Sonic Boom, Episode 1.19: Sole Power

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.19: Sole Power

Original Air Date: March 28th, 2015

I guess it was only a matter of time before “Sonic Boom” did an episode that featured actual sonic booms. Sonic and Tails are chilling in his hovercraft one afternoon when the hedgehog runs off. A deafening ringing noise follows. Soon, the ear-splitting gonging happens every time Sonic runs. It irritates the hell out of his friends and forces Sonic to walk everywhere, which really bothers him. After Tails can’t find a cause, Sonic turns to an unexpected source for help. Eggman builds the hedgehog a pair of sound-absorbing sneakers that seem to resolve the issue. It’s not long afterwards the Sonic realizes that, duh, this has all been a trap engineered by the villain. 

Sonic's defining superpower, if not his primary characteristic, is his speed. Interpretations of the blue hedgehog have gone in all different directions over the years but he's always gotta be fast. Naturally, when running at supersonic speed is the main supervillain-fighting ability he brings to the table, the creative mind immediately turns to ways to take that away from him. What could challenge a speedster hero more than having to do things without his speed? Accordingly, multiple "Sonic" stories have used that as their set-up. "Sole Power" is among the more farcical takes on the premise – it's not that he can't run fast, just that doing so really bothers everyone – but its potency remains. If Sonic can't go fast, it's going to fundamentally changed the way he handles things. And that's a set-up that makes for good storytelling. 

Since "Sonic Boom" is a sitcom, the consequences of Sonic having to limit his speed are less life-or-death and more personal. A booming reverberation happening every time Sonic runs inconveniences his friends. It makes them not want to be around him. Sonic does his best to control his naturally speedy instinct but the affliction still ends up driving a wedge between him and his pals. I think Amy and the gang are a bit unkind to Sonic here. It's not like it's his fault that his feet make an overwhelming bong now. Yet putting the hedgehog at odds with his friends creates a compelling, and funny, thrust to this episode. If Sonic can’t run, he can’t be himself. And if he can’t be himself, he starts to act in weird and off-putting ways. This is most evident in a fairly amusing sequence, where the hedgehog has to sit out a battle with some Badniks. 

While a lot of episodes of "Sonic Boom" drops new characters into the stories, I find the strongest episodes build on the dynamic between the central six cast members. (Or eight, I guess, if you include Cubot and Orbot.) Sonic's friends do okay without his super fast ways, which is discouraging. In that depression, Eggman unexpectedly appears to bond with him. In the episode's funniest scene, the mad doctor acts as a therapist of sorts to the down-in-the-dumps hero. This is another amusing subversion to the two characters' expected relationship. And in general, it's just pretty funny seeing Eggman act in such a subdued, sympathetic manner. He even shares his popcorn with Sonic! Considering this version of Eggman legitimately deals with depression, he probably has a good grip on psychology. 

Obviously, Eggman extending this branch of empathy to Sonic is a trap. Anyone could figure that out. Yet the exact machinations of Eggman's evil scheme in this episode are clever, as far as these things go. The specially designed, noise-muting shoes Sonic slips on actually provide the power for Eggman's latest destructive giant robot. This means Sonic can't use his special ability without giving the death machine he's fighting more juice. It's a clever villainous ploy, though one with an obvious solution. Sonic soon figures out that, if he keeps running fast, the robot will be overloaded and exploded with excess energy. Yet, up until that point, turning your enemy's greatest strength against him is a good supervillain idea. Almost had 'em, ya know? 

An episode like this with a smart, funny premise might be enough, considering the short runtime of your typical “Sonic Boom” installment. This one has got some delightfully silly stand-alone gags of its own. Shortly after Sonic's noisy running begins, Tails takes him back to a lab for some test. What follows is a montage that is, for whatever reason, scored to a sound-alike to Paul Engemann's “Push It to the Limit.” Otherwise known as the theme from “Scarface.” The randomness of that made me laugh. Also, a gag that involves Sonic being forced to walk back to his bungalow or the direct way Eggman removes him from a tree got me to chuckle. 

Generally speaking, this is another episode where the voice cast really makes a big difference. Roger Craig Smith's take on Sonic is really starting to grow on me. Since a lot of this episode's humor is based around Sonic feeling frustrated or dejected, that really gives Smith a chance to sharpen his delivery. Travis Willingham also makes some lines from Knuckles, that really are just yet more jokes about how dumb the echidna is, into some absurd silliness. His odd statement about the opera got me. So did the back-and-forth argument he has with Sticks, about whether something is stupid or crazy. At this point, it almost goes without saying that Mike Pollick's Eggman steals the show. He manages to make some clunky lines, about Sonic referring to himself in the third person or the name of this week's giant robot, into delightful bits of silliness. 

While I wouldn't call it “good” exactly, the scene where the heroes fight some CrabBots on the beach without Sonic is a little better than the typical action sequences on this show. Maybe just because it's being played for laughs, instead of action. Overall, this an example of an episode that starts with a clever premise and elaborates upon it in several goofy and funny ways. It did not blow me away or anything but got a few laughs and I enjoyed watching it. As far as eleven minute cartoons go, that counts as a victory. [7/10]