Grrl Power #209 – Dramatic speed lines ensue!
As I said under the previous page, I wasn’t happy with the action on it, so I went and flipped through a few pages of artists I consider the gold standard for such things, namely Masahiko Nakahira, responsible for several Street Fighter related manga and Yūsuke Murata who draws One Punch Man. This page is the result and I have to say I’m pleased with it. It’s not on their level, but I’m not going to improve that much in one page. Math’s back spin summer-assault kick in the second panel is partially an homage to Nakihara’s depiction of Guile’s Flash Kick from the Cammy Manga, which you can see here. I saw no way to improve on that, so I flipped Math around for his move. I guess his boots are steel heeled as well as steel toed.
I still see many ways the action on this page could be better, especially panel six, the one with Concretia getting knocked out of building. There’s a lot going on in that one, and part of drawing good action is making it clear what’s happening. We’ve all seen manga full of speed lines, bursts, explosions and what have you, and while a single panel may look dramatic, if there’s no flow then it’s leaving money on the table. Panel six really should have been broken down to make clear what’s happening, one of her exploding from the building, and another of her flying toward the guy with the cowl before he smacks her aside, but then this update would have been three pages tall. I’m not necessarily opposed to doing that, but there are time constraints to consider.
Here’s a conundrum for you. If you throw a punch, what do you do with a kick? Kick a kick? Swing a kick? Jump, slide, toss, shimmy? English is weird.
In case you missed it, I’m doing a series of guest strips over at GynoStar. The first one is still up, the next one should be up on Thursday, which I’ll link when the next page goes up.
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A good manag to read for nice ‘feeling’ and looking action is, surprisingly – Maken Ki (just ignore the harem,romance,ecchi stuff :P )
*manga ………………i hate my spelling and must now ritually suicide
i know that feel bro … hahaha
Shoot a clone you will feel better.
Works for me.
When a Kick is about to be…thrown for lack of a better useage, it’s called Chambering a kick.
Throwing a kick is correct, chambering is the action of preparing to throw the kick, and actually is optional. You can throw a kick without chambering, as if you are throwing a second kick from a previous move, but you lose a lot of power and accuracy when you do that. Yeah, I’ve studied a bit.
I just like the idea of ‘Dropping a kick’ being the go to thing.
Your stance or position shouldn’t require repositioning / telegraphing attacks. Sounds like you were taught in America.
I’ve also heard people say, “Firing off a kick”, or “unleashing a kick”.
Don’t forget “Snapping” a kick.
We just called it kicking lol
I love how Maxima is using Achilles as a (super)human bullet and he’s just like “I wonder if my steak will still be warm after this battle?”
I know that my favorite panel cause of that.
Fastball Special… although with someone as goofy as Achilles, it might be more of a screwball.
It actually feels to me like Math’s line is better without the second part. “There’s no such thing.” is a punchy one liner all on its own.
It could stand alone, but the way DaveB has done it is actually a subtle example of the difference between good writing and great writing. And that is said ignoring the fact that the second part is essential, for the final punchline by Halo.
Standing alone, the action builds up to a great visual climax, but it lacks any emotional strength. The emotional peak comes with the only line of dialogue, and the rest of the action would carry a somewhat anti-climactic feel to it.
Whereas with the “…” to indicate the statement is incomplete there are two aspects. Firstly it is a bluff. Like saying “draw your gun on 3” and then shooting on 2. He is a normal fighting a super-human, in her area of speciality. Hand-to-hand fighting. But he denies her the opportunity to block or counter-attack, by striking decisively mid-sentence. Aided by this ruse. It also helps to emphasise how quickly he hit.
Secondly, it builds a tension. To me, although I correctly anticipated the ending, it built up a tension. “What is he going to say?” Retaining this all the way through the following action. The fact that it was quite a complex sequence prolonging the duration that the curious suspense is maintained. Which also, and cleverly, simultaneously extends the emotion of the initial scene, through all the subsequent panels. Not ending until his final panel. The intensity of his pose and trademark boring-through-shower-walls-stare complimenting the power of his last line. Making a very strong, dramatic, climax.
And from that emotional high, the comedic follow-up by Sydney was superbly timed. Going from fever-pitched emotional high, to the witty put down. Without Achilles’s final line, her gag would have had to be completely rewritten. But, worse than that, it would have fallen after a purely visual action scene, and would not have had the emotional high to bounce off off. The joke, whatever it could have been, might have fallen flat.
In drama and comedy, timing is everything. And Dave paced it perfectly!
Methinks you may be overthinking the whole thing way too much.
Call me biased, but I like Yorp’s interpretation of the page. :D
The alternative could have been:
“…and you’re just a human.”
“Bitch, please.”
Considering Math’s personality, I honestly can’t see him cussing for anything less than a serious brown pants moment. Even then it’d be more of a ‘oh shit’ than anything. He doesn’t need coarse language to make himself seem badass. He IS badass, and he wants to find someone who’s even more badass than he is.
I’m not saying coarse language should NOT be used, just that it should fit. Proper using and timing of an F bomb for example is what separates coarse language for shock value or to feel “hip or cool” from a genuine “oh god, things are getting Messy” moment.
The Yorp is a student of the visual arts?
Afraid not. The best I can lay claim to is the fact that my dad gave me an early start in life, in appreciating such things. In the form of photography and film, from a professional’s perspective.
I have to agree that using “There’s no such thing.” and leaving it there would fit Some characters, does NOT however fit Math. Her calling him “Just A Human” is his “Trigger”, his “Berserk Button” if you will. His line in response was one hundred percent pure Math. It’s also one of his taglines, “There’s no such thing as ‘Just A Human’.”
Being the first big fight he HAD to use that tagline. I mean, its obligatory. The final panel really drove that point home. About ‘No such thing as Just a Human.’
His annoyed expression, the lack of any damage or strain for pushing such a “heavy” object, and Halo’s casual commentary really drove a big and vital point home.
Math can Play With The Big Boys.
So laser orb girl jumps aside, falls into the hole, lands on Sydney’s shield and the two engage in an orb-fu match. Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets and protect your shins.
I’d have to put money on Sydney. So far we’ve only seen Hex shoot lasers (mostly in the same way that storm troopers shoot blasters…), but Sydney has a ginormous suite of powers even if you don’t include blunt-force-trauma-by-magic-orb.
That being said, Hex looks like Sydney’s parallel on their side. Not in the “floaty-thingy” department, but in the adorable comic relief department. I love her expressions in the pages we’ve seen her.
Furthermore, L.O.G. might not be able to use her orbs as weapons in and of themselves as Sydney can.
Speaking of which, just what is she firing at or is she just panic-firing?
We’ve also seen her fly… or is that so unremarkable as to not even be worth mentioning?
I must confess that I had a feeling we had too. But when I checked back, I found that she had only been standing on the roof. Likewise on the page where Hex made her appearance.
Whilst it is a fair assumption that she flew up there, it is not certain, by any means. Just like the Arc-light team*, she could have had a lift up. Or even gotten there by mundane means, via a fire escape ladder, or some such.
* Although not shown in the comic, DaveB mentioned, in a reply to a comment querying where they were, that they had been flown to a roof, in the area, ‘off-camera,’ by one of the Archon flyers.
Not then, now.
Unless she’s diving off the roof just to get out of the way, which seems a bit of a frying pan / fire situation.
Ahh, gotcha. If you browse through the earlier comments, you will see that there is some dispute as to whether she is flying or jumping, in the scene above. I assumed your comment took that into account, and was therefore dealing with the previous times we have seen her.
But, like you, I am of the opinion that she is flying, in this scene. That said though, I would not put money on it. It could go either way.
Ok. I think Math just became one of my favorites character EVER.
Thought I feel the need to ask… is he really human? I mean yeah martial art can allow you to do crazy stuff and he probably started his training in his mother’s womb (I can only imagine his mom being like “aww he just spin-kicked! that’s so adorable”). But he claim that every single one of his ancestors were martial artists for generations before his birth. I have some doubt that another man, going through the exact same training as him could go as far.
Math’s mom owned this shirt:
https://acidsquirrel.com/post/46515
A pictograph of the origins of the phrase “deliver a kick”.
Today’s strip. In which Math is Hard.
+1
So, not only does “paper cover rock,” but also “Math breaks rock.”
evil! I like!
I can’t believe I’m the first one to mention this, and I know Dave already said he modeled Math after Guile in the third panel, but does anyone else see similarities between Math’s kick style and Sanji from One Piece?
https://i.imgur.com/1eoFjuB.jpg
I’ve never actually seen One Piece. I mean I’ve seen maybe half an episode worth but I’ve never watched it. I’ve been told it’s basically just Naruto/Bleach with a bit more humor.
Well, it is older than the two, by far more creative. And popular. As in “the most popular manga series ever” popular. Recently its sales figures just about matched those of the remaining top ten series together.
As for the comedy: It wholly depends on what arc you’re talking about, respectively what part of an arc. It sometimes switches from outright hilarious to serious drama in a heartbeat. And usually pulls it off quite well at that!
It’s not for everyone, but it surely is worth a try. (As for myself, I only occasionally read/watch some of it. I like it, but it’s not very high on my reading list.)
As far as the current “big three” are concerned One Piece is by far the best (manga, honestly don’t care much about the animes anymore). Naruto just went full lazy “Son of prophecy”-storyline, with me constantly going “Wasn’t this about Ninjas at some point?” and Bleach really went off the deep end.
Simple fact is, I have an easier time telling what’s going on in One Piece, since Oda has a far better grasp on his storyline than Kishimoto and ESPECIALLY Kubo. And when a manga about a world where guns can eat fruit makes more sense than your “serious” manga, something’s definetly wrong.
Concerning the original point…nah, I don’t see much similarity between Math and Sanji other than both being blond and Math kicking someone. As elaboration: Sanji’s the chef of the pirate crew surrounding the protagonist. He thinks that you shouldn’t use your hands in combat as a chef, so all his attacks are based around kicks, usually connected to some cooking reference…and lately his leg starting to burst into flames….without hurting him or his clothes.
And yes, I unironically stand by my assessment that this STILL makes more sense than anything I’ve seen of Naruto and Bleach during the last year or so.
Yeah. As I recall the fruit eating cannon had even the character in-world scratching their heads and asking how the hell that made sense. I find One Piece entertaing in short doses but it’s hardly a pinnacle of writing.
Yep. Pretty much.
One Piece is what happens when a man decides to make a story that runs on “Cool” and “Awesome”, when that man also happens to have a firm grasp of all the storytelling basics such as “timing”, “Plot”, “continuity” and “Drama”.
The strangest and coolest thing about it? It just keeps ramping things up, and has been since it started. The most incredible part is that it’s done this continuously over almost 700 chapters, without losing the charm and heart at the core of the story and cast, or making things overly “Marty Stue Protagonist Shoenen Anime” like Bleach has seemingly had to do to keep up. Bleach seems to suffer from a Western Comic Book issue where there was enough story in the setting and characters for one really good arc, followed by one or two mediocre sequels- but popularity has forced the creators to keep the series going with the most slapdash and hastily-wrought continuity patches and story grafts they can find. Naruto, like Headbiter said, has basically abandoned the seeming original storyline to focus on “Look how much @22 everyone can kick!” and give excuses for pretty splash pages. One Piece, though far from world-changing literature, feels like a cohesive whole- like Oda specifically created the entire thing before even setting brush to paper for the first time, expecting that it would be able to run long enough to tell the whole story. It’s not iteration after iteration like Bleach, or what almost feels like organic Oratory in Naruto, but is an artfully crafted work of fictional comedy/action literature.
tl;dr It’s cool, it’s long, you should watch it (it’s free! and Legal!) if you have a couple weeks/months to kill, or put the dub on in the background/on a different screen.
Back to the original point, I just thought Math looked Sanji-esque, with his hands in his pockets, displaying a mixture of swagger and nonchalance, blonde hair, kicking the shit out of someone.
Took a bit to realize but.
Math is fast, fast as in that isn’t (just ;) human. You won’t see me (or most people who practice a martial at and are at least decent at it) make a kick that isn’t aimed at the legs of an opponent since anything above that it’s just to slow and predictable.
Maths kicked so fast that he could do it mid (1/3 to be precise :) sentence without Concretia being able to even react.
So yes that 4 point rating of (reaction)speed is probably not an exaggeration.
Fast yes, impossibly fast –maybe. But maybe he was also easing forward non threateningly (hands in pockets and she thought she was effectively invulnerable to him). And when he says, “Let me tell you something..” he drops his tone a little so she leans in nice and close… BAM.
While she is in midair, he gets moving again in a 3-4 steps run and transfers all his momentum to her with legs that are sinewy and able to push him from Anvil to second floor balcony without a stitch or quiver. Math just pushes her out of the open window –REALLY open now.
The smoke is from the Dark Megan strikes. What I find interesting beyond that is that Sydney is not standing on shadow dude, her shield is now small enough to only enclose herself. Allows Harem to hog-tie him….
The 2013 International Kyokoshin Karate tournament had plenty of kicks that weren’t aimed at the legs… I’d say they were “at least decent” at martial arts.
There are guys out there who can put their foot to your head and back to the floor in about half a second. On the street, I’m happy being able to put it in your stomach in that time, and send you flying.
First I’ve to say that I was a bit wrong. It is not below elbow height not just the legs. And not thinking about where the hand to hand is taking place. A contest/sparring match generally has nice rules to play by.
But back to the kicking. if you kick above elbow height better do enough damage to be able to recover balance. Or if aiming for the head (another favorite of external type martial arts) you better make it a knock out or you’d get hammered while recovering from being prone (most of the time that is). Generally you’d get that time by the referee interrupting and directing both contestants back to their position in a contest/sparring match.
Anyhow my point was that Math isn’t just good but as claimed so good it is functionally impossible to distinguish between him being a supernormal or a regular super.
Thing is, most who train to kick you in the head, also learn how to balance on one leg so they don’t also end up on their arse (“Muscles from Brussels” comes to mind)
A kick coming from below the chin can be hidden by proper stance and weight shifting if you are close enough. Talking can also help. It is amazing how much action our own face blocks if you are close enough, if the one striking are good enough to minimize telegraphing. Kicking close in requires front leg kicking power, which must be trained for specifically, but I think Math has that covered. It is a ballsy move, but not impossible and that is a prime KO location to strike (under the chin) if you can deliver a strong blow (think haymaker or kick such as this one). As you spar regularly you develop a strong sense for the movement abilities of your opponents just by seeing them move before a match – so he would of had material grounds for making the bet he was faster even in the short time she was on screen.
Betting you can shift her mass, that would of been a larger gamble. With super strength a possibility and rock skin visible judging over all weight by movement goes out the window. It is surprising what even two inches of height can do to the mass of a person, adding in rock skin and it is a whole different ball park. The floor vibrations from her run would give some idea, but if she was rock all the way through rather than meat with a rock shell and he was “just” top possible strength for a human he may of been boned kicking her like that. Steel shoes, as David B says.
Expertise: Martial artist, spar daily for 17 years.
That should of said “near daily” on the last line. Pardon the hyperbole, at work so a little distracted.
Is it just me… but does Math look a LOT like Vegeta in the third panel? His entire expression just screams Vegeta to me.
If you really want some good references for hand-to-hand combat and martial arts, History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi is a good manga to go to.
Loved Math in this one, very awesome stuff~
Personally, I can’t stop thinking of Math as the Anti-Ranma.
He’s of comparable power level to Ranma near manga’s end.
I tend to believe that the Ranma universe works on the assumption that people can keep improving as long as they keep training, though it gets progressively harder to both improve and maintain level. Presumably, there’s a tipping point at which point one is functionally immortal even if you stop training completely.
Which would explain the Just Won’t Die fanfics
Is it me or is Math channeling Vegeta? The second panel all the way through serious reminds me of him when he is talking down to “Kakarot”. I can honestly say, Math is becoming my second fave character in this comic. (Sydney being first of course.)
All this speculation…I mean, really. Math had deliberately styled his hair to resemble a Super Sayain. I think he *deliberately* has adopted the image to emphasize that he’s just simply THAT GOOD.
Wow. Seeing Math in action made this my favorite page.
umm, I think there was a continuity error here on this page. If you look at the last panel here https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1280 those two goons Achilles just speared were further back than the lady with the laser orbs. Also, the roof has an outward swell on that page, where it just comes out an extra 4-5 feet or so. However here the roof lines up perfectly all the way across. Which shouldn’t really happen. Course, this is still an awesome page, loving it, just something I noticed from reading, and re-reading this so much.
What? You don’t think that the action is moving fast enough from one page to the next that all three of those flying villains wouldn’t be lined up for Maxima/Achilles “Screwball Special” by the time THIS page happens?
Oh, it is TOTALLY moving fast enough for that… but not for the building itself to have changed shape. Which, is what appears to have happened here. Otherwise that whole Achilles thing just couldn’t work the way it looks like it is. That light orb girl WAS standing on an outcropping from the rest of the roof, next to a whole that looks exactly like the one that she’s standing on now, with those two guys behind her. Now she appears to be jumping off of a completely level and straight section of roof in order to avoid getting impaled as well. SOMETHING is wrong there.
Anybody else think red hood guy is going to be important, possibly anti-Math or anti-Maxima.
We know from Leeroy Jenkins’s monologue, at the start of the fight, that they saw Maxima’s demonstration. And were still keen to attack both her and all of the rest of the team. For whatever reason, they are confident that they can beat someone that powerful. And Mr Hooded Menace is giving Maxima the hairy eyeball.
Plus, if Concretia is representative, they dismissed a mere martial arts expert as being inconsequential. So, I would go for him being the Anti-Maxima.
Anybody else think red hood guy is going to be important, possibly anti-Math or anti-Maxima?
Sorry about double post, internet lagged out. Anyone know how to remove a post?
Doesn’t seem currently possible. Wouldn’t worry too much about it though.
Just a few observations:
1) Sounds like Sydney’s a bit jealous, only being able to provide critiques after being ordered to the sidelines after her victory.
2) Maybe it’s just me (o.k., probably it’s just me), but Math looks a bit like Harry Osborne in the second panel.
3) Overconfidence seems to be the common thread in the defeats so far. Which lack thereof on the part of the purple-clad, blue-haired villainess might be the reason she’s survived so far. Wonder how long before she surrenders/runs?
DaveB, the name is “Masahiko NakAhIra”: https://www.amazon.com/Masahiko-Nakahira/e/B000APF1PY/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
I am usually pretty competent with Japanese names, but his continually throws me.
I am unable to memorize even one myself.
Do not forget that you mentioned him twice.
I meant that you fixed only the first occurrence of the name.
Are we sure Math doesn’t have powers? :P I guess it’s plausible with Math being a 5 Strength vs. 2-4 Armor Arc-Light gave on the previos page.
Either way, this is definitely one of my favorite pages between the awesome Math vs. Super smackdown, the apathetic Achillies javelin and Halo’s logic.
He has had the power of hard work and discipline from a young age. Which are starting to look way more important and useful than “super” powers… Though I don’t know if any of his outside of ARC training or experience covers teamwork and I’m wondering if that will become an issue once he finds a more than worthy opponent.
he might also have superior hand-eye coordination, sense of balance, sense of timing, etc; things that make up a great martial artist.
As far as we know, while some super stuff is detectable, other stuff is not. Jelly Bryce, the famous marksmen, was rumored to have better then 20/20 vision and incredible reflexes; Ben Underwood was a human who seeming developed echlocation – when does something like that get classified as a super power?
Well, people who have super powers have to train themselves in using them or risk being ineffective or inherently dangerous just by existing…All Math has done is train with what powers a “normal” human being already possesses.
Math might be able to utilize more muscle fibers than the average joe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA2het7tpyE
He does have powers. They are just not super powers. His martial arts score is 5 out of 5, even using the super hero scale. But he doesn’t do it by virtue of having been born that way, or struck by lightning or having rubbed a lamp to grant him super powers.
He is a normal person, who has the benefit of many many generations of perfecting martial arts. And, likely, an optimised set of genetics for the job, due to simple natural selection. And martial arts techniques which are so good that they (possibly) exceed what we can explain, with our current understanding of science.
Note that even the cinematic ki can still fall within the premise of ‘our world plus super powers’. All it would take is one super, at a key moment in history, to have unveiled such secrets to ancient martial arts masters. Somebody who’s understanding of reality was as acute as Einstein’s, but focussed on Ki powers, philosophy and martial arts, rather than Physics.
In our world, such things give a marginal edge, but the leaping through the air, as if flying, is strictly the stuff of movies. In theirs, thanks to the influence of some insightful super, they may be privy to something that we will not know, in our universe, for millennia yet. Or, even in our world, maybe the martial arts legends were based on something more than just fancy. It is just that it is being kept clear of scientific scrutiny. The term secret techniques having especial significance.
This line of reasoning brought to you by the Institute of Realisation that Bald Apes Do Not Know Everything.
If you’re going to do motion blur like that I think it’d translate better if it was consistently more transparent and borrowed a bit of color from the object in motion. . .
I like how laid back Achilles is. Probably a side effect of being invulnerable.
Hmm, I just noticed, Math looks quite a bit like a blonde Vegeta
Concretia was right. Math IS in the wrong league. He is, at the very least, one league ABOVE her.
It is the way to bet, but Concretia was grossly underestimating her foe. That’s a good[?] way to lose to those several classes below you. She will likely do much better in a rematch.
Trouble is that it is more than just an under-estimation. His martial arts are rated at 5, versus her super defence at 3-4 (estimated). He simply is better than her. Significantly. Super or not.
You are right in saying that, once she knows that much, she could do better. But she would need to treat him as a superior, and employ tactics designed to allow an underdog to win. If she just treats him like an equal, she will end up on her arse again.
Okay,can we officially state that Math is Vegeta? Or maybe his son/cousin/nephew/pet?
Vegeta’s son is Trunks.
You think with a hottie like Bulma, they wouldn’t have had more? o_O
Afterward his Vegetable started to droop?
Ancestor. Maybe Great Grandfather. Remember DragonBall is in the future
Ooo, didn’t think of it going backwards, always figured DB was an alternate universe, set in the same time period
It could be alternate but it is still in the future.
Now Syd’s got 2 of her personal quests done probably.
Beat a supervillain on her own and ommented smugly on a teammate’s doing of the same.
Also, the dude in the cape at the end is probably the boss of this LFR, aka the raid-boss.
I <3 Achilles *.*
Can I just say that Math is my favorite character? Super glad he got some comic time :D
My co-worker Batman suggested ‘launch’ as a solution to your conundrum. You a launch a kick at someone.
Mmm… Looks like ShadowBoxer is no longer inside Halo’s Force-bubble.
DB don’t berate yourselfe so much, as for the kick’s here are a few names.
Snap kick, horse stance, side kick, roundhouse, and crescent kick.
Actually we’re not naming kicks we’re “verb”ing them.
Launch a kick, Fire a kick. Deliver a kick. Sweep a kick, and several others have been mentioned.
Always liked ‘plant a kick’
Apologies if this has been said before, but Math sort of reminds me of Joukyuu from Aiki. Not that that type of character is unique, heh.
You throw a punch. With a kick, you can deliver (as above), unlimber, smash, drive, hammer …
“launching a kick” is a time honored phrase. Often the type of kick gives its’ own leader, a’slashing kick’ or ‘drop kicking’ or possibly ‘firing off a kick’.
And a question, does Math shave his eyebrows? Or do they retract when he is in combat, lol!
Ooh, have you stumbled on the secret power of the ancient martial arts masters? The biblical Samson’s strength was in his hair, after all.
The Maxima->Achilles fastball special is what makes it art. Especially how Achilles isn’t even bothering to take his hands out his pockets.
notice how his legs are very straight, and as close together as they can be as well. his hands are in his pocketsto have a similar effect on drag as the conformal fuel tanks do on a fighter-jet in order to present an aerodynamically smooth, structurally sound missile shape to his launch system (Maxima) in order to perform as a truly excellent missile system… it’s fire-and-forget, with M.I.I.B. (Multiple Individual Impacting Bodies) AND in because we live in a time where it’s advantageous to be a new “greener”, “eco-friendly” military… said projectile is Bio-degradable and Non-Toxic to the environment (he’s house-broken!) !!* :D Since the munition is Self-Cleaning, there are no further requirements for having to staff up an EOD team needing to be sent in after impact (for possible missed targets)
(*yes, yes, i’m ignoring the whole funerary-industrial complex** and what it does to dead bodies… it IS a comic after all, quit being so serious)
** that’s why we should Re-Use, Re-Cycle, and Re-Animate our dead… all in order to reduce our need for the funerary-industrial complex…
Actually, I’m pretty sure that with his powers, that projectile is entirely not biodegradable.
AH!, that’s assuming that he can’t die of “natural causes / old age”… nowhere that i can remember seeing has it been stated by fiat of author that he “canNOT” die… it’s only said that he’s “invulnerable” (to stuff that he’s encountered *SO FAR* (per DaveB))….as an example think about Superman, he’s invulnerable to just about everything imaginable, but he can still AGE… otherwise he’d still be the same age as when his rocket crib crashed into the farmers field… therefore there WILL come a time when he just plain old dies of old age, he can’t avoid it, it WILL happen … eventually… while we have seen that Achilles still looks like he’s stuck in the ’80’s, it could also mean that he’s just aging VERY VERY SLOWLY too, AND that whatever thing that will be his version of Kryptonite, just hasn’t been found yet!… so eventually it might come to pass that, yes, Achilles WILL get hurt by something (even his Greek namesake had a weakness) and that he may yet die, though, hopefully not at the same time of his weakness finally being discovered…
You make a good case for using cloned Achilles cells as the basic building blocks, for the ultimate armour and construction materials. A couple of severe problems with that though.
Firstly, his power may be associated with him as a person, rather than the cells of his body. In which case, skin that he sheds (assuming that he even does so any more) would not retain the invulnerability. But nor would any cloned cells.
Secondly, our current cloning techniques are invasive. The cell membrane would need to be penetrated, by one means or another, in order to access the DNA, for cloning. Even if using shed skin. Which would be impossible by normal techniques.
Likewise identifying the DNA would require development of some remote scanning capability. As DNA sequencing also currently uses destructive techniques. Although certain forms of teleportation could overcome the problem. Likewise, various other super powers could be used creatively, to bypass the restrictions that mundane technology would face.
But if his cells do retain invulnerability, away from his body, and a way can be found to get at the DNA (or replicate it artificially), then various techniques can be used to encourage the tissues to grow into desired shapes. Surgeons are pioneering techniques to grow replacement bones and organs, including skin. There is no reason why such could not be used to make tools, armour, weapons. Well other than ethics, aesthetic and ickyness factors. Achilleswear (TM) would be the ultimate in indestructible items!
Just look at the range of products that can be made using regular bone and hide, say from seals, by the Inuit. Including homes, clothing and a huge variety of tools. Then consider that they could not be broken or wear out. Ever.
This gives a potential story-line, if some evil mastermind decides he wants to build a suit of Achilles armour, an indestructible space ship or an impregnable fortress. Given his lack of ancillary super-powers Achilles is at risk of kidnapping and experimentation. Or, if he does shed skin, he might find evil clones being created as part of the process. Why? Well…um… because they can. Mad scientists are like mountaineers, it seems.
I just love how Sydney takes time to deconstruct superhero tropes whenever possible.
Love the comic. I’d have to say this is my number one pick off all the webcomics, comics, and manga I read right now. I love sydney’s personality and the orbs are just awesome. In fact I might steal that idea for a MnM 3rd game a friend is putting together.
I’m imagining a scene like this:
*Catch*
Achilles: Oh, hi Colonel. Thanks for catching me, but you know you didn’t have to —
Maxima: Just avoiding the collateral damage from your landing.
Achilles: Fair enough.
Maxima: Also, I plan to throw you at some people.
Oh god, Achilles in the second to last panel being thrown like a projectile. That’s.. I’m dying, that’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in a comic
I freaking love Sydney (no, not myself. Shut up.)! xD
The sound effects are a definite improvement. CTRL-F5 for anyone who cannot ‘hear’ them.
Weren’t the *KRAKOOM* *WHACK* *SMASH* *CRUNCH* always there?
Ahh, you are perfectly right, and I have found out why I made that mistake. I thought that an earlier comment thread was on this page. It was not. But, when it was made, I remember looking at the visuals, and thinking ‘yup, the page could do with some’. So, when I noticed the sound effects above, I assumed that they had been updated, and I had picked them up with an earlier CTRL-F5 update.
However, comparing the two pages, the one with ‘sound effects’ is indeed better for it, in my opinion. But, forget the bollox, about refreshing this page to update it. As you say, they must have been on this one all the time.
Wasn’t ‘calling you out’ or anything, just thought maybe it was me who had missed something