Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.58: The Robots' Robot

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.58: The Robots' Robot

Original Air Date: December 2nd, 1993

As "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" started to wind down, it was clear the writers were running out of ideas. I always imagine a group of guys thinking up premises for sixty-five episodes in the course of one afternoon, with most of the rest of production being devoted to the far more time-consuming practice of animation. But, considering the freelance nature of children's television writing, the truth is the writers probably had little to no interaction with each other. Either way, somebody along the production chain probably should've pointed out that this show did two separate mermaid themed episodes or multiple race-themed episodes. Or, as is the case with the penultimate combo, two episodes whose titles are just related words. After "Tails' Tale," came "The Robots' Robot." 

The episode begins with two adorable lion cubs in footy pajamas racing their bikes towards their home town... Which has been mysteriously imploded. Sonic comes along and quickly, and correctly, deduces that Robotnik was behind this. He was testing out his new invention: The BLAMMO, a highly unstable device with the potential to implode the whole planet. After Scratch and Grounder almost drop it, Robotnik tells them an idiot could've built better robots. This gives the dim-witted duo the idea to create their own robot, which they creatively name Robot. Their cruelty soon runs little Robot off and he unknowingly grabs the BLAMMO as he goes, leading to a chase to see who can retrieve him first. 

One of the main, and best, jokes of "AoStH" is that Scratch and Grounder think of themselves as Robotnik's children, while Robotnik only thinks of them as disposable employees. Intentionally or not, the writers created a compelling parallel for an abusive parent/child relationship, with the robots constantly seeking validation from a dismissive parental figure. Just as Robotnik himself was mistreated by his mother, the cycle of abuse continues in this episode. Scratch and Grounder refer to themselves as Robot's parents and immediately treat him as their kid. Yet not long afterwards, they are delegating chores and tasks to him. Grounder even slips up and calls Robot their slave. The little guy is mistreated so much that, at less than 24 hours old, he's already running away from home. It's a sad inevitability that Scratch and Grounder would mistreat their robotic offspring. Abuse is all they've never known. 

This backstory ends up making Robot one of the less irritating one-off guest characters. He speaks in a series of gibberish-like bleeps and bloops, which really made me want to dislike him. But the little guy is just too cute. He really is written like a little kid, who overdoes new tasks and interprets every statement very literally. (Though Robotnik was probably entirely seriously when he threatened to turn him into a popcorn maker.) It helps that Robot follows the same "cute robot" design formula that gave us Johnny Five and WALL-E. That could be big expressive and little wheels, instead of feet. 

You'll notice that this is another episode with more story than it requires. Little Robot's plot and the story revolving around the BLAMMO probably could've filled one episode each. Robot is given far more purpose and the BLAMMO is little more than a MacGuffin. We only see its powers – which are less like true implosion and more like some "Katamari Damacy" shit – twice, at the beginning and end of the episode. Considering the device's effects can be reversed with seemingly no harm done, as the lion cubs' town is return to normal at the end, I'm not sure why Robotnik thought the gizmo was so dangerous. The episode eventually degrades into an uninspired chase scene through a volcanic tunnel and a frozen-over lake, the implosion gimmick never really coming to the forefront.

Though the chase scene is notable for a moment where Robotnik deploys some "BurroBots." Yet these BurroBots do not resemble the ones from the game and comic at all. They look more like weird bug robots, the drills on their noses being the only connecting element to their namesake. Considering the game BurroBots heavily resemble Grounder, the design might've changed so the young audience wouldn't get confused. Which raises the question of why the writers decided to use the BurroBots at all, instead of any of the numerous other Badniks from the first two games. 

These are far from the only example of how sloppy this one's script was. A lot of attention are devoted to the lion cub siblings introduced in that first scene. Named Jackson and Suzie, Sonic has several interactions with them. They are even the first ones to befriend Robot. I figure the show was going somewhere with this, that the episode would conclude with Robot being adopted into Jackson and Suzie's family. Instead, the episode swerves in a totally different direction in the last minutes. Sonic instead decides that Scrap Valley, the home for disregarded robots introduced in "Sonic Gets Thrashed," is Robot's ideal home. Truthfully, I don't know why Suzie and Jackson are in this episode at all. We never see the inside of their town or meet anyone in their family, sucking all the tension out of the plot to un-implode their home. 

But I guess this episode still isn't all that bad. Considering the script managed to get me to care about little Robot, despite his outwardly annoying attributes, I'm going to chalk this one up as more success than failure. They could have picked far worst episodes to air as the penultimate installment of the series, that's for sure. [6/10]

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.59: Tails' Tale

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.59: Tails' Tale

Original Air Date: December 1st, 1993

Of the main "Sonic" cast, Tails is the character that has probably evolved the most. In his original game appearance, he was almost strictly Sonic's sidekick, the character that trailed behind him. Japan always intended for him to be a mechanical whiz but Sega of America ran with the sidekick more. This is why, in all early American "Sonic" media, Tails is little more than Sonic's little buddy. It took years for his technical know-how and piloting skills to take hold. Because the game characterization tends to supersede everything else in newer fans' minds, his genius is now Tails' defining aspects, making the old stuff weird in retrospect. 

"Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" never really featured that part of Tails' personality but it did get him behind the steering wheel of an old-timey airplane once. "Tails' Tale" begins with Sonic and Tails awoken by the sound of an aerial dogfight overhead. Scratch and Grounder are attempting to dose William Le Duck, pilot and would-be hero, with sleeping powder. They succeed and Tails has to fly in and save the day. Afterwards, Sonic vanishes. With Professor Von Schlemmer's help, Tails and LeDuck track Sonic down... Except he's still nowhere to seen. Sonic is trapped inside the Temple of Komometz, a cursed temple that vanished during the day. If not rescued by the next dawn, Sonic will be an eternal prisoner. Robotnik has arranged this entire ordeal, of course. Tails and the cowardly Le Duck must save the day.

Since I'm nearly at the end of my "AoStH" watch-through, I can definitively say that the Tails-focused episodes tend to be a little more tolerable than most. "Tails Prevails," "Tails in Charge," "Full Tilt Tails," and "Tails' New Home" are all among the better installments of this show. There's an easily discerned reason for this. Sonic always has to be the slapstick superhero, who foils his enemies in ridiculous ways. He's basically all powerful and rarely is challenged in any meaningful way. This causes the scripts to collapse into random wackiness or to shift focus to annoying side characters. Tails, on the other hand, is inexperienced by default. He's allowed to fail, be challenged, and rise above his own weaknesses. This evident in a surprisingly touching moment here, where Tails insists he heads inside the dangerous temple to save his friend.  Sonic would do it for him, so he has to do it for Sonic. It's kind of badass and an unexpected moment of character-driven action. 

Sadly, most of "Tails' Tale" doesn't actually focus on Tails rising to the occasion and rescuing Sonic. Yeah, it happens but most of the episode is focused on the oddball "Indiana Jones" style adventure. Considering the Jones franchise's popularity and prominence in the early nineties, I'm really surprised "AoStH" didn't riff on it sooner. The temple has a Central American style design. Komometz is a bat monster in an Aztec headdress, confirming him as inspired by Camazotz, the Aztec bat god. (He brings with him a group of giant bat monsters, who appear in one strange scene and are never seen again.) The curse, river of lava, various traps and puzzles all recall the "exotic adventurer" genre that the "Jones" movie homages and briefly rebirthed. 

As is usual, the show rarely has anything meaningful to say about these tropes. Though there are two mildly amusing gags. While pursuing Tails and Le Duck, Scratch and Grounder reads from an instructional manual on curses. They successfully collapse the bridge across the river of lava but reassemble it via their own incompetence, before destroying it again and trapping themselves on the other side. (I can't help but think of the "You're on the wrong side of the river!" moment from "The Mummy," a later "Indiana Jones" wannabe.) After finding Sonic in a dungeon, Tails and Le Duck are prepared to unravel another puzzle... Only to discover the key is hanging right there. See, unexpected payoffs like that are successful examples of what we call "humor."

Sadly, most of "Tails' Tale" isn't that amusing. Instead, the episode falls back on this program's mistaken belief that a funny accent is inherently amusing. LeDuck speaks with an exaggerated French accent for no particular reason. He's also a coward, afraid of his own airplane. This means DiC created two cowardly French characters around the same time. Von Schlemmer shows up and is as terrible as usual. The scene where Tails tries to introduce the duck and the professor is especially terrible. And then there's Komometz himself, who has a gravelly accent of undetermined origins. None of this is especially amusing and each character is a largely useless addition to the wider "Sonic" lore. 

The episode at least has a somewhat unexpected conclusion, where we learn Komometz isn't such a bad guy. After he learns Robotnik was ripping him off, he puts a curse on the Eggman's fortress. Definitely one of the more nonsensical foilings we've seen on this show. I really wanted to like this one more, if just for that really nice moment where Tails decides to save Sonic. The focus on annoying side characters and reheated jungle adventures shenanigans leaves little room for anything else though. They were so close. Bummer. [5/10]

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.61: Fast and Easy

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.61: Fast and Easy

Original Air Date: November 30th, 1993

We are fast approaching the end of "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog," as I have all of three episodes left to review after this one. And, as the final episode draws nearer, I’m almost impressed with how little this show changed over the course of its run. The overwhelming majority of "AoStH" episodes did not play off the interaction between Sonic, Tails, and Robotnik's gang so much. Instead, most episodes introduced some random character into the mix, building the story around their problems or flaws. This is probably the reason why, despite taking far more elements from the early games than "SatAM" did, "AoStH" feels so disconnected from its source material. The writers were still doing this exact same set-up until nearly the end, as it evident with episode sixty-one, "Fast and Easy." 

While wandering the countryside, Sonic and Tails come upon Scratch and Grounder setting up a new trap. They are shocked to discover the trap isn't for them. Instead, Robotnik intends to capture Easy Eddie, a pickpocket and all-around dirt bag. Eddie has a ring stuck in his finger that contains a Chaos Emerald. If he gets his hand on the Emerald, Robotnik can start sinking continents into the ocean. Sonic decide the ring has to come off Eddie's finger, recruiting Professor Von Schlemmer to help. Yet, when the time comes, is a petty crook like Easy Eddie going to do the right thing? 

"Fast and Easy," at least in the abstract, has a pretty funny premise: What if Sonic had to rescue the worst person in the world? Easy Eddie isn't a supervillain but he is a massive asshole. He complains about Sonic rescuing him. He steals something from everyone he encounters. He's always rude, insulting Tails upon meeting him, and is nothing but self-interested in his actions. As if he couldn't be more of Sonic's diametric opposite, he also hates chili dogs and going fast. Yet being a hero means rescuing everyone, even people who are terrible. Forcing Sonic to continuously protect someone who always makes him regret it is a pretty amusing set-up for jokes, albeit darker ones than this series usually specializes in. 

Sonic griping about Eddie's unavoidable bad behavior is played for laughs throughout "Fast and Easy." Most of the episode is still devoted to pedestrian slapstick. However, I could've forgiven a lot if the episode did one thing. As soon as the ring is unstuck, Eddie runs off to Robotnik. He gives the supervillain the world-threatening ring in exchange for a massive payoff, which is totally in keeping with Eddie's personality. If the show had stuck with this idea, that some people are always terrible, it would've at least committed to its main joke. Instead, Eddie has the most unconvincing change of heart at the last minute. At the end of the episode, he shows back up, says he's changed, and gives back everything he stole. Literally nothing happens to prompt this change. Eddie's entire personality shifts just because this is a kids show and it would be uncharacteristic of the genre to have someone not learn their lesson. (Even though, I'd argue, "some people never change" is a moral kids probably could stand to learn.)

For "Sonic" lore nerds, this episode is notable for featuring a Chaos Emerald. It's the only time the show acknowledged the game's favorite MacGuffin outside of the Quest for the Chaos Emeralds four-parter. It's certainly inconsistent that this Chaos Emerald doesn't grant its wearer a god-like ability, like the other four. In fact, this Emerald has almost the opposite purpose of the game's Master Emerald. When placed upon a special pedestal, contained within a "Secret Zone," it causes islands to sink into the ocean. As opposed to the Master Emerald causing an island to float up into the sky. The show does not clarify how any of this works, where the Secret Zone is, how Robotnik found out about this, or any of that stuff. There was no time for actual plot points, when the episode had to squeeze in dumb jokes instead. But it is interesting that, probably by coincidence, this episode parallels some of the game series' most famous plot points about a year before it went down. 

Since I'm almost done with my watch-through of this show, I was really hoping I wouldn't have to see Professor Von Schlemmer again. It had been a while since he showed up. The series seemed to utilize the less horrifying Dr. Caninestein more as it went on. Nope! Not only goes the obnoxiously accented mad scientist appear in this episode, he's showing up two more times before the end. Presumably because the universe has a cruel sense of humor. Anyway, Von Schlemmer does his usual annoying bullshit. He performs absent-minded word play, builds bizarre and impractical inventions, and just annoys the hell out of me every second he's on-screen. He actually makes things worst for Sonic too. After accidentally zapping the ring off Eddie's finger, he insists on continuing with his ridiculous machine solutions, trying to solve a problem that's already been resolved. This allows Eddie to get away and endanger all of Mobius. Jesus... Von Schlemmer is like the Elon Musk of Mobius or some shit. 

How many times throughout this retrospective have I said that an episode could've been good if a little more thought or care had been taken with the premise? It seems like it's been a lot. Here's yet another example. A character like Easy Eddie, whose whole purpose is to always be terrible, had some comedic potential. Instead, "AoStH" falls back on what it always does. [5/10]

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.64: Robo-Ninjas

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.64: Robo-Ninjas

Original Air Date: November 29, 1993

America's cultural fascination with ninjas is a fairly recent one. The roots of our (patronizing at-best, horribly racist at-worst) fixation on Asian mysticism dates back to the late 1800s, evolving through the Charlie Chans and Fu Manshus, before climaxing with Bruce Lee and the martial arts movie boom of the 1970s. It was inevitable that the ninja, those mysterious assassins of Feudal Japan, would appeal to a country hungry for Asian exoticism and elaborate asskickery. (The ninja is so mysterious that almost everything we associate with them is bullshit.) A horde of ninja movies, video games, and comic books would appear in the eighties. The massive popularity of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would extend this already juvenile fascination even further into the decade of my youth. Considering the "Sonic" franchise modeled certain aspects of itself after the TMNT, it's not surprising that "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" would eventually attempt to put its own spin on whatever passes for "ninjas" over here. 

Which brings us to episode sixty-four of the show, "Robo-Ninjas." Scratch and Grounder set up another easily foiled trap for Sonic and Tails. After this inevitably fails to work, the robots stumble upon a wandering martial arts master named Kwan Chang Crane. Robotnik witnesses Crane easily defeat his minions and gets an idea. He captures Crane and pumps his knowledge into Scratch and Grounder's heads. This makes them "Robo-Ninjas," threats so dangerous that Sonic is nearly overwhelmed. Soon, Sonic and Tails encounter Grasshopper, Crane's student, and set out to rescue him.

The Sonic News Network Wiki page for this episode notes that it was not shown on Toon Disney for "unknown reasons." I'm pretty sure I've figured out what those reasons are: This cartoon is kind of racist! First off, Kwai Chang Crane and Grasshopper are parodies of the TV show "Kung-Fu." That was a show about Chinese martial arts while the ninja is a Japanese concept. That's far from the worst part. Crane spouts nonsensical, faux-Asian philosophical statements throughout, a dicey gag. Mostly, this episode is really uncomfortable because of the fake Asian lisps the voice actors affect. Yes, after being zapped with Crane's knowledge, Scratch and Grounder begin to speak with very poor chop-sockey accents. Sonic is not spared from this offense either. He refers to  "chow main" and egg fu young as martial arts style and puts on Crane's rice-patty hat in the final scene. 

It's all really uncomfortable, to say the least! Having your cartoon characters dress up as ninjas is one thing but having everyone do audio yellow face, while cracking cultural insensitive wordplay, is another. The episode quickly approaches Mickey Rooney in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" territory. And, ya know, it didn't have to be this bad. With a little tinkering, this script actually could've been subversive. Robotnik looks at the Asian philosophy Crane espouses and only sees another form of butt-kicking. He's totally unwilling to understand what the martial arts master actually means. Moreover, Scratch and Grounder adopt Asian mannerisms but inevitably make fools of themselves. This could've been an episode making fun of assholes who fixate on their shallow understandings of Chinese and Japanese disciplines, who see a style and not a culture. Instead, it falls back on offensive stereotypes for easy jokes. 

And, ya know, If it wasn't for the casual racism... This probably would've been a good episode. The ninja gimmick gives Scratch and Grounder an actual power boost. They successfully catch Sonic off-guard in one scene. They even see through his old disguise set-up. A flurry of shurikens run Sonic and Tails off. Another moment has Tails nearly being captured. A pair of enemies that Sonic has humiliated countless times suddenly overpowering him is a pretty good idea for an episode! You could've done this exact same set-up without the embarrassing ninja cosplay and all the cultural baggage it brings with it. 

It's not just the idea that could've been salvaged here. "Robo-Ninjas" actually has some funny jokes in it. Kwai Chang Crane's philosophical mish-mush is a Not Okay indulging of Asian stereotypes... But the way it continuously baffles Robotnik is kind of funny. The doctor asking Crane to clarify one of his parables got a laugh out of me. So did a moment where Coconuts asks Sonic if he thinks he's stupid, the hedgehog replying with a blunt "Yes." On the other hand, this episode relies on the "Sonic puts on a wacky disguise" gag too much. He does that five times in this episode, including a really random moment where he dresses up as Beethoven, I guess. 

Honestly, the racial stereotypes this episode indulges in makes me so uncomfortable, that I feel like I'm probably not qualified to write about it. We really need some Asian-American "Sonic" nerds to weigh in on this one. And, Jesus Christ, "Sonic" is a Japanese franchise! Couldn't the show runners have asked someone at Sega if this was okay? Or at least had them clarify that kung-fu and ninjas are from two different countries! And I'm not even really mad at this specific episode – the "AoSth" writers were, as always, too rushed and lazy to worry about things like racism – so much as I'm mad at the entire culture that let casually dehumanizing shit like this happen in the first place. Anyway, I'll reel in my guilty white conscience and just rate this one a great big ol' [oof/10]. 

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.56: The Little Merhog

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.56: The Little Merhog

Original Air Date: November 26th, 1993

While it's fun to credit lonely sailors who were so horny that manatees started to look good to them with the creation of the mermaid myth, the truth is stories about people who live in the scene are as old as myths themselves. Man's relationship with the ocean, both life giving and incredibly dangerous, has always made it a source of awe and terror and wonder. The mermaid holds perhaps the most prominent place in pop culture of all seafaring myths. Part of this can be credited to Disney. The blockbuster success of 1989's "The Little Mermaid" didn't just birth the Disney Renaissance. It also led to a flood of knockoff mermaid products. Being of its time and place, "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" also rode this wave of newfound mermaid fascination... Twice, actually. Airing at the opposite end of the series as "Submerged Sonic" was "The Little Merhog," another episode that had out fleet-footed hero sleeping with the fishes. 

Sonic and Tails are out fishing when Tails accidentally hooks a half-hedgehog/half-fish. The Merhog is named Merna and her underwater home of Mertopia is in danger. A villain named Captain Memo plans to demolish the city and create some extremely oceanfront property. Sonic quickly gets the scheme to alert Robotnik that another villain is trying to conquer Mobius. This leads Robotnik's own underwater forces fighting with Memo's. However, the two soon put aside their differences to conquer together, forcing Sonic and the residents of Mertopia to fight back.

"The Little Merhog" is the rarest of "AoStH" episodes: One that has actual jokes. Yes, there are several gags here that genuinely made me smile or chuckle. I guess Captain Memo's name is a not-totally-connecting pun on Captain Nemo. But the idea of a submarine pirate obsessed with dictating memorandums is likably absurd. There's a moment where Robotnik is working on his putting game, a contrast between a mundane activity and his supervillain personality. Robotnik builds a submarine with his face, because of course he does, but the show takes that to its absurd conclusion by having the torpedoes shoot out of the nostrils. At one point, the show even mocks itself a little when Sonic's catchphrase is muffled by him diving underwater. Even the throwaway moments, like monstrous leftovers in the fridge reaching for some tossed aside pizza, represent somewhat successful attempts at actual humor. Sure, there's plenty of loud wackiness and facile slapstick but "The Little Merhog" still has to rank among the funniest episodes of this show.

"The Little Merhog" is also notable for including a villain totally unrelated to Robotnik. In fact, half of this episode doesn't even have Robotnik in it. The egg man's inevitable presence leads to an unusually conniving scheme on Sonic's behalf. He decides to play "Yojimbo," hoping the two bad guys destroy each other and save the town in the process. That alone would've been a solid premise for an episode but "The Little Merhog" throws in a further swerve, when the villains fight and then team-up. The episode then reveals itself as a story of plucky underdogs standing up to their oppressors, as the Mertopians find the strength to fight their own battles. These are all tried-and-true premises but I'm shocked "AoStH" deploys them all as well as it does. 

Maybe the reason the jokes here work better than usual is that the episode kind of takes its premise seriously. Yes, the idea of an underwater kingdom of mermaid hedgehogs is ridiculous. And the motivation of a villain razing their city to the seabed to make mini-malls and condos is silly. (Though just an absurdist exaggeration of actual capitalism.) But you do feel something for the Merhogs' plight. When Memo's giant squid shaped submarine and Robotnik's Robotnik-shaped submarine go about destroying Mertopia, it feels surprisingly serious. There's still goofy sound effects laid overtop but there's not much funny about people aquatic humanoids fleeing in terror as their homes are destroyed. When Merna uses her Aquaman-like powers to summon a horde of sea life, to fight the invaders back, it's a genuine hero moment. The show actually earns that. I'm as shocked as you are. 

I want to credit "The Little Merhog's" quality to writer Jeffrey Scott but he wrote several terrible episodes too. One trademark of Scott's I have noticed is that he always writes Sonic as a ladies man. From the minute Sonic sees the comely Merna, he immediately begins flirting with her. There's a scene where the two are playfully splashing in a fountain, under a busty Merhog statue. The episode concludes with the two sharing a heart-creating smooch, the G-rated kids show version of our hero getting laid. (We can assume Merna was never seen again because Sonic ran into the age-old mermaid dilemma.) Despite a distressing close-up of Tails' foot and the queen of Mertopia's matronly bosom, this is not one of the freakishly horny episodes of this show. It's just horny in the normal way nineties kids cartoons were. 

Going into this episode, I figured it would be one of those episodes that uses vague pop culture parody as a clothesline to hang dire bits of would-be comedic cartoon chaos on. Instead, I found myself invested in the plight of the characters, amused by the goofy new villain, and actually enjoying the experience. This is a rare example of this show briefly rising out of the muck of the disposable nineties cartoon goop to deliver a halfway decent episode. If nothing else, it's a lot better than "Submerged Sonic." [7/10]

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 39

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 39

Publication Date: May 12, 2021

In the two months since the last IDW related post on this here blog, there's been some interesting news related to the comics. First, among a flurry of really neat merchandise announcements, there was a pretty creditable rumor that Whisper may be turned into an adorable plush you can buy and snuggle. Shortly after that nugget sneaked out, an official line of Tangle and Whisper related merchandise – shirts and pillows and a weirdly expensive blanket – popped up on Sega online store. This makes Tangle and Whisper the first comic exclusive characters to ever be merchandised. (Though they also showed up in a mobile game last year, so I guess they aren't strictly exclusive to the comic anymore...)

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, Tangle and Whisper are really cool and I think it's great that Sega is embracing them. Honestly, I'm shocked and amazed that Sega is acknowledging anything that isn't from the mainline games. At the same time, I can't help but feel a slight sting. Archie Sonic ran for twenty-four years and never received so much as a nod from Sega. Sally and Julie-Su walked so Tangle and Whisper could run. I can't help but be slightly peeved that Sega merely begrudgingly allowed the original comic to exist but is now happily embracing its follow-up. As if this is a corporate acknowledgment that the new thing is better than the old thing I've spent my whole life obsessing over. I guess that's more my problem than anyone else's. The old, bitter nerd in me is talking. 

Anyway, none of that has much to do with the actual focus of today's post. Let's talk about part three of "Test Run." Sonic, Tails, and Amy remain trapped in Eggman's weird pocket dimension. The villain turns the gravity off, causing our heroes to float towards the sky. Sonic races upward into the void, egging Eggman on to try out some new boss machines on the good guys. Which doesn't exactly work out for them... Meanwhile, Tangle and Belle interrogate Cubot and Orbot in hopes of helping their friends.  

Last time, I applauded Evan Stanley for taking her story in increasingly weird directions. At first, part three of "Test Run" continues to operate in this more surreal direction. Cubot and Orbot pump monstrous Badniks out of a machine, each one an unholy abomination mashes together from different parts. Inside the pocket dimension, Sonic can't even trust the basic fundamentals of psychics like gravity. Our heroes are sent floating off into space. It continues the fun sense that anything can happen in this story. 

Which makes it all the disappointing that this is all a prelude to another simplistic boss battle. The trio floats upward until Eggman forms a room out of thin air – okay, cool – which becomes the place to test out his new death machine. It looks a lot like "Sonic Adventure 1's" Egg Viper and later splits into three smaller machines, each one with mastery over a different element. (Stanley might have stolen this from an old issue of the "Sonic X" comic, though it's a pretty basic idea too.) It's just another battle between Sonic and an Eggman vehicle with an easily identified weakness. We've seen this exact scenario a hundred times before and it's disappointing that, after stretching its imagination last issue, we are back to the usual Sonic business. 

The B-plot, last time, was devoted to Belle questioning her humanity, wondering what it meant for her that she was an Eggman creation. It was good character development. That is also put aside here, as the Tangle and Belle scenes are largely devoted to humor. It's not all bad though. Tangle attempting to psych out Cubot and Orbot, tricking them to reveal crucial information via increasingly wacky techniques, is funny. There's room for humor in this comic book about cartoon animals fighting robots. And watching Tangle be a goofball is always delightful. 

Even if this is an issue that takes some steps backwards, Stanley still finds a few emotional moments. When Tangle decides to leap into a portal, to save her friends, Belle tries to talk her out of it, that the risk isn't worth it. It's an interesting development, showing how much Belle cares about her friend but also showing there's a limit to her heroics. If Stanley takes this character in the direction I think she might, with Belle eventually joining up with her "dad," this could be an intriguing angle to explore.

Also, there's no doubt about where Stanley's shipping interests lay. Once again, Amy shamelessly flirts with Sonic even as they leap upward into the sky. It should be well known that I'm no fan of Sonic/Amy but, mostly, I'm just bugged that Amy's character development has receded so much recently. I really liked tough, field commander Amy from the book's first year. Seeing her backswing more and more towards fawning fan girl is a little underwhelming. I loved Amy's characterization in the "Chao Races and Badnik Bases" arc, so I guess I just prefer her interacting with other girls. 

On the artwork front, Stanley and Bracardi Curry continue to split duties. Evan draws the Tangle and Belle scenes, while Curry does everything deal with Sonic, Tails, and Amy. Both are very good at what they do. Curry really gets to show off his skills at sketching action scenes here, during the big showdown between Sonic and Robotnik's new robots. I especially like the way he frames the reveal of one machine splitting into three. Stanley, meanwhile, is a pro at this point at mining humor and personality out of simple dialogue scenes. Her Tangle is always so sassy and personable.

All together, it's an issue I'm not too sure how to feel about. It seems like this arc is taking a step back just when it was heading in some really interesting direction. Couldn't we had held off on the inevitable boss battle next time, to enjoy some low-key weirdness a little more? I guess we'll see if Evan can pull it all together next time. [6/10]

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.54: Robotnikland

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Episode 1.54: Robotnikland

Original Air Date: November 25th, 1993

Whether you call him Eggman or Robotnik, his motivations usually remain the same across all "Sonic" media. The villain wants to subjugate the world to his will, usually via the application of robotics. Yet an odd quirk reoccurs throughout several versions of Robotnik, including the various games, comics, and the Japanese anime. He wants to build something called "Robotnikland" or "Eggman Land." What is that exactly? While the term is sometimes synonymous with his empire in general, it seems Eggman Land is an evil amusement park based on the doctor's image. This is a ridiculous idea – that Ian Flynn tried to normalize somewhat by also making Eggman Land a factory/command base – but ya know what? Conquering the world and then building an evil amusement park based on yourself is prime supervillain stuff. 

"Robotnikland" had been part of the character's motivations from early on, so it seems likely the "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" writers drew from that when creating the eponymous episode. Robotnik converts an amusement park named Mobius Land to reflect his own sick goals. Sonic is feeling a bit lonely on his birthday, unaware that Tails is planning a surprise party, so he leaps at the invitation to the park. When he gets there, he discovers that Mobius Land has become Robotnikland, a park designed specifically to torment him. While Sonic turns the table on his rotund capturer, Tails and friends seek to free him. 

The most fascinating moment in "Robotnikland" actually has nothing to do with the amusement park premise. It's the very first scene, a peek at the horrific domesticity of the Robotnik household. Scratch and Grounder are preparing breakfast for their boss, as he smiles while reading a newspaper and sipping coffee. (And, for some reason, wearing a fez.) When Scratch presents him with pancakes instead of eggs, Robotnik smashes him over the head with the food and beats him with the server dish. Scratch collapses to the ground... And gushes blood. Okay, so I guess it's ostensibly maple syrup from the pancakes. But the visual is undeniably morbid and I'm absolutely sure that was intentional. Something as simple as being presented with a different breakfast being met with horrible violence can't help but remind me of an abusive relationship. Robotnik's punishment of Grounder is more cartoonish but, by then, the parallels are already established. It's a moment that's meant to be funny in a goofy slapstick way and instead becomes funny in a "this is kind of fucked-up" way. 

This scene sets up a mood of cruelty throughout the rest of the episode. After Sonic makes his way to the park, he quickly turns the tables on Scratch and Grounder. After they are trapped by mechanical animals, he teases and mocks them before sitting back and watching them be beaten. Later, after Sonic successfully takes over the park, Robotnik and his sidekicks are subjected to increasingly surreal torments. This includes a nightmarish dark ride where the baddies are terrorized by ghostly visions and Scratch's shadow has its head chopped off. Once again, "AoStH's" grotesque slapstick rises to the level of sadistic, Sonic laughing with glee as his enemies are tortured.

If it wasn't apparent by now, "Robotnikland" is an unusually violent and shrill episode of this typically violent and shrill series. The last few minutes just get louder and wackier and denser as the bad guys are terrorized more. Yet the signs that this is going to be an especially obnoxious episode occurs early. Robotnik traps Sonic in a massive pinball machine, a sequence which necessitates even more flashing colors, loud sounds, and bad animation than usual. What makes the pinball scene interesting, and not just annoying, is that this is not the first time "Sonic" media featured a scene like this. A similar sequence was in an episode of "SatAM" and the kids book that loosely adapted it. I can only assume this is a sequence Sega of America insisted early "Sonic" products feature, which is why it showed up so much. (This also means this episode has more pinball in it then the episode ostensibly adapting "Sonic Spinball.") 

"Robotnikland" is an episode with so much weird stuff in it that it becomes interesting. But interesting isn't the same thing as good. There was a strong premise here. Turning the amusement park, a source of fun, into a source of terror is always a good contrast to play with. "Robotnikland" does indeed veer towards horror, in that dark ride scene and an uncanny moment where Grounder wears a spooky mask. Moreover, Sonic is trapped in the park, its walls too strong to spin dash through. But "Violence Voyager" this ain't. Sonic could've been vulnerable. He begins the episode feeling a little lonely, a little letdown on his birthday, and then ends up stuck in a place made just to fuck with him. Yet this poses no challenge to the hedgehog. He immediately goes God-mode and turns every attraction against the bad guys. I wish this show would understand that every thing, even comedy, works better when the hero is at a disadvantage. 

Still, weaknesses and all, this is too odd an episode not for me to sort of like it. The guests Tails invite to Sonic's party include some familiar faces from past episodes. That would be Dr. Caninestein, Chester Cheetah, the hideous Wes Weasly customer from the "Spinball" episode, a few other guys nobody gives a shit about, Miss Possum from "Magnificent Sonic," and one of the Beach Bunnies from "Prehistoric Sonic." (Since the last two are wearing very little clothing, one assumes Sonic is getting a far more special birthday present later in the evening.) Also, this episode features some unfortunate culturally insensitive gags. Such as some brainwashed zombies – another really random moment – doing a stereotypical Egyptian walk set to stereotypical Egyptian music or Scratch having a bone through his nose while dressed as an African native. 

This is another episode from Jeffrey Scott, whose episodes are rarely forgettable, even if that might be for the wrong reasons. While not on the level of previous surreal shit-fests like "Boogey-Mania" or "Too Tall Tails," "Robotnikland" is still a memorably fucked-up dose of Sonic insanity. [6/10]