IDW Comics Revisited - Main Series #5 · 4:03am Sep 21st, 2020
This is one of those comics I never bothered to pick up a physical copy before, of this second arc I have only the second (main series #6) as a physical copy and you'll probably see why as the reviews here progress. Anyway, after "The Return of Queen Chrysalis" ended and Season 3 of the show wrapped up, the comics were now free to fill a long void of pony content that wouldn't really return until November of 2013 with Season 4. In the meantime there was the micro series that got off to a very rocky start with minimalistic artwork and plots that were not very engaging. This arc promised to keep the comics alive and well without the show to support it, including the always fan favorite in Princess Luna. But considering that this arc too would go on to be redone in the show (to one of the most polarizing episodes of all time in "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?"), does that mean much like "The Return of Queen Chrysalis" this arc hasn't aged very well? Well, let's find out.
We begin on a pretty promising note of Twilight trying to run away from some unspecified force, and we learn that she's been having nightmares every night for a week. And it's not just her who's been having this problem, all her friends have been suffering from it as well (though we don't get to see Pinkie Pie physically affected by this). The solution appears to be a sleepover party at Sugarcube Corner, which mostly serves to have some filler antics before everyone falls asleep. An unspecified dark mist then seeps in, infecting everypony's dreams. The first five are predictable and not very interesting: Twilight is being dismissed forever from her studies (I guess they didn't know about "The Crystal Empire" though how could they not?), Applejack has her entire extended family turning her on for a bad harvest, Fluttershy has her animal friends running away from her, Pinkie Pie is failing to entertain a crowd of ponies and Rainbow Dash can't get off the ground to fly with the Wonderbolts. Rarity's dream/nightmare is unique in that she is rejected by her friends and believes she'll be forgotten (complete with a pony cameo of Mable Pines from Gravity Falls).
But the problem is that Rarity's nightmare is very contrived, there's no indication in-universe as to why she would believe this. Rarity is in fact the last pony who would feel likely to be forgotten. Pinkie Pie is the most obvious considering her fears in "Party of One" and "The Return of Harmony" about her friends not liking her parties and laughing at her, Fluttershy has crippling low self-esteem due to her childhood, Rainbow Dash has an inferiority complex she masks beneath her desire to be the best, Twilight tends to internalize problems a lot and we've seen Applejack become insecure if her world view is suddenly changed or altered. Rarity has a stable career and constantly made the biggest strides toward achieving her dream. I'm not saying she couldn't have doubts, but for it to work in this story in particular there has to be a given reason and we don't get it. What's even worse is that she's suddenly and inexplicably abducted by this dark mist, and rendered a damsel in distress the whole time. It just feels like an insult to her character.
To be fair, the rest of the mane six try to mount a rescue and Rainbow Dash almost succeeds with a Sonic Rainboom, but the mist yanks Rarity away to the moon before that can happen. The rest of the mane six realize that mist was in their dreams and conclude that Princess Luna is the only one who can help them. And in what might be perhaps the most glaring continuity issue of this entire arc, Princess Luna appears here in her Season 1 design and seems to act as though the events of "Luna Eclipsed" never happened. And considering I seem to be the only one who doesn't care for that episode, I can't imagine the comic writers and artists being unaware of this. My only guess is that they were basing it on vectors and other show merchandise that refused to update Luna's design until Princess Cadence forced them to. But why wouldn't they watch the show or even look up clips? This was back when the show's viral popularity was in its prime after all.
Princess Luna exposits about the Nightmare Forces that are treated as if they always existed, something that are treated as an extension of Nightmare Moon that also somehow existed so Nightmare Moon could prove her usefulness by giving ponies nightmares (and Luna indicates that she did all this willingly, which makes no sense if she was trying to make ponies appreciate her night). Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie randomly suggest nonsense about how to rescue Rarity, while Twilight vows that they'll all face their fears to help rescue Rarity on the moon and Princess Celestia will stay behind to protect Ponyville. The issue ends with Rarity up on the moon, initially taunting her kidnappers before they pin her down and tie her up, probably the closest thing to continuity in this entire issue.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the issue? Even for the time it was in it's a mess. It had a promising start with a much greater hook than the previous arc, but it soon squanders it on filler and Rarity's unexplained self-doubts to serve the plot that reduce her to a damsel in distress. Even the appearance of Princess Luna can't save it, because it seems to be contradicted "Luna Eclipsed" completely which as messy as that was it was important to Luna's character at the time. The Nightmare Forces do sound cool, but admittedly the comic is vague about what they are, going back and forth between them being a creation of Nightmare Moon and being around before her. I'll give "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?" credit for at least having a bit stronger of a set-up and premise, even though the absence of Princess Celestia in that episode made no sense. If you're really curious you can pick this issue up, but I'd personally recommend just looking it up on Youtube and watching it. It's a troubled start to what will be a very troubled arc.
And there you have it, come back tomorrow when we'll take a look at Main Series #6, part two of the Nightmare Forces arc.
Such an epic roast haha. Keep this blog series coming!
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The thing in this issue that probably feels the most in character about it all. Rarity's initial defiance fits perfectly with how she reacted to her kidnapping attempt in "A Dog and Pony Show".