Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 232

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 232
Publication Date: December 2011

As Archie's flagship “Sonic” title wrapped up in 2011, the book was going in all sorts of new directions. Issue 232's cover story, “Dark Tidings,” begins with Naugus happily accepting love from the populace of Mobotropolis. This greatly annoys Sonic but he has a lot of other things on his mind. He races around, informing others of Sally being roboticized and trying to set things right. Meanwhile, Bunnie faces a new discovery of her own.

I have no idea if Ian planned it this way. Honestly, considering he's complained about “Genesis” being a rushed development, I suspect things were originally suppose to go differently. Either way, it seems “Dark Tidings” is here to set up an entire year worth of story arcs. The citizens of Mobotropolis are crying out for Naugus to become their new king, giving Elias a headache. Sonic is trying to consolidate the Freedom Fighter forces in the face of their latest loss, eventually heading to the Floating Island to get Knuckles' help. Geoffrey St. John ends up getting arrested for treason. Bunnie has been resorted back to a fully organic state. It's a lot to take in and, to Flynn's credit, he balances it pretty well.

Ultimately though, this is not the most important development. Sonic, in a moment of anger, reveals to Elias what happened to his sister. Elias responds in abject shock. When Sonic explains the circumstances to Knuckles, the echidna's reaction is hot-headed anger. The conversation gets so heated that Sonic and Knuckles nearly come to blows. Sonic is processing his grief in his own way. His drive to solve the problem, to push through his pain and anger to a viable solution, is certainly in character. By far, the most touching sequence comes when Sonic attempts to talk to Nicole. The A.I. responds with a simple text screen, explaining that she watched her closest friend sacrifice herself. It's a powerful moment and the kind of raw emotion this issue needed a little more of.

As for the continuing intrigue of Mobian politics, I'm not sure how to feel. The citizens of Mobotropolis come off incredibly badly here. Their willingness to turn so completely on the heroes they've known and supported for decades, in favor of a clearly shifty motherfucker who has previously been a villain, makes them look like idiots. This may be intentional on Flynn's behalf. At one point, someone in the crowd with a clearly uninformed grip on what a monarchy is asks why the city can't pick their own kings. Yet it's mostly another month of a pretty shaky plot point being pushed through. Flynn was determined to follow this “Naugus is the true king” plot point out until its logical conclusion the reboot.

Ben Bates is still on penciling duty and his work looks notably different from the last issue. The artwork is a little looser and more cartoony than Bates' previous work. The character's facial expressions are more exaggerated and comical. Usually this works pretty well, especially when focused on everyone's highly emotional states. However, when the focus turns to Naugus' villainous proclamations, his threat level is underminded a little by looking so goofy. Bates' work is energetic and, I guess in a story low on action like this one, that kinetic focus went to the looks and appearances of the cast. It works all right.

One of the many plot points introduced in “Dark Tidings” is the reveal that Naugus' magic has inadvertently returned Bunnie to an organic state. “Fragile” focuses on Bunnie's reaction to this change. Antoine notices his wife sulking in a corner. Antoine is happy that Bunnie has finally been returned to normal, a goal they've been running towards for years. Bunnie, however, is feeling uncertain. She no longer has her super powers. She can no longer be the team's muscles. She feels newly fragile and weak.

The emotional core that only showed up a little in the cover story blossoms in a serious way with “Fragile.” Bunnie's reaction to her changing state is totally natural. At this point in her life, she's been a cyborg longer than she hasn't been. So suddenly loosing her powers and abilities is a big shock. Mostly, “Fragile” is focused on Bunnie's doubts and Antoine showing her love and reassurance. And that's why these two are maybe the book's best couple, due to how much they clearly love and support each other. Jamal Peppers' artwork is really strong. He smartly contrasts Bunnie's superpowered past with her currently weakened present. His grasp of facial expressions and body language further roots this story in emotion and meaning. The story was written by entities calling themselves Scott and David Tipton, who were not seen before or after, but the duo clearly knows these characters extremely well.

So there you go. You've got a cover story that's not too bad. There's a lot of plot going on and not all of it is horribly interesting. However, when the emotional core shows itself, it's pretty good. That same element is what makes the back-up story probably the year's best. So I guess that even outs to about a [7/10]. About a third of that positive score is thanks to “Fragile,” though I liked “Dark Tidings” okay as well. Sometimes, that's how it goes.

Sonic Universe: Issue 34

Sonic Universe: Issue 34
Publication Date: November 2011

You know, guys, going back and reading a bunch of old comic books and then writing around 900-words-on-average about them should be an easy job. Sometimes, however, it can be a struggle just to read these fucking things and then write around 900-words-on-average about them. Especially when it's an issue that I don't really have any strong feelings about. Is this that mythical point, when doing this stops being fun and starts feeling like work? Thanks for that, Tracy Yardley. Anyway, let's get on with it.

“Babylon Rising: Part Two – Reunion” picks up where we left off last time. The Rogues have been cornered by Speedy and a fleet of Battle Bird Armada soldiers. They sure as hell want the cube-shaped key the Rogues have pilfered from the temple. The Rogues lead them on a chase through the near-by snowy mountains. However, once the Battle Kukku drops in on the fight, the Rogues are quickly subdued. Once the key is grabbed, the map to the Babylon Gardens is revealed.

The first half of “Babylon Rising” was mostly devoted to setting up the story with some heavy-handed exposition, plus a lengthy break for an action sequence. Part two is devoted almost entirely to action. The majority of the issue is based around a chase scene, with the Rogues trying to evade the Armada's forces. And there's some genuinely decent action beats here. At one point, Storm tears a tree out of the ground and swings it at a robot. My favorite bit is a panel devoted to Speedy wailing on Jet.

However, there's definitely a preoccupation with gimmicky in this issue. There's plenty of gadgets introduced here. The Armada's forces now include laser shooting robot birds. Speedy also whips out a laser-shooting watch at one point. The biggest inclusion is a magical ring that can create barriers that the Battle Kukku wields here, which he has never wielded before. That ring ends up being part of the puzzle to uncover the map to the Garden. I'll say this: These new elements are well designed. The robot birds look cool. But it feels to me like Yardley is filling a narrative hole with nifty gear.

Last time, I was hard on Yardley's dialogue, which struck me as stiff and awkward. Here, in issue 35, his dialogue takes a further weird turn towards shaky attempts at comedy. It seems to me that Yardley set out to write an action issue but swerved halfway through to write comedy. The only joke that really hits for me is the two time Speedy is mocked for the ridiculous egg-shell diaper thing he wears. (Though they call it “undies.”) Otherwise, a lot of it seems out of place. Like, there's a line about how the Battle Bird Armada goonies are getting better at shooting. That's a decent joke but doesn't fit in during a chase scene. Storm makes a super awkward baseball pun while swinging that tree, for another example.

The intentional comedy is pretty out-of-place. The unintentional comedy is fairly high on the charts. There's a sequence where the Battle Kukku drops out of the sky and proceeds to beat the Rogues up. Now, keep in mind, the Battle Kukku has never shown himself to be especially apt at hand-to-hand combat. Even in the “Tails Adventure” video game, the final boss battle only has him walking around and tossing bombs. Here, Yardley has the Battle Kukku slamming Storm into the ground and karate-kicking Wave in the face. He even does the superhero landing at the beginning of the fight. Keep in mind, this is a seven foot tall parrot wearing a pirate hat and lime green, high-heel boots. He's maybe the most ridiculous looking character in the comic. It's hilarious and for all the wrong reasons.

About the only thing I really liked about this issue, besides the jokes about Speedy's stupid underwear, is the growing rivalry between Speedy and Jet. Speedy was a mildly compelling villain before hand, with a defined personality and some complexity. We discover here that he has a resentment towards Jet, annoyed that he managed to accomplish his secret goal of leaving the Armada behind. This amounts to all of a few exchanges and panels. It's not the main point of the story. But it's a crumb of emotional honesty in a storyline thus far devoid of it.

Am I being too hard on Tracy Yardley here? Or is my total ambivalence towards the Babylon Rogues influencing my opinion here? Either way, I'm really not feeling this one guys. We've got two more parts to get through, so I'm not done just being a grouchy asshole who hates everything. I'm so sorry, guys. [5/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 231

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 231
Publication Date: November 2011

So now we arrive at the Mecha-Sally saga, the final super-arc Archie's “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic would attempt before the Ken Penders lawsuit forced a complete continuity reboot. Back in 2011, we had no idea that the comic book as we knew it would be ending suddenly in the very near future. We only knew that this storyline was an unusually grim and long one. If Ian Flynn could ever be said to “loose” it, in my opinion, this was that point. We've got a long journey ahead of us, my friends. Let's start.

“Lost in the Moment” begins with Sonic still aboard the ruined Death Egg, in the grasp of Mecha Sally. Eggman quickly learns that the Death Egg's power source is missing and his back-up plan – blasting Mobotropolis with a massive incinerating beam – is no longer possible. Instead, the villain luxuriates in his one victory: Turning Sonic's girlfriend into a totally obedient robot. Sonic is tossed out of the Death Egg, a Titan Mecha Sonic is sent to attack the city, the Tornado and the Freedom Fighter Special are both destroyed. And that's just the beginning of the Freedom Fighters' troubles.

A lot of shit goes down in “Lost in the Moment.” Ian Flynn, however, does not totally loose the emotional thread in all the chaos. The shock of Princess Sally being transformed into a ruthless robot weighs heavily on Sonic. He's crestfallen by this sight. He attempts to reach out to the Princess, hoping she's still somewhere inside the robotic shell. Instead, she throws him out of a space ship. Sonic has to face something he doesn't usually encounter: Loss. And not just any loss but the loss of probably the most important person in his life. He has to admit to Tails that he failed. In the latter half of the book, he shows a somewhat pathetic drive to save Sally, which Amy has to hold him back from. This is how Sonic is processing this loss. He's a runner, a hero, and a problem solver. But this problem can't be solved by running towards the problem. It's a surprisingly powerful moment.

Sally getting turned into a robot is not the only serious hit the Freedom Fighters take in this issue. Yes, the Tornado and the Freedom Fighter Special – longtime stables in the comic – are destroyed. A Titan Mecha Sonic drops out of the Death Egg and marches on Mobotropolis. (This leads up to a moment that does the impossible: Making Big the Cat likable. When he stands in front of Cream and Vanilla, keeping them safe, it's genuinely heroic.) The only thing that prevents the city from being totally destroyed is Naugus flying in quickly and crystallizing the giant robot.  Even this isn't a win though. Bunnie is caught in the blast and partially crystallized. Moreover, this big gesture makes the Mobians praise Naugus as a hero. Issue 231 leaves the heroes in a really bad place. Robotnik truly has the upper hand this time.

Ben Bates is also back at the pencils and his work is excellent here. As previously established, Bates' grasp of the character designs could not be stronger. The character look correct. Yet Bates also brings an incredible kinetic command of action to the book. The big action beats – the Titan Mecha Sonic falling from the Death Egg, Naugus spraying a magic beam at the robot, Bunnie getting caught in the blast – are brought to life fantastically. Even the smaller moments are pretty cool looking too. Every panel has a lot of energy and life-like jive to it. Such as Robotnik steaming in rage after learning he's lost some of his power. It's not just a good looking issue. It's a cool looking one as well.

The back-up story, “Haunted,” actually takes place at an earlier moment in the story. After Naugus lands on the ground outside Mobotropolis, he feels strange. Inside his head, he sees a vision of Agunus the rhino, Nusgau the bat, and Suguna the lobster. In case you've forgotten about these guys, “Haunted” helpfully recounts issue 66's “And Then There Was One,” which showed Naugus' origins. Apparently one of the Genesis Wave's unforeseen side-effects has been to awaken these long-thought vanquished spirits within Naugus' head. Naugus banishes these voices long enough to go about his mission but he is not resting well.

As a story, “Haunted” mostly just exists to let readers know this new information about Naugus. I had always assumed that, when Nusgau won the race to the sun in “And Then There Was One,” he simply took the powers and physical attributes of the other two. Now we discover that a new entity was formed, the three sorcerers existing as watching spectres locked within the mind. Okay, that works, I guess. Mostly, “Haunted” is interesting as an introduction to Evan Stanley's artwork. Though she'd soon become a reliable penciler, Stanley's work here is a bit rough. Naugus looks a little too anime-esque and the motion is a bit stiff. The opening panel – Naugus awakening from a white void – is pretty cool though. Stanley would get better the more she worked on the book.

Issue 231is a bit of a bummer. That's not a problem. Flynn keeps the stakes personal, rooting these events in the characters' emotions. I just wish there was a little more of that stuff here, more of Sonic reacting to Sally's transformation, than the plot rocketing forward at such a speedy rate. Whether or not Flynn ends up justifying all of these cruel plot turns – from what I remember, some of them are and some of them aren't – is yet to be seen. If nothing else, it's an exciting and interesting issue with some top-rate artwork. [7/10]

Sonic Universe: Issue 33

Sonic Universe: Issue 33
Publication Date: October 2011

“Sonic Universe” just came off one of my favorite story arcs for the comic, which revolved around one of the Archie-verse's most dastardly villains. Perhaps hoping lightning would strike twice, the next arc would also focus on characters that are not exactly heroes. The Babylon Rogues aren't as irredeemable as Scourge, though they are far from good guys. They also are nowhere near as interesting either. This story line would also be Tracy Yardley's proper writing debut for the book. At the time, I felt this factors combined to make a real snore of a story. Let's see if that opinion still holds true.

The first part of “Babylon Rising” – is that the first time a “Sonic Universe” arc had the same name on the front cover and in the actual book? – begins with the Rogues rushing into some sort of ancient temple. The temple contains a key that will lead them to the Babylon Gardens, a legendary location among the bird-like Mobians. The Battle Bird Armada has been trying to locate the Garden for generations and Jet the Hawk is determined to get there first. In-between deflecting the temple's booby traps, the trio flashback to the events that brought them together.

Yardley builds his first gig as a head writer around a rather uninspiring narrative troupe: The MacGuffin chase. One MacGuffin, an ancient book, has led the Rogues to the temple within the Gigan Mountains (Which probably isn't a Godzilla reference) and the key it contains. This MacGuffin will lead them to a map that will bring them to the story's final MacGuffin, the legendary Gardens. This kind of point-A-to-point-B writing is pretty dull on its own. Not helping matters are the vague status of the Gardens themselves. Literally no one knows what they are, what they contain, or why these bird-people have been chasing after them for hundreds of years. Where exactly yet another ancient but advanced civilizations fits into Mobius' convoluted history is another question left unanswered.

“Sonic Universe” has really gone crazy with expounding on characters' back stories recently. At least the Rogues haven't sat in the book for a decade without the audience learning any information about their past, the way the Fearsome Foursome did. It's already been confirmed that their origins are with the Battle Bird Armada. Here, we learn that Jet was once a promising young member of the Armada, specifically tasked with finding the Gardens. However, he wasn't interested in serving the Armada and set off on his own. His insubordination got him throw into the brig, where he met Wave and Storm. It's a pretty stock-parts origin, Jet's reasoning for rebellion and his resentment towards the Armada being left fairly vague.

In fact, Jet is the only member of the Rogues who gets much personality here at all. He's egotistical, motivated primarily by pride, and has a short temper. Which isn't a lot but is still more than Wave and Storm get. Storm is still defined solely as big dumb muscle. Wave spouts off some technobabble and historical exposition to make sure we know she's the smart one. Truthfully, Speedy – not even one of the issue's main characters – gets more development than either of them. When the Rogues deserted the Armada, he secretly begged to go with them. That's interesting! Perhaps the bird actually hates being in his father's shadow? But it's just one small moment in the comic.

When I first read “Babylon Rising,” I remember thinking it read like the kind of fanfiction written by kids who played too many video games and didn't read enough books. This game-leaning construction is still evident. In the Temple, Jet grabs the magical cube even though everyone tells him not to. This summons a sword-wielding genie, which is actually a hard-light hologram. The Rogues quickly deduce that they need to smash the projectors around the temple to defeat the djinn. This plays a lot like a boss battle from a “Sonic” game. Determining a pattern and a weak point may be fun to play through with a controller. In a comic book, it's monotonous.

In fact, Yardley does not show a lot of strength for writing in general here. His plot is stock parts. His character work is shaky. His action scenes are wonderfully drawn but dull conceptually. Even his dialogue is kind of weak. His attempts at comedic dialogue produces clunkers like “Yes, I can read ancient Babylonian” or “Sorry, your Kukkuness.” The genie's dialogue is rendered in some stiff, quasi-ancient sounding Thor speak, which is annoying to read. Chunky terms like “Divine wings,” “lightless black” or “extreme gear” are dropped throughout, thudding each time. Some of Yardley's dialogue straight-up doesn't read well. Jet says “I'm a bird! I don't need flying lessons!” despite always using a hoverboard to fly, instead of his wings. Storm saying “I don't like superior officers! I do like you!” just scans as awkward.

It's a perfect storm of mediocre ingredients. Yardley, someone clearly talented at drawing a comic but perhaps inexperienced at writing one, was given the chance to cook up a backstory with three of the least interesting characters the comic inherited from the video games. This combination does not result in the most compelling reading. I remember this arc being a tedious read so excuse me if I speed through the rest of these things. [5/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 230

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 230
Publication Date: October 2011

And we're back. In the past, Flynn took his time in-between big story arcs, usually giving the world of “Sonic” some time to catch its breath for an issue or two. Because “Genesis” was essentially inserted into the last act of another storyline, he didn't have that option this time. Issue 230 brings us back to where issue 225 left off. So we're off and running from one big storyline into the next one. Get use to that breathless pace as the original Archie Sonic continuity heads into its final year.

Apparently when Sonic reset the universe at the end of “Genesis,” he pulled a “Galaxy Quest” and dropped himself and Sally back into the Death Egg... Several seconds before they left. This gives the hedgehog and the Princess a chance to avoid the machine gun that nearly killed her. They turn the fight against Robotnik, throwing a monkey wrench into his elaborate plan as it reaches its final stage. While Sonic wrestles with some robots, Sally realizes that she has to make a sacrifice in order to save all of Mobius.

Up until this point, the assumption was that Robotnik's master plan was to shoot a huge robotocizer ray at all of Mobius. It seems like, sometime before “Two Steps Back...” was finalized, someone either reminded Flynn or he realized his own mistake. While confronting Robotnik, Sonic reminds the doctor that those pesky aliens, the Bem, made it impossible to re-robotocize anything that had previously been turned into a robot. I would've forgiven Flynn for forgetting about this plot point, which came during the comic's notorious dork age. I sure as heck did. So, instead, Robotnik's plan gets what's clearly a sloppy last minute rewrite. He'll blast the world with a robot ray... Causing a lot of it to explode! Because, as a footnote helpfully reminds us, the events of Sally's mini-series show that you can't robotocize shit that's already metallic.

Got all that? It's a pretty jumbled bit of information to dump on the reader, especially in an otherwise very action heavy issue. Large portions of the issue are devoted to action, beautifully rendered by Ben Bates' smooth, cartoony, but precise pencils. It ends up dragging “Two Steps Back...” down quite a bit. The book hasn't tangled itself up in its own lore like since the Penders days.

That so much of the issue is consumed by technobabble double-talk is also disappointing, since there's some huge emotional stakes here. Issue 225 ended by nearly killing Princess Sally off,  which would've been the third time Archie threatened to murder her. The Princess' reprieve was destined to be short-lived, at least in her current form. She sneaks down into the guts of the Death Egg, using Nicole in the hopes of hacking Robotnik's master plan. The villain's infrastructure is too strong though. All Nicole can do is turn the ray back on the Death Egg. As everyone knows by now, this results in Sally getting robotocized.

I have... Mixed feelings about this. Once again, the emotional center of this story is underserved by more convoluted plotting. Why did Nicole turn the ray back on the Death Egg? She drops this as the only option, with zero other explanation of how that works or why. There's a nice emotional panel, where Sally grimly realizes she has to do this. She says goodbye to her memories, loved ones, and presses the button. Ultimately though, this decision feels more self-serving by the writer than anything else. Flynn wanted Mecha-Sally in the book, because it's the kind of big shock that sells comic books. And this was the best way he could think of to deliver this plot twist. But it bugs me. It bugs me, man.

Further undermining this serious plot is a lame back-up story shoved into the back of the book, eating up the cover story's page count. “Sonic Generations” is another one of those “Another Time, Another Place..” stories that exist solely to promote whatever new video game Sega put out. Instead of focusing on the team-up between modern Sonic and Classic Sonic – the entire reason people got excited for “Sonic Generations” – this story merely retells the game's prologue. Sonic's friends, which includes Rouge for some reason, throw him a birthday party with chili dogs wrapped up in bows. That's when a huge chasm opens up in the sky and sucks everyone into other dimensions. Then Classic Sonic shows up for a panel at the very end.

What is there to say about this one? There's no explanation of where the portals come from. We only get a brief glimpse of where they lead to: That fan favorite the Green Hill Zone. The artwork from Jamal Peppers is good but slightly below his usual standard, as the characters come off as a little jagged. (He also draws maybe the most unappetizing chili dogs I've ever seen.) Sonic and friends bonding around the birthday table is mildly cute. So is the tenacity the hero shows in rescuing his friends. Otherwise, there's absolutely nothing here. It's a completely hollow, empty, useless story.

I guess this review came off as pretty negative. I don't dislike “Two Steps Back...” The action scenes, such as the fight between Sonic and his various robotic doubles, are well done. The moment where Robotnik freaks out, because Sonic foiled his schemes yet again, before calming himself back down is really well done. As is the scene of the villain pulling himself out of the wreckage of the Death Egg and pointing a shiv at the hedgehog. However, it's an issue bogged down by exposition, brutalizing logic, and an emotional sacrifice happening for reasons that feel less than honest. It's a bit of a bummer, as far as epilogues to an otherwise amiable event like “Genesis” goes. [6/10]

Sonic Universe: Issue 32

Sonic Universe: Issue 32
Publication Date: September 2011

I'm just going to step back and give myself a little perspective. Back when first conceived, Evil Sonic or Anti-Sonic – whatever you want to call the character that would become Scourge – was little more than a gimmick. Dressed like an out-dated perception of what a bad boy thug looked like, he was never taken very seriously as a character and was quickly dealt with every time he appeared. Who would've thought that, seventeen years later, we'd still be reading about that character? Moreover, that he would be compelling enough to carry an entire arc by himself! That's what I mean when I talk about how Ian Flynn completely saved this comic book.

The last part of “Scourge: Lockdown” begins with the Zone Police prison in turmoil. The prison riot that ends every prison movie is in full effect. In the chaos, the Destructix hope to make their escape. Scourge goes about getting revenge on those that wronged him while Fiona and the other Destructix searches for the plot device that will give them their freedom. In the chaos, reveals and betrayals go down.

As I mentioned in my review of “Sonic Universe: Issue 29,” “Inside Job” has been an arc partially about making Scourge sympathetic. By getting dunked on by everyone else in supervillain jail, Scourge gained a humility previously beyond the ego-tastic baddie. From a writing perspective, it makes sense. This also puts Scourge back at zero, giving him an identifiable character arc for this story: Trying to regain his confidence and evil zeal. Which finally comes to pass here. By the end, Scourge is re-proclaiming his superiority over everyone. And just so you know he isn't that sympathetic, that he's still a bad guy, Flynn also has him cruelly screw over Al and Cal.

All of that is well and good, from a narrative level. But it's not the reason I liked this issue so much. At the issue's beginning, Scourge goes on a rampage through the prison, his evil mojo thoroughly reclaimed. He spin-dashes the buff Knuckles that tormented him earlier right in the guy. He tosses the Anti-Lupe that hassled him earlier off a bridge. He kicks a zone cop – possibly based off of Monkey Khan – right in the face. There's an awesome page half-way through entirely devoted to him kicking ass and taking names, both guards and prisoners alike. I enjoy this for the same reason I like to watch “Friday the 13th” movies. Sometimes, it's just fun to watch the bad guy make mince-meat of everyone around him, regardless of whether or not they're decent people.

Flynn probably could've devoted a whole issue to Scourge taking revenge and generally being an amoral bad-ass. However, he does pay off on several lingering plot points set up here. Some nice tension is inserted into the last act, when the Warp Ring Fiona counted on getting the gang out of here is stolen by Jeffrey St. Croix. This allows the not-entirely-interesting subplot about the evil King Maxx trying to escape space-jail a decent conclusion. We also get a justification as to why Horzonti-Al and Verti-Cal had to be in this story. Scourge removes their inhibitor collars, unleashing the robo-death-god versions of the imps last seen in issue 59 of “Sonic.” Which actually makes the annoying duo kind of intimidating, in addition to being a decent pay-off.

After spending the last two issues finally giving the Destructix a back story, Flynn partially devotes this issue to seeing them act as a team. It's surprisingly effective. Lighting's highly effective hearing comes in handy. Fiona's brains helps the whole operation work. Predator Hawk's flight and predatory instinct prove useful. Even Scourge shows himself to be a good leader. At one point, he rushes into danger to insure the escape plan works. Yes, he's doing it so he can reek more havoc and because he really wants to escape. But this also shows that maybe there's a molecule of honor among these thieves as well.

It's a really fun issue that also, unintentionally, ends up being rather bittersweet. Flynn ends the story by setting up future confrontations. The Zone Cops, Zonic especially, are dismayed by the break-out and name-drop all the threats they are juggling right now. Scourge and his boys return to Mobius. Fiona wants to work with Dr. Finnitevus but Scourge is more interested in regaining some serious power. Sadly, none of these events would come to fruition. This is the last time Flynn would write about Scourge before the Pendering forced a hard reboot on Archie's "Sonic" books, wiping out the entire multi-verse and Scourge's existence. At the very least, Scourge's final appearance would be a good one.

By the way, Flynn and Yardley continue to sneak in those fun little in-jokes I enjoy. What appears to be a purple kraken sticks its tentacles out in the bitchin' two-age spread that opens the book. In addition to the possible Zone Cop version of Monkey Khan, we also briefly see possible Zone Cop versions of Duck Bill and Mighty. In the evidence locker, we see Dark Enerjak's brass knuckles, Rosy the Rascal's hammer, and Knuckles' infamous hat from the OVA. Most bizarrely, a mob scene features an appearance from what appears to be a red Angry Bird and the snail from “Spongebob.” Which certainly raises some interesting questions about the multi-verse here.

This story does what a good story is suppose to do: It makes me want to see more. Scourge and his bandits may not be long for this four-colored world but at least their final adventure was a lot of fun. The whole arc was very good, probably one of my favorite “Sonic Universe” plots. [7/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 229

 

Sonic the Hedgehog: Issue 229
Publication Date: September 2011

Here we are, at the end of the “Genesis” story arc. Ian Flynn has, at least once, has talked about how he was not satisfied with how this event turned out, despite its popularity with fans. Over all, I don't totally agree with that. Though not without flaws, “Genesis” flew along pretty decently. However, in its final issue – which ditches the game cover gimmick for a cool pic of Super Sonic – I can kind of see Flynn's point. But maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's talk about the issue itself.

The last chapter of “Genesis” is subtitled “Reset,” a cute reference to the reset button on your Genesis or Mega-Drive consoles. After going their several ways at the end of the last issue, Sonic and Sally face off with Eggman in different ways. Sonic races through Metropolis Zone, eventually attacking the doctor directly. Sally and the Freedom Fighters sabotage the Ocean Oil Zone, cutting off the villain's energy source. In the end, Sonic and Eggman both head to the Death Egg to face off for the fate of the world.

Last time, Sonic and the Freedom Fighters splitting up was kind of an odd choice, contrived but in a way that I understood. Sadly, because of the limits of a four-issue story line, Flynn doesn't really have time to pay off. Sonic and Sally are left separated throughout this issue and never come back together. There's no resolution to this emotional fissure. Flynn tries to patch things up as best he can, having the characters speak to each across panels. It doesn't quite work though and the reader is left not entirely satisfied.

Another attempt Flynn makes to add an emotional heart to the story involves the story's status as outside regular continuity. All along, Sonic and the others have been receiving memories of their previous lives. As the world starts to shake apart more and more, more of these memories return. (Interestingly, he includes several shout-outs to “Endgame.” Since this was right before the Pendering started, that story was still pretty well regarded by Archie Sonic fans.) I like this touch, especially Robotnik's growing frustration with memories of his failures coming back. However, Flynn still can't quite sell the threat of the earthquakes tearing Mobius apart. It's mostly a few panels and one or two dialogue balloons that point this at. It certainly doesn't feel like the planet is about to be thrown into chaos.

Being a quickie adaptation of “Sonic 2,” issue 229 concludes with Sonic and Dr. Robotnik fighting it out inside the Death Egg. While Flynn had rushed through the second Genesis game, seeing this final boss battle play out is still neat. Moreover, Robotnik's growing frustration during the fight is a nice touch. He's so close to pulling off his plan and here's the hedgehog, once again, fucking his shit up. And he's pissed about it, letting us all know again how much he hates that hedgehog. Lastly, seeing the “Sonic 2” final boss rampage through the comic is pretty cool too.

Sadly, we conclude with practically a lame deus ex machina. After mentioning that the Death Egg is powered by Chaos Emeralds, Sonic grabs a wire and magically transforms himself into Super Sonic. After mopping the floor with Eggman, Sonic then uses the same power source to reverse the Genesis Wave's effect, returning Mobius back to normal. It all feels like an extremely rushed conclusion. More than ever, it's clear that the Chaos Emeralds can do whatever the plot demands. Lastly, the hedgehog magically turning himself into Super Sonic feels like a cheat. First off, Sonic didn't need to go super to beat Robotnik in “Sonic 2.” Secondly, the transformation really comes out of nowhere. It's a weak conclusion.

The artwork is interesting here. You can still see that Yardley was taking some influences from Spaziante, after working with him on the first parts of this series. Especially in the way he draws Sally or Eggman. However, even this quickly, Yardley is already slipping back into his standard style. Which is not a bad thing! I like Yardley's work, always have, always will. The panels of the Freedom Fighters running in the Oil Ocean Zone are nicely done. Eggman's facial expressions, increasingly annoyed, are funny. The fight with the robot sure is cool. However, the truth is I just prefer Spaz's more detailed, dynamic work over Yardley's cartoony work. Seeing the book slip back into the latter mold is a little disappointing. No offense, Tracy.

Ultimately, I would still qualify “Genesis” as mostly a success. The story line served its purpose, which was to nostalgically remind us of the first two classic games and see them brought to life in comic canon. The conclusion is awkward but I still enjoy this one. I also enjoy the hardcover collection Archie put out, which is handsomely put together and includes some cool extras. Honestly, if you had told kid-me that, one day, Archie's Sonic series would be published in a hardcover collection – like a real book! – I would've shit myself with excitement. So that's fun. [7/10]