IDW Main Issue #27 (Spoilers!)

Mind the spoilers! They're like creeper vines.

I like the Everfree Forest. Since it’s introduction, it’s been this place of mystery and danger. It’s also a place where ponies aren’t meant to go. They’re bosses of their own world, managing everything right down to the weather. Everfree is the part of the world that doesn’t fit the ponies’ plans. Rather than try to destroy it, the ponies simply keep their distance.

Except when they seem to stroll in-and-out with impunity. Even before the Tree of Harmony got back to full power, I noticed that the forest from which “no pony has ever returned” wasn’t living up to the fear of the first episode. It’s been an ongoing critique of mine. So I’m glad to see Everfree expanded upon in the latest IDW comic. But how does it hold up?

I heard it through the green vine

Ponyville is under attack by vines! Again!

Yes, it’s a very valid criticism that this feels like a redo of the season 4 premier. Though it is worth noting that these aren’t Discord’s plunder vines, and the sudden appearance of Timberwolves outside the forest are a fresh wrinkle. There’s just enough diversity here to make me want to keep reading, especially as Zecora calls to our heroines for help.  

The Timberwolves appear to be self-cleaning as Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity dispense two with little effort, and the bodies just poof away. A shame the rest of the troubles aren’t so easily dismissed.  

Twilight receives word that every town near Everfree is under assault, and the Royal Sisters cannot come to their aid because they are helping defend other towns. And really, that’s all you need. Just give us a reason why Celestia and Luna can’t come to the rescue, yet aren’t sitting idle on their thrones. It’s a good balance and harkens back to the conflict of the very first issue.  

Into the Woods

Everfree hits our heroines and sidekick fast with an assault by a hydra, an owlbear, vampire bats, a pumabat, and a koala bear.

Hey, don’t diss koalas. Without eucalyptus to keep them docile, they are crazy mean!

We get a lot of events packed into a short span with our ponies and dragon outracing the creatures, and running into a deer named Bramble. Not-Bambie is openly hostile to ponies, berating them for their short-sightedness as Twilight uproots trees to ease the group’s transit. It’s a very effective scene showing how even well-intention ponies can cause harm. After all, Ponyville exists because they cleared away part of the Everfree Forest years ago.

Bramble and the deer guard, Blackthorn, escort the ponies to the deer city of Hometree–sorry–Thicket. There they meet the Heart of the Forest and counterpart to Celestia: King Aspen. He explains why Everfree is aggressively expanding. Short answer: the deers did it!

Calling Captain Planet!

Turns out that this is the deer equivalent of eye-for-an-eye as a group of Minotaurs and ponies are cutting down Everfree to make way for a new theme park.

And just like that, ya lost me. There was such a good vibe going on here with the ponies unintentionally causing harm, showing the audience that even well-meaning beings can make a mistake and not consider the consequences of their actions.  

Then we go into a plot that had to be written by either James Cameron or Ted Turner. Because the head of this construction effort, Well-to-Do, is an oblivious Minotaur who cares nothing for the land he destroys and continually harps about progress. He is a complete cookie-cutter image of corporate greed.

After a failed attempt at negotiations, Twilight and company vow to help the Eco-terrorists–I mean–deers defend their home. Because it’s not like the deer are doing anything wrong by making Everfree destroy Ponyville in a fit of misguided revenge. Nope. Well-to-Do’s the only bad guy here!

And Celestia and Luna can’t make Well-to-Do stop because they are currently captured by foliage. Again.  

All in All

This comic starts out strong with action, mystery, and a new race. I love the deer designs from Prince Bramble on up to King Aspen and while Thicket may bear a resemblance to the Avatar movie, it is a fascinating place that I would enjoy learning about.

The comic loses momentum with the introduction of a greedy corporation machine that feels divorced from the earlier theme of unintended harm. The deer themselves lose intrigue as the story begins to present things in absolutes. This isn’t a case of mutual mistakes or a misunderstanding. Nope, it’s the work of evil moneymakers!  

On the part of our heroines, Twilight is back to being proactive in defending others. Though she makes mistakes, they’re born from ignorance and it’s clear that she makes an effort to improve herself based on this knowledge. We also get to see a murderous Fluttershy. Fun times!

The one pony who seems to take a step back is Rarity. Though we do see her using assault magic for the first time, we also witness her being flanderized. From whining about saving Zecora to hitting on yet another male character, it feels like she’s become very one-note.  

I think this story is worth a read and the second half should be interesting, yet I hope that this story won’t deal in absolutes. The deer have a right to be angry, yet they vent that rage at the wrong target. They are committing the same wrong done to them by Well-to-Do and company. Twilight and friends need to be the harmonizing force between these extremes, not side with one over the other.