@EHAN  
No problem. :)
 
Yeah, her being the Element of Magic would have no bearing on her comic book powers. The same way RD being an uber powerful weather pegasus in the real world would not allow her those ‘physical’ weather powers in the comic world.

@CronoM  
Going back to one of your earlier comments, I noticed a key detail I missed for all this time. I feel like a dumbass for missing this, but…
 
“That would explain why her superhero powers were so weak…they were not connected to the Element of Magic, they were comic book powers.”
 
Discussion over. You win, I’m rambling on about nothing.

So Zapp knows Thunder, Hurricane, Gust and Fly?

@Nosfrat  
All of them had the power, but no training. Twilight seemed to be the only one with willpower problems.
 
And as for RD, she did near the end  
>>503104

Masked matter-horn (a.k.a. Twilight) knows Ice Beam… Flash, Psybeam and Fly?
 
Mistress marvelous (a.k.a. Honestity Applejack) knows Bind/Constrict/Wrap, Vital Throw, Double Kick and Hi Jump Kick.
 
Fili-second (a.k.a. Sugar Rush Pinkie Pie) knows Extremespeed, Quick Attack, Fake Out and
 
Radiance (a.k.a. Rarity) knows Attract, Rock Throw, Charm and Telekinesis.
 
Saddle Rager (a.k.a. Flutterhulk) knows Bulk Up, Rage, Superpower (sounds original) and Stomp
 
Zapp (a.k.a. Thunder Rainbow Dash) knows Wing Attack, Hurricane, Fly and Gust
 
Humdrum (a.k.a. Spike) knows… uh… Tacle, Growl, Roar and Howl?

@CronoM  
The tornado is still akin to something a normal pegasus (her, at least) can do without special powers. Not of that magnitude, but she had no control over it so… Power without control etc.

@EHAN  
‘Her magical abilities’ she might not have been born with. We never got that established. Unlike Scootaloo’s natural scooter riding talent or Sweetie Belle’s singing, it wasn’t something she just had to realized
 
“Her powers aren’t solely connected to the Element of Magic. She didn’t have it on her in Boast Busters, and she didn’t have them on in Power Ponies. Nothing is different.”
 
What in the world are you talking about? Twilight is always the Element of Magic. They BECAME the elements of magic the day they got their cutie marks. Their elements reforged themselves into the symbols of their cutie marks, something they never did with Celestia or Luna. The necklaces are just for summoning the Elements of Harmony.
 
Twilight was the chosen Element of Magic ever since she got her cutie mark. Normal unicorn magic happens when the user wants it, as Twilight stated. Twilight ironically is the exception, she had no control over her sudden magic burst when she was little, or even when she’s older and insane.
 
@Nosfrat  
Dash’s powers were pretty powerful considering she didn’t have to move to summon tornadoes defeating almost everything.

@Gary0ak  
Nevermind what I said, I thought Mistress Marvelous was Rarity at first.

@Gary0ak  
“Mistress Marvelous used Bind/Constrict/Wrap.  
“  
Wouldn’t that be AJ?
 
Rainbow used Thunder.  
Rarity used… uh… Some random psychic bullshit that messes with items, abilities and shit?  
Fluttershy used Rage? Bulk Up? I’m not sure on this one. And Spike used Splash, at least in his opinion.  
@EHAN  
I have to agree with Dash being kinda weak, although in general Twi and her are the most ‘powerful’ and prevalent ponies in the show, so IMO there’s definitely a balance pattern in this episode.
 
AJ’s power was perfect, Fluttershy’s was pretty good but I hated the design as well, I could see it getting tagged grotesque by some sensitive faggots if it were fanmade. I love how Flutters and Dash fit Hulk and Thor, their Avengers counterparts in my headcanons. And Rarity definitely had a femme fatale thing going on with her clothing. She was too powerful compared to the rest of them but I liked how she keptspamming ‘fashionable’ stuff that has no place whatsoever in such situations. Pinkie was perfect in every possible way.

Fili-second used Extremespeed.  
Masked matter-horn used Ice beam.  
Mistress Marvelous used Bind/Constrict/Wrap.
 
 
(?)

@Nosfrat  
I don’t recall Twilight’s powers ever being useful at all until the climax of the episode. She was good at being the commander, but not for much else.
 
Rainbow Dash would be the next one that I found to be lackluster in terms of power. Can’t she already control lightning? You know, being a pegasus and all…
 
Applejack had to be told by Spike what to do, yes, but at least she got used to her power almost immediately. Plus, it fits her character well, and it’s fairly effective.
 
Fluttershy’s power is fitting and amusing to me, but my only nitpick with her power is the “Flutterhulk” design. I don’t know why, I just don’t like it.
 
Rarity was definitely the most useful. She somehow knew what to do right from the beginning, and it was pretty well utilized in the episode.
 
Pinkie Pie… well… it was fitting, useful, and good for a few laughs, especially that one line she pulls after they exit the comic book.

@EHAN  
I honestly didn’t find her much weaker than the others. She was still the ‘leader’, and had her natural magic and wings on top of her added powers.  
The others don’t have impressive powers they can use at wil in the show (apart from Pinkie maybe) so the difference was striking, but not for Twi.

@Nosfrat  
I get that, but did they HAVE to make her the WEAKEST of the group?
 
Admit it, it would have been kinda cool to see her use her magic abilities for combative purposes.

@EHAN  
And what about the S3 premiere? She uses dark magic almost naturally without a hint of trouble, and she has a spell to make gravity her personal bitch. She IS OP, no matter what anyone says, and that’s her purpose in the show. No point trying to find sense in it, the writers didn’t want her to be THE main character this time, so she wasn’t, period.

@CronoM  
What about Boast Busters? That episode basically revolved around her magic abilities.
 
Her powers aren’t solely connected to the Element of Magic. She didn’t have it on her in Boast Busters, and she didn’t have them on in Power Ponies. Nothing is different.

@EHAN  
Maybe its a callback to episode 23? When she had no magical abilities before her cutie mark(ususual for a filly)
 
Afterall, the show never established whether Twilight’s magical power was 1) latent power awakened to be the perfect element of magic, or 2) Low original magical power but good avatar to the Element of Magic’s power.
 
She is the only non-morality element of the group. They’ve kept both options as a possibility, what with her loosing control of her unstable high magic.
 
That would explain why her superhero powers were so weak…they were not connected to the Element of Magic, they were comic book powers.
 
I don’t know, maybe its an actually clever way to put her off the spotlight. Like “She’s normally OP, but she can’t take the Element of Magic for granted. She started off with an advantage the others don’t have, but without it, the only way her power is strong is if she fights for her friends.”
 
Twilight did get somewhat better, freezing the floor of ice, when her friends were really counting on her to do her part.
 
Looking at it that way, I give it kudos. :)

@Nosfrat  
Well I’m sure it’s a possibility that they downplayed Twilight’s powers to put her out of the spotlight for the rest of the characters, but what I’m saying is that she was not nearly as useful as the others. That makes it kinda unbelievable (to me at least) that she suddenly can’t do anything useful with her magic. I’m glad they gave some balance to everyone in the episode, but it feels to me like they downgraded Twilight more than they needed to.

@EHAN  
I really doubt Twilight would consider a comic book an actual book, much less a reliable source of knowledge.
 
But the fact is, I think the writers realized that we wanted to see something else than Twilight shooting shit from her horn, which she’s been doing in just about every episode she appeared in so far. For once, she wasn’t THE main character saving the day, but part of a team.

@Nosfrat  
They’re in a COMIC book. That still counts.

@EHAN
 

@Nosfrat  
But aren’t they IN a book?

@EHAN  
>no books

@Zennistrad  
Because she somehow didn’t know how to all of a sudden. Which really doesn’t make sense, due to Twilight’s extensive knowledge of magic in general.
 
Rarity, for the sake of comparison, could use her full abilities almost immediately.

@EHAN
 
She just never really used her power to its fullest degree, though.

@Zennistrad  
But she did nothing in Power Ponies. She was the weakest of everyone.