Was this a missed opportunity for MLP?

[ManaMinori 4,145]

During the show's ongoing 8 year run time, we've never once seen a parent that is actually a supervillain. I know some of you can and will argue that the show is SoL and doesn't focus (too) much on adventure and fantasy, but to that I say- season openers and enders. Watch them. Also, the writers have been doing this thing, for some reason, where they portray parents of the ponies, like Rainbow Dash, Starlight Glimmer, and Sunburst as really crappy. Who's to say they can't one-up themselves and just go all out making someone have a supervillain parent, while typing on some kind of moral for the kiddies? Because, yanno, not all parents are good influences on their children.....

 

There's one of two ways that they can do this, I think, if they ever do go this route. Have the supervillain parent be a total D-bag parent while also trying to fulfill their super evil goals that the mane 6 have to stop, and the kid is impacted by this in a negative way and has to allow the mane 6 to beat their parent for the good of everyone, and themselves, or have bad parent be a bad parent supervillain while their child just sees them as the greatest thing ever since sliced bread, practically parent worship, because the parent only shows their good side to their child at home, but is a villain that needs to be put in their place during bad guy work hours, and the kid- once hearing that the Mane 6 are trying to thwart the evil plans of their parent and lock them away, could try to stop them.

 

Either way, I feel like supervillain parent is a missed opportunity.

[Megas 27,569]

They didn't do it because it's really cliched

[ManaMinori 4,145]

46 minutes ago, Whomps said:

They didn't do it because it's really cliched

I can't think of a single show or movie that is what I described.

[DonMaguz 1,023]

11 minutes ago, Nightmare Muffin said:

I can't think of a single show or movie that is what I described.

Just saw 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' 3 days ago.

While I like that premise, I don't think it's a good one for a show like FiM. I think exploring a character like Spoiled Milk can be a better way to show a bad parent in a lighthearted show like FiM.

[kaiser5578 340]

Utilize Luna in season one, perhaps as a Starlight level character

[SharpWit 2,617]

I think the only way to go about this really is to have the parent be a wacky sort of evil like Doctor Doofenshmirtz and his daughter Vanessa, while maintaining a good message for kids. Also I'd rather just see more selfish characters, not ones with tragic backstories and whatnot. People don't always do bad things for a reason beyond simply enjoying being bad. Maybe have a character that's a tad bit like the joker, in the sense that it's all a game, they'll credit you for a job well done in defeating/capturing them, but they'll be back again soon enough.

[Black Sabbath 2,486]

4 minutes ago, SharpWit said:

People don't always do bad things for a reason beyond simply enjoying being bad

True, but those people tend to be the least interesting villains. 

[SharpWit 2,617]

2 minutes ago, Yamet said:

True, but those people tend to be the least interesting villains. 

Where's the love for King Sombra? 

[ManaMinori 4,145]

1 hour ago, SharpWit said:

I think the only way to go about this really is to have the parent be a wacky sort of evil like Doctor Doofenshmirtz and his daughter Vanessa, while maintaining a good message for kids. Also I'd rather just see more selfish characters, not ones with tragic backstories and whatnot. People don't always do bad things for a reason beyond simply enjoying being bad. Maybe have a character that's a tad bit like the joker, in the sense that it's all a game, they'll credit you for a job well done in defeating/capturing them, but they'll be back again soon enough.

who said anything about being a villain just for the sake of being bad? I didn't. Hell, if the parent baddie was a morally ambiguous one, and was just trying to make the world a better place for his his, through the wrong means, I'd be all for it.

[SharpWit 2,617]

15 minutes ago, Nightmare Muffin said:

who said anything about being a villain just for the sake of being bad? I didn't. Hell, if the parent baddie was a morally ambiguous one, and was just trying to make the world a better place for his his, through the wrong means, I'd be all for it.

We already got that lesson from Starlight and Rumble and although Starlight went way overboard over a small incident, I think they did a good job with the differing outlooks and execution of applying them. A parent doing that just makes me think of the Westboro Baptist Church.

[Wonderbolt Slipstream 263]

woah, that sounds amazing

[Thrond 3,263]

I wouldn't call this a missed opportunity, because it's an extremely broad and therefore very common plot type, but I can see it as an entertaining way to deal with types of parenting which fall further on the irredeemable side. It would especially have fit with the show's season 1-4 format, which used more black-and-white villains. Ultimately I don't think that kind of story would offer terribly much that couldn't be offered in a different style, but it could have been fun. Don't see how the show really missed an opportunity for this, though, especially given that most of what it's been attempting with parents has been a bit more original than this concept. 

[Marimo 555]

I think the only parents of a major or main character that could work as a big villain would be either Celestia and Luna's parents, or possibly Spike's.