YMMV / MoringMark - TOH Comics

• Alternative Character Interpretation: When Ayzee and Milan kiss at the end of "Grom Factor", is Ayzee's internal monologue blaming herself for what happened to Milan the result of Milan's new curse affecting her head, or does Ayzee genuinely believe she sees herself as a failure because of what happened?
• Angst? What Angst?: Milan's response to cursing herself and losing access to her natural magic is just to shrug it off. Viney even lampshades how casually she's taking the whole thing. Granted, she did it to save Enna and Hexside, but still.
• Broken Base:
  • The "Making Amends" strip features Philip making amends with Caleb as he passes on while apologizing to Hunter as the latter forgives him. Some fans consider the strip to be emotionally heartwarming and a good redemption for Philip. Other fans feel that, though the strip and sentiment may be heartwarming, Philip, with all of his Moral Event Horizon, Kick the Dog, and Chronic Back Stabbing Disorder moments, does not deserve any redemption at all and hope that he does not actually end up as Easily Forgiven as he is in the strip in the show and ends up suffering for his monstrous actions throughout the series (which he thankfully does, but still). Even MM themselves said they regret their wording.
  • The depiction of Hunter and Amity's relationship as being Vitriolic Best Buds who have a like-dislike relationship with each other has caused a small bit of contention over time within the fanbase. Some think that it makes for a hilarious yet heartwarming dynamic that appeals to the idea of sibling or in-laws who cannot stand each other, partly building off of their initial interaction in Eclipse Lake and giving them more opportunities to interact with each other one-on-one outside of their one episode. Others however, feel that it doesn't make much sense for them to have such a relationship, being built too heavily off the former's similarities with Zuko and the latter's comparison with her voice actress' other most significant role as Katara and their relationship reaching a tension with Zuko also acting against Katara in a fight scene in a cavern, resulting in them having a tense relationship until eventually becoming resolved. This is because Zuko and Katara had different backgrounds, the former an exiled member of royalty who wanted to please his father and return to being royalty while the latter grew up a lower class individual who sees Aang's presence as a source of hope and mostly knows the Fire Nation as a source of suffering for her and the world, with few exceptions. On the other hand, Hunter and Amity both grew up under an Abusive Parent figure, something the latter acknowledges, which would enable Amity to understand Hunter's position better and understand his actions in Eclipse Lake better, while Katara was given zero context for Zuko's actions and only sees him as someone whose actions had caused her and her friends troubles in the past. Some fans however, choose to discard this interpretation of flawed writing, noting that Amity and Hunter having a rivalry can happen naturally regardless of Hunter's past actions and embrace the possibility that it naturally occurred and continue to find humor and touchingness in their interactions.
• Fan Nickname: Ayzee and Pandora initially didn't have official names, leading the fans to refer to them as "Azura" and "Ivy" respectively.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • A comic with Kikimora attempting to restrain Lilith with her sigil has her take advantage of the curse's removable body parts side effect by taking off her forearm. A similar situation occurs with Eda in "King's Tide", only very much Played for Drama in this case.
  • One of the comics features Luz making her way back to the human realm with no way back to the Boiling Isles due to the portal being destroyed, which is exactly what happens in "King's Tide", though with different circumstances.
  • Another comic features Luz having become petrified, a fate which nearly befalls her in the same episode as the comic mentioned above.
  • Shortly after "Hunting Palismen" aired, a comic featured Flapjack found and consumed by Belos. "Thanks to Them" has Flapjack dying because of Belos.
  • This comic features Steve dying for the purpose of motivating the main cast without killing off any of the main characters. Flapjack dies in "Thanks to Them", fulfilling this purpose, as Hunter convinces a despondent Luz to continue fighting for Flapjack.
  • One comic features Belos possessing Odalia, who given as she is an utter Hate Sink the heroes have absolutely no remorse about beating her up. In the episode "For the Future", a fakeout occurs in which it appears as if Belos is about to possess Odalia, but instead he hijacks the far more sympathetic and lovable Raine.
  • Ayzee favoring the modified I-stone Gus gave her and fighting with a glyph slingshot and Abomination bracelet initially looks to just be a cool way of fighting that shows both how she's inherited the styles of and is still different from her mothers. The Grom Factor mini-arc however reveals that its more accurately she has to rely on said style because she can't use magic, as her bile sac had to be surgically removed as a kid to save her life, and she feels she has to live up to her mothers' legacy but also doesn't want to be in their shadow, something she feels she can't do without her bile sac, and now subconsciously sees herself as useless and fears she'll be stuck relying on them forever.
• Heartwarming in Hindsight:
  • "Thanks to Them" features a Happy Rain scene in the Human Realm where Amity learns human rain doesn't boil and she shares a dance with Luz. 8 months prior, the comic titled "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" is based around this very idea.
  • Various comics has the Hexsquad's reactions to Luz and Hunter's secrets to not be as dramatic as the duo thought it would be. "Thanks to Them" has it be revealed by Belos and they do take it in stride, even capturing quite similarly what they would even say.
  • One comic has the reveal of Hunter inheriting Flapjack's dash powers because of the latter's sacrifice. "For the Future" reveals this to be very much the case.
  • This strip features Luz dying at Belos' hands mourned by Eda, and meeting Owlbert in an Afterlife Antechamber, where she returns to the world of the living with Owlbert's powers as Owlbert himself presumably passes on. In the series finale, this exact scenario occurs, but without Owlbert, where Luz is killed by Belos, meets the Titan in the In-Between Realm, is given his powers, and comes Back from the Dead after the Titan finally passes on.
  • A few of Mark's comics that are set in the future show Hunter with a tattoo of Flapjack to remember him by. "Watching and Dreaming" would reveal that not only would Hunter get a tattoo of Flapjack but so would the rest of the Hexsquad.
  • One of Mark's comics features Manny and Camila getting along at a party by bonding over their shared love of Cosmic Frontier while others at the party did not partake in. A deleted storyboard for "For the Future" would have revealed that they did end up bonding at a Cosmic Frontier convention.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: With so many accurate predictions, many readers have joked that MoringMark is in the Oracle coven and/or is secretly a show production member (or even Dana herself) using an online handle to release deleted or scrapped ideas as seen from his frequent upload rate.
  • One comic drawn before "Yesterday's Lie" would show Luz bonding with the impostor of herself over discussing their theories on The Good Witch Azura. In the episode proper, Luz and Vee would bond just as easily once the latter was revealed to be a Non-Malicious Monster.
  • One comic has Edric and Emira actually being slobs when off the clock. "Reaching Out" would reveal that they look much less pretty without concealment stones that hide their true appearances.
  • This comic had Hunter infiltrate Hexside under a new identity for a mission, "Any Sport in a Storm" had the exact same base plot (though the execution is extremely different).
  • Another comic has Luz and Amity acting affectionate towards each other around Boscha purely to annoy her. They pretty much end up doing this in "Any Sport in a Storm", albeit unintentionally.
  • One comic had Luz using the leftover wood from carving her palisman to make smaller insect ones that are used by the BATTS. "Clouds on the Horizon" would show that Katya does indeed have an insect palisman, though it's a rhinoceros beetle rather than the ladybug she used in the comic.
  • Doubles as Heartwarming in Hindsight, in one of the comics, when Luz is told that Odalia disapproves of her dating Amity, Odalia says it's because she's poor and not classy enough, being disgusted that Luz thought it was because she's a girl. While it isn't completely correct, "Clouds on the Horizon" has Odalia mentioning that she would find Amity a girlfriend who isn't on wanted posters, showing that while she is evil, she isn't homophobic or racist.
  • A comic has Lilith being immobilized by her sigil but she simply detaches the arm that it is branded on before it spreads further due to her curse. "King's Tide" has Raine prove that this method works when Eda's curse triggered by the draining spell, stopping the spread.
  • On a related note, another comic shows Amity and Edric tricking Odalia into believing the only way to save her from the draining spell is to cut her arm off when they found a safe way to remove the coven sigil, when just like in canon, Eda was saved from the draining spell through losing her arm.
  • In this comic, one of the writers/gods of the world gets Steve to become a more important character, where he gets a unique appearance and a redemption arc. Come "O Titan, Where Art Thou", and that's exactly what happens, just sans Steve dying to motivate the protagonists further.
  • One comic has Eda Stating the Simple Solution by suggesting that Raine can stop the Day of Unity by simply not showing up to the ceremony. In "Clouds on the Horizon", Raine's plan is pretty much that, only the plan also requires Eda to take their place while disguised to use her curse in order to disrupt the draining spell.
  • Many of his early post-"King's Tide" comics set on Earth have Amity wearing a pink shirt and overalls for civilian wear. The poster for the Season 3 premiere "Thanks to Them" show her wearing these very clothes.
  • Some comics shipped Vee with Masha (the "goth girl," later revealed in "Thanks to Them" to use they/them pronouns). In "Thanks to Them", they actually get some Ship Tease.
  • This strip where Belos is Satan himself, being based on Dana's initial idea of the show being Luz's adventures in the afterlife, becomes ironic come the revelation that Belos is actually a Knight Templar Puritan who thinks he's saving humanity from the unholy witches.
  • Many comics prior to Stringbean's hatching depicted Luz eventually getting a bluejay palisman due to it fitting with the bird theme of the Clawthorne family. A bluejay palisman actually does show up during the Distant Finale of "Watching and Dreaming", but it's under the ownership of Hunter, not Luz.
  • The "Commander Eda" comics that were made between "Thanks to Them" and "For the Future" have the Titan Trappers serve as mooks for the Collector. "Watching and Dreaming" reveals that the Titan Trappers did make it to the Boiling Isles but were made as puppets like the other adults.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • DAMNIT, MARK!^ExplanationBecause Mark's comics vary wildly in tone between emotional and funny, this is the response of the fans any time Mark's comics hit particularly painfully
  • Making Boscha likeable^ExplanationBoscha is one of the most hated characters in the fandom. Despite this, Mark has made a lot of comics giving her depth and character development, leading some people to start liking her after previously hating her
  • Giving everyone a full third season^ExplanationAfter Season 3 of The Owl House was Screwed by the Network and Cut Short, the third season was reduced to only three one-hour-long episodes, meaning the plot took precedence while other adventures for the cast were confined to montages or exposition. As Mark made a lot of comics exploring the misadventures of the Hexsquad on Earth, many claim, both seriously and semi-jokingly, that Mark is giving the fans the rest of Season 3 by himself, typically saying that unless canon directly contradicts it, there's nothing stopping them from treating the comics as canon.
• Moral Event Horizon: Odalia attempting to brainwash Amity and make her become a playmate for the Collector is considered by many to be an even lower move for her than even what she has already done in canon.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • This early comic. Blends Impending Doom P.O.V., Creepy Changing Painting, and Can't Move While Being Watched to create something utterly terrifying. Thank the Titan it's just a ghost story Luz is telling at a sleepover...
  • The comic posted on April Fools Day 2024 is titled Dream or Reality. It's from the POV of Evelyn, as Caleb brings her breakfast in bed and listens, shocked, to her telling him she dreamed he was murdered by his brother. After all, Philip is a loving godfather to their daughter and cried tears of joy at their wedding! He reassures her that it was just a bad dream, and they'd better get ready for their daughter's graduation. Taken at face value, it's a very sweet comic. Until you start noticing all the little details that change between panels...
• Recursive Fanfiction: Mark's Alternate Universe comic here has already inspired one two-chapter fanfiction by the_sentient_duck: I Really Want To Stay At Your House. The author has invited others to contribute to the universe so long as they receive credit.
• Strangled by the Red String: It takes Ayzee and Milan literally two comics, with the second comic being Milan's second appearance, to easily get together. While later comics show their relationship more, Milan's still a much newer character compared to Jay and Pandora. And even then, the two were already kissing earlier than Luz and Amity in canon.

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