Sonic 2l” adaptation. It also boils down to everyone pointing out what their special strengths are, something we are already very aware of. I wish Flynn had focused on the more emotional issues of Sally being reunited with her dad or Sonic making his first great blow against Robotnik.

Tracy Yardley provides pencils and it’s not his best work. He’s operating in a more cartoonish mode, which fits the tone of this comic book. Yet it’s also a little too loose and sloppy. Especially in the scenes of Sonic fighting the boss battle, where the hedgehogs face bends in a few overly cute directions. It looks rushed, which furthers my theory that this comic was a last minute change of plans.

Though not without its moments, “Where It All Began” has a stilted script, too much distracting humor, and slightly shaky artwork. Aside from the novelty of seeing the first game re-enacted, the book doesn’t have much to offer. The end of the series is off to a great start! [5/10]