VIPs:

Wattreader7389
RoseTheMagicalFlower
rosechuck_chuck
GachaEvery
AbelardoGuajardoG
P4naginip

Major Spoilers to Steven Universe Arkham Edition. 

Okay, so this was indirectly requested by GachaEvery. The reason why its indirectly requested is because she never really asked for me to do this, but she was like, "I'd like to see a Spinel analysis," or something. And then I was like, "you know what? Imma do it." 

This one is going to be about Arkham Spinel, rather than her canonical counterpart, and why she's better than Canon Spinel - and possibly any other Spinel (fight me!).

Instead of just flat-out saying, "Arkham Spinel is better because she didn't get the same off-screen development like Canon Spinel," there's multiple reasons why Arkham surpasses Canon. 

And here they are:

A: Same Plan, Different Methods.
B: Intelligence and Strategy.
C: Effectiveness.
D: Aftermath.

While Moonlight is obviously more powerful than Spinel and can possibly do worse than what the clown has ever done, you cannot deny that Spinel left an imprint that only Moonlight could top later on. No one else could fill-in the shoes Spinel left behind when she died, and here's me explaining why:

---

A: Same Plan, Different Methods:

Arkham Spinel did a whole lot more than Canon Spinel, yet she used the same formula: bring an injector to Earth + rejuvenate the Crystal Gems and Steven = killing Steven and Earth.

Yet how did Arkham Spinel make it different?

'Cause she went the extra mile. 

I will admit, it seemed like the writers kinda dropped the ball when explaining Spinel's plan in the movie since all she really did was plant the injector and rejuvenate the gems before allowing Steven to rejuvenate her as well. I get that she was the only one who could stop the injector (except for blowing it up), but it really seemed like Spinel kinda just... did nothing up until the endgame, and really, all she did was rush the injector's process and inadvertently destroyed it. 

It wasn't until Steven Universe Future that she confirmed her plan to "wipe his friends' memories so he could die alone on a barren world."

And that... is actually kind of terrifying when you think about it too much. 

Yet her execution was kind of lackluster.

So, what does Arkham Spinel bring to the table?

Well, she starts off the same, singing Other Friends and all that. But everyone (the readers) knew that she had something else in mind when she whipped out Huge Gigantacus' freeze ray from her gem. Because that act alone already made everyone scared of her.

Because she would have gotten to Huge Gigantacus - which is not an easy thing to do. And then, she would have forced him away from his chair - which is also not easy to do. And finally, stripped his weaponry from his beloved chair - again, not anyone could do that.

She indirectly told you all of that just by showing the gun to you and everyone else. 

That. Is. Scary.

Canon Spinel scares you with her attempted-murder, Arkham Spinel scares you with background information.

It's basically one of those 'let that sink in' moments. 

And then, she uses that freeze ray to basically toy with Steven and she stalks him. Unlike Canon Spinel, who gets rejuvenated and follows Steven around, Arkham Spinel stalked Steven throughout the night and always did little or big things to make his life harder for him - all the while he was slowly rotting to death. 

Yeah, Arkham Spinel basically becomes more scary when you realize she was playing with her food all night long and could've just killed Steven any time she wanted to - up until the end.

---

B: Intelligence and Strategy:

Arkham Spinel is big brain, like, seriously. 

To basically describe this in a nutshell, watch the 'Spinel Has a Mind of a Mastermind' on YouTube and you'll get Arkham Spinel's character traits perfectly. Like, exact and correct information. 

We know she's smart to operate the injector, rejuvenator, warp pads and Ice Moon (Huge Gigantacus' freeze ray). But what if there's something that Arkham Spinel has that Canon Spinel lacked?

Planning.

As far as we know, Canon Spinel basically impulsively brought the injector to Earth to kill Steven and saw the rejuvenator and knew how it worked as well. At most, this took her two hours to pull together. 

How long did it take Arkham Spinel to plan and put everything together?

Three months. Three - full - months!

From November to February. And to add cherry on top, she picked Valentine's Day to pull this off.

This was what she had come up with and executed in three months:

"Okay, first I need to gather up some toys to play with. Hmm... Okay, so an injector is a good pick. 'Cause it'll add pressure and I can have it do its thing and let him get distracted with the rebels, Squaridot and such. But I need more toys... Hmm... Oh, a rejuvenator! I can set him and the others back and watch them obliviously wait until they all die from the injector! HA HA HA! Genius! But wait! Steven's a master of combat or somethin', what if he breaks the rejuvenator - or worse - gets the upper-hand of the situation?! Oh, I got it! I'll just use HG's freeze ray. I'm sure he won't mind if I just TAKE it from him! Okay, okay! I'm getting good at this... But what if Steven tries healin' himself with his mother's tears from the fountain - assumin' the rejuvenator does work? How can I stop him? Oh, I got it! I'll just tamper with the warps and make sure he or anyone else can't reach Rose's Spring! But I gotta learn how to code with warps... Hmph! Guess I'll be readin' textbooks for a while... But not a problem, it'll all be worth it sooner or later... HA HA HA HA HA~! Yeah, that's the plan! I'll use all of these wonderful ideas against him. Hmm... when shall I do it? I know I'm just BEGGING to kill him, but I gotta make it important, ya know? Hmm... Oh, I know! How about Valentine's Day, the day about hearts n' stuff? PERFECT!"

And she did all of that while getting the rebels, Squaridot and Moonlight to slow him down. And she almost wins.

Almost.

---

C: Effectiveness:

So, this one's kinda shorter - since it's also a tie-in from part B. 

Arkham Spinel basically succeeded in every aspect of her plan - except for killing Steven. And she pulled it all off like she's a natural or something. 'Cause she came in, kicked everyone's booty and just leaves.

You know those Giga Chad memes? Well, I got one for Arkham Spinel:

- Swoops in
- Proceeds to (metaphorically) rape everyone into the ground
- Refuses to elaborate further
- Leaves

[I originally meant to say the f-word, but I feel like rape is more humorous. But it's still a serious subject, which is why I'm only making usage of that word once.]

Y'all thought Spinel from the movie was scary when Arkham Spinel just claps cheeks (it's a metaphor, don't look into it too much). 

Lets move on before this turns into me making so many innuendos of Arkham Spinel.

---

D: Aftermath:

So, Arkham Spinel died after she did everything.

And just a refresher for anyone who read "Did you know in Steven Universe Arkham Edition...?" Cartoon Network originally planned to kill Spinel - and Steven was going to be the one who did it. 

I made the parallels like this:

Canon [Deleted Scenes/Not Making It Into The Movie]:

Steven shatters Spinel because she was too dangerous to be left alive after what she's done and he cried after doing it - forever changed by her death.

Arkham:

Steven tried to save Spinel from her death, but she ended up signing her own death warrant in a panic. Steven told Spinel that he would've saved her and wanted to be her friend, which made her laugh until she was dead - haunting Steven for the next three months.

The line I made for the parallel is: "One lived crying, the other died laughing." 

Arkham Spinel's death impacted the story a lot, because it sent Arkham Steven into crippling depression. Even from beyond the grave, she haunts Steven in his dreams and he never stops thinking about her - which sparked jealousy from Moonlight.

Just when you thought her life couldn't affect the story even more, Black Diamond uses Spinel's resurrection to turn Steven against Obsidian and make him break her heart, which inevitably lead to him getting his back broken by Moonlight. 

All of that happened because Spinel died and was brought back to life without Steven knowing that last bit. 

You think she would find it flattering that her life meant that much to everyone, that she'd cause so much grief and despair just for dying? I mean, I guess she would feel honored. 

---

And there's my Spinel analysis. Comment down below what other analysis you want me to do next, 'cause I kinda like doing them and I get feedback so its a win-win. 

April 29th, 2023. 12:27 AM.