Sombra was based off Sauron

[Mywas 687]

I mean seriously his creator even said it her self.

I see bronies complain that he din't speak and mock him for it but forget that He actually had MORE lines in two episode than All what Sauron had in all those movies. How come Sauron is allowed to not speak but Sombra is not?

 

Also him not speaking and us not knowing anything about him gave him a scary Aura, you know because thats what are suppost to be, Scary. Which was something that Sunset Shimmer and Discord failed to be.

 

Sombra is a great villain and its sad to see people hate him JUST for the fact that he din't speak, He had a lot of things to make up for it. Like being a master if dark magic, Him being a unicorn is intresting, His addiction to crystals is almost like Drug addiction,,and he was badass when he beated up Shining Armor. and theirs also the fact that While Discord, Chrysalis and NMM all lost because of their cockiness. He lost to a fluke, If Spike dint come or Was their when Twilight opened The door and was trapped with her Sombra would have won.

[Marcato 2,144]

I gotta say, Sombra has my respect in terms of power. He definitely displayed resilience and strength in magic, still being strong even after he managed to break through the shield.

 

However I think what most people moreso complain about is the fact that he looks like a bad OC. Sure it's pretty cool, but many people didn't like his design at all. Meanwhile, I didn't even know he was inspired by Sauron. :I Sauron does actually speak a little more than you implied, especially considering in the Silmarillion (Practically the history book of Middle Earth) he's got a large role. Even in the LotR movies he speaks every once in a while. More than Sombra ever did.

 

Sombra is also the only villain who was ever 'killed.' Which is interesting and surprising. I've always liked Sombra, and wanted more development of his character really. 

[Blue Moon 6,345]

I personally many people didn't like him because of two reasons.

 

 

First Reason: He didn't have as much character or dialogue as the previous villains. All of the previous villains were fairly complex and unique, and had plenty of dialogue. Sombra barely said anything, and didn't have much character development. He seemed like a step down from the other characters.

 

Second Reason: His design. Like Silver Marcato said, he looks like a bad OC. The eyes were weird looking, and he just had a really in-your-face design.

 

 

Anyway, Sauron did speak, but Sombra barely spoke at all. But Sombra's lack of dialogue wasn't the only reason a lot of people didn't like him. 

[Dashabel 381]

Ok yeah many of people love Sombra for who he is, saying he's a great character and all.. But if he didn't say a word, what character DOES he have?

[Mr. Critical 434]

Thank you! Glad other people see this. But Sombra would be a bit scarier if he was just a force or an unseen entity, except for the neon mascara. Yes I went there. But was intended for a younger audience so I digress.

[PinkiePai 181]

"Why won't you Bronies understand..."

 

Does that mean you're not a Brony? I'm confused. Anyways, I had no idea he was based off of Sauron, so there is no need to ask me why I "Won't understand" that.

 

Even though none of the show's villains are strictly speaking "Scary", I agree that Sombra was the most mysterious one. I don't know why you think people hate him for not speaking, I just didn't put him as my profile picture because I don't like his design. I don't hate him.

[~StatesTheOblivious~ 1,795]

Even Sauron got more background than Sombra.

 

 

But back to Sombra. In a show that deals with actual characterization, you can at least expect to get a bit more than just a thirty second background story. And the impression you get of him is not really scary for the older audience. It's still made to be suitable for little girls, too. So he fails in being as impressive as he could have been. For me and for many others, too. This is just an opinion, but a very popular one.

[Mutemutt 773]

I've already heard that Sombra was based off of Sauron, but what if I'm not too interested in Sauron either? (Even though Sauron actually gets a lot of development outside of The Lord of the Rings if I recall correctly Edit: And there's my answer right above me.)

 

Sorry, but Sombra just didn't get enough character to draw interest from me and he didn't come off as scary either (he makes me laugh more than anything because of his obsession with crystals). I guess mysteriousness just doesn't do it for me.

Edited July 19, 2013 by MuteMutt

[TomokoKuroki 1,707]

Regardless if he was based off Sauron or not, I feel his character design is too..silly. I understand that tried to make him look really evil/menacing, but I feel they tried too hard. The horn I liked, but everything else...

 

He had too much armor on for my taste, and the eyes are ridiculous. i get that he uses a different magic completely tainted by corruption, but the everlasting purple mist from his eyes is just too much. If the volume of magic essence was toned down so it didn't look like clouds coming out of his eyes, I'd be more accepting of it. And the Green just ruins it for me. I'd be fine if when he used spells, his eyes glowed green and then the magic vapors intensified, but the 24/7 effect going on just kills it for me. 

Edited July 19, 2013 by Hayze

[Dark Horn 430]

I had no idea Sombra was based off of Sauron. Nevertheless, I rank the villains as Discord, NMM, Chrysalis, and then Sombra.

 

The reason why Sombra is last is because even though I like his design, and he successfully plays his role as villain, he had the least amount of background and character, seeming more like your evil villain stereotype.

 

Evil? Check.

Desires something really badly? Check.

Made of shadow and darkness and stuff? Check.

[Feather Spiral 1,892]

How come Sauron is allowed to not speak but Sombra is not?

Because Sombra has a fuckin MOUTH for Trollestia's sake. And how else do you think he passed on his commands and orders to the ponies he enslaved, not to mention any minions he might've had which weren't shown?

Then again, he could've simply been an introvert, which would make him more dangerous since he wouldn't talk enough to be "figured out", so to speak. Meaning, he didn't speak in the show because he was too focused on trying to recover his "enslaving tyrant" spot (and crystals).

[PonyEcho 1,610]

Well I think Sauron was a poor choice to base a kids show villain from because Sauron was a villain that had a ton of build up to just show how menacing he is. Even when he was just that eye, he still had this omnipotence of things around the ring, controlled and army and turned the white wizard to his side.

 

Sombra just didn't have that much on the lines of hype.

 

I think it would have been better to see Sombra written more like Jafar or Scar. Which was the impression I got when I first saw him in the promo stuff

Edited July 19, 2013 by Whirlwind

[Mywas 687]

Ok yeah many of people love Sombra for who he is, saying he's a great character and all.. But if he didn't say a word, what character DOES he have?

He might not be a great Character But hes a Great VILLAIN, Villains dont have to have characters look at Godzilla, He doesnt even talk. And the same goes for Sauron and The Lich from Adventure time

[Dr. Eggnog 203]

I didn't know he was based on Sauron.  That's pretty cool.

 

Personally, I didn't mind the character.  There was enough going on in the episode that the villain didn't really need a personality.  If he had spent a ton of time on screen with no personality then I might've minded.  I also liked his design fine.

[TomokoKuroki 1,707]

He might not be a great Character But hes a Great VILLAIN, Villains dont have to have characters look at Godzilla, He doesnt even talk. And the same goes for Sauron and The Lich from Adventure time

 

Except Godzilla is not even a fair argument. It's an animal that fights for survival, not for morals. Also Sauron actually does have a lot of development. If you consider how many pages are in those books, and how amny go over his past, and just the entity that is sauron; it isn't even fair to compare it to a character brought in for 2 episodes for a 24 minute running time show.

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

I like him from standpoint of what he was written as, and they went about that. I think his design could've been a little more subtle though. 

[Gigapony 650]

For my part I rather liked Sombra. Apart from Sauron I also couldn't stop thinking about Megatron whom he reminds me a lot of.

 

I think his design was neat as a sort of Anti-Celestia kind of thing (even if that wasn't necessarily the intent), though I will say that I did think it was a shame he had so little time to really shine as I feel like he really had a TON of potential.

 

All in all, I think he played his role well given the limitations of the episodes, though part of me does wish he didn't actually die so they could make use of that potential in later story arcs.

[Dark Qiviut 22,582]

Sombra is a great villain

You're wrong here. Just because Sombra is based off a well-known villain doesn't mean Sombra's factually a good villain. Throughout the entire two-parter, we barely saw him. He was there in the flashback and had a demonstration of his pure evil with his corrupted door, but that's all.

 

MLP:FIM is about a series with three-dimensional characterization. King Sombra is woefully flat with an extremely clichéd "personality" and needs his "presence" as a crutch to be menacing. Chrysalis and Discord, on the other hand, have great, villainy, three-dimensional characterizations that made them more evil and more menacing. Disscord and Chrysalis are scary because their personalities heighten them and have purposes for their evil. Sombra's character is two-dimensional.

 

I like Sombra because he had the potential to be thoroughly scary. But his delivery failed because there was little about him and had no personality nor sensible motive to be evil. Therefore, he absolutely sucks as both a villain and character.

Edited July 19, 2013 by Dark Qiviut

[Mywas 687]

You're wrong here. Just because Sombra is based off a well-known villain doesn't mean Sombra's factually a good villain. Throughout the entire two-parter, we barely saw him. He was there in the flashback and had a demonstration of his pure evil with his corrupted door, but that's all.

 

MLP:FIM is about a series with three-dimensional characterization. King Sombra is woefully flat with an extremely clichéd "personality" and needs his "presence" as a crutch to be menacing. Chrysalis and Discord, on the other hand, have great, villainy, three-dimensional characterizations that made them more evil and more menacing. Disscord and Chrysalis are scary because their personalities heighten them and have purposes for their evil. Sombra's character is two-dimensional.

 

I like Sombra because he had the potential to be thoroughly scary. But his delivery failed because there was little about him and had no personality nor sensible motive to be evil. Therefore, he absolutely sucks as both a villain and character.

Having no personality does not equal failing as a villain. if thats so then why alot of adventure time fans Like Lich more Than The Ice King?

King Sombra basicly is Lich from AT because neither have character devolopment or Lines. But they had stuff to make up for it. Ask the little girls and they would tell you that They were scared of Sombra while Laughed at Discord and Chrysalis.

[Xanatos 162]

How come Sauron is allowed to not speak but Sombra is not?

 

Sauron is a different character in a different fiction under different circumstances.

 

Sombra was not scary. He had nothing but a cool design. People hate him because the villains before him were great and very nearly won (Discord twice), and then he basically did nothing at all.

 

And what's this "Sunset Shimmer and Discord failed to be scary" nonsense? Two things:

 

1) Sunset Shimmer wasn't MEANT to be scary.

 

2) Discord is the scariest villain as a fact. He is a being of presumably limitless ability who goes around warping reality and violating all natural laws and reason just because it's FUN. He is as scary as you can get because he is as unpredictable as you can get.

 

Nightmare Moon was going to make night last forever. Chrysalis was going to take over Equestria. Sunset Shimmer was going to conquer an alternate dimension. Sombra was going to rule the Crystal Empire and, presumably, also eventually take over Equestria (there's another flaw: He's basically a downgraded Chrysalis). But Discord...We don't know what he's going to do because the very nature of everything he does is chaotic as a rule.

 

Also, the Lich from AT is a better character because he's actually scary. Sombra was dark but "Ooh, he's dark." isn't very scary on its own. The Lich's entire existence is motivated by a will to end all existence. That is bloody terrifying. Not to mention the Lich actually does things. Hell, he once successfully ended all life in Ooo. All Sombra ever accomplishes is "Grrrr, I'm outside your forcefield, and don't I look SO DARK!"

 

The ultimate problem with Sombra is that we're told he's scary but he isn't. The Crystal Ponies are scared, and he was presumably a monstrous entity during his past reign, but the Sombra we see is just not that scary.

 

Little girls were scared of Sombra? So what? Little girls are often dumb (proof: look at previous MLP series) and probably afraid of the dark. I didn't know little girls were an authority on good characterization and fear.

Edited July 20, 2013 by Xanatos

[YALL ARE FUCKING GAY 505]

the reason i don't like Sombra is because his character wasn't built up enough over two episodes he was in. seriously he less than 3 minutes screen time for both of the episodes combined. and while on screen he didn't even do anything that could be classified as evil for him to be a villain. 

 

right now lest compare him to Discord ( my favorite villain) discord was on screen for most of the return of harmony episodes and he was built up brilliantly. he was shown to be the kind of lovable trickster and the most devilish fiend at the same time. he split the mane six, stole the elements of harmony and  rained chaos all over equestria. where as Sombra just laughed and said about 4 lines the entire two episodes 

 

even night mare moon is a better villain then king Sombra 

 

so why should he get any higher than last place on the villain list 

 

i really don't care what character/person  hes based of 

Edited July 20, 2013 by HunterScars

[An Old Head 4,816]

To those differentiating Sombra from Sauron in a negative light by saying he has no background -  why does a lack of knowledge about somepony's background necessarily have to detract from their appeal? King Sombra is a "fear of the unknown" villain. He has zero character, it's obvious, but he consequently has enormous villainy in the fact that there are no distinguishing points that can be turned against him (aside from the Crystal Heart). He's like a hitman - keeps secretive and focuses only on the job at hand, without making a show out of it. That's why I like him; he's a tactician. If anything, he's the opposite of cliché - if he loudly announced his plans to take over the world and gloat about it right in front of the hero party, that would be cliché. But Sombra understands what other villains don't - keep your distance, conceal your identity, and mean business.

Edited July 20, 2013 by Flipturn Amaterasu ツ

[Scootalove 10,689]

I guess I never really noticed it since, I never really heard of Sauron but I guess he is from a book that actually had character development. Sadly, Sombra didn't get a chance.

[Ihei 714]

I think I've noticed that watching the two episodes. He did kind of act like Sauron.. he barely said two words, and Sauron said close to nothing. And yes, I agree with you. Sombra is a underrated character. I actually thought he was pretty strong, being able to take over the Crystal Empire for a thousand years.

[Sunny Fox 5,958]

I think Sombra perhaps gets a worse rap than he really deserved. I understand why people would compare him unfavorably with some of the other villains, but most of his villainy was in the past. He set up a number of traps, hid those behind an entrance only someone with dark magic could even open. None of the crystal ponies even have horns, and presumably they have no magic, although Zecora makes that uncertain in a way. Even apart from that, the crystal ponies are all about light. He also created a delaying staircase that Twilight just happened to have a spell to deal with, which she had never demonstrated before this episode. Then at the end of that, he had an alarm set up around the Crystal Heart to let him know someone had found it.

 

Another instance of dumb luck, Rainbow hearing from the librarian pony about the real Crystal Heart, the references to which Sombra appeared to have removed from the library.

 

Even in the episode itself, he was shown casting a spell strong enough to trap Twilight, and savvy enough to prevent her from simply teleporting out (the fact he even considered such a thing is a plus in his favor)

 

Here's the other thing... he would have won if not for Spike. He brought Twilight out of her Dark Door trance, and was on hand to get the Crystal Heart, which by pure luck had been knocked away from the trap, otherwise it presumably would have been trapped along with Twilight.

 

So his planning and his magical trap would have let him win, if not for the interference of Spike, a healthy dose of unanticipated good luck for the heroes, and a last second wife-toss, all of which is enough to ruin anypony's plans.

 

Contrast that with fan-favorite Discord, who lost simply because he grew (stupidly) overconfident, didn't realize the Mane 6 were back to normal and all working together in harmony and let them take a free shot at him. I know which I think is more of a discredit to the character involved.

Edited July 20, 2013 by Full Spectrum