Were you disappointed with Sombra in season 9?

[J.J 923]

I have a lot of disappointments with season 9, but to me it felt like they brought back Sombra almost as a mockery to the ppl that thought he needed more voice lines in the Crystal Empire arch, made him annoying, destroyed him first and pretty much took him out of the "villains hall of fame". I felt like the ppl story boarding hated Sombra lol

[Megas 27,675]

Season 9 as a whole was disappointing 

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

On 2019-05-21 at 10:14 AM, Lady Kochos Pathfinder said:

Honestly, as someone who considers King Sombra as best pony of the whole franchise and has developed an idea of who and how he is, I really wasn't disappointed in the least. In fact; I quite loved what we were presented with!

Though, if I have one critique, Sombra didn't finish the job when he should've. He destroyed the tree and had the Mane 6 where he wanted them...but just left them. For being the ultimate planner and great tactician he is; that was a HUGE blunder. Granted, he had a backup plan in messing with their minds in invading Ponyville and mentally enslaving the citizens of Ponyville and Canterlot had their desired effect in deflating them further (really; only Discord saved them there). But still; blunder is still a blunder.

That aside; I was perfectly happy with how he was portrayed. While he never said much and was completely goal-driven in "The Crystal Empire," I can accept his more ego-driven personality in the S9 premiere. I mean, we get small glimpses of that in S3 and S5, but it's enough for me to buy it here. Plus, even with that personality, he is still goal-driven. He invaded the Crystal Empire like no one's business and actually succeeded! Had he not been an apparition in S3; I doubt Cadance would've stood much of a chance. Likewise; Canterlot stood no chance, especially with the royal guards not wanting to attack the Ponyville citizens; GENIUS move on Sombra's part there.

Not to mention; I LOVED how Sombra was not impressed at all with Grogar. I mean, Chrysalis and Tirek were definitely intimidated, but not Sombra. Everytime I see that scene; I just have this satisfied smile on my face.

So, in the end, I was perfectly happy with Sombra in season 9. He was still at his tactical & strategic best, was only defeated due to Discord's interference, and left enough of an impression on everyone that even Canterlot's defenses needed to be reworked. Yeah, he blundered in not finishing off the Mane 6 when he shouldn't have, but he had backup plans in place to help mitigate that. In the end, I still love my Shadow King. <3

It's been over three years, so I kinda wanna evaluate how I feel here.

My overall opinion still hasn't changed. I was largely happy with how he was portrayed, had no issues with the voice, enjoyed how he easily took over three cities in one try, and was quite horrified with how he used the citizens of Ponyville as living shields against the Canterlot guards. Seriously, maybe the voice aside, it falls pretty much well in line with how I viewed him after the season three premier and his cameo in the season 5 finale. The one blunder was that bit with the Mane 6.

[Splashee 28,564]

Creating one time villains have been MLPs worst decision over the years. It wasn't a fix to get Sombra back for a fake Grogar.

[Codelyy 1,286]

I wasn't exactly disappointed. I believe in the comics he's meant to be more like how he's shown in Season 9, but I much preferred his original debut where he felt more like some sort of demon.
To be fair, I know he had a body in the original debut but I would have much preferred if they kept him in his shadowy form. 

 

[Castle Bleck 19,368]

6 hours ago, Codelyy said:

I believe in the comics he's meant to be more like how he's shown in Season 9,

I have to disagree on this one.

Other than the extra dialogue and the sympathy angle, Comic Sombra fits S3 Sombra like a glove: cautious and serious. While S9 Sombra is practically a snooty version of Yosemite Sam.

Edited June 29, 2022 by Even Evil Has Standards