Sonic Boom, Episode 2.26: Robots from the Sky Part 1

Sonic Boom, Episode 2.26: Robots from the Sky Part 1

Original Air Date: May 6th, 2017

Multi-part story arcs weren't a thing that "Sonic Boom" did all that often. Most of the time, this was a show designed to be consumed in quick, ten minutes bites, that anyone could drop into and enjoy. As we've gotten into the guts of season two, more elements of continuity have been introduced, the show bringing back past characters and building something like an actual lore and extended cast of its own. This gradual move towards more on-going storytelling would arguably reach its peak about half-way through season two. That's when Bill Freiberger had a wacky idea to do a four-part episode, a little mini-epic that would run about forty minutes in total length. That would be "Robots from the Sky," which would kick off with the twenty-sixth episode of season two. 

When Sonic and the gang are running a charity car wash, Eggman attacks while complaining about some missing change. That's when a spaceship crashes in the near-by forest. Inside are two sentient robots named Mighton and Bolts, citizens of a utopian robot city floating in the sky. Upon seeing the heroes smashing Eggman's Badniks, they immediately assume them to be enemies of robotic kind and attack. They go back to Eggman's base, where the doctor tries to get them to reveal more information about their city, with plans towards taking it over. Now, Sonic and the others have to rescue the naïve machines that just attacked them. 

I spent most of my recent review of "Nominatus Rising" complaining about how it felt like characters from some other cartoon show dropped down in the middle of this one. (And the related phenomenon of how "Sonic" cartoons have done this a lot.) Only a few episodes later and "Boom" does it again. At least robots are an established, reoccurring element of this series. That doesn't change the fact that Mighton and Bolts both look, sound, and act like protagonists from some other cartoon. If you had told me this four-parter was a crossover with some other show airing on Cartoon Network or Boomerang at this time, I would probably believe you. The clips we get of the machine's home world feel like they could belong to any number of other shows. Maybe this feeling simply stems from me being an old man. Or maybe it's because CGI kids cartoons from the late 2000s and mid-2010s all just kind of looked this way. I remember watching shit like "RollBots" or "Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures" with my nephew and the robot-centric scenes in this episode really remind me of the look and feel of those forgettable shows. 

It doesn't help that big and tough Mighton and small and smart Bolts feel like they could be generic heroes from any generic program, right down to their voices and superpowers. (Mighton has a rocket punch, Bolts' arms can extend out like tentacles.) Or their names for that matter, which must've been thought up in one minute. Their character arc – of mistaking the actual heroes for villains, joining up with the actual villains, only to have to be rescued by the good guys once the inevitable betrayal occurs – is also standard stuff for any action/adventure story. In fact, this kind of "First, they fight, then they team up" writing – which can be found in any superhero comic – is close to Sonic's introductions to Knuckles and Shadows. Maybe these two fit in with this series more than I'm giving them credit for. Nevertheless, Mighton and Bolts' designs aren't very memorable. In the vast expanse of kids' cartoons about robots, you could tell me these two were from any of them and I'd probably buy it. Even the way Mighton's mouth moves reminds me of any number of would-be "Transformers" imitators. 

Whatever feelings I have about Mighton and Bolts as characters, I do think they present an interesting opportunity. When the two first arrive in the village, they see Sonic joyfully smashing other robots. The script plays this as all a grand misunderstanding that is sorted out by the end but it brings up a point I've made before. Throughout "Boom," it's been obvious that Eggman's robots possess a certain degree of free will and have personalities all their own. We've seen this in Cubot and Orbot's sassy back-talking and occasional betrayals, in the society of free and able Cubot prototypes, with FiendBot and Bea, and numerous small jokes about Badniks hesitating to obey Eggman's orders or striking for equal rights. All of this suggest that Eggman imbues his machines with what can only be called sentience. In other words, while not being organic organisms, they are basically living things. Moreover, they don't seem all that different from the fearful, idiotic citizens of Hedgehog Village. 

And these are the same robots that Sonic and the other "good" guys smash to pieces in every episode. The question must be asked: Is it ethical for Sonic to destroy these Badniks? Are the heroes simply acting in self-defense? What kind of draconian "Stand Your Ground" laws does Hedgehog Village have? Is Team Boom responsible for hate crimes against robots?! We don't yet know the origins of the aerial civilization of machines Mighton and Bolts came from. Yet it's hard to say they are any different from Eggman's minions. They identify them as fellow robots in that first scene. All of this presents a fascinating moral conundrum. If Sonic and friends have been destroying sentient beings this whole time, they really aren't heroes. Moreover, if they were somehow unaware of this, it could've led to them challenging their own beliefs and doubting their own actions. 

That would've been a compelling and deep story for "Sonic Boom" to follow... Something a jokey sitcom like this, in no way, is prepared to handle. Unsurprisingly, "Robots from the Sky Part 1" does not address these concerns. In fact, during the climax, Mighton is also destroying Eggman's Badniks without pausing. Which suggests some interesting things about his character! Maybe the Sky Robots are some sort of machine isolationist who aren't so concerned for other types of robots. They describe their city as a utopia but that's just their perspective. Maybe Mighton and Bolts are the robot equivalent of white supremacy and running some sort of mechanical ethnostate up there! Again, I don't expect "Boom" to address any of this. Sorry, there I go again, actually thinking about the context of the things I watch and the implications of the information presented within. The truth is Mighton's sudden turn from considering Eggman's creations his robot brothers to mooks he can destroy without question is sloppy writing, a result of the episode's short runtime and focus on comedy. 

And the focus is definitely on comedy, as you'd expect. While Bill Freiberger conceived of "Robots from the Sky" story arc, Alan Denton and Greg Hahn get top-billing on the writing credit. This suggests to me they did most of the work on the script. Because this episode feels like one of their's. "Robots from the Sky Part 1" is full of smarmy dialogue, everyone constantly peppering their speech with little jokes and sarcastic comments. Eggman's fast-paced rantings about loose change are interspersed with jokes about Meh Burger's version of the Dollar Menu, his mustache, the difference between apple juice and apple cider, or alliteration. Everyone talks like this. Tails' investigation of the sky robots' ship includes a digression about the word "groovy." He pauses in the middle of battle to scold Eggman's low effort passwords. When Orbot and Cubot appear on Sonic's doorstep, a sarcastic conversation about their fragile loyalty to their boss ensues. Even Mighton and Bolts talk this, comparing Sonic and Tails to themselves or cracking a line about "positing politics on social media."

This kind of constant snarkiness, one-liners breathlessly coming one after another, has proven overwhelming and exhausting before. And yet... I did laugh a good bit in "Robots from the Sky Part 1." There's a lot of solid, fast paced gags here. Such as the state of the day care the heroes are raising money to restore. A lot of the nonstop rapporteur is fairly amusing. Amy's upbeat response to Eggman saying he should give Team Sonic a key made me chuckle. As did Cubot nearly revealing the nature of their half-hearted betrayal to Eggman. By far the best gag in this episode is the name of the robot civilization in the sky... Morristown. Contrasting futuristic, sci-fi premises with everyday mundanity??? Ooooh yeeeeah, that's the good shit! The episode probably draws too much attention to this joke, with people constantly suggesting more fantastical names... But fuck it. A robot utopia named Morristown? Excellent.  

This episode also proves something that I decided a long time ago: Sticks is the MVP of "Sonic Boom." The episode brings her repeated rantings about a forthcoming robot apocalypse full circle, in a way that definitely doesn't go uncommented on. The sci-fi set-up allows for a lot of paranoid rantings from our favorite schizophrenic badger. Her direct solution to dealing with the robot menace comes around fantastically at the end. I'll admit, I have a fondness for humor of this sort, of playing lunatic conspiracy theories and those that believe them for laughs. That Sticks always delivers her unhinged beliefs with such enthusiasm, and that bit of Jerzey in her voice... I'm just saying, she's the best. If I was a badger boy, I'd awkwardly attempt to date her before being increasingly alienated by her troubling beliefs and unhinged actions. 

Being the show's first, big multi-part storyline, I would not be surprised if "Robots from the Sky" was developed as a centerpiece of season two. Which presumably means it was given a little more of a budget boost, resulting in action scenes that clearly had more work put into them. There's some fairly fluid sequences of Sticks dismantling a Mantis Bot with her bo staff or Knuckles punching another Badniks to pieces. You actually get a sense of Sonic's speed in these scenes, instead of the more stilted qualities that are usually evident in the battle sequences. There's lots of explosions and fire flying everywhere in the last act, during the big confrontation between Team Boom, the sky robots, and Eggman's forces. It's so much smoother than "Boom's" action scenes, especially when compared to recent clumsy scenes in "Og Man Out" or "Knuck Knuck Who's There?" I guess animation of this quality was not practical for the show's budget but I'm glad the animators got to step it up sometimes 

As you might expect from the "Part 1" at the end of the title, the episode ends on a cliffhanger. "Boom" being the meta program it is, there's naturally a lampshade hung in this ending. What's weird though is that "Robots from the Sky Part 1" basically wraps up its own story before that moment. The episode is fairly self-contained, in that regard. However, I suppose more shenanigans in Morrisville are forthcoming. As hyper-verbal as this script can be, the result is quite an entertaining episode. Onto the next part! [7/10]