Grrl Power #1138 – Sure-re-re-re-render
Goon Squad literally has no skin in this game. Well… he’s flesh and blood until the dupe dies, then it turns into weird chalky stuff that eventually disintegrates into powder. And even though his dupes loses IQ points for every few copies he makes, he’s still smart enough to recognize that everyone who signs paychecks is already in custody. That puts him ahead of most thugs, honestly.
It’s got to be annoying, because like a teleporter, he’s kind of impossible to arrest without taking some kind of extreme measures. At best, you could knock his dupes out and keep them in a coma, since he can de-duplicate at will. Really, all you’d be doing at that point is making sure that any other dupes he makes start off a few IQ points down. It’s not nothing, but keeping people in medically induced comas isn’t exactly cheap.
Weirdly, he could take Harem on five separate dates at the same time. She only has one mind, so hopefully he’d take her on five different dates. Like if he took her to 5 different restaurants, it’s possible she’d get confused which one of her had already ordered when they waiter came by. Plus she’d have to deal with tasting lobster with one mouth and pizza with another and Korean BBQ with another and so on. Best for one of her to go to a restaurant, one to go to something like a Dave and Busters, one go to a fair, etc. We don’t know how Goon Squad’s mind works exactly, but we can guess that he doesn’t doesn’t have the same distributed consciousness like Harem. He seems to know when his dupes get taken out, but as to whether or not he absorbs their experience is up in the air.
The February Vote Incentive is up! The March one is mostly finished. Just need to do the clothed version and finishing the bonus comic page. Monday for sure.
Kat, you remember, the newly minted were-hare? Well, someone forgot to give her a copy of “Are You There God? It’s Me, Were-Margaret.” She has questions is what I’m saying.
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Plot twist: Goon Squad’s real name is actually Fredrick Jones. He’s wanting to hook up with Daphne. Specifically, the one that is sort of partial to purple.
Mystery intensifies…
I hate you and love you so much for this comment.
Goon Squad is Deus, has to be.
Think about it for a moment, even a one or two drop in IQ per Goon and that drop is significant quickly even for someone with a 160 IQ. You’d have to be a Super genius to start with to avoid a drop off into a dribbling mess of a clone quickly.
Also, the clone is hitting on Daphne, who Deus already has a relationship with, it makes sense that the clone would be attracted to her as well.
Also the amount of money/capital that could be gained quickly hiring yourself out to everyone as a hired faceless goon would be ridiculous.
Also they seem really OK with being destroyed/stopping people from seeing under the mask.
I could be well off the mark, but it sort of fits in my head.
Gonna be sad to not see goon squad for a bit. Really liked the silly personality he brought to the other team. Plus I’m sure Dave liked not having to draw a face on a character in so many panels.
Yeah, but that’s offset by having to draw many characters without faces
Copy/paste, repeat! Copy/paste, repeat! Copy/paste, repeat! Copy/paste, repeat! You get the idea…
Yup on closer inspection there does seem to be a lot of copy pasting, panel 4 stood out to me with the shine on the facemask being on opposite sides despite nearly identical positions and making them overlap in photoshop makes it’s clear one is just a mirrored and slightly rescaled version of the other, looks like that same shine appears 10 times in this page.
The folds in his scarf are pretty telling too for the ones we’re seeing from the back.
Now that you mention it, most of those goon squad guys in multiple panels look extremely similar to the pose from comic #1071.
Wait… wait. You’re all telling me the clones look identical?!
I was talking about how Good Squad makes dups, while Harem just “vorps” them in, they are not the same. As we all know, a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy degrades the image. And makes GS a bad Star Wars clone trooper seem good at his job.
the lighting can be explained away with the “room” there in being based on a panopticon which involves central lighting and the group is currently near the centre
I kinda hope he gets hired by archon. He’d be a great asset to numbers, plus out-of-canon it would let Dave show off just how deadly the villains really are without having to make them all public enemy numbers 1-whatever from sheer body count (and not the Dabbler kind)
I would imagine like her other senses she could taste without mixing..lime how she can see and hear without getting confused. Actually the fact she can do that and keep her senses that control movement separate yet can be overwhelmed through all her bodies when one is…getting a substantial dopamine and pleasure nerves stimulation event…is a tad odd. Like she pointed out she has separate brains so no mixed visuals or fumbling words.
Back in the steak restaurant she mentioned how she has to be careful what they eat as the tastes can combine in odd ways.
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-188-halos-first-order-as-a-recruit/
That could just be knowledge of how they die. Like a termination flash vs. all of the information they aquired while out. I would classify goon squad as a splitter rather than a duplicator since each instance operates independently for the most part and knows only what they knew when split.
The word “Splitter” brings up VERY different imagery for me. I think you’re right that the two powers probably deserve different classification, but I don’t like your choice of words! So far “Duplicator” is the best word I’ve heard for both concepts. (In fact it’s a better word for making multiple independent copies of yourself than it is for what Harem does, which is more like being a “multi-bodied person”.)
How can it be up in the air if he could tell there were bayonets on the minigun in #1071?
Might be he only remembers his death, or the last few moments before death or such. We know from Chimi being able to clone herself as one and pass it off that they don’t have a constant mind hive update going on.
Chimy didn’t clone herself as one, she just duplicated him, like she did with that other portal chick
Still, it would not have worked to pass herself off as one, if they had an active hive mind.
Hmmm…
…lemme see Yer brain for a minute.
*extends sheaf of nerve-tendrils*
He was also looking in from the skylight with another dupe.
There can also be radio chatter.
That last bit left me scratching my head. Are superpowers fully active on/before birth? And are the powers that linearly genetic? Would two duplicators definitely have a uplicator child?
The only time genetics vs powers has come up that I can remember is Varia’s. But that one is a quite odd all on its own.
Varia suggests that her power to unlock other’s powers based on their genetics to the point it gives her an idea of blood relations. But since parents wouldn’t have matching powers It’d be interesting to see if there’s an obvious merging of parent powers or one just stands out above the other. Beyond that, Jiggawatt indicated that her brother has powers related to hers that let him manipulate electronics in a more refined manner.
Most people apparently get powers when they start hitting puberty and it just gets stronger until they finish that or something I guess. Achillies ceasing to age is probably the best indicator of when the powers hit their peak. Harem apparently has also progressively gained more clone copies as she’s gotten older.
Whatever the case, I’d suggest that if they had a child together it’d probably just be a regular kid until puberty. With powers somewhat matching between blood relatives, I’d honestly be more worried that Harem and Goon Squad are somehow related.
Naw, it was joke. That’s why it was outside the actual panels.
“you’re a criminal!”
*thinks about Deus*
“… and older than me!”
*thinks about Deus*
“… you could look like anything and I’d be none the wiser!”
*thinks about Dabbler*
“… Friday okay for you?”
You getting Ted mixed up with Chimy?
No, she’s just never seen his real face because he’s always wearing that helmet.
I mean…look, Daffy is cute and all, don’t get me wrong, but…I’m. Im Ace?
I wonder if Dabs “drained” a Ted if it would drain all of them or could the “Ted’s” be an unending source of energy for her? I’m sure he could duplicate himself in something other than that battle armor.
Empty calories, most likely.
Yeah, I’m suspecting there wouldn’t even be any “calories” to speak of.
“Harem negotiating a date with OpFor” was not on my bingo card, but in hindsight, it really ought to have been.
She’s hooking up with SmugD, so it’s not something she hasn’t done already…
Eh, Big D isn’t OpFor…yet.
I am hoping he actually is the Superintelligence he has insinuated, and that he will be able to devise a plan to get everyone in the “Good Guys” box on his side before he has to commence Operation Tau.
Harem is just the new record cover for Cindy Lauper’s re-release of her “Girls just wanna have fun” song lol. Harem has better control over her copies than Ted, he’s just a copy of himself nothing else, she can make changes to each of herselves and maintain those changes.
How does this duplication work exactly, it the number of duplicates that divides the IQ, or is it that the original splits then the clone of that original splits and loses IQ while the original still only has half.
I’m still thinking goon squad isn’t as stupid as people or his clones make him out to be, I’m watching him.
I’m thinking it’s less “gets dumber with every additional copy” and more “easily distracted by splitting his focus too much”.
Consider the original might be accumulating skills and experiences from all his copies and may have enough multitasking to keep track of what several dozen, if not a few hundred of him, are doing at any given time…
His cloudcuckoolander issues are the same as Harem’s. She has occasional trouble with only five of her.
It all fairness goon squad did bring that up as an available option
A possible typo: “…age gap can make a little hot…” might be “…age gap can make it a little hot…” or “…age gap can make things a little hot…” etc.
Unrelated, but from their interaction here, they’re actually kind of cute together? Harem and Goon Squad, that is.
(My apologies if this is a double post. The first time I tried it seemed like the page glitched.)
A possible typo: “…age gap can make a little hot…” might be “…age gap can make it a little hot…” or “…age gap can make things a little hot…” etc.
Unrelated, but from their interaction here, they’re actually kind of cute together? Harem and Goon Squad, that is.
It would suck if he had to absorb the experience. He makes to many duplicates for his mind not to become a jumbled as hundreds, or perhaps even thousands, of hours of memories are dumped into his head over the course of an engagement. Unless he has some mental ability to handle that sort of thing. But if that’s true, he’s really not exploiting his powers for max utility and profit.
Maybe he packed in a couple thousand clone-hours of meditation to find his centre and take it. The more he does it, the better he is, and he could still have clones do it.
Maybe the resurrected Benjamin Franklin helps him re-assimilate all the copies to gain their knowledge.
Impossible. Such mental discipline is only possible from Ninjas or Doctors.
What about Ninjas who are Doctors?
Goon Squad might be Dr McNinja.
Whether or not he absorbs the experience would also have an impact on his trial defense. If he doesn’t absorb the experience, then the original at the beach house has a legit argument that HE didn’t do anything. He has no control over what the clones did. Many versions that split off of him did some crimes, so they should do any jail time. They disintegrated? Oh well. They could still go after his estate.
I wonder what Goons going rate is max could higher him for training. If not her the US government or Duse would love to have him. Better than him spending his entire life as power ranger minions. Seeking of that do you think he ever thought about showbiz?
Ok… now that makes me wonder about the biology of the duplicates. I would think they’d be sterile, but are they perfect duplicates?…
Probably the equivalent to sterile. If they unteleport themself and the sperm. Though a fertilised egg having the sperm unteleport may have a variety of effects depending on length of time fertilised. It could be recognised as no longer his or the egg could be no longer viable. Though if Harem unteleports first…
Or if cells divide then only the original are effected by the unteleport…
I would think that in the event of fertilization that the dna would no longer be recognized as part of “his” entity but it does call into question what happens if his dna leaves his body in any way. For instance, forensic evidence like body hair and even small quantities of blood. Does leaving his physical person destabilize them and cause them to disappear? I would assume whatever rule would apply to one applies to the other.
I think that’s covered by the “turn to buttermints” when a copy dies, making any blood spatter unreadable. No clue what that means for the fertilized egg, in the unlikely event he lives long enough in that copy for fertilization to take place which Google says can be anything between 3 minutes and 5 days depending on ovulation. So if the egg was sitting at the uterus end of the fallopian tube he will probably live long enough to fertilize the egg, no clue what happens to the egg if he dies after that.
they shoot candy
He obviously gets some feedback as one dupe knew others had been taken out by the Auger… But maybe it’s just a few seconds after their death/disintegration.
Honestly, I’d think the first play here is to knock one of them out and take photographs of the face, fingerprints, DNA (if thats possible), dental check and general medical checkup as far as they can go. That should give them just about everything possible for finding the real guy.
I’m a little surprised Harem didn’t play her spy games a little and play up to the dating idea like she’s dating Deus. Then again, maybe she is playing up to it and the sudden call for target practice is a side move. After all, she’s found out the real guy is in a beach house on a strip of land likely north somewhere and might have just got his age from them.
I expect the original specified self destruct packages be built into the armor to help preserve his identity. Any group that’s ok with being used for target practice isn’t afraid of pain, so triggering.. lets go with X grams of C-4 built into the back of the helmet at the base of the skull.
Heck, the original may be able to trigger it remotely.
fun fact – there is no pain from exploding your skull w/c4, nor getting shredded by a double barrel shotgun to the base of the brain.
The explosion is way faster than the speed of neuron transmission for the pain.
~Hokuto no Ken Voice~ You are already dead.
I’m sure harem thought of a 5 on 15+ there for maximum effort…
besides, twins(etcl tend to run in families.
be one hell of a baby oil rubdown.
taxes… wait can i deduct the 55 gal can of oil as entertainment expence for a strip show venue?
yeah you’d pay to be there. furthermore; you’d upgrade to the VIP exclusive too.
We don’t know if she’s for maximum effort, but she does have this “I wanna try everything once” fixation and who’s to say it doesn’t translate to here? Though it would be 4 harems, not 5. She’s keeping one body for marriage, for some reason.
Also, one Daphne has to remain On Duty at all times
That could be the same body that she’s “saving”.
About the dating hotness thing, from the lady’s perspective its creepy for the most part. I just saw this play out yesterday as three college age guys in a car accosted and tried to gain a date with a chick walking along the road who very likely was barely out of school. When she avoided them and then they parked outside the store she went into to escape I Got the plate & called the cops because that moved the encounter into stalking territory which isn’t cool. They drove off and then came back which goes all the way into creepy town.
Yeah.
I mean – very little of this comic incorporates women’s perspectives. It’s full of scenes that are (sometimes painful) caricature.
These are surely creative decisions for a reason, so it’s a lot more enjoyable if you just assume that the story universe is crazypants, rather than some kind of extrapolation on realistic stories. Or maybe the intended audience for grrlpower isn’t a female one.
Correction: this comic incorporates very little of the Muggle women’s perspective. Things make much more sense when you get mindful that almost all the female cast is made up of powerhouses that have no reason to fear being molested, raped, or just disrespected.
Is the third row out of order? Kinda seems like maybe it should be the middle panel first (the one where she about what sort of age gap it is) followed by the double panel (standing on tippy-toes and CASUAL PEEK), and then the final panel
Or was the CASUAL PEEK to check that Maxi and Hiro were distracted?
Looking at it again (took this long to reply for the message to show up to reply to… ), and yeah, it’s the correct order: Bodie is standing on tippies, then flirting, and then getting busted by Maxi and Hiro and panicking :P
Was originally thinking maybe one of the Ted’s opened his visor and that is what she was freaking out about (like ted was in his 70’s, or ugly)
Wouldn’t be the first or last super hero/villain hook-up, Batman and Catwoman, Robin and Harley Quinn just off the top of my head. In both of those cases it was mostly for fun, and I doubt Harem would be interested in a long-term thing for anyone right now. The mind does boggle a bit at the thought of an 8 person orgy that’s basically just 2 people! Virgin Harem best hide in a quiet spot with a gag so no one hears her “enjoyment” LOL.
When the haels did Harley hook up with Robin? Unless it was Carrie
The Batman and Harley Quin movie, Harley hooks up with Nightwing though, the first robin who was working under a different superhero name at that point- its in the same continuity as the 1990’s Batman the Animated series.
Haven’t seen more than clips so I can’t speak to its quality.
Yeah sorry I meant “Nightwing” and it was one of the many animated movies. What really killed me is she did “return” to being a psychologist kinda, as a “reality show” host that put people through a torture run to “win” counseling. I took it as a spoof more than anything.
Goon Squad Original (GSO) must be different from Harem as she feels, experiences every one of herself. That…just sounds weird but is accurate. GSO must not or he is a masochist. I mean, how many horrible deaths has his duplicates undergone? Fried, shot, squished, electrocuted, stomped etc. yeah, GSO may be on a tropical island but if he felt the deaths of his duplicates, he wouldn’t be living in paradise.
I think they touch on it in Schlock Mercenary but I dimly remember reading some fiction back in the 1980’s where the main character rebooted each time he died. The character ended up pretty blasé about the whole dying process. Getting crushed still hurt but after the umpteenth time he knew he could ride it out. Wish I could remember the specific story.
I think you might be grokking on Resurrection Man, the DC hero who dies and gets reborn with a different superpower each time immediately thereafter.
Could be, but at that point in my life the only comics I read regularly were in Heavy Metal. As I remember it, it was in a collection of short stories. Maybe Asimov or P.J. Farmer but it could have easily been a Dell double. I may by confabulating, as I remember it the hero was being tortured to death and then resurrected time and again in an effort to get him to reveal the important information. I don’t recall the climax of the story but the hero probably endured long enough to be rescued.
Daphne and Goo. Squad are twins separated at birth.
i think Goon Squad is gona become my favorite deadpool-ish copy in the world
at least the copies that lose some “mind reasoning” because of the amount of duplication haha
First Varia, and now Harem?
You’re either temping us with forbidden fruit for the sake of teasing us,
OR
Foreshadowing, and I do so hope it’s the latter.
Probably foreshadowing but I wouldn’t but it past the writer to have another pair that didn’t get a page. A few capes powered and unpowered were never introduced.
Does Goon Squad auto destruct over a sleep spell , a stun into unconsciousness, or similar loss of awareness?
‘Cause I know a reality hacker back at the base who could turn those suits transparent,permeable, and likely more to gather info on that Beach livin’ Goonie Super.
They remove their helmets and bear uncanny resemblance to Alfred E.Neuman(right down to the gap tooth smile)!!!
*giving birth to ten kids only for them to then return to being a single baby*
I don’t even have the equipment to bear children, and just imagining this scenario made me twitch in sympathy.
I have a new horrible fate for someone.
Aaaand Deus goes straight from “misunderstood genius working for the greater good” into the “criminal” pile again for dating a 19 year old.
Um, the legal age of consent is 18 in the U.S., so no, he doesn’t.
It may be creepy (let’s be honest, it is creepy for multiple reasons), but it takes two to tango as the saying goes. He isn’t forcing Daphne and no laws are being broken.
Of course he now also runs his own country, so the laws are whatever he says they are.
Funny…
I thought that was the way in the US now too. The law is whatever certain people say it is this particular moment and it will change when they open their mouth again.
Er, maybe not in the Grrrl universe?
Where isn’t that the case? When has that ever not been the case? That should certainly be the future we’re working towards, where the rules are consistent independent of who is applying them, and who they’re being applied to, but I doubt that’s ever actually been the case in anything but a transient, accidental fashion.
Yeah… he probably violates the creepiness rule of “1/2 your age plus 7”, given that he’s be running Galytn for a decade he’s gotta be much older than 24. I’d assuming he’s at least mid-30s.
I encountered that as what Louisa May Alcott (author of Little Women) said was the BEST age for a wife. A narrower age gap was just as much an issue as a wider one; a young woman of 19 should be paired up with a man of 24, with a 30-year-old being too mature, but a 20-year-old being too immature. I don’t think she portrayed either as “creepy”; certainly in the 19th century there were a lot of marriages where the bride was under 18.
I’ve personally known two women in the U.S. who got married at age 14 and one at 16. I can’t really recommend it. The first was a real mess. He was 33 and had a good job, she was one of 10 kids and the Great Depression had just really kicked in. Oh, and they were first cousins. They were married over 50 years but I know people who want to chisel the words “rat bastard” onto the husbands tombstone 30 years after he died. The second ran away from home to be with her eventual husband. Her two kids were both train wrecks. she hasn’t spoken to any of her first degree relatives in over 20 years and her mom had her taken out of the will. The 16 year old I only knew as a waitress who worked in the local café. She was pretty but it would be fair to say that she was a little slow. Not to the point of being intellectually disabled but not the sharpest knife in the drawer and given that this was rural Oklahoma she hadn’t received the most attention in school. He was about 40. Not the most ambitious fellow but he did have a job. I think that marriage lasted about ten years, long enough for her to grow up a bit and realize there was something more out there. So no, I don’t recommend May-December relationships when the younger partner is under 25.
Except where it is 16, which it is in a lot of states. unless…my, it gets complicated.
Gotta say… didn’t expect goon squad to be a rizzler
Honestly, I thought Harem was realizing she could fish for info to actually locate the guy and arrest him. I mean, she nearly had his age, and likely could have talked him out of a helmet too…
Wait…am I the only one who’s scratching his head over this Harem “instance” saying she’s 19? Does that mean all the other Harems are also 19? That just… *looks at Deus Harem* Hoooboy…
Yes, all the Daphne’s are 19 (give or take how often each one is put into storage, and for how long, we already know they are placed into the equivalent of suspended animation while stored: the state they were when being entered is the same as when they come out)
Hrrrmm… Except technically, most of her bodies are actually younger than that, since there were a few years between each one she gained, and she appears to have acquired the second body at 8 years old. Though I guess that depends on whether you consider a newly-generated perfect copy of an 8-year old body to be 8 or 0. Her newest body, whichever one that is, is only about 4 years old.
What’s great about fiction is that it allows us to explore these sort of questions, and tease out the underlying moral reasoning by separating things that in real life appear to be inseparable. It helps shift the discussion from the “what” to the “why”.
Also as someone else stated: age of consent is 18 (16 in a lot more states than you think… )
“19 years old” is a bit fuzzy for Harem. She may have been born 19 years ago, but between her five bodies, she’s got something like 40 or 50 years of life experience.
That. Moreover, we can assume that a superheroine, member of an elite paramilitary force, and global celebrity has considerable more life experience than your average freshwoman.
Some one else probably mentiond this, but i may maybe be the first(i doubt it)
If a duplicate do a crime, is the original automatically guilty of it?
Seems tricky if they have some form of autonomy(if that is the right word) thing going on, and we do see they are difrent from eachother, somewhat.
Dunno if it is only the original that can dupe oneself, or if the later ones can also split.
And as they do not seem to be a group mind, convincing one of doing something do not meen the others are at fault, or can take credit if they do something good.
Somewhat like a regular clone thing, but even more complicated as apparently he can re absorb the clones?
Seriously, every time one of those multiple birth shows gets advertised on the tv, my wife just yells out – “it’s a vagina, not a clown car!” I fully expected Dave to give me that joke in the bottom one off…
Going to drop an unfortunate Naruto reference, but I think Goon Squad’s dupes work like shadow clones. They are their own thing until they go down, then it all gets blasted back into the original, but until that happens, the information is within the dupe. It’s been shown (I think!?) that when his dupes go down, he’s not just aware of more than just that it happened. Pretty sure it was, anyway, during the assault on ARC-Swat’s base.
A little bit of hipnoboobs and Dabbler would extract all the information necesary to make the arrest. Goon squad days of evil minion are numbered.
Okay I sort of LOVE today’s comic to an unhealthy degree. :)
Harem is Romancing the Clone.
I love today’s comic so much that I am letting you get away with that one, ninja-free.
Neat. :)
That there is a real jewel of denial.
*takes long slow drag off a clove, grinning evily*
I think it’s time someone gave her THE TALK.
There come a time in every girls life(sometime after 30) when they start to have certain … urges… to use wordplay. It’s natural, and at times may make you feel a bit punny. You will even start to see dadjokes growing in unusual places, at inappropriate times. Just remember even though your going through these changes, you are still you, and as wierd or awkward as your grammer may be at times we still support you and applaude your terrible puns.
Punder.
I’m wondering how Goon Squad replenishes his numbers while he’s not really there. Can he create duplicates near any of his other duplicates? How “near”? Do they just materialize or does he make them *from* something?
It’s possible that he just fills up a bus load every time his clients send one.
He may not even know what they’re being used for, but is simply filling labor staffing orders. Even if he is aware, I seriously doubt even Ariana could get a conviction against him. The dupes all seem to be acting on their own, which means that legally, they’re each individually liable for their own actions.
It’s going to be insanely difficult, at best.
For my money…and I kinda hate saying it, the best way to neutralize Goon Squad may be taking him off the labour market via an exclusive hiring contract with Archon.
“each individually liable for their own actions.”
Seems like if Arianna was able to negotiate hiring Harem with 5 bodies, there’s some precedent for her (and her team) to work from on Ted’s situation. Given that Ted Prime undoubtedly gets the payout for all his copies’ work, not knowing exactly what they’re doing isn’t a meaningful defense. And we don’t know yet if Ted is driving or at least guiding each copy in any way, which seems like if his attention fractures proportionately, so culpability may lie on him directly as well as indirectly.
“Seems like if Arianna was able to negotiate hiring Harem with 5 bodies, there’s some precedent for her (and her team) to work from on Ted’s situation.”
The difference between Harem and Goon Squad is significant when it comes to liability in criminal activities though, because there’s only one mind with Harem, while there seem to be…. a lot of different minds with Goon Squad since they argue with each other. With Harem, it’s easy to prove mens rea and actus reu because even though there are multiple bodies, there’s only one mind at work, and all the bodies would be treated still as one legal ‘person.’ With Goon Squad this doesn’t work – not only is there definitely no mens rea from one Ted to another, there isnt even a way to prove that the physical actions of one Ted can be blamed in any way on another Ted’s body (ie, no actus reus either, at least for the Teds that did not commit a criminal act and were not anywhere nearby to be accessories).
“And we don’t know yet if Ted is driving or at least guiding each copy in any way, which seems like if his attention fractures proportionately, so culpability may lie on him directly as well as indirectly.”
Yeah, although it does not ‘seem’ like Ted Prime is guiding others – just that he has a general awareness of when they die, and maybe a general awareness of what they wind up doing after the fact. We havent seen any actual control by the primary Ted though over his copies. In a lot of way it’s very similar to Jamie Madrox from X-Men (Multiple Man) where the copies are distinct individuals until they are reabsorbed (except there doesnt seem to be any cognitive dimming with Jamie). The fact that they argue WITH each other, and they don’t always seem to understand what the others are saying (like the argument of the two guard Teds who were guarding Chimyriad’s torture session) or here where one tells the other Ted to shut up about revealing Ted Prime’s location, it lends to the theory that each dupe has a distinctly different mind.
“isnt even a way to prove that the physical actions of one Ted can be blamed in any way on another Ted’s body”
Right, Ted A and Ted B may have been acting completely independently from each other and Ted Prime from a physical and mental standpoint, unlike Harem, but at the bare minimum Ted Prime directed the clones to fulfill work he contracted – it’s (presumably) the entire reason for their existence. That makes him vicariously liable for their actions.
Quick search leads me to this article from a legal-oriented site, which says “There are three theories of vicarious liability in criminal law”:
Ted Prime definitely qualifies for the first 2 categories. On the last, I don’t think we’ve seen the Teds kill or even harm anyone directly, but they’ve certainly been involved in a plethora of other crimes at Ted Prime’s behest.
“but at the bare minimum Ted Prime directed the clones to fulfill work he contracted”
I don’t see where that can be assumed. We’ve already seen that clones have their own independent thoughts, and can be given orders long after the fact that Ted Prime is nowhere near them. Heck, Chimmy gave two of them orders which they followed. All Ted Prime might have done is say ‘You’re working for these people now.’ in a very general capacity. At that point onward, the clones have the ability to say no to anything illegal, and could be argued to be responsible for their own actions in following criminal commands. And as we’ve seen, the Teds don’t just do guard work. One was being a short order cook even. :)
Yeah in fact I’m going to argue that Ted Prime gave the clones with the intention of them all being short order cooks and gardeners and whatnot, and the Ascenders used them for purposes in defiance of the manufacturer’s intended use. :)
“Ted Prime definitely qualifies for the first 2 categories”
I don’t see how Ted Prime “definitely” qualifies for accomplice liability. He is not aidint, abetting, counselling, or encouraging any follow through. I’m also not sure how a conspiracy charge could be levelled against him if he was doing this in the way others have described in the scenario. :) You would have to prove that his providing of manpower in the way of dupes, who are NOT of the same mind of Ted Prime , had crime as the original objective. It’s possible but it would be REALLY difficult to prove. I suppose that a good attorney would be able to convince a jury that it was foreseeable, but a good defense attorney would definitely be able to present doubt, and that Ted Prime was had plausible deniability as to what the dupes would be used for. Just like if you sell your car on Craigslist and the buyer turns said car into a car bomb. It’s a possible argument to make, but not by any stretch a ‘definite’ qualification that he could have known beyond a reasonable doubt.
The reason I keep saying that using vicarious liability as a tort is easier (and even then there’s a lot of doubt that it would work) is because of the burden of proof required for criminal liability vs civil liability. Beyond a reasonable doubt vs a preponderance of evidence (51+ % likely).
“Other duties as assigned” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in this scenario. :D
I still think Ted must be getting all (or nearly all) of his clone’s paychecks, or at least a ridiculously high rate for a very large number of short-order cooks working for the same employer. Suspiciously high in fact, to the point that a judge would find he had reasonable cause to know there was something illegal going on.
Like I said earlier it could be a finders fee style payment or…. and this is possible… the evil supervillain organization does not pay in a way in accordance with employment laws. :)
Also could be for all types of other employment that dont involve … yknow… supervillainy. Not just short order cooks :D
And now I see your posts immediately below mentioning vicarious liability. :) The article I quoted (yes I know it’s a brief not binding/real legal analysis) suggests a much stronger (co-equal) vicarious liability for criminal actions, as Ted Prime is almost certainly a co-conspirator rather than just an employer.
And presumably an employer who directed or knowingly allowed any employee’s actions would also be more liable than an employer who was unaware of an employee’s activities. Even with a couple degrees of separation, it would be a pretty tough sell for Ted Prime to refute a charge that he had cause to know his clones were involved in illegal activity.
You are not actually wrong, technically. Accomplice liability is based on the defendant’s participation in a criminal enterprise and complicity with the criminal actor or principal, but vicarious liability transfers a defendant’s criminal responsibility for the crime to a different defendant because of a special relationship. It’s very rare that CRIMINAL liability would be vicariously transferred from employee to employer – it’s usually just easier to use an accomplice charge (either an accessory or an abettor). In Ted’s case, I don’t see how they could make an accessory(either before or after the fact without being able to show mens rea on behalf of Ted Prime), or an abettor (someone who is present actually or constructively at the commission of a crime and incites, encourages, or assists the offender) since Ted Prime isnt actually involved in any of that. Ted Prime did not help plan any crimes, and he did not protect the dupes after the crime – so not sure how he would be labelled an accessory. Ted Prime did not commission any of the crimes involved, nor did he encourage or assist them as far as I can see – so not sure how he would be labelled an abettor.
And like I said, even with a tort, which just requires an employer/employee relationship, it’s unlikely anyone could prove that Ted Prime told the Ted Dupes what to do, and it would be hard to show that the Ted Dupes jobs were in furtherance of a Ted Prime’s business if the ‘business’ was just providing manpower. If anything, it’s just the Ascenders who abused the relationship and Ted Prime merely provided manpower as a ‘finders fee’ sort of deal, at which point any business relationship between Ted Prime and ANY of the Ted Dupes ends. You could, however, say that the different Ted Dupes are criminal accessories with each OTHER.
I notice our resident lawer isn’t biting on this question.
I’m picturing Good Squad being dickish and showing up to his draft/intake appointment as 200 individuals and demanding that many unique copies of the forms. all of them have to be paid min wage!
I was busy working on a trademark on TEAS and on the phone with the USPTO on and off most of the day, so didnt have much time to respond to stuff. :)
I just did respond to this post though, and Bharda’s points are excellent here. I don’t see how there would not ALWAYS be some sort of defense for his original via a lack of mens rea (and technically ALSO a lack of actus reus) if his doubles are distinctly separate from him, even if they are no longer distinctly separate AFTER they disintegrate. The only possible thing I could ever see sticking are certain torts via vicarious liability, the same way that an employer can sometimes be financially liable for the actions of their employee. And that’s a tort, not a crime… and even then it’s not guaranteed to stick. Plus the workaround to keep Good Squad from doing crimes is simplicity itself and quite brilliant.
I just thought of something…
All of these dupes are probably under 21 years old….
wouldn’t that make them all legally children?
there are laws about employing children?
could they get goon squad on truancy laws?
can parents be held responsible for their children’s actions?
and just think of the tax rules- you can’t claim someone who makes over 4K a dependent under any circumstance.
please note this post may be CUI (in universe)
“I just thought of something…
All of these dupes are probably under 21 years old….”
Chronology-wise yes, biologically no. I look at it the same way as I look at the clones in Star Wars. They’re all actually no older than 9 or 10. Their aging was just sped up.
Or Kon-El from DC comics. He’s essentially one year old at first. He’s a baby, despite looking 18. They even have a whole discussion about it in the cartoon, Young Justice.
https://youtu.be/-842U0bAsJo?t=286
“there are laws about employing children?”
There are. But even if we decide that Goon’s dupes are children, the child isnt the one who is guilty of the crime. Nor would Ted be. The employer would be. Ted doesnt pay his dupes. The money comes from the Ascenders. The Ascenders would be guilty of the criminal action.
“and just think of the tax rules- you can’t claim someone who makes over 4K a dependent under any circumstance.”
Somehow I do not that Ted Prime is listing his dupes as dependents on his taxes. For one thing… they arent dependent upon him financially. Which is the point of calling someone a dependent.
“He may not even know what they’re being used for, but is simply filling labor staffing orders. Even if he is aware, I seriously doubt even Ariana could get a conviction against him.”
This is completely accurate. If he does not know what his dupes are being used for, the original is unlikely to have the mens rea to commit the crimes that his dupes commit. At BEST, he might be guilty of some torts (not crimes), due to some sort of ‘vicarious liability’ aspect of the original over the dupes. But that would just be money, not jailtime, and the plaintiff would have to prove actual damages.
“For my money…and I kinda hate saying it, the best way to neutralize Goon Squad may be taking him off the labour market via an exclusive hiring contract with Archon.”
Yeah. :) It would be a brilliant workaround to keep him from being a criminal and strengthening criminal enterprises. Not to mention he would actually be a LOT more useful in legal jobs, or as spies in Arc-Dark or intelligence gathering in Arc-Light (one person being able to scout out 20 different areas simultaneously) than as hired muscle (non-superstrength muscle) among supers, many of whom would have superstrength or enhanced strength.
So it occurs in Texas- How about operating a unregistered security company providing ARMED security guards. misdemeanor
Federal- manufacturing firearms (they all had the same gun as their maker) without a BATF Class two? manufacturung license, creating firearms without a distinct serial number (or other means of unique identification).
International usage of his dupes?- Operating as a PMC without US Gov authorization. Another Club Fed charge.
Unregistered Security Company: “Hey, I was just asked to provide general laborers. I was paid to put these laborers in touch with Douchebag Unlimited, and I have no idea what sort of work they elected to undertake after that point.”
Arms Manufacturing w/o a License: “Wow, that’s pretty serious. I’m eager to see the facility where you’ve established this very specifically defined process involving significant amounts of heavy machinery and logistical support. Oh? You think I used my power to do that? Huh. Well, how have you proved that, exactly?”
International PMC Operations w/o Federal Approval: “Yeah, man, sorry. I’m just a employment agent. Like I said, what clients do after I introduce them to workers is outside the scope of my contracted services.”
Plus with the arms manufacturing, you can legally make guns for your own use – just not for sale and distribution. That’s the whole uproar people had about 3D printed guns. :) OR the Ascenders might have provided the guns, not Ted Prime. Which again puts any fault on the Ascenders and maybe the dupes.
if the original guns did have serial numbers then yes it is a BATF violation to duplicate those numbers since it hampers the traceability of a firearm. (it’s only a federal reg) But yes it it is Ted’s own ghost guns then no dupe serials issue.
As for security Company Texas DPS literally hunts you down,fines you, and forces you to register as a security company anytime your people act as “guards” . aka you will register in Texas.
-Sec. 1702.108. GUARD COMPANY. A person acts as a guard company for the purposes of this chapter if the person employs an individual described by Section 1702.323(d) or engages in the business of or undertakes to provide a private watchman, guard, or street patrol service on a contractual basis for another person to:
(1) prevent entry, larceny, vandalism, abuse, fire, or trespass on private property;
(2) prevent, observe, or detect unauthorized activity on private property;
(3) control, regulate, or direct the movement of the public, whether by vehicle or otherwise, only to the extent and for the time directly and specifically required to ensure the protection of property;
(4) protect an individual from bodily harm including through the use of a personal protection officer; or
(5) perform a function similar to a function listed in this section.
–
“if the original guns did have serial numbers then yes it is a BATF violation to duplicate those numbers since it hampers the traceability of a firearm. (it’s only a federal reg) But yes it it is Ted’s own ghost guns then no dupe serials issue.”
Ghost guns do not need serial numbers. That’s pretty much the reason they’re called ghost guns. If anything, the only requirement for the duped guns would be to REMOVE those serial numbers. :)
“As for security Company Texas DPS literally hunts you down,fines you, and forces you to register as a security company anytime your people act as “guards” . aka you will register in Texas.”
Like I said, this argument you made was the only one that had any realistic chance against Ted Prime. And since I’m barred in NY and Ohio and Federal District court, but not in Texas yet (although I’ll be taking the Texas bar when I move to Texas in the next year or so), I was not aware that there was a specific state regulation in Texas. Great argument you made. :)
HOWEVER… there are several other arguments which could protect Ted Prime from the ‘you did not register as a security guard firm’ attack – most of which come down to ‘He isnt running a security guard company in the first place.’
1) None of this can be put on Ted Prime if he’s not supplying them as guards – just as manpower for generic work. Like you showed in what you copied – “engages in the business of or undertakes to provide a private watchman, guard, or street patrol service on a contractual basis for another person.” So you’re going to need to show that the contract was for those services.
If you hire a person to be a burger flipper or construction work or holding a sign on a street corner as a living advertisement from a temp agency, and they are hired by a company and put to work doing security guard duty, it’s not the temp agency’s fault, it’s the employer’s fault. :) Ted Prime would not need to be licensed as a security company in this case. And I’m pretty sure there’s no paper trail which you’d be able to find to show the REASON for the dupes being provided.
2) If there is no business by Ted Prime at all to begin with, then each of the dupes is acting as an independent contractor, not as a company. In which case there’s no actual tie between the dupes and the prime at all beyond that Ted Prime got paid as a type of ‘finders fee.’
“if the original guns did have serial numbers then yes it is a BATF violation to duplicate those numbers since it hampers the traceability of a firearm”
The serial number is for the original gun – not any duplicates made. So the only thing they’d have to do is remove any serial numbers from the dupes. And we do not know whether this hasnt been done already (it makes sense that a secret organization might be filing off any serial numbers on guns in the first place). And… that assumes the original gun is itself not a ghost gun. :)
It would be like taking an original gun, turning it into parts, putting those parts in a 3D printer scanner, then printing out 3D duped parts and putting the duped gun together.
Oh… also you’d need to be able to show in court that the serial numbers are duped. Since the guns turn into butter mints when separated from the Ted dupes for a certain period of time, I’m not sure how the court would be able to present them as evidence.
wait a minute- last I knew the dupes equipment turned into skittles when the goon did. given that they are more fragile than normal people, aware of this, and do not appear to have even a normal fear of ‘death’. How are you reading the dupe’s gun serial number again? for all we know they could turn to skittles just tugging hard enough on handcuffs.
I can just imagine it-
‘judge id like to introduce exhibit 534, gun taken from goon number 120.’
‘Objection- prosecution is trying to pass a bag of skittles as a gun’
‘your honor it was a gun when it was bagged’
things go downhill from here.
“How are you reading the dupe’s gun serial number again? ”
I mentioned that in one of my responses to Mark but good response to you as well. :)
Cameras are also a thing, close-up video footage of the guns would work. Especially if the footage showed them candifying to prove where they went.
Not that the Teds would likely stick around long enough for the team to record more than one or two guns.
1) Depends on how the video evidence is acquired and the reliability of that video evidence.
2) I’m going to press x for doubt that there are video cameras that are able to zero in on the serial number on Goon Squad’s firearm. Especially with enough specificity for it to be capable of being used as evidence in court.
Just recording the guns themselves on camera does not prove anything except there were guns used – not anything about serial numbers on the guns. Google image how small and difficult those numbers are to read if you don’t have the physical gun in your possession. :)
Right, I meant specifically videoing the serial numbers. The Archon team is carrying smart phones and standing right next to him, totally plausible to get sufficient resolution. Especially from a more distracted Ted.
Proving a duplicate number on at least 2-3 guns should be enough to make a case that all of his guns are identical.
Since I don’t actually know much about guns, I googled to see how easy it was to read serial numbers. It’s not even remotely easy. :) Nor is it usually on a part of the gun easily viewable while it’s being used by another person. Usually it seems to be etched into the metal – not even a color differentiation.
Nearly every gun I’ve handled, a decent variety of types and ages, at least part of the number has been easy to see even when not specifically looking for it. Even when the full number is on the interior, often several exterior parts have at least a portion of the full number (generally the final characters which are most unique).
The application method and location of serial numbers vary widely by manufacturer, but they’re usually engraved, stamped or laser etched. The legal requirements* state the number must be “conspicuously placed”, and specify a minimum font height and embedded depth for the characters; that depth creates a readable contrast in even halfway decent lighting, due to shadows and/or different reflectivity, even though the material is a uniform color.
If someone on the team is close enough to handle the weapon, they’re close enough that the number should show up well on a smartphone camera in this lighting. And if ArcLight thinks to request it before all the Teds pop and their equipment candifies, which they should be aware of from the HQ raid, anyone on the team should be able to partially strip a couple guns to expose the full number for photographing. Or Harem could pop a few of them back to HQ for some rapid disassembly and analysis.
Tangentially, I just realized Harem’s multiple copies and ability to teleport with objects creates a gigantic loophole in the chain of custody if she ever moves evidence. Even if all her copies are wearing continuously monitored GPS (which we know they’re not), in the eyeblink it takes for the signal to sync she could easily double-port to an intermediate location (possibly within a Faraday cage). With minimum preparation, she could plant, replace, or dispose of evidence in spite of continuous monitoring and being watched on both ends. Probably making the transfering copy wear several body cams would make it harder for her to beat, but she’s highly unlikely to accept that requirement for any copy except the on-duty one so it would have to be arranged in advance or part of the standard protocol for her handling evidence.
* TIL that the gun control act of 1968 (the source of the serial requirement) was a response to the JFK assassination.
There are basically a lot of arguments for defending Ted – most of which tend to come down to a lack of mens rea and actus reus. So most of what you said would not affect Ted Prime – especially if he only provided the bodies, not the guns or armor.
But playing devil’s advocate for a moment, most of your arguments probably still wouldnt work (although they’re inventive argument). The first one might though.
“How about operating a unregistered security company providing ARMED security guards. misdemeanor”
You’re assuming he’s unlicensed, but yes I suppose that would work as a misdemeanor charge, assuming he was hired as a security guard. If he was hired as a bodyguard instead, I’m not sure that the same licensing is required. There might be in Texas but I haven’t found any. The SBA probably has a list of different states and licensing requirements for different businesses though.
“manufacturing firearms (they all had the same gun as their maker) without a BATF Class two? manufacturung license, creating firearms without a distinct serial number (or other means of unique identification).”
There is no federal requirement to manufacture a firearm for personal use – only to manufacture a firearm for sale or distribution. Ted basically has a ghost gun that he made himself when he makes dupes of himself. That doesnt require any license, actually. There have been a bunch of cases about that, all which tend to go in favor of the gun user.
Ted could claim his firearms are homemade guns like ghost guns and 3D-printed guns, which require no registration, serial number, or background check under federal law. Laws like the GCA (Gun Control Act) of 1968 only covers persons engaged in the business of dealing in firearms – not just people who use homemade firearms.
It’s also possible that Ted did not provide the original gun in the first place – the Ascenders did. We don’t know. I’m just going under the assumption that its his gun and armor.
“International usage of his dupes?- Operating as a PMC without US Gov authorization. Another Club Fed charge.”
I think that saying that there’s a federal law against using your own dupes would be unconstitutional for the same reason that the Superhuman Registration Act in Marvel comics was, if it occurred in RL, unconstitutional. The Constitution does not allow any bills of attainder, according to Article I, Section 9, Clause 3. “No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.” A bill of attainder is legislation which imposes punishment on a specific person or group of people without a judicial trial. In short, you can’t make laws about not allowing people to use powers – as if you’re making it illegal for certain people to just HAVE superpowers without reporting them. You CAN have laws against criminal actions using superpowers, just like you can have a law against people punching others, but not a law against people who are too muscular because they might punch someone and it would hurt more than the average person who punches. :)
Unless when you say ‘dupes’ you mean his guns – which I would again point to the GCA of 1968 not covering ghost guns for personal use, since he’s not selling or distributing those guns to other people – it’s just for him.
Or… more specifically, his dupes are not selling their guns. And if they are separate people, then Ted Prime isnt doing anything in the first place and any arguments you have would be against the dupes, not against Ted Prime. :)
I need amend my statement.
If Goon Squad is a US Citizen, the most effective means of getting him off the market would be to draft his happy little ass. All the benefits of an exclusive hire, with no obligation to pay him more than E-1 pay, AND he becomes subject to the UCMJ.
To the best of my knowledge, not a single person has been drafted since the Vietnam war. And I am not certain we can draft in a non-wartime scenario.
I don’t think it’d fly, he’d probably win a lawsuit.
You can’t draft one specific person because of their powers or abilities. That would be a bill of attainder, which would be unconstitutional under Article I. The reason the draft is legal and NOT a bill of attainder is it’s not against any one person or one group of people.
Your point is taken, though I feel confident I could Rube Goldberg something together that would just barely pass muster.
“We failed to meet or recruiting quotas, and will be activating our selective service option and randomly drawing the requisite number of SSN’s.”
*one Krona fiddly-hacking later*
“Congratulations, Mr. Citizen, on your induction to the Department of Defense. The Secretary has determined that your aptitudes best meet the needs of Archon…”
*the other draftees get quietly washed out of Army BASIC a month later*
…but as I said before, getting h8m on an exclusive contrac5 is probably the best option.
Oh I’m sure there are ways to illegally manipulate the law to do that. But, as stated… it would not be legal. Whereas your idea for just giving him an exclusive contract is completely legal and brilliant (and I wish I had posted the idea first). Putting him under exclusive contract to ONLY provide dupes for ARCHON or the US government. Because I’m assuming Ted is doing this line of work for money, not beause he thinks being a Goon is a higher calling.
It’s the whole ‘Cut Lex Luthor a Check’ trope, used positively. :)
If you can’t prove it happened, it didn’t happen.
You know that better than anyone else here.
“It doesn’t matter what the prosecution knows, it matters what they can _prove_.”
Somehow I’d expect that the superHERO group ARCHON would want to do this legally, and not engage in criminality in order to dispose of the supervillains. There are too many people in ARCHON who would not be okay with illegally manipulating things in order to catch the bad guys. That’s the thing about superheroes – they tend to have codes of morality that they abide by.
And if you do prove it, or if there’s a whistleblower, then it’s a huge scandal which could bring down the newly formed ARCHON. Versus just using a legal means to deal with Goon Squad.
From both a moral and a practical standpoint, your first idea works SO much better. In fact, if they were going to use illegal means to manipulate the draft in order to get Goon Squad out of commission, might as well do the same things that the Ascenders do. Hold his loved ones hostage, etc. Or do the Amanda Waller Suicide Squad route of putting a bomb in the brain of Ted Prime.
It’s just so much easier to just give him a job working for them and cutting him a check. They have done it already for others in Archon. Mr Amorphous, Heatwave, Achilles and Digit were vigilantes. And Jabberwokky was a full on criminal. Detla was/is an alien mercenary. Now they work for ARCHON (although I don’t think Detla is getting paid aside from getting to train under superheroes, which is probably more valuable to her than Earth currency – who knows).
it has been a very long time… I remember reading an HR article. the upshot was the military in special cases (the example given the machinist was an expert in munition manufacture) the military can recruit civilians directly into ranks. not only that but the original employer had to be able to hire them back into their old position for several years after. if they offered him a choice of becoming a member of the military (archon) with leadership able to regulate his clones, as part of a civil settlement that may pass muster. also, if the archon upper leadership is at all competent, Harem’s existence should have prompted them to try and get the sandy wheels of Congress moving on some new frameworks to deal with duping hero’s. and the discovery of Goon squad would likely grease it as ‘disposable’ guards have their uses in official capacities too. put it in a bill along with better protections against coercion of supers.
“the military can recruit civilians directly into ranks. not only that but the original employer had to be able to hire them back into their old position for several years after.”
This is correct, but only in cases of the draft I believe. And like I mentioned to Bharda, the reason the draft is legal and not a bill of attainder is it’s not singling out any person or group of people. It’s a very broad, blanketing amount of people – no specificity against any small groups or individuals in order to essentially enslave them against their will.
“if they offered him a choice of becoming a member of the military (archon) with leadership able to regulate his clones, as part of a civil settlement that may pass muster”
This is correct. But it wouldnt be a draft. It be basically asking him to enlist (or be a civilian consultant) for a large paycheck, who has to sign a very specific contract preventing him from using his service with anyone outside of ARCHON. Which would be completely legal.
“also, if the archon upper leadership is at all competent, Harem’s existence should have prompted them to try and get the sandy wheels of Congress moving on some new frameworks to deal with duping hero’s.”
That would likewise be a problematic possible bill of attainder, given how few supers there are, let along supers with duplication powers. The court would almost definitely see it as a law specifically against one person (Goon Squad) or against one VERY small group of people (supers who can self-duplicate). Bills of attainder is the main reason why stuff in comics like the Mutant Registration Act in X-Men and the Superhuman Registration Act in Avengers would probably be struck down in RL if the other elements were true in RL. Unless they could make a new Amendment to the Constitution making an exception to the ‘No bills of attainder’ rule in Article I, which seems to be the only real way to do what you’re suggesting constitutionally. Which… could happen I guess?
Pretty sure if the original is the one getting paid for all the duplicates that as the primary beneficiary of their labors they can go after him for the deeds the Goons do while earning such money, right?
Otherwise they’d have to get paid independently and the money literally go unclaimed after death. if original is the primary beneficiary, then you have repeated mass murder of your own duplicates to generate money for yourself. Sending them off to die could have them leveling Murder 1 charges and a whole bunch of others involving slave labor onto Prime Ted, couldn’t they?
The original would have to prove absolutely no connection to the Goons after creation to get off free.
Somehow I suspect that the secret supervillain society does not pay with ADP or Paypal. :)
“Pretty sure if the original is the one getting paid for all the duplicates that as the primary beneficiary of their labors they can go after him for the deeds the Goons do while earning such money, right?”
He might just get paid for providing the dupes in advance in a lump sum every time he has to make more.
“Sending them off to die could have them leveling Murder 1 charges and a whole bunch of others involving slave labor onto Prime Ted, couldn’t they?”
They are going voluntarily on their missions. That’s a significant intervening act. Plus they don’t actually seem to care much about dying. Plus…. they arent actually dying per se, are they. They’re just ceasing to exist. They’re basically human Mr. Meseeks. Lookatme! :)
Not to mention it’s not Murder in the First anyway by definition. Murder in the first degree is any intentional murder that is willful and premeditated with malice aforethought. Premeditation requires that the defendant planned the murder before it was committed or was “lying in wait” for the victim. Doesn’t fit here. Maybe you’re thinking felony murder instead. But again it wouldnt have anything to do with Ted Prime – it would be on the Ascenders though, if you could claim they were actually killed.
“The original would have to prove absolutely no connection to the Goons after creation to get off free.”
Well… not really. Technically. The government would have to prove there WAS a connection to the Goons after creation where Ted Prime was in any way making the Goons do stuff against their will. Ted doesn’t have to prove his innocence – the prosecution has to prove his guilt.
“Somehow I suspect that the secret supervillain society does not pay with ADP or Paypal. :)”
/nod
We’ve seen they are very active advocates of the “incentive program”.
It might be challenging to get him to accept an exclusive contract, when the nature of his power allows him to accept far more than a singular person normally would be able to handle. He has very little opportunity cost to hold him in check, whereas normally some would have to make a decision, and just go with the best offer.
An exclusive contract doesn’t really stop him unless it has an enforcement mechanism to it too.
Daphne is 100% thinking about what it’d be like to have sex with the same guy using multiple bodies all at the same time. And not the sitting around finding ways to entertain yourself and waiting for a turn kind of at the same time.
I mean, there are people who are into group stuff, but I could imaging her trying to set up a group thing for the experience only to discover how hard it is to schedule a group of 6 people to meet up at the same time for an activity. Sydney can prolly relate. But with Goon Squad she is thinking it’s simpler. You don’t need an excel spreadsheet to figure out when everyones schedule aligns.
She’s really trying to pull the Age Gap thing, even though she’s doing stuff with Deus?
I really like goon squad, he is so chill… I kind of ship this, wether he just becomes the recurring minion cannon fodder, gets hired by Deus or Archon etc, I like the idea of him and Harem being an item. Too bad Harem’s carry on capacity for Teleporting only includes people if they are Varia, for many reasons, but Harem being able to port in a litteral army via Goon squad would have been fun.
Also After Seeing that one of the Goons was the chef in the cafeteria- I have to wonder if he is providing all the labor for such things, it means that the people behind this organization only have to pay one very big check instead of many decently large checks and take precautions against information leaks. Too bad for him about the Mental effect of his power, or he could do better against things like Chymeriad impersonating one of him.
We need the Piper Peri meme but with Harem and Goon Squad, so multiplied up by 5
Gonna need a really really big couch.
Probably at least a triple decker.
Someone get Emmet from the Lego Movie here right away.