Grrl Power #127 – A cautionary clause
This page is a little light on content… well, panels anyway, not dialog. It was some stuff I thought that needed to be said, but I was trying to lay it out in a way that would leave me time to get a head start on the next page. Only it turns out I needed all that time for the vote incentive for February. It’s Harem doing a Playboy shoot (she’s in lingerie but it’s a little PG-13) It’s a piece I’m doing for the Valentine’s Day Sex Drive, which is basically just an excuse to draw one or more of your characters in the buff. That version will probably wind up on the DeviantArt page so you don’t have to worry about accidental boobies here.
If this page gets you excited about Superhero public relations, there’s a comic out there just for you called The Hero Business, which is basically if someone made a comic about Arianna. Or someone with her job in a slightly more tongue in cheek superhero world. Actually the PR person in The Hero Business looks a bit like her coincidentally enough.
SuperheroThey're super, thanks for asking!
Meatspace ComicSeriously these are awesome. Check 'em out!
Not UpdatingNo longer updating or only updates sporadically, but definitely worth reading.
SeriouslySeriously you guys. If you like Grrl Power the check these out.
"Mature"Mature subject matter and occasionally something explicit but usually safe. Can't guarantee the ads are safe though.
Dongs Ahoy!Full frontal and backal. Lots of skin, sex on some or all pages, explicit or otherwise.
After reading your comment I have to agree that is a very nice pen.
As for Sydney’s condition I have to agree that it will rotate around her dayjob at the comic book store in some way. Only thing we do not know yet is what the condition is (easily resolved next week unless dave wants to pull the evil cliffhanger trick) and how it will affect the comic store.
I am curious as to if we will get a slight time jump to when we saw sydney heading into work from the Comic store. That and how Sydney will deal with both villans and Vigilantes (not doubting there will be some for her to face, the Government doesn’t like citizens taking the law into their own hands in almost any country, real or fictional)
Is Halo going to get a make-over!? When you say “outfitted” does that mean a sort of newish-style?! That would be cool!
I doubt it… otherwise, the comic would be retconned, as we’ve already seen Sydney sometime after her enlistment.
Seeing as Maxima addresses her as corporal rather than cadet or private, and this is Sydney we’re talking about, so advancing through the ranks wouldn’t exactly be easy for her.
Do you think she wants her own Comic Book Series?
Clever technique, by the way, having Arianna’s pose extend over three panels. Quite appropriate too, given that her situation would not be changing significantly in that part of the scene, as opposed to Sydney’s.
One thing that we have neglected to mention is how very expressive the characters have been in these talking scenes, Sydney in particular. Dave has been going overboard in bringing emotion into their faces.
My favourites are:
Sydney’s look at the thought of unwanted fame (that really parallels my own feelings on the matter) in this comic.
Her musing, in panel 4 of the last comic, over Wolverine not being as good at his role as she had thought before (it spurs thoughts of “is her crush on Wolverine fading, now that she has been getting hot flushes over Leon?”).
And, the final panel, the week prior to that, where Sydney is feeling sheepish over Arianna rebuking her over the Roofies comment. At first I was a bit unsure of the image (not quite sure why, maybe the head seemed a bit big, with her all scrunched up). Although she was adorable regardless, particularly putting her fingers together like that. And it has grown on me more and more, as being indicative of her character.
Not to mention the fact that it has a glowering Maxima in the background. Very clearly voicing her thoughts on the comment, without a word needing to be said. All in all, superb art!
Thanks! The expressions are important to me, I think that comes from all the manga I’ve read. The more realistic style of mainstream comics (if you can call it that) tends toward very dour expressions, everything is so serious all the time it seems like the primary expression on every page is “grimace.” I was reading some X-men: Wolverine’s School for Mutants book today, and I liked the art, the expressions were quite a bit more varied that you usually see in some comics, but about halfway through the book I noticed that no one had their mouth open when they were talking. I think that’s ok in the occasional picture, but page after page of it started getting really distracting.
Nothing can kill the Grimace.
then how was the speech bubble comes out? through the nose?
Maybe She should get a spartan suit
The team does use code-names, like Anvil, Dabbler, Halo, etc
But I guess the thinking was a superteam is going to be a focus of intense media attention, so papparatzi would eventually figure out who most of the team is, even if they aren’t as distinctive as Anvil or Maxima.
Interestingly, now that I think about it, since this team consists of most of the “known” supers, that means there haven’t been any supervillains going around robbing banks or Fort Knox or whatever. Something like that would immediately bring the fact of existing supers to media attention; since the media isn’t paying attention, nothing like that has happened. What I’m getting at is: why is the govt bothering to do this? If supers are largely law-abiding types, then who is ARC gearing to confront?
I am quite curious to see what comes in that regard…
Arianna says that Halo will be amongst the first super heroes. I think that the existence of super villains has simply not been mentioned yet, albeit that it may have been implied. Though, she does also state that powers are very rare. Ergo if there are super villains, there will not be huge numbers of them.
As the topic has not been addressed beyond that (to my recollection), then the field is open for anything from blatant super villain activity has taken place. Through such occurring, but the individuals have been discreet about it, and the government has kept things quiet to avoid alarming the public, until they have ARC up and running to counter it. All the way to the situation you have implied, which is that there have not yet been any known villain activities.
In the last case, that has never stopped governments taking massive precautions against potential threats. By example think of the vast time and resources spent on debatable precautions against the possibility of terrorism. Despite the fact that you are vastly more at risk of dying from a car accident (and/or gun shot wounds, if in the U.S.) than terrorism.
Some measures are sensible, others little more than expensive public relations exercises. Personally I dislike the fact that you cannot take drinking water with you through airports nowadays. Because of the threat of liquid explosives.
Just think how much more extreme countermeasures might be considered necessary to reduce the risks from known or suspected super-powers. If you were to try and enhance mundane defences nation/worldwide versus the huge gamut of possible threats, it would be mind-bogglingly expensive.
But if you can set up a specialist team with a variety of capabilities (such as the ability to see through illusions and invisibility), their mere existence acts as a deterrent against many of the possibilities.
As to what form the dangers could take? Any that the real world poses, but with super thrown in the mix. Super-terrorists/rebels, foreign agents, criminals (of whatever flavour suit the powers they have), lunatics etc.
Not to mention those uniquely introduced by the presence of supers (e.g. somebody who causes insanity to anyone in the vicinity, perhaps inadvertently). And the possibility of whole races of aliens/magical beings also with super powers (so there could be one, or many, mischievous or hostile members of Dabbler’s race, for example).
Also, I do remember Maxima mentioning there being a few “suppressed incidents” in her interview with Susie “News” while answering a question very similar to AlpineBob’s.
I had totally forgotten about the “suppressed incidents” comment. I am chagrined. That was over a year ago, though, so I’ll get over it.
Anyway, I’ll take it as given that the suppression has been effective, (which in RL it could never be, unless the “incidents” were military or covert actions). So, with that comment, Maxima let the classified cat out of the bag. She didn’t mention a specific incident, though, so she I expect she won’t be charged. And as they are planning a press conference anyway, the point is moot.
Back to the main point – there are some sort of super baddies out there, and the gvt has been uncharacteristically quick and effective about setting up a response. They were lucky they already had some supers in the military to tap…
Yorp, your point about extreme preventative measure is well put. But without an actual threat I doubt such a force could be created in secret; squabbling between power blocs over perceived wastage of public funds would, I think, inevitably lead to leaks. Then again, if it was proposed as a quick response team to combat terrorists, it might well be green-lighted by both factions.
D’oh! I messed up the close italic after specific! More chagrin.
And I had also forgotten “Power to Reshelve Faster than a Bullet” and “That Flying Rescue Guy!” So some supers are already known. And any bad super incidents suppressed. Got it.
OK, I’m back with the program, and ready to read on. :)
As you may have noticed, I tend to play devil’s advocate. Not with the intention of being argumentative, but purely because I enjoy exploring alternatives. So, that said:
In our world, sure. But who know’s what supers might be influencing their world on the politics side of things? An example: someone with the ability to either make people forget things, or more subtly, just not pay attention to them. “These are not the droids you are looking for” type manipulation. Except not on an individual scale but on a national or global scale.
“Ignore those reports of super criminals, it is just regular crime. Folks have always put rubber masks over their heads when robbing banks. That is all this is. Change the channel and watch something interesting instead. No need to talk about it tomorrow. And next polling day, don’t forget that you think increased taxation to fight crime is a good thing.”
Last paragraph. Do you know of Cthulhu? Thats the first thing that popped into my head the second I read that.
(sing to the tune of “Hakuna Matatta” from “The Lion King”)
Cthulhu Ftaghn! What a wonderful phrase!
Cthulhu Ftaghn! Say it and you’re crazed!
It means Cthulhu rising up from the waves!
It’s a prophecy…we’ll all soon see!
Cthulhu Ftaghn!
Cthulhu Ftaghn! Now we’re in for strange days!
Cthulhu Ftaghn! Turns planets into buffets!
and Great Cthulhu spares whoever obeys!
So get off of me…you monstrosity!
Cthulhu Ftaghn!
— Credit goes to Tom Smith and The Great Luke Ski for the above song.
Ahh, I see you know my arch-nemesis! But, do not worry, I can protect you from his dark powers. If my warding fails though, you must look out for the three stages of madness!
Stage 1: Hairs growing on the palms of your hands.
Stage 2: Singing songs of praise to the dark lord Cthulhu.
Stage 3: Looking for hairs growing on the palms of your hands!
You’ve got that the wrong way around. Hair growing in the palms of your hands is the third stage. Looking for them is the first.
Avoid Australia folks! It looks like 3rd stage insanity has reached there. Compounded with an attempted cover up!
Psh. It’s an old gag down here. You tell people that the second sign of madness is hairs in the palm of your hands… Then tell them the first sign is looking for them when they glance down.
I actually got someone with that in IRC once. It was hilarious.
Yeah, our ‘backwoods’ cousin has it correct: you tell them the 2nd stage is hair growing on the palms of their hands, and when they look (or they tell you they don’t) you tell them the 1st stage is looking :P
The conspiracy is spreading! RUN FOR THE HILLS! Chthulu’s minions are everywhere!
Think about the baser instincts of humans, heroes would be scarce, villains would be plentiful. The bad guys would be especially plentiful among the non-geek population who haven’t been conditioned to think superpowers=hero. You give the average citizen superpowers and you’re going to have someone that will be holding up Wall Street for all they’ve got. I know that if I was to suddenly develop superpowers I would be sorely tempted to “re-educate” a few politicians. And to be perfectly honest I don’t know if I could resist that temptation.
I agree in principle, but villain != supervillain. If, say, one person in every million had a superpower that made them good at winning fights, I think we’d see a lot of them holding up banks. (Literally, in the case of super-strength.) But I would not expect to see any supers building sky fortresses and calling themselves Doctor Malicious, or leading organized crime rings, or anything like that.
Mostly because there’s nothing to gain from it. Superheroes can live with celebrity; thrive on it, even. But if a supervillain becomes famous for his crimes, the police will be on his doorstep with some piercing questions. If he fights off the police, the Army comes with some other piercing things. (And, in the Grrl Power world, a superpowered Lt. Commander.)
If you want to rob a bank, you do it in such a way that it can’t be traced back to you. You wear a mask, don’t leave fingerprints, and conceal your identity. You don’t dress up in a snazzy costume and hire a public relations manager.
You’re assuming the supervillains are acting sanely, there. I do belive it underestimates the MAD in MAD scientist not to expect a few flamboyant (if short lived…) ones.
their not mad, just slightly annoyed
*Looks suspiciously at the ear-ring*
That jewelry looks strange. Like it was created by the mind of a deranged, otherworldly, evil intellect. You look like you may be part of the conspiracy! An agent of Cthulhu!
It’s called being an implement of scheming — and not being a minion type thing like a redshirt who keeps dying.
People are human, and well, you are probably right. There are many good people in the world, and I have long thought that most, given powers, would not abuse them. The parable of the good samaritan implies as much. Though now that I reflect, plenty of people walked by before the samaritan stopped.
Hmmm…
OK, I now think the vast majority, if given powers, would hide them under a bushel, much as Sydney has, and for the same reasons, unless they could be used covertly. Anybody remember “Firestarter”?
ah, but the military tradition of callsigns is not the same thing as an alias, codename, or secret identity. Almost every pilot in the 5 services (and likely a good number of civilian pilots as well) has a callsign, but they don’t hide their real names.
Callsigns. Good point. I’m so used to thinking in superhero terms that I totally disregarded the military ramifications. Heck, even truckers have been known to use callsigns, so it ain’t just pilots and such.
That look on maxima’s face is nearly priceless… “uh, oh. here it comes.” or “Are we going to regret this?”
Or the way Arianna immediately flips the pen away?
I’m having trouble buying this exchange. All three points seem awkwardly presented and Sydney’s responses don’t line up.
Sydney’s line “But I get to be a superhero” seems hard to swallow because she already fits the prerequisites for being a superhero. Right now she’s had her powers for some number of months, and has done nothing with them. She has’t even used her powers for casual purposes, or convenience. What exactly is driving her to want to be a superhero? The experience at the bank? The idea of support from a team? Blind fangirling over seeing so many supers in one day acting so casually? It doesn’t make sense that she’d want to be a superhero for its own sake because up to now she’s shown no interest in doing anything at all with her powers except hiding them.
Secondly, the fame issue. Setting aside that she’s genre-savvy and should have a real problem with this, she owns a store. Does it even occur to her that she already has a life? I mean, it’s one thing to make the decision to join a military police force; it’s not a terrible decision. But she blinks past the fact that this is a major life change without even stopping to think about her current life, saying “Eh, sounds great?” It’s literally been, what, a minute since they extended the offer and she’s only hesitating enough to dismiss any and all concerns out of hand, other than the possibility of having a bad power.
I realize the plot is kind of on rails heading towards this big press release, and pacing is an issue, but that means stuff like this should have been either skipped over completely or else saved for later in the story. Giving the protagonist a chance to respond to these kinds of big issues in a completely thoughtless way adds nothing to the story and makes her less likable. This is the first page in this comic I’ve genuinely disliked.
Up until she was assured otherwise, Sydney’s been afraid that she’d be captured and subjected to testing (or at least locked up so the orbs can be tested). That fear would be a good reason not to go all Superhero on her own. So far in this single day, she’s been assured that she would not be locked away, talked with a bunch of other supers, and made a connection with a big golden one (who still will learn to call herself a nerd… WITH PRIDE!). So perhaps “But I get to be a superhero” makes sense when before she thought “But I don’t want to be a lab rat.”
Add in her comedic ADHD tendencies, and that smooths over the second concern about the life change. She doesn’t think things through. OR, she already thought this through, many times over since getting the orbs, because… well… you know… she now has superpowers and thought fame = lab rat (see above).
Yea, I agree with JustSomeLurker. I dislike plot inconsistencies intensely, but feel that he has the pulse here. One other, minor, point being that we do not know how much time has passed since Sydney found the orbs in the Florida Keys. Long enough for Joel to have asked about the tube on several occasions, is about the only indication of the passage of time.
Do not confuse the mention of “several months” at the end of the first scene. Because that is just the length of time between that point in the future, and the day we are seeing above. Which is part of a protracted flashback.
If Joel is the impatient type, it could just be a few days since her scuba dive. Equally it may be weeks or even months (which is not an unreasonable assumption, granted).
Other than that, we do know that she has been spending time investigating the properties of the orbs. So it is not fair to say she has done nothing with them.
She may well have used them for trivial purposes since then, but we do not know as that pre-dates even this flashback. Significantly though, whatever she did with them, she has not been discovered. Which is highly pertinent, given that she feared having her orbs confiscated for testing and thereby NOT being a super anymore. And, once her own testing progressed to the point where she found out that she was inseparable from them, it would compound her fear, knowing that any confiscation of the orbs would also necessitate her own incarceration.
As such, I very much empathise with her situation to date. Up until now, her options have been to become some sort of vigilante, with the very real prospect of ending up locked up, either for being a lawbreaker or for experimentation. Now that Max has assured her that will not happen, and, moreover that she will be welcomed on the team, of course she will not hesitate to agree. Provided she gets her pony.
Me, I would probably delay, at the thought of death, dismemberment, fame or having to toe the military line. But I do not have ADHD or the rest of Sydney’s impulsive personality.
Agreed. Your point is further supported by the fact that Sydney was extremely excited to have the chance to use her powers to stop the robbery (particularly with the assumption that it would lead to meeting tall, dark stranger on roof tops). This shows that Sid is prone to forgetting her reservations about something when an exciting opporttunity presents itself (to the point of standing up straight and shouting right in front of an armed gunman), but that these reservations were quickly remembered by her trying to hide it moments later with Maxima in the picture. This also shows what is likely a lifelong desire to be a superhero, which , ever since gaining superpowers, was only countered by her hesitation at potentialy becoming a convict or lab rat. While we may regret things we do, what we most regret is often that which we have left undone. If you have a chance at a lifelong dream, and the main thing stopping you just went out the window, do you really risk letting it slip awway? The fact that Sydney shows some trepidition at the mention of becoming super famous, as well as other things, but still keeps coming back to getting to be a superhero is not bad writing or planning. We are still learning more and more about this character, and at any rate this is less a time to speculate if an action is in character and more a time to observe and learn yet more about her. In this case, what we learn about her is her priorities: In the face of adjusting to the unknown regarding fame, major life changes, and any number of things that may well send others screaming while tearing the contract to shreds, “I get to be a superhero” trumps all! That is a part of who Sydney is.
Joel mentions 3 months in #22. it had been three months since she came back from the keys with the tube in hand
Apologies to CP. I had forgotten that (or not noticed it, Sydney was being awfully cute on that page).
Spotted an error on that page – the tube’s bottom strap changes from Sidney’s right side in panel 3 to left side in panel 4, and back to right side in panel 5. I cannot quite tell if the top strap does the switcheroo.
Thank you Yorp for grinding out the detailed analysis that I am too lazy to do.
LIke JustSomeLurker & Yorp, I thought this totally made sense
Also, Sydney’s response to the fame question can be taken many ways depending on inflection. Given her slumped posture and unenthusiastic expression, I took it for an almost apathetic sarcasm.
Does that even make sense? Perhaps that is not quite the right description (I am horrible at describing emotions); I can hear her tone in my head, but I don’t know how else to describe it. Meh?
Yup, sounds about right to me: the fame is something that doesn’t appeal to her in the slightest, being a SUPERHERO!!!! on the other hand…
sort of what i alluded to with my cadmus comment, get her under contract while shes still excited & on a high.
though to be fair i dont dislike how this is done because it would be an obvious course of action if you of consider arianna the “smiling face of amoral corporate self interest with astute PR skills”.
imo it allows the comic to continue forward, keeping the funny, but leaves the door open for a “by the way, we where th bad guys all along” moment for arc, in the future, should dave decide to go all hal 9000 on us.
And what is to stop Sydney from trashing the place and beating them all (bar Maxi and Dabbles, possibly) to a pulp and turning them all in to the government (or just leave them tied up dangling from a lamppost somewhere) if Arc does turn out to be the bad guys?
you mean besides the obvious Stanley Milgram stuff and the plethora of ways that could be used?
Who?
Stanley Milgram was a research psychologist best known for his work illustrating that people will follow the orders of an individual they perceive to be an authority, even if it goes against their ‘moral code’
Ahh, thanks for the reminder. I am terrible at remembering names. I always have to look at the who’s who to get it right, for example. I am very familiar with the work, even though the name meant nothing to me. The guy did experiments like putting a member of public in charge of apparatus which would give electric shocks to another person*.
The authority figure (an actor with a lab coat and clip board) would then tell them that it was a necessary experiment for science. Which revealed just how willing people were to obey authority figures, as they would proceed to do so. Further, many were willing to keep repeating it, and increase the power, as instructed, up to near-fatal levels*!
* Although they were told this, it was not really happening. But the volunteers were not aware of that fact, as actors made it all seem realistic. Ethics forced the termination of the experiments. Amongst other things that we would consider nowadays is the possibility of post-traumatic stress in the volunteers. Once they thought on how little it took to turn them from average members of the public into torturers!
They did something similar on that “Defying Gravity” show (shame it got cancelled early, wanted to find out if the mysterious things really were evil and had been seperated for a reason)
also, im talking about the justice league cadmus, in which case they where the government.
I was trying to think of what well-known professional interviewer would get the, er, joyous task of Sydney’s first interview on late night TV. After a great deal of consideration (and numerous imagined scenes of horror) I realized there was only – could only – be the one:
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog!
I wonder if her condition is that she gets to design her own superhero outfit
Nice idea, but hope not
it’s more likely to be publicity for her comic shop
Nope, not publicity, Sydney hates customers, more likely, they bail her store out of it’s financial woes, and she gets control of the “Halo” merchandising.
Oh yea I think that’s better
Sydney hates one customer. She loves all other (known) customers! Ok, there are only two that we have seen to date. But one Sydney has a crush on.
The other is his half sister and cousin, who was very willing to aid and abet Sydney regarding her fixation. Not to mention not even being a customer, until she was converted by some smooth selling. And to cap it all, she becomes a long -term friend, on hugging terms with Sydney, as can be seen in Issue #3.
People tend to think of people with ADHD as airheads and space cases. This isn’t actually while some can be dim bulbs the majority have learn to use the gift of ADHD as just that a gift. People have always wondered how I could fix computers as fast as I could when doing phone support. I can run through all the different solutions in my head to the problem and then provide the answer with only a little information.
This also translates into normal life as well think Holmes vision from the movies Sydney has already played this out in her head hundreds of times if not thousands. Government sanctioned heroes would be the only solution long term if you had a world which only had a few people with powers. You do this for two reason one control the second is it lets you plan for the possibility of one of them going rogue.
Personally I do not think that. In fact, I go so far as to believe that many of the things which society labels as “mental disorders” or other types of “handicaps” are simply us failing to appreciate hidden benefits that may be linked to them.
Lazy thinkers use the logic that because some conditions are the result of damaged genes or other injury, that all unusual conditions are harmful and undesirable. Hopefully we will correct our thinking before we “cure” things which are actually helpful or even important to all of society.
I could talk on this for hours, but to spare you that, here is an example, regarding synesthesia, for those of you who are interested. The speaker is a gifted talker. And probably the greatest neurologist in the world. Making many of the most significant advances in the field. This one included.
The part that I am referring to starts at 17:43 towards the end of the lecture.
Actually most of the people I’ve met who had ADD or ADHD were fairly if not highly intelligent.
…..where’s the mark on Sydney’s head from when she did a ‘re-set’ on her brain?
In the previous page of comments, Dave confessed to forgetting to draw the mark. Despite us trying our best to cover for him!
I assume the condition is that she gets to tell people like Joel first so that they don’t learn about it via an official announcement? Even Sydney should have that much forethought, right?
You are joking right oh that would just be the icing on the cake.
Joel: what do you mean you have super powers??? Points at the mob outside the comic shop
Sydney: Well you see that diving trip I took to the keys last year.
Joel pointing at the mob out front: What are we going to do about them????
See she is smarter then that she would get them space in the mall where Joel and friends can be safe first then let the shoe drop much more entertaining. Remember she has though this through it isn’t spur of the moment for her she is smart with ADHD that combination is dangerous with any person especially if they can read people.
Did not think about that. You are seemingly one step ahead in this game. d10 perhaps?
Hah hah, stay tuned. :)
I just have to say this you sir are a tease. Well played.
Ditto. Looking forward to seeing how it plays out!
If Sydney is familiar with the lesson from Star Wars — Merchandizing
Yes and it is Arianna that is the mind behind it. Sydney mentions the Arc-burger when she gets to the HQ as well.
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/676
You know- off topic (sorta) , we have talked about combos before…
And I had a vision of combo hero attacks.
Specifically Halo/Sydney’s Ball of Thoom being fired at and around Heatwave who not only controls and directs it instead of just generating heat but fine tunes the raw attack into something bigger better or even cooler.
side effect, it so empowers heatwave that she comes out of the Nova Blast effect really really stacked and most of her clothing is torn or just burned away… Perfect for a joke and an opportunity for Cheesecake and to make Halo even more jealous as Heatwave would get all the attention and kudos for such an attack…
Pinball attack is a given w/her forcefield and either gravity dropping ball around or being fastball specialed by one of the Tanks (either Anvil or Maxima).
Halo actually listening to Dabbler and then using the energy tentacle for creative distractions or as a whip could lead to some interesting lines… Dabbler “I’m low on power. Please whip me!” Halo : o.O! Dabbler: “No really. I promise I won’t enjoy it that much.”
what other combos on the team could Halo feasibly come up with once she reads up on everyone?
Ok, I shall rise to the challenge. I cannot recall any power combo discussions, so they probably pre-date my getting into reading the comments.
Spoiler alert from here onwards!
These ideas assume that the power ratings in the cast list do not scale smoothly. Achilles being the ideal example. His strength is about 1.5 times human normal and equates to one star. Whereas his ability to soak up damage is infinite and equates to six stars. So a five star strength is not necessarily 7.5 times human normal, but could potentially throw tanks or ships around. They also assume much practice and refining of skills to achieve these combos. Plus DaveB will likely have limitations on some powers which have not been revealed yet, that may preclude the ideas.
DEATH FROM ABOVE
Peggy takes Achilles, Mr Amorphous and Anvil in a helicopter and drops them from significant height over a hostile target area.
Achilles assumes a sky-diving posture and aims himself at the most dangerous looking exposed enemy, adjusting his approach as any sky diver can. Except he does not need to use a parachute, or slow his descent, and can just hit the opponent head first for maximum impact.
Mr Amorphous can use a similar approach, but may not be able to survive hitting as hard as Achilles can. But can use one of several techniques to control his decent. Bouncy ball being an amusing one that would allow him to hit a target, bounce up high and aim for another one.
Flying squirrel (forming skin flaps between arm and legs) would allow much more precise control over angle of approach, and let him glide if his chosen target is not directly below. Or he could just flatten his whole body and become a living parachute if he wants to envelope and blind/entangle opponents without harming them.
Anvil has the sneakiest option of all. She does not have to aim at an exposed target. Her job is to take out the toughest opponent who has managed to get cover from above. She simply aims herself as close to their location as she can and hits the ground feet-first. Using her super power to soak up her own kinetic energy as she impacts the ground. She then steps over to the foe and unleashes the stored up energy to devastating effect!
CROUCHING BADGER HIDDEN DRAGON
Mr Amorphous shrinks and assumes the shape of a badger. He then crouches down and sits on the inner orb projected by Halo from her remote viewing orb. As this orb also projects an illusion of Halo around the inner orb, it means that the smaller body of the badger is concealed within that image.
In her other hand Halo holds her blue orb and uses it to allow Mr Amorphous to fly *, whilst he is still sitting on top of the orb. Halo can see through via the image of herself, so can direct the flight safely and accurately. As Mr Amorphous is crouching on the orb, and Halo is moving both together, he should not separate from it or poke out. Provided Halo does not get distracted, of course!
This means that all an opponent would see is Halo, flying in her normal manner. She can also see and talk with them, so nothing should appear abnormal. Due to the high publicity surrounding Halo, we can assume that people by this stage are aware that this may just be an illusion of her. If it suits her, she can confirm this by passing her hand through an object. Putting them at ease (taking gun away from hostages head, for example).
Or, alternatively, if they want to make it look like Halo is there in person, Mr Amorphous can co-ordinate with Halo’s movements and grasp something that she picks up, demonstrating that this is not an illusion.
At whatever time will generate the most surprise, the battlecry can be shouted out. “BADGERS!” And Mr Amorphous can increase his size to the maximum of his capability, grow huge bat-like wings, a spikey tail, sharp-looking claws and a fanged mouth!*
The, until then, hidden dragon can then leap into the attack, terrorising the bewildered opponents. Halo can support the action by either allowing the dragon to fly with the blue orb, or she can switch to the red orb to use her PPO and provide the dragon with fiery breath!* If she can see the action from her own body’s hidden location, she could even do both.
* Remember the assumption of no limitations, until shown otherwise. We do not know that the other orbs cannot have their effects project from the inner orb (or to any other location for that matter). Nor do we know of limitations on Mr Amorphous’s size and shape alteration yet.
I.C.B.M. (INTER-CONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILE)
An international crisis has sprung up. Hostile forces are in a bunker in another country and threatening to unleash weapons of mass destruction! The bunker is too strong for conventional weapons to penetrate reliably and it is too close to a city full of innocent civilians for nuclear weapons to be considered.
Halo sends her remote viewing orb ballistically to the bunker. She chooses not to project the illusion of herself around it, so that it does not draw attention. Scouting around with it, she locates an air vent (or discreetly sneaks the small orb behind someone as they enter the bunker).
Dabbler uses her mental powers to read Halo’s mind. Taking some time to recover from the experience! She then projects the image that Halo is seeing (of the inside of the bunker) into the mind of the third member of the combo.
Harem picks up an appropriate payload *. She has a choice of grenades, such as flash-bang, high explosive or anti-personnel grenades, a C4 charge or (my personal favourite) an appropriately sized anti-matter grenade supplied by Dabbler. Teleporting to a safe location in the bunker, where the device can be used to best effect, she places it, removes the pin or activates the timer, and teleports back to ARC HQ.
* We know Harem can carry small devices, when teleporting.
Hopefully remembering to also take the remote viewing orb, if it will not have time to get to a minimum safe distance itself, before detonation!
Apologies for all the lengthy comments, by the way. It is helping to keep cabin fever at bay. The is not too much else to do here, during winter, other than dodging wolves and jackals, when the snow drives them into the village.
You’re making an assumption that the inner orb can be touched/held. It is my impression that the inner orb is as much a projection as the fake Sidney it can produce.
You are totally right. As I was making an ‘impose no limitations’ assumption, I should have incorporated the possibility. But, I never even thought of it! The inner orb just looks solid to me. It did not occur to me how does the inner orb get out. If it is solid, does a hole open up, or does it phase through?
Using your idea, in the above example, the bunker could have been 1,000 feet underground, operating off a recycled or bottled air system and surrounded by an unbroken 100 foot thick adamantium bath. And the inner orb would still be able to penetrate it!
It is possible that is an area that Dave wants Halo to be particularly strong in, so that might even be the case. Other than Dabbler (or the unknown abilities of “X” or the other spies elsewhere in ARC, there do not appear to be detection oriented heroes on the team). The recruiting committee were keen on her for that reason.
Dave has other options too, though, if he does want to limit the orb’s power. One hinted at is simply a range restriction, on how far it can go from her (thematically appropriate given the tethered properties all the orbs have, albeit presumably significantly further than the others).
You know, just realized, eye injuries can sometimes cause permanent color changes.
While this is true it requires you to actually damage the cells of the eye where the pigment is. I had a friend who had been hit with a paint ball in the eye and you could tell because that eye had discoloration in it he was also partially blind in that eye. My father on the other hand who was unlucky enough to put a screw driver into his while I was 4 yes I was standing there when it happened his are show no color change and to this day can see fine out of it with his glasses which he didn’t have to get until years after the accident.
I just noticed Omni Gal (from ep 1) has the same motif as the real halo… so does one of the mystery orbs shoot lasers?
That would be the PPO if you are hip.
If you’re hip!
So, has anyone thought of the consequences for when all of these super-powered women have been around each other for such a long time that their cycles sync up?
oh god! oh the humanity!! not even achilles would want to be there and he can take it all
i can see it now
“why is there a hole in the window” … looks down “that is not the correct way to catch a taxi”
Just a great reason to give them all separate vacations and endless chocolate once a month. The budget can handle it, compared to cleaning up the damage if they are all kept cooped up. I see no downside here.
That doesn’t actually happen. It’s a prime example of confirmation bias!
Forsooth. ‘Tis truth. I concede the point. Heh.
A moxana point to whoever predicts what happens next.
… correctly.
I enjoy the art and wit of this comic. Lately, I’m getting the impression we’re bogging down a bit, though. Despite that, still having a lot of fun.
Well, we can’t have every page with Sydney doing something nutso-clever
I’m not after more nutso clever Sydney. It’s charming, but I’m getting enough of that. It would be nice for the plot to advance past the ongoing recruitment arc.
Yea, it is pretty dialogue heavy. Still, after the team introduction, the press conference has the potential for some really dynamic stuff. It is a significant moment in world history, after all! And Sydney will be at the heart of it (unless restrained by a straight jacket, maybe).
Then night may even fall! Plus storytelling wise, it frees him up to do whatever he wants. The flash back could end and he could return to the ‘present day’ that the comic started in, so that he can get on with a traditional hero story. Saving the training stories for a change of pace, as he can flash back to that at any time.
Or he may choose to keep the story following Sydney chronologically, allowing him to introduce us to the hero world and the villains in the same way as she experienced them. Perhaps with a training montage, to get the action going? Or there is plenty enough potential for action within training. As demonstrated by numerous war and martial arts movies.
Leewai is right: this intro arc is taking a while. Fortunately for me, since I’m loving it!
Of course, Intros are usually my favorite part of a comic.
And I generally find infighting more entertaining than battles with villains, so I’m very happy with all the delicious teasing, flirting, and general fun times. :)
If it wasn’t obvious, the day to day stuff is more interesting to me than the fighting as well. Hopefully once I get to the fighting I’ll be able to keep it interesting. I’m pretty sure the first fight will be at least.
Hi Dave, congrats on your fine comic.
I have a bit of bad news: Someone (probably your provider) has inserted keyword / link spam at the top of your comic page (for short-term loans, in the event). Javascript is used to make this invisible to normal browsers, but you can view it if you disable Javascript, or display the HTML source. You may want to complain to your provider, as this kind of thing can get you banned from search engines.
Yeah, noticed that a couple days ago, usually just ignore it but it is covering the header/team roster
Ditto, but forget the “may”, Dave – YOU REALLY WANT THIS FIXED, ASAP.
If you aren’t familiar, that hidden-by-Javascript crap is 100% about trying to boost the Google ranking of some sleazy sites that you probably never heard of, behind your (and your readers’) back. Extremely un-good for your own site’s reputation, especially with folks who know how useful malicious Javascript can be (hint: VERY) for infecting your visitors with computer viruses & such.
Thanks for the heads up. Working on cleaning it up now.
I think I got it. Let me know if it crops up again. If anyone sees anything and you’re on twitter, that’s usually the fastest way to get a hold of me.
Nice to see the ladies in all their glory again (not that much glory unfortunately :(), and for a moment Sydney, Maxi & Dabbles were looking right (thatta way –>) and Anvil, Harem & Peggy were looking left (thissa way <–) as though there was someone/thing cool in that narrow gap between Dabbles & Anvil (now Syd is blushing, Maxi and Anvil are looking at her, Dabbles is checking out Syd's tush, Daphne is taking a picture and Peggy is looking horrified :P)
Is it just me, or does anyone else like coming up with fun little ‘stories’ to explain the random expressions used in the header? (that image of Dabbles trying on Sydney’s glasses with her tongue poking out always makes me giggle :D it’s like she doesn’t even realise she is sticking her tongue out :D)
I think I know what her condition is.
She is going to demand to be allowed to keep her comic book store.
Although Sydney in panel 2 relates to me, emotionally, as part of the scene. Panel 1 will be the picture that will make it into my next Halo collage.
A thoughtful Sydney, to represent her first eye-patch phase. I think it is also one of the best pictures of her to date.
Not panel 3?
No. It conveys the impression that she craves the power for it’s own sake. Even Arianna picked up on the ominous tone, and she is not the height of morals herself!
That and I just really like how she looks in the first panel.
Um, Jiggawatt keeps appearing as a link to the cast page, but she isn’t on it, I think I saw her a few times, just wondering who she is.
I smell doom. No really, she’s a powder keg and they’re going to try to control her.
…
On second thought, this could be a good thing. She would’ve been a powder keg before, but now she’s getting the help and direction she needs. A gun is a gun, but point it in the right direction and it can do a lot of good. I’m just worried that they’ll make her do something she doesn’t want to do.
I doubt whether they have the power to do that.
OMINOUS LIGHTING IS NEVER INAPPROPRIATE!
I am thinking the condition she has is that all the distribution of Halo’s Merch goes through her comic book shop. Exclusive rights or some such. That or a percentage of the sales. It’s what I would do.
That’s one veeery nice Sheaffer here.
After some work eyperience in public administration I eralized that this is by far the most unrealistic of all the pages in the comic. There is no way a contract like that can be prepared and signed so very quickly. No way. Also Sydney’s condition must be incorporated so that only elongates the process.
Though maybe things are more efficient in the US than here. But my simple, simple contract took about 2 months. And I’m just a simple clerk and my contract is like 3 pages.
So I bet either Ariana has some literal super-administration powers or someone was using time-control. :P
Public administration does not cover military contracts though. Those are pretty standardised. Archon’s will be fairly different to the other arms’ contracts, in detail, but they will have a pre-prepared template that they will stick to as rigidly as they can. The civilian contractor’s contracts may well take a long time to negotiate and agree, but not so much for the soldiers like Sydney.
Yes, Sydney’s condition would require time to customise. But there is no red tape to cut through for her. Arianna is a lawyer, so can directly draft the changes herself. However she will not have to send it to an agent to approve, nor get management approval, beyond a quick word with Maxima.
The only delay would have occurred is if Sydney refused to sign a standard contract, and it took time going back and forth haggling over the details.
I love how she mentioned an actual hero/role model as the more important person. Wonderfully done. :)
Heh. I was reading through Sydney’s dialogue to see who you were referring to.
Wonderfully done indeed.