Issue 122: The Great Challenge

The Great Challenge is the one-hundred and twenty-second issue of the Winx Club Comic Series.

Synopsis
To celebrate the camaraderie between the Alfea Fairies and Cloud Tower Witches, a friendly soccer match is held with the Winx playing for Alfea. Everyone is in good spirits until the match is interrupted by a trio of uninvited guests who wish to pay the Winx back for making the witches of Cloud Tower sink so low enough to the point where they would actively associate with fairies in a friendly manner. Little do the Trix know is that the Winx have something special in store for them.

Plot


At their loft in Gardenia, Bloom is practicing handling a soccer ball. But since it has been a long time, she is no longer as pro as she used to be. It turns out, Bloom had suggested to Faragonda and Griffin a friendly match between the Cloud Tower Witches and Alfea Fairies. This way, it can strengthen the bonds between fairies and witches.

At the stadium, the crowd, including their boyfriends and the schools' headmistresses, cheers as the players enter the field.



The match begins with a good luck handshake between the opposing teams. The ball is passed about each Winx, effectively evading the witches; finally, Bloom has the ball and is about to make a goal when the ball suddenly disappears. Stella at first suspects the witches were up to something but one of them honestly denies any involvement in it. As it turns out, the Trix were responsible for stealing the ball. Icy freezes the ball, then shatters it.



The reason they came to crash the game was to express their extreme disapproval of witches and fairies ever getting along. They even scold the witches for even participating in this match. Fed up with their nonsense, Sky demands that they leave or they will deal with the Specialists. Stormy is not at all fazed by the threat and shots lightning at the crowd, scaring them and causing them to flee.



Icy then has Darcy create a barrier that prevents the players from leaving the field. Icy then summons golems to attack. The girls transform into their unique fairy form of sports. Alongside the witches, the Winx try to dispatch the golems but to no avail as they are immune to magic. They also can absorb the magic which strengthens them.

Bloom then hatches an idea - using convergence with the witches. The witches are not sure about it but with the encouragement from their fairy competitors, they agree. The Trix sees this as a major offense and wants to enact a severe punishment until Stella blinds the Trix. With them out of commission, the Winx and witches converge their powers and defeat the golems.



The headmistress then marches straight towards Icy, ready to give them a taste of their own medicine. This forces the Trix to retreat and the game resumes.

The ball is passed about until it finally reaches Bloom once again, and this time, she makes the winning shot. The crowd cheers and the witches congratulate the Winx for their win. However, the best reason to celebrate is the friendship that was born between the witches and fairies as of this game.

Spells Used
None.

Mistakes

 * Flora's goalkeeper gloves disappeared after the Magic Sports transformation.
 * At first Sky appears with his new hairstyle from Season 5 and a pink and white scarf, but then in the rest of the panels, his hair is back to his original, his scarf is a different one and he is also missing the collars of his shirt.
 * Griffin is missing her gloves.

Debuts

 * Magic of Sports

Characters

 * The Winx Club
 * Bloom
 * Aisha
 * Stella
 * Flora
 * Tecna
 * Musa
 * The Specialists
 * Sky
 * Brandon
 * Timmy
 * Riven
 * Helia
 * Enemies
 * The Trix
 * Icy
 * Darcy
 * Stormy
 * Golems
 * Alfea Staff
 * Faragonda
 * Cloud Tower Staff
 * Griffin
 * Unnamed Cloud Tower Witches

Trivia

 * This marks the first time that the Winx use a new comic-exclusive transformation.
 * The second was Issue 135: The Magic of Food, the third was Issue 153: Magic Travelix, the fourth was Issue 155: The Secret of Happiness, and the fifth was Issue 160: A Dive on Lynphea.
 * This comic is one of the more recent ones that shows how the relationships between fairies and witches have progressed since the earlier comics (and series). This is especially true since Season 6 revisited the rivalry between them which seems to have returned.
 * This is one of the few comics that showcase convergence between fairies and witches that is not between Faragonda and Griffin.