IDW Main Series #14 Review · 2:40am Aug 19th, 2015
For my 21st birthday, I obtained several comics, so you can expect to see reviews of them over the next couple of days.
By late 2013, IDW was starting to wrap up the Micro Series, as it was announced that a new series would take its place, Friends Forever.
Meanwhile, a shocking announcement was delivered, when it was revealed that the comics would start to incorporate Alicorn Twilight, starting with Main Series #13 in November of 2013.
Since Season 4 had yet to air when the announcement was made, many people were still either largely for or against Alicorn Twilight, and some even said they would boycot the comics over such a decision. It would take the events of early Season 4 to settle the Twicorn debate for good, but how did this second half of a two parter focused on pirates do, in spite of the "controversy"?
Well, let's begin with a brief recap of the story from the first half. All of the mane six were going to a beach to accompany Fluttershy, who was saying goodbye to a fish she had found and nursed back to health. Due to Fluttershy's reluctance to let go of the fish (who she named "Gil"), the girls ended up becoming part of a pirate crew for Captain Hoofbeard (likely a nod to either Blackbeard or Redbeard). Said captain sent them into town to obtain a map that was stolen from him by his crew, but the crew revealed to Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle (who they were shocked to discover was an alicorn), that they thought Hoofbeard was crazy and thus threw the map away. It ended up in the possession of a giant crab. Already, Fluttershy's a tad bit too clingy for my likes, but it's a minor detail, and it does serve a purpose.
The story for the second half begins, with Rarity, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie distracting the crab (called a ghost crab due to his glowing green skin) while Rainbow Dash flys in and collects the map from his shell. It turns out that the crab's glow is because of a bunch of energy drinks he consumes.
Pinkie Pie manages to get the crab to release her and her friends, by using a bunch of smaller crabs to carry away all the treasures the giant crab has collected. Thankfully, the crabs become friends, and agree to let bygons be bygons. Not a bad start, and we get some pretty good jokes and fight scenes out of it.
When Twilight decides to look at the map, Rainbow Dash refuses to believe Captain Hoofbeard is delusional, and elects to ignore what Twilight discovers on the map. I can see where Rainbow Dash is coming from, but true loyalty comes from knowing when to support someone, and when someone needs help. Choosing to ignore a problem isn't loyalty, it's blind devoation.
Back on the ship, Applejack reveals that her attempts to get the truth out of Hoofbeard didn't work at all, and no one really pays attention to Fluttershy's confession that she still has Gill with her. But they still give the map to Hoofbeard, though Twilight raises a legtimate question about whether or not he can be trusted, and what he's really after.
The girls and Spike drift with Captain Hoofbeard for a couple of days, and the X on the map continues to change location. This leads to the girls deciding that the crew was right, and they must mutiny on Captain Hoofbeard if they wish to ever return home. At first, Rainbow Dash doesn't like the idea, still blindly devoated to Hoofbeard, but she changes tune when the girls allow her to take his place when the mutiny is complete.
They manage to take control of the ship, and force Hoofbeard to surrender with swords. They then lock him up in the cabains, while they try to navigate back home. But it turns out the X on the map is changing of its own free will. And Fluttershy lets Captain Hoofbeard out because she claims he asked really nicely. I'm sorry, but Fluttershy isn't that stupid. "Keep Calm and Flutter On" showed that she doesn't just blindly trust anyone, and she's smart enough to realize others can play nice to trick you.
It turns out that Captain Hoofbeard isn't crazy, he's in love with a meremare, but it's a forbidden love as the meremares don't want the two worlds to live together. (Now where I have heard that before?) But Fluttershy's clinginess comes to save the day and deliver the aesop about how, if you love someone, sometimes you have to let them go, and trust that love will reunite you one day. A very good moral to teach, but the execution could be a lot better.
Fortunately, everyone gets their happy ending, as Hoofbeard is given gills. And after he points out how glad he was that his crew not only served with him, but also mutined on him (sometimes, the best friends, are the ones that will reign you in if you go too far), he and the meremares pull some strings, and get an aquatic creature to take the girls and Spike back home.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the issue? Well, it's alright, I suppose. But it really didn't capture the same wonder and enjoyment that some of the earlier issues had, and what some of the later Micro Series comics had to offer. The first half was a lot better, and showed much promise, but the second half just felt like it was held back by deciding it wanted a happy ending. And considering that the CMC's Micro Series had a downer ending, I really think IDW could've easily had a more serious and realistic ending where the captain truly was crazy. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy weren't handled very well here, the former clearly mistaking the definition of loyalty for blind devoation, and the latter clearly forgetting her growth displayed in "Keep Calm and Flutter On". That being said, this is leagues above what came next in the main series. A two parter that, until recently, seemed to be the worst IDW had to offer.
To me, it looks like this is where cracks first started to form in the IDW writing machine, and although it would take time, they would slowly start to grow and grow until they could not be ignored. Still, I'd recommend picking up this issue if you have the chance, it's not bad. It's the very definition of average, I would say.
What are your thoughts on Pinkie Pie getting a story with Celestia as well as the Spike/Luna pairing?
3330453 Well, the comics as of lately have been in a major slump that they can't seem to climb out of. But Pinkie PiexPrincess Celestia seems like a pairing that the Friends Forever series was made for, giving the spotlight to pairings that hadn't been considered by the show.
The SpikexPrincess Luna Friends Forever issue is probably the worst of the entire bunch, largely because it features very little Spike and Princess Luna interaction. It spends most of its time with a town of dragons, and a badly disguised lecture about racial profiling, the use of violence, and punishing a group for the actions of one individual. No doubt put in response to the riots in Ferguson, but no one reads the comics to be lectured. What people wanted, was to see Spike and Princess Luna interact in a comc. What they got, could very well be a case of false advertising.
3330465 I agree, what would you do to change it to make it more of Spike and Luna?
3330540 I would still have the plot be them investigating a crime in Fillydelphia, but have them be working on an investigation as per royal orders (Luna was sent to investigate and figured Spike would be helpful since the crimes involving arson). During the investigation, Luna peers into Spike's dream and discovers how much he's troubled by the fact that he isn't like the dragons he met during the migration. At the end of the issue, when the culprit is revealed (it turns out to be Garble and his gang, outlawed from the dragon kingdom due to their behavior) Luna takes Spike to meet the citizens of Fillydelphia, including the dragons that live there. And then we get the moral that serves as a "Take That" to "Dragon Quest".
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