Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 290

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 290
Publication Date: December 2016

While I have one more issue of “Sonic Universe” and a few odds and ends left to cover, my journey to review every issue of Archie’s main “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic book ends here. The “Sonic” book had humble roots, starting as a sophomorically goofy comedy book, a quickie product churned out to promote a recently released video game. The series ended in a similarly unassuming way, wrapping up twenty-four years of adventures with part three of a four-part retro game adaptation. That’s right. This comic book had been running long enough that the brand new game it was created to promote was now a nostalgia title. But enough about that. I’ve been driving for four years and now I’m pulling into the parking lot. Let’s do it to it.

Ironically enough, the last Archie “Sonic” cover story is subtitled “Sonic’s Cease and Desist” either because Flynn was trying to make a bad “Sonic CD” pun or because he knew more about the book’s future than he’s admitted. Though the third part of the “Genesis of a Hero” arc, Flynn places the events of “Sonic CD” after “Sonic 1” but before “Sonic 2.” (And after the Classic Sonic segments of “Sonic Generations,” because this was before Sega changed their mind about whether Classic Sonic is from the past or an alternate dimension.) Anyway, Sonic stumbles upon Eggman’s plan to chain Little Planet to a mountain and steal the Time Stones. After his no. 1 fan/stalker Amy Rose insists on tagging along, she gets grabbed by the brand new Metal Sonic. Sonic chases his enemy across time.

While parts one, two, and four of “Genesis of a Hero” were devoted to adapting specific moments from classic “Sonic” games, “Cease and Desist” choose to quickly run through most of “Sonic the Hedgehog CD’s” plot. This is probably because not as many people had a Sega CD as a Genesis and Archie’s previous adaptation of the game didn’t touch upon Little Planet or the Time Stones. So we get a quickie run through of the game’s rightfully beloved opening animation, the first level and boss battle, brief peeks at other zones, and then the race with Metal Sonic on Stardust Speedway. It’s a quick summation of a game not every reader has played, a bit too quick to be satisfying.

What’s really disappointing about this is that “Sonic CD” presents so many story opportunities. Where does Little Planet, a moon-sized astral body that appears in the sky once a year, come from? That feels like it would be significant to the history and mythology of Mobius “Sonic’s world.” The time travel element is not utilized in any interesting way. The idea of Eggman appearing in the past to conquer the world before the heroes even know it such a cool one. Imagine, like, two Death Eggs appearing in sky totally out of the blue one day! Eggman could’ve essentially won the war before it even begun. Instead, this comic treats the time travel element as nothing but the gameplay gimmick it was in the game. It’s a total failure of adaptation.

The stuff Flynn adds to the story end up being more compelling. Such as how Amy and Sonic first meet. Right after the recap of that epic opening animation, Amy climbs up the mountain to be next to Sonic. It’s a cute display of her determination. While Flynn rightly points out that Rose’s obsession is a little bit creepy, he downplays the stalker interpretation of Amy in favor of her just being a really fun young lady who doesn’t believe in giving up. It’s a smart reinvention of Classic Amy, who was usually not much more than a girly stereotype fixated on winning Sonic’s love, and lines her up more with the bad-ass hammer swinger she would eventually become.

In the rebooted comic’s world, this is also the earliest-in-continuity introduction of Metal Sonic. As always, the weaknesses of the character are immediately apparent. Much like the Time Stones, Flynn treats Metal less like a character and more like an obstacle. He’s a super fast robot that grabs Amy and races Sonic at the end. He’s only defining characteristics are his special abilities, his super speed and robot powers. It’s the kind of comic writing I hate and all-around Flynn’s worst tendency. This is especially disappointing, since Flynn recently gave the robotic double quite a bit of personality during “Mega Drive - The Next Level,” just through his facial expressions.

In general, “Cease or Desist” remains the no-consequences wackiness prevalent in all of the “Genesis of a Hero” installments. You’d think Eggman bolstering his empire with time travel tech would really raise the stakes. But, nah. Sonic still breezes through every challenge he encounters. This includes smashing Eggman’s Level One Boss suit to pieces within seconds. (It’s heavily implied that Sonic pulled some Bill and Ted shit, going back in time after winning and sabotaging all of Eggman’s equipment beforehand. Why he didn’t just end the threat right then and there, I don’t know but it probably has something to do with paradoxes.) The race with Metal Sonic is over so quickly that you wonder why the robot registered as a threat in the first place. Eggman is still a comic relief villain, having catty phone calls with Snively, boasting in a ridiculous manner and acting similarly hammy when Sonic wrecks his shit.

Last time, I said Yardley’s sloppy, seemingly rushed artwork was another indicator that this arc was conceived very quickly and suddenly. That trend continues here. Yardley adopts a more Sega Sonic-style, obviously drawing once again from the “Sonic CD” opening. (That the first two pages of this issue basically recreates that cartoon beat-for-beat is further proof of that music video as the best bit of Sonic media ever...) Sonic’s limbs and general appearance are a little more Mickey Mouse-like, which is a style Tracy obviously enjoys aping. The two page spread devoted to Sonic and Metal Sonic’s race is the artwork highlight of the book. That moment has a lot of details and an appealing Sunday comic stripe energy. But, in general, the composition is still fairly flat, the action scenes are still very loose, and everyone looks a little too silly and stretchy to take seriously.

I want to say something like “You’d expect Flynn to try harder, What with this being the last issue of the series ever” but, of course, he didn’t know this was the end. “Genesis of a Hero” was just suppose to be a light-hearted bit of corporate synergy to unwind with after the end of the three year global crisis arc. This random three-of-four being the end of Archie “Sonic” is somehow fitting, considering how bad overhead decisions, unchecked creative bloat, and a general lack of planning almost accidentally birthed a sprawling comic book universe I loved precisely for its ridiculously nerdy denseness. As a issue, 290 gets a [5/10]. Not really bad but forgettable and kind of frustratingly lazy. But that’s how things usually end, isn’t it?