Issue 5 (2017)

"Issue 5" is the 5^th issue of the 2017 Steven Universe comic series published by KaBOOM! Studios and the 13^th issue overall.

Synopsis

Before leaving with Connie to go have fun on the boardwalk, Steven wonders what Lion gets up to when he is not around. We get to see a day in the life of Lion.^[1]

Plot

The comic begins outside of the Beach House, with Connie, Steven, and Lion emerging from the aforementioned's portal after a mission. Steven expresses that the mission went well and Connie agrees, attributing the relative ease to the gem beast's small size. As the two exchange compliments on each other's battle techniques, Lion crawls underneath the beach house to nap.

Steven and Connie wonder where Lion wandered off to. They find him sleeping under the porch, much to Connie's surprise. She notes that it was only a small adventure and wonders if Lion always sleeps when no one is around. Steven says that it wouldn't be surprising given his enjoyment of the activity. They figure that Lion will be napping for a while and leave to go to the Big Donut.

Lion wakes up after an undisclosed period of time and walks into the beach house. He sees Amethyst sleeping on a stool while shapeshifted into a cat. Much to her dismay, Lion mistakes her for a kitten and starts grooming her. Amethyst tries to flee but is pursued and subsequently tackled to the ground so that Lion can continue to groom her.

Pearl suddenly exits her room and begins to tease Amethyst, joking that she'll leave the two to their play date. Amethyst promptly shapeshifts back to her regular form, drenched in 'Lion slobber', to which Pearl jests that her saliva-coated hair is a good look for her. They play fight in the background as Lion makes his exit.

Inside of Pearl's room, Lion begins to play with Pearl's Swords. The aforementioned enters her room and angrily attempts to shoo Lion away from her collection. He continues playing with her sword until it is taken from him, forcing him to comply with her previous demand.

Outside the beach house again, Lion notices a Crystal Basilisk and chases it through Beach City until he reaches Greg's Van. He accidentally jostles the van in his pursuit which causes Greg to open the door. He wonders if there's an earthquake, notices Lion outside, and shuts the door again; not wanting to interfere in the lion's magical business.

Lion follows the basilisk's scent to the Big Donut. Noticing the Lion Lickers in the freezer; he waits outside the door until Sadie sees him and lets him in. She assumes that he is trying to find Steven and tells him that Steven just left, then notices Lion staring at the frozen treats. Sadie muses that, because she has seen Steven give Lion a Lion Licker before, it would be okay if she gives him one as well. Lion exits the store.

After finishing the treat, Lion opens a portal to Rose's Fountain. He stares at his reflection in the water for a while before eventually opening another portal.

Lion's new portal takes him to The Barn. He quickly spots the basilisk again and follows it to where Lapis and Peridot are tending to their crops. The latter hears distant rustling and wonders what it is, a question soon answered when the basilisk leaps out of the grass and onto her face. As Peridot attempts to shake the creature off, Lion emerges from the grass as well, opens a portal above Peridot, and bats the basilisk off of her head. Lapis looks on with amusement, teasing Peridot's new messy hairstyle the same as Pearl had done to Amethyst earlier.

With his new catch, Lion returns to the beach house to eat. He sees Garnet carrying an unknown bubbled gem. She gives him a thumbs-up and retreats into the beach house, presumably to bring the bubble to The Burning Room. Lion returns to his nap under the porch.

As the sun is setting, Steven and Connie appear and see Lion in the same spot as they'd left him. They both assume that Lion had been doing nothing but napping all day and Connie jokes that he may have had secret adventures while they were gone. Steven comments that it's "just like those pets on TV that live double lives." They laugh at his joke and leave to watch Crying Breakfast Friends! as the comic ends with Lion winking.

Features

Characters

• Steven Universe
• Connie Maheswaran
• Lion
• Pearl
• Amethyst
• Crystal Basilisk
• Greg Universe
• Sadie Miller
• Lapis Lazuli
• Peridot
• Garnet
• Rose Quartz (statue)
• Small Gem Beast (mentioned)

Objects

• Lion Lickers
• Greg's Van
• Pearl's Swords
• Unknown Bubbled Gemstone

Locations

• Rose's Fountain
• The Barn
• Beach City
  • Beach House
  • Big Donut
  • Crystal Temple
    • Pearl's Room
  • It's a Wash

Cover Gallery

Cover A

Cover B

Cover C

SDCC Exclusive

Art

Grace Kraft's pitch for the comic.

Grace Kraft's older sketch that served as inspiration.

Trivia

• This is the first comic in the series to feature a different writer and illustrator. Previous issues featured Melanie Gillman as the writer and Katy Farina as the illustrator.
• Grace Kraft drew inspiration from a "Steven Universe panel where a little kid asked where Lion was." ^[2] She thought younger audiences might enjoy a comic featuring Lion.
• Lion's interaction with Amethyst was inspired by an older sketch that Kraft had done. ^[3]
• Lion playing with Pearl's swords was inspired by Kraft's own dog, who participates in similar shenanigans.^[4]

Cultural References

• One of Pearl's swords bears a strong resemblance to the Master Sword from The Legend of Zelda franchise.
• When Connie jokes that Lion must go on a bunch of adventures while everyone else is gone, Steven remarks "just like those pets on TV that live double lives!" This is a potential reference to the movie The Secret Life of Pets.
  • Lion masquerading as a regular pet whilst living a secret life of adventure also shares similarities to Perry the Platypus from the animated series Phineas and Ferb.
  • Kraft also cites that some inspiration for Lion's adventures came from the Hamtaro franchise.^[5]
• When Lion is staring at his reflection in Rose's Fountain, the accompanying illustration appears similar to the scene from The Lion King where Simba is having an introspective moment with his own reflection.
  • Both instances involve the character's respective reflections morphing into someone else's, with Lion's being obscured by a rose and Simba's taking on the appearance of Mufasa.

Continuity

• Lion crawls under the beach house to nap. He is first seen doing this in "Steven the Sword Fighter".
• Lion's affinity for Lion Lickers returns. He first displays a fondness for the treat in "Lion 3: Straight to Video".
• When Lion returns to the beach house with the basilisk, Garnet gives him a simple thumbs-up in the same manner given to Peridot in "Log Date 7 15 2".
• Steven and Connie mention the latest episode of Crying Breakfast Friends!, a TV show that is frequently mentioned in the series.

Errors

• When Steven and Connie decide to go to the Big Donut, the porch above Lion disappears so that he is suddenly sleeping out in the open.

References