Sonic Boom, Episode 1.44: It Wasn’t Me, It Was the One-Armed Hedgehog

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.44: It Wasn’t Me, It Was the One-Armed Hedgehog

Original Air Date: August 30th, 2015

While dusting his evil lair, Eggman is aghast to see that his particle accelerator has been stolen. He immediately calls in the cops, who uncover the remains of chili dogs and shoe prints that perfectly match Sonic's feet. The hedgehog is accused of the crime, causing him to flee town. The townfolks form a posse, with Knuckles leading it, to track him. Sonic, living under an assumed life as a humble crate stacker named "Bob," seeks to find the real bandit and clear his name. The crook turns out to be a familiar face, at least to fans of the "Sonic" franchise. 

In the annals of classic action/adventure storylines, there aren't too many more common than the hero being framed for a crime he didn't commit, causing him to go on the run and seek out the real perpetrator. I think just about every superhero comic in existence has done this one before. The responsible party almost always turns out to be a villain, often one specifically created to copy the good guy's appearance. This is, in fact, the entire modus operandi of baddies like Reverse Flash. Sometimes, a whole series based itself around this "wrongfully accused man runs from the law" premise, such as "The Fugitive." (The inspiration for this episode's title, which otherwise makes little sense.) Alfred Hitchcock called it "The Wrong Man" trope and it was the basis for several of his films. 

This is such a common premise that the "Sonic" franchise has, in fact, done it multiple times in the past. It was the set-up for Archie's Endgame story arc and the starting point of "Sonic Adventure 2's" narrative, though both stories quickly rambled off to other plot points. Maybe that's because the idea has its limitations. Yes, the hero having to run from the law, to clear his name and find the real evildoer, is dramatic. The trust his friends have in him being shattered, and those that supported him turning against him, is a juicy development. Yet it also makes everyone around the good guy look like easily swindled fools. Obviously, it would be out-of-character for a superhero to just break the law like that. It also strains believability that all his friends would turn on him so easily. The reader, of course, knows the protagonist is innocent, making the drawn-out development of uncovering the real culprit tedious after a while. "Sonic Boom" squeezes the entire story into eleven minutes and that's about as far as it could have taken it. 

"Boom" is obviously a farce, allowing it to get away with some of the more irregular elements of this stock story type. Noted supervillain Dr. Eggman working with the police is ridiculous, from the get-go. The set-up is utilized for silly gags, like extremely incriminating evidence against Sonic being right in the open. The episode avoids the awkwardness of Sonic's friends turning on him by... Just not featuring them. We never see what Tails, Amy, or Sticks think of this. The only member of Team Sonic featured in this episode is Knuckles, who is enough of a goofball that it's to imagine him getting caught up in a panic like this. And even he is actually covering for his friend. Yes, this deception is so easily seen through that even Knuckles doesn't buy it. 

Instead, the focus is on the citizens of the village, who the show continues to depict as the most gullible and easily swayed group of maroons possible. How many times have they turned on Sonic and/or his friends? Honestly, makes you wonder why Sonic protects them all the time. But I guess that's what heroes do. This is probably why a small portion of this episode focuses on Sonic, in the persona of "Bob," seeking to help an accident-prone co-worker of his. That points towards the "Fugitive" inspiration some more, as that show was all about the hero helping random folks as he fled from town to town, in pursuit of the One-Armed Man. That subplot is fairly disposable though, making this short episode feel a bit padded out.  

Who is it impersonating Sonic? Obviously, Eggman is behind the deception but the actual doppelgänger's identity did catch me off-guard. The "Sonic" franchise features multiple evil lookalikes of the hero but "Boom" rarely delves into the extended cast, so the sudden appearance of a regular cast member from the games surprised me. Spoiler alert for a seven-year-old cartoon: "Boom" randomly introduces Metal Sonic in this episode with zero foreshadowing. Sonic acts like he's an old adversary too, really making this reveal come out of nowhere. Admittedly, it's a neat answer to the mystery here.

I have no doubt that Metal Sonic fans were pleased with his guest role here. The robot does not get "Boom"-ified in appearance or personality, looking and acting how we'd expect. He is generally silent and intimidating. Yet the showdown he has with Sonic has to be among the most underwhelming fight scenes in a show notorious for its underwhelming fight scenes. Metal sluggishly floats around, slowly shooting laser blast out of his chest. Sonic, in slow-mo, runs around and avoids the attacks. As far as a showdown between two characters known for their speed, this does not display much frantic speediness. It's less Stardust Speedway and more "Sonic's Schoolhouse." 

Then again, "Boom" is not really an action show. The jokes are the main appeal here. Since this is a Reid Harrison episode, the script is packed full of snarky dialogue and absurd comic set pieces. Some of these work really well. The opening musical number from Eggman delighted me. As did the truly random segment of Orbot leading a group of tourists through the evil lair, like it was a theme park or something. Knuckles' buffoonery leads to a few amusing bits, involving doors, spit-covered sticks, baskets, quick-sand, and an amusing shout-out to "Jaws."

Overall though, this episode does suffer a bit from sitcom-itis, in terms of all its dialogue being snappy comebacks. An exchange Sonic has with the doctor helping his co-worker definitely feels unnecessarily sarcastic. Some of the running gags are a bit belabored as well. Such as a crowd repeatedly gasping in shock or the reoccurring appearance of horse shoes knocking someone in the head. Those are the kind of gags you can only really do once and, instead, this one runs them into the ground. 

"It Wasn't Me, It was the One-Armed Hedgehog" – is that seriously the best title they could come up with? – definitely ranks as mid-tier "Boom." It has enough funny ideas and zingy timing to not make me regret wasting my precious time watching and writing about it. Yet it's not extraordinary funny and, with the exception of that surprise villain, feels largely uninspired. Still, I bet some hardcore Metal-heads get a kick out of this one, since it's only the second time ever Sonic's robotic counterpart has appeared in animation. [6/10]