Sonic Universe: Issue 94

Sonic Universe: Issue 94
Publication Date: January 2017

The next couple updates here at Hedgehogs Can't Swim are going to be a succession of different The Ends, before the real The End that will be my closing thoughts finally arrive. While my review of issue 290 of Archie’s original “Sonic” comic was the end of my coverage of that series, “Sonic Universe” would be cut off a month later in January of 2017. Which means “Sonic Universe” technically outlasted the original book by a whole month but it’s not really an example of a spin-off outlasting the original. The same nebulous corporate mix-up, Sega yanking the “Sonic” license from Archie for still unexplained but easily speculated-about reasons, that ended the main book also ended the spin-off. It was just some scheduling fluke that allowed one more “Sonic” comic to make it out before the hammer came down.

And since this is the last proper issue of Archie “Sonic” anything I’ll be talking about, let me indulge, one more time, in some petty nerd bitching. The subtitle for part four of “Case of the Pirate Princess” is “In a Lonely Place.” Which is, of course, a direct reference to the classic 1950 film noir of the same name. (This also breaks the pattern of Hitchcock references. “Saboteur” or “Lifeboat” we’re right there, Aleah!) Yet, at this point, this story’s film noir angle is so completely lost. This is acknowledged in story. Vector’s opening fantasy sequence veers away from detective-ing into an Indiana Jones direction. The crocodile chastises himself for breaking with his theme. All of this is needless nitpicking, of course, but the story shouldn’t have included the noir riffing if it wasn’t going to be influenced in any way but noir. Just sayin'.

Anyway, we pick up with Captain Shellbreaker leading Princess Undina and the Chaotix into the ancient temple. The captain is disappointed to find the great weapon he was promised is just a useless bauble. At that point, the Chaotix — assisted by Echo, who finally showed up — make their move. They grab the keys to the ship, lock the pirates in he temple, and make it to the submarine. However, turns out they need a password to turn on the sub. Luckily, Undina memorized it years ago. So the good guys get away while the pirates are left stranded on the island. The adventure doesn’t quite end there either...

After being a fairly low key story up to this point, “The Case of the Pirate Princess” features a real action sequence, albeit of a semi-comedic fashion. There’s definitely humor in how Charmy grabs Shellbreaker’s keys or the Chaotix struggling with the ship’s password. (The final reveal concerning that is pretty funny.) Yet we still get moments like Echo shooting laser beams at the pirates or the heroes being pursued by the villains. It’s a pretty natural conclusion to this story so it certainly doesn’t feel like an action beat forced in for the sake of the ADHD afflicted seven year old boys reading this.

Still, it’s clear that the focus here is most on the characters. Princess Undina has evolved in some fun ways. We starting assume she was a vapid-headed party girl, without much depth. As the story has gone on, we’ve learned she’s more perceptive and devious than previously thought. Precisely because people underestimate her. Baker maintains the princess’ free spirit and sense of adventure at the end, as she refuses to go back to Meropis and plans to continue exploring the world. Echo tags along as her personal body guard. It’s a natural place for both characters to go and you can tell Baker was looking forward to writing more of their adventures.

Razor and Blade’s subplot doesn’t get the most page-time here but it’s clearly something Baker is pretty invested in. Here, Razor and Blade have a tense exchange as he leaves her on the island. It’s a pretty big betrayal and one that seems to cement for both siblings that their bond is over for good. This feels like a pretty big dick move on Razor’s behalf and it’s interesting a heroic character is shown doing something rather shitty. Blade’s heartbreak that follows is shown as genuine. She’s been wronged, in other words. The sharks still clearly have a lot of issues to work out and it’s such a bummer that Baker would never get to write more about them.

These aren’t the only plot points clearly being left open to explore more later. What exactly is going on with the temple and the mysterious weapon contained within is left up in the air. The rebooted comic world was littered with mysterious magical relics and shit, so I’m not too bummed about that. But Shellbreaker and his crew were clearly intended to be reoccurring antagonists. Their last scene here has the Pirate captain developing a begrudging respect for the people who successfully swindled him and a promise to come back more powerful and dangerous than ever before. There’s obviously still was a lot to explore with these guys.

Once you think about it, “The Case of the Pirate Princess” was rather unexpectedly all about family. Once Razor returns to Meropis, he has a tearful reunion with Coral and Pearly. He feels accepted there. Meanwhile, the pirates are a makeshift family too, who accept Blade when her own brother pushes her away. You can even see this in Undina rejecting the royal structure she was raised in and setting out on her own, perhaps looking for a family unit too. And, naturally, the Chaotix are a bit like a family too. I mostly felt the detective were just being dragged along so Baker could tell this story about these colorful new characters but, if you think about this angle, it all sort of fits together.

The final set of pages in this comic book are devoted to the Chaotix trying to collect their payment from Meropis for locating the Princess. It turns out, underwater money does not have the best transaction rate with above-ground money. The detectives are paid with literal sand dollars. And that’s where this, the last “Sonic” comic Archie would publish, ends. So, in other words, the very last event to occur in Archie “Sonic” canon is the Chaotix being screwed over by a cheap-skate client. Something feels really fitting about that...

So what can I say about “Sonic Universe” over all? I maintain that it was a great idea for a comic book. Pre-reboot, Archie “Sonic’s” cast was so huge, leaving plenty of characters for a spin-off to focus on. Yet the realities of publishing a monthly series, of putting shit on the cover that caused people to actually buy the comic, meant “Sonic Universe” starred some of the series’ most popular but least interesting characters. This meant the series’ highs were often high but its lows could be quite low. It was a very uneven series, which is no great surprise considering the main book was similarly uneven. At least “Sonic Universe” ended on pretty good note, as “The Case of the Pirate Princess” was a frequently delightful story. [7/10]