“Thicker than Water” Part Two - Sonic the Hedgehog #218
I had a hard time reviewing this one. I think I talked about everything I wanted to talk about in the first part already. From here on I’m just summarizing.
We pick back up where we left off last issue. Sonic and Bunnie fighting. But because Ian is actually smart and respects the characters, there’s no long drawn out melodrama.
They’re already discussing the problem while throwing punches and they come up with a solution together fairly quickly.
An awesome solution that plays up their characters and team dynamic. Sonic and Bunnie is a really under used and under appreciated team.
Unfortunately both the Sandblasters and Uncle Bo cotton on to what really going on and move into fight.
Just more evidence that Bo disproves of Antoine. A plot point that’ll sadly go no where but can be useful to all ya’ll fanfic writers out there.
Bunnie and Sonic then team up to fight the Sandblasters.
And did I mention how awesome a team they are?
Or how great a villain the Sandblasters make?
I love this dynamic where the “heroes” are the real villains and the “bad guys” are the ones who are noble. It’s a great dichotomy that really shakes up the book. Also Jack is just the right amount of nasty and petty to be a great rival, not a big bad, but a personal thorn in the heroes sides.
Well I say Uncle Bo isn’t one of the abusive parents in the book, and he isn’t, but he isn’t above verbal insults when angry either. As I said he’s complex. He’s not evil but neither is he a paragon of virtue.
Take special note of how he uses Bunnie’s married name as an insult. He’s not just expressing his disapproval of the D’Coolette’s and the Acorns here. He’s actively belittling the person who Bunnie has chosen to be.
Bunnie has struggled her whole life with accepting herself. She’s ashamed of her past. She feels awkward in her own “skin”. She’s afraid of becoming the living weapon that Robotnik originally designed her to be. ect. That name she choose to share is attached to the one person who has helped her the most in combating these insecurities.
And there in lies the core of the Antoine/Bunnie/Uncle Bo conflict. It’s not just political. It’s Bunnie having to choose between the man who accepts her, loves her, and supports her for who she truly is and the man who raised her, who loves her like a daughter, but can’t move past the fact that she has a mind and identity of her own now and isn’t simply his “little girl” anymore.
And it’s true. Bunnie still hasn’t “chosen” a side yet. Sadly she’ll never will due to the reboot. But it’s a fascinating conflict that adds a lot of depth to her character. And just to show that, while flawed, he isn’t Max levels of dickery, Bo calls her by her new last name when saying good bye as a way of apology. Acknowledging who she is now while still not fully supporting her decision.
And speaking of Max, the story ends on this bit of foreshadowing.
Looks like we’ve now got to deal with Antoine’s rival coming back. Goody.
PS. Do you think Bunnie ever told anyone about how her parents died? I would think she’d at least tell her husband but who knows.
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