“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?
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.
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?
No comments:
Post a Comment