See * for disclaimer

Ah. Here we have a procedural problem. Up until now, I've been trying to do these entries in the chronological order of the source material's issue. Which means, I should be doing the second Pony Tales volume, followed by the FriendShip Ahoy! story line in the comics.

The problem is I'm reading those off of the Kindle Trade editions. And they haven't released the Kindle versions of these compilations. Supposedly the Pony Tales Volume 2 will be released for the Kindle some time in March, and I have no idea when Friendship is Magic Volume 4 will be released on Kindle. There are several advantages to these electronic readers, especially for someone like me who has some issues with hoarding (Electronic versions are cheaper so I can afford more, and easier to store out of sight which I find reduces the my pathological need to 'complete the set' on things.) So I'm going to have to wait on those, and do them when I can actually read them properly. So, in order to keep my one a day schedule, I need to move on with the main series.

Power Ponies (December 21st 2013, 22 minutes)

Summary: Spike and the girls are pulled into a magic comic book, and have to become the Power Ponies to escape.

We're going to have a problem with this episode, like we have previously, in that most of it is fictional within the setting of Equestria. This time, however, we don't have a future episode making it real. As such, what we see is more indirectly indicative of culture.

Okay, let's start off here. They have comic books. Which means they have color image printing processes. They also have super-hero comics, which are modern extensions of the mythological hero concept presented in an easily consumed popular form. The comics Spike give the impression of following the Golden age 'broad brush' morality, but it could be Silver Age. We'd need to know more about the comic characters themselves to judge. Unlikely to be Bronze or Copper ages as I doubt their dark themes would be compatible with MLP:FiM as a whole. The Mane-iac origin story is very much like some versions of the Joker.

Why are they renovating the castle, anyway? I mean, I know why *I* would, but are they intending to turn it into some sort of museum, or are they expecting it to be an alternative residence for Celestia and Luna?

I would be more concerned with structural considerations, like walls, windows, floors, and roofs, then be puttering around with pictures and cleaning floors.

There's chunks of ceiling lying on the floor. There are *holes* in the wall that you can see outside through, and you're messing around hanging wallpaper? Really? You ponies are nuts.

Okay, in the comic book proper. We've got Maretropolis, a pun on Metropolis, the primary city for Superman. According to the Siegel and Shuster, the original creators of Superman, Metropolis was a blending of New York and Toronto. We know they have Manehattan, so this is likely a fictional city based on Manehattan.

The Mane 6 are now the various Power Ponies. We're dealing with a mixed team in the vein of the Justice League (or Justice Society if we're still the Golden Age), or the Avengers. It wouldn't surprise me if this was also a sideways reference to the Power Puff Girls, but if so, the name is pretty much all the reference.

Masked Matterhorn: The horn appears to be artificial in this, so we're dealing with a pegasis who has given herself unicorn-like abilities. There isn't an exact match in famous comic-book characters.

Filly Second: Pun on millisecond. Lots of different speedsters in comics, like the Flash, Johnny Quick, Quicksilver, etc.

Zap: Weather based hero, similar to Storm, but focusing a lot on lightning

Radiance: Green Lantern equivalent.

Mistress Marevalous. Got a lot going on here. Magic lasso, which may seem like Wonder Woman, but WW's magic lasso was a lie detector system and minor mind control. Not a living rope like shown in this episode. Plus a variety of throwing irons and the like, in the style of Batman. Plus the name is a pun on the various 'Miss Marvel' characters.

And Saddle Rager, the Incredible Hulk substitute.

The Mane-iac with her strong prehensile hair is probably modelled after the Power Puff Girl's villain: Sedusa, which in turn seems to be inspired by a lesser-known Marvel character called 'Queen Medusa'.

Yes, real factories do sometimes have large signs advertising what they make, but I've never seen one with animated neon signs. That and AJ recognized it as a shampoo factory, which means such things must be reasonable in Equestria.

Oh my lord. Competence? We have a relatively competent (if nuts) villain, and it's in a comic book?

Rarity is really just owning this.

You'd think that with a hero who's primary ability is to transform into a giant monstrosity, their costume would be designed to cope.

Who in their right minds would sell actually enchanted comics to what is obviously an underage individual? No, sorry. Answered my own question there. Nevermind.