The new Shining Force!
The Curse of Zeon is a 6-part Shining Force story, the only one in the series, starting in Issue 73.
Staff[]
- Nigel Kitching - script
- Martin Griffiths - art
- Gina Hart - colouring
- Tom Frame - lettering (parts 1 to 4)
- Steve Potter - lettering (parts 5 and 6)
Story[]
On Granseal Island, in the kingdom of Rune, Bowie and Taya are battling in the street. Bowie, a warrior with a wooden sword, is fighting an elf with obviously more battle experience and it shows as she defeats him, throwing Bowie onto a rock on the floor. As Bowie feels the pain, Tanya uses a healing spell to mend him. Bowie wants to learn the spell, but Tanya says he can't, not being an elf. They are interrupted when a plane appears from the sky and dives towards them. Some think it is a weird bird, others a demon from the abyss (before they are reminded that the abyss has been sealed in the Ancient Tower for generations. When it stops, a robot named Zynk emerges and urgently calls for the assistance of Maximillian as the whole kingdom is under threat from the evil of Zeon. Max joins the party, despite Bowie's worries that the old man is too sick. To the east, in the town of Ribble, two archeologists are examining symbols they cannot read (actually English letters). Inside the door, they see a huge arsenal of guns and tanks which amazes them.
Later, Baron Kadavaar and his golem interrogate a villager, who reveals the location of Zynk. At Max's house, Bowie finds he is unable to lift his grandfather's (Max) old sword and that Max and Zynk are the only two surviving members of the Shining Force. Max hints that a new Shining Force is needed to stop the impending return of Zeon and that Bowie should be the new leader. Just then, Kadavaar bursts in and claims Zynk as his property. He sends the golem to retrieve him but Taya responds with a kick to its head. Max then instructs Bowie to use the sword but since he can't even lift it, the golem swats him aside. However, the baron recognises Max as the one who sealed Zeon away and pulls out his sword, ready to kill him.
Zynk is being dragged away by the golem, Bowie and Taya are recovering from their injuries and Max is about to be killed. As Kadavaar raises his sword, Max teleports his friends and grandson away, leaving him to die. They reappear outside and Bowie and Taya instantly want to go and rescue Max. However, Zynk knows they have a job to do. Back at the dig underneath Ribble, Zeonites, followers of Zeon, have claimed the weapons as their own (after evicting the archeologists) and vow to learn the magic behind them. After a six-hour flight, the heroes land outside the town of Hassan, where they are immediately confronted by a centaur named Chester. The group fight, with Chester not believing that the heroes are not Zeonites. Bowie's sword is knocked out of his hand and sticks in the floor. As Bowie tussels with Chester's blade, the spirit of Max rises from the blade and tells them to stop fighting. Chester recognises him and Max implores him to join the rest of the Shining Force.
Underneath Ribble, the Zeonites conjure a vision of Zeon. The demon reveals that once the Ancient Tower is destroyed, the seal will be broken and he will be free. Outside, the heroes approach the entrance of the dig and easily overpower the guards (minus Bowie, who couldn't draw his sword). Inside, they come across another guard, this time with a gun. Unaware of its power, Bowie decides to take him on. The guard, also unaware of its power, fires the gun, hitting Bowie in the chest. Taya uses her healing powers to withdraw the bullet, but doesn't think she can save him. Downstairs, Kadavaar reveals to Zeon that the 'magic' being used to free Zeon is almost ready. This magic is actually a nuclear bomb.
The mythical 'nuclear bomb'
As Taya fruitlessly tries to save Bowie, Max's spirit appears again. She explains that a wand (interpreted by Max as a pistol) was used against him. Under blinding light, Max uses his powers to revive Bowie and then some, with Bowie emerging healthy and able to lift the sword above his head. Unfortunately, Kadavaar appears to kill Bowie for good. With his new-found strength, Bowie dives into battle with the baron, where he reveals his evil plans, thinking Bowie is beaten. However, Bowie is far from beaten and leaps at Kadavaar, smashing his sword. He refuses to kill Kadavaar, instead vowing to stop his plans. Back on Granseal Island, people realise there may be someone in the tower, hopefully not able to break the seal. Inside, the Zeonites initiate the "ancient ritual" of 'countdown', which will be followed by 'detonation'.
Inside the Ancient Tower, the heroes find themselves teleported inside by Bowie, who doesn't quite know he did it. They burst into the room of the seal, easily beating the guards inside. Alarmed, Zynk realises that what he sees is a nuclear bomb. The Zeonites know it has the power to destroy the portal, Zynk reveals it is strong enough to destroy half of Granseal Island. Zynk has an idea, however. He calls on Bowie to open the portal with Max's old sword and the team push the bomb inside. Quickly, Bowie seals the portal again before Zeon knows what is going on. Even so, the following explosion still sends them flying, even from the abyss. With the island saved, Max rises from the sword once again, congratulates them and tells the evil of Rune to be ready for the new Shining Force.
Trivia[]
- The story seems to be set many centuries after present day Earth, with civilisation today completely unaware of the language and wars of the past. Their complete failure to read the words outside the dig and lack of knowledge of weapons seems to confirm this.
- It is never confirmed that Max dies in the story, yet since we see Kadavaar swing his sword at him, unprotected, and that Max's "ghost" appears from Bowie's sword, it is heavily implied to be so, even if the heroes don't show any remorse over this
- Although the story and characters are roughly based on Shining Force 2, the character designs appear to be taken from the designs of Max, Tao, Arthur, and Guntz from the first Shining Force.