“Round Up” - Sonic the Hedgehog 173
This is it! The beginning of the most important Buntione story ever!
They get engage!
Of course we’ve expected Antoine would propose since issue 168, but it took awhile for him to work up the courage to do it and he wanted Sonic and Amy to be present and provide support which is sweet.
However celebrations are short as this a action comic and we have to shoehorn some fighting in somewhere.
The Master Emerald has been stolen supposedly and Sally offers to track it down for Knuckles as he’s currently occupied elsewhere. She sets up a sting operation with Bunnie, Ant and Sonic in tow.
I have to commend Flynn for finally getting both Sonic and Sally to open up and talk about their issues. It’s just a shame that, A. it’s cut short and B. for such an important development in their relationship Bunnie and Ant sure take the back seat in this story. But still it’s a step in the right direction and more then we’ve seen in the last, what 3 eras, now? Geesh!
Anyways Team Hooligan, (that’s Nack, Bean, and Bark) show up and a decent fight ensues, though it’s more comedic then anything exciting or ground breaking. However I am amused that once again it’s Antoine to defeat Bark just like he did the Birthday Bash arc.
I’m liking their little semi-rivalry. I would totally have loved it if this was some running gag that popped up in the background from time to time but sadly I think this is the last time they face off against one another.
Some more big bads show up and some more comedy commences. The villains are easily disposed of while Rouge is revealed to be the real culprit; only not really.
Oh this dumb.
Lets step aside for a moment and forget Rouge’s obvious lapse in logic here and talk about the real problem. Rouge is by far the most ill served Sega character in the pre-reboot Archie comic. From her lame introduction to her ill conceived moral ambiguity the Archie version of Rouge is nothing like her game counterpart. Gone is the compassion, the empathy, and the insight that made the character stand out from other Femme Fatale stereotypes. And the lowest point for the her is the misjudged Knuckles/Julie-Su/Rouge triangle.
Yeah that’s right, not even Ian Flynn can escape from the forced love triangle bullshit that has plagued this comic since it’s creation. But make no mistake this particular romantic drama is all of his own creation.
I’ve mentioned this elsewhere, but the Rouge and Knuckles pairing does not work the same in the pre-reboot comics as it does in other Sonic media. For starters the events of SA2 didn’t happen for Knuckles. He was too busy being green at the time, remember, and the Master Emerald along with Angel Island was sucked into another dimension. So therefore he and Rouge don’t even meet officially until the Home arc. All she does there is offer him a lift. Hardly the stuff to build off a relationship with. The only hint we get that Juile-Su looks annoyed by it but that could easily because she didn’t want Knuckles fighting in the battle without his powers.
Which leads into the second issue with the pairing. Kunckles has been in a committed relationship for years by this point. In the very next issue we see that he and Julie-Su consider themselves to be in a common law marriage. That’s how serious they are. Not only does the Rouge’s out of nowhere attraction cause a forced love triangle. But she knows it. Rouge flat out states to Julie-Su that she doesn’t care about being a homewrecker. That she’ll willing try to break them up just for the challenge. The whole thing is tasteless and tacky and even more insulting when you realize that the game Rouge had a little something called class.
Which leads into into the third problem. By changing Rouge’s base motivations and making her the unrequited love interest you undermine the very dynamic that made the Rouge/Knuckles pairing appealing in the first place. They’re suppose to both mutually like each other but unwilling to admit it due to pride. Half the fun is meant to be their unspoken sexual tension, like with Cheers or Leia and Han before they got together.
Oh and did I mention that she made out with his dad once. (eww)
My only guess as to why Flynn would ever think of adding this ship in the first place is either he’s personally a fan of the pairing and/or Sonic X was running at the time and the ship is pretty obvious there. However since Archie was also currently handling the Sonic X comic at this time fans could have just gone there to get their fix. Making the inclusion into the main continuity all the more pointless; dragging an already much maligned character down ever further.
Thankfully Flynn wises up and realizes this ship isn’t working drops the whole thing after this issue. At least until reboot.
But enough talking about other pairings lets back to the real reason we’re here.
This is pretty big. Sally being the maid of honor was always a given, but Sonic as the best man really showcases how far his and Antoine’s friendship has come over the years. They’re brothers, along with Tails and Rotor, and it’s important to remember that from time to time.
Next time; the wedding proper.
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