spoiler MLP:FiM #37 - Siege of the Crystal Empire, pt. 4

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

 

With the release of issue #37 we have the ending of the Siege of the Crystal Empire arc, and I must say...I don't know what to say about it. Considering my general enthusiasm that surprises me, but...yeah; read it for yourself. That ending...wasn't expecting that. Not sure if that is good or bad. XD

[JonasDarkmane 19,777]

Oh gosh. I have been waiting for this, I am more hyped for this than Star Wars that I am going to be seeing tomorrow in Luxus and as well as on the 18th D:. I must read this Dx. 

 

I hate and love you for doing this to me Path Dx 

 

<3 

[Nuke87654 1,849]

From what I've seen, you thought Starlight Glimmer's redemption sucked or was too fast? Sombra's made hers look brilliant in comparison.

Edited December 16, 2015 by Nuke87654

[Stasis 39]

Huh so I saw the issue and I honestly don't agree with it being as bad as Starlight. At the very least he had some sort of basis for his reformation.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

From what I've seen, you thought Starlight Glimmer's redemption sucked or was too fast? Sombra's made hers look brilliant in comparison.

 

I have to agree; Sombra's redemption was a bit out of left-field for me. Granted I can appreciate the tie-in with Reflections, but it just feels so...out there. I'm going to have to re-read the entire arc for it to sink in.

 

Also, no mention of Lightning Dust, Flim-Flam, or Iron Will here...THAT is inexcusable to me. I can live with their introduction as villains here and I was fine with Chrysalis leaving, but absolutely NO mention of them in issue 4? There really needs to be an addendum here...

[Nuke87654 1,849]

I have to agree; Sombra's redemption was a bit out of left-field for me. Granted I can appreciate the tie-in with Reflections, but it just feels so...out there. I'm going to have to re-read the entire arc for it to sink in.

 

Also, no mention of Lightning Dust, Flim-Flam, or Iron Will here...THAT is inexcusable to me. I can live with their introduction as villains here and I was fine with Chrysalis leaving, but absolutely NO mention of them in issue 4? There really needs to be an addendum here...

 

Not to mention Hope's actions in this arc actually made me want to apologize for giving crap about Celestia's actions in the reflections arc. At least Celestia never went and deliberately betrayed her whole kingdom, imprisoned all of her friends and fellow ponies, and had allowed terrifying villains to go and have a chance to ransack Equestria to their liking all because she wanted to save her beloved in Sombra. Seriously, it made Celestia and AU Sombra's  romance and actions in that arc look reasonable in comparison. This arc made the reflections arc look good in comparison, and Whitley had the audacity to crap on Katie Cook for it!? He wrote an even worse version of it!

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

Not to mention Hope's actions in this arc actually made me want to apologize for giving crap about Celestia's actions in the reflections arc. At least Celestia never went and deliberately betrayed her whole kingdom, imprisoned all of her friends and fellow ponies, and had allowed terrifying villains to go and have a chance to ransack Equestria to their liking all because she wanted to save her beloved in Sombra. Seriously, it made Celestia and AU Sombra's  romance and actions in that arc look reasonable in comparison. This arc made the reflections arc look good in comparison, and Whitley had the audacity to crap on Katie Cook for it!? He wrote an even worse version of it!

 

Honestly, Hope's actions never really bothered me, largely for the reasons quoted below...

 

 

Honestly I see the same thing on Derpibooru, and I just don't understand the reasoning. I mean yeah, on the surface she didn't make good decisions and her actions during the battle weren't the best, but consider the following:

 

1. She was feeling obvious guilt and regret over losing her ONLY friend

 

2. She spent probably close to a millenia with the mbrum; thereby allowing them time to poison her mind and use her regret to their advantage

 

3. As a result of the above she is convinced of the 'plight' of the umbrum and believe she is doing what is right

 

Is she being naive? Possibly, but FAR from stupid.

 

Overall I thought the first three issues were fairly solid, but the fourth...I dunno, I don't want to be too hard on it after only one reading, but man...I feel a bit disappointed.

[Nuke87654 1,849]

Honestly, Hope's actions never really bothered me, largely for the reasons quoted below...

 

 

Overall I thought the first three issues were fairly solid, but the fourth...I dunno, I don't want to be too hard on it after only one reading, but man...I feel a bit disappointed.

 

To the point that she was willing to go and betray the ponies who had done nothing wrong, try to revive a guy who had enslaved and tormented ponies that the citizens of the Crystal Empire are still suffering the effects of, and summon a whole slew of villains including a dangerous as hell villain in Queen Chrysalis and her changelings who had tried to take over Equestria before to try and lay siege to the Crystal Empire while she tries to get Sombra back. Finally, she is forgiven of all the crimes she committed and gets off scott free despite committing actions that would've branded her a treasonous traitor by other stories?

 

Sorry but I really was worried about the arc's treatment of Hope's character and those fears came true with how she essentially gets away with alot of crap and gets her way in the end without any real consequence.

 

Also, they're going to try and resurrect and forgive Amore despite how she'll more likely want to kill Sombra for trying to kill her. And even if they succeed, how is she going to react to Cadance and Shining Armor being in charge of her kingdom, would she not want that throne back or so?

 

Forgive me as I know you enjoy the comics, but this arc ticked me off with how it ended. 

Edited December 16, 2015 by Nuke87654

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

To the point that she was willing to go and betray the ponies who had done nothing wrong, try to revive a guy who had enslaved and tormented ponies that the citizens of the Crystal Empire are still suffering the effects of, and summon a whole slew of villains including a dangerous as hell villain in Queen Chrysalis and her changelings who had tried to take over Equestria before to try and lay siege to the Crystal Empire while she tries to get Sombra back. Finally, she is forgiven of all the crimes she committed and gets off scott free despite committing actions that would've branded her a treasonous traitor by other stories?

 

Sorry but I really was worried about the arc's treatment of Hope's character and those fears came true with how she essentially gets away with alot of crap and gets her way in the end without any real consequence.

 

Also, they're going to try and resurrect and forgive Amore despite how she'll more likely want to kill Sombra for trying to kill her. And even if they succeed, how is she going to react to Cadance and Shining Armor being in charge of her kingdom, would she not want that throne back or so?

 

Forgive me as I know you enjoy the comics, but this arc ticked me off with how it ended. 

 

No forgivings are needed as some criticisms are warranted.

 

In the end the final issue of the arc was imperfect and I am not 100% satisfied with it. Maybe they'll continue the Sombra/Hope arc and we may be surprised on down the road, but until then I can sympathise with your view of the ending.

[Castle Bleck 19,167]

At least Chrysalis and Rabia called Hope foolish, and she accidentally got zapped to near-death for her actions.

 

Hope > Cassie > Aspen, IMO.

[Nuke87654 1,849]

No forgivings are needed as some criticisms are warranted.

 

In the end the final issue of the arc was imperfect and I am not 100% satisfied with it. Maybe they'll continue the Sombra/Hope arc and we may be surprised on down the road, but until then I can sympathise with your view of the ending.

 

Hopefully it will turn out well in the end after all.

[Castle Bleck 19,167]

Hopefully it will turn out well in the end after all.

 

Sunset Shimmer is proof that a weak setup can turn into an awesome expansion, after all.

[Stasis 39]

Not to mention Hope's actions in this arc actually made me want to apologize for giving crap about Celestia's actions in the reflections arc. At least Celestia never went and deliberately betrayed her whole kingdom, imprisoned all of her friends and fellow ponies, and had allowed terrifying villains to go and have a chance to ransack Equestria to their liking all because she wanted to save her beloved in Sombra. Seriously, it made Celestia and AU Sombra's romance and actions in that arc look reasonable in comparison. This arc made the reflections arc look good in comparison, and Whitley had the audacity to crap on Katie Cook for it!? He wrote an even worse version of it!

 

Well I guess you could say they pulled a Starlight Glimmer with Hope. Surprisingly though I hate Hope much less than Starlight though.

[JonasDarkmane 19,777]

Just read the comic....... O.... M.... G.... 

 

<3 <3 I loved it so much.

 

 

I mean, I would have preferred a more dramatic ending, but I think it was perfect in any case <3

 

[Megas 27,064]

What started as a promising arc at the beginning turned into a hot, steaming turd by the end

 

- The redemption of both Sombra(goddamn) and Hope really comes off as the most half-assed of all of FiM, even worse than Trixie's and Starlight's

- Lightgning Dust, Iron Will, and the Flim Flam Bros, disappear in the end for absolutely no reason, making you question why they were even needed in the first place

- The Umbrum were built up as incredibly dark, evil, and menacing, and great nightmare fuel. So how do the good guys handle them, grab their closest friends and families....AND THROW FUCKING CAKE AND PIE AND FASHION AT THEM!!!!! -_-'

- The romance between Hope and Sombra somehow manages to feel worse than the one between AU Sombra and Celestia

- Reformed Sombra. Goddamn

 

I give it a fuckthisshitouttaten

 

Yeah, after this I'm pretty sure I never want to go near a "serious" adventure comic from the main series ever again. I think I'll just stick to the FF and one-shots and SoL.

 

Sorry if I sound harsh, but getting burned from the comics so many times is starting to make me pretty bitter towards them

Edited January 22, 2016 by Megas

[Castle Bleck 19,167]

*Discord finally appears.*

 

Alright, now we get to see chaos magic vs. dark magic!

 

*Discord just makes a bunch of giant animals, then vanishes back to his pocket dimension.*

 

...

 

[BlinkZ 1,151]

Really unsure ho to critic this. Yeah the refomring Sombra things was ..odd..and ther already hundreed of vids na post about how Deisntysi a load of bullcrap and such.

 

Its magic, you dont' have to explain it

[Castle Bleck 19,167]

Rabia reminds me of Terl from Battlefield Earth.

 

Both of them start out threatening, but rapidly prove to be completely incompetent and self-defeating, not to mention how they're both ultimately ditched and imprisoned by their 2nds-in-command.

[Stasis 39]

So I just reread this arc again fully and I gotta say I've seen people say this redemption is worst than Glimmers but if anything Sombras redemption is Starlights done right.

[Castle Bleck 19,167]

So I just reread this arc again fully and I gotta say I've seen people say this redemption is worst than Glimmers but if anything Sombras redemption is Starlights done right.

 

At least Sombra's had a much better backstory to set it up, regardless of whether or not the actual execution was timed well.

[Stasis 39]

At least Sombra's had a much better backstory to set it up, regardless of whether or not the actual execution was timed well.

It's not even just his backstory though. Sombra at the very least had some sort of setup. Starlight doesn't have any setup whatsoever until literally the last 10mins of the finale. Those last 10mins also managed to flat out make her OOC as she never had a reason to change.

 

Sombra was presented with evidence that shattered his worldview with Hope not following her destiny as he thought destiny was an absolute and he was destined to be evil. Due to Hope actually defying her destiny and not becoming an Alicorn. Ergo he had reason to doubt. Hope still gave him a choice and he finally believed he had one.

 

Starlight.... The more I think about her redemption the worst it actually is. First off she had no reason to change. She was actually never presented with evidence that her ideology was wrong. That wastelands scent doesn't prove shit since all it did was prove her ideology wrong. They proved that separating the Mane 6 was wrong but that was never what her ideology was about either. Her ideology was about equalizing ponies or creatures whatever by forcing everyone's talents to be equal. Twilight never challenges this belief ever. She just tells her to make friends again despite the fact nothing has changed.

 

Basically Sombras redemption was rushed this was somewhat true but Starlight was flat out unrealistic to her character entirely and if anything turns everything about her before those last 10mis into filler.

[heavens-champion 1,893]

You know what bugs me about this? Iron Will, the Flim Flam Brothers, and Lightning Dust disappear in this issue. Did they run away when the Umbrum were released? They could have at least stayed to help the heroes fight them, thus redeeming themselves. Despite the fact they're conniving con artists, I doubt the Flim Flam Brothers would want "helped release a race of shadow monsters upon Equestria" on their resume. It would REALLY affect their business in a bad way.

[Midnight Seashell 206]

I loved how this issue showed that you can make your own choices and be the master of your own fate and that "destiny" if there is such a thing does not determine your life's outcome

[BastementSparkle 20,312]

Since I just finished reading this story yesterday, I wanted to get my thoughts out of the way...I completely adored this story, to the point where it's easily one of my favorite MLP stories of all time. I loved everything about it. The Umbrum were incredibly creepy and threatening for a show/comic like MLP, Sombra and Hope's relationship in this story was beautiful, I loved the moral lesson, I thought the return of all the villains and the antagonists was nice, even if they didn't stick around, etc.

 

 There's very few things I didn't enjoy about this comic, though it isn't perfect. It's got a few flaws, the villains appearances were nice but not entirely necessary, Shining Armor being turned to stone seems to have been forgotten, as was Spike, and I suppose you could say a few things seemed rush, though I strongly disagree. Other complaints I've seen don't ring true, Radiant Hope does not come across as an idiot at all, and Sombra's reformation was in my opinion one of the best of the franchise, considering he never really wanted to be evil in the first place.

 

 I've seen a lot of negativity around this story, and while I can see where some of these people are coming from, I have to admit it's a bit disheartening. I really enjoyed this story, and was expecting to see some more love for it. It's got flaws, it's not perfect, but some people were just nitpicking it, or complaining about things that don't ring true at all, and that's disappointing.

 

 I had almost the same thoughts on the Reflections arc though, so it's not the first time. I personally have loved all the comics major arcs, as I think despite what flaws they do have, the good things they have to offer simply outweigh the negatives in my mind.

[SolyWack 482]

I legitimately feel bad for all of you that didn't like the comic. I loved it. It brought a wee tear to my eye at the end. Far Far FAR superior that anything that is, or ever will be in the show. It just isn't possible to pull off this level of storytelling in a 22 minute Y rated show.

Sombra's redemption shouldn't be a surprise. Speaking strictly in universe, Celestia realizes Sombra is much more useful putting Princess Amore back together, then getting Rekt by umbrums in prison.

Seriously, can you imagine being stuck, for eternity, in a prison with the most ugly, ruthless, cutthroat, pure-definition-of-evil umbrums that you just pissed off? That's a crime cruel and unusual for a destroyer of worlds, let alone Sombra. Don't get me wrong, Sombra was not a good guy, and should have to pay back society somehow, but Celestia's been in the game long enough to know Sombra is a changed man (or pony whatever).

Not strictly pt 4, but I really liked the return of the minor antagonists, and Chrysalis. I never realized how much I wanted to see them, especially after reading the fiendship comics.

And Radiant Hope was such a great character. Real strife and progression with her. Just something else they could never pull off in the show.

Last thing here. Thank the watcher above me that in the comics they say "everybody". Just one more reason to love 'em.

 

EDIT: Just found out Rabia means rage in Spanish. That would certainly have been suspicious.

Edited May 25, 2016 by SolyWack