"Steven Universe: Greg Universe Special" is a one shot issue of the Steven Universe comic series published by KaBOOM! Studios. It features a collection of stories dedicated to Greg Universe.
Synopsis
Steven Universe and the rest of the Crystal Gems are bonafide heroes, saving Beach City day after day. But you know who else is a hero? Greg Universe! Steven's dad might not have Crystal Gem powers, but he's a valuable member of the team, too! This collection of shorts features father and son fun, as Greg teaches Steven some valuable life lessons.
Plot
Story 1: "Universe and the Moon"
It starts at night with Greg hanging onto the leg of a giant bird Gem monster. The Crystal Gems and Steven look on in horror as the monster poofs, leaving Greg plummeting to the ground. Garnet stretches her form to catch him. Amethyst catches the monster's gemstone. While Garnet floats them down with her shapeshifted shoulders, Greg takes a moment to marvel at the moon, assuming that Garnet has probably seen better ones as she does not seem as impressed. Greg then confesses to Garnet that he was once envious of the three Crystal Gems, and how they have seen and knew so much. He wishes he could have experienced what they have experienced. Greg concludes that while there is a lot he does not understand, there are plenty of things he does understand on Earth. However, Garnet admits that they are not all-knowing and that she does not understand humans. Greg says that most humans do not understand most humans, a fact which Garnet says she already knows. Greg then tells her that she does understand humans after all. Finally on the ground, Garnet finishes by saying that Greg was originally right: she is all knowing.
Story 2: "Pink Elephant in the Room"
It is a busy day at the car wash and Greg is overwhelmed. He calls Steven asking for help from him and the Crystal Gems. Steven tries to get the Gems to come, but they refuse. Steven goes by himself, and once there Greg explains that everyone's car had been dirtied from the previous night's sandstorm. He gives Steven a brush and tells him to start brushing. He also asks about the Gems, which Steven says were too busy to come. Disappointed, Greg says that he was counting on them to help with magic. Steven gets the idea to try and turn his fingers into elephants with trunks that spray water. He closes his eyes, but when he opens them he sees not elephant fingers, but a small purple elephant sitting nearby. Greg thinks the elephant is his sign come to life, so he asks it to wash the cars. The elephant instead starts spraying Greg and chases him down the street, cleaning the line of cars along the way. The satisfied customers give big tips, and Steven and Greg are amazed at the amount of money they made. Amethyst appears, laughing at their reaction to her elephant trick. Greg and Steven hug her and thank her for helping. Amethyst ends the story by turning back into an elephant to spray them both.
Story 3: "Now in 3D"
Steven and Greg are at the cinema to see the 3D Cookie Cat movie. Greg says that it is too bad the Gems could not make it to the theater. Steven thinks that they would have like the special Cookie Cat-inspired 3D glasses that sparkle. Garnet and Pearl do appear with their pairs of 3D glasses. Steven wonders where Amethyst is, and Pearl explains that she is eating all the food in the snack bar. After Pearl spoils the end of the movie to some other moviegoers, she and Garnet get to their seats. However, Lars is unhappy with Garnet sitting in front of him as her size and hair are blocking his view. Sadie asks Garnet politely to move a little bit, and as Garnet goes back and forth to find the best position, she ends up folding herself up in an uncomfortable looking way. Garnet thinks that they should leave, but Pearl refuses, saying that they cannot ruin Steven's day since he had been begging them to go to the theater. They notice shadow puppets on the screen, which could only have been done by Amethyst, who is still missing. Suddenly, the screen rips open, and Amethyst as a giant tentacled monster appears, yelling for Cookie Cat and the destruction of all felines. The moviegoers sans Greg, Steven, and the Gems all flee from the destruction. Later outside the cinema, Pearl scolds Amethyst for what she did. Amethyst defends herself by claiming that she was trying to entertain the people. This is seemingly confirmed by Greg and Steven's positive reviews of the events, the both of them mistaking Amethyst's stunt as a 3D scene in the film.
Story 4: "By Heart"
Greg and Steven are sitting in the back of Greg's van playing music. Greg remembers a song that he and Rose used to sing all the time and offers to teach it to Steven. He plays it first then gets Steven to try, but first Steven's ukulele needed adjustment. When Steven plays the song, Greg is overcome by emotion and cries, claiming that it had been caused by their campfire drying his eyes out.
Story 5: "Gregarious Gamers"
At the car wash, Steven brings his dad a box of his old belongings. Greg is pleased to see that the box contains his Grintendo video game system. He shows Steven the instruction booklets and explains that they are guides to the game's controls and enemy weaknesses. He claims that he would not have gotten far in The Perils of Pweepwee without that guidance. He also demonstrates how the characters look different in the game than how they look on the box. Greg asks Steven if he wants to give it a try, but Steven reminds him that he is grounded from television. So instead, Greg lets Steven take the booklet as he leaves. Once outside, Steven finds before him a group of bubble creatures which he recognizes as the enemies from Greg's game. Following the instruction booklet, Steven cuts the creatures' power source be turning off the power in the car wash. The outage lures Greg out of the car wash office to investigate, allowing Steven to slip back in and examine the Grintendo. He finds a corrupted gemstone embedded on the game cartridge and bubbles it. When Greg returns he is surprised to find Steven back, and Steven quickly makes the excuse that he wanted them to play together. Steven offers to read the hints while Greg plays so that he does not break the television rule. The story ends with them playing a Grintendo game in this manner.
Story 6: "Slam Buddies"
In the style of a T.V. commercial, Mr. Smiley introduces the action figure line Slam Buddies, featuring wrestlers from Beach City Underground Wrestling. They possess such features as real life wrestling moves (Purple Puma's Puma Punch), RealTalkFX sound chips (Tiger Millionaire's "I'm Rich!" voice line), and action so intense, it's just like being in the ring. He ends it by announcing that Slam Buddies are available wherever toys are sold.
Story 7: "Snap Shots"
In this story, each page represents one moment between Steven and Greg. The first has Steven arrive at It's A Wash with a bag of donuts, excited about a successful mission with the Gems. They sit together eating donuts while Steven described what happened and how happy he is with his progress. He wishes his dad was there to see it. Greg is euphoric to see Steven so pleased, and he tells Steven that he deserves it for working so hard.
The next scene now has Steven and Greg in a restaurant eating pizza. Steven is in despair over a mission that failed due to his mistake. Steven starts to believe that he may not be good enough. Greg tries to help Steven not be so self-critical, and that he has made plenty of mistakes in his life. However, everything works out in the end. Steven continues the meal much happier.
Later, Steven is frustrated that he cannot get some of his powers to work despite trying everything. While unscrewing the lug nut of the van's wheel, Greg suggests that Steven steps back and try not to force it. He says this while pushing the wrench so hard that the lug nut popped out and bounced away. Steven thinks that his dad may be right and if he forced his powers, they may explode back in his face. Greg says they indeed wouldn't want that.
Another scene takes place at night with the two of them sitting on the roof of the van overlooking the sea. It opens with Steven struggling to describe something scary that had happened. Greg listens with his guitar in hand, worried over Steven's distress. He tells Steven that it matters more that he made it through what happened, and that dwelling on it is not the best solution. He goes on the say that it is good to have memories, especially good ones that comfort you. While thinking of Rose, he continues to say that you cannot let good or bad memories control you. You have to keep moving forward and let things come. Steven is comforted by his father's advice, thanking him. Greg says no to this, thanking Steven instead.
Features
Characters
- Steven
- Greg
- Garnet
- Amethyst
- Pearl
- Unknown Giant Bird
- Lars
- Sadie
- Cookie Cat
- Jenny
- Rose Quartz (mentioned)
- Mr. Smiley
- Tiger Millionaire
- Purple Puma (toy)
- Loch Ness Bloggster (toy)
- Concrete Heat (toy)
- Chunk Truck (toy)
- Dashing Danny Doober (toy)
- Handsome Hank Hackleschmidt (toy)
Objects
- Greg's Van
- Greg's Grintendo System
- The Perils of Pweepwee
- Greg's Guitar
- Steven's Ukulele
Locations
- Beach City
- Beach House
- It's A Wash
- Cinema
Cover Gallery
Trivia
- At the end of "Pink Elephant in the Room", Amethyst appears in her beach outfit from "Beach Party".
- Cookie Cat's family is shown in the film during "Now In 3D" and seems to consist of a father, a mother, and a younger sibling.
- The events of "Gregarious Gamers" appears to take place somewhere between "Fusion Cuisine" and "Joy Ride" as Steven is still grounded from television.
- The name of Greg's old video game system is a play on Nintendo.