Sonic Boom, Episode 1.38: New Year's Retribution

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.38: New Year's Retribution

Original Air Date: August 8th, 2015

Holidays are, traditionally speaking, a time to be with the people you love. I doubt anyone spends President's Day with their mom or favorite uncle but all the big ones -- Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentine's, Yom Kippur -- involve spending time with your family and/or romantic partner. Even lesser festivals, like July 4th, Easter, or Memorial Day, are usually accompanied by big family meals of some sort. Yet not everybody has loved ones to spend these festivals with. This can make holidays times of bitter isolation. For lonely, miserable bastards, New Year's Eve is, in many ways, the most melancholy of all celebrations. Not only are you by yourself when everyone else is partying, you also get to ruminate on another twelve months wasted, another set of hopes dashed and dreams deferred. 

But enough about my depression! How does this relate to Sonic the Hedgehog? Well, ya see, the thirty-eighth episode of "Sonic Boom" revolves around one year ending and another rolling in. As Sonic and friends prepare for their New Year party, Eggman attacks... And is, once again, humiliated. As midnight draws closer, he gets increasingly depressed that his New Years resolution – to finally defeat Sonic – will go unfulfilled. That's when he gets an idea: Build a device that will slow down time, giving him further chances to defeat Sonic before the clock strikes twelve. As the minutes before midnight are stretched, Eggman and Sonic face-off against each other in a variety of challenges. 

Considering going fast is Sonic's primary superpower and his entire ethos, I'm surprised there haven't been more stories devoted to machines that slow him down. He sometimes has his speed limited, by circumstances or age, or even has it magically zapped away. Yet I'm not thinking of any other plot where someone invents a slow-motion ray in order to render Sonic merely a normally fast hedgehog. In the movies, we got to see Sonic observe the rest of the world as frozen and sluggish. Doing the same thing to him would be a fittingly ironic obstacle for the hero. Doesn't every speedster hero deserve their own version of The Turtle? Eggman even has a pretty good trap here, as Sonic immediately destroying the slow ray will just trap everyone else at 0.25 speed. The hedgehog is forced to play by his rules. 

I guess you don't see more slow-motion rays in fiction because it's a pretty improbable idea, even as far as sci-fi technology goes. Somehow, if you weren't effected by time slowing down, the now frozen oxygen molecules around you would still make it impossible to move. More practically speaking, everyone slurring their speech just sounds funny. Plausibility is not a concern for a comedy show like this. (Which is evident in the absurdly off-hand way Eggman powers his latest miraculous gizmo.) So "Boom" immediately subverts the idea for comedy. Sonic and Eggman being stuck in a world where everything moves at a crawl results in many ridiculous sights. Lasers and weapons are rendered sluggish, so the two have to find other ways to fight each other. This amusingly results in ping-pong balls, checkers, and coins slowly twirling through the air, much to the duo's annoyance.

While the slow-motion gimmick is a very solid, organically funny premise, "New Year's Retribution" is good mostly because it gives us more insight into Eggman's personality. This is another episode where the villain's depression plays a role. No matter all the glorious, ridiculous machines and robots he's effortlessly invented, Eggman still feels like a failure. Rolling into the New Year by playing checkers with his robot lackies makes him feel pathetic. Despite his massive ego, Eggman can only measure his own value by crushing his enemy. His self-worth is dependent on other people. And maybe that's because, as a throwaway line of dialogue reveals, Eggman had a father whose approval he was desperate to earn. This recharacterizes the villain's desire to rule the world merely as another way to make his presumably distant dad respect him. Damn, why do the funny "Sonic" cartoon inevitably give Eggman the more tragic backstories? 

If Eggman's emotional hang-ups are one of my favorite things about this show, the way his depressive episodes are usually resolved is one of its best running jokes. Eggman doesn't want to have a lame New Years. He cooks up a dastardly scheme under the pretense of destroying his archenemy. This actually plays out as Sonic and Eggman spending the extended minutes before midnight competing against each other. They play board games, have contests, and finish the night with a dance-off. In other words: They have fun together. When Eggman was at his loneliest, Sonic was there to distract him, entertain him, and keep him company. They even acknowledge this in the final minutes of the episode, when Eggman realizes his time-freezing device prevented anyone else from seeing his victory. Once again, "Boom" comes to the suitably ironic conclusion. Eggman thinks Sonic is his greatest foe but he's actually the closest thing the mad scientist has to a best friend. 

This is a Reid Harrison script, the writer packing in as many jokes as possible per usual. Unlike his previous, derivative episode, he makes sure the jokes are genuinely funny this time. (This is also the third of Reid's scripts to include a dance scene. Read into that what you will.) There's a number of nicely absurd moments here. Tails attempts to shorten the amount of time it'll take to decorate for the party by inventing a tinsel gun. This simply results in everyone, Sonic included, bullying him. There's an extended discussion, between Eggman and his geometrical sidekicks, about the philosophical quality of slow-cooked meat. While I've never given much thought to "Boom's" Mayor Fink character, his expected qualities as an underhanded and weaselly politician leads to a pretty funny awkward interview here. 

Easily the episode's silliest, and therefore best, reoccurring bit involves Knuckles. He has no idea how to celebrate New Year's and proceeds to mix it up with Easter, Halloween, Christmas, and Groundhog Day. He describes each of these other celebrations in similarly garbled, misunderstood ways. What would normally be a simple joke about Knuckles being an idiot is made much funnier by everyone else having no idea what he's talking about. New Year's celebrations are universal but, clearly, none of our other standard holidays exist in the "Boom" universe. 

 

In fact, this is the first holiday we've ever seen anyone celebrate in "Sonic Boom." All throughout this review, I was tempted to refer to the episode as taking place on December 31st. But I guess there's no way to know when the "Boom" year ends and when it begins. If they don't know what Christmas is, they probably don't know what the Gregorian calendar is either. (Though they still play "Auld Lang Syne" and drop a big ball at midnight, so clearly this celebration has something in common with Earthly traditions.) This makes Cartoon Network's decision to air this episode in August – probably a result of "Boom" constantly having its schedule fucked with – a little less irksome to me. Only a little.  Anyway, overall, "New Year's Retribution" balances rapid-fire goofball sight gags with a little more character introspection, which is really the ideal place sitcoms like this need to operate. [7/10]

Sonic Prime, Episode 1.8: There’s No ARRGH in “Team”

Sonic Prime, Episode 1.8: There’s No ARRGH in “Team”

Original Release Date: December 15th, 2022

As the first half of “Sonic Prime’s” first season ends, the show only just now feels like it’s actually starting. Having traveled to the water-logged, pirate infested No Place zone, Rusty Rose and a submarine full of Eggforcers attacks Knuckles the Dread’s ship. After a drone scans Sonic’s magic shoes, the bad guys head off towards the Devil’s Lighthouse. Otherwise known as the latest Paradox Prism shard. Sonic manages to rally the pirates, including the reluctant captain, into taking chase after the villains. Lots of fighting and robot smashing ensues, as the good guys and the interdimensional invaders have a scuffle among the jagged rocks and water around the central plot device. 

As I've noted multiple times, "Sonic Prime" most excels at action sequences. Maybe the showrunners were aware of that too. Or maybe they just wanted to make the first batch of episodes ended on a fittingly action-packed note. Either way, "There's No ARRGH in Team" is composed almost entirely of action scenes. The entire last half has the heroes fighting off Rusty Rose and her army of Eggforcer robots. There's a pretty clever moment where Sonic uses his super speed and whatever random shit the crew has laying around to patch the hole the bad guys busted in the ship. Definitely my favorite action beat in the episode occurs halfway through, when Sonic uses his hovercraft shoes to pull the ship around the perilous rocks of the Devil's Lighthouse. This proceeds a moment so deliriously absurd that it made me laugh from sheer audacity. 

The episode is not purely action though. In a nice change of pace, some room is made for character development too. After Rusty and her robots fuck up his ship, Dread is ready to hightail it out of there. Sonic talks the pirate captain into coming back by appealing to that most masculine to tendencies: The need to look cool. He convinces the captain to come back by pointing out this adventure will finally provide a chance to conquer the Devil's Lighthouse. In a nice full circle touch, Sonic also has to be manipulated into helping later. His phobia of water makes him reluctant to skim over the ocean and tug the boat along. When his ability to go fast and win a race is questioned though, Sonic has no choice but to go along with the plan. Remember that, ladies: The masculine desire to appear tough, resourceful, successful, or macho can easily overpower our logical reasoning. 

Obviously, the most frustrating thing about "Sonic Prime" for me is that this series is just never going to develop the variants of Sonic's friends into distinct characters. Batton Rouge, Black Rose, and Sails are not personable people in their own right. They are closer to sight gags, jokey combinations of beloved, established players with pirate stereotypes. This makes something Knuckles the Dread does in the last act harder to justify. Upon getting close to the red Prism Shard, the treasure he's sought for so long, greed seemingly overwhelms him. Sonic has to struggle with him over it. 

I guess the idea is that pirates are, like dragons, naturally inclined towards hoarding treasure. Yet the lack of detailing that's been done with Dread – who is still the most fleshed out of this gang! – makes his actions seem like they come out of the blue. "Prime" seems to want to derive some easy shock value from Sonic's friends acting in non-heroic manners. Without some time being taken to make Dread, Rose Thorn, and Rusty more than just palette swipes of the good guys, these moments really are nothing but shock value. At the very least, Dread seems a little more reasonable than the Amy variants I mentioned. 

Looking back on this episode, and the seven before it, "Prime" really has missed big opportunity. Sonic has treated each alternate version of his friends that he's met essentially as if they are his friends. Even after learning that Nine is a grouchy loner, Thorn is a violent eco-extremist, and Dread is a cowardly pirate, the hedgehog still acts like they are his old buddies. This show needed more of a big part of the multiverse premise's appeal: People reacting with confusion to alternate versions of their friends and themselves. I mean, say what you will about the Marvel Cinematic Universe but they knew that you gotta have Good Doctor Strange fight an Evil Doctor Strange or there's no point in doing this whole thing. 

Since there's no other Sonics in the Shatter Spaces, and the Chaos Council have just now gained the ability to travel to other realities, "Prime" can finally get around to this stuff. When Rusty Rose first gets a peek at the pirate of herself, it short-circuits her programming for a second. Later, Black Rose and the cyborg do another double-take at each other. That's all this idea amounts to here but, hopefully, future episodes will do a little more with that idea. Will being around other, heroic Amy Roses cause Rusty Rose to rebel against her programming? Or will the contrast between an evil version of Amy and her better-intentioned counterparts simply be used for dramatic, ironic tension? It remains to be seen. 

The former seems likelier but I'm kind of hoping the latter holds true. If only because Rusty is the best villain this cartoon has right now. There's not much to her, other than being a super-strong killborg determined to fulfill Priority #1: Hedgehog. But throwing a Terminator into the mix always makes for a decent bad guy. The Chaos Council, meanwhile, still seem too jokey for me to take seriously as antagonists. In fact, this episode features the very first time those guys have done anything intimidating at all, in my eyes. After capturing Nine, Dr. Don't threatens to dismember the fox if he refuses to help them conquer the multiverse. See, that's some good villain-ing right there. Leave the hipster and baby jokes to the sideline. Let these guys actually be evil. 

For what it's worth, there's actually a handful of jokes here that actually made me chuckle. A moment where Sonic is unable to decipher Batton's thick pirate speak is a solid, if inevitable, joke. Dread's ship – named the Angel's Voyage, apparently – being held together with Christmas lights and inflatable dinghies isn't bad. Probably the best gag here is one that's quickly thrown away. As they the gang sails into battle, Sails the Fox climbs into the crow's nest and plays a heavy metal riff on Catfish's little pirate banjo. I actually chuckle at that one. 

Despite being a relatively sturdy episode of a show that's still trying to find its footing, "There's No ARRGH in Team" still left me unsatisfied. The final moments return to the Shadow subplot. This has got to be the lamest of "Prime's" story threads. Shadow is floating out there in the ether, angry at Sonic for reasons he refuses to elaborate on because it's more dramatic that way, and has basically only popped up before this point to remind the viewer that he still exists. Honestly, if this episode was the first time Shadow appeared on this show, that would've been a good cliffhanger. That might've made me excited to head into the next batch of "Prime" episodes. Instead, Shadow has periodically appeared to bark vague statement and trade fisticuffs with Sonic. I don't care. 

Looking back at "Prime's" first half-season, I can't help but be frustrated. It doesn't have the character-based writing and lovable cast of "SatAM." It doesn't have "Sonic X's" quirky perspective or space opera grandeur. It doesn't reinvent "Sonic" lore in interesting ways, like the movies do. It's not even as funny as "Boom" or as nice looking as the OVA. (I must concede that I like it better than "AoStH" and "Underground.") There's so much potential here and the staff seem determined to explore it in as shallow and short-sighted a way as possible. Certainly, it is still technically plausible that "Prime" will finally pull itself together eventually. Maybe that'll be the case when the next batch of episodes drop on Netflix in six months or whatever. As of now, I have to say that "Sonic Prime" ranks as a disappointment for me. [6.5/10]

Sonic Prime, Episode 1.7: It Takes One to No Place

Sonic Prime, Episode 1.7: It Takes One to No Place

Original Release Date: December 22nd, 2022

The penultimate episode of "Sonic Prime's" first half remains committed to the multiverse premise, even we left the stakes in a pretty raised place last time. While running towards Nine and the Chaos Council's ship, Sonic unintentionally zaps himself into another ShatterSpace. He drops into No Place, a world where Green Hill is submerged under water and pirates roam the endless sea. He's quickly picked up by Knuckles the Dread and his crew, a curiously carefree group of pirates. After deflecting an attack by Dread's old crew, Sonic learns that the pirate lost his fearsome reputation when he wrecked his ship searching for the Devil's Lighthouse: The red shard of the Paradox Prism. Sonic's quest to find the jewel is interrupted by a familiar face...

Since I'm nearly done with the first batch of "Prime" episodes, I think I've determined when this show works and when it doesn't. The dimension hopping premise means it's hard to ever build up much familiarity with the cast or generate forward momentum with the story. Yet there's fun to be had in dropping Sonic into another colorful setting each week, populated with wacky variations on his old friends. Just seeing the traditional "Sonic" cast mashed up with the pirate premise in this episode provides some entertainment. Knuckles as a goofy pirate that has lost his mojo, with his beleaguered crew made up of other "Sonic" cast members, is an amusing enough idea on its own. 

If this show was more episodic and just focused on Sonic leaping around various zones, aligned by the goal of him collecting all of the shards, it would be a lot better. It's fun to imagine various archetypal settings Knuckles, Tails, Amy and Rouge could be slotted into. My brain immediately goes to gothic horror, steampunk, and superheroes as three that could easily work. And there's literally a hundred more you could think of. That was the fun of Archie's old multiverse and a whole show loosely inspired by that idea could be laidback entertainment. Jumping back and forth between that set-up and a serialized story, where we are expected to care about things like character development and an on-going narrative, is why this show feels so half-formed to me. "Prime" needs to play to its strengths.

Focusing on the latter is probably why I enjoyed "It Tales One to No Place" the most of any of this show's episodes so far. Knuckles and the crew as fearsome pirates is a cute idea by itself. This one further twists things by making Knuckles the Dread the wimpiest pirate you can imagine. He likes to throw parties every day, singing and dancing and tossing confetti into the air like the high-seas version of Rip Taylor. He hides when his old crew appears to ransack his ship. His partners are exhausted by the constantly carefree lifestyle and eager to do actual pirate shit. It's a twofold subversion. We expect pirates to be fearsome and Knuckles is fearsome too, despite being a big softy on the inside. Dread is a character that nicely defies both those expectations. 

Also helping this episode is its status as maybe the best animated installment of "Prime's" run so far. I was worried at first, as Sonic emerging from the water makes him look like wet latex. I also can't say the other original designs seen in this episode – limited to Dread's former crew, one of which is voiced by a prominent YouTuber for some reason – are all that memorable. Yet the fight scene that follows, where Sonic is leaping around the ship and floating on the water on his hovercraft shoes, is neat. Mostly, it’s the flashback to Dread’s attempt to take the red shard that looks really good. The water effects are much stronger in this scene and the stormy night lighting is quite atmospheric. 

This is not the only animated highlight of the episode. Upon meeting Dread, Sonic recalls the first time he met his reality’s Knuckles. As in the flashback with Tails in the first episode, this scene is done in Sega Genesis style 16-bit graphics. This one is also directly based on the boss battle between Sonic and Knuckles in the Hidden Palace Zone in “Sonic & Knuckles.” It even uses the music! While I supposed an animation style like this would wear out its novelty quickly, an old school Sega nerd like me still really gets a kick out of these moments. I would probably love an entire series that looked like this. (Though if the events of "Sonic & Knuckles" are more-or-less canon to "Prime," it really makes me wonder what the status of the Master Emerald is and why Knuckles hasn't been on Angel Island at any point throughout this show.)

While the exact circumstances surrounding what's happening with Shadow still aren’t totally clear, this episode does provide a little more insight into what’s happening there. Turns out, Shadow Chaos Controlled the minute the Paradox Prism shattered and Sonic was caught up in the big dimensional wave. This seems to explain why the so-called ultimate lifeform is blipping in and out of realities here. What purpose this will serve in the story, I still don't know. Seems like Shadow appears when he needs to say something mysterious, to trick the viewer into thinking the overarching narrative here actually has some greater purpose. But at least we have an explanation of sorts now. 

Like every episode of "Prime," this one also ends with an action-packed cliffhanger that promises to open the next installment on a big fight scene. At least the story, as it is, seems to be moving towards something of a climax for the Season One, Part One finale. (Or whatever you want to call it.) A solid episode like this really throws my issues and criticisms with "Prime" overall into sharper detail. The chance for "Prime" to be a satisfying overall experience, at least in this first collection of episodes, has passed. Yet I can still enjoy a goofy time with some silly pirates. [7/10]

Sonic Prime, Episode 1.6: Situation: Grim

Sonic Prime, Episode 1.6: Situation: Grim

Original Release Date: December 15th, 2022

At the end of “Barking Up the Wrong Tree,” Sonic was launched back into New Yolk City and into the middle of a fight between the Resistance and the Chaos Council’s forces. He’s quickly informed that he’s been gone several weeks. In that time, the Resistance has grown into a proper army, waging a full-on guerrilla war against the doctors. The blue hedgehog also learns that Nine disappeared with the Prism Shard moments after it teleported him away. Nine makes a dramatic reappearance, in an aircraft he’s built around the shard that can travel between dimensions. Sonic has to talk him into staying and fighting, which unfortunately hands the Eggmen their most dangerous weapon yet. 

When it seemed like “Prime” was finally finding its rhythm with me, the show immediately swings back into being frustrating. “Situation: Grim” suggests a much more interesting show was going on in-between episodes. Instead of showing us the Resistance fighting an underground war against the Chaos Council’s oppressive regime, it’s all explained to us during a montage. We even learn, early on, that Rusty Rose has been a sleeper agent for the bad guys this whole time, having reverted back to her original programing shortly after the last time we saw her. Imagine the suspense that could’ve been built by that idea, wondering when the heroes will discover the traitor in their midst or if she’ll accidentally reveal herself. It seems like this show’s commitment to the multiverse premise has really kept it from developing the good ideas already available to it. 

The relationship between Sonic and Nine seems to be the sole cornel of heart “Prime” really has. Before the program can get to that, it has to explain a bunch of shit. When the cyborg fox appears in his ship – an ugly, industrial piece of machinery that isn’t anywhere near as appealing as the Tornado – he plucks Sonic up and drops a heaping load of exposition on the viewer. A whole row of phrases, like Shatter Space (Nine’s term for the different dimensions) and Shatter-Verse (Nine’s term for the space between worlds), are quickly explained. The fox has discovered a totally empty world he calls the Grim and it's further confirmed that Sonic’s shoes change properties every time he lands in a new world.

It’s simple to understand, if you’ve ever seen another multiverse story before this one, but it still takes precious time away from what might’ve made this a good episode. Nine sees the emptiness of the Grim as a chance to start over, to build the idyllic home he was denied. Sonic, however, is eager to return to New Yolk City and help the rebels fight their battle. This shows a pretty interesting divide between the two characters. Nine is a nihilist, who thinks things are too bad to fix. Clean-slating everything and starting over is the only chance for peace. Sonic, however, always believes that there’s something to fight for. That, as long as you’ve got friends, a situation can be improved. 

It’s an interesting idea… Which mean it’s one that the show clearly doesn’t have time for. Nine sends Sonic back to the city so that he can continue the fight. A few minutes later, the fox returns in his spaceship and joins the battle. What made him change his mind? I don’t know! There’s a brief line of dialogue between Sonic and Nine where the fox makes it clear he’s returning to the Grim after this battle is over. And that’s it as far as justification goes. It seems clear to me that the writers painted themselves into a corner, with the Resistance being crushed by the Chaos Council’s power, and a saving throw from Nine was the only logical way out of it… It’s just that this, once again, pushes the character development off-screen. 

At this point, I can only conclude that the makers of “Prime” don’t care that much about character development or shit like that. Once again, the only thing this show really excels at are the action sequences. Don’t get me wrong, some of these are fun. Knuckles spindashing through a horde of machines or Sonic bouncing across several Eggforcer robots, in a manner that should be familiar to fans of the game, are entertaining sights. Yet it’s hard to be too invested in the butt-kicking when the people involved are kept at a distance like this. The episode devoted several minutes to the Chaos Council’s fortress transforming into some sort of flying saucer. It seems to consider shit like that more important than whether we care about any of these characters. 

And one more thing about the Chaos Council… I had assumed these guys where aware of the alternate universes. That they were a bunch of different Eggmen from across multiple worlds, who pooled their resources together to totally conquer one dimension. Basically, an interdimensional alliance of Eggmen coming together to do what none of them could alone.  Instead, this episode makes it clear that these guys were not aware of the Shatter Spaces before this moment. So… What are the Council of Chaos then? Are they a family? Is Dr. Done-It the grandfather? Is Dr. Babble the child of one of them? Does that mean Eggman fucks? Or are they all brothers in a very long-lasting lineage? Identical cousins? I can only conclude that it’s something like this, though the fact that they talk to each other more like co-workers than family members further muddies things. 

I’m nearly done with the first batch of “Prime” episodes and the show still feels frustratingly half-formed to me. Any time there’s a nugget of something genuinely compelling here, the show barrels ahead onto something else. Even some of the central parts of its zone-hopping premise that it’s married to remain frustratingly underexplained. Am I the pretentious one here, with unrealistic expectations for a children’s show? Has years of reading the comics, which have the time to explore things more, ruined me for TV? Those are questions for you to answer, not me. As for “Situation: Grim,” it’s another episode that snatches victory away from itself at every turn. [5/10]

Sonic Prime, Episode 1.5: Barking Up the Wrong Tree

Sonic Prime, Episode 1.5: Barking Up the Wrong Tree

Original Release Date: December 15th, 2022

Picking up where “Sonic Prime” left off, “Barking Up the Wrong Tree” begins with Thorn and Sonic battling it out. Now gifted with the ability to grown huge trees whenever she wants, thanks to the Prism Shard bonding to her hammer, Thorn goes about her quest of restoring the forest. Through this conflict, Sonic learns how the Scavenger and Rose first went from friends to enemies and how she turned so suddenly on them. Sonic helps them talk it out, after the required amount of fighting and arguing. Yet Sonic’s multiversal adventures are far from over… 

They say that “power corrupts” and everything I’ve learned about human nature and history has taught me this is true. Yet it still amuses me that, the minute Thorn Rose develops a new ability, she immediately goes full supervillain. She does everything but cackle wickedly while running through the forest and spouting new trees wherever she wants. Her laser-focused intensity on this one goal, of protecting Nan's restoring trees, really makes her look like a total fanatic that was just waiting for an excuse to go nuts like this. 

This is questionable writing, which is not helped by the general rushed, shallow quality of the scripts here. (Rose keeps referencing protecting "The Green," like she's Swamp Thing or some shit, and what this means exactly is kept frustratingly vague.) Yet it does lead to some fun action sequences. Thorn's ability to instantly generate an obstacle in his path is a good way to counter Sonic's speed. Scenes of him getting tossed into the air by a tree sprouting under his feet or being imprisoned in a circle of roots are clever. Inventively designed action sequences continue to be the main draw of "Sonic Prime."

"Barking Up the Wrong Tree" does represent the closest "Prime" has come thus far to really winning me over. After a brief refresher of last episode's cliffhanger, Sonic recalls a memory. Playing out as a flashback, we see a time Amy threw a party for the hedgehog. A palm tree becomes a symbol of all the memories of good times he's had with his friends. Of the connection he's made with this found family. It's a little goofy and heavy handed but it's still the closest the show has come yet to actually making me feel anything for these characters. Sonic loves his friends. Seeing incredibly strange, mixed-up versions of them causes him distress and he's eager to get back to his home dimension. It really shouldn't have taken until the fifth episode to get to this point but, well, here we are. 

The power of friendship will be, I suspect, the primary moral of this series. Amy Rose's hammer swinging abilities may be her flashiest superpower but her role as the feeling, empathetic center of five-man band is her greatest attribute. As a further example of how much his friends mean to him, of how much he's learned from them, he uses an Amy style powwow to talk out the problems Rose Thorn has with the Scavengers. Their conflict is founded in understandable feelings, that where just taken too far in the heat of the moment. It's a win for conversational de-escalation. I even like how Sonic admits that Amy's method is a lot harder than it looks. 

It's a good ending but it's also one that feels a little rushed. After fifteen minutes of running and fighting and arguing, Sonic resolves all of the problems between Thorn and the Scavengers within a few minutes. The moment where Thorn collapses to the ground, realizing her campaign has gone too far, definitely feels like it comes out of nowhere. Yet the writer's heart is in the right place. I continue to like how Thorn's issues with the others stems from environmental concerns, from human nature's tendency to take more than we need. Always good when the "Sonic" writers remember this franchise's "Save the Rainforest" roots. 

Another reason why that emotional climax seems rushed is because the show still has more stuff to do afterwards. Sonic still has to race off and find the Paradox Prism shard. He has to have a vague vision of Shadow, who seems to be stuck in the spaces between dimensions, and he has to get launched back to the New Yolk City setting we just left. I guess it's fitting that a "Sonic" cartoon just can't slow down and is always running forward. Yet "Prime" continues to be frustratingly premise-driven, even in an episode like this that actually takes a little time for the characters. 

The comic relief continues to suck ass too. There's way too many jokes about eating tree bark here. A moment of Sonic pantomiming a conversation with hand puppets is almost unbearable. Big the Cat's role in the flashback made me roll my eyes. I did like a joke about Mangy attempting to speak though. And Sonic's love of chili dogs being a universal constant. More shit like that. Less jokes built around people acting like dumb-asses for no reason. 

If "Sonic Prime" had this balance, of action, character development, and plot from the beginning, my reaction would've been "Hey, this might turn into a good show eventually." Instead, we're more than half-way through the first batch of episodes and "Prime" is only now getting here. It makes me pessimistic that this show will ever find a satisfying balance. Yet, for the time being, "Barking Up the Wrong Tree" is my favorite episode of this program. [6.5/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island: Issue 4

Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island: Issue 4

Publication Date: January 18th, 2023

This is how good the last issue of IDW's "Sonic" miniseries, "Scrapnik Island," is: It honestly made me forget about issue 56 of the main series, a comic I actually really liked! I'm sitting here, reading the conclusion of "Scrapnik Island," and thinking "Damn, IDW "Sonic" is off to a hell of a start this year!" Totally slipped my mind that this is actually the second "Sonic" comic published this year. I guess it's just the inevitable effect of a supernova blocking out the light of another star, even if that other star shines brightly on its own. Ya get what I'm saying here? This is a good comic book! 

We begin with Sonic strapped to a table while the Scrapnik Mecha Sonic monologue about his villainous plan. The device is tied to Sonic's head, another Eggman cast-off, will transfer Mecha's consciousness into Sonic's body. This, the robot believes, will allow him to escape the island. The other Scrapniks interrupt the process and destroy the machine... But not before Sonic and Mecha's minds are linked. They hear each other's thoughts as they fight through the enormous furnace inside the Death Egg. And this also provides Sonic with some insight into his enemy's thought process and motivation. 

All along, I've said that "Scrapnik Island" is the closest thing to a pure "Sonic" horror comic we've ever gotten. The monster movie ambiance have definitely come and gone throughout the mini-series. They are mostly absent in this final installment... Except for one element, early on. When Mecha Sonic is pontificating about his evil plan, he does so next to a big switch on the wall. When the time comes to activate the machine, he cranks that switch and sparks fly through the air. Ah, now those are some delightful mad scientist movie vibes! We just need some lightning strikes and a flickering Jacob's Ladder to really make the atmosphere complete. I'm a Frankenstein nerd. I appreciate these things. 

Those fall to the side soon enough but I don't mind it, as this issue is very focused on something else. As Mecha Sonic and his organic double battle it out, our hedgehog hero gets a peek at his opponent's inner thoughts. It seems that super villain verbosity rubs off on Sonic too, as he's thinking thoughts about "This anger... This sadness..." Sonic soon hears the robot thinking about pain, about being abandoned. After a big fight scene, Mecha Sonic lands in a pile of rubbish careening towards a fiery incinerator. He bemoans to Sonic that this is what he deserves, as he has failed in all his programmed endeavors. He failed to stop Sonic for Eggman and he failed to protect the Scrapniks for Sigma. In that moment, the villain considers himself "trash" and even envies Sonic's freedom from doubts like this. 

I can't help but relate to this. I don't know about you guys but I live every day of my life with what my therapist calls "intrusive thoughts." It's part of my OCD or depression or PTSD or some other undiagnosed condition with a D in it. I frequently have to fight back thoughts that I'm a failure, that I'm never going to achieve my goals, and that I should just give up and settle into being a useless piece-of-shit my whole life. It's only been the recent addition of medication that these thoughts have started to become more manageable and not cause me daily distress. Don't freak out about it in the comments. It's just my life.

So, yes, cartoon robot version of a cartoon hedgehog, I know what it's like to feel like trash. And this is where the most poignant moment of "Scrapnik Island" emerges. This is, after all, a comic about discarded robots bonding together and being rebuilt into functioning units again, with no defined purpose beyond just living their lives. This is a story about those deemed "trash" coming together to form a community, to be independent. The image of Mecha Sonic spiraling towards a "Toy Story 3" fire pit, consigning himself to the scrap pile to be melted into slag, literalizes the feeling of giving into depression and sinking into non-existence. 

Sonic, of course, does not take this for an answer. He tells him to “cut the crap,” the most mild of swears that was still enough to scandalize some poor delicate souls on Twitter. The hedgehog declares to Mecha Sonic that the individual gives himself meaning, that self-determination makes life worth living. That nobody – yourself included – can call you trash. He reaches out a hand and grabs a hold of Mecha. This alone might've been touching enough but Sonic has officially shattered his ankle at this point. It's only when Tails and the other Scrapniks appear that the two hedgehogs, one flesh-and-blood and the other steel and circuitry, are pulled from their impending doom. 

This moment could have been another example of this franchise's favorite moral, one that is so common in kid's media, about the power of friendship. Yet “Scrapnik Island” actually takes this one step further, into something almost profound. The other Scrapniks surround Mecha and comfort him. The robot looks at his own hands, under his own control. He acknowledges that life is full of uncertainty and that it can be scary, but those that you love and that love you in return keep you going forward. This is true, in my experience. My girlfriend, my mom, and my closest friends are the people that help me through the pain of existence. 

This moment is summarized by two panels that might've been sappy or unearned in your typical “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic book. Sonic actually cries. I guess the comic got around Sega's rule of Sonic never showing serious emotions because the tears are result of what Mecha is feeling in that moment, of the still lingering psychic bond between them. Instead of the sunflower Mecha was protecting being a plot device, it thankfully remains a symbol of the robot's evolution that is pinpointed in the final panels. This comic earns the emotions necessary to make these moments soar. 

The last issue of “Scrapnik Island” does all this and still fits in Sonic being a bad-ass. After the other Scrapniks wreck Mecha's machine and piss him off, the two launch into a big elaborate action sequence. Despite having the hedgehog equivalent of the Boot on his shattered, pained ankle, Sonic goes superspeed while fighting with Mecha. He pushes pass his limits and slams broken foot right over Mecha's head, busting the cast open in the process. This is a classically awesome Sonic moment, of the hedgehog's boundless determination pushing him to new levels of badassery. It's what we want to see our little blue boy do.

At this point, it almost goes without saying that issue 4 of “Scrapnik Island” is also gorgeous looking. Jack Lawrence's action sequences are vibrant and animated. He packs so much emotion into the characters' faces, making the heaviest moments in this comic hit the hardest. The little beads of sweat on Sonic's face as he runs, signaling his pain, or just the way Mecha tilts his head says so much. The panel where an enraged Mecha threatens to crush the other Scrapniks is fantastically intense. Nathalie Fourdraine's colors continue to be the real star of this mini-series. Shading makes every moment pop. Whether it's the shadows of Mecha's lab, the blue glow of his electric experiment, or the orange heat of the incinerator room, it all invokes the correct feelings in the reader. It looks perfect.

“Scrapnik Island,” with its presence of multiple old school Sega enemies or a climax obviously inspired by the OVA, could have just been an act of nerdy homage for us “Sonic” dweebs. Instead, Daniel Barnes and his team made this a wonderfully immersive series full of surprises and emotion. “Scrapnik Island” isn't just my new favorite IDW “Sonic” mini-series. It's not just the best IDW “Sonic” comic thus far. It might be the best “Sonic” story I've ever read, period. I sincerely hope Sega or whoever allows Mecha Sonic and Mecha Knuckles, both of whom get a big send-off here, to return in future stories. Moreover, I especially hope Daniel Barnes gets to write more IDW “Sonic” stuff. I loved this entire story arc and this final issue especially. Consider this one of the few straight-up raves I've ever written for this blog. [9/10]

Sonic Prime, Episode 1.4: Unwelcome to the Jungle

Sonic Prime, Episode 1.4: Unwelcome to the Jungle

Original Release Date: December 15th, 2022

Just when we were getting used to the dystopian New Yolk Coty setting, the fourth episode of "Sonic Prime" literally drops the hedgehog into another alternate zone. In "Unwelcome to the Jungle," our speedy hero arrives in a version of Green Hills overgrown with massive trees. He soon meets versions of Rouge, Knuckles, Tails, and Big who have been reduced to primitive savages. They are practically starving to death as a monster, deep in the jungle, keeps them foraging for food. Sonic agrees to help the so-called Scavengers against this monster, in exchange for helping him find the next shard of the Paradox Prism. The monster, predictably, is not exactly what he was expecting. 

Four episodes into "Sonic Prime" and I think I've figured this show out. "Prime" is all about throwing wacky variations on Sonic's friends at us, within archetypal settings. The previous episodes, further burdened by establishing the show's premise, dropped Sonic into a dystopian city with dark, cyberpunk versions of his friend. This episode, presumably the start of a second arc, introduces caveman-like riffs on the gang, living in a similarly bleak but slightly more colorful jungle setting. (Given the very game level-like name of Boscage Maze.) 

I can speculate on why Sega, WildBrains, and Man of Action would go in this direction for a "Sonic" cartoon. It's a premise that demands familiarity with the video games. We can't experience the fun of seeing riffs on the "Sonic" gang unless we've already played the games they appear in. Meaning there's no risk of "Prime" ever outshining the product it's ostensibly meant to promote. Even more cynically, this premise allows countless opportunities to introduce new riffs on fan-favorite characters that Sega can then sell toys or mobile game skins of. Even Sonic, the one consistent cast member, gets a Jungle Tracker Batman style update in this episode. His footwear mysteriously gains a jungle camo color scheme and he can now sprout Wolverine style claws from his gloves. How very toyetic. 

Essentially, this means "Sonic Prime" is all gimmick and no heart. Given the speedy, action-centric pace of this show, it seems unlikely to me that we'll be getting to know any of these new action figures​ variants very well. "Prime" is, seemingly, just about the fun of mashing up the "Sonic" supporting cast with easily understood ideas like cyberpunk or the Savage Land. This is frustrating, as it's going to keep the show from ever being character driven or emotionally compelling. But it's not fair to criticize a program for what it isn't. Okay, "Prime" is about Sega Sonic leaping through the modern equivalent of the old Archie "Sonic" multiverse. Alright, let's see if the show succeeds at making that idea fun. 

If nothing else, the Boscage Maze is a better Planet of Hats than the dystopian New Yolk City. We've already seen Sonic and the gang as freedom fighters, waging a guerrilla war against Robotnik and his grim, industrial city. They made a whole cartoon about that, if you haven't heard. The jungle premise, filled with primitive Stone Age takes on the gang, has more novelty than that. I'm especially amused by "Mangey," this zone's Tails who is a feral, dog-like wild child. Seeing Tails snarl at people or scratch his ear with his hind leg made me chuckle. 

It becomes obvious quickly that this "monster" is actually Thorn Rose, a very pissed off take on Amy who wields a huge stone hammer and rides around on a Phorusrhacidae inspired giant pink Flicky. This show is really going to exploit the idea of turning Amy Rose into a hardened bad-ass, isn't it? Prim, Gnarly, and Hangry don't seem too different from normal Rouge, Knuckles, or Big. Though the desperate setting has made them all a little grouchier and unhinged. I like Gnarly replicating Knuckles' fist spikes with big-ass thorns. I wonder if we'll get a Witch Doctor Eggman or if "Prime" will launch off for the high seas before we get there. 

If nothing else, a jungle setting does allow "Sonic Prime" to touch upon this franchise's long-ignored ecological themes. During Sonic's first battle with Thorn Rose, he knocks an innocent little Flicky into some quicksand. He quickly picks the bird up, dusts it off, and sets it free. This proceeds Thorn explaining her rage at the Scavengers: She says they only take and consume without caring for the natural world at all. She motions to a collection of tree stumps, evident of deforestation attempts one assumes, as evident of this. It seems Thorn speaks for the trees and doesn't like it when anyone harms the ecosystem. I always get a kick out of later "Sonic" iterations remembering the tree-hugger roots of this franchise. 

It remains to be seen if "Prime" will go anywhere with this idea. Rose is, after all, the antagonist of this episode. She seems a little unhinged and the final seconds here promises another rumble between her and Sonic next time. I guess that's to be expected from a show that clearly prioritizes action. The fight scenes admittedly aren't as cool here as in the previous three episodes. Sonic getting hammered around the woods is a gag that gets old. Only the scenes where he uses the claws in his gloves and shoes are really innovative. The character animation seems a little looser in general here. Something about the way this show animates Big's face really doesn't sit well with me. 

I'm trying to make peace with what "Sonic Prime" is but the comic relief still bugs me. Turning Sonic's friends into jungle-dwelling lunatics produces one or two decent gags. I like Gnarly, who has an almost Jack Nicholson-esque quality to his voice, getting defensive about his "home." (A lean-to made of some leaves.) Yet the extend scenes of these guys fighting over an octahedron shaped strawberry wear out their welcome quickly. It gets eaten by a Froggy lookalike eventually and I couldn't help but wonder why the Scavengers just didn't try and eat the frog instead. I wish we had more scenes of Sonic figuring out how to use his other senses to fight an enemy in a dense jungle setting, rather than get more moments of him hugging confused people or dropping underwhelming wisecracks. 

I'm still grappling with what "Sonic Prime" is and whether it appeals to me at all. "Unwelcome to the Jungle" does feel a little sturdier than the last three episodes, if only becomes the alternate universe concept is established by now and it doesn't derail the narrative flow by leaping around in time. I guess we'll see if the next few episodes do more with this jungle-dwelling crew or if they'll just remain amusing ideas that never become fully intriguing characters. [6/10]

Sonic Prime, Episode 1.3: Escape from New Yoke

Sonic Prime, Episode 1.3: Escape from New Yoke

Original Release Date: December 15th, 2022

The third episode of "Sonic Prime" does not immediately pick up with the cliffhanger we were left on last time. It flashes back to Green Hill Zone, before the Paradox Prism was shattered. This leads to further scenes of Shadow being grouchy before we return to New Yoke City. Nine manages to reprogram Rusty Rose before she crushes Sonic. Immediately, Sonic and the others get to work fighting their way through the Chaos Council’s defense as they approach the Paradox Prism deep within the forest… Or a shard of it anyway, as Sonic uncovers that he’s more responsible for the shattering dimensions than his enemy is. 

There’s a moment in “Escape from New Yoke,” after Sonic and these edgy versions of his old pals escape the room they were trapped in. The group is strutting down a hallway, with lots of fancy editing and slow motion emphasizing the heroes walking together as a group. It seems to be “Sonic Prime” saying to its viewer: The wait is over! The band is back together! The gang is all here! Avengers assembled! It’s suppose to be a big fan pleasing moment. 

Yet there’s an obvious problem here: We don’t actually know who these characters are. Okay, yes, we know who Amy and Knuckles and the rest are. Yet these specific versions of Sonic’s friends remain thinly sketched archetypes at best. We don’t know why the New Yolk version of Amy is a cyborg under control of the Eggmen. We don’t even know what Route and Knuckles’ underground resistance is fighting for exactly, outside of some vague notion of restoring freedom. It really seems to me that “Prime” is counting entirely on the audience’s built-in fondness for Sonic’s supporting cast to do a lot of the heavy lifting here. 

What’s most frustrating about this approach is that the script itself acknowledges that these characters are totally different from Sonic’s friends as he knows them. There’s a scene where he introduces each member of the squad under the persona he’s familiar with, only for each one to correct. This isn’t happy-go-lucky Amy Rose but grim, robotic Rusty Rose. Rebel and Knucks, not Rouge and Knuckles. A better strategy than randomly introducing these alternate versions of familiar characters, and running headlong into the action scenes, would’ve been… Ya know… Actually taking some time to get us invested in these guys.

That’s the sad facts of the case here: I don’t really care about these characters, not yet anyway. We’ve learned a bit about Nine, and his background was intriguing, but he’s still kind of a prickly jerk to everyone. Rusty Rose, being a cold and logical cyborg, is almost designed to be free of personality. All it takes to flip her from evil to good is Nine reprogramming her, which really emphasizes that there’s not much depth to her. I like what I’ve seen of Rouge and Knuckles, or Rebel and Knocks’ rather, banter. Yet there’s almost none of that here. 

In addition to making it hard to be invested in the story, the characters being so vague makes it hard to care about the outcome of the action scenes. And that's a major issue, as "Escape from New Yolk" is almost entirely made up of action scenes. It's one elaborate scrap after another. The heroes fight off the robots in the laboratory before being chased down a spiraling staircase. Dr. Deep – otherwise known as Hipster Eggman – slips on a samurai inspired robotic armor and leads another squadron of robots after the gang. There's even a chase around the building between Sonic and Dr. Babbles. (That's Baby Eggman.)

It's not that I can't enjoy these scenes on a surface level. They are well animated and cool to watch. The fight in the staircase, that has Sonic and the gang leaping up and down the various levels, is very well orchestrated. The animators clearly had fun with Rusty Rose's telescoping robot limbs, engineering a number of neat action beats around them. But it's hard to be too engrossed in any of this when we barely know the people doing the fighting. What is Dr. Deep's deal? Why does he put on a samurai-inspired armor? What are these people fighting? Why does any of this matter? And it doesn't help that the good guys don't seem to struggle much with the endless supplies of robotic mooks they have to fight off. Nine shoots a few over his shoulder without even looking. 

Three episodes into “Sonic Prime” and I can’t escape this feeling that the show’s priorities are all mixed-up. You see that in the show’s continued focus on an oblong story structure. What is the point of the opening flashback here? It shows the tail end of Sonic’s fight with Shadow, the so-called ultimate lifeform racing off in pursuit of his blue counterpart. It shows Sonic’s friends fighting Badniks and being annoyed that their hero is late. Other than that, this clip of the "Before Prism Shatter" dimension doesn't really establish much. It's almost as if "Prime" wants to tease fans by giving us these little tastes of "normal" Sonic content before racing back to the alternate universe shenanigans the show is actually about. 

The only hints at a deeper personality we get for the supporting cast come through in frankly intrusive comedy. The old man Eggman – I think he's called Dr. Done-It – hobbled after his counterparts. Dr. Deep does a dance number as he puts in his armor, to the annoyance of the other villains. Sonic's enthusiasm annoys the grimdark heroes. All of this stuff feels like a desperate attempt to distract us from how shallow everything feels. Only two jokes made me laugh here. That would be everyone having the duck under a giant laser as it continues to rotate around the room and Nine's exasperated reaction to a comment Sonic makes. Otherwise, the gags here are lame and distracting. 

What's especially irritating about the mood-pausing jokes and one-liners is that... I think "Sonic Prime" wants to be a serious TV show. In the last third, Sonic finally reaches the Paradox Prism only to see that it's a shard, not a full crystal. He regains his memory of the universe shattering event and realizes he's responsible. Sonic shattering the Prism is what caused all these alternate universes. Now, he's determined to fix this and put everything back to how it was. This is presumably what the "journey of self-discovery and redemption" line in the Netflix plot synopsis was about. 

That's what driving Sonic in this narrative: A desire to bring back the friends he knows and loves and undo the mess he caused. This episode ends with him grabbing the shard and presumably getting zapped to another alternate universe. Does that mean this is the last we've seen of the New Yolk City heroes? Is the crumbs of characterization we've gotten for them all we're going to get? Leaping through "zones" to grab shards of a bigger plot device is very much in-keeping with the "Sonic" video games... But that's a gameplay device, not a narrative one. If every dimension Sonic visits is just going to be a short trip, we probably won't get a chance to familiarize ourselves with any of these mixed-up cast members. 

Three episodes into "Sonic Prime" and I'm still feeling the frustration I felt in the debut. There's certainly still time for the show to establish itself yet, considering there's only eight episodes in the first half of this season, time is running out for this show to get its grounding. "Sonic Prime" looks cool and has its fair share of interesting idea but the entire affair has been seriously lacking in heart so far. [5/10]