King Sombra's character

[ManaMinori 4,146]

After years of griping about his lack of dialogue and not seeing Sombra’s character for the brilliant mastermind who thought 12 steps ahead through all his traps, like the genius he was, staff writers bring him back only to be an egotistical, annoying villain who monologues and lacks the foresight and planning that he originally had. Hope you guys are happy. The fandom effectively butchered this series’ best villain. 

[Them's Seeing Ponies 282]

Isn't it technically the fault of the writing staff that Sombra wasn't written in a more compelling way in the premier? I understand that fan response to him over the years between S3 and S9 did catalyze his return in the show proper, but what exactly was preventing the staff writers from writing him more akin to the comics (or at least drawing some degree of inspiration from them)? 

You may also want to consider sounding a little less contemptuous here. I comprehend that this is your opinion, but this is an MLP fan forum where the majority of users and frequenters are bronies, and I wouldn't say that addressing the majority of users around here nebulously in such a way is a wise idea (and leads to the main type of response to this kind of thread becoming a meaningless confrontation as opposed to an actual constructive debate/discussion). If you're displeased with the show's direction, that's fine, but addressing the type of people who are inevitably going to view and respond to this thread contemptuously (and as a possible cause of an issue that was largely down to the staff and not the fandom) is ultimately not a rational way to fuel this kind of discussion (I mean, I'm not a huge fan of some of the choices the show has made in recent seasons, but do I or others of similar opinion claim that I 'hope the bronies/fandom are happy' because of it?). 

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,162]

44 minutes ago, Nightmare Muffin said:

After years of griping about his lack of dialogue and not seeing Sombra’s character for the brilliant mastermind who thought 12 steps ahead through all his traps, like the genius he was, staff writers bring him back only to be an egotistical, annoying villain who monologues and lacks the foresight and planning that he originally had. Hope you guys are happy. The fandom effectively butchered this series’ best villain. 

While he is more confident or egotistical here, to say that he lacks planning or foresight in this eps isn't true. We're talking about a guy who took over the Crystal Empire like it was nothing, figured a plan pretty quickly to follow the Mane 6 to the Tree of Harmony, then DESTROY the ToH, then make him self some slaves, have them fight the Mane 6 so as to morally confuse them, before confronting them directly. Aside from his crystal cage having one defect (digging) and Discord actually being effective; Sombra had all his boxes checked. Again; he almost won, but one thing kept him from crossing the finish line.

[Moonlight 7,289]

@Nightmare Muffin

Moving thread to the Season 9 spoilers subforum. I also changed the title to better represent the discussion.

[Jeric 46,869]

9 hours ago, Nightmare Muffin said:

and lacks the foresight and planning that he originally had.

You weren't paying attention, or you overdosed on some bitterroot. Sombra lured the Mane Six into a false sense of security before ultimately destroying the Tree of Harmony. You always hated that tree, so I figured that you would be all, "Yay Sombra." The other parts are, of course, taste issues and valid. But Sombra accomplished more damage than most villains strictly due to planning and foresight. Once that part of the plan was enacted, his one major failure was not finishing off the Mane Six then and there. 

I don't mind criticism on this show, but man let's up our game a little. 

Also @Nightmare Muffin there is a two week NO SPOILERS rule in Show Discussion. Anything that touches on prior episodes that aired within the last two weeks MUST go in this forum. 

[Castle Bleck 19,394]

I wasn't too fond of his new mustache-twirliness, either. (Granted, I was already salty about FIENDship and Siege being overridden.)

Still -- as others have said -- he did pull off some impressive Xanatos Speed Chess to destroy Equestria's version of the Infinity Gauntlet, and it's not exactly a good idea to bash "you guys" in a forum filled with said demographic.

Edited April 7, 2019 by A.V.

[Goat-kun 2,530]

There is a way to make over the top villains awesome. M. Bison from the shitty Street Fighter movie is one such shining example. The problem with Canon Sombra No. Duo is that they've made him too campy to feel threatening and not campy enough to be entertaining.

 

The shattering of ToH has no foreshadowing. How did Sombra know about the Elements and their source? Is it common knowledge that Elements belong to a source and are not just items stored in a box somewhere in Canterlot Castle? He sure acted like it wasn't. Chrysalis knew. She didn't tell him though. Yeah, yeah, making some dark lord wannabe a threat in 44 min sure is hard, so let's just ignore the Heart's passive protective aura, Cadence having Sombra counter-magic, and just have him destroy ToH out of the blue. That will surely make him look great and powerful!

 

Let's just forget about Sombrero. He got humiliated for our sins three times already. He deserves eternal peace.

[Will Guide 21,365]

14 hours ago, PathfinderCS said:

While he is more confident or egotistical here, to say that he lacks planning or foresight in this eps isn't true. We're talking about a guy who took over the Crystal Empire like it was nothing, figured a plan pretty quickly to follow the Mane 6 to the Tree of Harmony, then DESTROY the ToH, then make him self some slaves, have them fight the Mane 6 so as to morally confuse them, before confronting them directly. Aside from his crystal cage having one defect (digging) and Discord actually being effective; Sombra had all his boxes checked. Again; he almost won, but one thing kept him from crossing the finish line.

Agreed. His plan DID destroy the Tree. Although, somehow I bet the Spirit of Harmony itself will survive, but the fact reminds that he caused some serious damage. And Grogar still got want he wanted out of Sombra's defeat.

Also @Nightmare Muffin, your attitude in the OP makes it sounds like the majority of the fan base wanted Sombra to be this badass villian. And while that may be somewhat true, not everyone loved Sombra. Like me. I simply think of him as an okay antagonist; not terrible, not great. The okay rating is still a valid rating.

Edited April 7, 2019 by Will Guide

[Metemponychosis 1,262]

19 hours ago, Nightmare Muffin said:

After years of griping about his lack of dialogue and not seeing Sombra’s character for the brilliant mastermind who thought 12 steps ahead through all his traps, like the genius he was, staff writers bring him back only to be an egotistical, annoying villain who monologues and lacks the foresight and planning that he originally had. Hope you guys are happy. The fandom effectively butchered this series’ best villain. 

Actually, it was the writers.

[Misty Shadow 8,016]

The reason for King Sombra's character in the Season 9 premiere being different from his Season 3 premiere "counterpart" is not just because of us complaining, thank you. Don't forget that Season 3 was originally intended to be the last season of the show, so Sombra being like Sauron, a "mystery villain" character seemed appropriate at the time. However, now, with him finding his way back into a show that's just another stepping stone for the next part of a successful franchise, of course there's going to be alterations to his personality to keep up with regulations. The show staff simply felt that Sombra needed dialogue other than just "CRYSTALS" if he was going to consistently interact with others. This happens all the time with franchises that find or rediscover unexpected success. Think about how everyone used to hate Zelda II and Halloween III: Season of the Witch. They were made back when there was no set formula for their respective franchises, so people were naturally disappointed before judging them based on their own merits. 

Also, on the subject of his plan, it's already been outlined well enough how his strategy was every bit as good if not better than his plan in The Crystal Empire. Not subjecting the Mane 6 to his mind spell seems like a fool's mistake on paper, but you have to understand Sombra's pride. He could've just pretended to go along with Grogar's plan while secretly only looking out for himself, but he chose to defy him openly and risk going back to the darkness just for a chance to do things on his own. This shows you that he does not just desire to prove that he's the strongest above all, he lives to prove that he's the strongest above all. If you took away Sombra's dialogue and his ego, the plot of this premiere would not have worked.