Legends of Magic #10 Review

With 2018 dawning and information about Season 8 spiraling out of control from the leaks, the fandom faced a great deal of controversy and conflict over the planned direction for the new season. Meanwhile the IDW comics continued to putter along, the main series bouncing from issue to issue with no clear direction or any sembelence of quality. So it was up to the Legends of Magic series to keep the comics going, even as they were starting to wind down. Was this issue able to keep the narrative flowing smoothly, or did it only prove the series was right to wrap up in a few months? Well, let's find out.

We pick up right from where the previous issue left off, Flash Magnus and the royal legion are gearing up for war with dragons (some things never change). Stygian tries to get Flash's attention but Flash tells Stygian and the others to leave since war is no place for them. Rockhoof decides to do what he does best and hurl some insults to draw attention, except it doesn't seem to work right away. Meanwhile, Mage Meadowbrook notices something seems off about the dragons. She leaves to go check on them with Rockhoof's encouragement, while Rockhoof eventually lures Flash Magnus down so Stygian can make the sales pitch. Fortunately, war is averted, Mage Meadowbrook solves the problem. It turns out that the dragons were suffering from scale rot, and Meadowbrook had a potion that could cure them (they were ready to go to war over a plant that could reverse the effects). However it bothers me a fair deal that this prevents Flash Magnus from solving the issue himself, which makes his recruitment seem questionable. They mention that they need him for his speed, but he never gets a chance to prove himself.

The group heads to Southern Equestria next, as Flash Magnus boasts that he could easily take down the sirens by himself. But Stygian says they need a few more heroes first, heroes with specific virtues and values. Meanwhile Meadowbrook and Rockhoof draw closer after Rockhoof reveals that if you get to know your enemy, sometimes you'll find that they're not an enemy at all. But then the group is confronted by mummies that act like zombies. Flash and Rockhoof charge at the group and drive them back, and even Meadowbrook decides to get in on the action as a battle medic (sometimes even healers have know how to protect themselves, in combat medics can be just as vulnerable as soldiers).

But nothing seems to phase the mummies, they just keep coming and coming. All of a sudden, Somnambula comes crashing into the group and poses in front of Stygian like an angel (between this, a scene in the next issue, and Somnambula mentioning how she held out hope for Stygian to repent, I'm seriously starting to consider shipping them). Some complain that she's too random here, but I disagree. I actually think she was a little too on the stotic side in "Shadow Play" (and her voice didn't exactly help, I get that it was meant to sound Egyptian or Arabic but it makes her sound very old and I always kind of envisioned her as being younger and perkier), and here it's easier to see why her element of hope was morphed into laughter and how she is connected to Pinkie Pie. Admittedly it is kind of fast paced, she shows up and instantly throws herself into the group, explaining the situation and without hesitation agrees to join them after they help her.

It turns out that Prince Hisan is wearing a cursed emerald necklace that has turned him into a zombie, and everything is operating on dream logic. In order to free him the necklace must be shattered, and Meadowbrook has a potion that can do just that, by freezing it. Somnambula then instructs Rockhoof to launch her from his shovel and Rockhoof agrees (claiming he's never done such a thing before). She also reveals that she already knew of their little group gathering as she thought it was obvious. From there, Somnambula is able to chuck the potion and shatter the necklace, freeing Hisan. She quickly explains everything to him and then departs with the group. Meanwhile, at a green house, Mistmane talks to her plants. She can sense that the world is in trouble and she must go to spread beauty. But as she prepares to leave she trips over a vine and is swallowed whole by a massive fly trap.

And that's the story, so what do I think of the issue? Well, despite the anti-climatic solution to Flash Magnus' problem and the fast pace for Somnambula's portion, this is still a pretty good flow for the story arc and things feel natural. It's interesting to see Stygian still take something of the lead in the group, but as the group gets bigger and bigger the members start to operate independently of him. It's interesting to see how the group members play off each other (Rockhoof and Flash Magnus start to develop an obvious bromance, and Somnambula and Meadowbrook seem to draw closer over their shared love of plants), and Somnambula's glowpez seems to give her the ability to become a pony fireball here (which just further convinces me that her special artifact should've been her glowpez necklace and not the blindfold, I suspect the only reason why it isn't is because the writers weren't sure how to make the glowpez necklace obtainable in the present since everyone was offering them up). Though not quite as solid as its predecessors in the arc, this one still keeps things progressing relatively smoothly. So if you're a fan of the previous three issues and the arc they're a part of, go ahead and pick this one up, you won't be disappointed.