Issue 76: Revenge of the Sea

Revenge of the Sea is the seventy-sixth issue of the Winx Club Comic Series.

Synopsis
The Winx (in place of the specialists) are sent to Blue Bay on Planet Terramaris to help Helbert, a former Red Fountain student, to help him with an environmental protection project. The issue: irresponsible fishing by Samuel Morgan and his crew. His fishing methods are causing impactful damage to the ocean. And the ocean, has forgiven and tolerated enough. It will make its wrath known.

Plot
The Winx are called into Faragonda's office who has a new mission for them. Initially, the specialists were suppose to go but they are busy with exams. The mission: assist Helbert, a former specialist, and his environmental protection group with a project. This mission will be at Blue Bay on Planet Terramaris. The girls are dropped off at their destination by Timmy, who will pick them up when they are done.

First, the girls find a place to stay, and to Stella's displeasure, a campsite site. The fisherman was kind enough to let them stay but explained that he had neglected its care. The girls, and a complaining Stella, take what they can get. They pitch their tents, layout some lawn chairs, and put their luggage away. Then, they return to their task at hand. Aisha mentions that there is no sign of Helbert who was suppose to meet them at the campsite. They start searching for him and walk down to the beach. While Stella admires its beauty, Roxy notices a dolphin had washed ashore, wrapped in a net. Upon closer inspection, Roxy realizes that it is dead, having suffocated. The Fairy of Animals is brought to tears as she explains to her friends that dolphins are mammals and breathe like them. She wants to find the people responsible for this.

Musa mentions that fishing is the main source of income here and Tecna points to the open sea, sensing something off and wants to check it out. The girls fly out and see an intense battle between five large fishing vessels aiming for one man on a jet ski. The man on the jet ski is trying to stop the vessels, albeit dangerously. The fishermen, having had enough of him, try forcing the man onto the shore with rocks. The man on the jet ski end up crashing into one of them and falls into the water, leaving him open to more danger, the rocks and the fishermen's vessel looming in too close. The Winx are about to rescue him but Roxy stops them because she knows of more agile, faster swimmers better suited for the rescue - the dolphins!

She summons them and they save him just in time; he was going to crushed by a vessel. The dolphins take him safely to the shore, which infuriates the captain of the vessel. He thanks them as does Roxy and bids them goodbye as the dolphins return to the sea. Helbert, the man they just saved, then asks who the Winx are and Bloom and Stella explain that they are from Alfea, sent to help him in place of the busy specialists. Helbert then explains the situation to them: irresponsible fishing by Samuel Morgan, his crew, and the local fishermen are causing severe impacts to the ocean and marine life. Overfishing is causing a significant decrease in reproduction rates which will force the fishermen to further out to sea. Not only that, the illegal nets being used are catching many different marine life and killing them in the process, furthering destroying the ecosystem.

The girls wonder why the fishermen and authorities are not banning against Samuel. Helbert explains it is not that easy. For one thing, Samuel has his eyes and ears everywhere and it is impossible to get a leverage on him. Samuel is also the only person who can supply fishing equipment. The fishermen dislike what they are doing but have no choice because they have families to care for. The land is not suitable for agriculture and so, fishing is their only income source. Thus, forcing them to follow Samuel Morgan. This man is difficult to stop because of his advantages and it is the reason Helbert requested help from Red Fountain. Not to mention, anyone who tries to stop Samuel, well, he will not hesitate to end them. Seeing this dire situation, Bloom wants to convince the fishermen to fight back. Flora places emphasis that the fishermen must respect nature and that they should understand if spoken to. Aisha reminds her that they can try at least, implying they may not listen. The girls want to speak with the fishermen and ask Helbert if they can. He says to meet him at the village entrance in the mid-afternoon, the fishermen return to the harbor at this time.

The girls do so and it is made clear that Helbert is rather popular... Peter, a local fishermen and friendlier of the bunch, greets Helbert and warns him to be careful with Samuel's men. Helbert assures him that he can take care of himself. Then, Captain Grog, the man who instructed his vessels to force Helbert ashore earlier, aggressively approaches him and an argument ensues. This is stopped by Peter and when Grog tries to threaten him, the former reminds him Samuel would not like this discourse and there are fishes that still need to be unloaded. The captain grunts but allows them to return to work. He also mentions he will report the Samuel about the incident and walks off.

After he leaves, it is clear that someone like Samuel Morgan should be dealt with caution. The Winx then introduce themselves and get the fishermen's side of the story. It is clear that while the fishermen understand what they are doing is wrong, they still must provide for their families; they do not have choice. There is more to the story but the harbor is not the place to talk about it. Peter and other fishermen need to return to work. Peter has Helbert show the girls around town and then to his home when they are done for a nice dinner.

They do just that and are welcomed with dinner by Peter's wife, Justine and their two children. The Winx are also offered rooms to sleep in their house. The next morning, they are greeted with a delicious breakfast. No fishing is happening today as the boats are getting repaired. Bloom then asks for Justine's opinion on the issue. Justine thinks that because it is source of living, there is no other way to survive even if it is exaggerated. Stella then suggests opening a restaurant, considering how delicious Justine's food is.

After breakfast, the girls take a walk on the beach. They find a spot to lounge and Bloom falls asleep. She dreams of a shed on the shore, an old man enters it. She enters the shed only for the old man to be hostile. The old man then starts berating the people he supports, tired of being taken advantage of, and that he will seek to avenge his pain. Bloom asks for clarification on who he is. The old man answers, "the sea." And that he will be merciless. Bloom runs out, trips, and wakes up. Realizing it is a dream and a warning.

She relays this to her friends, Peter and his family, and Helbert. Justine convinces Peter to not go fishing today. He agrees and will try to convince everyone. Though he doubted they would listen to him. He was right, only his crew did. This angers Samuel and Captain Grog but they set sail anyway. The girls decide to fly and see what unfolds.

And the warning was true. The ocean sends the largest animals in the world, whales, to barricade the fishing vessels. Preventing them from fishing. This does not deter Samuel and he orders his crew to carry on while he pulls out a whale harpoon, ready to catch one as they are worth a fortune. He misses multiple times and the sperm whale he was shooting at, grabs the harpoon and pulls his ship somewhere. Meanwhile, the other whales start attacking the other vessels. Tipping them over and plunging everyone aboard into the sea. The Winx see this and jump into action. Roxy summons the dolphins again to save everyone and when they return to shore, everyone decides to no longer work for Samuel Morgan and his money. They are however, reminded that they do not have to stop fishing altogether, but rather learn to do so responsibility.

After that, the girls realize Samuel and his crew are nowhere to be found. One of the fisherman tells them that he saw them being pulled by the sperm whale, disappearing into the horizon. In fact, the whale had dragged them onto a remote island in the middle of the ocean. The crew and Samuel himself are forced to rebuild a boat to return home. Samuel complains about the pain because is not used to working. Captain Grog then reminds him that it is his fault and that no one wants to work for him anymore, so he needs to stop complaining and continue building a boat.

The Winx need to rest first before they go find them. The day ends with some great news as well, Peter and Justine have opened up a bed and breakfast, and it is already very popular.

Spells Used
None.

Mistakes

 * Musa wears her pigtails high when in her Frutti Tutti outfit even though it is normally worn down. Her top is a tube top instead of a halter top.
 * The Winx's Believix are drawn differently:
 * Stella's hair is not in pigtails and her gloves are incorrect.
 * Bloom is not wearing fingerless gloves and her sleeves are longer with frills at the end.
 * Musa's gloves are not transparent and have frills.
 * Flora's top is an incorrect design and she is not wearing her bracelets.
 * Tecna's sleeves have frills.

Debuts

 * Helbert
 * Samuel Morgan
 * Captain Grog
 * Peter, Justine, their daughter and son
 * Blue Bay
 * Terramaris

Characters

 * The Winx
 * Bloom
 * Stella
 * Flora
 * Tecna
 * Musa
 * Aisha
 * Roxy


 * Specialists
 * Timmy
 * Alfea Staff
 * Faragonda
 * Red Fountain Staff
 * Codatorta (mentioned}


 * Enemies
 * Samuel Morgan
 * Captain Grog
 * Humans
 * Helbert
 * Peter
 * Justine
 * Justine and Peter's unnamed daughter and son