Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 51

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 51

Publication Date: July 27th, 2022

The fifty-first installment of IDW's "Sonic the Hedgehog" comic has only been out a few hours as I write this and it's already proving to be one of the most controversial issues in the comic's short history. Not because of any of the narrative choices or character decisions it makes. Honestly, I haven't lurked enough today to see if the issue itself has been well received or not. Instead, the controversy started yesterday when the preview images came out and fans got a look at a panel where Belle informs Sonic that Dr. Starline is dead... and the hedgehog reacts by saying "Big oof." This single word balloon has ignited such debate that "Big Oof" was actually trending on Twitter this morning. 

I'm pretty disconnected from the modern world, as I am An Old and now have the glorious option of just not giving a shit about many things. Apparently, Sonic saying "Big oof" to the news of an enemy dying is being interpreted by some as "cringe" or unsympathetic. Maybe it's just because I've been around since the days when Sonic peppered his speech with totally rad surfer dude lingo but Sonic dropping modern internet speech into his lexicon does not phase me. I mean, if he said "Lol" or "poggers" or called someone "Blorbo," that would probably be a little distracting. But the hedgehog saying "Big oof," this one time, is fine. He fucking flossed in the movie and nobody gave a shit about that, so I fail to see the big deal here. If this is how the fandom reacts to one instance, I doubt Flynn will incorporate any more "Roblox" speak into Sonic's verbiage. 

As for accusations of Sonic being dismissive or cruel to the news of someone dying... I mean, I guess I can see people getting testy about that. Obviously, because fandom debates are so fucking intense and bipartisan these days, the anti-Flynn crowd will use this as more ammunition that the writer fundamentally doesn't grok Sonic. This single goddamn line will fuel their personal theories and validate their vendettas that [X] quality of the "Sonic" franchise is bad now or was never good to begin with. Yet considering Flynn devoted several pages in just the last issue to describing Sonic's idea of justice – clarifying that he has an unlimited supply of forgiveness but only so much compassion – I think this probably lines up. Starline's evil acts extended past Sonic's give-a-shit quota for the day. 

Also, Sonic is fighting a fucking war against an enemy here. People are going to die. It seems unlikely to me that Starline is permanently dead anyway, so the hedgehog can apologize for his momentary lack of empathy the next time he sees the platypus. And the guy just got done dueling an angry teenager, a fight he was totally unprepared for. He's had a stressful day. He's a little grumpy. A smidgen grouchy. It's okay if someone doesn't act one hundred percent consistently all the time. Real people don't. I don't think acknowledging that is a way to excuse O.O.C. writing. I do not feel this is the IDW equivalent of the infamous Sally Slap panel. These fans who see characters as just a set of stats that must be exactly obeyed at all times are exhausting. I blame video games and the internet.

Anyway, I'm done participating in the Big Oof Discourse. Let's talk about this comic book outside of the contents of a single goddamn panel. We pick up shortly after where we left off last time. Sonic, Tails, Belle, and an unconscious Kitsunami are being pursued through Eggman's Eggperial City by a horde of Badniks. They find a hiding place long enough to form a plan. Using her momentary connection to Metal Sonic to access the city's maps, Belle realizes there's a hanger not too far from their current location. Sonic will distract the army of Badniks while the others sneak over there, picking the hedgehog up in the way back. Yet Eggman is more ready for this escape route than they anticipate.

This issue really worked for me, because it does something that almost always ratchets the tension up in an action story. Our heroes are pinned down, in a tight situation. They are surrounded on all side by enemies. Their is no clear path to victory, forcing them to strategize on the fly. This is why "Die Hard" and "The Raid" and "Night of the Living Dead" and countless other stories are masterpieces of thrills. It's possible, I suppose, that Flynn could've made things even more dire. If he had forced the gang to think of a plan while literally fighting off more Badniks. Or made Sonic even more exhausted and desperate while battling the robotic goons in the second half, instead of his usual effortless, snarky self. (Though if people are ranting over "Big Oof," I can only imagine how'd they act about that.) Yet I'm not going to bitch about a brief moment for everyone to catch their breath while they're knee-deep in The Shit. It's still an effectively suspenseful premise for an issue. 

In fact, this issue even surprised me in a big way. It seems, after writing him as kind of an ineffectual villain for the last year or so, Flynn is recommitting to Eggman being an actual serious threat. It's sort of a rule in writing that, any time our heroes put a detailed plan in place, that something will go wrong. That's just a basic rule of dramatic dynamics. Yet it still caught me off-guard that Eggman sees through Sonic's escape route so easily here. He plays the heroes' game, only to send Metal Sonic to take the aircraft down at the last minute. A clean escape and an easy victory is snatched away from the good guys right before they grab it. Things go from bad to worst. The stakes are raised even further and Eggman – who was being briskly humiliated as recently as the FCBD issue – is reestablished as a brilliant, dangerous adversary. Good shit. 

This is also an issue that is almost constantly moving. Aside from the brief scene of our heroes making their plan and Eggman putting together his countermeasures, everyone is on the run here. The guys are outmaneuvering a horde of Badniks on the first page, which they barely escape. Sonic spends the entire second half hurdling around an army of killer robots, his interior monologue letting us know that he's starting to tire. Tails and Belle are sneaking around, trying to find the ship. All of that is before Metal Sonic shows up! The pacing here is extraordinarily fleet-footed, which is really appreciated after what felt like a sluggish run-up to issue fifty. 

The action scenes look fucking cool too, thanks to two artists working at the top of their game. Adam Bryce Thomas pencils the first twelve pages while Mauro Fonseca draws the remaining pages. Thomas really has fun drawing an entire page devoted to Sonic zipping around and wrecking Badniks. The opening panels, where Sonic tosses Belle to safety, is energetically drawn. A single page set in the belly of Eggperial City, where conveyer belts lead to a huge Eggman-shaped furnace, is cool as shit. I'm reminded of the Moloch machine from "Metropolis." We see dumping tubes extending down from the shadowy surface. The pipes extending out and upward of the Eggman furnace even look a bit like devilish horns, further giving this panel a hellish atmosphere. 

This is only the third time Fonseca has provided interior artwork for IDW. I liked his pencils on "Sonic Learns to Drive" but was not blown away by his work on "Imposter Syndrome." Yet his pages really impress me here. His Sonic is a little more Classic influenced than most, a little chubbier and cuter, but with extra attention paid to how expressive his spines are. His action scenes are also very spirited. The inking, from Rik Mack, also elevates Fonseca's pages. The pages devoted to Metal Sonic scuttling the aircraft, and the resulting fiery crash, are so dramatically shaded. It's also clear that everyone had a blast drawing a whole selection of classic Badniks. I'm going to need a YouTube analysis video to tell me who they all are and where they originated. 

After devoting what seemed like a long time to "The Road to #50," I was really curious where IDW "Sonic" would go next. Interestingly enough, the series does not seem eager to return to the status quo. Belle has been changed by her meeting with Eggman last issue, rather literally. She now has a more analytical brain, her wooden processors somehow retaining information from Metal Sonic. This suggests the little puppet may have a new function as the Restoration's strategist going forward. Metal Sonic seems to have been changed by this encounter too, if the panel of him tensely pausing when Eggman calls to him is any indication. Did Belle's independence rub off on Metal, the same way his intel rubbed off on her? Eggman seems interested in retrieving Belle, seeing potential in her. Did I sense a hint of jealousy from the machine that assumes itself to be Eggman's favorite "child?" Is Sonic's most robotic rival going to actually get some character development here soon? I don't know if Sega will allow that, or if Flynn is even interested in exploring that, but here's hoping. 

While there's some pleasant surprises here, this issue does one thing that didn't shock me in the least. Flynn wastes no time at all revealing that Surge is very much alive. Sonic drops the oft-mocked line "Nobody could survive that!" but, totally expectedly, IDW's most beloved new cast member is quickly shown to be the exception to that statement. She's the person who falls on the conveyor belt I mentioned above. Thomas milks all the visual panache he can out of the image of Surge pulling herself from a pile of twisted wreckage and escaping mere seconds before it's smashed by a giant tooth-shaped piston. Surge is clearly going to be a major antagonist for the comic's immediate future. At least it looks cool. 

The issue ends on a hell of a cliffhanger too, with our heroes stranded behind enemy lines and Sonic fucking up his ankle in the crash. There's also the lingering question of what Kit will think of all this once he awakens from his stupor. In other words: This issue is good! I asked not too long ago if IDW had a plan for this series. Now, it's immediately evident that they do. This is a tense little read and, ya know what, I even like it better than the action packed previous issue. We need more tensely plotted and executed issues like this. And I won't give a shit if Sonic says "Big Oof" in those issues too. [8/10]