Issue 93: Revenge of the Mummy

Revenge of the Mummy is the ninety-third issue of the Winx Club Comic Series.

Synopsis
Earth's restored magic continues to awaken legendary creatures from the depths of humanity's collective fears and make them into a reality. After settling a dispute in a werewolf pack and destroying a vampire lord hungry for conquest, Gaia's latest Guardian Fairies still have one more job on their hands: to defeat an ancient Egyptian priestess who wishes to plunge the planet into eternal darkness in order to resurrect her lord. Unfortunately, Stella's powers have been severely weakened due to the sun being blocked out! Can the three of them still stop Lamya from summoning her dark lord without Stella's powers?

Plot
Now that the Winx have restored magic on Earth, humans believe in the existence of magic and magical creatures once again. However, the return of magic has also awakened humanity's deepest fears, causing legendary creatures such as werewolves, vampires and even mummies to become real.

At a museum, people are admiring a sarcophagus, said to belong to the Priestess Lamya of Apophis that dates back to the Fifth Dynasty. A museum attendant points to a piece of ancient hieroglyphs that showcase the Egyptian God of Chaos and Darkness in the form of a snake. He then directs the crowd to the mummified remains of Lamya's servants that are plastered on the walls, blocked off by glass display casings. A little boy urges for his mom to leave because he is starting to get scared and, when he turns around, he finds that the sarcophagus is beginning to open! The little boy tries to notify the museum attendant but he claims that the boy simply imagined it, as one would need the strength of three men to lift a cover made of heavy granite. However, the mummified corpse of Lamya bursts out of her sarcophagus at that very moment!

She glares down the museum attendant who, in a panic, dashes out of the museum with the rest of the crowd. Lamya inspects her surroundings as she is unable to recognize anything around her. She wonders how long she has rested in the embrace of Anubis and looks out the window. With how bright everything is, Lamya is convinced that everything outside is shining in the light of the God, Ra. She suspects that Apophis was defeated but cannot bring herself to believe it. She then breaks a display case holding her staff and prays to Apophis to grant her the strength to cover the lands in darkness. This causes the moon to slowly cover the sun.

Meanwhile, at the Love & Pet shop, Bloom and Flora are trying to get Stella to get ready faster as the both of them and their fairy pets have already gotten ready. Stella asks them to wait just a few more seconds as she wants to look perfect for the gothic party they will be going to. Bloom reminds her that the club opens at sunset but, at the rate she is taking to get dressed, they will end up getting their by nightfall instead. Flora looks out the window and urges Bloom to come over as well as it is just as she predicted. As the two of them gaze out the window, Stella arrives, just finished getting dressed. She tries to get the two of them to look at her until she notices that it has gotten dark out quicker than she had expected. Flora mentions that it was barely sunset a moment ago and points at the sky, where they all notice the sudden solar eclipse occurring.

The girls immediately find the eclipse to be strange as there has been no mention of such a thing. Bloom notices a frightened crowd of people fleeing from a nearby museum and the girls' fairy pets start shaking, as if something dangerous is nearby. Bloom proposes that they check out the museum as she can feel a strong negative energy coming from the building. She suspects that this may have to do with another legendary monster that was brought into existence.

In the museum soon after, Lamya is using her regained powers to reanimate her mummified servants. As two of her followers bind down the museum guards in the room with their bandages, Lamya declares that she and her followers will recreate the sacred pyramids in Gardenia, as they have been taken away from their pyramids in Egypt. Just then, the three Winx girls burst in and Stella offers to take Lamya back to Egypt herself. Flora orders that Lamya have her servants release the museum guards and Lamya takes offense to this, demanding to know who the girls are. Stella proclaims that they are the mythical Winx Club and Bloom clarifies that they have been chosen by Gaia to defeat legendary monsters that threaten the Earth's balance. Lamya attacks the girls, proclaiming that she will carry out the will of the God Apophis, and rule over this new land in chaos. The girls are able to shake of the attack as Bloom reminds Stella that, as a legendary monster, Lamya cancels out their ability to transform into their Believix forms. She further reminds the girls that they will have to resort to using their natural magic and Flora immediately uses her Plant Growth spell to summon thorny vines to free the museum guards from Lamya's servants.

The museum guards thank Flora as they flee the building and Flora advises that they focus on running as the situation is taking a very complicated turn. She wraps her arm in the thorny vines as she tries to attack Lamya, only to realize that all of her attacks are not working as Lamya has the ability to turn her body into sand, making it impossible for the thorny vines to coil around her. Lamya then turns her arm into sand and strikes Flora down. She strikes at Bloom too, but Bloom manages to dodge the attack. Realizing that Lamya is a lot more agile in her sandy form, Bloom decides to use her natural fire magic to burn the sand and turn it into glass. Her plan works and the glass arm breaks off! However, Lamya also has the ability to regenerate her lost limbs thanks to the powers granted to her by Apophis. Stella then steps in to attack Lamya with her light magic but her light is very dim and does not even faze the mummified priestess. Stella realizes that the eclipse is weakening her magic, as her magic derives from the sun, and Lamya has her servants restrain the Winx with their bandages. As the Winx begin to get mummified, Stella pleads for the fairy pets to save Bloom, as she is already covered in bandages up to her eyes. Belle and Coco latch onto the mummy and wrap it in its own bandages as Ginger rips off the bandages from Bloom until her mouth is free.

As Bloom breaks out of the bandages with Ginger's help, she tries to encourage Stella to break herself free by using her magic but Stella claims that she cannot because she feels too weak. With the help of the fairy pets, Bloom is able to free Flora from the mummies' bandages and, as the two of them get ready to fight again, Lamya comments on how their shining aura is similar to a power she had felt in the past. Shocked, her servants accidentally release Stella from their bandages as Bloom accuses Lamya of trying to confuse them. Lamya claims that she finally understands it all and explains that a powerful energy penetrated her sarcophagus and caused her to wake up from her eternal rest. There, her mummified body regained its former appearance as she found herself conscious but unable to move. Soon, she realized that it was the fear of man that brought her back and she fed on that fear and dread. Flora remembers that it is still their fault for reviving Lamya now that magic has returned and Lamya assures the fairies that their reckless actions will not go unpunished as she plans to transform Gardenia into a land of chaos under the will of Apophis. As humans see the eclipse as a passing phenomenon, in reality, it will be an eclipse that lasts for eternity. Lamya then turns her staff on the Winx and promises to send them straight to Anubis' kingdom before firing a blast of her dark magic at them. However, rather than being destroyed, the three Winx girls disappear! Lamya suspects that her attacks may have been avoided but chooses not to dwell on it as she will have to act fast if she wishes to claim Gardenia as land for Apophis.

Soon afterwards, a magical glow begins to light up the forests within the outskirts of Gardenia. The magical glow fades from the girls as Bloom and Flora try to figure out how they made it to the forests when they were just attacked by Lamya. Stella believes that Gaia teleported the three of them away from Lamya in order to save them, as she is being told this through Gaia via telepathy. She then looks at a nearby bush of flowers and sees that the flowers are wilting. If they do not stop Lamya in time then all of nature will die. Flora notices that the trees around them are dying and Bloom notices the sudden abundance of sand all around them, to which Stella claims that Lamya turned all of Gardenia into a desert. Looking out onto Gardenia, Bloom sees nothing but sand and a giant pyramid in the middle of it. She suspects that Lamya will be the toughest legendary creature they may have to face and Stella reveals that Gaia told her how Lamya gets her powers from the staff of Apophis, the Serpent God. Only the purest light can defeat absolute darkness and Stella reveals that, according to Gaia, she is the chosen one to carry out such a task, however, Stella is doubtful that she can be able to pull it off. Flora agrees with Gaia's choice but Stella reminds her that, as the Fairy of the Shining Sun, her powers are weakened thanks to the solar eclipse. Bloom proposes that they just bring back the sunlight to Gardenia and, when Stella asks how they will do so, Bloom explains that they simply need to take the Scepter of Apophis away from Lamya. The three of them then rush towards Lamya's pyramid.

Once there, Bloom shoots a fireball into the wall in order to make their own entrance. Lamya sends her servants after the Winx, vowing to make sure they do not escape her clutches a second time. As the girls brace themselves for the oncoming attack, Lamya summons Apophis from a seething pool of dark energy. Stella warns Bloom and Flora that they must stop Apophis from returning to Earth and Bloom urges for Stella to go after Lamya's scepter, promising that she and Flora will keep the mummies busy. Flora then wraps one of the mummies in vines as Bloom traps the other in a circle of fire. Stella quickly asks for the fairy pets to help her get the scepter away from Lamya as she is still without her powers.

Just as they were told, Belle, Coco and Ginger attack Lamya and keep her occupied. As she is distracted, Stella snatches the Scepter of Apophis from Lamya's hands and snaps it in half. This causes the desert to disappear and allows sunlight to shine on Gardenia once again; also allowing Stella to regain the full strength of her magical powers. Lamya remarks over how the light emanating from Stella is so blinding that it may even prevent Apophis' return and, just as she suspected, Apophis begins to fade away. As Lamya pleads for Apophis not to fade, Stella declares that she will be the one to defeat her as chosen by Gaia. Just then, a golden spear radiates from Ginger, which Stella takes and uses to destroy Lamya, reducing her to a pile of dust.

With Lamya destroyed, the pyramid she created with the magic borrowed from Apophis begins to collapse. Luckily, the Winx and their fairy pets are able to escape safely. With Apophis' magic gone from the world, Gardenia will soon return to the way it was. Flora points out how the forests and plants are beginning to thrive again now that the sun is visible and Stella proposes that they relax by hitting the beach now that they have brought the sun back to Gardenia. On the other hand, Bloom and Flora are tired of being around sand thanks to the desert Lamya had created and tell Stella to forget about a trip to the beach.

Spells Used

 * Plant Growth - Used by Flora to free the museum guards from Lamya's servants. Used a second time to bind down one of the mummies in Lamya's pyramid.
 * Glowing Orb - Used by Bloom to break through the pyramid walls.
 * Flame Circle - Used by Bloom to trap one of the mummies.

Mistakes

 * The black decorations on the Winx's Hallowinx wings disappear in some instances.
 * As Bloom and Flora wait on Stella on page 5, the cuff on Flora's left wrist is the same color as her skin tone rather than being black.
 * As the three of them try to figure out what is going on behind the sudden solar eclipse on page 7, Flora has two small hairs sticking from the top of her head instead of just one.
 * As Lamya sends her servants after the Winx on page 22, Bloom's hair is completely pink instead of red with pink and blue highlights.

Debuts

 * Mummies
 * Lamya
 * Lamya's Servants
 * Museum Attendant
 * Little Boy
 * Museum Guards

Major Characters

 * The Winx
 * Bloom
 * Stella
 * Flora

Recurring Characters

 * Animals
 * Fairy Pets
 * Belle
 * Ginger
 * Coco

Minor Characters

 * Enemies
 * Mummies
 * Priestess Lamya
 * Lamya's Servants
 * Magical Creatures
 * Werewolves (mentioned)
 * Vampires (mentioned)

Trivia

 * This is the third and final issue included in the Hallowinx mini-series.
 * As a part of the Hallowinx mini-series, this issue is a direct continuation of the previous one.
 * Apophis, the Egyptian God that Lamya served as a priestess under, is the embodiment of Chaos and is known as Apep. Apep was seen as the ultimate enemy of the Sun God Ra as Ra was the upholder of Ma'at (order), which Apep was directly against.
 * He is also depicted as a giant serpent as opposed to the monster with multiple snakes for arms as seen when Lamya finally summons him.