299. Sonic the Hedgehog #213
Reigning Cats and Dogs (Part One)
Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: Steven Butler Colors: Matt Herms
We begin this era by going back to characters - and places - we haven't seen in a long time, some as far back as the Sonic Adventure adaption. Things start out tense enough, as Sonic and Big the Cat find themselves surrounded by angry Felidae warriors with spears. Remember, the Felidae are cat warriors who are A. led by a short-tempered queen named Hathor, B. live in the Mysterious Cat Country, also known as the Pais Misterioso, and C. were once very much oppressed by the ancient echidnas during the time of Chaos. Weirdly enough, though I suppose it should have been obvious, Big the Cat is part of this clan, though he lives on the outskirts and is shunned by the others for willingly conversing with "outsiders." Hathor is already unhappy about Sonic's arriving in her territory, and becomes even more so when Big lets slip that they're here to retrieve the "Ancient Onyx." Sonic tries to smooth things over, but Hathor refuses to listen to him, and calls for a much more interesting method of learning the truth.
This was something that was mentioned in her previous appearance, but never really delved into - which makes me glad that we're going into it now, as it's a pretty interesting aspect of the Felidae's culture. Sonic plays into this by claiming his gloves are interpreter's gloves, giving him an in to explain everything that's led up to this very confusing moment. Earlier that day, he and Sally flew down to the area to visit the Wolf Pack in the area, as they were to be made honorary members in light of everything they've done. They were surprised to learn when they arrived that Lobo, Lupe's husband, was the chief now, skeptical that Lupe would ever step down from a leadership position - of course, their instincts are right, and Lupe steps out to reveal her snazzy new getup and role.
Man, Lupe is just the best, y'all. She told Sonic and Sally that she'd managed to unite every scattered wolf pack into a grand nation recently, though she still considers raising her children to be a bigger challenge - not a surprise really, as she not only has her two biological teenage children, but also Aerial and Athena, the two Overlander girls she adopted. Glad to see those two are still with the Wolf Pack! Lupe informed Sonic and Sally that the ceremony would unfortunately be informal as they couldn't currently find their sacred relic, the Ancient Onyx, which Lobo was certain the Felidae stole. Lupe barely got through explaining the Felidae to Sonic and Sally, including mentioning that there's been no contact between the two clans in generations, when the alarm was sounded of a Felidae warrior entering their city. A huge, powerful, mighty warrior who could certainly take on all of the Wolf Pack's warriors by himse-
Really, it is nice to see Big again. He's obviously not the most popular character in the franchise - I mean, he's more of a meme than anything with most of the fanbase - but in the right hands, he's, if not quite compelling, then intensely likeable. And Ian certainly counts as the right hands. I find that, more than any other writer who's ever gotten their hands on Big period, he's able to strike the perfect balance between making Big the simpleminded comic relief without getting into actually offensive territory. Big isn't funny because he's stupid, he's funny because he's so used to a non-complicated, simple life that politics, wars, and other things just fly right over his head. But he's sweet, and helpful, and kind, and that's what makes him so great.
Sonic immediately rushed out to vouch for Big, explaining their history together during the Chaos incident in Station Square, only for Big to end up threatened by the Wolf Pack's warriors anyway when he says he's here to retrieve, surprise surprise, the Ancient Onyx for the Felidae. Man, why does everyone want this thing, anyway?
Good thing Lupe's actually level-headed. Sonic and Big went back to the Felidae to discuss matters, while Sally decided to check something else out nearby, intending to come back with more information later. Now in the present, as Sonic and Big try to talk things out with Queen Hathor, Sally slinks through the ruins of the ancient echidna city in the area, the very same one with that awful statue of a conquering echidna stepping on a cat's body. She figures that it's too suspicious that such an important artifact to two different, opposing tribes would go missing like this, leaving the two strongest powers in the region on the brink of war, and figures that this would be the perfect hiding place for whoever stole the gem. Sure enough, she discovers a chapter of the Dark Egg Legion has set up camp in the ruins, and is just about to go back to report this information when none other than Drago Wolf, having joined back up with the Eggman Empire after ditching the Destructix, catches her snooping around. He and what appears to be a Felidae defector chase her around, showing off their terrifying new cybernetic limbs complete with deadly claws while Sally begins to wish she'd brought Sonic along. Unfortunately, she's just not really suited to a stand-up fight alone, and quickly becomes cornered.
…okay, is it just me, or is Sally getting captured a lot lately? Like, every few issues or so now? Normally she's not the damsel in distress type, either, especially with Ian writing her, so I don't know where this sudden rash of hostage situations has come from. Sonic, unaware of Sally's plight, arranges an agreement with Queen Hathor to help them find the Ancient Onyx first, so that they might negotiate which clan takes ownership of it afterwards, and Hathor agrees, though she wants Big out of her territory in exchange.
Honestly, this is just so sweet and kind. Again, Big often gets kind of swept aside and dismissed as some idiot just obsessed with a frog, but I'm really happy that Sonic is shown genuinely caring about his wellbeing here, going as far as to make sure that he'll have a new home that's to his liking once this is all over. Sonic is just about to get started on their new plans when the alarm is raised that the Wolf Pack are marching on the Felidae city, led by Lupe, armed and angry…
