The Antoine and Bunnie Retrospective - 135

“No Where to Run” - Songoose I - Sonic the Hedgehog #153 

We open up with the Freedom Fighters doing some training with General D’Coolette as their coach. Sally’s there too, to oversee things, and she has this chat with Armand while there. 

So several things are going on here. Both Sonic and Antoine are being blamed for the behavior of their evil counterparts. (though honestly, Scourge’s flirting didn’t harm the last mission at all. None of the girls broke out into a fight or anything, and to be frank, the personal relationships of your team mates really aren’t any of your damn business Sally) However, Armand, blames himself for “Antoine’s” sudden change in behavior; thinking that the pressures of war and living in the shadow of a hero might have pushed him over the edge. It’s a poignant and ironic insight, and not just because we all know “Antoine” is really Patch. No it’s ironic because we have seen the real Antoine’s response to war and living in his dad’s shadow. It’s not cold, harsh, and standoffish behavior, rather it was arrogance and fearful cowering. But Armand wouldn’t know this about his son because he was reunited with him after all of his character development. 

It’s also interesting to find out that Armand use to ship Sally and Antoine. Though one has to wonder why. Did Max inform him about the Source of All’s vision? Or was it merely a folly he had when they were both small kids? Like how adults do when they pretend about the life their children will have when they’re grown. Or did he genuinely see something between them and thought they would be good together? It’s telling that he claims that it is Antoine who is not right for Sally. Not that she is wrong for him or that they mutually might not be suited to each other. It kind of implies that it’s Patch he’s really talking about here, and that before the sudden change, he really did believe they would make a good couple. 

However Armand is a stand up guy who, unlike Max, doesn’t threaten or belittle his children into complying to his wishes. Nor does he treat his son’s actual chosen significant other as being beneath him. Armand’s always been supportive of Bunnie and Antoine, no matter what his feelings of Sally may have been. And he even apologizes! He sincerely asks for Sally’s forgiveness for ever unintentionally putting pressure on either her or Antoine, despite the fact that he never ever did such a thing at all. Can Armand just be Sally’s new father now? Please! He’d be so much better then Max. 

Speaking of the devil, Max and Alicia interpret them with a phone call. 

Ok, so both Armand and Max have fallen ill, at the same time, with similar symptoms. And we know it’s not anything contagious because no one else has caught it. And Dr. Quack just thinks it’s some bullshit thing that happened long, long ago from the first war? 

Originally posted by yourreactiongifs

If it was radiation pensioning from like a bomb or a byproduct of chemical warfare then wouldn’t there be others coming down with it? Like Bernie, Chuck, or even Quack himself as they all would have fought in that same war. Probably in the very same battles. Also why would this “poison” only take effect so many many years later? Wouldn’t a more recent poisoning be the logical answer here? 

Look I’m not saying everyone should immediately suspect Patch. We the audience know damn well he’s behind this. But of course the characters still believe him to be Antoine, and well Antoine would never harm his father nor betray the crown. But it is rather convenient that nobody even entertains the idea that there might be foul play afoot somewhere and that there isn’t any investigation launched at all. 

But intrigue will have to wait, because Armand soon collapses. 

And of course the only person who suspects anything is wrong is Bunnie. 

I mean you would think something like you’re dad dying might cause a bit of concern from your friends. Especially if you’ve completely emotionally shut down, which is a sign of denial and a stage of grief. But nope, they all decide to go to a concert instead of checking up on “Antoine” personally. 

Originally posted by agoodgifisworth1000words

This leads into the much less interesting main story for this arc. Eggman wants Mina dead for petty reasons and hires Nack to assassinate her. Oh and more dumb relationship drama that should have been done with ages ago. 

But at least Bunnie gets to do something useful and puts out a fire. 

The second story this issue involves yet another AU tale where this time the cast are in a fantasy medieval setting, and really it’s just an excuse to write and draw the characters as their pre-development selves.  It’s a pointless, yet simi-fun throwback, that I personally wouldn’t mind if only one small niggle. 

Rosie is the one narrating this story. 

And she casts Antoine as a jester or the comic relief if you will. Which makes sense from a meta stand point, and if this was a Zone Wars story that would be fine. But here? 

Rosie is Antoine’s adoptive mother. She raised him for ten years after he lost both his parents. She’s basically calling her own son an idiot! 

Does no one working on this damn comic understand Rosie’s character and her relationships with the rest of the Freedom Fighters? 

I’m sorry, but everyone ignoring Rosie’s role and importance with in the comic is something that really bothers me. It’s such a waste of potential that’s never been fully explored even in the reboot. 

Gee, it’s almost like those are legitimate criticisms that’s been thrown at the comic before and instead of learning from them and growing as an artist you gave everybody the middle finger instead just to protect you’re own fragile ego.

No I’m not bitter, why you’d ask? 

The Antoine and Bunnie Retrospective - 134

“Sonic’s Angels” - Sonic the Hedgehog #152

So this is quite the controversial issue for many reasons. Mainly because of the way it resolves the whole Evil Sonic mucking with Sonic’s love life plot. In that it doesn’t resolve anything.  

The freedom fighters are sent on a mission to stop a bunch of nanites from destroying the ecosystem. And the group is split into two teams, the “brain trust” (ie the smart guys) and the psychical fighters. Only without the Chaotix or Antoine around, most of the heavy hitters are all women save Sonic himself. 

This leads into my first problem with story and possibility with the whole of the Sonic franchise. There aren’t any super smart women! 

In all of the games, cartoons, and the majority of the comics (I haven’t read Fleetway so forgive me if I’m wrong) most women in the franchise can be roughly categorized into five groups. 

• The Cute Bruiser or Action Girl - Amy, Bunnie, Julie-Su, Barby ect. 
• The Serious No Nonsense Leader or Loner - Lupe, Sally, Madonna, Topaz, Blaze, Shade ect. 
• The Innocent - Hope, Maria, Cream, Elise, Tikal, Mina, That genie from Sonic and Secret Rings, ect. 
• The Femme Fatale - Rouge, Breezie, Fiona, Lin-da ect. 
• The Mothers - Vanilla, Rosie, Bernie, Lara-Le, Aleena ect. 

There’s nothing inherently wrong with any the above tropes and it’s good there are enough differences between theses characters to make them unique from one another.  But it’s telling that the only genius women, like Wave and Relic, are fairly new additions to the franchise. ( I think Fleetway has one, Tenko, I believe?) And anyone else who doesn’t fit into theses categories are often outliers like Sarah, Merlina, Regina, Sonia, Marine, or Sticks. (though Sticks is becoming more prominent) 

Basically what I’m getting at is, due to the nature of the series, there’s an over abundance of psychically strong women and few that have equal but differentiating strengths. Especially since the innocents tend to be plot points and/or motivators for male characters. Cream and Mina being the exceptions. 

So I can’t really fault Penders for wanting to do a story that highlights the fact that over half of the comic’s warriors are women. But I can gripe about how he merely uses them to further forced relationship drama and how none of them, save Bunnie, actually do anything productive. With character’s like Mina being outright redundant with the comic actually stating that she is. 

So what does Bunnie do? Well she get captured by the nanites who thinks she can be converted into the collective because of her cybernetic limbs. 

Now I don’t have a problem with this scene necessarily, unlike many others who seem to, and here’s why….

• It’s a logical conflict that’s true to the unique nature of the characters. Robotization already involves natnite technology and Bunnie is one of only two people in the world who still has this technology present in their biological system.   
• This ties into Bunnie’s already established internal conflict about her identity but puts a new spin on it where she realizes that who she is now is better then some of the other alternatives out there. This could also potentially tie into future conflicts as her cybernetics could be considered a danger to herself but it’s not one that’ll come up often.  
• Some have argued this scene is too “intense” for children but I grew up with late 80s/early 90s cartoons where crap like this was deemed ok. 

• I’m of the mind that as long as it doesn’t involve outright gore and has a happy ending you can go as dark as you want with kids and they’ll be fine. Usually. I do recognize that there are exceptions to this rule. 
• Last off, there is a happy ending and she’s not permanently psychically harmed by the event.

No, what I have a problem with is what happens after she’s freed. 

Ya see Sonic outwits the nanties with logic in order to free Bunnie. 

Grateful and relieved to be herself once more, Bunnie gives him a kiss. 

Now this isn’t a problem within of itself so much as every thing revolving around it is awful. Bunnie’s already interested and Sonic and believes he has feelings for her because of Scourge lying to her and Sonic himself is unaware of both Scourge’s actions and Bunnie’s new found feelings. So instead of responding to this action in an believable manner or trying to to set the record straight he just goes along with it. So I guess they’re dating now, only no, wait, they’re not, because they never follow up on this ever! 

This is indicative of a larger problem within the Sonic franchise as whole. I mean, yes, it’s also because Penders is mainly a shit writer, but hear me out. From Ben Hurst to Pontaff, 90% of conflicts in Sonic are reactionary. Most characters simply react or respond to events going on around them. Rarely does a character initiate conflict themselves. The few that do, Eggman, Lyric, Metal Sonic, ect. often have very base motivations and rely heavily on mindless monsters to do their dirty work. 

(Note: I do know there are exceptions to this rule such as Shadow in SA2 or Merlina in SatBK) 

In short most Sonic stories tend to be Overcoming the Monster plots. Therefore, external conflicts like Man vs Technology or Man vs Supernatural works for the most part. However when trying to introduce any other potential conflicts, like say love triangles, the writers tend to cock it all up because they’re still running off of that reactionary mindset. 

In order for a Man vs Man conflict to work, which is what relationship drama is based off of, then characters have to have basic motivations, make consciousness decisions, and initiate action. The conflict then comes from two or more characters having conflicting desires and needs.     

By having outside forces like Scourge and Patch be the instigators of the love triangles you then take way any agency on behalf of the other characters involved. They merely become participants reacting to events rather then characters with real agency. 

Now I still defend Penders idea to turn Evil Antoine into Anti-Antoine as Bollers original plan also had that same lack of agency problem with having the Source of All be the manipulator of events. But the entire Bunnie/Sonic/Antoine/Sally triangle is such wasted potential. Because there is a story to be told there, it just required everyone to maintain their agency.     

Bare with me if you will as I explain how I would have written out this love triangle. 

---

Sonic is believed to be dead and trapped in space as in the real comic. Meanwhile Antoine becomes more serious and over protective as he doesn’t want to lose anybody else. He spends more time training and becomes something of a workaholic. He also becomes more attentive of Sally as she’s in mourning and in need of friend. He and Bunnie grow ever more distant as his new goals shifts his focus away from her.  It’s not that he’s become colder or uncaring, the opposite in fact, but rather they just start spending less and less time with one another. 

When Bunnie confronts him over his obsession, they eventual, but reluctantly, agree that things aren’t working out like the once were and break up. Or at the very least agree to give each other some space to figure things out. During all of this Sally and Antoine become even closer as they find they confine in each other about their problems. Then Sonic returns. 

Every thing in Home plays out more or less the same minus some bitching between Bunnie and Antoine and less slapping on Sally’s part.But the end result is Sally realizing that, while she does still love Sonic, they have very different goals in life and he’s not ready to commit the way she needs him to. But Antoine is. He’s been the study rock she’s leaned on and her shoulder to cry on for nearly a year now. And after his break up with Bunnie they’ve only gotten closer. So eventually after her break up with Sonic, they start dating. 

So that leaves Bunnie and Sonic both feeling lonely and dejected. Since they’re already friends and now have some common ground with their former significant others braking things often to date each other. Well you could see how they would eventually become closer, and may even agree to try dating one another. 

From there you have multiple ways which this could pan out. You could have the clean “happy” ending where everyone eventually realizes who they really love and both couples return to the original status quo. You could have the bitter sweet complex ending where only one couple works out and the others are left to grow from their experiences. Either Bunnie and Antoine get back together, leaving Sonic and Sally to press on, or have Sally and Antoine remain a couple and Sonic and Bunnie break up to figure out who they are without a relationship to depend on. You could also have Sonic wind up permanently with either Sally or Bunnie and leave Antoine and one of the other girls alone, but knowing Sonic it seems unlikely. Finally you can have the unhappy ending where none of the potential pairings work out. 

Either way, regardless of the outcome, the story becomes more compelling as the motivations involved stem from real issues, not evil forces manipulating events. No one turning out to be evil, no one losing their shit and slapping someone just force a plot point, no miscommunication driving the conflict, and no one responding to events just because, but rather making active decisions. It’s people learning to deal with life and how it changes  both themselves and others. Its real, complex, and mature. And because all of the people involved are already close friends with established histories and chemistry; any of the potential outcomes makes internal sense regarding the characters. 

---

Well enough fanfiction, back to the issue at hand. 

Since Sonic “out logic-ed” the nanites they release everybody. Meaning the rest of the girls didn’t have use Snively’s plan to short circuit the city. Oh yes, did I not mention that Sinvely’s in this and by the end he’s now joined the Freedom Ftighers? Yeah he’s here now and no one manages to accomplish anything, making the rest of girls completely pointless and the “brain trust” a good three or four too many. 

That’s it for this weeks review so tune in next time on the retrospective as we dive even deeper into the final days of Penders run. 

The Antoine and Bunnie Retrospective - 133

“Chaos Emeralds are Forever” - Sink or Spin II - Sonic the Hedgehog #151

So we pick right back up where we left off last era. Sonic and Scourge have switched places and Sonic’s now trapped on Anti-Mobius with the Suppression Squad and, unbeknownst to him, the real Antoine. 

We also finally, finally get to meet Anti-Bunnie, a.k.a. Buns. 

We don’t get much insight into her character; only that she isn’t a cyborg because Robotnik’s not a villain who robotizes people in this world. Also she and Scrouge had a thing once and she’s now mad at him for cheating on her. Or mad at Sonic rather. 

Ya see, the Squad here all think Sonic is Scourge and beat him up before he can do or say anything. Including our Antoine. 

He actually organizes everyone together to get rid of “Scourge”. And if we go with the games’ characterization, drowning is probably the best way to kill any version of Sonic.  

Which makes it all the more baffling that he survives with little explanation. 

Originally posted by icicesttouslesjoursmercredi

Yeah I’m calling bullshit on that one. 

Anyways, Antoine decides to attack Sonic because he still thinks he is Scourge, and we get a bit of a inner monologue. 

“No matter how much I wish to skewer le Pig - I mustn’t forget he’s my only means to return home!” 

Then why were you trying to kill him just two minutes ago? Not to mention that Anti-Rotor built the dimensional jumping device and apparently has a spare lying around as is revealed later. You couldn’t trick him into helping you or just steal it from him? 

(Also is that scar just make-up? Cause he is never shown with it after this) 

Faulty logic aside, this scene does reveal a lot about Twan as a person and how being trapped here might have changed him. 

For starters he is fully aware of the dangers Patch presents to those he loves. He may not know the full details of Patch’s plan or all the atrocities he is committing at this moment but he’s got the general idea. And being the over protective sweetheart that he is, he’s no doubt on edge right now. 

There’s also the fact that being forced to pretend that he’s evil in the hopes of saving everyone he knows and loves possibly damaged his psyche as well. The comic never goes into it fully, but Antoine must have harmed or possibly even killed other people, innocent people, in order to remain undercover or to appease Scourge’s sick sense of humor. For someone with a strong moral code coupled with a lot of self deprecation issues, that can’t be good for his mental health. Like I would not be the least bit surprise if it turned out he had PTSD after his experience here. 

But outside of the briefest of hints, the true damage from Twan’s trauma is left simmering under the surface. He’s more or less readjusted, but there’s a harder edge to the way he carries himself, he’s more serious, he less likely to jump at shadows, and he’s also much more fierce in battle.  

Nowhere is that more evident than here, where not only is Antoine willing to kill, he even admits to himself he would enjoy doing it. This is an Antoine who would murder someone else if it meant protecting people. And despite his claims to the contrary later, this is an Antoine who doesn’t have any problems with revenge.

 That really makes Antoine unique among Sonic heroes. With the exceptions of Shadow, who’s an anti-hero, and Silver/Blaze in 06 (who were duped) no other character really has been shown to consider death as a means to an end. The only reason Robotnik/Eggman has been a threat for as long as he has is because Sonic and company can’t or won’t kill. That’s not to say Antoine is unreasonable or will go out of his way to seek revenge. Heck, before his experiences in Anti-Mobuis he probably held similar views with the rest of the FFs. But now I fully believe that, if given the chance, Antoine would gladly slay the likes of Scourge, Patch, or Eggman in battle and would feel very little remorse doing so. 

 like the saying goes..  

 If you have to look along the shaft of an arrow from the wrong end, if a man has you entirely at his mercy, then hope like hell that man is an evil man. Because the evil like power, power over people, and they want to see you in fear. They want you to know you’re going to die. So they’ll talk. They’ll gloat.

They’ll watch you squirm. They’ll put off the moment of murder like another man will put off a good cigar.

So hope like hell your captor is an evil man. A good man will kill you with hardly a word.” 
― Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms

However this character insight is cut short when Sonic knocks him out cold.  

Afterwards Sonic takes out the other antis and strong arms anti-Rotor into sending him back home. Where upon he stops Scourge and Rouge from stealing the master emerald and is greeted by both Amy and Bunnie now flirting with him. 

Guess that means we’re in for some more relationship drama next issue. Oh, boy. 

Also to reiterate both Sonic and Antoine part ways without either of them ever figuring out who the other really was. 

So close and yet so far. 

The second story this issue is “Stargazing”. It’s the story where Nicole builds herself a body for the first time and is perhaps the beginnings of the Salicole ship, if you’re into to that. 

The Antoine and Bunnie Retrospective - 132

The 25 Recap - 6th Era

So this might be the most decisive of eras yet…

The 6th era includes….

• Sonic the Hedgehog 126-150

“Two steps forward one step back” is the phrase that comes to mind when discussing this era. A lot of effort went in to reexamining what went wrong in previous eras and improving upon those problems, while also setting up a whole host of new bullshit to work through. And then there are many instances where the writers prove they didn’t learn a damn thing. 

Major events of the era are….

• Sonic figures out the Bem cured Robians and meets Tails’s parents while traveling through space - StH 129 
• Sonic returns home and finds he’s been gone for a year - StH 130 
• Mecha and Adam are introduced - StH 130
• Mobuis Years Later series begins - StH 131
• Bunnie’s and “Antoine’s” breakup is revealed - StH 133
• Sally breaks up with Sonic in the infamous slap moment - StH 134
• “Antoine” becomes King Max’s personal bodyguard - StH 134 
• Tommy Turtle joins the FFs - StH 137 
•  Finitevus and Knuckle’s baby brother Mace is introduced - StH 139
• Angel Island is rescued from Eggman - StH 141
• The Egg Grapes are first seen - StH 141
• Amy officially becomes a Freedom Fighter - StH 142
• M25YL ends - StH 144
• Shadow meets Hope - StH 145
• Nicole and Sally swap bodies temporally - StH 146 
• The Chosen One Arc finally comes to an end - StH 149 & 150 
• Scourge replaces Sonic and reveals that “Antoine” was Patch all along and the real Twan is held captured on anti-mobius - StH 150

Favorite thing about the era: Consequences 

My biggest complaint about the previous era is that nothing felt like it mattered. Individual stories had little impact with those around them and even important ones were handled with little gravitas. Here though, there’s more of an effort to have interconnected stories and a fully fleshed out world. Actual story arcs return, Knuckles and the Chaotix are part of the main cast and not off doing their own thing, events that were previously seen as insignificant or were ignored for a long time come back to bite the characters in the ass, and most importantly events during this era set up important developments for later on.

Least favorite thing about the era: Character Assassination

Or should I say attempted character assassination. Fortunately other writers would come in and fix or better yet build off of the OOC writing that was rampant during this era. Creating arguably stronger stories and better character development out of the mistakes of this era. That is perhaps why I don’t hate the 6th era as much as most. I knew before going into it that most of the out of place character moments would right themselves out. (Well that and there are some genuinely damn good arcs here)   

However, I don’t blame a single person for despising the writers for what happened during this era. Characters like Rotor becoming cheap mouth pieces for the creators’ political beliefs despite not fitting the character’s previous seen actions. Sally being deliberately written as unlikable just to jump start yet another forced love triangle. Antoine being written as a villain, undoing years of character growth, all for sake of contrived drama. Ugh!   

Favorite Antoine Story: “Hero to Zero In No Time At All” Sink or Spin I - StH 150 by Ken Penders    

I would include the whole arc here, but half of it is in the next era, so… meh. This story technically wins by default as this is the only story to feature the real Antoine in the era. Outside of the pointless flash back in “One Part Ooh-La-La and Two Parts Treachery!” it’s really Patch on screen. That said this is still a major, major development for Twan. One that will come to shape his character from now on. 

Favorite Bunnie Story: “Finale” Home IV - StH 133 by Karl Bollers    

Bunnie has more of a presence during this era than her significant other, but she still winds up taking the back seat a lot to the other power players of the book. (ie. the game characters) Home is the only story where she gets to physically take part in the proceedings and one of the few times she’s saved the day since the 2nd era. It also has the added bonus of furthering her development by introducing the break up. And regardless of how poorly that plot point would develop later; it’s effective and well handled here. 

Favorite Buntwan Story or Moment: Bunnie missing Antoine in “Love and Loss” - StH 144 by Romy Chacon and Jon Gray (uncredited) 

So the only time we see Bunnie and the real Ant together is during the flashback in StH 137. Unfortunately that story A. shit and B. completely redundant as it tells us nothing new about the characters or their relationship.  

However “Love and Loss” makes the absence of their romance the focus. Reaffirming why they’re such a great couple while also revealing new insights into their flaws as characters and how that effects their romance together. 

If the comic took more time for introspective stuff like this instead of the “oh he loves me; he loves me not” bullshit, I would probably be a bit more favorable towards it’s romantic drama. It of course becomes all the more frustrating when you realize that Romy Chacon wrote both this and “One Part Ooh-La-La and Two Parts Treachery!”. Which means the writers are capable of doing more, they’re just too fucking lazy or too self adsorbed do so. 

Favorite Single Story: “Circuit Me" - StH 146 by Romy Cahcon 

While I’ll praise some of the arcs during this era, the one off stories were a mite on the weaker side of things.  "Circuit Me” stands out because it happens to have some emotional heart to it. Nicole finally learns about human emotion as she and Sally switch places. This also becomes a starting point for both Nicole’s character development and some major plot points in the future. 

Favorite Story Arc: Return to Angel Island - StH 138 - 141 by Karl Bollers 

While Home is still one of my favorite arcs its held down somewhat by Bollers more annoying excesses *cough* the slap *cough* . However,  Return to Angel Island, is near perfect. Showcasing just how good Penders’ concepts and ideas could be in the hands of other writers. And while the relationship drama is still present it’s handled much more maturely and shown to have real consequences on the characters’ behaviors and outlooks outside of just will they/won’t they triangle BS. 

Favorite Artist: Jon Gray 

I was a fan of Jonathan Gray’s work long before I started reading Sonic. He’s done a lot of work for various Disney comics and I find his unique style very appealing. There’s a lot of flow, energy, and movement to his action. Even in more subtle scenes, like the one above, he has a clear way of presenting emotion through a character’s body language. He’s also fantastic at large group scenes, giving everybody, no matter how minor, a story of their own in the background. His world just feels alive. 

I know that he’s not everyone’s tastes, but I often point to his work when I’m trying to describe the difference between personal style and actual bad art. Like Spaz or Sam Maxwell, Gray’s art can be off model and exaggerated but there’s an intended purpose behind that. These artists have control and can reel in the excesses when needed and unleash their zany action upon the page to give the illusion of movement. Unlike say, Ron Lim or Jerry Gaylord who also frequently go off model due to personal style, but lack energy or focus. Making their subtle scenes stiff and their action scenes poorly laid out and confusing.  

Yeah, I still maintain that this isn’t the absolute worse era, but it’s still pretty damn close. Fortunately there’s a light at the end of the tunnel folks. So tune in next week when we start on the 7th era and the end of the Bollers/Penders run. 

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“Hero to Zero In No Time At All” Sink or Spin I - Sonic the Hedgehog #150

Great, now I got that song from Hercules stuck in my head. 

Today’s story involves Sonic taking a sudden interest in the ladies. Only it’s not really Sonic, it’s Scourge the Anti-Sonic. He hits on a bunch of the women of Knothole, including Bunnie. 

I see Bunnie’s self esteem issues popping up again.

Also, why do you care Tails? What does “Sonic” and Bunnie dating have to do with you? Do you secretly have a crush on Sonic as well? Or are you just a hard core Buntoine shipper? 

Now, logically you would think Bunnie would call things off here insisting “Sonic” go talk with Tails. But nope. 

Now there’s a pretty popular interpretation of this scene, suggesting Bunnie and Scourge had sex during the time skip. It’s an interpretation that I fully reject for several reasons and here’s why. 

1. I don’t give two shits what Penders’ original intent was, what he said after the fact, and/or weather or not he failed to deny this headcannon. At the end of the day I’m the one reading this. At the end of the day it’s my head cannon that counts when I’m reading. Not the one someone else came up with. And at some point you have to separate the author/artist from the work itself. 
2. If sex was the original intent it’s very poorly presented. Like, I was a full grown adult when I first read this scene and it didn’t occur to me that that was what the writer was trying to convey, and I highly doubt any little kids reading at the time would have considered it as well. 
3. I mean Bunnie’s not an idiot. Sure she makes knee-jerk decisions at times but sex on the first date seems pretty off. Especially when she was just berating “Sonic” for trying to make out after Tails got upset. What kind of sense does that make? Also, I’m no expert, but I don’t see any articles of clothing removed or mussed up hair or any of that messy stuff that comes with sex. It just seems like a leap in logic to me to automatically assume they did it, is what I’m saying. 
4. We’re not even sure if Bunnie can have sex. Like we do find out later she is physically intimate with her husband, but in what way or to what extant is still left in the air. This is in part due to comic’s target audience being children and also because Bunnie’s robotics have never been clearly defined in how they work. And granted there is an interesting discussion to be had about her cybernetics and how they effect her love life but I’m saving that for a future review when its more appropriate.  
5. This is still a kid’s comic! If Scourge did have sex with Bunnie it would qualify as rape because of false pretenses. Rape has no place in children’s media. Now I fully realize that Penders is oblivious to that fact and can’t tell his ass from his elbow, but the rest us know better. Why make yourselves more miserable then you have too by insisting this a thing that happened? The comic by no means shoves this interpretation down you’re throat, nor does it make any claims to be edgier than it is. If you see something that isn’t actually there than that’s all on you. 

Now a head cannon is still a head cannon, and you’re allowed to keep which ever ones you want. Even if it flummoxes me personally as to why you would keep this particular one. However for myself, personally, I just see it as Bunnie and Scourge making out and nothing more. Sure it’s still sleazy on Scourge’s part and it’s still a stupid decision on Bunnie’s end, but at least it’s something everyone can walk away from with some amount of dignity.  

Anyways now that that’s out of way, let’s get down to the real reason why we’re here. No doubt, if you haven’t figured it out yet, Ken Penders is today’s author and we finally get the reveal that “Antione” has been Patch all along. 

Also pretty convenient that you shaved off his goatee with that sonic spin as well.

Now this is where I was getting at when I said you have to separate the creator from the work sometimes. I’ve noticed a growing trend where people let what an artist did or say in real life retroactively ruin a piece of art that they once enjoyed. Does that mean we should give creators a free pass when they do awful shit? Of course not! By all means continue calling Penders out on his bullshit, don’t let anyone forget that Woody Allen is a pedophile and a rapist, and always let the Chris Brown apologists know they are in the wrong. But that doesn’t mean you have to stop watching Annie Hall if you like it, or that you can no longer sing loudly to “No Air”. (Note: I hate Annie Hall and I enjoy “No Air” but I don’t really listen to Chris Brown regularly. I’m just providing examples) 

Nor does it mean you have to rip to shred every single thing Penders writes. I don’t care if Penders made a sexiest comment about Lupe once, I still think  “Lupe: Family” is a decent story. I don’t give a damn if he claimed Rotor is gay, I’m still going to headcannon him as ace anyways. And I will always defend Ken’s decision to retcon Evil-Antoine into Anti-Antoine. Even if the way he went about it was extremely douchey. 

Ya see, Penders didn’t “win out” because he had the best idea, he won because he went behind Bollers’ back and published this story before Bollers could even start on his original plans. Like, is that not the epitome of dickbaggery you’ve ever heard of? Hell yeah! Does that mean I wish Bollers got fair chance to tell his story? Hell no! 

I’ve discussed in length back in issue 137 why Bollers plans for Antoine were crap, but the long and short of it is; if Bollers had his way Antoine’s character would have been assassinated beyond repair. Years of character development down the drain all for the sake of cheap, forced drama. But with Penders idea, not only does it keep Antoine’s development intact but actually builds upon it; adding new backstory to potentially explore and new hardships for Twan to overcome and grow from. 

There’s also the added bonus of creating a new and very effective villain in Patch, while simultaneously giving Ant an arch nemesis. The fact that this all can be traced back to Scourge seeking revenge on Antoine for his embarrassment in #122 is just icing on the cake. 

Now that doesn’t mean this story is without flaws. I’ve already talked about Tails’ weird freak out and that poorly laid out scene involving Bunnie and Scourge, but there’s also an icky romance between Rouge and Locke (eww) made even worse by later writers trying to pair her with Knuckles, and a confusing lack of continuity. Like with Sally suddenly having short hair or this scene…..

Umm…Antoine was trapped in Anti-Mobuis for at least 6 months or more and Scrouge only just now got the idea to come over to Mobius and take Sonic’s place. It also took Patch several months to earn King Max’s favor. Why would Twan just randomly be in Scourge’s room spying on Patch? Shouldn’t the scene with Patch receiving the promotion from King Max be after the whole threatening Ant scene? Doesn’t that flow better? Or is Scourge just torturing poor Antoine by forcing him to helplessly watch Patch ruin his life. Yeah you know, I wouldn’t put it past him to do that. 

Oh man, does this mean Scourge has been forcing Twan to keep the disguise on this whole time? Like I just thought he did it as a way to keep the Suppression Squad from killing him out right, but nope apparently Scourge has been threatening him all for his own personal amusement. I guess that explains why he didn’t just run away or try to receive help from the good Doctor. That’s kind of horrifying, especially considering that he would have been forced to join in on the Suppression Squad’s escapades. And considering that they’re villains, well you can imagine that their idea of fun involves lots of violence.  

That’s sadly why we’ll never see Antoine’s time in Anti-Mobius fully explored. To do so would get very dark and disturbing very quickly. But still, my poor baby! 

Originally posted by jamesbuckananrogers

The second story this issue is the second half of “The Chosen One” arc. The whole Tails is the Chosen One thing started way back in the Tails mini-series. Penders and company thought it would be a good idea to wrap up the sixth milestone by concluding this dangling plot thread and tying up the loose ends of the Zone Wars series. Not a bad idea in of itself, but it falls apart when the whole thing turns into a retread of “Night of a Thousand Sonics”. 

I can fully understand why someone would hate this story, but for me it’s one of those “so bad it’s entertaining” type tales.   

I mean just look at this! That is a thing of beauty right there! You couldn’t ask for a more shitposting meme worthy image even if you tried! 

Next week will do the usual 25 recap and then continue on with the Sink or Swim arc after that.