Comics Review: Steven Universe #26

Your worst nightmares come back to haunt you.

Overview:

As the Off-Colors dive deeper into the nebula to escape from Emerald, they realize that not everything is quite right on the other side.

Our Take:

This issue becomes a straight-up horror movie midway through. Whatever the nebula that they were sucked into has also dispersed the entire crew’s consciousness to a place we don’t know. Perhaps it’s inside them, as everyone starts to relive their darkest memories. Lars dreams of being chased on homeworld, Fluorite dreams of being charged with being unfused and imprisoned, the Rutiles and Rhodonite dream of being back in their kindergarten. Padparadscha is the only one who seems to be aware that she’s in a dream, likely because of her visions giving her clarification. Unfortunately, for the rest of them, they don’t realize that what they’re seeing isn’t reality,

The same question I had last time also arises here: can Steven bring them back somehow? What in the collection of many items that he picked up would be helpful in this situation? Perhaps because of Steven and Lars’ connection, Steven would be able to dive into Lars’ mind and retrieve him somehow. The collection would be good for reminding Lars about who he is and that he’s not just alone in space being chased by enemies, but has people that care for and are waiting for him. That might be able to knock Lars out of his mind prison, but it wouldn’t be much helpful to the other Off-Colors.

What might be helpful to the Off-Colors is Lars’ revival; he is the heart of the group, as it’s his presence that allowed the group to find the courage to push against their fates. While he may not have experienced exactly the same things that they did, they are comrades regardless. Padparadscha might also be helpful, as she is the only one realizing that she’s dreaming, and is therefore able to manipulate her dream in how she interacts with it. If she breaks free, she’s a familiar face that would be of great help. It’s still a little unclear how things will go down, but that’s for next week to find out.

A small aside, but I do think that the comics’ trying to go towards lengthy stories as well is a welcome change. I like the contained single-issue format, but some trying of new things is something I welcome as well.