This week we check in with Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog line of comics with “Sonic Universe” #62, an issue focusing on Shadow the Hedgehog and his friends in Team Dark. Check out our review of the conclusion to “Shadow Fall” below! Also, spoilers for both the comic a terrible Playstation 2 game are ahead.
Written by Ian Flynn
Illustrated by Jamal PeppersThe EPIC CONCLUSION to the alien-smashing saga starring Shadow the Hedgehog IS HERE! “Shadow Fall” Part Four: Shadow vs. Black Death – for the fate of the world! Who will walk away alive? Who won’t make it to see a new day? Meanwhile, Rouge and Omega desperately try to save their G.U.N. comrades as Eclipse hunts them down! All this with a ticking nuclear time-bomb in the background! Don’t miss the pulse-pounding conclusion! Featuring new cover art from Tracy Yardley! and a special “CGI” variant by newcomer Sonic superstar Rafa Knight!
Do you guys remember the Shadow the Hedgehog video game? It was a spin-off from Sonic featuring his grittier counterpart, Shadow, and it was walls to the ball insane. Not only did Shadow recover from amnesia to find out he was created 50 years ago in space by Dr. Eggman’s grandfather, that his genetic material was donated by an alien overlord and that he had fallen in love with Eggman’s 12 year-old cousin who died in a space explosion with Grandpa Eggman, but he also drove a motorcycle and fired guns at everyone. He’s also the first character in a video game I had ever heard say “Damn!” It was a really groundbreaking game. Taught me a lot. And apparently it made an impact on Ian Flynn and Jamal Peppers who wrote a sequel to the game with the ‘Shadow Fall’ arc of “Sonic Universe.”
Actually, I thought it was pretty interesting to see that Archie Comics are offering up extended material from the games (even if they may be a couple years late.) Then I spent approximately five seconds on the Archie Sonic Wiki and found that wasn’t exactly the case. I’m not entirely sure what I found, but apparently Eggman has a nephew named Snively who murdered his uncle but it’s okay because that’s actually an Eggman from another timeline and there’s something called the Genesis Wave and you know what let’s just give up while we’re ahead. It’s a continuation of Shadow the Hedgehog and we’re leaving it at that.
Black Doom, the alien overlord who gave Shadow his genetic material (and probably the name of a Norwegian death metal band), still had remnants of his alien empire surviving in the galaxy after he was killed at the end of Shadow the Hedgehog. To avenge him, Black Death (definite name of Norwegian death metal band and medieval disease) has returned with the rest of Black Doom’s army and his original-character-do-not-steal Eclipse who looks like a fleshy version of that robot Sonic from Sonic CD. In order to stop them, The Avengers Team Dark from Sonic Heroes team up with government agency SHIELD GUN to leave a bomb on the Chitauri Whatever These Guys Are homeworld.
Ian Flynn’s dialogue is fairly simple as I’m pretty sure this comic is meant for kids, and in that respect his script is probably exactly what I would love as a kid. Lots of grudges and tackling robots screaming “Science!” The same can be said for artist Jamal Peppers though, but I think there’s a potential in his art that’s not yet tapped here. He does some really interesting work with panel layout (using the fires around Shadow as a border at on point), and his clear lines combined with Matt Herms’s bright colors creates a cartoon world perfect for Sonic characters.
Really, the noticeable drawback here is “Eclipse The Darkling” who is straight up one of the lamest villains I’ve ever met. He gets punched out by Omega from Sonic Heroes, turns into a super-form that’s really just a stouter version of his regular body, and then gets punched out again. Finally Black Death gives up, sends a tentacle eye after him to kick him out into space, and just blows up. It’s pretty anti-climactic.
Also of note, one noticeable trick that Archie Comics have been trying lately has been the “alternate ending” page where they just put a note before the actual final page saying “This is the post-credits bonus scene.” I have no idea if this is really effective for fans but turning the page and finding the “twist villain for future stories” to be the aforementioned Snively (who I admit is a really underrated starter Pokemon) was more than a little surreal, like the rest of the comic.
Final Verdict: 6.4 – Honestly you could do a lot worse for a kids’ comic. If you’ve got kids that love Sonic, this series is a good choice for them but maybe not yourself.
