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Archie Sonic Review: Countdown to Chaos

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Welcome, one and all, to my first ever review.  If it isn't obvious at this point, I am a huge fan of the Archie Sonic the Hedgehog comics, and with the recent reality-shift in the series from issue 252 onward, there's no questioning that the latest arc, Countdown to Chaos (Issues 253-256), is perhaps the most polarizing arc in the comic to date.  I'm actually doing this as a sort of tribute to my buddy :iconmixedfan8643:, who is also planning on reviewing this arc.  He's much better at this than me, so I suggest you check his channel out and see what he's been working on if you haven't done so already.  I'm personally looking forward to seeing his review and how his opinions compare to mine.  Anyway, with a whole new universe and new Freedom Fighters, Sonic and Tails have quite the adventure ahead of them if they want to assemble the team once more.  Writer Ian Flynn also has quite a challenge ahead of him: introducing the readers to the new world in their comic, so that newcomers will feel right at home, but also not alienating the long-time fans.  Will Flynn- and Sonic- overcome these insurmountable tasks?  Well judging by the image I used as the thumbnail for this review it should be obvious what my opinion is, but let's take a deeper look, shall we?

Issue 253 is mostly a build-up issue, as it is established that finding the Freedom Fighters is the key to restoring NICOLE, Sonic's memories of the two universes are merging, Eggman's forces have been renamed from the "Dark Egg Legion" to the "Egg Army", and Eggman's meddling with Super Sonic restoring reality had consequences other than resetting the universe.  Our two purple powerhouses, Big and Rotor, are also re-introduced, and from the get-go it's clear that they're better than ever.  Big is back to being a simple fisherman with his buddy Froggy, but he hasn't lost any power and he quickly proves he still holds the title of "World's Strongest Mobian" by stopping Silver Sonic dead in his tracks (oh, and he can Spin-Dash now too).  Rotor is no longer crippled and can bust quite a few badnik heads bare-handed, and his turret skills are nothing to sneeze at either.  I do kinda miss his nanite suit though.  We also see the Final Egg Tower from Sonic Adventure, which shows that in this universe, the adaptation of Adventure was much closer to the events of said game than the old universe.  

As for personal nitpicks, I didn't like how Silver Sonic was defeated so quickly (without Sonic's assistance, no less), and our first Egg Boss, Axel the Water Buffalo, wasn't really given a proper introduction.  Though I'm sure we'll be seeing more of him, he doesn't show up for the rest of the arc and we never learn anything about him.  Not much of a grand entrance, but with a whole new universe to establish and not much time to focus on any one place or thing, it's forgivable.  Also, there's one page where Sonic and Tails suddenly give each other a weird look and tell Rotor to take NICOLE.  What was that all about?  What did Rotor say to prompt them to make a sad face?  Even T-Pup suddenly looks sad, does he know about the old universe too?

The issue does have its moments, though.  Sonic and Tails are still bros, it's always funny to see Eggman argue with everyone's favorite "passive-aggressive bocce ball" Orbot (no, I have no idea what the heck a "bocce ball" is, but it sounded insulting), Big's still the same lovable oaf, and Rotor's scene of having his memory restored was believable and sympathetic.  Considering he had been acting so cocky up until that point, it makes sense that remembering a much more humble life would be so jarring.  This is also the first issue with pencils from Lamar Wells, with a little help from Tracy Yardley!, and what a combo it is!  All of the characters are drawn perfectly, with spot-on facial expressions, detailed backgrounds, and coloring from Matt Herms that makes it all pop out.  It's a shame that only this issue and the next one were drawn like this.  Plus, we also get a hint that Eggman may have gotten the Roboticizer to work again, which I see as a VERY interesting plot twist.  Though it does beg the question, if the Bem were retconned out of the comic, what caused the Roboticizer to stop working at all in this universe?  Eh, who cares.  This is a great issue, with a mix of action, adventure, drama, suspense, and character development.  It's not perfect, but it's got a little bit of everything.

Issue 254 is more of a breather issue (for Sonic and Tails anyway, poor Eggman can't seem to catch a break).  At this point, they've already been through the restored Knothole Village, so it's a little disappointing that we don't get to see it ourselves.  But we finally see our comatose coyote Antoine back in action, along with the return of Sonic's Uncle Chuck.  And Muttski... he's a Mobian named Ben now.  That's sure to raise some controversy.  Though to be fair, it was kinda weird how he was one of the only characters that wasn't a fully-evolved Mobian, so there's that (though it makes me wonder why the same thing didn't happen to Froggy).  We also get to see what a good-natured person Sonic really is by his happy reunions with Antoine and Chuck.  I'd like to see Anti-Archie Sonic try and call Sonic a heartless jerk after reading THIS issue.  It's not until near the end that we finally see some action, but it's enough to get the job done.

Once again, our Egg Boss for this issue, Mordred Hood, is only seen briefly, but considering we had seen him in the old universe, it's understandable that they didn't want to spend too much time re-introducing him.  I was honestly surprised when I learned that NICOLE can only restore the memories of a limited number of people, but it makes sense in the context of the story.  As I said before, this is more of a slow, peaceful issue, which I wasn't expecting in an arc called "Countdown to Chaos".  Perhaps a bit TOO slow, but that's just me.

This issue may be a bit dull compared to the others, but that makes the moments where there is action stand out more.  Antoine makes up for lost time the last 20 issues by showing us his new and improved sword skills, and Spin-Dashing to boot.  Eggman proves himself a boss by single-handedly destroying an entire G.U.N. carrier, making us actually root for the bad guy for once.  We also get a glimpse of the inevitable Sonic Unleashed adaptation when Sonic inhales that purple gas, foreshadowing the Werehog making an appearance in the main story.  Personally, I think it's a fantastic idea that can lead to some very interesting stories.  And again, Sonic is such a sweetheart in this issue, it makes my heart melt.  I'm not sure what he meant by Uncle Chuck being "still around", though, because I don't remember anything happening to him in the old universe.  As for Antoine's memory restore, I feel it was done well, since he'd obviously be terrified of suddenly remembering being in a coma, and being able to overcome that shows how far he's come as a character.  He knows it is important to focus on the task at hand, and tells Sonic to take care of Bunnie for him as well as see a doctor about the mystery gas (spoiler alert: he doesn't). Overall, this issue is a slow but sure piece of progression in this saga, and one that I believe fans both old and new can enjoy.

With issue 255, it's time for the FFF (Female Freedom Fighters) to take center stage, starting with Bunnie.  This issue goes back to being mostly action-based, with a few peaceful moments here and there.  Sonic and Bunnie steal a shield generator for their new air base, the Sky Patrol, Eggman finally returns to the Death Egg, and Metal Sonic is sent to kill Sally.  Sounds rather par for the course in a Sonic comic, but this issue stands out quite a bit compared to the last two, for better or worse.

For starters, the art has taken a considerable drop in quality in this issue.  This issue was pencilled by Jerry Gaylord, and while it certainly isn't horrible, it doesn't quite fit the bill.  Most of the characters have dodgy proportions, some of the backgrounds are blank and/or generic, the shield generator in particular is inconsistent in size from panel to panel, and some of the facial expressions look downright weird.  I can tell that Gaylord's a talented artist, I just don't think Sonic characters are his specialty.  We're introduced to Egg Boss Tundra the Walrus (Rotor's long-lost father?), but he gets even LESS panel time than Axel did and we learn nothng about him or his soldiers.  T-Pup is also suddenly part of the team even though we didn't see him at all last issue, and NICOLE is back to speaking with a garbled signal even though she was able to talk perfectly by the end of 254.  Flynn has given Bunnie's bionic limbs a new backstory, saying that she was modified by Chuck after being injured by Eggman rather than being half-roboticized.  I'm not sure why he felt the need to change the origin of Bunnie's cyborg half, but I suppose it doesn't do any harm.  I also found some of the action to be a bit hard to follow in this issue.  It wasn't until I read the issue several times that I figured out NICOLE pretended to be the Foreman (aka "Tassel Guy") to trick the Egg Soldiers, though luring them exactly where Sonic and Bunnie were going sounds like a bad idea to me.  We also see Antoine again, but I have no idea how he managed to escort Chuck and Ben to Spagonia and meet up with Sonic and co. again so quickly.

For what it's worth, I think this issue has the best pacing out of the entire arc.  Bunnie is introduced very early, so we get plenty of time to see her and Sonic team up and kick some major tail together.  Tails and NICOLE work behind the scenes as the brains of the group, both with choosing to wait with restoring Bunnie's memories and with tricking the Egg Soldiers.  We get to see Eggman adjust to the new universe, and if there's any Sonic character Gaylord CAN draw well, it's him.  He keeps a constant, threatening look throughout the entire issue, and in the last panel when he orders Orbot and Cubot to send Metal Sonic, he looks downright scary.  Not issue 210 Eggman scary, but hey.  It's also great to see a modern take on the Metropolis Zone, with the infamous badnik trio sporting a much bigger size.  Bunnie's memory restore is certainly the most touching of them all, as it's a powerful, emotional moment devoid of dialogue and focusing on Bunnie realizing everything she's gained-and lost-proving it was smart to wait on restoring her.  We also learn that NICOLE may only be able to restore one more person, namely Sally or Amy, which is a good way to keep us guessing.  Oh, and Cubot says with a Swedish accent that Sally was changed back before anything interesting could be done with her.  You can make of that what you will.  Still, I'd have to say this is my least favorite issue in the entire arc.  It doesn't have any one major flaw, but a bunch of little things that weigh it down.

At this point, I was a bit worried about how the finale would play out.  There were still two more Freedom Fighters that needed to be found as well as restored, Eggman only just sent Metal Sonic at the end of 255, and we still had yet to see the true consequences of the Genesis Wave on the planet.  How could we possibly get a satisfying conclusion to all of that with only one more issue to put it all in?  Well, it picks up right where the last Sonic Universe arc, Pirate Plunder Panic, left off.  Not the best SU arc we've ever had, but it got the job done.  We get to see Amy, Cream, Bean and Bark right away, resolving the issue of where Amy was instantly.  We see Sally crash right next to them, indicating that some time has passed since Metal Sonic was sent to kill her.  Sonic shows up to save the day, Sally is reunited with her father, Sky Patrol is finished... oh, and the apocalypse begins.  Ouch!  Ain't that just the perfect way to ruin someone's day?

Starting with the negatives, the art still isn't as good as the first two issues.  We see the return of Yardley working solo, and while most characters are drawn well enough, there are a few occasional hiccups, mostly when they are seen from far away.  The coloring is done by Steve Downer, and while he does a decent job, it doesn't beat Herms' coloring in my opinion.  But it's MUCH better than the art in 255, so I'll give credit where it's due.  Sally and Amy also both regain their memories of the old world, which some people may see as a cop-out.  But to be fair, NICOLE only said that she MIGHT not be able to restore them both, and Sonic didn't seem too worried about it anyway, so there's really no need to look into it too much.  I will say that I honestly expected Sonic to choose Amy, so Sally wouldn't have to remember everything she did as Mecha Sally.  Also, if anyone was expecting Sonic to kiss Sally when he saw her again, you'll probably be disappointed.  People may argue that Sonic's reunion with Sally and her subsequent memory restore weren't emotional enough given how much it was being hyped up, but I thought they were both perfectly touching moments.  The moment where it is revealed the multiverse collapsed does question the possibility of characters like Scourge or Finitevus returning, but I wouldn't rule them out just yet.

Now onto the positives, and hoo boy, there's a lot of them.  For one, we get a Metal Sonic fight that lasts half the issue like in Sonic Universe 54, proving him as an actual threat.  Sally's also held on to the plasma arm blades from her roboticized alter-ego in the new universe, which I am very happy about.  Let's face it, she was pretty much defenseless compared to the other Freedom Fighters, and a new weapon was clearly in order if she wanted to stay on the team.  I originally thought that it was a terrible idea for her to be sent onto the Death Egg alone (hidden turret, anyone?), but now I know she can handle herself.  I have a feeling that this issue will be a personal favorite for the female fans, given that a good chunk of it was Sally, Amy, and Cream fighting Metal Sonic.  Sure, they still needed Sonic to save them in the end, but they did manage to hold their own for a while.  I do think Sonic's fight with Metal Sonic was over a bit too quick, but I'm sure we'll be seeing him again soon enough.  I did enjoy how Amy was actually jealous when Sonic hugged Sally, and seeing them confused at Sonic talking about the Genesis Wave was quite humorous, to say the least.  Sally and Amy also get along quite well, which I'm sure a lot of people are happy about, though I'm personally neutral about it.  Sky Patrol is finally shown in all its glory as the Freedom Fighter's replacement to Freedom HQ, and I can tell that having an air base will come in very handy next issue.  We get to see Sally's remorse for her actions as Mecha Sally, and while it's a heartfelt scene, I was a little surprised that Bunnie was the only one who tried to comfort her.  But we got to see Amy's flashback of being kidnapped by Mecha Sonic, so you know what that means: Shard is still around!  This is also the debut of NICOLE's new holographic form, and I think her new outfit looks much nicer than just being covered in purple toilet paper.  And that ending.  THAT ENDING.  That is one of the most epic two-page spreads I've ever seen, and this comic has a lot of them.  Clearly the "countdown" is over, but the "chaos" has only just begun.  This is definitely my favorite issue in the arc, an overall satisfying conclusion to the beginning of a new universe filled with promise.

Now that I've given my thoughts on each individual issue, it's time for me to talk about the arc as a whole.  The art is a mixed bag, with the first two issues stealing the show.  The covers are actually inter-connecting, forming a single, large image of Sonic and the Freedom Fighters against the Egg Army.  Not exactly an accurate representation of the stories behind those covers, but still awesome nonetheless.  I love how Ben Bates draws Sonic moving fast enough to hop from cover to cover, a very clever idea given his speed.  The stories were mostly action-oriented, but had enough character moments and downtime to make it not seem like non-stop fight scenes.  As for pacing, I'll say that issue 253 is very fast-paced, 254 has a much slower pace, 255 has a medium pace but doesn't quite make up for the slowdown in 254, and 256 has a semi-fast pace that brings everything-and everyone-together.  The Off-Panels, on the other hand... are terrible.  The scripts for them were done by Tyler Capps, and combined with his questionable variant cover to issue 255, it's safe to say I'm not a fan of his work.  Not only are the jokes not funny, they don't even make sense.  The best part about them is that they got Evan Stanley and Aleah Baker to do the penciling and coloring, respectively.  The thumbnail I'm using for this review was actually taken from the Off-Panel in 256, but the actual joke is stupid beyond belief.  Not that it really matters, since the Off-Panels are just little side jokes to lighten the mood a little, but I'd rather those jokes were actually clever and entertaining.  I found the redesigns for the new Freedom Fighters to be perfectly fine, and in some ways superior, though I can understand a lot of long-time fans being unhappy about it.  Like I said before, this is sure to be a very polarizing arc in the Archie Sonic fandom, be it due to the massive shift in the status quo, the countless characters we will never see again, or just plain indifference.  But I honestly believe that the new direction the comic is taking is great.  Making the comics more similar to the games was a risky move, but Ian Flynn pulled it off.  Now for everything we've lost in the old universe, we'll be able to experience in new zones, with new characters, and new conflicts.  It's going to take time to get used to, but I feel that even the most stubborn of fans will eventually see the beauty this new world contains.  It's a Genesis Wave of change, and as this arc has proven, change IS GOOD.   
Image size
4608x3456px 3.61 MB
Make
Canon
Model
Canon PowerShot SX170 IS
Shutter Speed
1/5 second
Aperture
F/3.5
Focal Length
5 mm
ISO Speed
800
Date Taken
Jan 18, 2014, 5:35:37 PM
Sensor Size
6mm
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