Comic Review - Main Series #44 · 3:41am Aug 9th, 2016
The first issue was a good start, can the second sustain the momentum?
We open on Twilight in her library, frustrated over how slow she is to learn new things since she has to be the smartest pony ever to rule her subjects well. She deduces that since she'll be doing their thinking for them, they won't need to think for themselves, and comes up with a device to absorb their brainpower. I note at this time the comic inexplicably references Batman villains for the evil Mane Six - Twilight is using the Riddler's plan from Batman Forever, Pinkie is the Joker as seen last time, and Fluttershy at least visually is Poison Ivy. Odd design decision but it works in context. Twilight absorbs the knowledge of two random stallions and then tries it out on Bulk Biceps. "Sometimes the cupboard is empty, apparently." She runs off to find more ponies to drain.
The CMC run to Zecora's hut accompanied by an evil Angel... nevermind, that's a redundant statement. Fluttershy intercepts them, angry at them intruding on the forest and destroying animal homes, and prepares to sic her animals on them to force them to face forest justice. My mistake, she's not Poison Ivy, she's King Aspen. Back in Ponyville the ponies have received gifts. I tilt my head here. There's a pegasus with crossed eyes but it's not Muffins, this pegasus has a totally different color scheme. Colorist error messing up the appearance, or art error giving her crossed eyes? You make the call! The packages explode and they take refuge in a theater. Pinkie comes on stage as a clown and begins to tell horrible jokes, cackling that she's trapped them inside. Okay, hang on. Looking back at Twi's segment, it seems the derpy eyes are an indicator she's drained them. Because Lyra is here saying dumb things with her eyes like that. Except in the previous panels Lyra looks fine, and in another panel that pegasus looks fine too. So I'm really not sure what's happening.
Rarity, playing the part of Doctor Doom in a break from the Batman villains, runs through the streets in a cloak and mask, sneering Twilight is too unfashionable to be a leader. She blasts a clothing shop with bad outfits on display, and Luna arrives. Rarity attacks her, empowered by dark magic, and cackles at her. Luna gets an awesome moment here where she corrects she is Princess Luna. Back with the CMC they reach Zecora's hut and use a smoke bomb to slip past Fluttershy. We get a cute scene here where she consoles her animals that they did their best, she doesn't blame them for failing.
Luna blasts Rarity into Pinkie's theater and the crowd flees as Pinkie uses her party cannon, now a real cannon, to destroy the roof. Zecora and the CMC arrive and compare notes, and Zecora has the idea to examine Spike to see why he was immune to the water's effects. Rarity attacks Luna again in a badass panel of them crossing horns. "You're out of style, Luna!" "I'm a classic!" Twilight angrily declares from her castle that her kingdom does not allow fighting, and Rarity remembers she hates her and goes to confront her. Fluttershy meanwhile rallies her animals on the outskirts of town to invade. Yup, definitely King Aspen. Back in town the CMC and Zecora are attacked by Pinkie with water balloons, and Vinyl Scratch steals the show as she evilly declares her intent to pirate music. The heroes realize the water balloons are using the evil water from the spring, and flee. A balloon hits Luna, and she transforms back into Nightmare Moon.
This issue... I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, nothing much happens here. The CMC get Zecora and get her in town, then Luna transforms into Nightmare Moon. In the meantime we spin our wheels watching the CMC run around or Luna fight Rarity. And the latter is awesome, but it slows plot development. Twilight's subplot is seemingly forgotten, and Rainbow and Applejack don't appear at all. Thus we spend most of the comic with Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy. Pinkie's schtick as corrupted is just lame, telling bad jokes to ponies. The others are actively evil, Pinkie is just Discord-lite. What if she kept trying to prove her comedy prowess to them and went to greater extremes to push the envelope of humor? But those problems aside, this story arc is still holding interest. This issue just felt a bit stretched.
And let's address the elephant in the room - Nightmare Moon as Luna's corrupted side and not a spirit of the Nightmare Forces. I truly have no problem with this. The comic already retconned the Nightmare Forces as not predating Nightmare Moon, which the original Nightmare Arc implied was so. This is just building on that retcon into a new continuity - Luna was corrupted into Nightmare Moon, she created the Nightmare Forces, and then when she was purified her evil spirit as Nightmare Moon survived among the Forces. Really this isn't too hard to believe, the show has the old legend that Applejack says, that not all of Nightmare Moon's evil was destroyed when she was purified. So I don't mind.
Overall a weaker issue than the first part, but it doesn't break the arc for me.
Maybe this weaker issue could be redeemed if this wasn't a three parer. This time I think we really should've gotten it, especially since the next main series story is a parody of Trump v.s. Hillary (because no one else has been poking fun at that, right?
). This arc had potential and got off to a great start, but it feels like it may have been hastily trimmed down to three parts instead of four or five, which it truly deserves.
Vinyl Scratch steals the show as she evilly declares her intent to pirate music.
Wonder how much the record company paid for that one.
This one epic issue. I feels like the comic has finally gone a multi-parter story RIGHT.
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