Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.17: Over the Hill Hero

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.17: Over the Hill Hero
Original Air Date: September 13th, 1993

Let's leap right in this time. “Over the Hill Hero” begins with Scratch and Grounder dropping sneezing bombs – that would be a bomb that causes sneezing – on an innocent random village. As Sonic and Tails attempt to save the day, they are interrupted by Captain Rescue. That would be an overweight superhero raccoon who fights crime with his tricked-out utility belt. However, Captain Rescue has seen better days and is as much a nuisance as an assistance. Meanwhile, Robotnik creates a new invention: An impenetrable force field he intends to encase Sonic inside of. He actually succeeds in capturing the hedgehog, forcing Tails to seek out Captain Rescue for help.

The nineties were a very particular time for superheroes. It was an era when darker and edgier heroes were extremely successful. During this time, the gun-totting, pouch-covered steroid abusers in “X-Force” and Spawn, a literal soldier from Hell, were some of the most popular characters in comic shops. Companies and labels like Image and Vertigo, packed with gore and sex and poopoo fuck words, were best-sellers. Stalwarts like Batman, Captain America, Wonder Woman, and Iron Man were replaced with more violent counterparts. Green Lantern went berserk, Aquaman had his arm eaten off by piranhas, and Superman fucking died. Everybody was a clone. It was a dark, poorly drawn time.

During this era, traditionally wholesome heroes were not to be respected. It was this atmosphere that “Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog” launched “Over the Hill Hero” into the word. See, Sonic might hardly be in the same league as the Punisher or Youngblood but he was still a good guy largely defined by his attitude. Heroic archetypes, the type that clearly inspired Captain Rescue, were to be mocked and belittled. This is exactly what the show does, though the script – and Sonic along with it – eventually comes around to respecting the guy. He's still depicted as fat, out-of-touch, and slightly pathetic. Sometimes this is funny, such as the reveal that he lives in a trailer park (with his superhero rocket underneath), but usually it's just batting at low-hanging fruit.

While its set-up is not especially unique or interesting, “Over the Hill Heroes” earns points for almost having an actual plot. Robotnik's plan is a little more detailed than just causing chaos and trying to smash Sonic. Captain Rescue's redemptive arc also provides a little more meat for the plot. (Gary Chalk, already around voicing Grounder, gets to utilize his more traditionally heroic baritone as the superhero.) There's also a couple of jokes that made me laugh. Such as Scratch and Grounder, when accused by Robotnik of failing once again, clarify that they “succeeded in a negative kind of way.” Or Grounder asking why Scratch got sinuses and he didn't. Sonic's once-an-episode disguise has him dressing up as a general and barking off a list of endless specifications. And, as always, Long John Baldry's gloating as Robotnik is amusingly hammy.

This only last for so long, before the episode collapses into subpar slapstick. This is almost what literally happens, as Robotnik's reasonable scheme degrades before too long into mindless destruction. Most of the gags here do not inspire too many chuckles. Extremely pedestrian jokes like Captain Rescue's pants falling down, Robotnik being repeatedly spun through the air, or Scratch and Grounder tripping and accidentally smooshing the doctor.

This is another episode with disturbingly fleshy animation. The sneezing bombs Scratch and Grounder drop literally sneeze, the missiles growing mouths. This same thing happens to the blimps they fly around in. Which is kind of gross. So are the sub-humanoid, Popeye-like creatures that inhabit the imperiled village. Later, Sonic spins the robots into the shape of balling pins and Robotnik lifts up the background like a curtain. It's this elastic, casual disregard for physics that makes this show, ya know, pretty hard to take seriously. (The animation just kind of blows in general. The fight scene between Captain Rescue and the minions is incredibly stiff. Sonic is stuck in a weird, dinosaur-like pose in one shot.)

We do learn some notable things about the world of Mobius in this episode though. The one village the heroes protect is called Hill Top, a rare reference to the actual video games. Captain Rescue has apparently operated as a superhero for some time – Robotnik had an action figure of him as a kid – so Sonic is not the first of his kind. (Why Rescue wasn't around to resist Robotnik's take-over of the world, I don't know.) Also, regular old guns are seen in a flashback, making me wonder why Robotnik doesn't just shoot people more often. Mobius apparently utilizes the Greco-Roman calendar, as Rescue references the year 1964. Oh, and solar power is seemingly a common feature on this world, as Robotnik wants to hijack a solar powered satellite. Which is nice.

Alright, how about that sweet edu-tainment content? Our “Sonic Says” segment this week has Tails and Captain Rescue being lost in the woods. An elderly woodchuck or something informs them that moss on a tree always faces north. And apparently continuing on a north path leads you out of the woods. This is not the intended advice of the segment. (It's also not true. Don't take life-saving advice from cartoon characters, kids.) Instead, the lesson to learn here is to respect your elders and listen to their wisdom, a theme carried over from the episode itself. Never mind that old people are full of shit all the damn time... It truly is interesting the knowledge this cartoon tried to impart on little kids back in the days.

So it's another fairly mediocre, middle-of-the-road “Adventure.” I'm expecting a lot more episodes of this quality before I'm through with this thing. The most interesting thing about “Over the Hill Hero” is that, if Ian Flynn and I had traded places at some point, I totally would've found an excuse to use Captain Rescue in the post-reboot comic book somehow. Just for fun-sies. [5/10]