Warning: Spoilers for One-Punch Man Ch. #196 (JP)/Ch. #194 (EN)One of One-Punch Man‘s most laughable villains, the ninja known as Speed-o’-Sound Sonic, has a Team Rocket-style determination to defeat Saitama, despite constant failure. The character has just received some added depth, however, with the reveal of his tragic past at the Ninja Village.
In One-Punch Man chapter #196, Flashy-Flash and number one hero Blast end up discussing the Ninja Village where the former grew up, which turns out to have been founded by Blast’s former partner, a ninja by the name of Empty Void. Flashy Flash receives a letter of challenge from Sonic, stating that the village’s founder has awoken and demands that Flashy Flash die. Sonic gives a location for them to meet and have their battle, and that location turns out to have some meaning to Flashy Flash and Sonic.
The chapter transitions into a brief flashback to when Flashy Flash and Sonic were both kids at the Ninja Village, and reveals a surprising version of the absurd villain.
Sonic’s Past Wasn’t as Villainous as Fans Might Expect
During the flashback, Flashy Flash and Sonic connect, as they seem to be the only ones in their ninja training class to have retained a personal identity. Both seem to despise the way the Ninja Village is run, and Sonic dreams of one day taking over the village and, rather than forcing the kids to undergo brutal training, raising them in a kinder and fairer way. He even has plans for a site on which he wants to establish his new ninja village, which he eagerly shows to Flashy Flash. It’s a far more positive, upbeat take on Sonic than the version that fans have come to know over the course of One-Punch Man, proving he wasn’t always as he is today.
The backstory between Flashy Flash and Sonic seems to be inspired by Naruto, and bears a heavy resemblance to the founding of the Hidden Leaf Village by Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. Despite that similarity, the story adds some depth to Sonic’s character; no longer is he merely an annoying villain who pops out to waste Saitama’s time. Instead, Sonic once had positive, even heroic desires to save the other orphans suffering from cruel training in the Ninja Village. There was a time when Sonic cared about other people, so what happened to him that eventually drove him away from that and to villainy?
For a character who started out suffering an embarrassing accidental groin attack in his first appearance, it’s a surprising change of characterization to now give him a real backstory and explanation for how he is. It’s not yet clear how much this story arc will continue to explore Sonic and Flashy Flash’s past, but as the two prepare to clash, it’s likely fans will get to see at least a little more of what drove Sonic to be who he is today. Speed-o’-Sound Sonic may still be a goofy character after this all comes to a close, but One-Punch Man has done the character a big favor by providing him a sympathetic past.
