Media Essays: A Way Past Cool Retrospective (Archie Sonic Issues 198-212)

Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3 here.

Now we're getting into some really big issues! This part will be the most interesting for me to cover of any part of this retrospective. Why? Because we're entering the period where we got the fall of Dr. Eggman and the rise of the Iron Dominion. During my days as a fan of Archie Sonic, the Iron Dominion saga was genuinely my favourite period of the comic. Yes really. This arc that is infamous for being padded out and full of characters catching the idiot ball was the era of Archie Sonic I considered my favourite. I doubt even the most die-hard fans of this comic will be on my side for that. If anything, I'm amazed I wasn't thoroughly mocked for it. XD

But that was when I was a fan. Here I am as an ex-fan looking back on these comics for the retrospective. So do I still consider Iron Dominion my favourite Archie Sonic saga? Do I still think it's any good? Let's dive in...

Issues 198-200: The Fall of Dr. Eggman

These three issues are some of the most notable issues in the comic's entire run. Issues 198-200 showcase our heroes making one last final stand against Eggman to take him out once and for all. The only problem here is that it feels like it's too early to be getting to this kind of story. After dealing with Bold New Moebius, we're just kind of thrust into this story with not much build-up to it. If the issues wasted on the Mammoth Mogul stories from 185-188 had been when Bold New Moebius started and we had four extra issues to really get into this story, it might've felt more like we were truly building up towards it. Still, the execution does make this feel pretty exciting to read and like we're truly gearing up for the endgame (ironic wording, I know).

Issue 198 is a mission-of-the-week style story in where it's just the Freedom Fighters and Team Chaotix fighting against Eggman and his new Egg Phoenix. The only significant thing that happens story wise is Dimitri making it clear to Snively he knows what the big-nosed little man is up to and Snively brings Dimitri into the fold as a result so the echidna head-in-a-bubble doesn't snitch on him. Aside from that, the issue is pretty skippable. One thing that confuses me though is the design of the Egg Phoenix itself. In Issue 197, it looks like this:

In Issue 198, it looks like this:

So...what the heck happened here? Did Matt Herms and Renae De Liz have two completely different design sheets to follow or something? How did nobody correct Tania when she drew the damn thing? Of the two designs, I think Issue 197's looks better as it actually looks more like and Eggman machine and looks bulkier and more powerful. Issue 198's Egg Phoenix looks too streamlined and thus doesn't look as menacing to me. Though I can't help but make Raidraptor Blaze Falcon jokes whenever I look at this thing. XD

As is, Issue 198 is pretty disposable. It's not a bad issue, it just feels like filler for the most part. Oh and I must note that Sonic Universe had begun around this time and the second issue kinda ties in with the main series in where Shadow and Rouge recruit Sonic to help stop Eggman's Doom Laser (yes really) while the issue also flashes back to the events of Sonic Adventure 2. It's a pretty pointless tie-in that didn't need to happen and it just comes off as a weird anomaly in the Shadow arc over in Sonic Universe. Issues 1, 3 and 4 are clearly part of one story, but Issue 2 is completely disconnected from it and is just a pointless tie-in to the main series we didn't need to read. I get that Sonic Universe is a spin-off from the main series, but that doesn't mean we need awkwardly placed tie-ins like this. But it gets worse when we get the Iron Dominion saga...

Anyhow, Issue 199 is way better with the whole thing being a really exciting mission story as our heroes storm the Egg Dome and battle the Eggman Empire. It really feels like the penultimate chapter of the war with Eggman and just about everyone gets their time to shine here from both the FFs and the Chaotix. Combine that with some of Tracy Yardley's best artwork to date and you had a great set-up for the event spectacular that was Issue 200.

Issue 200 itself is the climactic showdown against Dr. Eggman, and damn did it feel awesome to read! While it's way too one-sided in Sonic's favour, thus making it feel like an anti-climax, it still feels like an epic showdown and it also makes this thing a brilliant role-reversal of Issue 175. In that issue, Eggman was on top and Sonic was the one getting his ass kicked while Eggman taunts Sonic over how futile his fight for freedom is. Here? The tables have turned. Sonic is the one on top, Eggman is on the backfoot and Sonic is the one taunting Eggman over how he's still far from being the man in charge when so much of Mobius is against him. Flynn also manages to make this feel like a milestone spectacular with how the two go over much of the comic's history through mid-battle banter that gives a feeling of how long this battle has been going on for. All that plus Tracy Yardley's incredible artwork helps to give us an epic tussle worthy of the 200th issue. To think Ken Penders was going to make Issue 200 Bunnie and Antoine's wedding and a crossover with Mobius: 25 Years Later, and then reboot afterwards. I think Flynn definitely had the better idea for a 200th issue here. But it's not just the final battle with Sonic and Eggman that this issue is notorious for. This is also the issue where...this happens...

Yep, you all remember this moment. I doubt any of us expected this to happen, but it did. Eggman finally snapped and went insane because of how much his constant losses to Sonic have been gnawing away at him. Quite the shocking development here and also quite daring of Flynn to tell a story you'd NEVER get in the games. If I were to sum up this moment with a movie quote, this would be it:

Pretty much. XD

But while the battle with Sonic and Eggman and Eggman snapping were cool and shocking moments, the aftermath of the battle sullies what could've been a fantastic issue. Why? I can sum it up in two points:

1: The Freedom Fighters just leave after Eggman is defeated. They don't arrest Snively, they don't take Eggman with them and lock him up, they don't blow up the Egg Dome so Snively and the D.E.L. have one less base to use. They just leave. What is it with Flynn and the Freedom Fighters NOT arresting Eggman or his lackeys?! And once again, this is such an easy fix! Just have it so Snively's in hiding the whole time so the FFs couldn't find him, thus preventing them from looking idiotic for not arresting Snively when there's no reason not to do so. If I wrote the issue, I'd make it so the FFs take Eggman with them to lock up back home and they don't find Snively as he's long since fled the base.

2: This issue starts a very stupid subplot with Sonic feeling guilty about causing Eggman to snap. I...I can't even. Why did Flynn think this was a good idea? What compelled him to think Sonic would ever give a s*** about Eggman cracking? Eggman has committed countless upon countless atrocities through the 200 issues this comic has been running for! Some of Sonic's friends have DIED because of that man! Many of his friends nearly became fuel for Eggman's city in Issue 176! Charmy Bee got brain damage because of Eggman! Why the hell does Sonic feel guilty over Eggman going insane like that? Sonic should be the LAST person on Mobius to have ANY kind of sympathy towards Eggman! At most, Sonic should feel shocked about what happened since he didn't expect it, but he shouldn't feel guilty about it! This reads as a failed attempt to make Sonic more three-dimensional to me and it doesn't work. Also Sonic shows sympathy towards Eggman, yet when Geoffrey St. John is declared guilty of treason, he shows no sympathy whatsoever despite Geoffrey arguably being way more sympathetic than Eggman ever was. Eggman has committed far worse crimes than Geoffrey did in this comic and has no remorse about it, yet Sonic feels bad Eggman snaps but doesn't give a damn about Geoffrey's situation? How does that make any sense?!

Those two things really do ruin the issue for me, and it's a pity too because it went so well. Ah well, the Freedom Fighters are triumphant and Snively gloats to the insane Eggman that now it's his turn to be in charge. The issue then ends with Snively welcoming the new head of the Eggman Empire:

It's meeeeeeeeeeeee!

It's meeeeeeeeeeeee!

I know you were all waiting for meeeeeeeee!

I'm heeeeeeeeeeeere!

What a gaaaaaaaaaaas!

Took a while, but I'm present at laaaaaaaaaaast!

It's meeeeeeeeeeeee!

It's meeeeeeeeeeeee!

THE IRON QUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!!!!

Yeah, I bet most readers at the time were as confused as Lucifer is. You see, the Iron Queen, or Regina Ferrum as she's actually known, was a one-shot character who appeared WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY back in issue 60. And now here she is appearing again for the first time in years. Her return certainly was one hell of a deep cut and a major surprise from Flynn as I doubt anyone saw this coming. And once again, this is Flynn showing one of his greatest strengths as a writer: taking old, underused concepts and breathing new life into them. The Iron Queen was just a character who appeared once and that was it. So how does Flynn reinvent this obscure character? Let's find out as now's the time to cover...

Issues 201-212: The Iron Dominion Saga

And thus here we are, this highly divisive saga. The Iron Dominion arc is considered one of the weakest arcs that Flynn has written. As mentioned earlier, this was actually my favourite Archie Sonic story at the time. So upon looking back, do I still think it's good? Would I call it my favourite now? Eh...nope. Sorry to say, but I've come to look back on this arc less fondly upon re-evaluation. And why is that? Several reasons:

1: EVERYBODY IN THIS ARC IS A GODDAMN MORON!!!

This is one of those badly written stories where the plot only happens because the characters are idiots, and a VERY egregious example of that. This is Hazbin Hotel Season 2 levels of "Plot only happens because the characters are idiots". Let's name just a few examples of how idiotic the characters are in this arc:

• It somehow never occurs to our heroes that Nicole would be a big juicy target for the Iron Queen's Magitek. Even worse, it somehow never occurs to the Iron Queen that she can just take control of Nicole like so. Snively has to point it out for her! Hell, Snively doesn't look any smarter since he somehow didn't immediately figure it out. It takes him a while to finally come to that conclusion. How do you face a villain who has control over machines and not immediately think "Oh crap, Nicole's going to be the worst kind of target for the Iron Queen! We need to prevent this from happening and fast!" As a result of this stupidity, we get Nicole's reputation being ruined and a series of events that leads to Naugus taking over!

• Monkey Khan never once warns anybody about the Iron Queen's techno-magic when he shows up and warns everybody about the Iron Queen in Issue 201. He tells everybody about how she's in charge now, but doesn't once bring up her techno-magic abilities. Because of his stupidity, Bunnie nearly gets killed and he ends up falling prey to the Iron Queen's control after his crown is snatched away and leaves him vulnerable. Why the hell didn't Monkey Khan warn anybody about that? What was preventing him from doing so?

• Eggman slips back into his original Robotnik persona from before he became Dr. Eggman. It never once occurs to the Freedom Fighters to take advantage of his mental regression and try to re-educate him so he can be a force for good instead of evil. Because this great idea never once occurs to them, they keep referring to him by his current persona. As a result, Eggman eventually climbs back out of insanity and after he escapes at the end of the arc, the status quo returns to normal with Eggman back in charge and Mobius at his mercy when he launches his next big scheme. Well done Freedom Fighters. Your stupidity caused the events that led to the reboot happening, and all because you never once tried to take advantage of Eggman going nuts.

• In Issue 209, Monkey Khan attempts to destroy Nicole in order to "put her out of her misery", yet it doesn't occur to the idiot that by doing so, he risks killing Sonic and Sally since they've been digitized into the computer world at the time. Tails has to waste valuable time just getting Monkey Khan to stop as a result of this.

Seriously, it's downright SURREAL how stupid the characters are in this saga. And unfortunately, it doesn't get any better when we get to Mecha Sally...

2: Nicole being corrupted by the Iron Queen doesn't make any sense

This one requires a lot of context. You see, one thing that's easy to forget about Nicole in this arc is that Nicole as we know her today? She's from the future. No, I'm serious. In the Sonic In Your Face special, the first story revealed that Nicole was sent to the past by a future Rotor Walrus in order to help stop Dr. Eggman. Issue 119 would reveal Nicole has a built-in firewall prevent any access to information she has about the future so her friends in the past can't potentially screw up the timeline. So if Nicole's from the future, shouldn't she be immune to the Iron Queen's control? SHE'S. FROM. THE. FUTURE! Her technology should be too advanced to hack or control and since she's from the future, that means the Iron Dominion saga happened and thus Nicole should have some kind of fail safe to prevent her from being controlled by the Iron Queen! So how the hell did she control her? Flynn blatantly ignored the continuity of the comic just so he could make this story happen, and that's just bad writing!

3: Espio's heel-turn was pointless

It really was. Really think about it: why did this stupid plot point need to happen? Flynn doesn't really do anything with the concept of a rogue Espio aside from giving him an excuse to provide exposition about the Iron Dominion and how the clans work. Espio pretty much vanishes from the story after Issue 204, doesn't participate in any other mission for the Iron Dominion and then his backstory is revealed in the Journey to the East arc from Sonic Universe. This story does not change if you drop this plot point entirely. Espio did not need to turn traitor in order for this story to work. It was done for pointless shock value and nothing more.

4: Lien-Da's backstory sucks

Issues 205 and 206 give us Birthright, a story that sees Lien-Da reminisce on her past and then betray Dimitri because she's a dumbass who can't see that betraying people and seizing power never works out for her. Her backstory I assume was meant to make us feel sorry for her, but it didn't work. There is no way you'll ever make this wretched character sympathetic, especially after she sabotaged Dimitri and stuffed him in a box. Dimitri actually gives a damn about his people, is repentant for his actions as Enerjak and wants to help what's left of the echidnas. Lien-Da is just the Starscream, only she has none of the charm or charisma of Starscream, and cares only about herself. I'm just glad Sonic and Tails found Dimitri and he got his happy ending afterwards. Poor guy deserved better than being left in a box to die. And the worst part is I don't get the pleasure of seeing Lien-Da die because the Iron Queen makes her blow up...and she somehow survives that! WHAT?! Sod off Ian Flynn, that was stupid and you know it...

5: The pointless love triangle with Sonic, Sally and Monkey Khan

This one speaks for itself. I don't even need to explain why that was bad. Flynn shouldn't have included this idiotic plot point whatsoever.

6: The story was too big for its own good

At 12 issues long, the story was bigger than anything Flynn had ever done before at this point, and it got so big that he had to devote an entire Sonic Universe arc to helping set-up the resolution to the Iron Dominion saga. Great, so the story requires you to read a spin-off title just to get the full picture and to see how our heroes save the day in the end. It wasn't even a good SU arc. All four issues are basically just "Meet the clans, talk politics and convince them to abandon the Iron Dominion". Surely Flynn could've thought of something better than that? It just makes the whole thing feel anti-climactic as a result. It seriously took just talking them out of being on the Iron Queen's side to get these stupid clans to abandon her? Pathetic writing if you ask me. This story should've been contained entirely within the pages of Archie Sonic, we shouldn't have needed a Sonic Universe arc to help bring it to a close.

7: Flynn made ReginaXSnively a thing

I can't be the only person who found this idea gross, surely? Seriously, the idea of anyone having the hots for Snively is just...no. All the noes of the universe! The fact that Snivley's been allowed in the Iron Queen's chambers also conjures up many gross images for me. Seriously, I do NOT want to ever imagine someone like Snively...you know, boning someone! Eww! X( This pairing feels like the kind that should be done as a joke, but Flynn plays it completely straight, and that's why I find it so unappealing.

So yeah, Iron Dominion hasn't held up well at all and it's easy to see why it's so divisive. As is, I don't hate this saga. I like the ideas of it and how Flynn challenged the status quo for a while by giving us new villains to carry the torch for a while. Monkey Kahn was an interesting character, when he wasn't being a total idiot, the Iron Queen and King were reinvented in the best way possible and were genuinely intimidating villains, the saga has a lot of funny moments here and there, the artwork by Tracy Yardley and Steven Butler is still awesome to look at, especially the issues drawn by Butler, and much like Enerjak Reborn, it's the kind of big event that truly changed the comic forever. Seriously, so much resulted from the Iron Dominion arc when all was said and done. Eggman regained his sanity and was put back in charge, the Dark Egg Legion expanded and became bigger than ever, Nicole's reputation was flushed down the toilet, the invasion of New Mobotropolis left everyone shaken and Sonic and Sally rekindled their relationship and got back together. All this and more would pave the way for more events to come as the comic continued...

Conclusion

And thus we conclude another part of this retrospective. It's a pity what was once my favourite Archie Sonic story was pretty bad looking back on it, yet I still have some fondness for the Iron Dominion arc in spite of its flaws. I still enjoy Issue 200 in spite of the two big problems I have and I do like how for this period of the comic, we truly had a shake-up to the status quo that the comic needed. It was refreshing to see someone other than Eggman be the big villain for a change, and also give Snively his chance at running the show. If the plot was less idiotic and all the other problems were ironed out, then Iron Dominion could've been among the best of Archie Sonic. As is, I still think Enerjak Reborn is the high bar to clear. Will the next issues be able to do any better? Find out next week...

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