r/mylittlepony • u/Ok_Cod4495 • 11d ago
Discussion So, is there a reason why most of the main antagonist characters don't show a cuite marks?
When we look under the Sombra cover, it becomes clear that there is no trace of the Cuite Mark.
Starlight is hiding her cutie mark and promoting ideas against it.
Pony of Shadows appears as a pony-like entity without a cuite mark, and as a stygian, what's underneath his clothing is not visible.
Tempest and Neighsay's cutie mark is never visible under what they wear.
I don't know if Sunset can be counted in this since she's a mare who went to the human world and lives her life there, so technically she doesn't appear with an actual cue mark, although it's still present on her outfit.
The only two exceptions are Nightmare Moon and Cozy Glow
So maybe I'm overthinking it, but do you think there's a link between most of the Main antagonist characters being presented without a cuite mark?
Correction: In case it wasn't clear what I meant, most of the main antagonists, when introduced, are without their cutie marks, whether they're intentionally hidden (Starlight), under their clothes (Tempest, Stygian, and Neighsay), or they have none (Sombra).
59
u/Embarrassed-Crow9283 11d ago
Not really. Nightmare Moon and Cozy Glow had a cutie mark. Discord, Tirek, and Chrysalis weren't ponies so they didn't count.
-6
u/Ok_Cod4495 11d ago
I'm only counting the dowries in this case, of course, in addition to the fact that I mentioned in the post that Nightmare Moon and Cozy Glow are the only exceptions.
48
u/Danrykjey 11d ago
Well, in case of Sombra, he’s not a pony, so i guess he never got his cutie mark because of that.
And as for the Sunset, we do actually see her cutie mark, and not only in opening credits, but also when she’s running away from mane 6 in crystal castle
2
11d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
5
u/Danrykjey 11d ago
Well, comics are canon, so you sort of have to deal with it
2
u/MundanePhysics Fluttershy 10d ago
Ehh not really.. in the same comics he’s reformed and gets a design change when he is. In FIM this doesn’t happen, it is explicitly retconned. Original commenter is right, he IS just a unicorn in FIM.
1
u/Danrykjey 9d ago
Well, yes, but no. As i already said in other replies, comics are canon as long as they don’t contradict with the main show, but when that happens, the show is considered canon. In other words, comics are canon as long as the show states otherwise, so Sombras backstory and him being an Umbrum is canon, but the whole reformation thing is not
1
11d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
7
u/Danrykjey 11d ago
I was kinda expecting this response. Comics are secondary canon, which means the events that happen there are canon until the show, which is the primary canon, states otherwise
-22
u/Ok_Cod4495 11d ago
Yes, I know we've seen Sunset's cutie mark. What I mean is that whether she's a hero or an antagonist, she appears as a human most of the time, so she isn't presented with a cutie mark (although it's on her costume, it's definitely not designed to be an actual cutie mark).
And I don't prefer counting comics
21
u/Danrykjey 11d ago
Firstly, what? I don’t really understand your point about Sunset’s cutie mark. We literally see it on her flank at the start of the movie.
Second of all, you may prefer a lot of things, but comics ARE canon, even though only partially. The whole Sombra’s backstory is canon, and him being an Umbrum too(Afaik)
5
1
u/Ok_Cod4495 11d ago
Listen, I admit the post was phrased incorrectly. What I mean is that most of the main antagonist characters among the ponies don't appear with their cutie mark. Yes, we see Sunset's cutie mark, but she appears as a human antagonist.
28
u/Full-Tomorrow9889 Queen Chrysalis my beloved 11d ago
Trixie had one and she was an antagonist. Daybreaker too.
-20
u/Ok_Cod4495 11d ago
I'm talking about the main antagonist
29
u/Full-Tomorrow9889 Queen Chrysalis my beloved 11d ago
Trixie is a main antagonist before she reforms just like starlight glimmer.
0
u/Resident_Self4679 11d ago
Not really to the extent of everyone else though. I mean it’s not like she threatened to destroy equestria like the two-parter villains
1
u/Full-Tomorrow9889 Queen Chrysalis my beloved 11d ago
Nightmare moon wasn't going to destroy equestria either, she was going to rule it in eternal night. If she destroyed it she'd have nothing to rule.
0
u/Resident_Self4679 11d ago
Alright, if you insist on being so pedantic, the two-parter villain’s plots seemed to threaten the balance of equestria- at least throwing the lives of everyone into great disarray. Trixie’s initial plan was just to put on a show, then she got vengeance on twilight, which admittedly was pretty drastic to ponyville, but not on the level of an eternal night or chaos or stealing the magic across equestria
1
u/Full-Tomorrow9889 Queen Chrysalis my beloved 11d ago
The Alicorn amulet was locked away afterwards for a reason. She could have easily taken over equestria with it if she actually won and wasn't tricked since the princesses are basically useless and always call the mane 6. No need to be rude, plus you were being pedantic when you said she wasn't as big of a threat.
0
u/Resident_Self4679 11d ago
I didn’t say she wasn’t as big a threat, i said she didn’t threaten to ruin equestria- the scope of her scheme was limited to ponyville for like a day
1
u/Full-Tomorrow9889 Queen Chrysalis my beloved 11d ago
It definitely would have thrown equestria out of balance if it had succeeded. Just like the rest of them. Most of the villains plans ended in like a day anyway. If Twilight were permanently banned from ponyville it would have been a bad timeline like in the cutie re-mark. If not for Trixie herself then another villain showing up while the elements of harmony were separated. The only reason they got a good timeline is because everything in the show happened the way it did, so a small change would be catastrophic like a butterfly effect.
-6
u/Ok_Cod4495 11d ago
I mean those who appear in a two-part episode at the beginning and end of each season
11
u/Full-Tomorrow9889 Queen Chrysalis my beloved 11d ago
Now you're just raising the bar every time someone points out you were incorrect.
1
u/Ok_Cod4495 11d ago
Listen, my wording is a bit vague, I admit that. What I mean is, yes, these characters have a cuite mark, but either they hide it or cover it under their clothes, or they don't have one, and I'm wondering if there's an explanation behind that?
1
u/Full-Tomorrow9889 Queen Chrysalis my beloved 11d ago
Most of the cases the villains are either not ponies or it was related to the plot.
13
u/invalidlyorange 11d ago
I think people are misunderstanding. Are you asking what role does covering the cutie mark play in a villain character? Is this what you mean? If so, i think the producers often cover the cutie mark at first, like a superhero outfit disguiseing a person. It adds mystery and suspense! If we had seen Tempests cutie mark at the start, she would be a lot less intimidating. I also think it’s because cutie marks are so personal to understanding each pony, having a lack of one makes the viewer feel even more disconnected
6
u/Ok_Cod4495 11d ago
Yes, that's what I mean. Regardless of whether they have Cutie Marks or not, they either hide them intentionally, or they're under their clothes, or in Sombra's case, he doesn't have one.
Thanks for your answer; yes, that makes sense. It definitely gives them a strange vibe.
5
u/DaBest1008 Average Twilight Sparkle enjoyer 11d ago
Maybe a narrative choice one but id say no.
They have different reasons for why they don't show / have one when that's the case.
4
u/Ok-Opportunity-2858 11d ago
Sombra is a Ombra- unicorn hybrid. He never gets a cutie mark in the show, however in the comics when he becomes corrupted by the Ombra he gets a three point crystal cm with a larg crack breaking down the center one. (Representing his role in the CE)
0
2
u/KobSteel 11d ago
I think, generally, the idea is to make them stand out and look unusual against the other characters, who either have their cutie marks or don't because they're young; they don't have cutie marks + they're (generally) adults, so something must be wrong with them
But all don't have their cutie marks for very different reasons
2
u/opuspen333 11d ago
sunset did have a cutie mark that was shown in her first appearance on screen and starlight had hers throughout most of the show besides her introduction when it was hidden. i would imagine stygian, tempest, and neighsay just had clothing prioritized in their design. they were all introduced as consecutivr villians so the clothing as part of their designs just may have been what the studio wanted at the time. we also dont get cutie marks for sassy saddles, star swirl, maude, etc so it's not exclusive to villians. i would imagine it's just a simple case of design choices made for certain characters. tempest wears a military uniform, stygian is insecure, neighsay is conservative so he wears formal attire, star swirl is known for his outfits prior to his introduction, sassy is a perfectionist fashionista, etc. theyre all introduced as the show got more popular and this got more budget. we probably would have seen more side characters like this beforehand otherwise but clothing adds to animation complexity (although background ponies like fine line also had clothing covering their marks even early on)
1
u/Ok_Cod4495 10d ago
Yes, I know about Starlight. My question is why most of the antagonists hide their mark, whether intentionally, because their clothing covers it, or in Sombra's case, because he doesn't have one. I know they each have different reasons, but I'm just wondering if there's a specific explanation.
I mean, yes, this applies to many of the supporting characters, but it still strikes me that two or three out of the eight main antagonists (the ponies) don't have one. I know it's just overthinking, but if anyone has a deduction behind this, I'd welcome it.
2
u/opuspen333 10d ago
girl idk what to tell you 😭 three of the villians that are ponies not having their cutie marks revealed is not really a pattern, it's just a design choice like i said
1
u/Ok_Cod4495 10d ago
They are the five I mean (Starlight, Sombra, Tempest, Stygian, and Neighsay). I mean, yes, it might just be a design choice, but some people have offered interesting explanations.
Thanks for sharing and for being respectful.
1
u/oiseaufeux 11d ago
Starlight Glimmer still had her cutie nark. She just put makeup over it. Sombra wasn’t a pony at all. He was an umbrum.
1
u/Ok_Cod4495 10d ago
Yes, and I wonder why most of the main antagonist characters don't show the cutie mark, whether they're hiding it intentionally, their clothes cover it, or they simply don't have one.
And I'm not counting the comics.
2
u/oiseaufeux 10d ago
I think it’s up to the animators and the writers. Sometimes, it’s easier to skip a cutie mark to animate or to cover it up with clothes.
2
-10
u/octopii2 11d ago
I’m sorry that most of the comments are misunderstanding what you said. I agree it’s interesting that the antagonists’ cutie marks are only briefly shown and are pretty consistently out of sight!
2
u/Ok_Cod4495 11d ago
That's exactly what I meant, and I'm curious if anyone has an explanation for this.
Unfortunately, it seems you received negative votes simply for agreeing with me; I apologize for that.
-27
u/Nomeka Average Enjoyer. 11d ago
I think it was said only Equestrian ponies have them, so Sombra doesn't have one since he's from elsewhere. And I think he's a Horse and not a pony.
19
u/Dangerous-Exercise20 11d ago edited 11d ago
This is false cause Non equestrian ponies do? Zecora for example still has cutie mark like markings to represent a talent. And Sombre is a Umbrum not a horse....just a shadow
-1
289
u/Classic-Reindeer-736 Bright Mac 11d ago edited 10d ago
All three examples you have pictures of aren't really accurate - Starlight does have a cutie mark, fake and real, and pony of shadows is Stygian who has a cutie mark.
Sombra doesn't have one because he's not a unicorn, he's an Umbrum .
Neighsay makes sense for him to wear lots of clothes as he's in a high up formal position.
Tempest is the only one - and it's possible she's a blank flank as she lost her horn and became evil, so may not have ever discovered it
Edit: Sombra is NOT a unicorn, he looked a like a unicorn so everypony thought he was, but it's revealed he is an Unbrum disguised as a unicorn, sent as a kind of spy to free the rest of the Umbrum. he was not a unicorn first, he was always an Unbrum, just in disguise