Trotting Towards Nightmare Night: Siege of the Crystal Empire (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #34 - # 37)

First off, I'd like to apologize for not getting the Reflections review done. Life just came up but in some ways that works better as this comic is a direct follow-up to Sombra's FIENDship issue.  Looking at it that way truly helps and follows up on the idea of destiny.  I believe this helps to paint how destiny isn't concrete and shows how there is much more to one's life than they perceive. This also plays into how the show version of Sombra and comics Sombra are two different characters as Sombra in the comics has more of an arc and actually learns a lesson by the time this arc is done whereas the Sombra that we see return at the start of season 9 is still evil. 

That's something that I'll discuss a bit more when I get into the meat of the actual review but between the tragic backstory in FIENDship and this story, it shows how destiny isn't always defined and that yes, even if it does look as though your destiny had been laid out for you.  When looking at it through this lens, this arc presents a rather interesting angle.

The Plot

The comic opens on a pony traveling in the arctic North. It's Radiant Hope, no need to hide the surprise. And this is where things get weird as she recruits Flim and Flam, Lighting Dust and Iron Will to help her.  Bit of an odd lineup but in all reality, they are just a distraction to the real plan.  These villains have been brought to The Crystal Empire at a Crystal Faire and they get the Mane Six trapped after Queen Chryslias shows up to fight Twily one more time.  And yeah  it doesn't go well.  

During this knockout distraction, Hope heads to the Crystal Palace and uses the spell that was seen in FIENDship to head to Sombra's office and brings him back to life.  

This shot is perfect in showing how much of a threat Sombra can actually be. In many regards, this feels like something out of a Horror comic and that works in showing the type of threat that Sombra can be.  It also plays into the perception that the ponies sans Hope have of Sombra of just being a monster and nothing more than that.  Hope knows and well has Hope that the friend she made as a filly is still somewhere in there.  

She restores to him what he once was and the next issue is mainly a flashback in the beginning to the events of FIENDship # 1 alibeit truncated.  Still that helps as that in many serves as a rather important prologue to this story.  I wish to jump ahead as we learn that Hope had spent time living amongst the Unbrum (the creature that Sombra ) as they deceived her. As noted in the Villains Wiki entry for their leader.

the Umbrum, and when she entered their prison, they made her think they were good, and were simply misunderstood by ponies.

This is perhaps the most important part to look at as Hope truly believed what she was doing was good and would make things right. They make themselves appear like the pixies that were her imaginary friends as a child.  Which helps to show how easily Hope fell for their ploy.  This is further expanded upon as Cadence had been spying on Hope and what is happening.  This all happens as Sombra turns the two princesses to stone.  Which for him is a rather fitting punishment.  This is also where Hope is starting to sense that she may have gone awry with her plans but isn't willing to admit it to herself just yet. We also learn that unleashing the Unbrum into Equestira will be bad news for the Changelings as they cruel and unfeeling and this still a period where the Changelings feed on creatures' emotions to power them. Sombra and Hope head back to the palace and there is a rather tragic line. 

---Everything I've done is for you. 

This line from Hope speaks to something majorly important, Hope still holds onto the idea of hope and will help her oldest friend no matter the cost because she still believes there is good to be found within him. Cadence overhears this my favorite princess is able to close the spell leading to Sombra's secret location and feels fine.  Hope takes Cadence to the red crystal that the Unbrum had been trapped in to meet them and at first, it seems as though Hope's story checks out.  Then we meet Rabia and Ira.  And again,  it seems cute and checks out but then it looks like something out of a horror comic.  

Rabia now in her real form attacks Hope and while the comic doesn't outright say it, it is heavily implied that she is Sombra's mother.  The Unbrum devised a plan when he was but a boy to lock away all his darkness and make him look as though he were a regular pony. And that is when The Unbrum decide to attack and well, things go from bad to worse.  As they return Sombra is about ready to take control of The Crystal Empire once more.  And well the Mane Six after defeating the distraction villains show up to attack Sombra and Hope gets hurt in the crosshairs.  This returns to the the idea of how Sombra views himself and how the world sees him as Twilight has this line.

You are a monster! And I told you'd be punished!

That line is important because it speaks to Sombra being told how his life that he was nothing more than a monster and that is how society has seen for so long, so he gives into that and gives them the monster that he has been labeled as. To put it another way and to borrow from Wicked.

All right, enough, so be it, so be it, then
Let all Oz be agreed
I'm wicked through and through 

Oberving these lines from Elphaba and how they speak to Sombra are quite important in that if the ponies are going to call him a monster, he'll give them a monster.  Sombra seeing what Twilight to did Hope unleashes the Unbrum and things go from bad to worse as the two remaining have been taken prisoner and Sombra has reign over the Crystal Empire.  

 

 

And Well Cadence and Twily aren't budging until Shining Armor is brought out as a prisoner and yeah, things aren't going great. Cadence reveals where the rest of the ponies are.  After this, Sombra goes to check on Hope and this is where we get perhaps the most important exchange in the comic. 

Sombra: When we looked in the Crystal Hear that Day, I saw this! I saw what I am now! I saw my destiny. Rabia confirmed it. She told me I was a weapon. They made me the way I am so I could the other monsters! I was born to be a monster.

Radiant Hope: Look at me.

Sombra: What?

Radiant Hope: When we looked into that heart, you hid what I saw, I told you what I saw. What did I see, Sombra?

Sombra: You saw yourself as a princess

Radiant Hope: And I am a princess?

Sombra: Aren't you?

Radiant Hope: No. After What happened with you I left my training. I went out to try and find you and help you.

Sombra: So, you never became a princess because of me?

Radiant Hope: That's right. .... Sombra you're a fool. .... You didn't rob me of anything. I had a choice between my destiny and you. I chose you. .... No more talk about destiny, Sombra. I've never believed in it.  

A bit of a lengthy exchange but it's important in showing something, even if your destiny is laid out in front of you and you believe that is the only course that you have to take, that's not the case and you can change the path of your future at any time. Destiny doesn't control you, you control it.  After this rather important discussion, the Mane Six and their families show up and attack the Unbrum and things go better for them. As the fight goes on, this is where we get one of the most important moments for Sombra as a character. Sombra uses the Crystal Heart to make his own destiny to lock away the Unbrum. 

There is a sweet moment where Sombra finally gets to attend his first Crystal Faire and considers it quite lovely.  Celestia and Luna had been freed and along with the younger princesses and Hope, they use their magic to bring Sobmra back.  And he's a new pony and promises to make amneds to the wrongs that he has caused starting with restoring Princess Amore back to life as he didn't kill her but rather just shatterered her. Yeah, that killed The Storm King in the movie, so I don't know how shattering isn't killing but whatever.  Sombra and Hope head off to be by each other's side finally able to embrace one another's love as Sombra is forgiven for what he's done as he saved Equestira from the Unbrum.

This comic is quite good and a really great arc for Sombra as it allows him to grow and become more than just a snarling monster. I appreciate that and enjoy how the comic took a rather barebones villain from the show and truly fleshed him out.

Characters

I'm only going to focus on Sombra and Radiant Hope as this is truly their story.

Sombra

I greatly prefer this version of Sombra and not just because he's reformed but because unlike his show counterpart, he has a bit of character to him and goes through growth and change.  He struggles with the internal conflict of is he the monster that he has been told that he is or can he he more than that monster. The answer is yes but it takes him quite some time to realize that for himself.

Radiant Hope

Radiant Hope is a character I wish had been existed in the show as she brought another angle to Sombra that the show version is missing. Hope shows that no matter how monstrous someone may believe themselves to be, there are still those that love them and will never give up on them. The show version of Sombra never had that and instead we just had to be treated to a snarling monster that didn't have any semblance of a personality until the final season. 

Villain

Rabia

Rabia is quite a scary looking villain.  and that works in her favor as she sees herself as a monster and pleasures in being one as it gives her power.  Let's also not forget how she dupes Hope so quite easily by pertending to be something cute and friendly to gain her trust.  This is a similar move to how Double Trouble on She-Ra pertends to be Flutterina to learn what the Princesses are up to.

Though I do understand how some took issue with DT's appearance and trickery.  Rabia's isn't that bad but is still a rather interesting idea and shows how Rabia was able to play off the sympathy and feelings that Hope has, especially for her feelings towards Sombra. 

My Final Thoughts

This comic is great and I love it as it did a lot of great work with Sombra and made him so much more than what he was in the source material. This is a rare time where a tie-in comic series takes a character and does better work with him than the show ever did by just taking the idea of who and what is a monster and exploring it in a rather thoughtful manner. 

Trotting Towards Nightmare Night: King Sombra (FIENDship Is Magic # 1)

 

If you could change your destiny, would you? That is the question that seems to be at the heart of FIENDship is Magic # 1. It's interesting to note that this issue came out four years before Sombra would reappear in the show and two years after he debuted.  If I'm honest, I had forgotten my opinions on Sombra. So, I looked up what I wrote about him in one of the earliest Nightmare Night entires and well...

Here's a villain that I feel is a bit under-appreciated, which I can understand as fans have complained, we don't know much about him and what led him to become the malevolent ruler of The Crystal Empire that he became.  In my opinion, not every villain needs a back story and Sombra was threatening enough in my opinion that he stood well without one.   I mean, he was able to take over all of The Crystal Empire and drain the Crystal ponies of all their love.  

I don't know if I still stand by this as Sombra is one of the weaker two-parter villains and only became better when he returned in season 9. Yet, we are putting aside the show because as I mentioned in the first entry this year, the Sombra of the show and of the comics are two different characters. 

In many regards, it is best to toss out what I said in that original entry as this story actually shines a light on Sombra's past and makes him a sympathetic figure. There is a wraparound of Twilight Sparkle and Cadence reading entries from Sombra's journal to give us insight into his past but I'd rather focus on the meat and potatoes of the story as it were. 

The Plot

Sombra is discovered as a young colt by himself and is taken to live an orphanage.  His appearance makes him an outcast amongst his peers. However, he makes a friend with another pony that is often mocked for being weird herself, Radiant Hope. 

These two become the closest of friends and make a vow to one day to go the Crystal Faire and this is where things get interesting as they go to visit the Crystal Heart and Hope sees herself as a princess as while Sombra sees himself as a being of evil.  This brings to mind a line from Wicked. 

Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?

This is the plight that young Sombra finds himself in when he sees this image and this is something that bugged me, it is revealed that the Crystal Princess, Amore knew about Sombra's destiny to become a monster later on when he confronts her as a young adult. And well, she told Sombra that she thought he could change his path, yet she didn't do anything to help him and placed all this weight on a young colt and that is trauma-inducing. As the years go by, Hope attains her cutie mark and goes to attend the school of the two sisters whereas Sombra goes through quite a heinous transformation turning him into the monster that we know in the show.  Borrowing from the MLP Wiki 

Sombra was created to destroy the Crystal Heart, Princess Amore's weapon against the darkness, and set free the umbrum army that sleeps below the city. The crystal awakens Sombra's dormant powers so that he can carry out this purpose. Sombra fears losing his only friend, but the crystal says if he does not remove the Crystal Heart before the next Faire, it will destroy him.

This is interesting to look at as it shows that this version of Sombra is willing to pause and consider how t would harm his relationship with Hope but that is soon brushed aside.  As he does go to the Heart to destroy it and this is where Sombra is justifiably angry that Amore knew his true nature how all along and turns her into a black statue. 

This does indeed cause Sombra to lose his only friend as he fulfills that destiny that could have been avoided if only he had the proper help.  Hope had contacted the Princesses and this is where the comic gets one thing right in saying that vanquishing is the only good thing the Princesses do when it comes to defeating villains.

This is where Sombra's story ends and there is a bit of dialogue between Cadence and Twilight that ends this story on an interesting note.

Twilight Sparkle: I feel bad for him. He never got to see the Crystal Faire and it was all he ever wanted.

 Princess Cadance: That and to crush the Crystal Ponies under his hoof. I wouldn't feel too sorry for him, Twilight.

Cadence's last line here is perhaps the most important thing that is said in this comic.  One can sympathize with Sombra and feel for him as what happened to him was awful but he still did awful things and that does not go away simply because he had a rough life.  

Characters

Sombra

In many ways, this comic shows the darker nature of not just destiny but how believing in destiny can set on astray.  Yes, I aid that Amore could've helped Sombra to fight his destiny and that is true but Sombra is the one that controlled his destiny and he was the one that made the decision to give in and destroy the Crystal Heart, even after realizing he would lose the only friend, he ever had.  To him following this destiny was more important than the relationship he built with Radiant Hope that they had had since they were young children.

Radiant Hope 

Radiant hope is another tragic figure in this story as you could feel that she truly cared for her friend and wanted to be by his side but by the time it got to the point of Sombra doing what he did to Amore, he was too long gone.  And this is similar to a lesson from the latest season of Infinity Train, no matter how hard you may not want to help someone, you can't help them if they aren't willing to help themselves.  That is the point that Sombra is at the end of his journey in becoming the King of Monsters as he titles himself. 

My Final Thoughts

This is my favorite of the FIENDship issues because of how it delves into who Sombra was and shows that he didn't have to be this way.  If he had made a different choice, he could have lived a happy life with Radiant Hope and never become the monster that we know him as.  Join me next time as we continue our look at IDW's Sombra with the arc known as 

Reflections 

Trotting Towards Nightmare Night: Villains Profile: King Sombra

Nightmare Night is upon us once again and every year we celebrate a different MLP villain by looking at the episodes they appear and any comic material.  This year is a bit different however as we are looking at King Sombra and while we will be looking at both his TV and comic appearances, the two are two completely different characters.  It's a bit tricky to touch upon when looking at how this character is shaped but for the sake of this particular Villains Profile, I'll be focusing on the four episodes that he appeared in before moving onto his comic appearances next week.  with that outta the way, let's begin.

Voice Actors

Jim Miller

In his original appearance, Sombra doesn't speak at all and at best just snarls and growls. And was voiced by the show's storyboard artist/co-director Jim Miller.  According to the MLP Wiki,  Miller drew inspiration from the song, Crystal Skull.  Not really my thing but I can get it and kind of interesting to learn.

Alvin Sanders

  

In the show's final season, Sombra was finally given some actual lines and thus a new voice actor was brought in, Alvin Sanders. The character is quite a bit more talkative compared to how he's presented in season three.  Sanders' portrayal of Sombra is a character that seems to revel in being evil and wants to take this chance to get his revenge on the Mane Six.  Oh and I just get this outta my system, I was shocked to find out that Sombra, as voiced in season nine, was played by Pop Tate from Riverdale. 

That was a bit of a mind-blown moment.  Honestly, though Sanders does a great job actually giving Sombra some much-needed character to a villain that was sorely missing a character or personality in his original appearance.

First Appearance

Sombra first appears in the show in the season three premiere when Celestia describes him to Twilight detailing his banishment and his return.  

This also shows how evil how he was willing to enslave the crystal ponies and this image is a bit creepy and does seem to show how evil Sombra could be. Which is nice but these two episodes don't do a lot to sell the evilness.  It just tells us while the threat of Sombra looms over The Crystal Empire.

This is a good start but season three doesn't do a lot with him.

Personality

Yeah, in season three, he doesn't have a personality other than just being evil and serving as an obstacle that Twilight has to overcome.  Like I said Sombra is a different character in the comics because he was actually given a personality and part of me has to wonder if that played a part in how he was presented.  

When brought back for season nine, Sombra actually has a personality and it's a mix of a regal type who also is a gloater as he doesn't believe that anypony can knock him down.  This is an area where it's clear the comics served Sombra before this episode as they made him a tragic figure whereas, in the show, he is ruthless and will do whatever it takes to succeed in obtaining control of the Crystal Empire. 

Grand Desire

In season three, his goal is to both recover the Crystal Heart and reclaim the Crystal Empie so that can rule once again.  He barely even comes close to succeeding there whereas, in season nine, he hopes to destroy the Tree of Harmony and conquer Equestria as a whole.  This however does go against the wishes of Grogar, the supposedly greatest evil this world has seen. (It's actually Discord).  

Joanna and Kristen Songco, the writers of the season nine premiere took a villain that the fandom had considered a joke and the weakest two-parter villain and made him something of an actual threat.

Most Evil Deed

I gotta go with season nine and how close he came to conquering Equestria. If Twilight and co weren't there to stop him, there is a good chance that Sombra could've succeeded. The way he brainwashed the citizens of Ponyville and Canterlot to do his bidding. 

This is truly more heartbreaking than anything he ever did in season three. 

Defeats

In season three, his defeat came at the end of Spike and more so Cadence with one of the more memed moments of the series.

While this moment is presented as in-universe, it is a little silly but it makes sense within the show.  The defeat in season nine is a bit better and is directly at the hands of the Mane Six, this time. 

The defeat holds more weight for the show's final season as it shows how much the girls have overcome but still have more obstacles in their way before the series ends. 

Is King Sombra a Good Villian?

King Sombra originally in the show was a weak villain that wasn't interesting at all. As we will see throughout the rest of the month, his comic counterpart eclipses him. That is also true of Sombra in his final appearance as he has been elevated to a villain while he isn't on the same level as Tierk or Queen Chrysalis, in one two-parter, he became a villain that could be taken seriously.  When presented as just a shadowy figure that moans and groans, there was nothing to him.  Seven years later, the audience was finally allowed to see how Sombra thinks and works as a villain.  Join me next time as we start to dive into the comics version of Sombra as we look at...

FIENDship is Magic # 1