O.K. K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, Episode 3.03: Let's Meet Sonic

O.K. K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, Episode 3.03: Let's Meet Sonic

Original Air Date: August 4th, 2010

You know that one of your favorite little niche fandoms has reached full pop culture saturation when it starts getting referenced, parodied, and stolen from in totally unrelated shows, comics, and games. As a kid, I barely knew anyone else who was a "Sonic" fan. More pressingly, I didn't know anybody as obsessed with this character, his games, cartoons, and comics as me. Which meant, whenever a "Sonic" homage or spoof would pop up in something, it was a rare validating moment. When Sonic zoomed on-screen for a split second gag on a classic "Simpsons" Christmas episode, my eyes lit up. When Lewis Black said the words "Sonic Hedgehog" on an episode of "The Daily Show," I was elated. (Despite my deeply autistic brain being bothered by the inaccuracies in these appearances. Sonic wouldn't want Bart to shoplift!) When I saw the naked cat girl from "Darkstalkers" do a spin-dash, it confirmed that series as my other favorite video game franchise. It made me realize there were, in fact, other people like me in this world, devoted to this little blue guy who runs around. 

All of the above shout-outs occurred when "Sonic" was more-or-less a contemporary property. In the new century, "Sonic" has now been established for upwards of three decades. Meaning there are actual authors, comic creators, and show runners that have grown up as fans of "Sonic the Hedgehog." Which is a lot different than a random show yelling out Sonic's name as a riff on a newly popular fad. Now we have examples of artists who have been influenced by "Sonic," who were fans as kids and have now matured into writers and filmmakers, telling their own stories and showing the mark other pieces of pop culture has put on them. In other words, now we have concrete examples of people doing what I would absolutely do if I got to write a long-running book or cartoon: Include references to "Sonic" because it's a thing they love and our own artistic visions and dreams are influenced by the stories we consume. 

In other words, when I saw references to "Sonic" in "Scott Pilgrim" or heard from other people online that some Cartoon Network show had some jokes about my favorite hedgehog, I was delighted, slightly jealous, but not surprised. We Sonic fans like to think of this series as strictly ours but it's an iconic bit of our collective culture now. Obviously, "Sonic" will influence other stuff. However, putting some red and white shoes on a random background character or having someone run through a loop is still quite a bit different from a newer series having an official, Sega-approved crossover with "Sonic." We are in undeniable Batman fighting the Green Hornet, "Archie Meets the Punisher," "Ape Nation" territory now. This is the kind of crossover that corporate negotiations and serious paperwork must be signed off on to make happen. Crossovers of this degree with Sonic used to be rare, the odd run-in with Spawn or Sabrina the Teenage Witch aside, as Sega is fairly protective of their mascot... That has changed somewhat in our modern age though, when Sega is willing to loan out their precious I.P. to other corporate entities, all in the name of everyone making a lot of money. Now, it's not unusual to see Sonic giving exposition to Wreck-It Ralph, rubbing blocky minifig shoulders with Batman, or asking Flo from Progressive if he can save some money on his car insurance. It surprises me though, when Sonic randomly pops up like that, cause I'm still used to this series being the redheaded stepchild of the console wars. 

It's all the more surprising when such crossovers happen with stuff I've never heard of. Sonic having some sort of promotional collaboration with other video games like "Minecraft," "Roblox," or "Fall Guys" is weird to me – I barely know what those things are too – but it's understandable. That's staying within the realm of electronic gaming. When Sonic transgresses the fourth wall and ends up on a movie or TV, that's a much more unexpected event. Such a thing would happen in 2019, when some Cartoon Network show called "O.K. K.O.! Let's Be Hero" did a whole episode built around its characters meeting Sonic and Tails. I rarely emerge from my shell of selective pop culture consumption – horror movies and like six comic books – to look at a newer cartoon. When news of this episode first trickled down into my subterranean lair, I assumed this must be some show built around brand-name team-ups or something. Not true, it turns out. Apparently the creator of "O.K. K.O.! Let's Be Heroes!" is simply a big "Sonic" fan and, presumably through the deal that led to "Sonic Boom" airing on the same network, had a chance to make a crazy dream come true. This is the only crossover of this nature in the show's three season existence, as far as I can tell. 

Obviously, I had to write about this but will admit that I'm going in as a total novice to "O.K. K.O.!" I remember seeing some, uh, creative fan art of the purple haired chick when the program was new but that's the entirety of my exposure to it. A little bit of Wikipedia skimming informs me that the program revolves around K.O., a wannabe hero who lives in a wacky cartoon city while working a mundane job with his friends, fighting bad guys and trying to prove his mettle as a hero. A glance at the show suggested to me that it was heavily inspired by classic gaming. The titular hero's name brings "Street Fighter" to mind while his bandanaed, bare knuckled appearance recalls any number of fighting game and beat-em-up protagonists. The series is also set in the year 201X, for you Mega Man dweebs, and regularly features robots, mad scientists, ninjas, aliens, and other retro gaming nonsense like that. When I pressed play on this episode, I was greeted with an eighties style theme song and some synthwave-y graphics, making the connections obvious. To find out the creator of the series is only a few years older than me and part of the same scumbag Geriatric Millennial demographic was not surprising. We probably grew up watching, reading, and playing a lot of the same bullshit.

Anyway, "Let's Meet Sonic" begins with K.O. starting another day at the bodega where he works. His friends, Enid and Radicles, are more interested in napping the day away. That's when, to his utter shock and delight, Sonic the Hedgehog and Tails the Fox come rushing through the door. The two Sega mascots heard this place had some great chili dogs. Instead, the entire thing has been a trap laid by Dr. Load Box and his minions, K.O.'s regular adversary. The villain has grabbed the Master Emerald and plans to kidnap Sonic. His henchmen grab K.O.'s friends instead. Sonic and Tails team up with the little guy, while the fox expresses some jealousy over Sonic immediately fulfilling K.O.'s request to become his new best friend. Lots of running, fighting, slapstick, and frantic bantering ensues. 

Like I said, I don't watch a lot of newer cartoons, based on my innate middle-aged fear of things that are new and different. (And I realize this "newer" series is already over five years old at this point.) With the odd exception like "The Owl House," I've mostly checked out of the animation game. I've never seen a single full episode of "SpongeBob SquarePants," a statement that will surely sound unthinkable to many of you but is entirely true. Truth be told, it's not a choice I regret any. I know "Fairly Odd Parents," "Adventure Time," and "Gumball" are esteemed classics for many of you. However, I often find modern animation to be a little too manic, wacky, and willfully grotesque for my taste. This is probably how my parents felt about "Ren and Stimpy" and "Invader Zim." "O.K. K.O.!" definitely strikes me as abreast of these programs, with its aggressively wacky comedy and wildly exaggerated characters. Not to mention an animation style that emphasizes simple shapes, rough edges, and fast and loose movements. I can handle a single ten minute episode but sitting down to watch any more than that would probably require me to get hyped-up on some Captain Crunch first. 

Having said all of that, I did find "Let's Meet Sonic" to be an amusing ten minutes. The jokes are frequent, never more than a second passing between gags or one-liners. This is definitely a hyperactive, action orientated series as, mere minutes after Sonic shows up, the heroes are already embarking on a wild chase with some enemies. The animation is intentionally crude in some respects while also being extremely detailed and, at times, rather fluid. A moment where Sonic is running along some Chemical Plant Zone style pipes and turnpikes marks a visible improvement in the gracefulness and style of the show. K.O., an extremely enthusiastic and manic little guy, and his comedically incompetent adversaries strike me as potentially kind of annoying... But within the span of one episode, I can handle it. I suspect the show runners banked on a lot of people unfamiliar with "O.K. K.O.!" watching this episode, as it's fairly low on established characters and world building. It was nice of them to hold this old "Sonic" fan's hand as I was introduced to new and frightening territory. 

This episode doesn't represent merely a cameo appearance from a beloved series but is, in fact, an extended homage to "Sonic the Hedgehog" history. Within the opening minutes, K.O. is already striking iconic poses that Sonic has held on game covers over the years. Loops, rings, the Master Emerald, the Tornado, Green Hill Zone, and shout-outs to Knuckles and Robotnik are all present. What most impressed me about "Let's Meet Sonic" is that it doesn't reference only the surface level parts of the franchise. Yes, special moves like the Spin Dash, Light Speed Dash, and Homing Attack are mentioned by name. Sonic and Tails are voiced by modern mainstays Roger Craig Smith and Colleen O'Shaughnessy, as if they stepped right out of a recording for "Boom" and into this session. However, it quickly becomes clear that whoever is responsible for this crossover mostly has affection for the hedgehog's nineties heydays. A very detailed homage to the classic title screen appears, alongside instantly recognizable sound effects. Sonic's feet spinning into a figure eight shape or the exact way he curls into a ball suggests that these scenes were assembled by someone who spent a lot of time looking at and thinking about this character and his world. 

More than anything else, "Let's Meet Sonic" is jam-packed with homages to classic "Sonic" animation. When the bad guy's robotic henchman leaps on-screen, he makes Scratch's distinctive crowing laugh. I don't know if his partner is usually a little green guy with treads but that strikes me as a probable Grounder reference. Music that sounds a lot like the "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" theme plays a few times. The bad guy ties K.O.'s buddies under a distinctive oversized weight. Which ends up crossing Dr. Load Box instead, his pancakes visage floating back to the ground. In other words, the same fate that befell Robotnik during the end credits of every episode of "AoStH." The shout-outs to the denser, wackier "Sonic" cartoon climaxes with a "Sonic Sez" segment at the end, which inevitably features the hedgehog saying something is "no good." I get the impression, from this brief exposure to this show, that the particularly unhinged tone of "AoStH" seems to have been an overall influence on "Let's Be Heroes." 

That probably would've been enough. I spent far too much time re-watching VHS recordings of that cartoon and wondering at the opening screen to the Genesis too. But "Let's Meet Sonic" proves it was made by real hardcore hedgehog nerds by including elements from other cartoons. K.O. gets tossed in a glass tube, with curling wires and tubes overhead. It's referred to as a Roboticizer in dialogue and does, indeed, turn K.O. into a mechanoid. That's when the show embarks on a extended homage to the "Sonic" OVA. Specific shots from that anime, like Sonic running down a tunnel or Metal Sonic's turbines spinning to life, are directly copied. It all concludes with a comedic recreation of the film's finale, with "Metal K.O." sinking into a pool while directly quoting the volcanic conclusion to the anime. Sonic sits in a beach chair and acts like a jerk. This is the kind of obsessive dedication to nerdy details that a casual fan would never make. Clearly, those responsible for "Let's Meet Sonic" were die hard devotees to this series, having studied and obsessed over minute elements of it much the same way I used to. Feels good to see that shit, ya know? 

Honestly, it's difficult for me to be too objective about a little piece of animation so clearly assembled by other mega-fans of this franchise. On my second watch through, I even caught brief shout-outs to the Archie Comics and another one of Ben Schwartz' other famous roles. Jim Cummings is immediately recognizable as the voice of Dr. Load Box too, though this character is clearly more inspired by the "AoStH" take on Robotnik than Cummings' ominous take in the same character. In general, I was impressed at how much Sonic and Tails felt like they always have in this cartoon. Sonic's unintentional disregard for his friend might be slightly more focused on in the name of comedy but that's not too out-of-character for him anyway. There is a special treat in hearing Roger Craig Smith say a Jaleel White catchphrase like "Need to speed, keed!" The hedgehog's inability to swim is a major plot point too. Honestly, by the end of these ten minutes, I had come around to really liking the way our familiar duo looks in this animation style. They are still totally recognizable as themselves while also fitting into this world. 

Outside of the nostalgic keys jangling handpicked to make veteran dorks like me happy, I found this to be a satisfying episode on its own merit. I laughed a couple of times. K.O.'s constant state of fanboy awe at Sonic, such as his enthusiastic response when Cream the Rabbit is mentioned, is cute and funny. Despite the briefness of the runtime and the mechanics of needing to blend one universe with another, "Let's Meet Sonic" seeks in a proper character arc for its guest stars. Sonic's immediate bonding with K.O. makes Tails a little insecure about the status of their friendship, misunderstanding that is corrected by the end. The two prove their devotion to one another and all is well with the world. This includes a genuinely sweet flashback to how Tails met Sonic and how he inspires him, taken right out of the fox's origin story from the "Sonic 2" manual. 

I went into this episode not knowing anything about "O.K. K.O.! Let's Be Heroes." I don't know if I came away as a fan exactly. Will this one episode inspire me to watch the rest of the series? It might, though it remains to be seen if constantly taking in excessive craziness like this might be grating in the long run. However, I absolutely came away with a lot of respect for the writers and animators of this episode. I want to sit down and chat about deep hedgehog lore with some of these people now. Do they have an opinion on Ken Penders? How do these guys feel about the Two Worlds theory? Can they draw Bean the Duck from memory? Let's get together over lunch and talk about the current whereabouts of Mobie the Cavebear. Anyway, I liked this. If other more recent cartoons featuring purple haired Latinas with big thighs want to shove Sonic and Tails into an episode with little warning and prompting, I'd like that too. Let's have these dudes pop up in all sorts of weird places. [7/10]