King Sombra was not the favorite villain of many viewers after the season 3 premiere of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. After the colorful personalities of the previous three Big Bads of the series, he turned out to be more of a Sauronesque "force" to be raced against than an actual character. The first issue of the Fiendship is Magic comic focuses on him, providing a backstory and context leading up to what we learned of him in the cartoon.
And wow.
The framing device has Twilight Sparkle and Princess Cadance exploring the lower levels of the castle, where they come across a journal written by the former tyrant, telling his story.
The story is a surprising one for the series. Obviously, MLP is generally a very lighthearted and optimistic series, and the comics are largely defined by a sense of quirky, referential humor. These elements are vastly subdued in this story, which turns out to be an out-and-out tragedy. Sombra, initially a mysterious colt (who starts with a speech impediment) found all alone out in the frozen north, turns out to be a very sympathetic character. The comic emphasizes a sense of fear, pain, and vulnerability (if you want a dark take on Good Hurts Evil, this comic does that in spades) that completely upends what you might expect from a character who was introduced as a Generic Doomsday Villain with two or three lines.
It is not a happy story, which is what one generally expects from this franchise. What it is, however, is a powerful character piece showing how someone alone and afraid takes a step over the edge into villainy.
The rest of the series is a good read, but the first issue is easily the strongest.
ComicBook Sombra: The King of Monsters
King Sombra was not the favorite villain of many viewers after the season 3 premiere of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. After the colorful personalities of the previous three Big Bads of the series, he turned out to be more of a Sauronesque "force" to be raced against than an actual character. The first issue of the Fiendship is Magic comic focuses on him, providing a backstory and context leading up to what we learned of him in the cartoon.
And wow.
The framing device has Twilight Sparkle and Princess Cadance exploring the lower levels of the castle, where they come across a journal written by the former tyrant, telling his story.
The story is a surprising one for the series. Obviously, MLP is generally a very lighthearted and optimistic series, and the comics are largely defined by a sense of quirky, referential humor. These elements are vastly subdued in this story, which turns out to be an out-and-out tragedy. Sombra, initially a mysterious colt (who starts with a speech impediment) found all alone out in the frozen north, turns out to be a very sympathetic character. The comic emphasizes a sense of fear, pain, and vulnerability (if you want a dark take on Good Hurts Evil, this comic does that in spades) that completely upends what you might expect from a character who was introduced as a Generic Doomsday Villain with two or three lines.
It is not a happy story, which is what one generally expects from this franchise. What it is, however, is a powerful character piece showing how someone alone and afraid takes a step over the edge into villainy.
The rest of the series is a good read, but the first issue is easily the strongest.