By Ashley Gibbs
Welcome to the last issue in this miniseries, where things certainly end with a bang. Not in an action sense but more in a story sense. I’ve had very lukewarm feelings about this series so far. The last issue was my least favorite of the four but My Little Pony the Movie Prequel #4 somehow pulled out some decent storytelling in the final hour and even made me curious about a character who I previously wrote off as just a bad fan fiction insert. Granted, I still think Tempest Shadow is edgy for the sake of being edgy, but clearly, with good writing, she can still be interesting. If you’re a fan of that character, pick up this issue for sure, and if you’ve somehow enjoyed the previous three, then this will be a nice way to wrap up the story thus far.
Tempest comes across the wreckage from the airship Chummer stole in the previous issue and finds the Misfortune Malachite, a McGuffin that’s shown up throughout the mini series serving no purpose at all and has no bearing on the upcoming movie. We learn more about the gem which again, doesn’t matter, but more importantly, we learn more about Tempest. She’s from Equestria and has a tragic backstory, hates friendship, and has a broken horn. She sounds exactly like a bad fan fiction character yet the writing successfully distracts you from that, and her realistic struggles with her sense of self-make her relatable. She, of course, meets Storm King who had been chasing her to get the gem back but he then offers her a position as his commander because the story calls for it. He explains his reasons but they’re shallow, he barely knows her yet is trusting her with such a position after recently being backstabbed, which makes no sense. Tempest, on the other hand, is desperate to fix her horn so it makes perfect sense that she would believe him when he says he can fix it. While this issue did a much better job than previous ones to make Storm King seem imposing he still fails as a villain for me.
The entire issue has narration by Tempest in a “dear diary” format and I enjoyed this, especially the font used. It’s a very elegant script and gives her a voice we can imagine without having to hear it, she’s smart and mature and the font used for her narration is a nice contrast to the normal font used for talking. Which I’m not a fan of, especially the needless bolding and italicizing of words to make sure we get how important the word is. Except it’s used so often it comes off as brow beating. Finally having a pony show up in the series unfortunately reminds me that I really just don’t like how Andy Price draws ponies at all. His art serves as the main cover, again, while I find the other two much more visually appealing. Especially since one variant actually has Tempest front and center on it which makes sense since the issue focuses on her. The inside pages are colorful with good panel layouts and overall good character designs and movements despite my personal taste.
If you have a child who enjoys the show or wants to see the movie then this is a fun prequel series for them and die hard fans of the show will also enjoy it. Overall I’ve been underwhelmed with each issue save for this one. I don’t like this this issue because of Tempest Shadow, I like Tempest Shadow because of this issue so for me personally this is the only book out of the miniseries to create any level of hype inside of me for the movie. My Little Pony the Movie Prequel #4 successfully introduces a major character for the movie and shows that they have a solid motivation to be in it. It’s shows the direct consequences of what has happened in previous issues and ties everything together well. It’s clear that the ponies in Equestria will have a challenging time when the movie hits the big screen but I’m sure friendship will somehow prevail, as always.
Score: 4/5
My Little Pony the Movie Prequel #4
Writers: Ted Anderson
Artists: Andy Price
Colorist: Heather Breckel
Letters: Neil Uyetake
Publisher: IDW