The Antoine and Bunnie Retrospective - 52

“Down and Out In Downunda” - Sonic Super Special #4

So once again I’m going out of order for this retrospective. I don’t know what it is about the Endgame story arc but for some reason a lot of story material was published way later after the story was officially over. 

Well, ok, I actually do know why. Apparently Penders originally wrote the story for a 48 page special only to have the executives at Archie/Sega cut the final issue down to 27 pages. Eventually, Penders finally got his original wish with a director’s cut years later.

One of the major edits in the original was to cut Bunnie and Antoine’s role in the story down. They were haphazardly re-edited back in SSS #6, with some good expansions and some others that were not so good. One plot point that was still skipped over, was where they got the bomb to blow up Robotnik’s weapon. 

And I have a feeling it was skimmed over again in the director’s cut because of this story. In between the original edit and the special remastered version, Micheal Gallagher wrote a flashback story to cover over the missing plot points in issue #50.  

It’s really weird.Not the story itself per-say but how this story came into being. Apparently, Penders didn’t write all of Endgame himself. In addition to his usual collaborators, Bollers and Taylor, Gallgher was brought on broad to write as well.

The reason for this is twofold. First, as is with the various artists in the book, issue 50 was meant to be a last final hurrah. Everyone who was active in the book at the time got a chance to contribute and Gallgher was a pivotal writer for the series for years.

The second is because of Pender’s obsessive hang-ups with sharing characters. Even before the copyrights and trials, Penders expressed the view that he hated people writing for his original characters and working with other’s OCs in kind. Since Gallgher created Crocbot and the D.F.F. he was tasked to write those parts of the story and this story. 

  He continued stating that he avoided using characters “beyond the core characters established in the original games and animated DiC series in the early 90’s, as well as the settings of Robotropolis and Knothole Village, and a character or two like Lupe and Amy Rose” and “didn’t hesitate to push for killing off Robotnik and fighting to keep him dead.” Later he would add “I don’t consider anything Karl or Ian or any other writer do with the character [Locke] to be official. They didn’t create him, and they didn’t do the heavy lifting of establishing him as a pivotal character to the Knuckles saga 

He would later state that “neither Ian [Flynn] or [editor] Mike [Pellerito] know what to do with the characters, which isn’t surprising as I was the only one who really had any idea how everything fit in the total narrative that I was constructing”. He also clarified that he only used new characters from the games when he was ordered to do so, and did not use other writers’ “creations except in rare times when circumstances demanded it,” such as a transition from someone else’s story to his own 

Sonic the Hedgehog, Ken Penders, Bioware, Electronic Arts, Archie Comics, Creator Rights, etc. - A review  by @theamazingsallyhogan​          

While I let you ponder over over the hypocrisy of of those statements, made by someone who’s only known work is with previously created licensed characters in a collaborative medium where he constantly worked with co-writers and co-creators…..  I will now review a story that was (for some unknown reason ) published months after it was relevant. In the interests of presenting a clearer version of our main characters’ development.  

So we open with the victory celebration at Knothole, where everyone is recounting their personal version of the endgame events.  

I spy with my little eye, a Star Wars reference 

Bunnie and Twan tell their side of the story, recapping most of the events in StH 50 and SSS #6. But with little expansions here and there. 

We get a more detailed account of how Bunnie and Ant escaped the cell. Along with some cute dialogue between the two.  

We also see them free the rest of the D.F.F.

Sadly though, we don’t get anymore development for their characters. They are here just to serve the functions of the plot and little more. 

We also, finally, finally, get en explanation for where the bomb comes from. 

We also see how Bunnie and Ant find out about the bomb’s existence. 

Ok two things here. First, Antoine is willing to give up his life to save others. He’s grown so much guys! Look how far we’ve come, from someone who would be the first to jump out of the way of danger to someone who’d knowingly lay his life on the line. 

Second, this scene is so much better presented here than it is the SSS #6. Yeah there’s still a big info dump, but it’s relegated to one panel and only provides the need to know stuff. That Robonik has a big bad weapon to wipe out Knothole with. That is all the audience and the heroes need to know. The rest of the page is spent establishing important plot points and character development.

So Antoine and Bunnie set a trap for the combot that has the bomb on him. 

Sassy Twan is best Twan!

And then the story just kind of stops….

While it’s nice to see Bunnie and Ant receive recognition for how awesome they are, I’m sad the story didn’t go on to show the rest of their adventure in Robopolis. 

Remember this was publish before the director’s cut, so assuming the audience knows what happened to Buns and Ant in issue 50 is terribly misleading cause we never got to see them use the bomb in the original.    

We end with a message from the Downunda Freddom Fighters telling of their victory over Crocbot off screen.  

The rest of the comic features “The Return of the King” an important story for the Nagus/Robians vs Mobians/King Max’s restoration arcs. Arcs that we haven’t started yet. But since the story doesn’t feature Bunnie or Antoine we won’t be coming back to it. Such is the hazards of going out of order. Something I hope to avoid from now on.