“Dust Bunnie” - Sonic the Hedgehog #119
Before we get into the main story proper let’s go over the important stuff we skipped over in between issues.
- The introduction of Tommy Turtle
- The first appearance of the Bem, an alien race who can robotize and de-robotize at will. They permanently de-robotized Eggman and Snively.
- Geoffrey and Hersey become an official couple
- Green Knuckles dies
Now on to the main event.
Bunnie is traveling to Sandblast City to answer a distress signal when she is ambushed.
And I see she’s grown her hair back out and ditched the purple jacket since last we saw her. Shame really, I quite liked that combo; oh well.
She wakes up in a cell where she comes face to face with Jack Rabbit.
Jack is more or less Bunnie’s arch-nemesis, meaning he’s the villain that effects her personal life intentionally. Robotnik or Patch are the ones who’ve arguably made or will make the most impact on her life, but those instances are byproducts of their plans/goals. Jack goes out his way to attack her or her family personally.
Only, unlike Patch vs Antoine or Robotnik vs Sonic, there’s no emotional driven rivalry between them. Jack just sees Bunnie as a means to an end. He’s after either her friend Sonic or later her uncle, those are the people he truly wants to defeat, meaning that he’s only Bunnie’s nemesis by proxy.
That can be a double edged sword from a story telling perspective. On the one hand it helps to make Jack a more unique character. He’s constantly seeking revenge against one person only to wind up battling someone else in the process all the time. What other villain can you name that’s always out to get the main hero only to fight the sidekick all the time instead? But it’s also narratively speaking, a weaker conflict. There’s less emotional investment when only half of the people fighting have actual personal stakes.
Anyways, Jack managed to captured the rogue Robians from when last we saw him and proceeds sic them on Bunnie.
This is actually really horrific when you stop to think about it. Unlike the badniks she usually fights, robians are actual people, ones who are brainwashed and forced to harm others. And unlike zombies, which is what the robians are an analogy for, they are alive and can be potentially cured. Bunnie is essentially being forced to murder people, people who are ill, in order to just survive. All because of a sadistic person with a grudge who refuses to see those as different from him as “human”.
There’s also the unfortunate implication that Sally had the means to cure even more robians but didn’t because she was afraid of “predestination”, leaving many in a living hell all because they didn’t conveniently live near Knothole. Sometimes writers just don’t think things all the way through; it happens.
Another thing the writers didn’t think through, is Bunnie leaving both robian and mobian alike in danger when she finally escapes.
Man, Bunnie is vindictive. Sonic at least felt a little guilty after doing this back in issue 63. He even had nightmares about it later, but Bunnie’s like, “Ha, ha, fuck you suckers! Tough luck to any of the innocent people who just so happen to live here and never mind if another robian dies in the ensuing fight.” Guys, I honestly think this adventure may have broke her; just a little bit.
I believe this is the last of the Bunnie solo adventures in the pre-reboot comic, and of the three so far this is also easily the best one. It keeps the focus on the hero rather than the villains, gives her agency, and works to challenge her both mentally and physically instead of merely showing off how cool her powers are are.
Other stories this issue are, Sonic and Tails face off against a giant Caterkiller and Rotor and Nicole have a cute heart to heart. I know everyone is all about the Salcole but honestly Nicole’s relationship with Rotor is one of my favorite friendships in the comic. I wish it received more focus.
So that’s it for this installment, be sure to join us again next time on the Antoine and Bunnie retrospective.
No comments:
Post a Comment