Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 67

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 67

Publication Date: December 6th, 2023

Is an action/adventure comic book only as good as its villains? The obvious answer is "no" but the thesis does have some compelling evidence. At least as far as IDW's "Sonic the Hedgehog" comics are concerned. While the series has always been uneven, the presence of Surge and Kit really energized the writing. Dynamic baddies with strong personalities of their own, I felt like the book had finally found its footing once they struck out on their own. And I know I've said that IDW has "found its footing" roughly fifty times since the comic started but I think it's clear that exclusive-to-the-comics characters like these two, Belle, Whisper and Tangle, or Scrapnik Mecha Sonic are the true life blood of this series. Further evidence for this theory occurred when the book's quality started to get really bumpy after Surge and Kit were put on the shelf back in January. There's been decent issues published in that time but the series has felt largely directionless since then, putting out arcs that truly operate like filler. 

Well, I'm still not convinced that the current arc, of Clutch trying to infiltrate the Restoration, is going anywhere especially interesting. But, at the very least, we've got Surge and Kit back. The teenage mutant super-powered tenrec and fennec arrived back on the series with issue 67. Will they actually get some cool shit to do or will Ian Flynn's creative slump continue? Let's look closer and find out. 

The internet tells me that this story is entitled "Second Chances," information that I feel like should really be contained within the comic book itself! Anyway, Sonic is shocked when he sees that Amy is apparently giving a guided tour of Restoration HQ to none other than Surge and Kit. It's soon explained to the blue hero that these two villains showed up at the front door, asking to be forgiven and allowed onto the side of good. Everyone is pretty skeptical but hoping the effort is sincere, as they show the two misfits around the base and expound on their philosophy of forgiveness to them. Of course, this apparent shift in morality is not for-realsies. Surge and Kit are here on a mission of insidious undermining, on the behalf of Clutch. Who promises to reveal information he has on their past if they distract the good guys while Duo/Mimic continues to set-up a hostile takeover from within. 

Narratively, "Second Chances" is a very simple story. In fact, there's almost no narrative here at all. Instead, nearly the entire comic is devoted to Sonic and Amy leading Surge and Kit around Restoration HQ and showing them the various areas and amenities. We get lots of scenes of our heroes taking the Imposters to a different area of the head-quarters, being told what the purpose of each quarter is. While this happens, they also interact with the established cast members of the comic, most of whom are suspicious of the Imposters' professed attempt to turn over a new leaf. This doesn't sound like an especially compelling story and, in execution, it barely is... 

Yet I do think "Second Chances" works, largely by skating by on the built-in personalities of its cast. Watching everyone's reaction to Surge and Kit just showing up like this is fun. Everyone is rightfully suspicious. There's a lot of side-eyeing. Belle comically freaks out and Silver is shocked by their presence too. This is amusing but it's more than a one-note joke. These interactions allow us peeks at everyone's personalities. Belle quickly accepts them, realizing their story has certain parallels to her own. Lanolin is very skeptical but willing to give them a shot. Most everyone recognizes that the Restoration is a volunteer program that functions on giving people second chances. Throughout nearly the entirety of IDW "Sonic's" run, the series has returned to this idea of forgiveness. Sonic even holds out hope that Eggman will someday see the error of his ways and start fighting the good fight. This issue continues that stance, while also creating lots of opportunities for the lovable cast members to be all lovable and shit. Only Whisper refuses to accept Surge and Kit, which matches the grumpy turn she's taken here of late. 

Of course, Whisper is completely right too. Surge and Kit, much like Duo, are here as double-agents. Also like Mimic's deception, this is something the script wastes little time revealing. A few pages in and we know these two are here on behalf of Clutch, intentionally planning to cause trouble. By the end, they are conferring with Mimic in secret, outlining their plan of espionage. Surge and Kit will be constant distractions for the good guys, while Duo continues his operation in secret. Essentially, these two are here to take the heat off the mole Clutch already has within the Restoration. 

While I still think that's sabotaging a potentially decent narrative surprise, Surge and Kit work a lot better in this role. Mimic is never going to sincerely switch sides. He's a cold-blooded murderer and has shown nothing but self-interest in all his previous appearances. Surge and Kit, on the other hand, are more complex. They both have sympathetic backstories. The more we've gotten to know them, the clearer it is that these two really just need some love and kindness to overcome the malicious programming Starline brainwashed into them. Considering Clutch seems to promise that a reveal concerning the Imposters' origins is coming soon, the two finding their way over to the side of the angels through an undercover operation would be a good conclusion to all the building the comic has done on them before. 

Call it the Vegeta Precedence. As this issue points out, "Sonic" is a franchise that largely operates on shonen fighting anime rules, where enemies are often humbled and then join up with the good guys. For a while now, the series has been pointing towards Surge and Kit eventually making heel-face turns. That makes their fake alliance shift here a prelude, one assumes, for a genuine alliance shift further down the line. Will Kit realize that being good feels good, forcing a wedge between him and Surge? Will the acceptance Sonic gives Surge make her question her desire to pummel him into a bloody smudge on the floor? Will the villains become so competent at being Fake Freedom Fighters, that they decide they might as well become Real Freedom Fighters? Or will the comic do something altogether lamer than any of those options? We can't say yet but, at the very least, the foundation is built here for something interesting to happen later on. 

This issue also makes an effort towards correcting a problem I've had with IDW "Sonic" pretty much from the get-go. Namely, the lack of – or perhaps even a stubborn refusal to engage with – world-building. Archie "Sonic" was full of backstory and environmental details, to the point of sometimes smothering the actual characters and stories. IDW has had the opposite problem, where the world Sonic and friends are fighting to defend has been so vaguely defined that you kind of wonder why we give a shit if it's saved or not. At the very least, "Second Chances" provides us with some insight into how the Restoration is actually going about restoring things. The base has a mall and food court, which seems ridiculous. Well, it is ridiculous but Flynn immediately follows this moment up by revealing that everything at the base is supplied by a warehouse. And before you question whether Jewel is a mini-Bezos running her own Amazon sweatshop, it's revealed that all the workers of the Restoration are volunteers. Everyone is doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. It turns out this warehouse is even part of an entire supply chain, distributing goods and necessities to the rest of the world, presumably free of charge. 

This explains some things about Mobius Sonic's world Earth, I guess. Namely, how a culture seemingly made up of small villages with little in the way of industry still has things like cars and chili dog stands and coffee shops. Sonic's world operates on some sort of egalitarian logic, everyone working towards the common good of the rest of the world strictly because it's the best thing for them to do. They manage to do all of this while living in relative harmony with nature, staying in humble communities and not bulldozing forests to make way for massive urban sprawl. 

This goes along with the environmental subtext that has always characterized the franchise, while also making the distinction between our heroes and Eggman more obvious. Eggman is bad because he destroys the world to build his massive cities and engines of conquest. Sonic and his furry friends don't need any of that shit. They can compromise between the needs of the people and the needs of the planet, satisfied with living simple lives. I'm not going to go so far as to call this an actual political statement. It's far too naïve and simplistic for that. Eggman still isn't a capitalist – it's unclear if capital even exists in this world – and that means Sonic isn't actually a socialist either. (Even if that suggestion is still kind of implicit.) I don't think Sonic is going to start wearing a black mask and begin smashing the patriarchy and seizing the means of production. However, it does extend the hedgehog's philosophy of kindness and forgiveness to the entire Restoration. It fleshes the world out some. Even if I'm doubtful this book will get around to providing an actual history, to explain why society is like this, any time soon. 

Alright, I'll stop reading way too much into a children's comic, like I always do, and wrap things up. This is a slower issue but a fairly rewarding one, if only because it can skate by on interactions between the characters. I mean, look at that panel of Kit giving the Orangutan Mechanic the stink-eye! That's priceless. Thomas Rothlisberger's art is strong, the guy giving a lot of opportunities to draw colorful facial expressions and cute little background details. Whether this actually goes anywhere good or not remains to be seen. The book has let me down plenty of times in the past. But, taken on its own, this is an alright issue. I'm going to wait and see. [7/10]