Yes, I know! The show already establishes that King Sombra is a dark, looming, and mysterious presence.

But with these traits in mind, how exactly do you think he should be best presented?

Once again, I just want to know what everyone else thinks.

4045634 Me, I prefer to think he is evil. No matter how he is, he will always want power and lust for control. However, he is still a person. He still has emotions, he still has a conscious, but he doesn't let those things stop him from what his goals are. Kind of an ends justify the means sort of character. He is also more a warrior then a diplomat. He gruff, to the point, and taunts those who are his foes. He can use that anger though, and rarely gets truly angry himself.

4045634 I see him as a charming (stay with me here) physically powerful, immortal unicorn. His personality to me would be blunt, sarcastic, rude, but very perspective evil Lord of Shadows. Since his power is dark magic which feeds off fear I think it would make him able to read emotions extremely well and how to provoke certain emotions. I see his power level equal to discord but destructive wise. Since discord is the god pf chaos we know his power.....is chaotic but not destructive, were as sombras power is demonic and destructive. I like the whole reform stories but when they make him the punching bag or joke....not cool even with powers taken away he should still be a force to reckon with physically and mentally. So yeah.....he's a bamf

I interpret Sombra as an intelligent, cunning, Dangerously Genre Savvy warlock, with his hoof in all sorts of dark magic ranging from necromancy and dark crystal manipulation to fear and shadow-based magic. He enjoys taunting his foes, using his words to weaken their resolve or even break them. However, he has an almost psychotic obsession with crystals, which is usually triggered whenever he looks at them too closely. Most of the time, though, he's able to keep himself composed.

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I like to think of him as a character that might have even been forced to turn to what most would deem "Evil", but, at the same time, for other reasons than just lust for power, or control, or splendor.

I enjoy the idea that he made a sacrifice of sorts, tapping into dark, forgotten powers, but for a righteous (in his understanding) reason. Not a martyr type though. Not someone who pains over what vile deeds he committed. Someone who was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for what he believed in and not once felt remorse over what he did. Prone to outbursts, naturally, but cunning and intelligent - the traps he prepared in the Crystal Empire prove that. With enough knowledge of arcane arts to benefit from the forsaken and forbidden rituals.

And, as fueled by corrupting power, himself devious enough to attempt the corruption of others.

I see him as the most evil thing Equestria's ever produced. He wants power and control, and does not care how many must die for him to achieve it. He's a cunning military strategist and an extremely powerful dark magician who may or may not have been tutored in the Dark Arts by Grogar himself. He is also dangerously genre savvy, and thinks of the long-term rather than the short term.

The way I see him, he is MLP's version of Dracula. At one point of life, he was just a warrior king that protect his citizens with his very life, but something happen, maybe something tragic happens to him and force him to embrace a dark force, twisting his mind to the power hungry cunning tyrant we love to hate. What the event was, I don't know, but luckily for the Fanfiction community, they can create it what drove this once kind king towards this dark path.

King Sombra is the inventor of shadow magic, and would have been equal to Starswirl the Bearded in terms of his genius and importance to the development of magic in Equestria if not for his corrupted spirit as well as his drive for total domination I think it was Sombra who planted the seed of jealousy and greed in Princess Luna that eventually turned her into Nightmare Moon. King Sombra found that he could not control either of the Princesses and learned something important. If Spike hadn't have been there in King Sombra's tower, not only would he have won but he would have corrupted Twilight Sparkle and turned her into his new apprentice, but he would have also stolen something very valuable from Princess Celestia and broken her spirit in the process. He is the most insidious kind of evil in Equestria, for his is a drive for not only dominion but also the corruption of the Light of Equestria and the Spirit of Harmony. In time, he might have even been able to corrupt Tirek himself into one of his thralls.

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Personally I interpret him as a suave, manipulative villain who keeps his cool, who adapts his plans to roll with what happen.

And let's face it, the rest of villains spent their two parters trying to neutralize any threat, he already did it.