#meanwhile what little information we get about his upbringing paints a way more interesting picture

[hesgomorrah]

less generic homophobic macho man trapper more trapper with catholic guilt

[mobius-prime]

100. Sonic Super Special #5 - Sonic Kids

Welcome to the hundredth issue, guys! Obviously not the hundredth issue of the main comic itself, we've still got a long ways to go before we reach that, but it's the hundredth issue that I'm covering in this review, anyhow. Fittingly, it's a bit of a flashback to, well, when the Freedom Fighters were kids. Which is awesome, because it allows me to finally go into several points that I've been just dying to bring up! Let's dive in, shall we?

When You and I Were Young, Sally

Writer: Mike Gallagher Pencils: Manny Galan Colors: Barry Grossman

So no time frame is given for what age everyone was when this story took place, but I'm going to guess it was no more than five or six years ago, given that any younger would make Tails basically a toddler in this story, which he doesn't seem like he is. Sally and her friends (minus Bunnie, because remember, she wasn't a part of the team yet) are playing inside when Rosie comes in to scold them and order them to play outside instead. Before Sally can follow her friends out, she's held back by Julayla (if you'll remember, her old mentor who died in StH#18) for a lesson. She's clearly not pleased with this.

This already gives some insight into how strict Sally's upbringing and royal grooming were, even with her father gone. Luckily, Julayla is actually rather reasonable, and recognizes the others' worth as both friends and a source of growth for Sally. While Sonic shows off by playing an entire game of basketball by himself, Tails - or Miles, as everyone calls him, because he hasn't earned his nickname yet - becomes dejected, thinking he'll never be as cool as his hero Sonic. Sally tries to cheer him up by pointing out that everyone has their own strengths, and Sonic jumps in to point out Miles' prominent birth defect, turning it into a positive instead.

And so Miles attains his flight ability! However, he doesn't quite know yet how to stop flying, and so he goes careening away into the forest. Rotor - or Boomer, as he's still known back then - is able to track where he might have landed, and even begins to describe a new idea he had for a handheld computer before Sally shushes him, serving as yet another reference to future events given that far-future-Rotor was the one who invented Nicole and sent her back in time, if you'll recall. The group hears Miles' voice coming from a tree stump, and gather around to try to decipher what he's saying.

Perfect! They all land in an underground cavern where Miles is dizzy from his landing but unharmed, and, looking around, are amazed at how cool the place is, with an underground aquifer and such an interesting secret entrance through the hollow tree stump… hey, sounding familiar? Sally declares that this should be their new secret headquarters for a group she's forming right now… the Freedom Fighters!

Well that's quite a verbose speech for a ten year old, Sally, but it inspires everyone to go along - minus Sonic, who seems mildly unenthused for some reason. I suppose it wasn't "cool" enough for him at first? Anyway, Sally then tasks them with finding a way out of the cavern, and Miles uses his new ability to fly out and lower a vine for them to climb out. And thus, the Freedom Fighters were born! It's a bit awkward to think back, however, on how resistant everyone was to adding Tails to the group in earlier issues, citing that he was too young. It paints kind of a ridiculous and petty picture of them initially forming the group with Miles, only to then reject him for being too much of a baby child, and only finally accepting him back in once he was the same age they were when they first formed the group. I mean, come on guys, that's such a dick move!

Stop… Sonic Time!

Writer: Tom Rolston and Karl Bollers Pencils: Art Mawhinney Colors: Ken Penders

The very first page of this story is my in - I finally get to explain my biggest theory!

Yes, that is a modern-day Sonic, being pestered by a bunch of little kids in Knothole to tell stories of his adventures. The first time I read the comics, this was the issue that made the silly tone of all the previous early issues make sense. After all, of course Sonic would love to brag of his and his friends' adventures to all the wide-eyed children of the village, hanging on his every word - but he couldn't make things out to be as dire as they actually were, lest he scare them. Add his naturally carefree and somewhat goofy nature to the mix, and you have your answer - most of the early issues, particularly the ones by Michael and Angelo, were all just stories Sonic was telling to the kids. To some degree, certainly most of the events depicted happened in some capacity, but they were much more serious, much more dire, with much higher stakes than we were led to believe. That time Sonic took a front row seat to Orbinaut's introduction and got put through a pinball machine for his troubles? More likely that he snuck into a Robotnik laboratory to find out his latest nefarious plans only to be spotted and captured, barely escaping an elaborate death trap with his life. That magic frog that gave him jewels which gave him powers? Probably an embellishment to an otherwise routine story of taking down Robotnik's latest invention. The time the Freedom Fighters formed a band and defeated Robotnik with the power of music? Perhaps an incursion into Robotropolis gone wrong when they were cornered in an old concert hall. My point is, given how serious the comic gets later on, those early issues, with their goofy slapstick tone, don't really make sense except through an interpretation like this - that they're merely dressed-up stories told by Sonic to the Knothole children throughout the war, to satisfy their curiosity, keep their spirits up, and give him a chance to brag even in the wake of a dire and terrifying battle that they barely escaped alive. This is how I choose to view all the older issues, through this lens of storytelling - it just seems to make sense. Incidentally, this is why I recommend people getting into the comics read every issue even if they're not into slapstick comedy, as they become painted in a much different light once you realize what they could mean in context.

Anyway, back to actually analyzing the story. When one of the kids asks Sonic how he got his shoes, he explains that they were custom-made for him by Uncle Chuck to withstand the friction created by his speed. He then decides to explain the story of how he got Tails his own shoes, which are similar to his. It took place a "few years ago," likely one or two years after the previous story since everyone still acts like children. Miles had been taking lessons from Rosie and gotten straight A's, prompting everyone to throw him a little party to celebrate his good grades. Antoine gets him a ribbon that he claims he earned through his own heroism, and while Boomer corrects him, Miles worries that Sonic hasn't shown up. Sally comforts him, but she's not too confident in him either.

Turns out Sonic is in Robotropolis, meeting up with a strange robed figure who agreed to trade him a bag of rocks for the shoes. It seems like a strange trade, but as Sonic speeds away…

Hey, remember Merlin Prower from the Sonic Live special? Of course given his name and appearance we knew they had to be related, but now we have confirmation - he's Tails' uncle! Sonic likely didn't actually tell this part to the Knothole kids - rather the comic is just showing the final panel to reveal this interesting tidbit of information to us.

Meanwhile in another part of Robotropolis, Robotnik is being evil as usual, and has come up with a plan. He's sick and tired of the "king's daughter" heading the resistance against him, and thus has invented a time-freezing ray that will stop time for everyone in the forest, allowing his forces to waltz in and load them all on a transport to Robotropolis with ease. Sonic sees the beam fire over his head as he races back to Knothole, but decides not to worry about it until after he's delivered his gift to Tails. However, predictably, once he gets back, everyone is frozen, and outside Knothole itself, the swatbots are rounding up the frozen Mobians. Sonic realizes he has to stop this plan before they discover the Great Oak Slide into the village, and so he comes up with a plan to pretend to be frozen, letting him sneak into Robotropolis.

Soon, Sonic is standing on the pedestal in Robotnik's main room, ready to be roboticized. Robotnik mentions, interestingly, that he had promised to spare those who followed his laws and had indeed followed his own rule up until now, which is surprising given his normally ruthless nature - however, naturally, he's decided that's boring and wants to roboticize everyone, followed by sending his robot army out to conquer the entire galaxy. Damn, man! The planet wasn't enough for you? Sonic allows him to monologue just long enough to let him get embroiled in an evil cackle before jumping off the pedestal and mocking him, then pressing every button on every console to mess up his plans. This thankfully results in exactly what he wanted - everyone being unfrozen back home, while Snively and the bots looking for more prisoners are frozen in time instead. With one last flourish, he smashes up the time-freeze ray and speeds out of the city, back home, where everyone within the village still has no idea anything went wrong at all. He dodges Sally's scolding, goes to give Tails his present, remembers he left it hidden in the forest, and speeds back to find it with ease.

And that's how Tails got his similar-to-Sonic's shoes! Sonic concludes his story to the children only to notice that they all fell asleep listening to him at some point. Classic!

Total Re: Genesis

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: Nelson Rebeiro, Art Mawhinney, Sam Maxwell, and John Herbert Colors: Barry Grossman

Unlike the other two stories, this one doesn’t take place during the childhood of the Freedom Fighters, but rather just after StH#38. If you'll remember, I noted that the issue ended rather abruptly, not really explaining how everyone escaped or what happened afterward. I'm not sure if this story was intended to correct that or if they just randomly decided on that issue as a good place to add in an additional story, but here we are regardless. We open with Sonic, Sally, and Antoine looking pretty exhausted and beat up with a flaming pile of robotic wreckage behind them, and they answer a call from Uncle Chuck to explain what happened. Apparently one of the wrecked combots they fought came back online while they were cleaning up, and each of them take turns explaining their version of events, in which the speaker is the sole hero of the story. Sally explains how her two companions were knocked silly by a blast, and thus she acted as a distraction, breaking off a piece of a cliff to smash the already messed-up bot.

Antoine interrupts to explain that, in fact, it was Sally and Sonic who were unconscious, and the robot still had legs. What's more, it could cloak itself to become invisible, and so Antoine had an epic duel with it, using his superior hearing to fight and slash at it even without being able to see.

But that's not how it happened, interjects Sonic! Antoine was merely watching his heroics jealously from a distance while Sally begged him, ever the hero, to save them both. He stepped forward, easily dodging anything the combot threw at him while mocking its sound effects, and then paused to adjust his sneakers before charging at it to blow it up.

Uncle Chuck finally interrupts to tell them that he installed Nicole with an uplink to a spy satellite which recorded the whole thing, allowing him to watch playback of what really happened. As it turns out, everyone's stories are somewhat true, with Sonic using his spines to saw off the bot's legs, Antoine slicing up its internal circuitry, and then Sally crushing it with a boulder before it could fire off another shot. He congratulates them on their teamwork, and they bicker good-naturedly as they head back home.

Well, that's a hundred issues everyone! Hard to believe we've already come this far, but hang on tight, cause we still got over two hundred fifty issues to go. The story of the preboot is far from over, after all!