Sonic the Hedgehog: Fang the Hunter: Issue 3

Sonic the Hedgehog: Fang the Hunter: Issue 3

Publication Date: April 3rd, 2024

As I sit down to catch up with IDW's "Fang the Hunter" mini -series, I noticed that the Hard Boiled Heavies were featured prominently on the various covers for the third and fourth issues. This gave me a thought about the structure of this series that I hadn't thought of before. Would each issue of this comic pay homage to a specific Classic Sonic game? The first issue featured some scenes in the classic Green Hill setting. The second was heavy on Mushroom Hill and Sandopolis, from "Sonic & Knuckles." Since that issue ended by establishing the island from "Knuckles' Chaotix," I figured the third installment would revolve around that. While the fourth would drop us back into "Sonic-Mania" territory. Flynn loves to include references to the classic games, so this seemed plausible. But... Nah. Issue three goes off on its own thing pretty quickly. Probably for the best.

Anyway! Issue three actually begins with Fang, Bark, and Bean trapped in a prison pod by Eggman. He's ready to feed them to some mechanical piranhas but Fang's theory about an eighth Chaos Emerald intrigues the doctor. He explains that he loaned an airship to the Hard Boiled Heavies recently but it literally vanished. A new power source like a previously undiscovered emerald might explain such mysterious powers. The Hooligans are tasked with finding the ship, disciplining the Heavies, and returning whatever magical plot device they find to Eggman. 

In my review of issue 1 of "Fang," I mentioned how the bounty hunter's failure rate has made him something of an admirable loser. Fang is always humiliated by his attempts to be a bad-ass but he keeps trying, yadda-yadda. In the second issue, I noted how Fang actually could be quite competent when not up against a threat greater than him. Maybe he's not a loser after all! In issue three, the jerboa/wolf thing successfully tracks down the vanishing airship, something both Eggman and Tails have failed to do up to this point. He sneaks aboard with his team and, within minutes, they have fought their way into the bowels of the ship without sustaining any injuries. When faced with Heavy Rider, who is guarding the engine's core, Fang even successfully strategizes a plan to quickly disable the robot.

All of this presents a frightening possibility: Guys, what if Fang doesn't suck? What if he's only a complete joke when going up against Sonic? I think the truth is actually way less interesting than that. Fang, Bean, and Bark's competence varies entirely upon how funny it is for them to eat shit in whatever given situation they might be in. If Fang sets up a booby-trap for Sonic and it immediately backfires on him, that's because this is a classic, Looney Tunes, Coyote Vs. Roadrunner gag. If it serves the plot for Fang to go toe-to-toe against Knuckles or fend off a bunch of enemy robots, then that will happen instead. This is why power scalers are the absolute worst, most annoying idiots in any fandom. How strong or weak a character is depends entirely on whatever story the writer is telling at that moment. Fiction is not a list of stats. 

There's another reason why Flynn depicts Fang and his gang as actually semi-confident enforcers in this issue. Remember back in the "Sonic: Mega-Drive" one-shots, where Flynn basically dreamed up a bunch of levels for a 16-bit "Sonic" that doesn't actually exist and then had the cast run through them? He did the same thing in "Seasons of Chaos" too. Well, that trend continues here, albeit in a much briefer capacity. When Fang, Bark, and Bean sneak aboard the ship, we are greeted to a page-long spread of them running through a number of obstacles and taking out a bunch of Egg-Robos. You can tell this is meant to invoke the classic platformers in the series because each panel is framed in a left-to-right, horizontal pattern. The Flying Fortress and Flying Battery Zones are clearly the big inspirations here but, mostly, what we are seeing here comes straight from the writer and artist's imaginations. So maybe that's why Fang is kicking ass in this issue. Somebody who's good at video games is controlling him. 

It looks like it would be a fun game too! I bet Bean's bomb abilities would make for some interesting mechanics in a classic Sonic game. Of course, watching somebody else play a video game is not so much fun. (An opinion I continue to hold in defiance of the enormity of the Let's-Player/VTuber industrial complex.) Seeing Ian sketch out his dream Genesis game is not what makes this issue fun. Instead, the banter between these three characters really makes it worth reading. Or, really, the banter between Fang and Bean, considering Bark remains as quiet as ever. In the leap from Archie to IDW, Bean really went up a level in his snarkiness. He still calls Fang cutesy nicknames and makes wacky faces, in accordance with his goofball characterization. However, the green duck bites back with a lot more snide comebacks. He mocks Fang saying "mook" so much and makes numerous sarcastic statements about his teammate. It's not bad. Considering Archie Bean's constant kookiness could get irritating, it's not bad at all. I am simply still getting used to Bean being altogether more sardonic than he's been in the past.

Comedy really does seem to be the main goal here. Fang trying to convince Eggman of an eighth Emerald's existence reveals the lack of evidence the Hunter has on his side. The Hooligans threatening Heavy Rider's Motobug steed is obviously a somewhat jokey set-up, playing off the idea of a seemingly heartless robot displaying a pet-like attachment to his ride. The conversation that follows between Fang and Heavy King is similarly full of absurd statements, which follows an earlier bit where the robot attempts to ghost Eggman in the most blatant way possible. We're not meant to take much of this seriously at all. 

That comedic tone is furthered by some likably goofy artwork from Thomas Rothlisberger. Maybe my favorite thing about this issue are the little, physical jokes Rothlisberger slips in, that only work because of the playful quality his art has. Such as Eggman's mental imagining of the eighth Chaos Emerald getting more like a child's scribble as Fang's case for it falls apart. Or a suffering Shellcracker Badnik straining to carry Eggman's golden throne of himself around. Some even add to the character's personalities, such as Bark knitting while the trio waits for the airship to appear. I'm sure some of these were in Flynn's script but most feel like the little jokes the artist would throw in if their own accord. Overall, Rothlisberger's extremely expressive faces and nicely cartoonish sense of motion goes a long way towards making this issue a winner. 

I don't feel every piece of "Sonic" media has to contribute to the overall lore of the universe or anything. I think some people out there do genuinely hold that opinion but it's fine by me if a comic or cartoon episode is just fun. However, the third issue of "Fang the Hunter" does see Ian Flynn expanding the Classic Sonic universe a bit. The big reveal here is that the airship the Heavies stole isn't powered by an eighth Chaos Emerald... It's powered by the Warp Topaz. As in, the same magical rock Dr. Starline used to give himself and the Imposters superpowers. Assuming Sega hasn't changed their minds about the Classic and Modern Sonic continuities existing in parallel universes, I would assume that this is just the Classic version of the Warp Topaz. There's a Master Emerald in both universes, right? But comments from Flynn suggest that this is the same Warp Topaz. Meaning its portal generating abilities means the Topaz has jumped between worlds or the Classic/Modern divide has been done away with... Not that I ever expect Sega, and by extension IDW, to ever fully explain this. But I guess the point is that the Warp Topaz can warp it up anywhere. 

All that is well and good. However, the last third of this comic is kind of a drag. After having a lot of laughs and fast-paced action, Heavy King and the other Hard Boiled Heavies step out and explain their master plan. I can see what you're doing here, Ian. The issue ends with Fang and his gang surrounded by the robots. This is set-up for the climatic royal rumble in the final part of the mini. Yet it also kills the forward momentum of this particular issue. Just hits a wall of exposition and scowling egg robots. Oh well. It was a pretty good comic book up to that point. 

Anyway, this is a Sonic the Hedgehog comic book, right? His name is still on the cover, even if he isn't. It feels like some sort of running joke in this mini, that the creative team has to include at least one scene of Sonic, to justify the book's existence. As if he's contractually obligated to appear. The scene has Tails cooking up some doo-hickey to track the Amazing Vanishing Airship, while Sonic impatiently paces the workshop. This series has really drawn into focus how Classic Sonic is different from his Modern counterpart: His ADHD is worse. He isn't as patient. He doesn't listen as well, giving Tails a blank state when he explains the science behind his latest gizmo. He's more of a smart-ass in general. And I pointed out last time, this definitely lines up with 90s portrayals of Sonic. So I probably like it for nostalgic reasons. Yet I do find a slightly edgier Sonic, who really doesn't do well when he can't Go Fast, a good take on the character. Gives him a little more texture, ya know? 

Anyway, this mini-series is shaping up to be a pretty solid affair. Great art all the way through, a good mixture of comedic shenanigans and an actual forward-moving story, and overall a compelling take on the characters. Having the Heavies show up and take all the credit for the storyline's events is a little disappointing but I'm not going to let it bring me down. Fun comic book! Now, let me go back and re-read this review to see how many times I wrote "Nack" instead of Fang... [7/10]