Grrl Power #212 – Premature Articulation
Ok, that’s enough chaff villains for now. I just had to get a little of the heroes kicking butt out of my system before they start getting in to more serious fights. I think it’s also fairly evident that Sydney is going to start getting antsy about just turtling up for the duration. Also, clearly this page answers the question as to whether Sydney can use the lighthook while her shield is up. Sydney’s issue isn’t incompatible combinations of her powers, its that she can only use two at a time. Mostly this will become an issue when she’s flying. Normally she’ll have her shield up to deflect the wind, but if she needs to haul something with the lighthook or shoot at something, she either needs to land or drop the shield which could be quite dangerous for her.
Surely “Lee Press on Claws” knew his claws could cut his own skin and he was just trying to intimidate. There’s no way you could have claws like that even if they’re retractable or summoned from the dimension of sharp things and not nick yourself while practicing. (And presumably passing out then too.) Still, telling people you’re tougher than you are is a curious strategy. If they’re not intimidated by it, all you’ve done in assure that they’ll hit you much harder than they would have done in the first place. “Well he said his skin is impenetrable, so instead of hitting him with the tranq dart, let’s start with the .50 cal.” It’s a good way to lose a limb if you ask me. I would instead start a fight by announcing that I’m delicate like the Princess and the Pea, and please don’t hit my face or groin or kidneys. Actually that’s probably just an indication that I wouldn’t be a very good brawler.
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Every time I look at this page, I giggle. It never stops being funny.
Agreed. I have been looking at it for five minutes, and it is still amusing!
Thirded, and I need to wedgie Dave for the WoW reference there. Although, where DID “YOU MADE ME BLEED MY OWN BLOOD” come from?
Dodgeball is the closest reference that comes to mind.
What WoW reference?
At least it’s not as bad as some troll complaining about WoW references in Guilded Age (seeing how it started out as a WoW parody/homage)
The reference was from The Simpsons, where Nelson Muntz said, “You made me bleed my own blood”
It’s from the episode “Bart the General”
Can kinda remember that episode
So, not a WoW reference then?
How would you bleed someone else’s blood?
With violence, obviously.
After a transfusion. It would be hard not to.
No, you would draw someone else blood instead of your own.
Early Simpson’s episode where Bart hits Nelson.
DaveB could have simply thought of it himself. It is a logical statement isn’t it? Doesn’t have to e derivative.
And it is still possible to have what is an original idea for youself even though it is not an original idea (pretty much everything you say has, technically, been said before, just not always in the same way form or order, but the words themselves are not new)
As many stated it originally was from Simpsons, Season 1 episode 5 (1990). However, that line also appeared in the movie Dodge Ball in 2004.
and yes… I actually took the time to Google all that because I remembered it as a Dodge Ball quote.
Four days later, and it’s still funny.
Aaaaw, I was hoping for more from Edward Scissorhands…
Its interesting that this super phenomenon is limited to the human species here. Don’t see why another species couldn’t at least get wrapped up in an artifact or something. Then we will see how many of the squad are willing to fight kittens which generate flaming force fields and then run around in them!
Same reason you don’t see zombie monkey’s
considering that comic books in both marvel, DC and indie titles out there often employs giant versions of animals to fight and stuff, I don’t see why this webcomic couldn’t also use that trope…. even if only to subvert it.
Have to remember this is still day #1. Just because what we have seen thus far is purely humanoid, doesnt mean there wont be offsets later down the line. But the likelihood this band of rogues has found, trained, and is employing a super power animal seems a stretch unless that is an involvement of their own powers. i.e. Crazy Cat Lady and her ability to control cats and give them super allergic fur.
Believe it is League of Redundant Superheroes which has a character who can leviate cats (and he uses them to fly and help rob banks {although, how a cat is going to pull the trigger on a gun strapped to it’s back always puzzled me…})
With its tail of course.
Dabbler
Sure, she works to fit the definition I laid out but wasn’t really what I was going for. Glad to have her though!
Dabbler has superpowers? I thought she was entirely normal for a genius cyborg Succubus/Doppleganger/whatever else crossbreed. She has tech, but tech that most intergalactic species have access to. And magic is a given, given her Succubus heritage. Compared to a human she’s super, but so is Math.
Makes you wonder what would happen if we met a Maxima level super, with Dabbler’s various extra advantages thrown into the mix.
So… a living god. Actual, insufferable god. Basically Achilles, if Achilles could fight and do magic.
Q.
.
Almost missed your linkage :P
So long as someone spotted that, it was worth doing.
*wags tail*
I had hoped to find some page to link which summed up “Kudos for brevity”, as I was impressed. But found nothing particularly suitable. So had to settle on the next best option.
I forget all the possible sources of superpowers that Max and others named before and during Sydney’s interview but it seems like “alien genes” would probably qualify as long as people with your genetic abilities were fairly rare on the planet. Most people consider Superman to have superpowers but anybody from his world might be able to do the same if they were here.
But I understand your point and my original mental meanderings were about animals anyway but I failed to emphasize that and this person (the one I was replying to before) called me on it. I was just saying they were right that she was not human and had powers (at least by earth standards).
I agree with your comment that it is odd that you see few super animals in these settings. I am long out of touch with paper comics, but from the movies, the only ones that spring to mind were the ones that the Hulk fought. And they were intentionally lab-created to replicate his abilities. Rather than having their own origin story.
Obviously there are some animal-centred settings, such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But, those aside, for some reason, when weird shit happens, you are right that it is pretty much humans who seem to get transformed. Which given the widespread presence of cats, dogs, livestock and other pets, even if the source of powers is due to something that humans are doing, you would think an equal number of animals would be affected.
Mind you, we are vastly outnumbered by viruses, bacteria, insects and miscellaneous vermin. All of which get everywhere we go. And more places beside. So perhaps we aught not to wish for super critters. For instance, there may not be too many survivors from Super Ebola.
Fallout was one of the few games that did this. What life did survive usually was nastier and harder to kill. Except dogs and humans.
Actually, you have just reminded me of a sci fi setting that would qualify. Harry Harrison’s Deathworld. For any individual who came to Earth, anyhow. On their own planet they are just normal heavy-worlder humans. So being much more muscular than puny regular gravity people.
But, in addition to that, every plant and animal on their planet is enhanced. With poisons and other nasty mechanisms specifically inimical to humans. So each surviving citizen on that planet is unusually capable. Superhuman, when compared to Terrans, if otherwise still technically human. But all the plants and animals are undeniably super. So the reversing the usual tendency mentioned above.
Well you just reminded me of the War World series. Picture a gas giant moon that’s barely warm enough for liquid water with a thinner atmosphere and slightly higher gravity. Now add every group of people that might rebel against a “Co-Dominion” of the US and USSR. Stir that pot for a few decades while adding convicts and religious fundamentalists and when the Co-Dom starts falling apart throw in a battle-group of Sauron super-soliders. Mix well and you have War World.
Yeah, remember reading that, the new arrival (can’t recall where he arrived from, or why) was giving the basics that kids have to go through, after a couple hours he took a rest on a rock, a few seconds was all it took for him to realise that even the rocks are not safe to sit on :D
That was a delicious irony. Especially in the context of this thread. He was actually superhuman. Given that he was psionic. One strong enough to break the bank at a casino planet. And physically and mentally capable enough to survive the planetary government (in that case pretty much synonymous with the casino operators) deciding they did not want him to get away with the winnings.
Yet, adult superhuman or not, he was rightly put in the kindergarten training program. Which he was hard pushed getting through in one piece. That scene you describe sticking in my mind, in particular, because he railed against them (the heavy-worlders), feeling that they were sadistic for putting a deadly rock at a point. Believing that the kids deserved a break for surviving the lesson. Kids should get a reward for learning and not be punished for relaxing.
But, of course, that was the final lesson. You do not let your guard down on that planet. Ever.
ROT GRUB, DO NOT TOUCH!
Figured he was put through the Kindergarten Programme because he was new, not as a punishment or anything
Yea. If he wanted to survive outside the base (or even inside it for any length of time), he needed training. But given that the kindergarten course was tougher than most special forces training, it probably did not feel like that to him.
Once he got to see how bad it really was outside, then he understood that neither he or the kids were being put through unnecessary cruelty or punishment. It was learn or die. But through necessity, not sadism. And, unlike outside, the kindergarten course was designed to avoid too many instantly fatal options, so they did have a chance to learn from mistakes.
He won money gambling for one of the planet’s leaders to use to buy arms against Deathworld’s flora and fauna and was curious about a planet that would need such.
@Yorp May 11, 2014 at 4:14 pm: IIRC, his powers were (very) low-level telekinetic with some prescience/intuituion thrown in to the point that the only thing I remember him being able to affect was a single die (or a pair of dice, at most). In fact, I don’t recall him using his powers in the entire trilogy after they faded on him in the opening chapters. Hence, to call him a “super” is a bit misleading, if not a complete stretch.
Deof Movestofca you are partly right and partly wrong. He was a very weak psionicist, true enough. But given that we do not recognise humans as possessing any psionic abilities at all, that does make him super human. He possesses powers that other humans do not. Weak though they are. Obviously if society decides that such do exist and it is proven that such abilities are widespread, rather than unique, then it would be appropriate to indicate that he is just a normal human.
So I am happy to stand by my claim that he was superhuman. Clearly not a powerful one though, otherwise he would not be put in the kindergarten class. Significantly, because he had access to abilities that his society was unaware of, he was able to use those weak abilities to break the bank. Something he would not have been able to do if he was restricted to the abilities of a normal human. That planet was very used to dealing with conventional cheating and could easily counter such.
Finally, although it is a long long time since I last read it, I am pretty sure that the conclusion of the first novel hinged on his psionic abilities. I won’t detail it, as it is a very good trilogy, and I would not want to give spoilers for anyone who has not read it yet. Whilst he mostly used his deductive reasoning, I seem to recall that he got hints and insights from his psionics, as to the true nature of what was happening on the Deathworld. And that, again, affected the fate of an entire world. So weak though they were, in two worlds where no one else had those super abilities, they made a profound difference.
TMNT. Super by turtle standards, average by Math standards.
I should really read everything properly. Pity I can’t delete my junk posts.
I really can’t recommend it. But here is a way of deleting your junk.
Not so much “Deleting” as “being Forcibly Deleted”
Although you’re right about the potential for super animals, you have to keep two things in mind. One is that it’s very hard to tell a super strong sheep from a normal one. The other is that some powers, for example psionics, have prerequisites (in this case mental capacity), that would automatically disqualify most non-human life on earth.
“Maybe we should tell people that every monkey we sent into space came back super-intelligent.”
“I would advice against that.”
It’s “No, I don’t think we’ll be telling them that”. It’s a Simpsons reference from the episode “Deep Space Homer”
Can you imagine a spider with the proportional strength of a human? Would be dead in seconds from asphyxiation (one reason a spider is proportionally stronger is just so it can breath)
that and it would be crushed under the weight of it’s exo-skeleton
A super spider would of course simply have the strength of a man, skipping the proportionate part. So the next time somebody tried to swat it with a rolled-up newspaper, they would be in for a shock.
The proportionate strength thing is routinely bad math. A spider with strength proportionate to a man would be a super strong spider. and if he were enlarged to man sized, he would not even be able to stand. This is due to mass increasing by the cube while strength increases by the square. Do a little math and you will find an ant lifting 50x its own weight is about like a human lifting a pound.
But yes, Mr Super Spider dies quick, but from fire, not a lack of oxygen. Our bodies get the extra strength by burning, and producing the same amount of heat in a spider would set it off like a match.
Solid logic. Of course my super spider would use a super power source and not chemical energy, to avoid that problem. Strength, and moving things with it, does not intrinsically produce that much heat. Only our inefficient bodies do that. Supers can get around most of these problems, with one mechanism or another.
A bit like the fact that lightbulbs do not need to intrinsically produce heat in order to make light. It is just because we were prepared to accept inefficient designs that wasted most of the energy on producing heat. But, as we better at making things, we can refine the designs to do more of what we intend them to do, and have less unwanted side effects. Supers just skip all the intermediate stages and end up with the optimum solution. And somehow fit it, plus all the control and regulatory mechanisms, into a man (or spider) sized body.
Man-Spider,
Man-Spider,
Does whatever a man can….
I know this late into the watch for the next comic, likely no one will see, or respond to this, but I’ll post anyway.
Two things.
Since superhumans are all consistently photogenic, (those with special items of power notwithstanding,) I’d say whatever mechanism causes these superhumans to exhibit the “Most Common Superpower” (TVTropes link, click at your own risk) would easily resolve why animals are not known to be affected.
Two. I can think of one setting where animals were affected by the superpower event.
Shadowrun.
You had talis cats, hell hounds, basilisks, cockatrices, and a whole slew of other supernatural critters, both traditional and unique to the setting, (like devil rats). In some cases, well outnumbering the (meta)human population, (like devil rats).
Then you have VITAS. Virally Induced Toxic Allergy Syndrome. The plague for the Sixth World. So, even viruses were effected by the awakening, and yes, people died.
If by “people” you mean “About a third of the global population, and another 25% of the remainder when it came back for another round a decade or so later.”
You could make a comment on a page posted years ago and some of us will spot it, and maybe comment on it.
That is a good mechanism you have described. It would explain the (possible*) lack of super animals in this setting. So cleverly hypothesised.
But only if the process is specialised at producing culturally attractive humans. Alternatively it could produce an idealised version of the creature gaining powers, based on their own society’s standards. Then there is no reason why the same could not apply to every animal or alien that has some form of society.
There is a wonderful candidate sitting on my lap at the moment. She could serve as a poster example of a perfect member of her species. I suspect that her super power is ‘looking cute’.
Plants and micro-organsims would probably be out of the running. Or most of them anyhow. I can argue that some that have societies. But cannot think of any examples of ones which have that and which actively pick mates based on perceived attractive sexual characteristics.
Possibly if you extended it to symbiotic relationships, then you could though. For instance pretty flowers have evolved to be attractive to bees and other pollinators. So if their ‘society’ is the plants plus the bees, then they might fulfil the qualifying criteria to become super plants. Herbivores and vegetarians beware!
* Thinking about it, there was the bulldog companion of the lumberjack, visualised during the press conference. So it is possible that they are around, but just not drawing attention. Perhaps those that demonstrate out of control abilities get put down quickly. So fail to develop their powers sufficiently, for them to stand out as being super. Or, at the very least, respectable media might have been sceptical of publishing stories about dogs breathing fire, without any credible surviving proof.
And wild animals tend to avoid humans. Those that do not probably end up the way described above. Whereas others may even be able to use their powers to avoid detection or evade capture. Even something common, like super-strength, would help to break out of cages, traps and nets. And who would believe the exterminator that it was a ‘super rat’ that broke the trap. As opposed to just being a badly manufactured device.
TV Tropes link power- deactivated
Anyone notice that Lee was one of the guys that Maxima chucked Achilles at earlier?
Yeah. The other mook cushioned him. Nails just got there. So I think he missed most of Math’s amateur orthodontics.
Believe that ‘other mook’ was Whip Lass (like “Whip Lash”, but different)
Pretty sure it was a rhythmic gymnastics ribbon. Which just made it all the funnier for me.
Yes, but she was using it like a whip
a kuno? one of kodachi’s relatives maybe?
If it’s about the count, she probably should just fly into people with her shield up^^
Even though Sydney already complimented Math on his “hella sweet moves,” she certainly has a few of her own too, even without Math’s benefit of training & skill.
Or just gather up a bunch of villains into the shield (her outside of course) and, boom, portable prison. And possibly slowly shrink it while they’re inside to play with their heads.
Halo still cannot remotely project the force field. It centers on her until she adds a marble to the right spot on her skill tree.
Assuming that’s one of the upgrades…
He obviously never read about how Heracles defeated the Nemean Lion.
Well, in that case, Math gets Nails into a chokehold, Nails tries to scratch Math’s hands…But Math pulls his hands away & Nails slits his own throat.
Does that work for you?
:P
Why would LPoN scratch his HANDS in that situation?
Just ram your nails through his chest. Big target so close can’t move away fast enough
All the arguments are good so far. That is a particularly good one though, given that Lee PoN does have super speed listed as a known power. Which could actually be of any strength. Shredding Math’s shirt having been a way of getting his attention. It should not be automatically assumed that the guy missed.
Martial arts gives a fair impression of super speed. But raw super speed should beat martial arts. If the speeder can move faster than the opponent can react. And does not get sucker-punched then faint.
Speed 1-3 agains Maths speed 4.
“Demonstrated abilities” not “Maximum capability” or even “Estimated power”. And 1-3 was sufficient to beat martial arts 4 in order to do the shredding.
Bleh, ignore the last sentence.
I really should have re-read the initial comment and the reply before posting, rather than after. The former referred to speed 4, not martial arts 4. And Math is martial arts 5, not 4 anyhow. So that last line was nonsensical as a result.
Not if Math has him from behind
Thought Hercules killed the Lion by beating it with a petrified Olive tree that he stubbed his toe on..
Yes, he stunned it with a club, strangled it to death, then skinned it with its own claws to make an arrow/spear/sword/not-club proof cape.
Given that Anvil is immune to blunt, but somewhat vulnerable to pointy, she could do with getting hold of an item like that.
And, no, don’t even think it!
Skinning super villains, with their own claws, falls deep in the ‘ethically and morally challenged’ spectrum.
6th panel… “No one makes me bleed my own blood!”
No wonder Nails didn’t make the dean’s list. A 1 HP Wonder.
Must be a minion.
I would instead start a fight by announcing that I’m delicate like the Princess and the Pea, and please don’t hit my face or groin or kidneys. Actually that’s probably just an indication that I wouldn’t be a very good brawler.
That, or you are a (sado?)masocist :P
I find it funny that his face went pale, but not his shoulders.
Also is it just me or are Lee and Math making the same face?
It’s not blood loss, its hemophobia or fear of blood. Which can run a range. In this guy’s case it’s a fear of seeing his own blood. Which is not totally unexpected for someone who’s likely never or very rarely seen their own blood before, and not been desensitized to it. Common symptoms are sharp drop in blood pressure, thus the pale face. Combined with the pain from stabbing himself he’s basically done. The *thump* between panels 6 & 7 would be him fainting.
Yes and no–if you look at that panel 6, you can see blood spurting out of his neck. It’s quite possible that his own claws were long enough to cut into an artery–not a vein, but an artery. And no, it’s not residual blood dripping from him removing his hand. He did that in panel 5, and in panel 6 the blood on his claw-tips is how gathering into neat vertical drops, not still flying all over the place. Lee PoN is going down for the count, and unless someone patches him up quick (or pressure is put on the wound given whatever position he faints in), he’s going to bleed to death.
Usualy I’m not into this whole “bookworm with glasses” look but Anvil kinda has it in the last panel and for some reason I like it…
A random thought that has gone through my head:
A smoke bomb goes off near the doors during a bank robbery. An eerie voice is heard through the cloud: “I am the shadow that creeps in the night. I am the hot sauce that burns your tongue. I am … HALO!” and Sydney step forward through the smoke cloud, force field up, with cubic corners facing the bad guys.
Oo helllll YES
I wanna know what Sydney thinks of Darkwin Duck. He’s amazing
Fairly sure there has been a Darkwing Dark reference previously, even if just in the comment section
it was actually canon and made by Lyon, after Halo was asked to do her best Cristian bale voice and failing
Sydney’s pout face is just too cute.
Hey, first actual super hero/villain fight, she’s got 2 so far? That’s not bad for one’s first time in that regard, no?
The night is still young and most of the restaurant is still standing. Halo is bound to get in on more action. Enough to give Max grey hairs probably.
I don’t think she’ll be in any major ones. After all she has been ordered to stay in the shield. While she has taken 2 people out one was in the shield and the other was taken by surprise. She holds a defensive position while everyone else has a offensive once we get to the big guns there won’t be as many and likely will engage those with an offensive stance.
With this bunch, the tough ones might ignore her. But she will happily deliver hentacle dope-slaps to stun and distract them, allowing her new friends to get in a free shot. And if they try to attack Sydney, they’ll get hit by even more teamwork.
If the tough ones also happen to be the smart(er) ones, they will be stupid not to attack her if giving an opportunity (and even stupider to ignore her)
While she might not be as big of a coup as taking out say, Duke the Space Marine, it could be used to send a message: “If you join ARCHON, we will kill you. Not even Maxima herself can protect you!”
That’s why Maxima wants Sydney behind that force field. Max gave it a major workout and it stood up. There may be powers and weapons that bypass it, but Sydney is safe from just about everything in there. Hopefully if she does get involved in the melee outside it will be from concealment.
So Maxima tossed Achilles to knock out some guys, who gets the head count?
They both do
One get’s the count, the other gets an assist.
The age old question. Does Maxima(people) hurt people or does the Achilles(gun) hurt people.
Guns don’t hurt people.
Bullets do.
Although, in that case the “bullet” is also capable of hitting you repeatedly if the first time doesn’t work.
No, it’s the massive trauma, hydrostatic shock, and blood loss that kills, the bullet is just the delivery method.
No, it’s a bug in the life code’s immortality module that kills – the massive trauma, hydrostatic shock, and blood loss are merely the methods through which the bug is exploited.
Actually there is fair evidence to support that turning off of longevity genes is done periodically en mass. Given that a population will evolve faster, and thereby be more adaptive to change, if there is room for successive generations to replace the dying elder generations.
Of course, now that we can adapt faster using learnt knowledge, technology and direct manipulation of genes, there is good reason to turn them back on again. For me anyhow. And Katie Melua. Oh, and Nobel Prize winning scientists. But not the Peace Prize ones. We need less dictators, not immortal ones. Except me.
You’re right, we are the first occurrence (that we know of) of a species that is capable of adapting our environment to suit our own needs faster than evolution can adapt us to the environment.
Between modern medicine and cybernetics (or whatever the term is for replacing a heart with an electric pump) we can fix or replace almost anything that the human body has to damage.
I’m a big fan of understanding evolution, but I’m quite strongly of the opinion that evolution is a deeply flawed system which we should try to fend off. I’m not opposed to change, especially not if it’s for the better, but evolution is a blind idiot, stumbling around in a dark room… it’s done well so far, and we should be impressed by what it’s managed to achieve but, damn, it’s buggy and short-sighted.
There is one problem. Namely that our understanding is progressing slower than our capability to conduct change. So, whilst I applaud the sentiment of understanding, the implied rush to start tinkering makes me less than enthusiastic. However, I am also a realist. Given that we can do that, it is inevitable that we will do. Some countries may ban such tampering. Others will not. And, even in countries where it is illegal, it will still carry on.
So, will we be changing things? Yes. Will we do a better job of it than evolution has? I doubt it. Because we will not wait until we understand how everything actually works currently, we cannot know that what we are doing is improving or worsening things. We certainly will be able to accelerate the pace of change in particular directions. But, unless some really clever scientist isolates the genes that give wisdom, I do not think that we will necessarily make the best decisions.
On the plus side, where we get it wrong, the worst that will happen is that those involved will die off. And the ones where we happened to get it right, will survive. So even though you may think that you are getting rid of evolution, that will not happen. It will carry on just the same. The adaptable will survive, the others will not. Let us hope that something vaguely recognisable as human happens to be amongst the survivors.
Why do we rush into new exciting things?
“We do what we must, because we can.”
~GLaDOS
But I agree, rushing in blindly to replace something that works just fine can be a huge mistake. (This is why we test on rats first) If something is already broken however (if someone lost an arm trying to juggle chainsaws for example*) it would be an opportune moment to test our new technology.
*This guy is a perfect test subject because even if warned about associated risks, he will still go through with it, (as evidenced by juggling chainsaws) eliminating any ethics concerns.
You have to throw them pretty hard, if you do not have a gun. Or maybe drop a big crate of them on your enemy. Maybe an anvil. But not Anvil.
Why isn’t Halo doing what Maxima told her to do – shield civvies?
Wasn’t her orders simply to put her shield up, and keep it up?
Yes. Hiro is handling evacuation. Maxima didn’t want Sydney moving around even with her force field to prevent accidents. I think she has yet to realize how much damage Sydney can do just standing there.
No, she just wanted Sydney to be safe in the shield.
That’s the ONLY order she gave. Put up your shield, and keep it up.
Claws should awaken to pink caps on his claws, and a white bow with pink polka-dots tied into his hair.
And strapped to a hospital bed in the high-security wing, with a Duke Nukem look-alike standing guard.
You know, this one page is like a super-spoiler for anyone who comes to the comic from, you know, a guest page.
That’s a problem with any ongoing story. Eventually the writer has to show his cards. If he’s good there will be new cards dealt and the suspense will continue. And I think DaveB is doing just fine with that.
That is the one thing I never get about the majority of web comics. That they make their home page the most recent page. So new readers always get some level of spoiler. It has put me off reading more than one. Where the first few pages show there is some kind of mystery. Which you already know the answer to, from having seen the ‘present day’. I intensely dislike spoilers, so would not want to waste my time on reading such a story, where the central surprise has already been ruined.
This is a general comment, mind you, because those that fell by the wayside did not have other things to counter that inclination. I suspect that the intriguing opening of Grrl Power would still tempt me, even if I came to it via this page, for the first time. But, as a general principle, I think it would be far wiser for the home page to be anything other than the most recent comic.
Whilst I appreciate that most regular readers will only be after the most recent update, it is easy enough for them to bookmark that page directly. Whereas, depending on how they find the comic, a new reader may not have the option to avoid a spoiler page. So those comics which start at either the beginning of the story, or a navigation page, get my thumbs up.
It’s also just as easy to hit the ‘latest page’ navi-butt (after catching up and saving the first page as your Bookmarked page)
That’s why when I go to a new webcomic, I don’t read the comic, I hit the “First Page” button, then change tabs in my browser.
When did she get that big bruise?
When Shado-CrushedNuts sneak-attacked her
Yeah, that was the point of the evening when Christmas came around & Sydney performed the Nutcracker Suite for Shadow Boxer.
DaveB reapplied it after the Easter Egg announcements of the other commentators.
I thought that a kill-steal was when one person does all the work of weakening an opponent and then someone else swoops in and deals the final blow. In this case Sydney didn’t really steal a kill from Math.
Well it’s a kill steal in context. Math thought this guy was gonna be a fun fight and then the newbie one hit KOed him during introductions.
Yep. Both of you are right. Of the two, william‘s is the clear cut kill stealing example, if talking about a game. Because in such circumstances the consequences of death are minor enough that kudos or other rewards for a kill are more important. No fear of death means that players are more concerned with prestige, than staying alive.
But in real life, or any situation where teamwork is more important than individual ego, then it is more important to eliminate a dangerous opponent faster than slower. Even if that opponent has been weakened by someone else. Whist they are still free to act, they are a risk to life. Especially as these are completely unknown supers, who may have deadly unknown powers. Mind you, even if the doctor’s healing powers includes resurrection, no one should be berated for doing their job.
Whereas Ryan‘s is the lesser breach of etiquette, in taking out an opponent that a team-mate has called dibs on. In this case, weakened further by only being implied, rather than stated. And, as other commentators have already said. completely negated by the fact that Math interfered in the fight with Dabbler, so he has completely lost any claim in that regard. He has shown Sydney that it is ok to do that.
Clearly Math has realised this though, as he did not let his momentary initial vexation cloud his judgement. Halo beat him to the kill fair and square. Any remaining irritation will probably be inward focussed, for failing to take down Lee PoN faster himself.
I would say that this qualifies as an accidental kill steal. It’s not like you would expect a “I bat his hand towards his body” to be an insta-KO in most situations.
Like the bard who runs in to help the fighter, but winds up accidentally killing the enemy with a critical shot to the head. The fighter can complain, but it was ultimately a fluke of luck.
“Whereas Ryan‘s is the lesser breach of etiquette, in taking out an opponent that a team-mate has called dibs on.”
Well, to complicate Ryan’s description a little further, technically, Math didn’t call dibs on Nails…Nails called dibs on Math by way of attempted sneak attack. Math had yet to approach Nails, let alone take a jab at him. In this context, Sydney might qualify for the “watching your teammate’s back” excuse to avoid being accused of kill-stealing.
Furthermore, Math complaining about it would seem a bit hypocritical after his knife-throw at the supervillainess Dabbler was fighting, which she only barely avoided.
Panels 3 and 4, that made me laugh out loud!
Sidney is still winning taking out 2 with out formal training counts for extra
And they both count as ‘Fainted’ not just knocked around. Example: Concreteta may be conscious and picking herself back up now.
Oh, that explains something. Somebody recently said, “you made me bleed my own blood” and I could not figure out why he would say anything like that. Anyway, the bleeding wasn’t really my fault; that happens sooner or later before every stained-glass project is finished.
My response was “whose blood did you expect?” Which came off kinda smartass, but I was genuinely puzzled.
Yeay, educational comics
Yeah, you could be coming off like a smartass with a comment like that, but I’d personally rather be accused of being a smartass than a dumb one…
Eh, don´t take it so hard Sidney. Doing that well first day on the job (litteraly) gives you mad bragging rights.
For being still on her first day at the new job, Sydney seems to be doing rather well with “on-the-job training” so far…
Two vs Four is good for being assigned a defensive position.
Yea, low level tanks don’t usually get any kills
A low silhouette is a very good feature for armoured vehicles mind. Given how it reduces the target area for ground based attacks. Although the trade off being that it can make them more vulnerable to attack from above or below. By aircraft or mines, for example.
Plus a low mount for the primary weapon will reduce the capability to fire over nearby objects, and reduce the overall distance that can be observed. So would reduce the kill capability too.
Your comment works in more ways than one. :-)
I notice :P
Impenetrable skin penetrated.
Achievement Unlocked!
Not only was the achievement unlocked, but it’s now wide open & beginning to form a pool on the floor…
Out of the blue kind of question.
If Sydney was at a great height, then, let go of/deactivated her flyball whilst keeping the shield active, would the shield protect her upon impact?
Apologies if this has been covered, already.
No canonical answer. My 2 bits. The shield provides no protection under those circumstances. It hits the ground and Sydney hits the interior of the field at terminal velocity.
If she could alter the field’s shape to a wide flat surface, she could glide down or parachute. The energy blast seems to have a recoil, so there’s a retro-rocket. The Lighthook (hentacle) might be able to be shaped into a parachute.
Conclusion: It’s a “think fast Sydney” situation, but survivable.
If she hits the ground under high speeds, she’ll suffer major G force related trauma, shield or not.
If the shield stops suddenly (and it will when it crashes into the ground), than her inside the shield will also.
Which would be dangerous
If that were the case, then why doesn’t/didn’t the shield transfer other energies that hit it (such as Maxima’s power blast) to Sydney? It would seem inconsistent to argue that shield wouldn’t likewise act as a buffer to redirect the impact of Sydney crashing to the ground.
The distinction being that force fields could be of two major types. One that acts like a solid object, such as a wall. The other which acts like a spring, not as regards moving, but in the way that it absorbs the energy. So one reflects energy and the other provides a cushioning effect, which soaks up the energy and stores it.
The clue as to which type it is lies in examining the surroundings, when it is in effect. If the energies are being fully absorbed, then there should be no effects of reflected energy. Whereas if it is acting like a wall then most of it should be reflected. Even a stone or steel wall will retain some heat, and it may deform and break, which will absorb a lot more. But the force field is very strong, so the analogous wall would have to be likewise. So instead of crumpling, the energy would be redirected elsewhere.
The slight complication being that if either version is not fully efficient then it may present differently to a perfect version. As it never leaks any energy in though, despite formidable attacks, I think it fair to assume that it is perfect, for this purpose. Everything that the orbs do seem to be optimised. The orbs generally having such a high level of technomagic reasonably supports that assumption.
When the force field gets hit in the ball-room, it makes a noise. Which gets loud enough, as the blows get harder, to threaten window breakage. This is clearly energy being reflected, increasing proportionately to the strength of the attack. Likewise, when Maxima and Halo are testing it, at the firing range, we get to see ripple-like effects of molten soil, radiating out from the shield. An absolutely text-book example of matter being affected by radiated energy.
Halo needs to take extreme care against being slammed against her own force field. I do not think it has air bags.
I’m going to agree with eddi and Rob on this one. Part of the key to Halo is that all her super powers are in the orbs, not in her body (with the arguable exception of her pepper breath). So unlike Maxima, for instance, her body can’t be relied on to withstand the forces of her own abilities. Which means she has to think about how she uses them with that in mind.
She does, however, have the advantage of teammates who can cover her in certain circumstances. An interesting puzzle would be what if, in the same situation, instead of hitting the ground she hit Anvil? Does Anvil’s kinetic absorption also prevent damage to whatever’s hitting her? If so, would it make a difference whether Sydney dropped the shield so that it was just Sydney colliding with Anvil rather than Sydney colliding with the shield which collides with Anvil? Would the kinetic absorption protect her internal organs from the abrupt stop.
I agree with all the previous points. Just to play Devil’s advocate though, if Halo’s shield works like a better version of Anvil’s power, absorbing all incoming energy (other than sufficient light and sound for the senses to operate), rather than just kinetic energy, then she would be just as safe as Anvil at stepping off a skyscraper.
Unless it is literally just incoming energy and does not absorb energy from things hitting it on the inside. In which case Halo would do a bug on the windshield impression.
There are possibilities that people aren’t considering. So far, everyone’s assuming the shield will stop upon contact with the ground, but it might not, or not stop very quickly. Considering Maxima’s attacks didn’t even move the shield or Sydney a little, the shield might not obey the conservation of momentum section of the physics lawbook, and Syd could keep falling after hitting the ground with only a slow reduction in speed. Or the shield could just stay floating in the air with Sydney standing on the inside, because we haven’t exactly seen it move after being produced and there’s no reason for the shield to be affected by gravity, only Sydney.
But Sydney is affected by gravity while within the field our she would feel no pull of gravity. From what is shown gravity is having effect. Her hair is not bobbing around and the blood on her cheek and lip is moving down.
So the worst that would happen in that situation is she falls to the bottom of the bubble
But, that raises the question: does the Bubble remain locked on her being at the center? Or just forms with her at the center? The Firestorm demonstration would imply that she can move around inside once it has formed (after forming it, she flew up above the others without lifting up the ground beneath them)
Looks like it forms around her but only moves if she wants it to. In the last panel, Sydney is leaning her head on the field. It just might hover if she doesn’t try to move it. Only one person knows and like any good game master, he’s gonna hold out on us until it becomes an issue in the adventure.
While it would have been interesting to watch Math demonstrate the effectiveness of nerve strikes, or choke holds, or just tying someone up in a knot, it was hella funny to have HALO thwap him out of action, and point out the logical problem of his statement.
Sidney seems to have it in for stabby guys
They is ninja wanna be’s,so they are on syds list
Lee: “my skin is impenetrable and my nails can cut through anything”
Halo: *whacks villain’s claws into villain’s skin to see which is tougher*
Sydney answered the unanswerable question: What happens when the immovable object (his skin) meets the irresistible force (his nails)?
Answer: They get hurt!
I nominate Sydney for the Archon Science Award.
I second this nomination.
Which brings up the memory in The Incredibles movie, near the end, when Mr. Incredible says, under his voice, “The only thing strong enough to penetrate it is…itself.”
I love everything about this page.
Math’s face in panel 4 is priceless: “Hey! You played with my toy! HE WAS MY TOY!!”
And I love that Halo’s solution to Nails’ obvious threat is “stop hitting yourself!”
I will give Sidney bonus points for 2 reasons.
1 – She has no training
2 – She is up against super villain.
2 more things(said in uncle Chan’s voice)
1-She thinks fast
2-she fights dirty
2 more things:
1: Sydney fights to win
2: Sydney doesn’t ‘play’
If we adjust their points by how much of a threat they posed everyone has…
*pulls out Matlab and performs extremely complex calculations*
Zero points.
I dunno about that. I think there would be 1 point for Sydney. She was very lucky to sense the shifting shadows and turn around in time to react. If she had been a moment slower, she would have been skewered. And she only barely blocked, as it was. So that one encounter had two likely routes that could easily have led to her death.
it’s a nerd joke about MathLab being freaking hard to use. (Mathlab is a computer program used to to upper level math)
Plus an extra layer given that there’s a character named Math.
I admit freely to being a D&D nerd. That said I think Sydney is a Rogue. She has demonstrated several hallmarks of the class: a broad skill set, underhanded thoughts and tactics (both for personal gain and in combat) and some serious sneak attack action.
Good roleplayers can emulate* the capabilities of any character. So long as it does not involve muscles. Or doing stuff outdoors. **
* No guarantees provided as to success rate or practicality in a real life situation.
** LARPers excepted.
Hey!
I have muscles. My heart is a muscle…
Insert “exercising”, where it makes the most sense.
I take mock offence to that statement, I am an avid outdoorsman and a skilled fencer. And no I’m not a LARPer, though a few of my friends are, I just never got plans lined up. A typical conversation for those missed opportunities ran like this.
Friend: We’re getting together this weekend for a session/battle. Want to give it a try?
Me: Sorry, that’s camping trip/tournament/opening weekend.
I would love to. I seriously miss going to GenCon. And can remember some fun incidents, at those conventions, with battle re-enactment folks. The kind who like whacking each other with swords, rather than using dice and miniatures. Likewise made a lot of friends from the armed forces, who had very strong role-playing representation. So was being pretty tongue-in-cheek myself. Sadly, unless your get-together happens to be in Bulgaria, I would not be able to get to it.
Why does everyone believe Sydney’s comment about losers was aimed about her teammates?
Because she’s keeping score, you can tell by the dejected look, she thought she had highest body count.
Yeah, but she wasn’t calling her teammates losers, she was telling the villains that she has taken down 2 of them
When someone rains on your moment of glory, of course you are going to be bummed
That’s what it seems like to me, and going to stick with it :P
I thought it was aimed at her teammates, but more of a “neener-neener” sort of way than a serious statement.
So, question about Math. He’s preternaturally skilled—but does that just make him badass without training, or does it raise the level to which training can take him? Or both?
Math is the paragon martial artist. That genre takes a normal person and puts him through a gruelling, long training regime to turn him into a spiritual fighting machine. So Math is where he is due to training.
But he goes beyond the normal paradigm. He is the descendant of a long line of such elite martial artists. If his claim is to be believed, a very long line. As such he may have inherited a rather optimised set of genes. So he was likely pretty badass even in kindergarten.
So both. Probably.
I just had an “aha” moment. that in terms of actual accomplishment Sydney is winning. cause look at who she’s competing with in that 7th panel. a trained martial artist and a super powered military officer. they’ve been in so many fights that this is nothing to them and even if they where both rather green they’re still trained fighters. Sydney is not. those are probably the first times she’s ever used her powers on someone in a fight ….. so I think she gets a clap on the back …. well maybe not from Anvil, that might hurt if she doesn’t see it coming.
Assuming she manages to resist blowing up the neighbourhood, she certainly will deserve a commendation for her contributions. Given that she woke up this morning as a civilian. Provided Archon can get her victims safely to intensive care (and/or the super-healer back at HQ), quickly enough to avoid them dying or being permanently mutilated.
If they fail to do that, then she will probably be congratulated in a more low-key manner. Whereas, if negative publicity can be avoided, then she could end up becoming Archon’s poster girl, for their recruitment drive.
“If she can use her powers to fight crime, then so can you.”
Just to point out to Mr. Fainty here, not that it matters now, but Math’s fists and feet aren’t edged weapons. Impenetrable skin is not necessarily an advantage against blunt force.
Every time I come back to this page I giggle. Probably my favorite Sidney moment so far :D
It does have a Joss Whedon vibe to it. With a dash of Quentin Tarantino.
iI just hit me. What if the last orb is a learning orb that absorbs powers!
It is possible. Our only clue, in that regard, is the lack of claws sprouting out of Halo’s fingers, at the moment.
Math is a martial artist who just lost his shirt. Lee is lucky Halo took him out before Math got to him. I pity the fool who gets him down to his bare chest.