Sonic X, Episode 1.12: Beating Eggman, Part One

Sonic X, Episode 1.12: Beating Eggman, Part One

Japanese Title: Attack on the Eggman Base, Part One

Japanese Air Date: June 22nd, 2003

U.S. Air Date: November 22nd, 2003

Throughout these reviews, I've been referring to the collecting of the Chaos Emeralds as the main driving plot point of "Sonic X's" story arc at this point. While I am technically not wrong, this series is apparently broken up into several defined arcs across its seasons. The first arc of season one is called the New World Saga, the apparent focus being on getting Sonic and friends familiar with Earth. The Chaos Emeralds Saga, presumably focused on collecting the Emeralds, starts afterwards. The aforementioned New World Saga wraps up with episodes 12 and 13, which are also the show's first proper two-parter. 

The U.S. president decides to finally take direct action against Eggman. They are sending a fleet of jets and battleships to attack his base but they are merely a distraction. A squad of soldiers, led by Rouge, will sneak inside the base while this is happening and destroy the doctor's power source. Meanwhile, Tails, Chris, Amy and Frances are flying around looking for Chaos Emeralds. They find one in a cornfield outside Tingaling Villa – another hilarious Japanese attempt to create an American sounding name – and begin digging. Eggman quickly appears with a dangerous new robot, determined to take the emerald first. This is right around when Sonic leaps into action.

Last time, I questioned why the President didn't just order an air strike on Eggman's base. Much to my surprise, this is exactly what he does in the next episode. And it's revealed why it's not such a good idea. Eggman's defenses easily shred several battleships and jets. Considering this frontal assault was always planned as a distraction, it's sort of hilarious that the government was willing to sacrifice hundreds of millions of dollars in military vehicles just to draw the doctor's attention. (Not to mention the lives of the presumed men and women operating these jets and battleships.) And he wasn't even home at the time, this defense being carried out by Decoe and Bocoe! Maybe they should've done some intel first? Your tax dollars at work, American readers. 

Whether or not this is actually a sound strategy is almost besides the point. The real reason the show devotes so much of this episode to the attack on Eggman's base is because it looks cool. From the beginning, I've suspected that the people working on "Sonic X" would much rather be working on a mecha show. You can see this in the fairly realistic, militaristic designs of Eggman's machines and how much loving attention is devoted to the action. Bullet casings fly out of the robots' machine guns (Hilariously censored in the 4Kids dub with hastily added laser sound effects), jets are torn apart, and missiles are detailed as they sail through the air. I'm not complaining, it's entertaining. Though it is pretty funny to see this stuff in an otherwise light-hearted "Sonic" cartoon. 

The President launching a military assault on a terrorist that has attacked America several times is not the only logical action in this episode. It turns out Mr. Stewart has actually been reporting everything he's learned back to the White House, which includes Sonic and his friends living with the Thorndykes. It's good to know all those slapstick antics were actually plot relevant! (He also gave Chris a nifty pair of goggles, which the boy never once suspects is a tracking device.) This leads to the White House Press Secretary knocking on the Thorndyke's door and asking Sonic to come with them. I gotta say, I'm really happy this show isn't dragging this plot point out any further. The government is aware of Sonic's hiding place and is ready to address him, directly asking him for his help in fighting Eggman. You have to wonder why they didn't do this sooner but, eh, at least it's done now. 

Having all this crazy shit happen at the same time as Chris and Tails discovering an Emerald is an interesting choice. Cutting between the heavy action at Eggman's base to a bunch of children messing around in a cornfield is certainly a contrast. These scenes definitely feel much more like what you'd expect from "Sonic X." Frances wants to go sight-seeing and Tails has to remind her they're on a mission. The X-Tornado reveals itself as a full-on rip-off of "Robotech's" Valkyries when it sprouts legs. Eggman shows up with a goofy robot – named E35 Funfun – that has an enormous turbine in its chest. He attempts to blow the heroes away, which works pretty well for him. In a normal episode, this is right around when Sonic would swoop in and save the day.

Speaking of Sonic... He is in this cartoon, right? Amusingly, this is yet another episode that the titular hedgehog plays a small role in. His actions in this episode include: Complaining about how he's run around the entire continental U.S. and is now bored, running off to save Tails and Chris when he notices they aren't around, and napping on the roof of the Thorndyke mansion. I can't really blame "Sonic X's" show runners for often sidelining what is ostensibly the main character. He's been depicted as so powerful, able to destroy Eggman's schemes with such ease, that it's hard to write a compelling action story around him. The geopolitical consequences of Eggman appearing on Earth is more interesting than repetitive plots of Sonic grabbing a Power Ring and immediately making scrap metal of the Robot of the Week.

I guess I now understanding why so many fans resent Chris for "stealing the spotlight" from Sonic on this show. If I was a small child in 2003, I might've been bummed out that Sonic has so little to do in a show with his name in the title. Yet I still enjoy how this episode actually builds on the events of the series so far. It's action packed, develops the show's world, and moves the overall arc forward quite a bit. And Chris doesn't whine much in this episode, so his presence here is tolerable. Also, Rouge dresses as a ninja and flirts with Topaz more, Cream eats a pie, Amy's skirt gets blown up by the turbine bot, Knuckles sneaks aboard a jet, and Eggman complains about an infomercial. A good time was had by all! [7/10]