Grrl Power #1071 – Goon life. And death
“Hey Goose, how did you know those guys were full of weird, crunchy particles, indicating they might be some sort of expendable duplicate?”
“…”
“Oh……… ‘Kay.”
So yeah, the guys in the brown armor are actually a guy in brown armor, named “The Goon Squad.” I felt like that might have been used before for a hench duplicator, (cause it seems kind of obvious) but I couldn’t find anything with a quick googling. I also asked Marion Harmon of Wearing the Cape fame, cause I know he’s got some duplicators in his novels (and google isn’t going to return results about stuff like that unless someone has a comprehensive wikipedia listing novelized super powers) but his duplicators are named Platoon and Flash Mob.
Honestly, the knife to the back of the knee would probably be more painful, right? Sure, six bayonets (AKA Bowie knives) through the liver would hurt a lot, but not for very long, especially what happens next.
Unlike Harem, he can tell you what it’s like when one of his dupes dies. Or maybe not? We see them die here, or just… cease functioning, but the full scope of his capabilities haven’t been explored yet. Those of you complaining that the guys who got harpooned on Digit’s page didn’t leave any blood splatter, now you know why. As for Digit (and definitely Goose) being psychopaths… I mean… that’s probably valid?
Also, why was Goose just hanging out in the armory at 4 am? Probably over-sharpening the knives until they’re ground down to the size of mini-golf pencils.
Before anyone goes and throws up some sweet Princess Bride quotes, remember that Fezzik was on the Brute Squad, not the Goon Squad. It’s possible that Goon Squad may or may not have a brother with a power set making it likely that he would call himself Brute Squad. We’ll have to wait and see on that one.
The July Vote Incentive is… still up! As usual, the new one is basically done but I’m adding some outfit variants, so I’ll have it up with the Thursday comic.
This is an unusual incentive because it started life as a panel from the comic. A few people thought it was a good pose to turn into a nude version, and I agreed. It was originally intended to be a stopgap pinup while I finished the one I’d started on for this month, but I got caught up in shiny skin and various bits of anatomy and alternate outfits so I’ll just leave this one as the July incentive. The advantage being that I have a head start on next month’s so… maybe it won’t be late?
Be sure to enjoy the alternate outfits and lack thereof over at Patreon.
Double res version will be posted over at Patreon. Feel free to contribute as much as you like.
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Does Goon Squad constantly talk to him self? Does he have separate or parallel thoughts going or he just doing it for fun?
He’s really good at roleplaying the whole ‘squad of goons’ thing.
Would be good for misdirection too, to not give away that they’re power constructs.
Iron cloth’s panel is giving me some Akira vibes for some reason… I kinda dig it.
Are the walls made of steel or sommat? Because that lools entirely too shiney ❲and solid❳ to be the brick we thought it was.
Yes, the minigun knives got to see some action. I am now complete.
Yeah the mod that “started out as a joke” has proven it’s worth if not in a rather sticky way lol
I’ve seen a lot of people mention the lethal force ARC is using and let’s face it: in the USA if someone breaks into your home it’s legal to shoot them but if they are outside not so much. Same principle. Need proof? Walk into any military base waving any type of gun around and see how long you last.
You don’t even need to wave a gun.
You illegally try to break into an army base, ESPECIALLY a classified one like Area 51, and they can legally kill you, and there’s even signs warning as much.
It’s why I pretty much knew that whole “Area 51 Raid” was never going to happen. Well, apart from the fact that’s also some of the meanest terrain on Earth in 50 degree celsius weather on foot for fifty miles to actually get to the base, and the closest gas station is about 100 miles away from the “You can be shot beyond this point” signs. If the Military didn’t kill them, the environment would have.
“Ol’ Painless” itself is a reference from the movie Predator.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MovieDetails/comments/ds2snp/in_predator_1987_the_ol_painless_m134_minigun/
Wrong, Ol’ Painless is a LOT older than that movie.
I don’t know, but I think it’s from the original hand cranked guns from the Civil War Era. If I remember correctly I first heard about it in an old western when they pulled out a cranked machine gun.
Not in Massachusetts, you will be arrested, and sued by the criminal.
I have listened to and read quite a few super hero things, not a lot like a fanatic might, but I have a decent number and have not encountered goon squad, likely because most supers would have too much ego to give themselves a name with goon in it.
It might be like the air force nickname system, you don’t get to pick… your peers do.
Been enjoying Sanderson’s Skyward series, wherein the main character dubs her flight leader “Jerkface”.
The Corps does it that way also. I was ‘Clip’. I’ll let you wonder why. LOL
Your nails were always cleanly kept short?
Put whole stripper clip inside the magazine?
Wait, the bulk of the team hasn’t included Math.
Just what is the real team after and why are they going to encounter Math in the Girls showers?
my bet is on a list of known Supers.
they abducted and coerced Concretia so it would be within their motives to find a list of known Supers Archon is monitoring and attempt to either hire or abduct them into their ranks.
Stalwart looks like he didn’t mean to crush that guy’s head in the second-to-last panel. Are the copies more fragile than real people?
Either way, there’s a good chance he’ll argue they are.
On a more serious / less terrifying note, maybe Goon Squad’s helmets just aren’t as good as expected. Depending on how his powers work they might be made of oddly shaped skin or literal cardboard.
I personally like the fact that Ashley (the one with fabric based superpowers) can actually fight as well.
The only dangerous opponent is a naked opponent. As long as he has a strip of cloth, he can take down almost any enemy.
He can be in the “Dangerous to Underestimate” category along with Darwin and Cypher. All powers are good if you know how to use them right.
They don’t have to be wearing material, we saw Ashley ‘dancing’ with a dress when he was introduced
The only way an opponent would be safe, is if they were both naked, and in the middle of nowhere
The Military Medical Doctor’s healing superpowers may potentially have hazardous misuse capabilities as well, however it is possible her boost her physical body, enhanced by her own super healing.
Imagine she might alternately have a Wolverine level healing factor that will subvert Halo’s perception, ability to project or imbue limited healing factor to others.
Wonder if we will see Doctor Frost power soon. I doubt she is the target of the “Real Team”. Possible she is not on base as frequently.
Zephan may more likely be closer to the Real Team’s Target. If he’s not spending time working on being happily married.
Ashley could give you a “in one end and out the other” wedgie with just a glance.
The upside of all these kills is Goon Squad can learn all the chinks in his armor! …physical armor, at least. The bad guys throwing him under the bus will still blindside him. (If that is him. I think if I had that power I’d never let my real physical self out of the house.)
“Uh.. my one copy in the rec room is getting billiard balls stuffed into uncomfortable places. And he isn’t dying. This is a memory I will try to drown later.”
Calling it that the “real team” gets intercepted by Arc Dark. We still know so little about that team, other than they too operate on site
Arc-Dark needs to SERIOUSLY step up their game after this. The Red Hood organization already tried to kill Sydney, and showed that they were willing to kidnap and torture another super (Concretia) for months. Arc-Dark had the Red Hoods’ boat, and whatever intelligence that they got from Cora’s neuromonitors.
And yet, the Red Hoods were able to attempt (and possibly successfully execute) this plan. Either Arc Light & Dark were severely outclassed here, or they were criminally lazy.
and thinking about what their real target could be
my bet is on a list of known Supers.
they abducted and coerced Concretia so it would be within their motives to find a list of known Supers Archon is monitoring and attempt to either hire or abduct them into their ranks.
so this lax security could be putting who knows how many innocent supers and their families in danger should the crimson cowled ones get their hands on such a list.
Or-
It is a set up and they were waiting for the bad guys to act. That IS often a problem with being a ‘good guy’. You can’t just got out and ‘do good’ unto others with prejudice without this nasty little thing called ‘proof’. If they had it, they might have been waiting for said bad guys to come out of hiding to step on them hard and/or trace them back to their bosses.
You know what would be TOTALLY hilarious? If Goon Squad is a MEMBER of Arc Dark in disguise! A double agent, er, multiple agent, er… something… It would be ABSOLUTELY hilarious if he is working for Archon as an agent to flush these bad guys out of cover after they got so smashed by Cora and Sydney.
Actually, come to think of it… Where is Concertia’s body? You don’t… think…? Nah. Not even these red masked morons can be THAT stupid, can they?
Yeah, was thinking they were after Cree, but Archon managed to retrieve her body from the Death Swan
I just realized reading the commentary on naming a duplicator, that I don’t have any duplicator characters. I have thought form projections reflecting states of mind and emotions but that’s obviously not the same power. Huh, a few puppet makers that can send them like drones but those aren’t duplicates. So, huh, not sure if I could call this an oversight on my part or if I just never had a story where one came to me to put in it.
Dear god man, stick to one pun topic at least, alcohol puns or ninja puns, you inhuman monster!
For shame sir! FOR SHAME!
You’re going to put me in the poor house with how many ninja squads I have to send after you.
That was meant for Brichins, I think.
Even without specific context, that’s probably a safe bet.
That was in response to brichins when he made that ‘wining’ pun on page 1…. then started making ninja puns instead of sticking to alcohol puns. Two different types of puns in one response is just beyond the pale.
For some reason whenever I try to reply to anything on page 1… it makes a new response instead.
Yeah the site isn’t great about indicating when comments will reply vs start a new post. It’s on my GrrlComments plugin feature list if I ever make time to build it. Too busy retooling to the tech stack at my new job, but someday.
Plugin? How about talking to DaveB about fixing the site and adding some features?
No let’s leave it like it is. This forum have some funny bugs.
Browser plugin, can’t modify the server behavior just add some client-side behavior. I have a bookmarklet that highlights unread comments, etc, but I’d like to add comment formatting etc and share it with anyone else who wants to use it.
Also, are you suggesting there’s not a direct relationship between ninjas and alcohol?
Wouldn’t that be a direct correlation between red heads and ninjas? It all makes so much sense now!
Is that Duke Nukem?
It’s been mentioned that there are similarities.
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-822-every-digital-man/
Couldn’t find anything about a MAN who MULTIPLIES himself as a power and is an underling? …Multiple Man? Marvel’s X-men? Used as a henchman… henchmen?… for Magneto. And others. I mean, dude’s been around for a long time in the comics. Like, since the 70’s I think. Maybe 80’s. But that’s at least 40 years of existing. He was even in the second X-Men movie! C’mon now, Dave.
Dave was aware that there are other duplicator characters in comics, and probably was aware of the existence of Multiple Man. What he was unsure of is whether there are any other duplicators that go by “The Goon Squad”.
I would not be surprised if there was some one off villain from a comedy cartoon doing a superhero parody episode or skit that was called Goon Squad, or at least a small team of villains at least.
So much carnage! Ahh to see ole painless used is pleasing. :D But yeah if those guys are after Sydney they need to look elsewhere and if not…. the goon squad will be wiped out then the rest will be open season..
Ooh, he’d absolutely hate The Streaker from the Magellanverse. Nudist speedster.
Ashley: RRR! Stand still so I can CLOTHE you!!
Streaker: Nope! These babies gotta hang free! Whoohoo!!
*zips off, pursued by Iron Cloth’s Modesty Undies*
Are the endlessly replaceable Simons in “Powers” multiples from one source-guy, or are they just regular manufactured clones? It’s been years and I can’t remember.
“Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to be bubble pebbled.”
Apparently it is a Naked Gun reference but let’s go deeper. What if Goon Squad create these and gives them squad names based on people groups so fighting Ashley was Bill & Ted. The Armoury hallway was Moe, Larry, Curly and Shemp. Basically I want the squid name joke from Penguins of Madagascar. https://youtu.be/WGzBl97aacI
Considering the Goons have names… Most likely. I mean, “Ted… Why???”
Wait, that gun. Isnt it an Exotic in the Division 2? I Swear its a Black Chamelon
Just learned about the Scoville scale.
a silk shirt can bend steel bars
Only if you piss on it
I’m sure someone else has already said this, but I can’t help but think that it looks like Goon Squad’s duplicates are full of Dippin’ Dots.
Digit and Goose aren’t really psychopaths. Digit was an accident, and Goose…well, they are a hostile force attacking a military compound, what were they expecting? Cupcakes?
im guessing some duplication power except each duplicate is it’s own separate entity (maybe upon death does the main body receive what the clone experienced)
I don’t know about comics, but I DO know it’s something I’ve wanted to do with a Lunar Exalt!