Knuckles #25 [June 1999] Well, the Knuckles comic has lasted for 25 issues. Whether it will last another 25 has suddenly become problematic. But more on that later. Unsigned cover art of Knuckles and Locke with scenes from Knuckles's childhood in the background: Knux with his mom shortly after he hatched; Knux as rugrat; Knuckles under the tutelage of Locke; and Locke's disappearance into a wall of flame about 6 years ago. "Childhood's End" Story: Ken Penders; Art: Manny Galan; Ink: Andrew Pepoy; Color: Mark Bernardo; Lettering: Vickie Williams; Editorial G- Force. Credits page: Spaz drawing of Knuckles and Locke, though the ribbon motif is a little puzzling. Now, if it were a YELLOW ribbon... Knuckles and Julie-Su are picking up where they were left in the last issue: in the headquarters of the Technology Now Party. Knuckles's decides to take a souvenir: the head of Benedict, the droid the party tried to run for Councilor. But while it ain't no crystal ball, Knuckles sees an unsettling reflection in Benedict's chrome dome. Ignoring Julie-Su, he gives chase to the shadowy (and in one panel, blurry) figure running away from him. It's Locke, who, unable to keep running away from his past, pauses. We then get the kind of heartfelt reunion that SHOULD have been part of "Surprise!" (S68) when Sonic returned to Mobitropolis. Of course, Sally et al. didn't think that Sonic had been dead for six years. Since Knuckles is too happy to see Locke to hassle him about why he abandoned him, father and son depart just as Julie-Su comes looking for Knuckles. Not knowing about Locke, Julie-Su leaves the impression that the next story arc, "Knuckles's First Date," may be a bumpier ride than we thought. "What do you wish to know, son?" Locke asks. Knuckles's answer, "Everything!" isn't very helpful, but Locke launches into some ancient history: He starts by jumping back to Steppenwolf son of Edmund, who takes up as Guardian and starts bringing his son, Moonwatcher, into the family business. And it's pretty serious business because the first time the Overlanders show up (led by the ectomorphic "Brutus Kintobor of the House of Ivo" sporting the family moustache and a really bad bowl haircut), they're doing the white-man-speaking- with-forked-tongue routine. Besides, as drawn by Manny Galan they have FOUR fingers and an opposable thumb on each hand; see, I TOLD you they were hyoomons! Steppenwolf then gives them a taste of The Force but since this is an Archie comic he doesn't do any remote control strangulation. Instead, he gives everybody really, really bad headaches. I shouldn't joke about that, though; I once had an adverse reaction to a medication that gave me such a headache I was literally in tears. But I digress. Locke informs Knuckles that Steppenwolf knew what was going on because of the fire ants, who apparently can function something like the Borg collective. It was after that occasion that Steppenwolf and Christopheles decide that Moonwatcher (who had grown into the echidna equivalent of Geordi LaForge) should serve as co-Guardian and also be in charge of monitoring events down on Mobius. And Moonwatcher did beget Harlan, obviously named for Harlan Ellison. Great writer, Harlan Ellison. Great thinker, too. He once wrote: "I have a theory. Don't I always?" Guy after my own heart, Harlan Ellison. And Harlan did beget Rembrandt, whose artistic name did NOT extend to his taste in clothes. Yeeesh! Who was his tailor, Parliament Funkadelic? And Rembrandt did beget Aaron who, while scouting things out on Mobius one day, uncovered Menniker (looking like a pug dog with an attitude) and the Dark Legion in league with the Overlanders. Seems they've set up a missile site targeting the Floating Island. In a variation of the scene from "Dr. Strangelove" Aaron hops on the missile, with Menniker right on his tail, and does his impression of the Challenger disaster. I don't know that I buy Locke's description of Aaron's act as the result of "[succumbing] to the recklessness and bravado of...youth." He may have put it that way because, having been part of the Brotherhood and being so preoccupied with self-preservation, the concept of self-sacrifice had become foreign to him. But maybe that's just me. In any event, Aaron's brother Jordan then offers to step into what's left of Aaron's shoes. Since he's got the chest band, his training begins while his duties become restricted by the Brotherhood, to whom it seemingly never occurs that they might not even be there to discuss the change in plans had not Aaron decided to blow himself up along with the missile. Explaining this is the closest that Locke gets to apologizing to Knuckles for walking out on him. Anyway, quick jump closer to the present and slopping over into the future as Locke recounts a vision/dream/nightmare/whatever wherein Knuckles is seen wearing the anime hat and fighting what appears to be a Robotnik Action Figure (batteries not included). Oh, I am so scared! But the ending of the vision is enough to freak Locke to the point of actually driving him to...talk to his grandfather, Athair! Athair's pronouncement has all the profundity of something you'd find inside a fortune cookie and none of the clarity. Locke then becomes a high-tech backslider as he starts tampering with his own physiology as a prelude to...getting Lara-Le pregnant. And just for good measure, between the time Knuckles was delivered "in ovo" and his hatching, the echidna embryo was subjected to Chaos Emerald radiation. And the results? Locke plays "I'll Show You Mine, You Show Me Yours" with Knuckles. Seems Locke's own mittens were dummies, and Knuckles is the only one with barbs on his hands, earning him his distinctive name. As to why all this hoo-ha, Locke basically refers back to a pronouncement of Athair's that Knuckles is the "savior" of the future. Knuckles isn't too sure he likes the job title, but readily buys into Locke's rationale as to why he did what he did. And the two walk off sounding like a beer commercial. Sorry, Knux, but you're STILL underage. HEAD: Ken Penders actually made this sound like it was going to be a snooze, a "talking heads" story where nothing much happens. Didn't feel boring to me, what with the confrontation between Steppenwolf and the Os, Aaron's rocket ride, and the business with the vision (which will lead into a special to be released...sometime or other...maybe.). A lot of back story has been filled in, and presuming that Aaron was Hawking's father, we trivia buffs FINALLY have a complete roster of Guardians to work with. Head Score: 10. EYE: Manny Galan, in his _de facto_ farewell performance, is in top form. After three months of Jim Valentino's version of Julie-Su, it's great to see her looking like herself again. I don't know WHOSE idea it was to saddle Rembrandt with that bizarre wardrobe of his, but Galan should have gone all the way and attached a Groucho nose to Rembrandt's glasses so he'd REALLY look like a clown! But then there's the close-up of Rembrandt in the second panel on page 18, which manages to give the guy a certain dignity despite the outlandish threads. So all's forgiven, even Rembrandt's duds. Head Score: 10. HEART: The relationship between father and son is an infinitely complex one, and Freud's was certainly NOT the last word on the subject. No matter how rotten or twisted it can get, the desire to reconcile the bad and to maintain the relationship is a powerful one. That's why otherwise stoic, dispassionate men have been known to lose it when watching the climax of "Field Of Dreams" (and I'm speaking from personal experience here). So I wasn't at all surprised at Knuckles's reaction upon reuniting with Locke. In fact, there's a sound psychological foundation for it. According to psychologist Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development, individuals pass through definite and recognizable stages. Unlike Freud's psychosexual theory, though, Erikson sees individual development in the context of other individuals (parents, friends, teachers, etc.) as well as the culture in which one grows up. If you want to know more, any book on developmental psychology will have a summary of Erikson's theory. Knuckles is like 15 years old in this story. By this age, he should be moving through the stage referred to by Erikson as "Identity vs. Role Confusion," the stage common to adolescence. The teenager is establishing personal, social and sexual identities, while exhibiting confusion about what to do with one's future life. It's when the process of self-discovery becomes too intense, misdirected or just plain thwarted that we get what's usually characterized as the "rebellion" of the teenage years. Knuckles displays some of this toward the end, when Locke informs him that "You're going to grow up to be a messiah." Yet overall, the tone is far different. He doesn't seem like the same Knuckles who's been in numerous confrontations with the Dark Legion and been in other adventures over the past 25 issues. All that past heroism, all that he has achieved, is forgotten upon seeing Locke. In fact, Knuckles's relationship with his father came to a dead halt when Locke abandoned Knuckles when he was nine years old (IMHO, "abandoned" is still the best word for it), and it hasn't moved forward since. So now that Locke has made his presence known to Knuckles, how does the youth react? The only way he knows how to react: like a nine-year-old boy. Psychologically, that's as far as he ever got in his relationship with his father, so naturally he's going to pick up where he left off. "Childhood's End"? I don't think so. Again, like the poetic justice of "My Secret Guardian" (Special #9), I don't know whether this was conscious on Ken's part, but it's a perfect fit. Heart Score: 10. Off-Panel: This particular strip has suddenly acquired an unsettling urgency. Ken Penders let it be known that the Guardian of the Floating Island may be headed for a fall. And we'd have the executives at Wal-Mart, Archie and Sega to thank for it. Here's a brief rundown: Keep in mind that shelf space is becoming a scarce commodity, with more and more periodicals vying for space at your dealer's. Which is a fact of economic life. But then some dim-bulb den mother complained to her local Wal-Mart about the kind of comics her chillun were exposed to, which caused the ENTIRE FREAKIN' CHAIN to stop selling comics! Can you say "overreaction"? That left Archie with a lot fewer places to sell their wares. Then, too, keep in mind that Sega gets a kick-back from the sale of the books. Yes, a portion of every $1.79 you lay down every month for each copy of Knuckles reverts to Sega, in addition to the fee Archie Comics pays for using Sega's licensed characters. That puts Archie Comics and the creatives who do the Sonic and Knuckles titles in the unenviable position not only of having to put up with a lot of unwarranted crap from Sega, but HAVING TO PAY SEGA FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF TAKING CRAP FROM THEM! Bottom line: if sales are down, Sega ain't happy 'cause it's losing money. Actually, they're not LOSING anything; Sega is already getting a fee up-front to allow Archie to even use the characters, so what they get from a percentage of the sales of the comics is gravy. But if they're getting less of it, they ain't happy. And Sega's fee doesn't change if sales take a dip. So we're looking at the prospect of cost-cutting measures at Archie Comics. This could mean cutting back Knuckles so that it only comes out 9 times a year. Or 6 times a year. Worst case scenario: Archie decides to kill the title. The phrase "ineffable corporate stupidity" comes to mind. Along with the phrase "fraggin' bastiches!" Ken suggests that for the next six months everyone start buying two copies of Knuckles and working to turn other people on to the title. Personally, I've seen too much corporate stupidity in my lifetime to harbor any long-term hopes for the ultimate survival of the title. I hope and pray I'm wrong, but Knuckles has better get used to being a bit player and occasional guest star in "Sonic the Hedgehog" once more. Fistful of Letter: only one, and it's Manny Galan's farewell address (but not his forwarding address). He'll be showing up from time to time (it says here) to do back stories and covers, though no mention is made of his new employer (Nickelodeon), or of the fact that he's got a rugrat of his own on the way. I can relate to what he says: sometimes, you have to wonder if the stuff you write/draw makes ANY difference, especially since Ken broke the news about Knuckles being on the endangered species list. No other letters and no fan art, but by way of Pro Art we have the team of Galan and Pepoy depicting the team of Knuckles and Julie-Su doing battle against Godzilla...before the war between the sexes kicks in with the unheralded Knuckles #26 and they start doing battle with each other.