Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys: Issue 4

Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys: Issue 4

Publication Date: December 23rd, 2020

Dear Hedgehogs Can't Swim readers: I am finally caught up with IDW "Sonic." In the past, I've fallen so horribly behind with the new book that I've had to do short burst of hyper-focused updates like this before. And while I will probably almost definitely have to do this again, I think I am finally hooked on IDW "Sonic" after three years of it existing. It's not the same as the Archie book I fell in love with as a kid but this iteration of "Sonic" has finally forged its own weird identity, separate from the games or previous comics. I'll try and review the new issues as they come out, posting them as Monday/Wednesday/Friday updates. (Because adding them as weekend bonuses really wasn't working for me.) I'm still deliberating whether or not to go ahead with my Best of/Worst of list for 2020 or wait until issue 36 of the main book comes out. 

Anyway, enough about me! Let's talk about issue 4 of "Bad Guys!" As his plan comes crashing down on him, Starline has to make a quick escape from the clutches of his former teammates. Using his new superpowers, he quickly disposed of Rough and Tumble but Zavok proves trickier. Mimic betrays everybody and alerts Eggman to what's going on, before bouncing out of there. Eggman assumes Zavok is behind the entire enterprise, flattening the base with explosives. The Zeti lives and Starline gets what he wanted in the end: a small chunk of Eggman's empire. 

From the minute "Bad Guys" started, it was inevitable that Starline's plan was going to implode on itself. Zavok was aware of his treachery and it was only a matter of time before he made his play. But, I'll admit, I'm a little disappointed with how the implosion goes down. Starline's scheme is revealed but he immediately escapes. We never even get a showdown between the platypus and Zavok, which is what I figured the comic had been building towards. Flynn even gave Starline abilities that would make him Zavok's physical equal and still avoids a direct confrontation. I can't believe I'm chastising Flynn for not including a fight scene but it is anticlimactic that Starline really doesn't face any consequences for betraying his teammates. 

My big issue with "Bad Guys'" ending is that nobody faces consequences. Starline immobilizes Rough and Tumble with his poison spurs but they still have the strength to wiggle out of the base before Eggman bombs it. Mimic peaces out long before the pyrotechnics begin. Despite being caught in the explosion, Zavok survives and walks away bruised but intact. I know Sega never would've allowed Flynn to kill off a game character but he could've at least implied the Zeti's death, in order to build suspense for his inevitable return. And, in retrospect, it was pretty dumb of Starline to give his homies weapons but did not booby-trap them. Did he really expect to outsmart them the entire time? What a chode! 

The last issue of "Bad Guys" had me wondering what the point of all this was until its final pages. The status quo seems more-or-less restored at the end. Mimic is still out there, looking for revenge on Whisper. Rough and Tumble are free agents once again. Zavok is likely heading back to reunite with the rest of the Deadly Six. It seemed, in the long run, the only thing this mini-series really does is put everyone back to where they were right before the Metal Virus saga began. (Making me wonder what the point of that year-long event was once again.)

Except Starline has changed. Zavok's words really did get to him. He no longer wants to become Eggman's BFF, realizing the doctor is too flawed to ever achieve his goal of total world domination. Instead, he desires supplanting Eggman all together, conquering the planet totally on his own. Which finally gives a character I've always found somewhat irregular a proper characterization. (And it's also clearly what Flynn had been building towards from the moment he introduced him.) And thus, the "Sonic" comic gains another strong, secondary antagonist. Which was almost worth torpedoing "Bad Guys'" climax for, I guess. 

I'm fine with Starline becoming a fully-formed baddy. I'm less satisfied with him becoming a hyper-confident badass. Flynn gave Starline the Tri-Core and all the associated superpowers not to give him an awesome confrontation with Zavok but to make him more of a creditable threat in the future, I suppose. But watching the guy zip around Rough and Tumble, disposing of them in seconds with his poisonous elf boots, isn't very interesting. Egomaniacal smarty-pants like Starline are best left as intellectual threats, because they become completely insufferable if they're as all-powerful as they think they are... Unless Flynn is planning on making Starline the big bad of 2021's main story arc. We'll see but right now I'm not loving it. 

Starline becoming the comic's primary threat would make sense though, since Eggman has been dropping the ball more and more here of late. At the end of the issue, he realizes Zavok isn't smart enough on his own to pull off all these raids. Yet he also never connects the dots, wondering if maybe that sidekick he betrayed not too long ago might be responsible. After his embarrassing performance in the "Recovery" two-parter, I'm really not loving this trend of Eggman being a dumbass. The excuse of "he's still frazzled after the Metal Virus catastrophe" is only going to wash for so long, Ian. 

Anyway, I suppose I still liked "Bad Guys" well enough overall. It definitely eats it a little in the second half but those first two issues were really strong. The weird helpful/antagonistic dynamic between Starline and Zavok was so good, I honestly wish Flynn could have kept that going for longer. If this mini-series had been six issues, instead of four, it would probably feel less rushed and more satisfying. As it is, I am forced to hand out another [6/10] and end 2020 on a whimper.