Oni Press releases issue #13 of its Adventure Time comic series, titled Test of Heroes. Written by Nick Winn and illustrated by John P. Golden, this arc serves as an entry point for new readers. The plot kicks off when the Wizard of Magic, driven by jealousy towards Betty Grof, tries to impress her and unleashes an apocalypse. Betty, a resident of Mars, used to travel with Marceline and Simon Petrikov, now the Ice King.
The technical trigger of a magical apocalypse ⚡
Winn builds the narrative from a logical flaw: the Wizard of Magic uses a display spell without calibrating the risk of dimensional instability. Golden translates this into panels where arcane energy spirals out of control in geometric patterns, affecting the space-time of Ooo. The arc explores how an impulsive act, empowered by poorly managed magical technology, generates chain reactions. The structure recalls software errors in complex systems, where a single wrong command collapses the entire ecosystem.
Cosmic jealousy: the Wizard's emotional bug 😅
The Wizard tries to flirt with a Martian and ends up breaking the world. What a great plan. He could have given her flowers or a Marceline album, but no: he preferred to unleash an apocalypse. Betty must be in shock, thinking that on Mars, flirting is more laid-back. At least, if the world ends, she won't have to worry about turning down his dinner invitation.