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Mane-iac is an antagonist that appears in the fourth season of the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and is the main antagonist of the episode entitled "Power Ponies". The Mane-iac appears to be an earth pony with a violet coat, a mane consisting of large green hair tendrils, and green eyes with red pupils.
Depiction in the series[]
She makes her first appearance in Spike’s comic book at the beginning of “Power Ponies” while Spike explains she is the Power Ponies' "most evil nemesis". Spike shows Twilight Sparkle a few pages from his comic, depicting the Mane-iac’s origin. She was originally just an ordinary but power-mad owner of a hair-care product company, until one day at her shampoo factory she was the victim of a tragic accident. She fell into a vat of green liquid and was electrocuted by a downed power line. The accident resulted in her gaining strange new super powers, a prehensile, stretchable mane and the ability to control and manipulate it, but also drove her completely insane in the process. Her appearance was also drastically changed from the accident, changing her coat color to purple and her eyes and mane green.
She went on to become a Super-villainess to all of Maretropolis and arch-enemy to the Power Ponies. Another page of Spike’s comic shows her breaking into the Maretropolis Museum and stealing an object called the Electro-Orb so she can use it to power her doomsday device, with Spike bitterly noting that she never would have found out about it if Humdrum, the Power Ponies’ comic relief sidekick, hadn’t of accidentally told her all about it.
Later, after Spike and the Mane Six are sucked into Spike’s comic book via the spell he read and unknowingly activated and take on the roles of Humdrum and the Power Ponies respectively, the Mane-iac makes an appearance, smashing through the entrance of the museum with an explosion after having stolen the Electro-Orb and laughing maniacally. She addresses the group, identifying them as the actual Power Ponies, and attacks them, tossing several objects at them with her mane. As the Mane Six struggle to control their newfound superpowers, she watches on in amusement as they defeat themselves, laughing at their antics and using her mane as a lounge chair to relax. After she has had her fill watching their humiliation, she announces she must be going. Before she can leave though, Spike manages to secretly steal the Electro-Orb from her when her back is turned and attempts to sneak away with it, but trips over his cape and drops it. Mane-iac notices this and quickly snatches it back, taking a moment to mockingly thank Spike, addressing him as “Humdrum”, for his “help”, before making her escape.
Spike leads his friends to the Mane-iac’s lair, her old abandoned shampoo factory. Before Twilight can come up with a plan though, Rainbow Dash gives away their position by loudly demanding Mane-iac come out and face them. The Power Ponies manage to defeat her henchponies, but when Mane-iac appears herself , she easily defeats all of the Power Ponies using her “Hairspray Ray of Doom”, a creation of hers that completely immobilizes the Power Ponies temporarily and renders all of their powers useless. After freezing the Power Ponies, she holds the spray in front of Spike with her mane on the trigger, and he covers himself, begging her not to spray him. Mane-iac pulls back her spray can at this and laughs in Spike’s face as he cowers in fear of her. She sarcastically asks why in all of Maretropolis would she bother to use use the Hairspray Ray of Doom on him, using her mane to mockingly tickle him under the chin while dismissing such an idea as “pointless” before leaving him alone. With that, she and her henchponies capture the immobilized Power Ponies, dragging them inside her lair as their prisoners.
Inside, the Mane-iac keeps the Power Ponies captive inside a suspended cage, and each time the effects of her hairspray begin to wear off she has one of her henchponies spray them again. She uses the Electro-Orb to successfully power her doomsday device, a hair dryer-shaped cannon, and says that it will amplify the power of her mane 1 million times, while simultaneously unleashing an energy blast that will cause every mane in Maretropolis to grow wild. She plans to let the Power Ponies live just long enough to use them as its first victims, and with them out of the way, nothing will be able to stop her. They remind her though that she is forgetting about “Humdrum”. She dismisses him as “useless” due to having no powers, and believing they only keep him around because they feel sorry for him, dismissing their objections that he always comes through for them.
As Mane-iac monologues to her henchponies over her apparent victory though, she is unaware that Spike has snuck into her lair, and has been inspired to stop her after hearing the inspiring words of his friends. She is so distracted by her own speech that she doesn’t notice Spike sneaking around her base and setting up an elaborate trap. Once she finally finishes, she hears Spike setting off his trap, looking down just in time to watch him drop a huge crate that sets off his trap. She watches on in shock and confusion as over half of her henchponies are ensnared in a giant tarp, and Spike manages to knock over her Hairspray Ray of Doom, immobilizing several more of her henchponies and freeing his friends in the process.
With the Power Ponies free and running amuck in her lair, Mane-iac loses her composure and is reduced to screaming orders at her henchponies, and calls them all idiots in frustration as they are defeated. As the battle goes on, Mane-iac hears Spike calling out to Fluttershy, who is trying to sneak away, to get mad and power up. Seeing she is vulnerable, Mane-iac powers up her doomsday device and aims it at Fluttershy, but a firefly gets in the way of her line of sight, blocking her view. She swats it away in frustration, and this cruel and petty act finally makes Fluttershy mad, ranting at Mane-iac as she activates her powers and transforms into a huge hulking muscular form.
Panicking, Mane-iac begins button mashing the controls on her device, and fires the cannon at Fluttershy. It has no effect on her though, and she reflects the beam with a mighty roar, striking Mane-iac and sending her flying across the room as she screams in pain and Fluttershy destroys the doomsday device single-handily. As a result of being struck by her own doomsday device, Mane-iac loses control of her own mane and it grows out of her control. With a final futile cry of “My maaaaaane!” her mane wraps around her, ensnaring her like a straitjacket. Defeated and helpless, restrained by her own hair, the Mane-iMac apparently loses whatever was left of her sanity, and is reduced to laughing insanely, ineffectively bouncing on the ground in a futile attempt to escape. With the Mane-iac defeated and the heroes victorious, the spell on Spike’s comic book ends, and a portal opens up transporting him and his friends back home.
Though never seen in person again, the Mane-iac makes several cameo appearances throughout the series, appearing in Spike's Power Ponies comic book. Rarity also briefly cosplays as her while attending a Power Ponies convention with Spike in "Dragon Dropped".
Equestria Girls[]
In Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks, she appears on the cover of a video game Applejack and Rainbow Dash play. In the special “Movie Magic”, the Rainbooms are mistaken for actresses for a Power Ponies film and rushed into costumes before being pushed on set, with Sunset Shimmer cast as the Mane-iac.
IDW Comics[]
In issue #54 of the IDW comics, Shadow Lock brings the Mane-iac out of Twist's comic book to distract Applejack and Pinkie Pie while he erases the information from all of the books in the school. The Mane-iac is presumably sent back into the comic book off-screen.
Role[]
Mane-iac is a stereotypical super-villain parody akin to the cackling maniacs found in early comic books (especially DC) - inhabiting a fictional world similar to Metropolis she was once a normal Earth Pony who fell into a vat of chemicals in a shampoo factory, which coupled with electrocution mutated her and drove her completely insane.
As Mane-iac she developed the ability to use her hair as weapons and tools (like Marvel's Medusa or PPG's Sedusa) - she also developed her own personal army of hair-product themed henchmen and weapons.
Seeking a power-source for her doomsday weapon Mane-iac wanted to destroy the city so as to strike a blow for liberty and a victory for the forces of oppression (like many parody villains she was 2-dimensional evil).
Gallery[]
Quotes[]
| “ | "Time for the mane event." | „ |
| ~ Mane-iac before attacking the Mane Six |
| “ | "You know, I'm beginning to enjoy this." (evil laughter)' | „ |
| ~ Mane-iac taunting the Mane Six. |
| “ | "Power Ponies!" (laughs) "How kind of you to join us!" (evil laughter)' | „ |
| “ | '(laughs) "Oh, Humdrum, why in all of Maretropolis would I use the Hairspray Ray of Doom on you? Rather pointless, don't you think?" | „ |
| ~ Mane-iac to Spike/Humdrum. |
| “ | '(laughs) I see dementia must be a side-effect of prolonged exposure to the Hairspray Ray of Doom." (laughs) "Tonight, we stand upon the brink of immortality, for we collectively. though, mostly me, have finally defeated our most hated nemeses! We have hurled the brush of badness into the now fearful face of-" (laughs) "-goodness, and have struck a blow for freedom in the name of oppression! And nothing will stop us! (laughs)' | „ |
| ~ Mane-iac mocking Twilight for her belief in Spike and subsequently monologuing to her hench-ponies |
| “ | My Mane! MY MANE! | „ |
| ~ Mane-iac's defeat after her own weapon is used on her. |
Trivia[]
- Her name is a pun on the words maniac and mane.
- She is based on Sedusa from The Powerpuff Girls, which Lauren Faust also worked on - the pair both have hair-based powers and gimmicks, but Sedusa was a more manipulative villain while Mane-iac was destructive. In addition, Sedusa appeared in several episodes whereas Mane-iac only appeared in a single episode (not counting the comic book version).
- Her origin is similar to that of the Joker, as well as the animated version of Two-Face.
- Her mane is also used in a similar way to the extra arms of Doctor Octopus.
- Mane-iac's general attitude is based upon (and likely teasing) the tendency for early comic books to have melodramatic villains with no real motive other than to cause havoc.
- Mane-iac's henchmen and hair-based weapons are also a homage to the silly gimmicks found in Batman villains of the 1960s (such as Egghead).
- According to her voice actor, Ellen Kennedy, she was already bad before her accident, although the explanation as to why is never established.
- Her appearance and design is almost similar to Princess Luna's.