The Antoine and Bunnie Retrospective - 173

“The Honeymoon’s Over” Trouble in Paradise II - Sonic Universe #18

So if you remember from last week’s review Bunnie and Antoine were captured by the bad guys. Of course they don’t remain so for long though. 

I know it was just a ruse to steal the key card, but I’m still adding this my “Antoine is a revengeful ball of rage” evidence pile. 

Turns out said bad guys believe Bunnie to be a legionnaire due to her robotics. She uses this to her advantage to glean information out of them and buy Antoine sometime. 

We also get the down-low of just who these guys are and their place in the world of Archie Sonic. 

In real life they’re just the bad guys from Tails Adventure but in the archie comics there’s a little more to them. Not much, but a little. 

However the real entertaining thing about this scene is watching Bunnie get to play the villain and use her smarts rather than her fists for once.  

I often call this era in the comics (post 200 till the reboot) Bunnie’s era because she really comes into her own here. With all of Antoine’s character development wrapped up and out of the way, along with all the relationship drama put to rest, Flynn introduces a lot of new stuff for her to grapple with. Putting new spins on her age old conflict with self acceptance and giving her new scenarios to play around with. Her conflict with the Iron Queen being the kick off for that and a whole lot more to come down the road. 

Also her description of Tails isn’t entirely inaccurate. I think part of what makes her scheming so fun is how she infuses the truth into her lies. She even tells them straight out that she’s married to Antoine rather then having to cover it up later. 

And speaking of Antoine, while Bunnie is the VIP here he’s not left out of the fun entirely. 

Antoine may be a more static character now but that doesn’t make him any less entertaining. Also that call back to SatAM was both hilarious and confirmed many a head-cannon about Antoine’s cooking skills. Bless you Flynn.  

Sorry if it feels like I’m just posting the comic whole sale with running commentary rather then reviews but it’s all just too good to cut and frankly the quality of the work speaks for itself I think. 

P.S. kudos to the villains for giving Ant the respect he deserves. 

Because you’re a beautiful disaster, baby. That’s why we love you. 

You’re also an over dramatic little shit who scares the bejeezus out your wife. 

If this was any other story I might complain about the writer creating false tension for a cheap drama, buuuuut as we’ve known both these characters for so long we can spot Antoine’s over acting a mile away which turns a potentially aggravating scene into something really fun. 

But I still feel sorry for Bunnie here, she looks genuinely scared. 

Meanwhile, as all this juicy drama unfolds, Tails is off doing his own thing. Fighting the Armada and trying to rescue them.  

Not super important during this issue but will come into play later. 

Thus concludes this week’s review. Be sure to turn in next week to see how Antoine survives throwing himself off cliff like the drama queen he is.

Also frenidly reminder the NSFW episode comes out in three weeks if you want to contribute. 

The Antoine and Bunnie Retrospective - 172

“No Rest for the Weary” Trouble in Paradise I -  Sonic Universe #17

This story is a little daunting, I won’t lie. I had to take a break for a week because there’s just so much to cover. 

So lets take this scene by scene. 

Bunnie and Antoine are finally, after what must have been months now, going on their honeymoon. And Tails has offered to take them to his “private island”, a place he discovered while on his way back from Downunda during the Tails miniseries.

But turns out the island isn’t so secret as they’re being spied on.  

In case it’s not clear, this is a comic adaptation of a Sega game called Tails Adventure. One of only two solo games for the character. 

But since this is an Archie comic we also have Bunnie and Antoine along for the ride, and to be frank, theirs is the more interesting story IMHO. 

So upon landing they split up. With Tails going off on his own in order to give the newlyweds some privacy, and we get this little joke. 

Originally posted by spacesouffle

This is also the only real confirmation that we get that Bunnie and Antoine do have a physical relationship of some sort. However due to the fact this is a children’s comic, coupled with the fact we don’t fully know the extant of Bunnie’s cybernetics nor how they work, we therefore don’t know the exact nature of their physical intimacy nor what it might all entail. As such this panel raises a lot of questions about Bunnie’s physiology and how that effects her love life. 

It’s an interesting discussion and one that I feel is worth having, but it would take way too much time today and this review is already going to be very long. So therefore I plan to do a special NFSW entry in four weeks, after completing this story arc. 

The focus will mainly be on Bunnie’s cybernetics, how they might work, and the possible technical challenges they would pose. However some fun head-cannons both romantic and sexy in nature will no doubt work their way into the discussion. They’re may or may not be “visual aids” depending on how lazy I’m am my time frame. Also, and here’s the fun part, if you’re of legal age and have some head-cannons or theories of your own feel free to drop me a message and you’re idea might just make it into the review itself. Just remember that we’re talking about the pre-reboot versions of the characters as Bunnie’s robotics are different in the post-reboot and I’ll discuss that when we get to it. 

Now that’s out of the way, the comic spends some time just on fluff, but it’s fun fluff so I don’t mind. 

(Ant wears his wedding ring even when swimming. Not the smartest idea ever but it’s cute none the less. )

After the fluff we get into the juicy bits. (No not that kind of juicy get your mind out of the gutter) 

I’m of two minds regarding this scene. On the one hand it’s really sweet and showcases what makes Bunnie and Ant work as a couple. Their open and honest communication combined with their unconditional acceptance of one another is super refreshing to see in a world dominated by the “ Belligerent Sexual Tension” trope. (Note: I don’t hate this trope, it’s just overused. Especially in Sonic where over half the cast can’t ever commit due to mandates) 

However, it’s clear this particular discussion was thrown in to appease some dumb parent group or something. Like seriously, our modern day notions of love and romance and even the idea of a “legal age” is super insular to our current society. Most countries, even first world ones, have a lower legal age then the US. (Usually around 16, with certain obvious regulations)  And even just as far back as a few decades it wasn’t unheard of to get married right after or even during high school. My own parents were wed at 17 and 18 and that was the norm then. It’s only been during the past 30 or so years that the idea of waiting till you’re in you’re 30s to get married was considered the average. That’s not a long time in the span of human history. 

What I’m getting at is why would a completely alien culture, with even a different biology to our own, care about our very culturally specific hang-ups regarding romance? And as stated by the characters themselves, they’re living a life that has forced them to mature faster and doesn’t guarantee them a tomorrow. It’s overall a very silly and unnecessary conflict. Especially when both Bunnie and Ant are already considered of US legal age.  

Originally posted by proceleon

Anyways this sweet moment is interrupted when the bad guys finally make their move. 

And Ant’s super pissed. Don’t cock block a guy on his honeymoon. Especially one that can and will kick your ass. 

Sadly though it’s not enough and both Bunnie and Ant are captured. 

At least the mooks of the day recognize that they are seriously out classed. 

It’s just nice when Antoine is recognized as the hard core bad ass that he is.  

Anyways the comic ends with Tails facing off against his rival for the comic. 

I’ll see you when we cover part two next week. 

The Antoine and Bunnie Retrospective - 171

“Security Measures” Home Invasion II - Sonic the Hedgehog #211

So today we finally wrap up the Iron Dominion plot. 

• Nicole blocks Regina’s use of nanites
• The ninjas desert 
• Lien-Da betrays everyone and gets blown up
• Sonic, Monkey Khan, and Espio use a MacGuffin they brought back from the east to defeat the Iron King
• Snively frees Eggman and escapes 

Those are the key plot points for this issue but what does Antoine have to do with any of this? 

Well along side Amy and Geoffrey he fights the Iron King 

Originally posted by beatlenumber9

I’m legitimately surprised he doesn’t have a broken jaw after that. He’s taken hard knocks before but the Iron King is suppose to have like Mighty levels of strength. 

Also after the Iron Queen is captured we get this interesting exchange between him and Monkey Khan. 

Witness the only time Antoine comes even remotely close to questioning the FFs usual modus operandi of merely capturing villains rather then eliminating them. And we still don’t get his actual opinion on the matter, just surprise that Ken agreed to go along with it. 

However given that he was loudly threatening to kill Regina just a few issues ago; I’m going to say he was fully on board with the corporal punishment idea and is now disappointed that the only other Mobian who’d agree with this has now changed his mind.    

But Antoine is allowed to carry out the actual arrest, so that’s a consolation I guess. 

That concludes this weeks review. Come back next time and we’ll start in on my second favorite story arc in the comic. 

The Antoine and Bunnie Retrospective - 170

“Home Invasion” Home Invasion I - Sonic the Hedgehog #210

So in issue 209, Sonic, Sally, Tails, and Monkey Khan worked to free Nicole from her brainwashing. Nicole decided to play undercover agent while they went off to the Dragon Kingdom to weaken the Iron Dominion’s support. 

I didn’t cover that issue because neither Bunnie nor Ant made an appearance, but it’s important background information for today’s review. As we time skip ahead and Antoine, Amy Rose, and Bunnie are all miraculously free. Presumably because of Nicole but as to how and why only them who knows. 

Look I really like this concept of Amy and Antoine teaming up and leading a resistance together as they have a interesting yet under-explored dynamic, but the way the comic goes about it is a complete waste. 

Because of the time skip the characters are now having to spend most of the issue playing exposition dump into order to keep the audience informed. There’s little to no room to explore the character dynamics nor their individual conflicts. 

And the worst part about it? This all because they can’t go a single issue without Sonic appearing in some capacity.     

Even if it’s just the very last page. Even if he already has a Sonic Universe arc currently running that’s suppose to take place before this issue but winds up lasting three months longer then the main arc. Even though SU was originally intended to give the spotlight to other Sonic characters.  

Originally posted by cwunch

You know what Journey to the East  should have been the main book and this plot, Amy Rose and the Freedom Fighters, should have been expanded into the Sonic Universe title. That way by the time we got to this point both stories would have synced up better and we would have had the breathing room to really watch events unfold naturally. 

Anyways Geoffrey shows up, mainly so the cast will have another character to info dump to and cause Ian has plans for him later. 

We do learn few things however. First the Chaotix have been using the warp ring to help cart refugees out of the city. Of course this is all told to us in dialogue rather then having them actually appear.

Second, we learn about legionization. It’s basically the books new version of robotization; rather then being turned into a mindless robot you’re retrofitted with cybernetics. Now they say here that those who undergo the procedure are brainwashed but that’s actually not true. In fact it’s far more insidious and ultimately more interesting. People who are legionizated have explosives implanted into their new robotics, disobey and you die. Meaning people are now fully aware of their actions and are given a choice, it’s just not a choice many would dare to make. 

People’s reasons for being legionized and the “deal with the devil” pacts they make with Eggman will go on to be one of the more compelling aspects of book both pre and post reboot. It’s also features heavily in Bunnie’s on going story. 

Speaking of Bunnie, she’s present but doesn’t get to do much. Still we do get this nice scene between her and Ant. 

Lets see is there anything else….

Well Eggman manages to reason himself back from the edge of insanity, and we get some Snively angst which is always fun. 

Rotor is the first person to be threatened with legalization and he gets a brief moment to shine. 

And we get some more scenes of Antoine being badass. 

Oh and look, Character Development! 

Yeah Antoine and Geoffrey never really became friends and their rivalry is far from over with, but it’s nice to know they at least have each others backs in combat.  

P.S. Both Antoine and Geoffrey hold the same rank of Commander. I’m guessing that’s like a Major or a Colonel in our terms. Basically it’s the second or third highest rank depending on which military we’re talking about. In short neither are above one another in the chain of command and they’re both really highly regarded for their skills and service. Given their relatively young age that’s a pretty big accomplishment.     

P.S.S. Antoine still hasn’t forgiven Monkey Khan. More evidence to add to the “Antoine is secretly a vengeful ball of rage” theory. 

That’s it for this week. Next time we’ll finally wrap of the Iron Dominion plot once and for all. 

The Antoine and Bunnie Retrospective - 169

“Iron Dominion Part One” Iron Dominion I - Sonic the Hedgehog #208

So Snively and Regina finally hit upon the idea to use techno-magic on Nicole and the city’s nanites. I’m surprise neither of them thought of this plan earlier. Did they honestly not know that New Mobotropolis was made from nanites until now?    

Anyways all hell breaks loose and Bunnie is ordered to retreat before Regina can control her too. 

It doesn’t work. 

However another idea for escape presents itself. 

Originally posted by onlydisney

THIS IS PERFECT!!! 

 Antoine being a leader and bravely staying behind so everyone can safely retreat. Bunnie correcting his grammar cause he’s flustered and the little stutter to show that he’s still scared especially with out her around but will do what he must to keep her safe.  

Oh but it gets better…

She still can’t leave him! 

Sure her retreating with the Chaotix might have been the smarter and more responsible thing to do, but she can’t bare the idea of losing him again! 

So they they fight together like the power couple that they are! Even Antoine’s proclamation at the end translates to, “Here is the power of our love!”

But you know the best thing about all of this? They both are blown away by each other’s bravery and strength of character. They love each other because they’re each other’s hero! 

Gah, best couple ever!!!

Oh and then they both get immediately captured while Sally, Sonic, Tails, and Ken escape on the Tornado leaving us on a cliffhanger for the next issue. 

I honestly forget how they mange to escape, so I guess we’ll all discover that together on the next part of the retrospective.