Grrl Power #404 – Weight restrictions
Sydney, don’t be bummed cause you’re not the best at everything. That’s like a rich person complaining cause the yacht daddy got them didn’t have the swimming pool on the third deck.
Those concrete bridge beams seem to weigh between 20 and 60 (English) tons depending on their overall size, at least according to some googling I did. Seems about right. I always knew Sydney would fail to lift six of them, but I didn’t realize she wouldn’t be able to lift one. So after doing some research while writing this page I totally changed the outcome… and what happens on the page after actually, but I’m flexible like that. Speaking of research, the engineering of the overpass pieces may not be quite accurate. I didn’t research that part. I just assume there’s lots of concrete and rebar involved.
By the way in the second to last panel there, Max is flying down to counter Sydney’s attempt to lift.
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16 Tons is more than Spider-Man can lift. Besides, the skill tree strongly suggests she can upgrade the lighthook, maybe more weight or range.
Spider-Man can lift up to 40 tons, a bit more if he pushes it at a risk of self-injury.
What version of Spider-Man is that? I remember the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe back in the 80’s listed his maximum press as 10 tons. A quick search revealed that Marvel’s website still describes the current Peter Parker Spider-Man as being able to lift 10 tons.
The Marvel RPG, boxed set all about Spider-Man, titled “Webs.” He was not *always* that strong but years of web-slinging & finally getting through those “awkward high school years” had built up what was once a meager set of muscles.
The boxed set was produced in 1992. This was well before the re-boots that included Spider-Man Unlimited & others. It used statistics on various versions of Spider-Man up to that point, including his six-armed period (thankfully that didn’t last long, because you know, secret ID & all that). That current stats at the time of publishing Webs, his Strength was listed as Incredible (31-40 tons, as defined by the RPG Advanced rules).
last i checked he had the physical strength range of 10-15 men
Well, the only actual in-comic statement on the subject says 40 men. Which, assuming strong men, puts him and Sydney in similar range. All the people saying 40 tons are using the RPG numbers, but AFAIK those are not canon.
thought it was mentioned when green goblin hired the punisher to off him
It was the Jackal, not Green Goblin.
Yeeeeah, the whole ‘proportional strength of a spider’ line. What they’re really missing with that is that a spider’s strength is based on the fact that its body structure doesn’t use muscles like we do. It’s hydraulic. Presumably something in Spider-Man’s alteration reworks how his muscles function to operate on hydraulic principles.
Also, apparently it’s the perfect weight for cartoon slapstick comedy.
Daniel here. I remember watching a Animaniacs “scientific examination” into why 16 ton weights are used so often to drop on people. Can’t remember all the details, but I do remember they tried 15.99 Tons, got a moment of amusement from their subject, but they went into a deep depression… :P
I’m certain it was Animaniacs,but I can’t find it anywhere on Youtube. Maybe someone else knows what I mean & where it can be found…
I know what you’re talking about, but there’s also a comedy factor in “a ton of bricks.”
That depends on whether you go by the comics or the Handbook of The Marvel Universe. In the comics, his “hold on and don’t drop” strength tops out at about two tons, in the official handbook he can military press ten tons.
I hope there are some Beetle Bailey moments here,for instance….
Maxima cussing out Sydney and she should use the standard comic cursing symbols which represent the most foul mouth of swearing.
During that,Maxima would turn her head and her eyes get bigger…
A nun walks by and Maxima breaks out in a cold sweat and says “And I hope you heard me well Sydney.”
Umm, none of that sounds in character with Maxi though
Making Sailors+Nuns blush is more Sydney’s job:
See these two pages:
Grrl Power #32 – Oh Snap!
Grrl Power #33 – So a sailor and three nuns were going to the bank…
Maxima cussing out Sydney and she should use the standard comic cursing symbols which represent the most foul mouth of swearing.
Yes their official designation are called grawlix. Thought the asterisk line is being used now. Like F**k you.
I did wonder how much she could lift through the orbs. I wonder if she just isn’t using the entire power of those spheres just yet.
Well there is the upgrade chart…
Oh hey, has anyone heard from Yorpie lately?
No, don’t think so, gimme a few..
*Goes into Archives, chooses a random comic then uses a [Ctrl F] search to find Yorp entries*
Wow, seems I went back a bit too far…
Ah, here’s Yorp’s last comment, back at the start of the interview with Dues;
“I haz no internet now. And will be snowed in before I can get a replacement service provider hooked up.
*waves paw bye bye*
See y’all sometime in the future.
Hmmm, bugger. Nothing since either. Unless the dog is now lurking around in a new disguise, perhaps a black hood? Eh, a random thought…
Maybe we need a dog to sniff him out? Does that work, sniffing out a dog with a dog…?
We should call David Bowie. He was the first to find Waldo, so maybe he could find Yorp too.
https://acidsquirrel.com/post/91646
Oh wait…I forgot. We’d need a Spiritual Medium or an Ouija Board to call him.
(sobs)
Miss puppy :( Hope he manages to dig himself out of the snow soon
Must be a little tired: thought you said we would need a Squirrel Medium at first!
No! This is a subject that we need to keep out of the paws of those Evil Squirrel Overlords! Just like government, everything they touch screw things up for everybody!
Has anyone thought to check the local animal shelters and kennels?
Welp, if he comes back and browses the archives at some point:
We miss you, Yorp! You’re a good dog!
So, am I the only one who has Tennessee Ernie Ford playing in my head right now?
Nope.
Not at all, two different versions were posted on the first page :D
If you see me coming better
Step aside
A lot of men didn’t
And a lot of men died…
You know, that one song: Sixteen Tons.
“One fist of Iron
another of Steel.
If the Left don’t get ya
than the Right one will.”
“16 tons, and whaddya get?
Another day older, and deeper in debt!”
Watch out for that company store, Sydney!
“Saint Peter don’t you call me ‘cuz I can’t go,
I owe my soul to the company store”
Idea comma edit “company” into “comic book”.
or game, or book, or internet provider.
She could still lift 30 thousand pounds of bananas.
Does Max have to fly a little while lifting one of those? Even if she were standing on solid sedimentary rock, she’d be exceeding the bearing capacity of the ground by at least a factor of ten.
Catch a falling steel beam? Unless they’re super-super, most supers would just be driven like a super-tough tent stake into the ground.
They would have to attempt to counter the downward force with their upward thrust, without cutting or breaking the beam in half
But good question: was Hiro flying when he was carrying that beam last page? (But somehow, that doesn’t make sense or the beams would be sinking into the ground)
I remember a bit about Zero Point Telekinesis, in one of Dabblers Q&A sets. As long as a super strong can get a good grip on things, they can generally handle them without issue. Like lifting an ambulance by them bumper, or catching something really heavy.
LOL Funny you should mention that Dabbler Q&A session, I happen to have fund it earlier…
Seems Max has 0-range telekinesis (thankyou spell checker :P), which basically means she puts her energy field around the object she’s picking up, strengthening it. I guess she’d instinctively fly a bit too, to negate her new weight increase…
…Wonder how many times she sunk into the ground before working that little extra detail out…
Well, its possible her 0 range TK would have an affect on the ground she is standing on. Then, no sinking and no flying required.
Reminds me of that joke on Big Bang Theory “If Superman ACTUALLY caught Lois Lane like he did in the comics, she’d be split into three equal parts by the force involved.” Though I suppose the Kryptonian TK explanation DC keeps trying to pull intermittently would explain that in some storylines.
Contrary to limited but popular belief Superman’s powers are not based on telekinesis. He is actually manipulating cosmic strings (as in string theory) and I can prove it. Superman can hear a gun cocking from miles away and arrive in time to stop the bullet. By the speed of sound the bullet should have struck the target before the sound would even reach Superman. This means that he’s hearing the sounnd, not when it reaches him, but as it’s being made. He clearly does not have omniscience or omnipresence so he must be using string entanglement for that sound to reach him in time. He also uses strring manipulation for strength, speed, flight, etc. When he “lifts” a tank he’s really warping reality around the object to give it a new native location. That’s why he can “push” a planet when his strength to mass ratio should make him pass right through it. It’s why he can manifest new powers at random. He doesn’t realize just how powerful he could really be if he mastered the full scope of his abilities.
Or he could be subconsciously detecting the intent to fire on the part of the gunman as an act of telepathy, which would back up the telekinetic argument.
*side note; lumpers are people that move products from one position to another. Humpers, are just horny.
And “jumpers” are just downers.
I thought lumpers were people from lumpy space.
Was in reference to footnote on comic.
I have never heard of lumping in that context. According to the online dictionaries I looked at your “lumper” would appear to be someone who builds mounds or drags something along the ground. Whereas your “humper” would be someone carrying heavy stuff or arching their back. I believe DaveB has used humping correctly.
Tonne (metric) = 1000 kilograms, 2204.6 pounds, 1.10 short tons (US) or 0.984 long tons (imperial).
For what sixteen tonnes actually looks like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnUOdgrZj7g 4:30.
or 8 cars.
That. Only. Raises. More. Questions.
Dammit!
How much can each one of her balls lift? Can the Light Hook lift more by bracing against something? Is it’s lifting capacity effected by leverage or weight distribution? Does force applied to the orb itself modify the lifting weight of the Light Hook? How much weight can Sydney lift with the force-field and fly orb?
Believe only one of her balls can lift anything (unless one of the UO’s has that ability)Didn’t read the and and the Flight and Bubble Ball comboDepends if the Molestorb can ‘stiffen’ to be used as a modified lever
One question that Sydney should think about: How does the load-bearing capacity of the Lighthook affect her Flight performance? If she’s carrying 16 tons, does that reduce her acceleration rate & by how much? Given time, she might even get that load up to the speed where she would absolutely need her Force Field Orb to keep the wind from tearing her apart (or more likely, prevent her from breathing). The Flight Orb has it’s own minor field that helps Sydney against wind forces, but beyond a certain speed, she needs the full-fledged Force Field for protection.
Once questions like this can be answered, can you imagine Sydney hauling 16 tons up to speed & using the weight to slam into something else?
O.o
If you need a bigger bullet, Sydney can certainly work on that…
One problem with that: Sydney currently can only hold two of her balls at that same time, and you would have her using the Lighthook, Flight and Force Field Orbs
Maybe if she juggled – you know, swapping between the balls really, really fast so that she didn’t plunge out of the sky, and also keeping her weighty weapon where she wants it.
It would take a lot of skill, coordination, and concentration to successfully pull off, but those are not some of Sydney’s strengths.
She could possibly team up with Xochitl for a 3rd hand assist. The other hand would hold onto Halo. Of course, nothing has been established, just hinted.
So we’d need that one super to be strapped to her with skin-to-skin contact, probabably back-to-back so that she has two hands free. Now there’s room for FOUR balls at once!
Or Xochitl with a Sydney bjorn!
DaveB has already told us that her Flight Orb does have its own automatic minor “forcefield” power that has a limited ability to protect Sydney somewhat from the sheering forces of high speed wind…But has not yet said what the upper limits of that can do. So it would be safe to say that she could go somewhat faster than a normal unprotected person could go before they could no longer breathe.
And a preemptive Super punch to the balls of anyone who makes any jet fuel jokes concerning beams…
What? o_O
Sounds like a reference to 9/11?
How long can the Light Hook actually get? Wrapping around all those beams seems much longer than I recall it going before. Also, can the Light Hook get cut? Why doesn’t it emanate from her hand? Can she choose where it begins and she hasn’t noticed/tried this yet? Why can’t she get it into the shield? Why blue? IS there a reason for the colors that we’ll be made privy to soon? We will eventually get an explanation for where these came from, right? Upcoming evil dude that Dabbler stole from…Is that upcoming? Will we ever find out what Maxima’s skin is made of? Is there going to be a real reason for Max’s purple hair and lips, or is it simply because the colors went well with gold? Will Sydney ever get that level progress chart she wants? Is it a per action XP system, so she should fly all the time to passively gain XP throughout the day? Or is it more of a “Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon” style XP system, life altering event/ life risking fight? How many levels are there going to be? The tree’s size suggest either a lot, or a very few that you have to choose carefully from. Is there a reset eventually for that poor lost talent point she accidentally spent? Is it called a talent point? Like what’s the official terminology for the skill/talent/passive/upgrade/whatever tree thingy? And the …points? Points it uses.
Have I asked too many questions? I think so. XD. But then, clearly I spend too much time thinking about this comic, so…..I suppose it’s a compliment? In a kind of creepy way. Like odd comic stalking, sort of. …I’m a smidge tired ATM so my facade of sanity is slipping. Sorry.
Well, from the fight at the OK Steakhouse, we saw that the energy tentacle from the orb actually starts at a short distance beyond Sydney’s hand, separate from the orb itself …And in any case, if the Force Field is also in use, she doesn’t (at least, not yet) have the ability to make the Lighthook usable inside the force field.
Yes, today’s comic seems to be the longest Lighthook that Sydney has ever produced (so far) so we still have no definitive answer on what it’s maximum length actually is…And there’s still the possibility that “leveling up” on that orb may increase it’s effective strength and/or length.
As for the rest of those questions, we’ll have to leave it to DaveB to answer them…in time. Hey, there’s a lot about them that Sydney doesn’t even know yet…
…. and here we see a Maxima in the wild in the closest thing yet to be considered an actual military uniform. :P I can’t be the only one to find it a bit odd how she’s managed to not really wear a proper military uniform through most of the comic despite being in an active command role. That get up from the bank doesn’t count ether. No way that would be cleared by the military as an official uniform of any kind. >.>
Actually, we have seen her in official Dress Aubergine (did we ever figure out the name for their Dress Uniform?) during the press conference
I said most of the time. That is the one time we’ve seen her in a full uniform. And those are the USAF dress blues btw. Navy is white and if I remember correctly, marines and otherwise army are a tan.
Thought the Marines were purple
Have to remember: this is only Day Three
U.S. Marines
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KaS6a4-FtZA/TmOvIFRIsBI/AAAAAAAAEx0/oX9IQmLbKBs/s1600/Us+army+enlisted+dress+uniform.jpg
U.S. Army
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/US-NEW-CLASS-A-UNIFORM.png
U.S. Navy
Dress Blues
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/US_Navy_041001-N-0683J-033_Lt._Jack_Benfield,_acting_Chief_Engineer_aboard_the_guided_missile_destroyer_USS_Shoup_%28DDG_86%29,_inspects_enlisted_personnel.jpg
Dress Whites
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/US_Navy_091002-N-3442D-001_Members_of_the_U.S._Navy_Ceremonial_Guard_stand_at_parade_rest_before_the_start_of_the_retirement_ceremony_for_Rear_Adm._Jon_W._Bayless_Jr._and_Rear_Adm._Edward.jpg
https://www.navy.gov.au/sites/default/files/S3-Officer.jpg
U.S. Air Force
https://air-force.cc/airforce0uni.gif
Huh, only ever seen my buddy in the tan tops for the marines. I’ll have to ask him for some formal pics of the blues. Dunno anyone else in army and my family has only ever had to pull out the whites on occasion in the Navy.
Don’t forget: Maxi was in the US Air Force
Yeah, the Navy uses the Dress Blues (I dunno, they always looked outright black to me though) for the winter season & the Dress Whites for summer. Both the Whites & the Blues had two different versions: the Blues had wool or cotton (the cotton version were sometimes called the “Johnny Cash Blues”) & the Whites had either polyester with long sleeve top or cotton short sleeve shirt.
Oh yeah…The dress shoes for both kinds of uniforms were NOT equipped with steel toes…
ARCHON is considered law enforcement, no specifically military. Para-military would be more accurate, subsidized and authorized by the government. As such, the uniform requirements would be less strict than for Army or Marine Corps, etc.
Also, in the bank, she was not officially `on duty’. Soldiers and Marines and sailors don’t wear a uniform 24/7; once they go off duty, they can generally wear whatever they want. A female Marine at the beach can be sporting a thong; uniform regulations aren’t nearly as strict as you may think, Cortanis…and even within the actual uniforms, there’s a wide variation of styles, from full dress all the way down to utilities and battle dress.
I’d assume ARCHON has a lot more liberal set of uniform regulations than our standard military…and that’s pretty broad.
Even if the Lighthook has a sixteen ton weight limit, Sydney should be able to lift those beams if she uses the Lighthook to create a reinforced networked structure pushing against the ground. She just needs to think creatively instead of trying to he-man it.
That’s assuming it’s not a “Lighthook only draws enough power to exert a total of 16 tons of force at a given time” situation. It wouldn’t surprise me terribly if structural bracing didn’t work with a fluid energy construct.
The structural integrity of the lighthook clearly exceeds its lifting power, since it doesn’t even budge at max pull. Or over max pull, since Vehemence was able to untie it.
random thought based on last page’s final panel joke: are the vote incentives the “sexy photo exchange program” gallery/album? if so, how did we get ahold of them? and, as a final thought, yeah, i can’t wait till it’s syd’s turn.
Forgive me for putting real world physics into this, but does a concrete beam have the structural integrity to be supported by her two small (in comparison to the beam) hands? I’m thinking it might break in half because of the sheer weight on either side of the lifting point.
0-Point TK: the same reason she was able to lift the ecnalubma after the ‘bank siege’ without ripping off it’s bumper
What in the world is an ecnalubma? I don’t think I’ve ever . . .
Oh, yeah. I get it now.
*Chortle*
Read it first in a book about an alien who lands on earth, she looks completely human and is transported to a hospital in an ambulance, and most ambulance’s have the name reversed on the front so that when you see them in your rear-view mirror you can quickly tell what it is :D
Yeah, I made that point about Hero on the last page. Yes the concrete would survive the compression, but not necessarily the tension or shear forces around the hands. However, Hero is able to absorb and re-exude sound somehow and Maxima has some sort of limited field effect for her powers, so it’s not to unreasonable to assume those are in play.
Maybe it’s a good thing that Sydney wasn’t able to lift those beams. Too many times, when I try to lift many planks at once, they end up crossing each other and half or more of them fall to the ground. Imagine if Sydney accidentally dropped five 35 ton beams all at once.
From the looks of it, Sydney wasn’t attempting to lift them from one point, but from several lifting points, to help even out the load (it’s like the difference between lifting something with your arms touching from your elbows to your hands and your arms held shoulder width apart)
16 tons, what do you get. Another day older and deeper in debt.
Which version is that one? We already have had a couple versions of T E Ford, plus Johnny Cash and some choir group (or acapella or something)
Just wait until Syd figures out she can turn those tentacles into simple machines, like pulleys, that’ll give her some serious leverage.
what about leverage?
Okay is that 16 tons lifting weight, push/drag or what? Cause i can personally lift about a 350 lb man and carry him around(for a short while anyway) if need be, but push/drag i can move about a thousand pounds without any leverage boosting or friction reducing machines(wheels) or is it similar to telekinesis in that way in that leverage and friction don’t really matter and as such lifting and dragging weight are considered about even?
Blue orb, Top Line, located in the power up chart here…https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1166…I would bet what little money I have, the two dots are for the strength, and the bottom line would probably be for length.
Yes, but what about girth? o_O
Hey, this is strip 404 – I’m surprised you could find it……
I’ve now just realised on a reread.
I had originally thought that Vehemence had used some skillful twist to get out of Sydney’s lighthook back in – if there is a 16 ton weight limit, then of course he was strong enough to release himself out of the lighthook grip just by sheer brute force.
I don’t know how much a space shuttle weighs but I’m guessing it’s more than 16 tons.
The lighthook can lengthen on command, making it hard to snap. Sydney could stretch it out as he struggled then made it spring back when he tried to slip out. He got out of it by outsmarting her knot.
Sounds like she needs to practice what she can do with them. Maybe with Math.
I assume that soon there will not just be normal training but experimenting/training with what she can and can’t do?
YOU LIFT SIXTEEN TONS AND WHAT DO YOU GET
YOU LIFT SIXTEEN TONS AND WHAT DO YOU GET
Been there. Done that.
last panel where is halos hands arms ? it looks weird?
They’re supposed to be stuffed in her coat pockets, but admittedly her arms are too short.
ooooh ok now i see it! :D
but yeah a tiny bit longer :D
Am I the only to notice there’s ten rods and only 8 holes? Hotdogs and buns.
Sixteen tons, and wad’da’ya get…
Been there. Done that.
Been there, done that.