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| “ | Let's get this storm started! Ooh, hey, that's good. I should trademark that. | „ |
| ~ The Storm King's most famous quote. |
| “ | Yeah! Let's whip up a storm! | „ |
| ~ The Storm King preparing for his storming tyrannical destruction over Equestria. |
The Storm King is the main antagonist of the 2017 animated film My Little Pony: The Movie, based on the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic series. He is a satyr-like creature who was the oppressive ruler of the lands south of Equestria and half of the world. He was also the former master of Tempest Shadow and Grubber and the archenemy of Tempest Shadow and Twilight Sparkle.
He planned to invade the entire land of Equestria and the whole world with Twilight Sparkle's and other Princess' magic with his Staff of Sacanas to make himself powerful enough to create misery, and cause destruction without anyone to help serve him once he rules the world.
He was voiced by Liev Schreiber, who also played Sabretooth/Victor Creed in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Stu Wargle in Phantoms, Ray Donovan in the series of the same name, Ted Winter in Salt, Colonel Alexander Vosch in The 5th Wave, and Kingpin/Wilson Fisk in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
History
Backstory
The Storm King presumably took over many lands beyond Equestria, before learning of Equestria's princesses and their alicorn magic. At some point, he met up with Grubber from an unknown destination, making him his smallest servant. He destroyed many other kingdoms as well, including Capper's home and the kingdom of the hippogriffs, and enslaved many others, including Captain Celaeno and her crew. He also met up with Tempest Shadow and told her that if she helped him steal the alicorn magic, he would use it to restore her horn.
Role in the Film
The Invasion
The Storm King's invasion of Equestria begins during Canterlot's Friendship Festival, where Twilight Sparkle and her friends are preparing for a concert. The Storm King's henchmen, Tempest Shadow and Grubber, arrive ahead of him intending to capture` the four princesses for his upcoming arrival. During the ensuing chaos, Tempest manages to use obsidian orbs to petrify Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance, while Twilight and her friends manage to escape. The Storm King calls Tempest to learn of her progress, during which he assures her that if Twilight is not captured and brought to him within three days, she will be severely punished.
Even though not a physical appearance, a bobblehead of the King is held by Murdock when Tempest interrogates the pirates on the Mane Six's whereabouts.
Stealing the Magic
The Storm King stealing magic.
The Storm King later arrives in Canterlot, with Tempest having fulfilled her promise of successfully delivering the Princess Twiligh after she screwed up their chances of getting help from the Hippogriffs, getting into a fight with Pinkie, hurting her feelings and her friends abandoning her, which gave Tempest the opportunity to finally capture her with no friends to save her now. The Storm King uses the Staff of Sacanas to absorb the magic of all four princesses, much to his glee. As he begins experimenting with his new abilities by taking a shot at a de-powered Twlight, then rapidly accelerating the day and night cycle of the world, Tempest attempts to ask when he will restore her broken horn, only to be set aside. Then Twilight's friends all came back to save her, accompanied by the con-cat Capper, the Parrot Pirates, and Princess Skystar, infiltrate Canterlot and fend off the Storm King's soldiers, after he sees Twilight's friends coming, he uses his staff to create a massive hurricane, blowing away the rest of his army and shielding the castle to keep the Mane 6, Spike and Capper from getting closer. When Tempest tries to persuade him to fulfill their bargain, the Storm King scoffs and betrays her, revealing that he had only been using her and that she has outlived her usefulness. He attempts to kill Tempest but is blown back when she blasts him back with her magic. Twilight sees an opportunity to get the staff away from the Storm King but chooses to save Tempest instead. The Storm King laughs at this gesture and then prepares to murder them both.
Final Battle
Just as he is about to kill Tempest and Twilight, Twilight's friends launch themselves out of a massive cannon, ramming the Storm King out of the way and lodging the Staff of Sacanas into the mosaic above the throne room. Twilight and her friends fight against the raging winds of the hurricane and the falling debris of the collapsing throne room in an attempt to retrieve the staff. Right behind them, The Storm King emerges from underneath some of the fallen rubble and desperately climbs in pursuit of the staff. He hurls himself at it in a fit of desprate rage, just as Twilight grabs it, sending Twilight, the staff, and himself through the window and out into the hurricane.
Death
The Storm King's death.
Just when the ponies think Twilight is dead, and mourn for her, she emerges from the eye of the storm with the staff, still alive, and uses it to end the chaos the Storm King began. As she and her friends embrace each other, the Storm King survived the storm too and sneakingly climbs back up over the balcony and hurls an obsidian orb at them in a last attempt to retrieve the staff and defeat Twilight and her friends once and for all. Tempest, however, spotted him and saw what he was about to do. Having had a change of heart after being saved by Twilight and realizing the king is too dangerous to be kept alive, she leaps in front of the princess and her friends and onto the Storm King, taking the hit and transforming them both into obsidian statues. While Twilight uses the staff to save Tempest, The Storm King's petrified body plummets down to the courtyard below and shatters into pieces upon impact, killing him and ending his oppressive tyranny over Equestria before it could truly begin.
In the credits, while still in pieces in stone form, his eyes were seen moving while trying to dance before his body was reduced to rubble again.
Role in the Series
Season 8
In the premiere episode "School Daze Part 1", he is mentioned when Twilight says that Tempest left Ponyville to spread the word of the Storm King's defeat. He was also mentioned by Sandbar when reminds the creature students that the Mane Six saved Equestria.
In the episode "Surf and/or Turf", the Storm King is mentioned several times to recount the events of the film and when he attacked the Hippogriff Kingdom during his reign.
In the episode "The Hearth's Warming Club", the Storm King makes a cameo in Silverstream's story about how she and the other hippogriffs celebrate the "Three Days of Freedom".
In the episode "What Lies Beneath", the Storm King appears as an illusion formed from Silverstream's deepest fears.
In the episode "Father Knows Beast", the Storm King is mentioned.
Role in "Equestria Girls"
In the special "Spring Breakdown", taking place between the movie and Season 8 of the series, the Storm King is mentioned multiple times, and his leftover magic is the source of the havoc that happens in the human world.
Role in the Comics
The Storm King, his second-in-command Strife, and his army in the IDW comics.
The Storm King appears as the main antagonist in IDW's My Little Pony: The Movie Prequel. It depicts what he did during his reign, conquering many lands, including the Abyssinian capital of Panthera. His second-in-command at the time was Strife, a cloud creature who secretly planned to betray him and side with the Pirates.
In Issue #1, he and Strife invaded Panthera, plundering all the palace treasure and setting fire to the rest of the city. However, Strife later betrays the Storm King and allies with Captain Celaeno and her crew of parrot pirates. The Storm King, enraged by this betrayal, appoints Grubber as his new second-in-command.
In Issue #2, the Storm King catches up with Celaeno's ship, tosses Strife overboard for his betrayal, and forces Celaeno and her crew to work for him as cargo haulers.
He does not appear in Issue #3, but he was mentioned.
In Issue #4, the Storm King tracks down Tempest Shadow, who has had the Misfortune Malachite while fleeing from his Storm Creatures. The two then allies, with Tempest agreeing to become the Storm King's new lieutenant in his search for magical power in exchange for the Storm King healing her broken horn.
The Storm King is also mentioned during the Convocation of Creatures on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Issue #61 page 15.
The Storm King is also seen in a flashback in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Issue #68.
Appearance
It is never stated exactly what type of creature the Storm King is, although he is often described as "satyr-like" or a "terrifying beast." He is depicted as an extremely tall, bipedal creature with thick white fur that covers all of his body save for his hoofed feet, his three-fingered hands, and his ape-like face, which are gray. His eyes and tongue are blue, and he is clad in lustrous black armor that covers his torso, shoulders, wrists, and shins. He also has large, curving black horns, a large, stuck-out chin, sharp fangs and a long, white tail with bushy hair at the end.
Personality
The Storm King's evil smile.
The Storm King is described as an unkind, cold-hearted, tyrannical, arrogant, and cruel monster, with a lust for power. His demeanor unpredictably shifts from pleasant and cheerful, to sardonic and petulant, to cold and ruthless. He loves creating storms, and attacking and raiding ships and cities. He loves enslaving, abusing, and corrupting anyone he comes across, including his army, and hates love, caring, kindness, helping, and overall anything cute. He is also very sarcastic, egotistical, petulant and rude, and he also has a dark sense of humor. In the climax of the film, the king is also shown to be traitorous and dishonest, as he reveals to Tempest Shadow that he never intended to fix her horn.
In the comics, the Storm King confesses to having no interest in "ruling" anyone; he just likes to terrorize, pillage and destroy any civilization he comes across, as well as collect magical items to empower himself. He also has an eye for talent, as he attempted to recruit Captain Celeano until she refused to leave her crew, and recruited Tempest after seeing her cunning and willingness to manipulate others. His most defining trait was his absolute hatred for the concept of friendship, as he believes friends will ever only hold him back from true power.
Powers and Abilities
The Storm King with the Staff of Sacanas.
The Storm King has no magical abilities of his own but has access to magical items like a potion-spell that acts as a communicator and Obsidian Orbs to petrify his enemies. He also has a large army of powerful Storm Creatures and an armada of skyships at his command. He has managed to conquer several lands beyond Equestria, showing great leadership skills. The Storm King himself is shown to be quite strong, agile and resilient to damage, as he punches through a stone wall with ease (in the comics), shrugs off being crushed by falling debris and can leap long distances with little effort. Considering that both his subordinates and enemies fear him greatly, it shows that he is an extremely dangerous individual.
Sometime before the movie, he came into possession of an artifact called the Staff of Sacanas, which can channel magic and power from other creatures into itself. Once he absorbs the magic of the Alicorn princesses, he can project deadly lightning bolts, create massive hurricanes, and even move the sun and moon as Celestia and Luna do. It also reveals at the end to fix and create things, like to rebuild everything that was destroyed.
Relationships
Allies
The Storm King doesn't have any friends, he only cared about himself and hardly has any allies, since almost all of them he betrayed or they betrayed him. Also, he considers his minions his "servants" and not friends. Here are his former allies.
- Tempest Shadow: Tempest Shadow was the Storm King's second-in-command and they seemed to have a strong relationship at first, as Tempest was his most trusted lieutenant, to the point where he appoints her as the commander of his army. When the Storm King and Tempest Shadow first met, they made a deal, as Tempest agreed to help him steal the magic of the four Alicorn princesses, while the Storm King promised that once he gained the magic from the princesses, he will use it to restore her broken horn. However, unknown to Tempest at the time, the Storm King was only using Tempest to gain power and he actually betrayed Tempest after he got all the power he wanted with the Staff of Sacanas and uses it to attack her. Thus, this shows that his relationship with Tempest is now all but severed. However, betraying his most trusted ally and attempting to kill her led to his downfall, as Tempest was saved by Twilight Sparkle and this causes her to rethink her life and regret her actions. When the Storm King attempted to turn the Mane Six into Obsidian Stone, Tempest saves them by jumping in front of the Mane Six and turns both Storm King and Tempest into obsidian stone. While Tempest was luckily saved by Twilight and her friends, the petrified Storm King falls off the balcony and shattered into pieces. Despite Tempest's former loyalty, the Storm King never truly cared about Tempest as he only cared about himself, therefore they will now remain as enemies from now on.
- Grubber: Grubber is one of the Storm King's minions. Though their relationship is not fully shown, the Storm King briefly appoints Grubber as his second-in-command in Issue #1 of the My Little Pony: The Movie Prequel comics, after his previous second-in-command, Strife, betrayed him. Due to his dim-witted nature and unintelligence, the Storm King knows he needs a smarter and stronger second-in-command to do his bidding and help him gain the power he wants. Thus, he finds Tempest Shadow and replaces Grubber. In the movie, the Storm King and Grubber barely interacted with each other. The only time they interacted was when the Storm King arrived in Canterlot and enters the Throne Room, where he sees Tempest, Grubber, and the captured princesses (which included Twilight Sparkle in a cage). After Tempest says that she will love to show everyone what she can really do, Storm King asked her what can she actually do. Grubber answers that they will do his bidding before he nervously runs away from the castle. The Storm King agrees with Grubber and that he likes bidding. Grubber and Storm King never interacted again after that but it was shown in both the comic and the movie that Grubber is terrified of the Storm King which is why he acted nervous when Storm King arrived and he ran out of the Throne Room. His fear of Storm King was also shown in the IDW comics. Also in the comics, Storm King calls Grubber too cowardly and spineless to even attempt to betray him. He also calls him weak, useless, and small. This proves that Grubber only follows the Storm King out of fear while Storm King takes delight in that.
- Storm Creatures: These yeti-like creatures were loyal minions of the Storm King and they helped him succeed in conquering many lands beyond Equestria. In the IDW comics, the Storm King was shown to appreciate the hard work and dedication of the Storm Creatures that he considered offering them a cake. However, he is only saying that due to the fact that the Storm Creatures serve him and do most of the work for him, thus adding to his selfish character. Despite their loyalty to The Storm King, the Storm King does not actually care about them at all, despite saying that he "appreciates" their hard work and dedication. Once he got the Staff of Sacanas, he uses it to create a Tornado, most of his minions were caught and blown away by the storm, revealing how much he didn't care for them whatsoever.
- Strife: Strife was the Storm King's first second-in-command in the IDW comics, before his betrayal and secretly working with the Parrot Pirates. Tired of the Storm King's constant abuse and his belief that "friends" can betray you, Strife decided to betray the Storm King and side with the Parrot Pirates. The outraged Storm King chased down the Parrot Pirates and briefly appoints the cowardly Grubber as his second-in-command for a short time. The Storm King managed to catch up to the Pirate ship and tosses Strife overboard for his betrayal. It's possible that Strife is indirectly responsible for Storm King to become much more untrustworthy with his minions and becomes traitorous himself when he betrays Tempest in the movie.
Enemies
- Twilight Sparkle: Twilight Sparkle is possibly the Storm King's archenemy along with Tempest, they didn't really talk to each other much to each other during the movie, but he sent his army and his commander Tempest to capture her and the princesses to steal their magic so he can rule the world with his Staff of Sacanas, but Twilight got away with the help of her friends and set off on an adventure out of Equestria to get help from the Hippogriff's and Tempest knew the staff can only work if there's all four princesses who are ruling Equestria, so she tracks Twilight down on the way, but later when Twilight screws up the Hippogriff's trust for trying to steal their pearl after Novo refused to help and gets the whole group banished as Twilight and Pinkie argue, as Twilight furiously snappeds and insults Pinkie saying she dosent need friends like her. As those words destroyed Pinkie's feelings, winning the argument but Twilight regrets it and tries to take it back but the Mane 5 except Spike all abandon Twilight even though she regrets and feels sorry for what she just said, but as a result leaving her she finally gets captured by Tempest and Spike couldn't save Twilight by himself. After that Tempest tells Twilight her backstory why she's evil and despises friendship, she delivers to the Storm King back in Canterlot as the whole place was nothing but a reality wasteland with nopony smiling, enslaved and trapped in cages. As the Storm finally shows up, he and Twilight meet, as the Storm King questions Twilight who she is and Twilight argues back saying she's the princess of friendship but the Storm King laughs and asks Tempest why is she the only princess not petrified, Tempest tells how she and her friends fought back but then divided through the pressure of their argument, saying she won't be a problem. Then he uses Staff of Sacanas to drain Twilight and princesses magic and blasts Twilight with it as a test and then uses it to play with the sun and moon with Celestia and Luna's magic, but the Mane 5 come back to save Twilight and stop the Storm King, but he creates a tornado storm to stop them, and ash betrays Tempest and tries to kill her, Twilight saves her and the Storm King tries kill both of them but stopped by the Mane 5 and Spike and drops his staff, as Twilight and Mane 6 reunite and apologised to each other,they work together once again by holding onto each other to reach the staff stuck in the stained glass, the Storm King gets up in a fit of desprate rage and tries to reclaim his staff back by climbing up the rocks as fast as he can, fighting against the Mane 6 in race to get it, as Twilight gets closer he yells in a furious roaring rage and jumps up to get it as Twilight grabs the staff and he and Twilight get sucked up into the tornado storm and scream, assuming they're both dead, the Mane 5 and Spike mourn for Twilight as she survived and flying back down with the staff as she and her friends get in a group hug, the Storm King climbs up from behind them angry and tries to petrify the Mane Six and Spike while they're distracted with same orbs used on the princesses earlier so he can get his staff back and finally have them out of the way, but Tempest jumps in his way to save the Mane Six since Twilight saved her earlier and she saw their true friendship by petrifying herself along with the Storm King as he falls turned to stone and shatters to his death, finally defeated.
- The Mane Six: The Mane Six are the Storm King's other enemies along with Tempest, he didn't interact with the group much other than Twilight but he probably never really heard about about them before but he probably didn't care anyway, he only knew about the princesses like Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Twilight Sparkle and all about Equestria and its magic across the land, when Tempest told him when they met and lied to her about fixing her horn if she gets him their magic he wants for himself, So he sent his army and his second in command Tempest to attack and capture all the princesses, she used his obsidian orb to turn them into stone to prevent them from escaping or fighting back, but only Twilight escaped with the help of her friends as they set out on a journey to find the queen of the Hippogriff's so they can stop him and his army, but later after the Mane Six failed to gain the Hippogriff's trust thanks to Twilight trying stealing their pearl and they abandon her for yelling at Pinkie as Tempeest finally captures Twilight when she finally has no help to escape. And after Tempest telling Twilight her backstory she delivers her to the Storm King and steals all her and princesses magic with the Staff of Sacanas,later as Twilight's friends came back to save her and stop the Storm King with the help they got after all, the Storm King tries to get rid of them by making a big windy tornado around canterlot so they can't any closer to stopping them, as he eventually betrays Tempest and Twilight saving her life and the Storm King about to kill the both of them, Pinkie and the others blast themselves up to Canterlot and hitting right into the Storm King as the staff falls right off his claws as the staff loses control, the Mane Six are all reunited and they all work together by holding onto each other flying up to help Twilight grab the staff, but the Storm King gets up in a fit of desprate rage and tries to reclaim his staff back by climbing up the rocks as fast as he can, fighting against the Mane 6 in race to get it, Twilight grabs the staff and he and Twilight get sucked up into the tornado storm and scream, assuming they're both dead, the Mane 5 and Spike mourn for Twilight as she survived and flying back down with the staff as she and her friends get in a group hug, the Storm King climbs up from behind them angry and tries to petrify the Mane Six and Spikebut Tempest jumps in his way to save the Mane Six petrifying herself along with the Storm King as he falls to his demise petrified shatters to his death, finally defeated by seven ponies and one dragon.
- Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance: To Be Written.
- Queen Novo and her subjects: To Be Written.
- Captain Celaeno and her crew: To Be Written.
- The Abyssinians: To Be Written.
Other
- Silverstream: Silverstream and Storm King were never physically seen on-screen together. However, it was shown that Silverstream was deeply afraid of him and was traumatized by the events that happened when the Storm King attempted to conquer Mount Aris before Queen Novo and her subjects turned into seaponies to hide from the evil tyrant. In the episode "What Lies Beneath", Silverstream sees an illusion of the Storm King and his minions and she thought they were actually there and hides behind a rock. However, Gallus encourages her to stand up to the illusion of the Storm King. Silverstream confronts her deepest fears, telling off the illusion of the Storm King that he is nothing but a big bully with a silly name and a goofy crown. She also angrily tells the shadow that she and her kind will never again be intimidated by him now that he is gone. Thanks to her courage of standing up against her worst fear, the shadows of Storm King and his army disappear, much to the joy of Silverstream and Gallus.
Reception
The Storm King received a mixed reception from critics and the Brony fandom. While Tempest Shadow was praised by critics and the fandom, the Storm King was criticized for his lack of screentime, character development, comedic moments, and would even be called one of the weakest villains in the series since King Sombra.
Despite this, some fans did enjoy the character, as well as praise Liev Schreiber's voice acting, and his character‘s role in the comics. Over time, positive reception towards the character grew, with many even going on to note him alongside other classically evil and humorous villains like Hades, Joker, & Aku.
Andrea Libman, who regularly voices Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy for the series, commented on an Equestria Daily interview that the Storm King was her favorite MLP villain. Among other things, Liev Schreiber, along with director Jayson Thiessen, the writers, and the animators, went on to comment that bringing the character to life was fun. These statements, along with denial of his film appearance being his last, has caused many fans to wonder if the Storm King will return, whether physical or non-physical.
Quotes
Comics and Books
| “ | Whoa! Hey! Seems kinda unfair to have somebody else telling my story! If we're going to have a whole issue about me, then I'm gonna tell it! So please, join me on the next page, won't you? | „ |
| ~ The Storm King's introduction in the prequel series as he breaks the fourth wall. |
| “ | I know I call myself a "king," but frankly, monarchy just isn't my thing. You take over one country, next thing you're dealing with taxes and committees and retirement packages! | „ |
| ~ The Storm King stealing and destroying Capper's home Abyssinia. |
| “ | Really? Well, then, lucky for you I'm taking it off your hands! | „ |
| ~ The Storm King stealing Malachite when told about it's power. |
| “ | Another successful invasion, Strife (Strife: Yes my lord. A masterpiece of strategy, if I must say.) Another country plundered of its riches. They're barely a challenge anymore. And do you know why? Because I have no friends. Friendship is a weakness. A liability. Friends distract you. Make you weak. Friends can betray you, make you forget your goals. I have soldiers, commanders, workers—but no friends. Which means nobody will ask me to sacrifice my ambitions. My goals are my own. Even you, my right-hand creature! Even you are not a friend. You are an agent of my will. You serve me not out of some misguided sentimentality or imagined camaraderie... but because you know I will win, in the end. I will be the most powerful creature in the world. And you want to be at my side. (Strife: ...Yes, my lord. I am your servant.) | „ |
| ~ The Storm King telling his second-in-command Strife about friendship being weak. |
| “ | Now, I'm sure some of you may be asking: Why? Why do I desire conquest about all else? For that matter, who is the Storm King? Was I the child of a thundercloud and the sky? Was I born from an egg on a mountaintop? Am I merely an ordinary creature with dreams of greatness? What does it matter? I am purely what I am—no more and no less. I am not the king of the storm... I am a king who is a storm. | „ |
| ~ The Storm King keep his past a secret while making a second fourth wall break moments before his ship was attacked. |
| “ | You. Small, weak, useless creature. (Grubber: T-That's me!) You are too cowardly to ever attempt to betray me, are you not? Too spineless to consider your own wants. Aren't you? (Grubber: Y-Y-Y-You got me pegged, boss.) Good. You're my new second-in-command. Get my ship repaired and follow those pirates. We have a traitor to catch. | „ |
| ~ The Storm King promoting his small servant Grubber his second-in-command after Strife betrayed him and ordering him to get the ship repair to catch Strife and the pirates. |
| “ | That was a short lived escape, huh? | „ |
| ~ The Storm King successfully captures Celaeno's ship. |
| “ | I listened to him talk. Look where it got me. | „ |
| ~ The Storm King expresses on how he listened to Strife after he threw overboard to his presumed death. |
| “ | Now, you and your crew did steal from me. But you did a darn good job of it. I can respect that kind of skill, captain. I'd like to offer you a job. | „ |
| ~ The Storm King offering Celaeno to be his right hand creature to no avail. |
| “ | Congratulations, captain. You helped one ship escape my grasp. If you're so devoted to your crew... I suppose you should be allowed to stay together. Like I said... I always need more cargo haulers. | „ |
| ~ The Storm King making Celaeno a cargo hauler after she saved Capper and Chummber and her ship. |
| “ | You've know, you've been leading me on quite a chase! Seriously, I've had to put my best creatures on you! | „ |
| ~ The Storm King meets Tempest Shadow. |
| “ | That trick with your cloak and that other pony, just now? That was darn clever. But why didn't you just ask him to help you? (Tempest Shadow: Because... Because I learned a long time ago... you can't rely on anypony else.) "Anypony." That's cute. | „ |
| ~ The Storm King admiring Tempest's cleverness and reflects on trust they both had. |
| “ | Once I've finished conquering, I'll have more power than any other creature in the world! (Tempest Shadow: Is that why you're searching for magic? Just for... power?) What other goal is there? Power. Control. These are the only things worth seeking in this world. | „ |
| ~ The Storm King and Tempest Shadow talking about obtaining power. |
| “ | So you don't believe in bad luck. I do. And if I'm going to be conquering, the last thing I need is bad luck. | „ |
| ~ The Storm King finally convinced Malachite's power is nothing but trouble after destroying the Malachite. |
| “ | I promise—Commander Tempest. | „ |
| ~ The Storm King making Tempest his new second-in-command when he tricks her into making her think he'll restore her horn. |
Movie
| “ | Where am I supposed to be looking? I never understand how this spell works. Tempest! (Tempest Shadow: Over here, your Excellency.) Where? (Tempest Shadow: Over here.) Huh? (Tempest Shadow: No. No, right. Look right.) My right? (Tempest Shadow: Yeah.) Oh. There you are. | „ |
| ~ The Storm King's first line in the movie when he calls Tempest Shadow. |
| “ | Here's the deal. I'm in the middle of a big re-brand here. "The Storm King" is tracking, well, as intensely intimidating, but you know what? I need to back it up. You know what I need to back it up with? A STORM! That would be great! You promised me magic that could control the elements, and right now, I'm holding a what? A branch. A twig. Bleh! (Tempest Shadow: That would be the Staff of Sacanas, your Excellency, and it will...) The Storm King: Mm-hmm? (Tempest Shadow: ...channel the magic of the four rulers of this land.) Mm-hmm? (Tempest Shadow: You'll soon have the power of a hundred armies.) So that would be a yes on your locking down the four Pegacornicuseses, or whatever you call them? (Tempest Shadow: Give me three days. I'll have everything ready for your arrival.) | „ |
| ~ The Storm King and Tempest discussing their plan to drain the magic of the Alicorn princesses. |
| “ | Remember, Tempest. Only I have the power to make you whole. Make this twig work, and you'll get your reward. Fail me, and your horn won't be the only thing that's broken. (Tempest Shadow: It won't be a problem.) Great! I'm ready to power up, crash and bash, and be the biggest, baddest bugaloooooo... (Grubber: Sorry, bad spell service. You want me to call him back?) | „ |
| ~ The Storm King threatening Tempest if she fails him again before the spell connection fades out. |
| “ | Ooh, fascinating! What can you really do? (Grubber: Your biddings of course oh mighty one) Bidding's good. I like bidding. | „ |
| ~ The Storm King arriving at Canterlot. |
| “ | Yeah. So, speaking of problems, this place, it seems a little too... oh, I don't know... CUTE!! I don't like cute! I never did like cute! Doesn't really go with my whole "big bad powerful magic guy" thing, does it?! Deliver the punchline, Tempest, because this has gotta be a joke! | „ |
| ~ The Storm King expresses his hatred for cuteness. |
| “ | Not bad. Actually, kinda first rate. What else does it do? (Tempest Shadow: Your Excellency, you promised to restore my horn and giving—) Deh-deh-deh-deh-deh, okay. Hang on. (Storm King moved the sun) You gotta be kiddin' me! I can move the sun?! A ha ha! Wow! Now this is what I'm talkin' about! Ha ha! Time to play! Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday! Day, night! Day, night! Day night! Day night! Day night! Sunrise, sunset! [humming gleefully] | „ |
| ~ Storm King playing with the sun and moon. |
| “ | (Tempest: What? How?)(Twilight: It's... it's the magic of...) Yeah! Yeah! Friendship and flowers and ponies and bleh! I am so over the cute pony thing! This... ends... now! | „ |
| ~ The Storm King mocking friendship feeling annoyingly in his disgust before starting his storm. |
| “ | Now I truly am the Storm King! And the entire world will bow to my ba, ba, ba Boom, baby!(Tempest Shadow: Yes, yes, you are every bit as powerful as I promised sire; now restore my horn, and I swear to use my magic to serve you.) (Laughs) Who cares about your dinky little unicorn horn?! (Tempest Shadow: (stunted) But.. We had an agreement!) Get with the program! I USED you! It's kinda what I do. | „ |
| ~ The Storm King reveals Tempest that he lied about restoring her horn before he attempts to kill her. |
| “ | The staff belongs to me! | „ |
| ~ The Storm King trying to retrieve his staff before Twilight does. |
| “ | No! That's my staff!! MIIIINE!! MINE! Oh, no, NOOO! | „ |
| ~ The Storm King tried and failed to retrieve his staff, only for Twilight to get it before they get sucked into the storm, even though they both survived - also his last words in the movie. |
| “ | I'm not done yet! | „ |
| ~ The Storm King about to turn Twilight and her friends into obsidian - his last words he said in the novel. |
| “ | No! Stop! Please, wait! I've... I've-I've changed my mind! | „ |
| ~ The Storm King's true last words in the movie adaptation when he tells Tempest that he changed his mind about breaking their agreement while begging her to hold back away as his entire body turns into obsidian from a cloud of the obsidian orb when she blocked it to protect Twilight and her friends when he threw towards them mere moments before he falls onto the ground and shattered to pieces. |
Trivia
- Before G4, there was a Storm King character in the G1 comics. The two share very little in common, however, and shouldn't be considered different incarnations of the same character like Tirac and Tirek.
- The Storm King is Schreiber‘s first animation voice role since Chicago 10. His next two animated movies were released the following year. The second was Isle of Dogs where he voices Spots, one of the main heroes and brother of Chief, the film's protagonist, and the third is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, where he voices Kingpin.
- Liev Schreiber stated in an interview that he accepted the role of the Storm King because he wanted to appear in a film his children could watch, noting their exposure to his violent, adult-oriented films.
- Despite being the main antagonist, he only gets a short amount of screen time. His lieutenant, Tempest Shadow, mostly does all the work for him and has more screentime than Storm King.
- The ultimate fate of The Storm King is left ambiguous; while he most likely died, during the credits there is a small animation of his shattered body put back together incorrectly, while his eyes are still moving. However, this scene is most likely non-canon as it was done in a more lighthearted style than the rest of the movie, and was most likely done only for comedic effect, plus, characters turned to stone cannot move their eyes, and other elements of the credits suggest they are not meant to be taken seriously.
- The original draft for the credits depicted his eyes as still being turned to stone, but this was changed in the final draft. Since they didn't make this change to the actual scene where he turns to stone and shatters, this further supports that the credits are non-canon and that he is dead. It is likely the credits scene was only changed to avoid showing the Storm Creature defiling his corpse.
- When Tempest restores Canterlot with the staff, the spot where the Storm King fell and shattered is shown, but his pieces have vanished, implying that either the power of the staff destroyed his remains or that some of his minions came and retrieved them before anyone else did. However, the most logical reason for the disappearance of the remains is that the animators of the movie simply forgot to draw them in before fully animating the scene.
- Twilight mentions the Storm King having been "destroyed" in Spring Breakdown.
- The Storm King is very similar to Lord Tirek in many ways.
- Both are power-hungry conquerers who despised ponies and friendship in general.
- Both once trusted a certain individual until they were betrayed by said individuals due to their behavior.
- Tirek's younger brother, Scorpan.
- Storm King's former second-in-command, Strife.
- Both had the power to steal magic from others.
- Tirek can absorb magic into himself through his mouth.
- Storm King used the Staff of Sarcanas to channel magic.
- Both seek to take the power of the Alicorn princesses to become all-powerful.
- Tirek wanted to rule Equestria as its god.
- Storm King wanted to be the true king of storms and rule with no-one at his side.
- Both easily managed to capture Princesses Celestia, Luna and Cadence.
- Tirek imprisoned them in Tartarus after they gave their magic to Twilight.
- Storm King's army turned them to stone with obsidian orbs during the Friendship Festival.
- Both had convinced a powerful individual to be their ally by promising them something in return, but then betrayed them when they were no longer useful, leading to their redemption
- Lord Tirek convinced Discord to help him steal magic from Equestria by promising "freedom" from his friends, but then stole his magic as well.
- The Storm King earned Tempest Shadow's loyalty by offering to use the Alicorn's magic to fix her horn, but then he broke his promise and attempted to kill her.
- Both were annoyed by the existence of Princess Twilight Sparkle and had to struggle with her while they reach into his staff.
- Tirek was unaware of a fourth princess and fought with Twilight while she was empowered by the other princesses' magic.
- Storm King had to wait for Tempest to capture Twilight after she escaped Canterlot, and was sickened to hear that she was the Princess of Friendship. He then attempted to get his Staff back before Twilight could.
- In the end, both of them were defeated due to the interference of the very allies they betrayed, who was just previously saved by Twilight Sparkle.
- Discord offered Twilight the medallion he got from Tirek as a sign of actual friendship for convincing the centaur to free him, which was the final key to opening the Chest of Harmony, which gave the Mane Six the power needed to finally defeat Tirek.
- Tempest Shadow was saved by Twilight after she was betrayed by the Storm King, and so she repaid this favor by intercepting him when he was going to throw an obsidian orb at Twilight and her friends, turning them both to stone and causing the Storm King to fall and shatter on impact.
- However, Tirek was not much heinous as Storm King due to having more redeeming qualities than him.
- The Storm King is similar to Emperor Palpatine in the Star Wars series in many ways such as...
- Both acted as the true main antagonists and the superiors of the central antagonists, who got more screentime than they did (Tempest Shadow for the Storm King and Darth Vader for Palpatine).
- Both were ambitious tyrants who would do anything to get what they wanted.
- Both managed to overthrow a government which was central to the series' plot:
- The Storm King's army was successful in conquering Canterlot and thus Equestria.
- Palpatine convinced the Galactic Republic's senate to reform themselves into the Galactic Empire under his iron fisted rule.
- Both possessed weapons of terrible destruction:
- The Storm King wielded the Staff of Sarcanas empowered by the Alicorn's magic.
- Palpatine commanded the Death Star.
- Both had the ability to shoot deadly lightning bolts at their enemies (Storm King used his staff while Palpatine used his hands via the Force).
- Both had an absolute hatred for a certain group/species for certain reasons:
- Both convinced a member of the group/species they hated to be their second-in-command by promising them something in return, but then broke this promise:
- The Storm King promised Tempest Shadow that he would use the Staff of Sarcanas to restore her horn if she helped him get the magic to power it, but then attempted to kill her once she was no longer needed.
- Palpatine promised Anakin Skywalker that he would save Padmé Amidala's life if he helped him overthrow the Galactic Republic and destroy the Jedi, but ultimately did nothing to save her from dying at childbirth.
- Both were the archenemy of the main protagonist, who is from the same group/species (Twilight Sparkle for the Storm King and Luke Skywalker for Palpatine).
- Both first appeared in a form of projection while contacting the central antagonist:
- The Storm King appeared as an apparition summoned by a potion which blinks when he wanted to talk with Tempest Shadow.
- Palpatine appeared as a massive hologram when talking with Darth Vader from afar.
- Both had their plans foiled by the main protagonist's allies:
- The Storm King was intercepted by the other members of the Mane Six, making him drop his staff and allowing Twilight to obtain it.
- Palpatine's Death Star was destabalized and later destroyed by the Rebel Alliance.
- In the end both met their demise at the hands of their own second-in-command, who willingly sacrificed themselves to do so after they were led to redemption by the protagonist, in the form of a long fall:
- Tempest Shadow was saved by Twilight after she was betrayed by the Storm King, and so she repaid this favor by intercepting him when he was going to throw an obsidian orb at Twilight and her friends, turning them both to stone and causing the Storm King to fall and shatter on impact.
- After Luke refused to kill Darth Vader and take his place, Palpatine began torturing the young Jedi with his lightning. Luke called to his father to save him, which caused Anakin to return to the light side of the Force by picking up Palpatine and throwing him into the Death Star's reactor, though the lightning short-circuted his life-support armor, leading to his death.
- However, Storm King was not quite heinous as Palpatine due to failing heinous standard and too comedic to qualify.
- The Storm King is similar to Frieza in the Dragon Ball series in many ways such as...
- Both acted as the main antagonists of the series and the superior of the protagonists' rival.
- Tempest Shadow for the Storm King
- Vegeta for Frieza
- Both were ambitious tyrants who would do anything to get what they wanted.
- Both managed to overthrow a government which was central to the series' plot:
- Both possessed weapons of terrible destruction:
- The Storm King wielded the Staff of Sarcanas empowered by the Alicorn's magic.
- Frieza used Supernova to destroy Planet Vegeta.
- Both had the ability to shoot long range power at their enemies.
- Storm King used his staff to shoot deadly lightning bolts.
- Frieza used Death Beam which killed his enemy.
- Both had an absolute hatred for a certain group/species for certain reasons:
- The Storm King hated the Pony race for their affiliation for friendship and cuteness.
- Frieza hated the Saiyans for his fear that they will overpower him.
- Both tormented the protagonists' rivals before they were saved, leading to their redemption.
- The Storm King betrayed Tempest Shadow by revealing his true nature to her and then attempted to kill her once she was no longer needed, but she was saved by Twilight Sparkle.
- Frieza painfully tortured Vegeta in front of Krillin, Gohan, and Piccolo and finally shot the Death Beam at him before he fought Goku.
- Both were the archenemy of the main protagonist, who is from the same group/species (Twilight Sparkle for the Storm King and Goku for Frieza).
- Both had their own air transportations.
- The Storm King has his own airship.
- Frieza has his own spaceship.
- Both had their plans foiled by the main protagonist's allies:
- The Storm King was intercepted by the other members of the Mane Six, making him drop his staff and allowing Twilight to obtain it.
- Krillin, Gohan, and Dende used the Namekian Dragon Balls to wished Piccolo back, bring him to Namek, and unwillingly attempt to wish Vegeta some immortality. However, it got turned into stone, which ruined Frieza's wish for immortality.
- Both were unaware of the protagonists until they had to struggle with them.
- The Storm King had to wait for Tempest to capture Twilight after she escaped Canterlot, and was sickened to hear that she was the Princess of Friendship. He then attempted to get his Staff back before Twilight could.
- Frieza was unaware that Goku was on his way to Planet Namek. After killed Vegeta, he fought Goku before his first defeat.
- Both were ultimately killed by one of protagonists' allies:
- Tempest Shadow was saved by Twilight after she was betrayed by the Storm King, and so she repaid this favor by intercepting him when he was going to throw an obsidian orb at Twilight and her friends, turning them both to stone and causing the Storm King to fall and shatter on impact.
- After Future Trunks transformed into a Super Saiyan, he was slain in half to death by Future Trunks using Shining Sword Attack.
- However, Storm King was not quite heinous as Frieza due to failing heinous standard and too comedic to qualify.
- Both acted as the main antagonists of the series and the superior of the protagonists' rival.
- He is one of the only four major villains outside of Equestria Girls films to not be defeated a thousand years ago or more, other three beings Queen Chrysalis, Starlight Glimmer, and Cozy Glow.
- In the French version and other languages, He is called Storm, but in the English/American version, He is considered a nameless character.
- He is one of the only villains in the Friendship is Magic series to die, the others being King Sombra, Arimaspi and the Mean Six.
- Despite his comedic tendencies, the Storm King is one of the most evil villains in the Friendship is Magic series, as he conquered and destroyed many lands without remorse, and cares for nobody but himself.
- He is the second villain to turn into a statue after Discord. Unlike Discord, however, the Storm King shattered the second after his transformation, as well as showing no redeeming qualities compared to Discord.
- In interviews with Lionsgate, Schreiber commented that he approached his portrayal of the Storm King as an actor would do with a live-action character, exploring and improvising on his role.
- The outcome of what would happen if the Storm King's stoned-self was put back together like a puzzle, along with what happened to his spirit or his soul is currently unknown. It is unlikely, however, because he would be too dangerous to be revived.
- Unlike King Sombra, the Storm King was not revived by Grogar for his team, likely because he found him too goofy and that he had nothing to offer to the team on his own, as opposed to the power of Tirek and Sombra, the intelligence of Sombra and Cozy Glow, and the shapeshifting abilities of Chrysalis.
- However, this is really because the writers try not to wish to add characters from the movie onto the TV series, despite him and other movie characters being referenced and Sombra having been recast.
- Tempest Shadow, Capper, Queen Novo and Princess Skystar actually made their appearance in the final episodes of the series, but didn't have any speaking lines.
- If this were true, this would make the Storm King as one of the few major antagonists in the MLP franchise to never make a major reappearance in the show, despite being mentioned a few times. The others being the Pony of Shadows, Principal Cinch, and Gaea Everfree.
- However, this is really because the writers try not to wish to add characters from the movie onto the TV series, despite him and other movie characters being referenced and Sombra having been recast.
