The Rainbow Detour That Changed Everything

Look at that sweeping green canopy of prehistoric Earth—or “Tera,” as the ancient starfarers call it. It’s beautiful, primeval, and completely massive compared to our two lost wanderers. Right there, practically swallowed by the ancient jungle, is our favorite grumbling exile, Troll (known in his celestial home as Thagius “Thag” Spoozicm Gumwillows), sprinting down a dirt path under a magnificent, towering rainbow. And of course, he’s not doing it silently.

“Freaking detours.” It’s the perfect distillation of Troll’s current mood. Having just been banished from the celestial realm by his father, King Angus, and stripped of his true air-elemental form, his magical powers are running on a low sunlight charge. His only task is to escort Sparkles the Unicorn to the “Mysterious Mountain.” It should be simple, standard exile duty. But when you are traveling with a relentlessly optimistic, candy-obsessed fae creature who insists that every single rainbow leads to a magical candy mountain, “simple” goes right out the window.

But here’s the wonderful thing about this particular detour: it’s the exact moment their entire destiny shifts. Instead of finding a pile of gumdrops or a sugary peak, Unicorn’s sparkly distraction is leading them straight into a vine-covered hill hiding a massive, metallic secret. Just beyond this dark forest opening lies a crashed Eldaryn zoo ship, the Parmony. Within minutes, they are going to accidentally breach a reactor core, trigger a countdown to destruction, and meet two stranded present-day kids named Susie and Timmy.

The vast scale of this panel really drives home the vulnerability of our heroes. Up there, the sky is wide, bright, and hopeful, split by a vibrant spectrum of color. Down below, the canopy is thick, dark, and endless. It’s a prehistoric wilderness teeming with ancient dangers, illegal corporate mining operations, and hostile space-faring dinosaurs. Yet, even as Troll grumbles about the detour, you can already feel the warmth and humor that defines their journey. He might complain, but he’s running right along with his sparkling friend into the great unknown.