Sonic Boom, Episode 1.48: Designated Hero

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.48: Designated Hero

Original Air Date: October 17th, 2015

In "Designated Heroes," Eggman robs a toy store and is quickly thwarted by the good guys. In the post-action scene humiliation round, he makes a bet with Sonic and his friends. They always defeat him as a team, but would victory come as easily if they fought one-on-one? Everyone agrees to these terms. Eggman turns out to be wilier than anyone expected and he easily outmatches everyone during their fights. Will this be the mad scientist's path to victory? 

While the term "Designated Hero" usually refers to a distinctly unheroic character who is given the status of hero, the 48th episode of "Sonic Boom" means it in more literal terms. Every time it's one of the Team Sonic members' turn to fight Eggman, they are the chosen hero for that designated time. This is a cute example of the way this show continues to play with the traditional good guy/bad guy roles. Last episode, Reid Harrison had Eggman refer to being "outside office hours" and his time fighting the heroes as "nine-to-five." In this episode, we see Tails clock out of and Knuckles clock in. By fitting these characters into the sitcom mold, the idea that fighting each other is simply their job is more present than ever. 

The episode's structure, which has the villain encountering each of the good guys in one-on-one matches, makes another interesting point: Maybe Eggman knows his enemies better than they realize. Each scene sees the doctor taking advantage of everyone's personality. With Amy, he preys on her sense of empathy and community by saying he recycles tin cans to make toys for needy children. He plays along with Sticks' paranoid fantasies, disarming her in that fashion. He flatters Tails' genius, which gets the young and insecure kid to lower his guard. He forces Sonic to wait, testing the hedgehog's lack of patience and Knuckles' stupidity makes him easy to fool. 

All of these moments nicely reflect on the heroes' personality while also showing that Eggman is more observant than he gets credit for. It also lends this episode a really satisfying structure. During each encounter, Eggman takes an object from his opponent. He steals Amy's hammer, Sticks' shoes, a giant metal paper airplane Knuckles' created, and Tails' force field machine. (Which probably could've defeated everyone by itself but never mind that.) Once he creates a larger, more dangerous gizmo from these combined elements, it feels like a satisfying payoff. Everything fits together nicely, ya know? You love to see it. 

There's even a nice, kid-friendly moral this time. Separately, Eggman is able to conquer Sonic and his friends. In the final act, the guys "tag" each other out all throughout the fight. Essentially, they function as a team without breaking Eggman's one-on-one rule. In other words: Teamwork makes the dream work. We are stronger together than we are apart. This is also a nice message to send to the young ones and it's incorporated into the story here without being preachy or heavy-handed. 

This is another Reid Harrison episode and he packs the script with his usual tactic of non-stop gags. "Designated Heroes" actually shows a nice balance between zanier moments and more subtle gags. Such as the episode beginning with Cubot and Orbot doing a sports match style commentary on the fight. There's also lots of big, silly sight gags. Such as Knuckles cluelessly digging through the earth or Sonic, in his boredom, playing tea party. Yet the moments in this episode that really got me to laugh tended to be the smaller scenes. Sonic shaking Eggman's mustache when his hands are disabled, Amy announcing she'll still contributed to Eggman's charity after he defeats her, and Tails fumbling an attempt to look cool and effortless... Good stuff. Maybe the best joke in the episode comes with the way Tails undoes Eggman's forcefield. The machine works by responding to a smart statement. To undo the effects, he hands the controlling helmet to Knuckles. I've really come to appreciate the way this show finds time for both wacky bits of comedy and more character-driven, dialogue centric jokes. 

There's also a very small moment here that surely warrants deeper discussion. When Eggman awakens Sonic from his nap, the half-asleep hedgehog mutters out "Go away, Amy. I'm not in the mood." Now, what does that imply? Was Sonic fantasizing about Amy attempting something towards him that requires a certain mood? Or is this a default response because Amy tries to awaken Sonic from his sleep for specific, mood-adjacent activities on a regular basis? "Boom" has certainly implied, on countless occasions, that Sonic and Amy are attracted to each other. I think this is the first time they've ever slipped in a joke about them actually hooking up though. Good on the writers for slipping something naughty through. I'm sure the shippers lost their fucking minds over this. 

Anyway, "Designated Heroes" is a really strong episode. As "Boom's" first season winds downs, the show has gotten a good bead on the cast's personalities. That's evident in episodes like this, that depend so much on understanding the core characteristics of everyone and how they play off each other. Combined with some rock-solid structure and a string of quality jokes and you've got another all-timer. [8/10]