Sonic the Hedgehog: Fang the Hunter: Issue 1

Sonic the Hedgehog: Fang the Hunter: Issue 1

Original Publication Date: January 17th, 2024

When released in 1994, "Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble" received a little bit of hype. The "Sonic" franchise was red hot at the time, perhaps at the peak of its nineties popularity. This meant any new game featuring the character was going to get a big push. And it didn't hurt that this was the second appearance of Knuckles, who was quickly becoming the second most popular character in the series at the time. However, "Triple Trouble" was still a handheld title, for the Game Gear, a console that was never as big as Sega hoped and always trailed way behind the Game Boy in popularity. This meant that "Triple Trouble" was destined to be consigned to the waste bin of pop culture. As the "Sonic" series began to explore new avenues, with a quickly expanding cast and universe, in the 2000s, "Triple Trouble" would be seemingly forgotten even by Sega. 

The game's obscure status would make the new character it introduced even more overlooked. Fang the Sniper, or Nack the Weasel to us U.S. assholes, would become a reoccurring character in the Archie comics. But the rest of the "Sonic" fandom didn't care about this guy for a long time. Aside from "Triple Trouble," Fang's only other appearance for years was "Sonic the Fighter," an even more obscure arcade exclusive. By the start of the 2010s, Fang was stuck in the same limbo as Mighty or Ray: Beloved by a tiny niche of the fandom but ignored by everyone else, even the video game company that created him. Who had time for a pink weasel/jerboa/wolf what's-it when we were being flooded with telekinetic time travelers and fiery felines? 

That slowly started to change with the 2017 release of "Sonic Mania," which brought Fang – along with the equally overlooked Bark and Bean – back to the forefront of the series. Since then, we've seen this trio of troublemakers referenced a lot more. Fang was even given a prominent role in last year's "Sonic Superstar," suggesting that the little scum bag was a going concern for Sega again. This Fang Renaissance continues into 2024, with IDW giving the guy – now dubbed a Hunter by Sega, since I guess "Sniper" was a little too aggressive – a starring role in his own four-part mini-series. This is a pretty big deal for a character deemed little more than an in-joke for quite a while. 

And what does the first issue of "Fang the Hunter" contain? It begins with Fang, Bean, and Bark spying on Sonic as he chills in a hammock. They quickly attack, hoping the hedgehog can give them some info on a mythical eighth Chaos Emerald. Sonic doesn't know anything about this, assuring them that such a thing doesn't exist. After such a humiliating defeat, Fang decides to shake down Knuckles for info next. The Guardian is waiting for them and prepares traps throughout Angel Island to throw them off. Meanwhile, Tails warns Sonic that a mysterious airship has ravaged the Marble Zone before vanishing. 

In the original Archie Comics continuity, "Nack the Weasel" was a fairly serious adversary. He successfully disarmed Sonic so Robotnik could roboticize him, kidnapped Princess Sally, and even killed some people. However, that is an atypical characterization for the guy across most of the series. From "Triple Trouble" onward, Fang has largely been portrayed as a joke, an incompetent buffoon that is easily defeated, usually by his own deeply misplaced overconfidence. As the comics have sought to more closely follow the games, this characterization has taken root here as well. In the handful of appearances in past IDW books, Fang has mostly been a joker, an un-serious threat that is always humiliated before any criminal plot he has can come to fruition. This might be because he's always hanging around now with Bark and Bean, essentially the Laurel and Hardy of the "Sonic" world. 

With that in mind, the first issue of "Fang's" mini-series is largely devoted to slapstick comedy. The opening sequence of the comic – where Fang attempts to crush Sonic with a big rock, only for the hedgehog to deflect them without breaking a sweat – even seems to recall the wacky antics of the "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" cartoon. Maybe that's just because there's a hammock in the scene though... Either way, there's definitely some "Tom and Jerry" vibes to this comic, as we watch the antagonists get comically defeated by a hero that way outclasses them. 

This, in fact, may be where Fang's appeal lies. As a stereotypical villain, he's never going to learn his lesson. No matter how many crushing defeats he suffers, he's going to keep pursuing Sonic. This makes the jerboa something of a lovable loser. He's always going to fail. We, as human beings, will also fail more often than we will succeed. So, even though Fang is a bad guy, we still relate to him. His need to keep pushing a metaphorical boulder up an allegorical hill, when it's always destined to flatten him, even makes the guy kind of admirable. Don't we all wish we had that kind of tenacity, in the face of life constantly making you eat shit? This allows "Fang the Hunter" to have its cake and eat it too, letting us derive amusement from Fang's exaggerated defeats while also seeing us root for him a little bit, in a perverse way. Haven't we all wanted to see the Coyote catch the Roadrunner at least once? 

While Fang hopelessly strives to be taken seriously someday, despite the clear unlikeliness of that ever happening, Bean and Bark have long since accepted their roles. IDW Bean isn't quite as unhinged as his Archie counterpart but he's still a wacky goofball, embracing the absurdity of every humiliation he suffers. While Bark is the strong, silent straight man, seemingly unflappable and inscrutable no matter what. I guess there is only so much to be mined from this dynamic, so issue #1 of "Fang" does introduce a conflict between Fang and his partners. Namely, they feel taken advantage of and plan on dumping his ass after this adventure. I don't take this threat seriously at all. If anything, I think this three might all learn to appreciate each other before this mini is over. But at least the set-up of "the mooks are planning to walk out on their boss" has some comedic value to explore. 

The clear farcical tone of this first issue makes me assume the MacGuffin quest that has been set-up will likely end up being a wild goose chase. There being seven Chaos Emeralds has been established as a fact of the "Sonic" series for so long, that it's easy to forget that the exact number has varied over the years. There were just six emeralds in the first "Sonic" game and most of the 8-bit ports. In "Sonic Spinball," there were as many as sixteen emeralds. Originally in the Archie continuity, there was just a surplus of many Emeralds of many different colors, until Ian Flynn fixed that. Fang believing there are eight Emeralds is likely a reference to "Sonic the Fighter," where there were indeed eight Emeralds to correspond to the eight characters. Considering that was his last in-game appearance for years, no wonder Fang seems to believe this is the case. 

I wouldn't be shocked at all if Ian Flynn used this mini-series to patch over a continuity era in the Classic Sonic canon. Yet it would be much funnier if Fang continues to hold onto an erroneous belief, in the face of mounting evidence to the contrary. But maybe the book is going somewhere else, what with that dangling plot point of Sonic and Tails chasing after a phantom ship in the Marble Zone. I guess, either way, the skeleton of a decent story has been set-up here. 

If this issue has heavy "Looney Tunes" overtones, what of Sonic as the Bugs Bunny to Fang's Yosemite Sam? On "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog," Sonic filled an almost literal Bugs Bunny role, right down to the frequent crossdressing and random bursts of nuttiness. Since that would be pretty out of character for IDW Sonic, Flynn writes him here as a snarky asshole. He has nothing but smartass quibs for Fang and his gang. He gets sarcastic with Tails. He even has to remind himself to be "patient with the kid" after he interrupts his nap. While fans constantly debate how much 'tude Sonic should display, we shouldn't forget that this is technically Classic Sonic we are seeing here. The blue hedgehog being a bit of a prick, even to his best friend, recalls his demeanor in the OVA or Fleetway comics, works contemporary with the Classic setting. Plus it's funny. I'm fine with it. 

Sonic is not the only hero to frustrate our titular goons though. Also in keeping with his more Classic Era characterization, Knuckles mostly hides back in the shadows and upends the Hooligans – or whatever they are called here – with traps he's set-up throughout the isle. This includes a delightful instance of Knuckles using the air vent trap from the start of "Sonic & Knuckles." If this whole comic wasn't a light-hearted goof, these scenes would almost be sinister. Mushroom Hill is depicted as dark and shadowy, Fang's buddies picked off by an unseen threat. Considering Knuckles fools Bark with a decoy that unmistakably resembles the Blair Witch stick figure, I'm going to assume that this mild horror atmosphere is intentional. Not a reference I expected to see in a "Sonic" comic, so maybe Bean will put on a Ghostface mask in the next issue. 

Mauro Fonseca is on pencil duties here and his work definitely matches the cartoony tone of the script. There is quite a lot of stretch and squash on display in these panels, especially when Fang tackles Bean to keep him from accidentally blowing up the Magnificent Queen. It turns out Fang's angular head really lends itself to this kind of over-the-top reactions. There are some really good faces in this issue, let me tell ya. Impressively, Fonseca manages to maintain the particular Classic Sonic look for everyone even when going for cartoony physics. Good stuff!

By the way, do you want to know how many times I wrote "Back" instead of "Fang" while assembling this review? Literally every single time! Old habits never die, I guess. Anyway, the first issue of the "Fang the Hunter" kicks the mini-series off in a goofily amusing, fleet-footed fashion. Let's see if Flynn and the gang can keep it up. [7/10]