Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 46

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 46

Publication Date: October 27th, 2021

October always goes by in a blur for me. I spend the whole month watching and reviewing as many horror movies as I can. That project tends to take over my whole life for six weeks. Before I know it, Halloween is almost here... In fact, I'm so focused on that shit that I tend to forget about other things. Like comic books! Hey, did you know that a new issue of IDW's "Sonic" on-going came out today? I didn't! Well, I mean, I found out pretty quickly but it definitely caught me off-guard. Luckily, my devotion to you, dear readers, is such that I'll squeeze reading this comic in on my lunch break. 

Anyway! "Trial by Fire, Part 2" begins with Belle awakening in the blazing forest. Her hand is on fire and the same Motobug that startled her earlier appears to put out the flame. Tangle soon appears to help the little puppet out. The two continue further into the burning woods, to help locate the park ranger's missing son. Meanwhile, the crowds at the camp start to get out of control, the ranger hopelessly attempting to prevent a stampede. Amy and Jewel help restore order and organize a fire-fighting routine. But the danger is far from over...

Part two of "Trial by Fire" is mostly devoted to giving some characters big hero moments. The smoke in the forest debilitates Tangle, forcing Belle to take control of the situation. She commands Tangle to use her tail-activated pneumatic-leg super-stomping ability to help rescue the kid. A little later, in one of the issue's best moments, she uses a previously unseen comedic ability to calm the child's jangled nerves. Meanwhile, in the parking lot, Amy encourages Jewel to talk to the crowd. The bug is anxious at first, feeling like she's not qualified to lead and has done a shitty job with the Restoration lately. Amy gives Jewel the necessary pep talk and Jewel takes control of the angry mob. 

By some metrics, this is satisfying character development. Belle comes through when she's needed, overcoming her own insecurities to help someone in need. Belle is haunted by the idea that she's not cut out to be a hero but, here she is, being a hero almost on instinct. Jewel, meanwhile, is proving that she can be a creditable leader in a time of crisis. Yet, because I'm a grouchy old man that is impossible to please, I feel like the comic doesn't totally earn these moments. Belle's despair and anxiety has been so severe here of late, that I find it difficult to believe that she would get over them this quickly and save the day without even thinking about it. 

Jewel's big moment, meanwhile, isn't enough to overcome the fact that she is an awkward fit for a leadership position. That she has done a mediocre job with the Restoration, at least from most of the actual evidence the book has given us. Amy was a natural, cool leader in the comic's first two years and this recent attempt to slide her out of that position, and quickly set Jewel up as her replacement, still isn't working. I don't dislike Jewel but I still feel like we aren't invested enough in her to care about this stuff. All this moment really does is continue to weaken Amy's characterization, something the book is just committed to doing here of late. (Also, I don't accept that a crowd as angry as this one would accept Jewel barking orders at them, much less that they would wait for Amy to give her a pep talk first.)

And now it's time for me overanalyze other aspects of this comic book meant for children. Because this issue left me with a pretty big question: Where are the firefighters? An out-of-control fire is consuming a large forest and a single park ranger is the only official around to deal with it. Does Mobius​ "Sonic's world" not have any sort of public services? Did this civilization have any sort of government before the Restoration? I know Sega likes to make ridiculous sweeping statements like "money doesn't exist in Sonic's world," really throwing into question about how anything about this universe works. The complete lack of any sort of structure meant to let society function safely just makes Sonic's world as vague as possible. I'm guessing we aren't meant to think that hard about it but, goddamn, this shit bugs me.

I'm being very negative but I did enjoy some aspects of this issue. Mostly, the Helpful MotoBug. Observant Sonic nerds pointed out that the MotoBug that seemingly "attacked" Belle at the end of the last issue was, in fact, the MotoBug we saw Mr. Tinker working on back in issue 12. He's even maintained his habit of making topiaries shaped like Sonic's head. Helpful MotoBug continues to be helpful here, putting out the fire on Belle's hand and swooping in to help save the day at the issue's end. The character only has its body language to express itself, which does nothing to change how adorable it is. I love the way it cheers when Belle is safe, how it gingerly crosses its mandibles, even covering its eyes in fear at one point. How friggin' adorable is that? I hope Helpful MotoBug sticks around as Belle's sidekick. I want them to make a cuddly stuffed animal of this character now. 

Because this is an ongoing comic book, that must always tease the next big event, various events in this issue point towards the impending "Imposter Syndrome" mini-series. Surge and Kit, characters already beloved by the fandom despite the fact that they haven't actually done anything yet, briefly appear in silhouette. The last issue set up various red herrings about how this forest fire got started. It suggested that Belle's built-in lighter might have been responsible. Or maybe it was the ranger's son, Ashe, and his flammable Wisp friend that accidentally sparked the flame. Either event would have forced some characters to grapple with some juicy guilt, furthering a moral about forgiveness and responsibility towards the natural world. Nope, turns out it was just Surge and Kitt. The bad guys did the bad thing. Seems like a missed opportunity...

Also, Adam Bryce Thomas' artwork is just slightly off from his usual excellent standards in this issue. I'm not going to hold that against him. In fact, he still earns some points for sneaking in a surly porcupine Mobian in a trucker hat that bares more than a passing resemblance to Uncle Chuck. Am I being too hard on this issue? I certainly didn't dislike it but there are enough little things about it that are off, that prevent me from fully enjoying it. I suggest Evan include more Helpful MotoBug next time, that'll paste over all the flaws. [6.5/10]