The Antoine and Bunnie Retrospective - 25

“Go Ahead… Mecha My Day” - Sonic the Hedgehog #25

Every 25 issues, the comic tends to celebrate with a “special” issue. This one is an adaptation of Sonic CD. Which introduces two new characters to the comic; Amy Rose and Metal Sonic. 

The evil Dr. kidnaps little Amy Rose to lure Sonic into a trap. In this continuity Amy’s just a little girl with a crush on her hero Sonic and they are pen pals together. 

I actually really like the Archie version of Amy. Much more so than in the games. Over time, Amy will distance herself from her obsession with Sonic and become a strong character in her own right. One with real complex motivations and interests beyond just wanting to date someone. Quite frankly, Sega could learn a thing or two from this depiction of her. 

Anyways, the rest of the Freedom Fighters realize this an obvious trap and hold a meeting to come up with an alternative way to save the little girl. Sonic suggests that Tails should fly ahead and scout out the area. Antoine’s not having any of that, however.  

(Oh dear, that joke did not age well. Look, I know pop culture references were the norm at this point, but here’s a pro tip: Don’t reference real life political figures unless you’re doing topical satire) 

Sonic’s had many rivals over the years. Rivals with the same abilities. Rivals with different attitudes but the same morals. Rivals with the same attitude but different morals. Some are dark reflections of himself. Others are more of an out right contrast. All exist to highlight what makes, Sonic, well Sonic. 

And then there’s Antoine.

Antoine wasn’t created for the sole purpose of being Sonic’s rival. While that had always been a facet to his character since the beginning, Antoine was intended to be a comic foil for everyone. He has to stand as a fully fleshed out character in his own right in order to bounce off everyone else. 

Unlike, say Shadow or Scourge, Antoine can’t merely function as a derivative of Sonic himself. That’s not a knock against characters like Scourge, but Antoine’s rivalry with Sonic is far more complex than theirs. 

Antoine and Sonic are naturally antagonistic towards each other because their core philosophies and way of life are so opposite. It’s not a matter of right or wrong, good vs evil. It’s a matter of order vs choas, meticulous planning vs flying by the seat of your pants, freedom vs stability, individualism vs responsibility. They’re like yin and yang. Neither are better or worse than the other, they are just fundamentally different.  

Also, Antoine was right. Tails gets captured after like five minutes. 

Also, speaking of rivals, look who Sonic runs into while rescuing Amy and Tails.

While Metal Sonic exists mainly to be an opponent to Sonic specifically, he will later be a major threat to Antoine down the line, as well. For now however, Sonic easily defeats him and the day is saved. 

Since we’ve now finished with the first 25 issues of the comic, the next part of this retrospective will be a recap/wrap up. Looking back at best moments thus far. So stay tuned, everybody. ;)