Grrl Power #330 – Action zeroing the needle
I don’t know a ton about guns, but I know enough that a standard car door isn’t going to do much to stop a bullet, especially not something coming out of a rife. Now I don’t know if your standard police cruiser has slightly tougher doors – I assume they’re at least a little bit armored. Every movie and TV show ever has cops popping out of their car and taking cover behind the doors. I guess it’s better than nothing even if it isn’t armored as it kind of hides you, but even if they’re armored like battleship plating it seems like a good way to get shot in the feet.
Most cop/detective/etc show have people being moderately intelligent about using cover, but as soon as you stray anywhere near action hero territory, it seems like the good guy never wins because he uses his environment tactically, he wins merely because the bad guys can’t hit squat. How many times have you seen a hero running down a hallway or across a clearing while multiple people fire automatic weapons at him? Can you think of a single scene like that where the guy even tries to zig zag? No, he runs in a straight line, usually in slow motion cause it looks more dramatic. If no one firing at him had ever handled a gun before, ok, then I’d buy that the hero could escape unscathed, but usually he’s up against mercenaries or soldiers of some sort, and presumably they’re familiar with their weapons.
I may need to tweak Peggy’s dialog a little on this page as “Firearms 101” isn’t the name of an actual course in the military. Also I’m pretty sure “technical manuals and regs” isn’t the right lingo either, but I wasn’t sure how to phrase it. Asking about this stuff on Twitter gets a lot of different answers as it seems every branch does things a little bit differently.
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You are suppost to take cover behind the front of the car because while a car door will not stop anything above a .22 (even that is questionable) the engine block can take anything commonly available.
Yup. Although it is always good to see if there are better options available than a car. Most buildings would be way better alternatives, for example. Of course, if you are in the vehicle, when trouble kicks off then other options may not be readily available. So your advice is sound, provided that your enemies are:
1) In a known location
2) Clumped in fairly close proximity
3) Unable to move to flanking positions
Otherwise cars can leave you dreadfully exposed. Especially ones that have a big flashing light, on the top, so that all the bad guys know where you are, even if you do not know where they are!
The grasshopper has found the grass to be very hoppable.
And they way… ppplllliant.
Hopefully not too pliant, cause that splatters the screen too much when I say it.
I actually fully expect her to figure out some way to make those fighting styles a reality with her orbs.
Orrbbzzzzz… They’re like bees, but circular… and powerful.
God I love Peggy. Great sense of humour.
Yea, I have enjoyed her (usually) low key humour from the outset. Love how she went overboard this time though.
I must admit I found her extensive tattoos a bit intimidating, at first. Normally you would associate that with someone who is a bit too … mmm… ‘counter-culture’ for my tastes. But I can see that she is a really nice person, so got over that quickly.
For instance she was highly supportive of Sydney’s dietary peculiarities, unlike the gossip Harem. Plus was quick to show her disapproval of the latter, by glaring at her.
So subtly funny a lot, but serious when it is necessary. And outrageously funny, when that is appropriate. I like that balance.
I sometimes have difficulty remembering that not every female character with a unique hairstyle and unusual hair color is Harem. Peggy here had me fooled for a while. The arrows that said “Also Harem” helped a lot in the early comics, but I suppose she’s been in enough panels that I should recognize all five of her by now.
Peggy’s scars are a good aid to picking her out. Pink hair though is not as distinctive in Archon as it is in the rest of society. I think that some hair dying manufacturer offered them a good marketing deal. ;-)
Peggy’s advice is pretty boilerplate for military marksman and civilian firearm training. The headsmack is (usually) excluded, but I’ve seen it on trainers’s faces how badly they wish they could use it to stress how important it is, especially to denser trainees.
Having seen Sydney reprogram her own mind with high impact, Peggy’s approach will probably be very effective.
Some movies do present a decent view of weapons use. Also, let’s all remember that Teflon by itself does not improve penetration, and using handguns on hard body armor usually ends in you pissing the other person off. Also, cars… What car is it? Are we talking an MRAP? A generic armor car? Someone’s Honda Civic?
if anyone asks yes police car doors are usually armored, they usually have an extra layer of steel and kevlar reinforcement just in case, the problem is that armor weights a fuck ton and a police vehicle not only needs to be tough it also needs to be fast which is why they arent more armored, they also usually have some really good engines to maximize speed in case of a persecution and stuff like that
of course it isnt a, armored transport vehicle but at least knowing that you can get behind a door and not get filled with lead is a good aid
Peggy learns fast. Maxima saw howe Sydney reset her reflexes and Paggy used that knowledge effectively. Well done.
Just had a fun thought. Assuming the shield orb has a 1-way upgrade to allow for projectiles, Sydney could totally pull off those action scenes.