“Disney Villains: Ursula” Issue 3 – Comic Book Review

If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s Ursula’s unquenchable thirst for power. Issue 3 of Disney Villains: Ursula showcased just that, and I can’t wait to see what else the iconic Sea Witch will come up with before her inevitable downfall.

From writer Sherri L. Smith and artist Gabriele Bagnoli, the third chapter in the current Ursula-centric mini-story picks up from where the previous issue left us. Young Triton had defeated Vodyana, and Urusla had lost her patience with him.

The current installment opened with Ursula using her minion Spindrift to threaten the lives of the merfolk living in her part of the sea as punishment for aiding Triton. Her dark magic turned the warm waters into paralyzing cold, resulting in (from what I can tell) every single inhabitant of Atlantica being frozen in place. Ursula wanted to make sure Triton had no friends to run to for support. If Triton was so adamant about taking on the Sea Witches, he would need to do it alone.

While we don’t know how Triton came to possess the trident in the first place, the narrative did share some details about its magical properties. Apparantly, Triton had been using the trident to steal the magic of the Sea Witches he had defeated. And while the trident grew in strength, the more power it stored, according to Triton, the weapon was also getting heavier. However, I don’t know if Triton meant it was feeling heavier literally or metaphorically, you know, as a way for the narrative to touch on how possessing so much magic and not using it willy-nilly was weighing on Triton’s psyche as the sole savior of merfolk.

Another interesting thing was how the trident seemed to have a limit to its innate magical strength. When a non-paralyzed mermaid asked Triton to use the trident’s magic to free the paralyzed merfolk, Triton refused by mentioning how performing such a task would weaken him. Poor Triton was already feeling the need to rest, having recently faced Vodyana. So, from my understanding, the magic stored inside the trident couldn’t be automatically replenished once used up. That’s why Triton needed to be careful when using said magical reserves.

As for Ursula’s strategic mind, instead of facing a weakened Triton herself, she decided to encourage him to go after Charybdis instead. Seeing Ursula transform herself into a mermaid to trick Triton was a nice Easter Egg about her transformation spell from The Little Mermaid animated movie.

Swimming all the way to the Marianas to Charybdis’ home, I liked how Triton handled his interaction with the first and strongest of the Sea Witch Sisters. Known as the Lady of the Depths, Charybdis was different from her sisters because she didn’t actively ask for sacrifices from the merpeople. She also lived far away from merfolk communities. And there was a reason for her doing so.

Turns out, Charybdis didn’t seek sacrifices because she was bound to get her fill of sustenance upon a merfolk’s death from across the globe. Anyone living reached her domain sooner or later. She just waited and let nature run its course.

Triton knew he couldn’t defeat someone as OP as Charybdis. So, instead of attacking his opponent, he decided to offer a trade. In exchange for the trident, housing the magic of most of Charybdis’ sisters, Triton wanted the Sea Witch to promise there would be no more sacrifices, instead of the final one upon death, because the circle of life needed to continue.

Now, I don’t know if Charybdis would have agreed to Triton’s offer or not, considering he had been swimming around defeating most of her sisters. But Ursula’s appearance prevented the scales from tipping in Triton’s favor. Unfortunately, for Triton, Charybdis believed Ursula’s warning about Triton wanting to trick The Lady of the Depths.

With Charybdis being busy throwing “little fish” Triton around, Ursula took the opportunity to attack her elder sister by going after her shell. It’s revealed that half of Charybdis’ magic had soaked into her giant shell. I smiled at the irony where Ursula brought up Charybdis looking down at her sisters living in temples, while, in a manner of speaking, her own shell served a similar purpose.

Due to Charybdis being connected to the circle of life, it made sense that Ursula and Triton weren’t able to kill her. However, the weakened Lady of the Depths did retreat after her shell was damaged by the trident. I don’t know if the final two issues will showcase her death. But, if you ask me, I’m okay with Charybdis getting to live and minding her own business even during The Little Mermaid timeline because again, she was more than okay with gaining the necessary lifeforce when merfolk died instead of asking them to sacrifice their souls to her.

As for Ursula, she lost her magic during the fight and was banished from Atlantica by Triton. However, she wasn’t done with her revenge yet, especially due to the current mini-story still having a couple of issues to go. Ha!

Conveniently, Ursula’s got a little bit of magic saved inside her shell necklace. And yeah, I’m excited to see what she will do next as the only Sea Witch left on the board.

Did you read Disney Villains: Ursula issue 3? What did you think of it?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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