IDW Main Series #68 Review

So after the first part of this two parter proved to be really rough around the edges in regard to Tempest, was this second part able to make her redemption justified? Was it able to fix all that went wrong? Or did it only prove to be a waste of time that undermined any credibility for Tempest's character? Especially when the Ponyville Mysteries comics were generating more interest because they included Scootaloo's aunts and Diamond Tiara? Well, let's find out (there wasn't much in the way of show to talk about when this issue came out).

We begin with a narration recap for Tempest explaining how she lost her horn, lost her friends, and ran away, vowing that if she couldn't be loved she'd be feared.

Yet in the end all that effort was for nothing, she was still paralyzed with fear. And that's where the story picks up, with Tempest frozen in fear. However, before the Ursa Minor can do anything to her, Glitter Drops steps in and drives it away with a blinding spell. Yet somehow this touches a sore spot for Tempest who blows at Glitter for daring to save her! She corners her friend while thinking in her mind that her friend needs to open her eyes! I fail to see how anyone could think this makes Tempest sympathetic because it doesn't! I don't even buy the "She's just upset and lashing out, she doesn't really mean it" excuse! She knows full well what she's doing and she doesn't care, she thinks she's fully in the right to blow up at her friend for something that happened years ago!

But Glitter Drops folds and confesses that she should've been the one to go into the cave. She was the one who threw the ball to Tempest, who tried to catch it but missed. Glitter knew she was supposed to go inside, but Tempest did so instead and lost her horn as a result. This causes Tempest to step back, finally realizing that she's been acting like a jerk this whole time. In her mind she realizes that if the roles were reversed and she could have the ability to send Glitter into the cave to lose her horn, she wouldn't do it. But this also canonizes a book called "The Stormy Road to Canterlot" which established that Tempest's friends actually tried to include her in their activities and then enrolled in Celestia's school and left. They even have Glitter admit that she dropped out because she couldn't handle the workload, so they basically just rip off Starlight's poor backstory and think that just changing a few minor details somehow makes it different. There's also supposedly a continuity error involving Sunset Shimmer at the school, but we don't know when this flashback takes place or how old Sunset is relevant to Tempest's friends. It's possible she was at the tail end of her studies when they enrolled.

Tempest and Glitter set to work on tracking down the Ursa Minor, and Glitter eventually reveals that it's been orphaned, it wandered off from its mother while its tribe was looking for food. The comic tries to make you believe it's the same Ursa Minor that broke Tempest's horn as a filly, but since we don't know where Tempest lived relative to the Crystal Empire it's impossible to know for sure. Anyway, Glitter is able to project an Ursa Major and entrusts Tempest to guide her since it requires everything she has to maintain the spell. It works though, the Ursa Minor is led back to its mother.

Yet even after that, Tempest still accuses Glitter of abandoning her before she learns about what went down at Celestia's school. But instead of dwelling on this and having her apologize, the comic decides instead to have her go back to Cadence (who she still believes is useless because she has no need for love). At first Tempest is still very on edge around Cadence and accusing her of setting up the whole thing, but then she admits that Cadence was right and says "Thank You". However, she never at any point takes back any of the things she says, refuses to offer even an apology, and still remains distant. Yet Cadence gets the last laugh by telling her "Remember this the next time you ask why there isn't a Princess of Air Supremacy".

And that's the story, so what do I think of the issue? Honestly, it's the same as the previous one, everyone comes off as looking good except for the one we're supposed to actually care about. I don't see how they could think any of this makes Tempest sympathetic or likeable, even Starlight Glimmer at least didn't take out her anger on others after supposedly reforming. And I don't understand how the comics, having the knowledge and foresight that the movie staff didn't, would think it was totally okay to just rip off Starlight's backstory for Tempest and think changing a few details would make it magically okay. Really, the only time Tempest actually becomes likeable is when she realizes that she could've had a chance to make one of her friends lose their horn instead but if given the chance she wouldn't do it. I really wish they'd have focused on that stuff more, show her actually apologizing. I think that might be the biggest causality of this arc being just a two parter. It really deserved a third or even a fourth part to flesh things out, give Tempest more of a chance to realize she's wrong instead of just having her revert to the "I'm too edgy for friendship" persona. They think they're being clever with this but in reality they're just using an already contested character as a thinly vieled mouth piece. There's a reason why I wrote that Tempest apology fic and have linked to it here, Tempest is the one who should be apologizing. Everyone else went out of their way to be accomadating to her, and all she ever did was spit in their faces and snap at them for showing her kindness (as opposed to I don't know, having her banished or imprisoned for treason). This issue and its predecessor are still good, but they ultimately fall far short of the potential they could've had and it makes me wonder why IDW has tried to keep marching lock and step with the show. They had a concept that the show could never hope to touch, and rather than expand on it they limited themselves to only two parts that were separated before and after by filler issues. I don't hate them, they're still worth picking up if you can find them cheap. But I think the last truly remarkable issues of the main series remain #57 and #58.

And there you have it. This puts an end to the comic reviews for the time being, from here on out it's all show stuff.