Mysticons

Did You Know?

• Mysticons was originally aimed at boys but switched its focus to girls aged 6 to 11 during development.
• On June 16, 2018, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment and Elevation Pictures released the first DVD volume in Canada containing episodes 1–6 under the name "New Heroes Rise."
• Melissa Camacho of Common Sense Media warned of "lots of fantasy violence" and "dark images" that might scare younger kids.

Plot

Set in the realm of Gemina and its capital, Drake City, the series follows Arkayna, princess of Gemina, and Emerald, Zarya, and Piper, who are chosen by the Dragon Disk to become the second generation of legendary heroes known as the Mysticons. They seek four spellbooks and animal-themed bracers to form the Codex, which will give them power to save Gemina from Dreadbane, who aims to release Necrafa, leader of the Spectral Hand and Queen of the Undead.

Dreadbane turns King Darius and Queen Gabyna Goodfey to stone. Once freed, Necrafa betrays Dreadbane and banishes him to another dimension where Imani Firewing, the original Mysticon Dragon Mage, had banished her a millennium ago. The Mysticons learn that Arkayna has a long-lost fraternal twin sister, initially thought to be the Astromancer Proxima Starfall, but revealed to be Zarya Moonwolf, the second Mysticon Ranger. A prophecy foretells Gemina's destruction: "When the twin stars unite / The spectral beast will take flight / Its roars will heard a new dark age / And the realm will be / Purged by the dragon's rage."

Necrafa fuses with the Spectral Dragon, but Arkayna and Zarya obtain two rings that transform them into the "Twin Dragon," destroying Necrafa and the Spectral Dragon, leaving half of her mask behind. The Mysticons are called back to destroy Necrafa's mask, which Proxima wears and becomes their adversary after feeling used by Zarya and betrayed by Arkayna. Proxima becomes the new leader of the Spectral Hand, controls the Astromancers as Spectromancers, and creates the Dark Codex by corrupting the Dragon Disk.

She creates the Vexicons, similar to the Mysticons. The mask takes full control of Proxima, but with Tazma's help, the Mysticons enter her mind to find a spell to free her. Arkayna saves Proxima from being killed by Mallory, who dons the mask and leaves with the Vexicons.

Production

Nelvana and Nickelodeon teamed up in June 2015 to develop a new animated series, with Nickelodeon handling the broadcast and Nelvana starting production later that year. The Topps Company joined the project, bringing executive producers Michael Eisner and Noel Bright, alongside Colin Bohm, Doug Murphy, and Irene Weibel from Corus Entertainment. By June 2016, the show had been ordered for 40 episodes. Weibel, who managed Nelvana’s development slate, also executive produced other studio titles like Mike the Knight, Disney’s Lucky Duck, and Hotel Transylvania. Sean Jara created the series, wrote for it, and served as executive story editor. Before its release, the show was marketed as a “genre-defining action series.”

Unlike many male-focused shows for younger audiences, this series centers on female characters and explores magic, superpowers, and a classic good-versus-evil conflict. It features elves, including the 110-year-old protagonist Piper Willowbrook (whose elvish name is Pyperia Ashryn Elvaniski) and Hortensia Q. Sparklebottom, as well as princesses Arkana Goodfey and Zarya Moonwolf, who were separated at birth. The undead also play a key role, with the villain Queen Necrafa being a lich. Critics have compared the show to the upcoming Crunchyroll Original High Guardian Spice. Nelvana promoted it as highlighting “girls’ strength, power, and courage,” while reviewers noted it encourages “strong, confident, smart and funny girls.” One critic described the first graphic novel based on the series as a “contemporary urban fantasy,” a label that fits the animated show as well.

Telecast

In mid-August 2017, Nickelodeon unveiled the series with a trailer and character featurettes. Mysticons premiered on Nickelodeon in the U.S. on August 28, 2017, through a five-day event, then moved to its regular Sunday morning timeslot. It began airing on Nicktoons on August 30, with premieres moving to that network on January 13, 2018. Reruns aired on the Nick Jr. Channel and TeenNick.

Internationally, it aired on Nicktoons in Central and Eastern Europe, Nick Jr., CITV in the UK, Nickelodeon in Canada, Nicktoons in Germany, Nickelodeon in Spain and Portugal, and Nicktoons in Poland from 2018. In Canada, the series premiered on YTV with a five-day event on August 28, 2017, moving to Sundays on September 3, replacing Nerds and Monsters on The Zone. Repeats began on Nickelodeon and Teletoon on September 9. A French-language five-day preview aired on Télétoon from September 4 to 8, before its regular slot on September 9. In October 2017, the show returned to Nickelodeon in the United States.

Printed media and merchandise

Prior to the show's debut, Nelvana launched a Mysticons YouTube channel on July 19, 2017, with web content produced by Blue Ant Media. An expanding series of graphic novels has been released once or twice a year since August 28, 2017, with no titles other than volume numbers: Volume 1 at that time, Volume 2 on May 21, 2019, and Volume 3 in late 2019, each depicting original adventures not in the animated series. In October 2017, Nelvana launched the "Piper Parkour" browser game and the free-to-play iOS and Android game Mysticons: Secrets of Gemina.

Additional browser games "Arkayna Attack" (December 2017), "Em's Mayhem" (February 2018), and "Cover of Night" (March 2018) were released, all developed by Relish Interactive. Playmates Toys released a Mysticons toyline in 2017, and The Topps Company published a trading card game. A Burger King kids meal promotion ran in the U.S. and Canada in February and March 2018. Macmillan Publishers launched a Mysticons novel series on June 19, 2018, with Quest for the Codex and The Secret of the Fifth Mysticon, followed by Prophecy of Evil and The Stolen Magic on August 28, 2018, and The Diamond Curse on January 8, 2019.

Audiobooks of original stories were narrated by voice cast members. On August 15, 2018, Dark Horse Comics launched an ongoing graphic novel series by Kate Leth and Megan Levens. A miniseries of four chapter books, each featuring one of the four Mysticons, was released: The Secret of the Fifth Mysticon (featuring Emerald), The Stolen Magic (featuring Zarya), and The Diamond Curse (featuring Arkayna).