Dr. K's Waiting Room

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With the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (SEGA Technical Institute, 1994) on this day in 1994, gamers were introduced to Knuckles the Echidna. This mischievous, dreadlocked antagonist was created by Takashi Yuda and is my favourite of Sonic’s supporting cast so excuse me while I celebrate his debut today (every Sunday in February!)

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Story Title: “This Island Hedgehog” (Part 1 and 2)
Published: 16 May 1994 (cover-dated: August 1994)
Writers: Mike Kanterovich and Ken Penders
Artist: Dave Manak

The Background:
When Sonic the Hedgehog made his dramatic videogame debut in 1991, he was an immediate hit thanks to SEGA’s aggressive marketing campaign seeing his debut title being bundled with the Mega Drive. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (SEGA Technical Institute, 1992) expanded his popularity and, suddenly, Sonic merchandise was suddenly everywhere! He was included not only in the Macy’s Day Parade, but in cartoons and numerous comic books. Following the initial four-part miniseries, which combined narrative elements of Sonic’s cartoon adventures, Archie Comics published what would become the longest-running videogame comic book of all time. In time, to better capitalise on Sonic’s continued popularity, Archie also produced various Sonic spin-off comics, with the Knuckles the Echidna sister series being the most prominent. Long before writers like Ken Penders lumbered Knuckles with a convoluted lore and launched a bitter lawsuit that forever changed Archie’s Sonic comics, Knuckles debuted in this issue as one of Archie’s many loose videogame adaptations.

The Review:
Sonic and his perennial kid sidekick, Miles “Tails” Prower, first encounter Knuckles, the last of the echidna race and guardian of what was then known as the Floating Island, completely by chance. While flying through the skies of Mobius in search of Doctor Ivo Robotnik’s “hovercraft”, the two stumble upon a mysterious island in the sky. Interestingly, unlike in Fleetway’s comics, the two have no knowledge of the Floating Island and can thus only speculate how it stays afloat, with Sonic guessing (correctly, it turns out) that it’s held aloft by one of the (many) Chaos Emeralds. As the two come in to land to investigate further, unaware that they’re being watched by a mysterious, spike-fisted individual, their biplane is knocked from the sky by a literal “unwelcome mat” and Tails is forced to air-lift the duo to the ground. With no choice but to investigate further to find some way back to Knothole Forest, Sonic and Tails venture into a close approximation of Angel Island Zone and are attacked by an “Assaulting Batter Blimp” (essentially the “Fire Breath” mech from Sonic the Hedgehog 3, but with a far less intimidating white paint job). Assaulted by the blimp’s flame bursts, Sonic is randomly shielded by “some sort of energy shield” (visually similar to his Insta-Shield ability, though Sonic seems unaware of how this happened) and forced to dive into the nearby water. Caught in an inescapable current and blasted past spikes and through crumbling walls in what I guess is supposed to be Hydrocity Zone (but which looks more like Labyrinth Zone), the duo find themselves blacking out from the strain and the force of the suction. They awaken in a dark room with their arms and legs bound and are stunned when they’re greeted by Knuckles, who steps from the shadows and introduces himself as the island’s guardian.

Knuckles also reveals that he’s formed a friendship with Dr. Robotnik, who’s fed him lies about the two’s intentions to steal the island’s Chaos Emerald! Dr. Robotnik observes the events with glee alongside his long-suffering right-hand and nephew, Snively, and reveals that he’s misled the naïve echidna in order to steal the Chaos Emerald for himself to recharge his hovercraft. Having successfully duped Knuckles, Dr. Robotnik sits back and watches as the echidna’s riled up by Sonic and Tails’s defiant attitude. Still, Knuckles offers to give them ten minutes to get off the Floating Island before he hunts them down like wild dogs. While Sonic and Tails instead resolve to use the time limit to prove their innocence, Dr. Robotnik berates Knuckles for not finishing off the “jewel thieves” when he had the chance. Thus, Dr. Robotnik moves up his schedule and, after snatching the Chaos Emerald from his minion, Crabmeat, prepares to enact his dastardly plot. Angered that Sonic and Tails are still hanging around, Knuckles takes a short-cut to the Chaos Emerald and is horrified to find it’s been swiped from its simple stone pedestal. When Sonic and Tails arrive immediately after, Knuckles realise that he’s been duped and demands to be taken to Dr. Robotnik. The three arrive just as the semi-cybernetic dictator is preparing to take off and, after swiping the gem, reduce his SWATbot guards to scrap metal. However, Dr. Robotnik manages to elude them by powering up his hovercraft (how he does this without the Chaos Emerald is beyond me) and awkwardly escaping across the sea. To thank his newfound allies, Knuckles gathers the pieces of Sonic’s trashed plane so Sonic can reassemble it at super speed and then sees the two off, sure that it won’t be the last time their paths cross.

The Summary:
My first observation about this story is that the art is pretty atrocious. A lot of it was back then in the Archie comics as their artists opted for a more cartoony approach to these characters, one that emulated the cartoons that inspired them, yes, but which was also somewhat dumbed down and a far cry from SEGA’s official artwork. Most of this criticism is aimed towards Knuckles, who looks decidedly off-model here. Judging by the poses he strikes and the limited exploration of Sonic 3’s environments, I wouldn’t be surprised if the writers and artists only had access to limited materials to produce their story. It seems like they had footage or screenshots of Angel Island Zone (at least Act 1) and Hydrocity Zone and images of Knuckles, and that was it as this story explores even less of the Floating Island than in the Fleetway adaptation! As was the style at the time, “This Island Hedgehog” is seemingly more concerned with awful puns and pop culture references than emulating the source material. While the “unwelcome mat” was kind of funny, ““plane” crazy” was very cringe, Tails’s reaction when Sonic says they should “hit the drink” probably went over most kids’ heads, and “cute” references to Super Mario and the 1960s Batman television show just come across as corny. Sonic’s “energy shield” really bugged me since it appears out of sheer convenience to save him from being roasted, is never seen again, and never gets explained. Again, it’s like the writers just watched some footage of Sonic 3 and had no idea how the Insta-Shield works, making its inclusion even more egregious than how Fleetway handled it. Couple that with the Master Emerald and Hidden Palace Zone shrine being reduced to a simple, run-of-the-mill Chaos Emerald and a pile of rocks, and that Dr. Robotnik’s plot is to power up his hovercraft rather than the Death Egg, and you have a very poor representation of the source material, even by Archie’s standards!

I wish I could say that Knuckles, at least, comes off well, but it’s a bit of a mixed bag, to be honest. I liked that he was kept hidden, seen as merely a fist and speech bubbles for most of Part 1, and that he was shown to be responsible for the traps and pitfalls that deter Sonic and Tails. His reveal was somewhat dramatic, but a far cry from how he made an immediate impact in Sonic 3 and his impactful introduction to Sonic in Sonic the Comic. I will say, though, that I liked Knuckles’ more relaxed way of speaking (he often drops g’s from his words) and that he gave Sonic and Tails a fighting chance to leave the island, showing he has some pride and honour despite being duty-bound to protect his home. He’s still easily fooled by Dr. Robotnik (though we’re not seen how) and quick to assume Sonic and Tails are jewel thieves based on paltry evidence, but he’s also seen to be quite eloquent and intelligent rather than a meathead. However, in saying that, we don’t get to see any of Knuckles’ abilities here: he’s not seen gliding, digging, or climbing and never throws a punch. Sure, he and Sonic trash some SWATbots but the action is obscured by sound effects and dust, so there’s no indication of his physical strength…again, almost as though the writers only had promotional art to work from. Knuckles does part on far friendlier terms with Sonic and Tails than in most adaptations, however, but is a far cry from the character he should be. The story is also an extremely weak adaptation of Sonic 3, serving only to touch upon the most basic of elements and leave the door open for further adventures. Perhaps if Archie has spread the story out across a few issues, or dedicated this entire issue to Sonic dealing with Knuckles rather than wasting pages with a back-up story, things might’ve been different but, as is, this is probably the worst comic book adaptation of Sonic 3 I’ve ever read!

My Rating:

Terrible

What did you think to Knuckles’ first appearance in Archie’s Sonic comics? Were you also disappointed by how poorly he and Sonic 3 were represented here? What did you think to Dr. Robotnik’s drastically reduced plot for the Chaos Emerald? Which of Archie’s Knuckles stories and/or characters was your favourite and why? Are you celebrating Knuckles’ debut this month? Whatever you think about Archie’s Sonic comics, and especially Knuckles, leave a comment down below and let me know, support me on Ko-Fi, and check out my other Knuckles content!