Grrl Power #218 – Battle break -OR- The most dick way to block something
I’m not quite sure what the rules of “Make Max Say” Bingo are, I think every time someone marks off a word, everyone playing ponies up $10 which is how the pool keeps growing. I was going to originally put a mini comic below the page with Dabbler calling out “Pool up!” but this page already has a lot going on and took a while to draw. In fact it was almost two separate pages. The reason it’s not is it would have left the mammary thing hanging without explanation.
Achilles is curiously simultaneously useful and ineffective. His total invulnerability does tend to mean that his teammates rarely go out of their way to rescue him from anything.
As always I will be at A-kon this year (June 6-8 in Dallas) and, I’ll be doing a panel on Friday. Humor-Based Webcomics 1: Humor in Story. Be sure to stop by!
My sixth (and final) Gynostar Guest strip is up! This doesn’t wrap up the story arc (which starts here) just my contribution to it.
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I don’t understand the orangey-brown lipstick. It makes HS look like she’s got worms crawling on her face.
I don’t think I would have phrased it quite like that. But I agree that Heavenly’s lips did rather stand out, last issue. Mind you I recall finding Sandra Bullock‘s lips to be… distracting… when I first saw her. But got used to them quickly enough. And it does not detract from her appearance, once you have done that.
What can I say? Some women have really lousy taste in lipstick choices. White lipstick, lipstick with a little pencil mustache layer on the top, and lipstick so shiny that it looks soaking wet are some IRL examples. Bleeegggh!
Every time I see your name, I get a bit more… wary… sitting here. Is there a good way to spot if your armchair is demonic?* Do they naturally have that form? Or is it some sort of shape-changing ability? Or can demons simply possess armchairs?
* Mine is really really comfortable. I am guessing that if you fell asleep in the arms of an Armchair Daemon, that you would not wake up feeling nice and cosy, with no aches and pains?
How the heck did ANYONE get Maxima to say ‘trouser ferret?!’
The name of the game is Ferret Legging. Stuff a ferret in your trousers and see how long you last. I kid you not. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferret_legging
Drunk Family Guy fans came up with that didn’t they? That sounds like something a bunch of college kids on a free ride would come up with.
It’s been a sport in the United Kingdom for hundreds of years… but no, you’re correct Family Guy did it first, they did everything first
Some sports can be unusual. Just look at how many times DaveB has gotten us to say “trouser ferret.” Whoever he is competing with had better have a massive Twitter following, or they do not have a cat in hells chance of winning the pool.
“I’m just curious how she got Maxima to say trouser ferret, probably an interesting story” ::slips out of gag:: not important “YES IT IS!”
I think we all are curious about that one. It had me cracked up laughing. I previously suggested that it may have gone like this:
Dabbler (to Arianna *): So, at the press conference, if somebody gets suspicious of my invisible arm, pressing up against my pants, is it ok for me to say “Oh that is just my trouser ferret?”
* In earshot of Maxima, but concealing a wink to Arianna.
The Simpsons mentioned that before; in Cape Feare.
it was we brits who created the fine tradition of ferret legging
of course our idea of a sport over here must involve at leas potential maiming or else whats the point?
Cheese rolling sounded so harmless, until I saw the video.
“In Rural England, Cheese rolls you!”
I suspect it would have been quite easy.
Simply express confusion as to why a villain would name themselves Trouser Ferret.
That can work as a one off. But say too many nonsensical things (unless there really is such a villain), to your commanding officer, and you may find your role, as a serving police officer, to be put under re-evaluation. If you tried it, for argument’s sake, there would be behind the scenes conversations, with other senior officers, asking “Do you think █████ is sane?”
The easiest way to get people to not question whether you are sane is to make it obvious that you’re not.
At least, that’s been my personal experience.
I second that statement.
So do we!
Because “Kilt Elephant” was taken?
funniest part of this comic: Rhubarb.
I have finally come up with a decent theory on why the Supervillain Blitzkrieg is happening!
It’s a distraction.
Somewhere else, bad people are doing really bad things, and they have thrown this pack of retards at ArcSwat to keep them busy while they do it.
Meanwhile, back at Archon… A fine time to be bugging all the fun places at headquarters. And don’t forget the guy’s showers. There is definitely an audience for them as well as the ladies. YouTube fame and fortune will be mine. (click – Thunderflash!)
Eh – not really super effective, really – Harem can be at both places at once, and as noted, the weapons locker people weren’t aware of any intrusions per say.
Well…at least, as long as those intrusions aren’t performed by Harem/Daphene *hersel[f/ves(?)]*, I guess.
When the team gets back to base, they learn that the New York Federal Reserve Bank has been cleaned out, and the thieves left only a Die Hard 3 DVD.
Oh the Huge Manatee!
That’s kind of what I’m thinking, but it would need to be something more impressive than just a bank job. It would need to be something -big-, like taking down the World Trade Center again, or assassinating the President and killing most of Congress and the Senate.
Look at what is happening in the story from a real world point of view rather than a comic book one. Thirty heavily armed perpetrators have staged an assault on a team of off-duty police officers. In the real world, any of the perps who survived to be arrested would be looking at prison for a -long- time.
What could possibly have motivated these people to do it? Money? For most of these guys robbing a bank would be both easier and safer.
It was suggested that someone really dangerous is making these guys do it. Do they act like they are scared? Are they fighting like people so afraid of their boss that they would rather risk shooting cops than face her?
In actual fact, neither side is fighting like they are serious about it. People are squaring off for one-on-one fights. It is all so relaxed and civilized that I half expect one of the waitresses to come out and see if anyone wants to order drinks.
So I’ve been having a hard time imagining any motivation for the Blitz. Then it came to me. What if someone offered them a large amount of money to stage the attack, and told them “3 minutes after the fight starts, all holy hell is going to break loose somewhere else. When that happens, ArcSwat is going to go running off, and there won’t be anyone left to arrest you. Once that happens, take off your costumes and go home. You’re job is done and you’re a couple million dollars richer.”
The most obvious motivation here is … well I was going to say power, but in actual fact it would be anything they fancy. The US has assembled it’s supers into a single force. Wipe them out in a pre-emptive attack, and the country is wide open. The ones who liked money could just stroll into Fort Knox and the Federal Reserve Bank, with their shopping trolleys. If any of them gets a buzz out of politics or power, they could plonk their butt on the chair in the oval office.
The single biggest worry is that none of the enemy, who’s powers we have seen so far, would be up to beating Maxima. Yet we know they saw the demonstration. Ok, they chose their ground well, so that she can’t just nuke them. But still, the only way they can end up on top, in this fight, is if they can take her out. So somebody managed to show the ability to beat Maxima, or I cannot see any of them having turned up. There must be some seriously powerful player, yet to show their hand.
As you say, the penalties for what they are attempting will be prohibitive. It is why we do not see cops being massacred in the street en masse. They have not been attempting to conceal their identities (as far as we know). So unless they win a complete victory, they will indeed gain nothing. But, even if they manage to flee the scene, will still stand to loose everything.
Of course, that other player wants to see that there are no other surprises that are being hidden. He, or she, is confident that Maxima is no problem. But wants to find out if there is someone who is paper to his rock. So these minions are under orders to get the cops to reveal their power. Which one on one fighting will do just as well.
Individually, they are just playing for time, and getting their kicks. Until the end of level boss decides to enter the stage. At which point, I imagine they will be heading for cover. Whatever they have been shown, that still convinced them to go up against Maxima, after her demonstration… that must be pretty impressive.
i am not so sure the idea she cant nuke them may have got most of them thinking quanity over quality plus with the exception of a few it seems they have a lot of supes who are stupid.
I agree with you. The smart ones will realise that their numbers will not be enough to overcome her. There must be something more to it, that we have yet to find out.
I’m not quite sure being smart enough to realize that would necessarily stop them, though, as intelligence is not the same as wisdom. They may believe that she has some exploitable weakness and piling on gives them the best chance at discovering it.
Killing every single member of ArcSwat would not leave the country “wide open”. Far from it.
ArcSwat is just a small part of Archon. We already know they have other supers, and anyone in the Grrl Power universe with half a brain should be able to guess as much.
The US military is going to have super teams of their own, even if they refuse to admit it publically. For that matter, one of the things the Live Fire Demonstration at the press conference showed is that a team of super heroes is actually a lot less destructive than a company of US Marines.
There are hundreds of supers in the US. In fact, given that 30 guys showed up for the Supervillain Blitzkrieg, there may be tens of thousands of supers in the US. Some of them are certain to object to anyone trying to take over the country they live in by force.
On the other hand, the power of human stupidity should not be underestimated. Maybe the guy running the show is almost as stupid as the guys he’s got helping him, and -he- thinks taking out ArcSwat will leave the country wide open.
Your comments are, of course, very fair. Strategically though we know, from their own press-conference, that they have committed a lot of their combat capable forces to Arc-SWAT. They have indicated that, in addition to their police role, they are also meant to be used in defence against foreign powers. So it is fair to describe it as the single largest concentration of strong supers. Ie that there is no greater force known.
Note the emphasis on the last word. We are only talking about the motivations of these individuals. If they are not aware of other super forces, then there is no deterrent. And, the briefing did make clear, supers are so rare that any use of them is sporadic and isolated.
Take many out of the system, as was needed to form Arc-SWAT, and they will be even thinner on the ground. Plus have to be spread out, doing their individual duties, around the country. Whereas the villains could strike en masse whereever they wanted to. Once Arc-SWAT was defeated.
Sure the (non-combat) supers from the rest of Archon will do what they can. And can team up with what other military supers there are. But that is tomorrow’s fight, not todays. Until those forces can be drawn together, into a strong enough force to oppose all these villains, they can do what they like.
Of course, in the long run they may well be defeated. I am in no way suggesting that this mob are likely to win. But that does not stop them thinking at this stage that they are in with a chance, as you conceded. Assuming that they do indeed have a plan for dealing with Maxima.
The idea that ArcSwat is a significant fraction of the total number of combat-capable super heroes that the government has access to is predicated on the idea that Supers are really, really, rare.
That idea is shot to hell by the number of bad guys who showed up to attack the Steakhouse.
The Mystery Bad Guy in charge can’t help but know better than to believe that ArcSwat matters all that much. If he can put together a group of 30 supers, it stands to reason that the US government, given their much superior resources, is going to have a whole lot more than that.
Whilst your earlier arguments were credible, I am afraid that your counter-argument, in this instance, does not hold water. The US government has gotten it wrong, somehow, for some reason. Maxima knows this and said as much.
If it turns out that her suspicions about many of the villains being illusions is true, then their figures are still right. However, if that is not the case, then they have seriously messed up. They do not have the numbers and the villains do. It is that simple.
Why the villains have more* is another matter, but not one which stops my argument about their motivations. Nor the capabilities that the authorities have to counter them, at the present time.
* All it takes is one with the ability to grant super powers to others, but that is just one possibility, amongst a host of others.
Hm… All right. I concede the point.
Your theory does require that the bad guys have both someone capable of creating supervillains, and someone powerful enough to believe they could kill Maxima.
Yea, the latter for sure. The former, well there is a discrepancy in villain numbers, but that could be down to various things. This could be an international conspiracy, for instance. But the reason why there is a difference is a long term issue. The key thing is that they have the numbers right now, and that has tipped the balance of power.
Of course, this is just one theory. There could be other reasons for what we see. But the fact that there will be severe repercussions, for attempted murder and assaulting police officers, means there needs to be a powerful reason behind it.
And if they do not have a plan for taking out Maxima, then there must be some coercion, mind-control or really really good fast talking, that took place prior to the battle, to get these villains to attack.
I’m guessing that the red cloak guy that deflected Concretia is the leader and a potential threat to Maxima. https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1311
If a super can give super powers can they also take them away or transfer them? Are the newly powered guys the cannon fodder that made up the first wave?
That’s what I was thinking.
Actually, although I was presenting an alternative suggestion, elsewhere, I should have also said that this is a perfectly valid option. Perhaps the villains are disguised in some manner, and are expecting to flee at some point. Thereby not having to take down Maxima. So a diversion is a very plausible.
Especially as it does not require having a villain who is stronger than the strongest known super in the world. :-D
Has anyone else noticed that in panel 2 Achillies looks to be guiding the sword to hit his eye?
He is indeed, with intent to gross out HS.
Unless he has a previously unknown power of reading peoples’ minds, he did it to be a jerk to Dabbles
I think you are judging him a bit harshly here. Lest we forget, he did just save her life, so does deserve the benefit of the doubt. Clearly he was being absent minded and/or thoughtless, from Dabbler’s comment. But there is nothing to indicate that he was intentionally malicious. And it was certainly nothing more than a moment’s irritation for her, as she immediately recovered and became incredibly cute and cheerful.
If Xuriel genuinely does not take offence, then people can be a lot more relaxed (and careless) about what they say or do around her. Obviously, if we see later that she has been traumatised by it, and is just covering now, then that is another matter. Especially if he fails to try and make amends. Likewise if we find out if Achilles is into schadenfreude, then we know he is a jerk.
Never said she was traumatized, just pissed/angry that he used his eye to stop Heaven and her pokey stick, he could have used his tongue (and annoy Morph :P), or his chin (“Awww, was hoping for a ‘Kirk Douglas'”)
and now I’m picturing his spinning around to stop the sword with his butt (“Damn, I was hoping that’d help my hemorrhoids”)
Terrible for his pants, though.
If I had that kind of invincibility (from birth so I never developed reflexes to protect sensitive areas) I would always attempt to stop stuff with like my eyes, knee caps and maybe teeth. And bare balls depending on who’s present.
I could just see Achilles going around performing impromptu sword swallowing on peoples weapons.
That also brings up the question of what sorts of materials he could feasibly eat?
Anything he can swallow. If it gets stuck though, he is in serious trouble. Something which will not fit out the way it came in, will be stuck there until it erodes* A very good way of permanently** disabling Achilles, is if you can get your paws on some liquid adamantium and get it down his throat somehow.
Provided it sets, before he can expel it, he will be unable to eat, drink, breathe or likely even move. He certainly would not be able to flex the bits with solid adamantium in them. But if his airways and stomach are completely cut off, then he cannot metabolise, so he will have no energy to move. And his own invulnerable body will prevent any gradual wear and tear (not that Adamantium would be much bothered by that anyhow.
* Such as being broken down by his digestive system, or gradual wear and tear from his muscle action, if he is still able to get enough food and air in order to metabolise. Alternatively surgery that went in through a body cavity, and did not need to penetrate any flesh, could gradually cut up any obstruction. It might require the assistance of ARC-welder though.
** Long enough, that there would be debate as to whether he could escape prior to the Earth being destroyed by the Sun.
It makes me sad to think about Lady Deathstrike, bad girl or not. Unless she and Wolverine are killed by suffocation, she will still be suffering.
don’t forget Adamantium is actually poisonous to humans in-universe. it’s quite possible the sheer concentration of it she took would have killed her too.
still, since she didn’t really have a choice in the matter… i honestly never feel sorry for anything that happens to either Stryker.
I just noticed how much nicer the art looks now. A far improvement over the last 3 years.
Also, I hope the “Get Maxima to Say” gag is going to be recurring. I also hope Maxima finds out about it *he grins evilly*
Thanks. I recently reread the comic from the beginning and at times are really cringing at some of the art, but as it progressed there were definitely some panels I was fairly impressed with. Not that there isn’t still room for improvement, as well as better consistency, especially with the faces. My ability to draw eyes looking in the same direction is especially a crapshoot at times. Still, I’m pleased with the progression overall. :)
The art has improved/changed (like with any artist giving enough time), but would still like to see everyone done in the style of the first pages
Ahahaha Dabbler you cheeky thing you.
Oh dear god, I needed the laughs from this page.
Okay, I just had a horrifying, morbid, and scientifically interesting thought.
Achilles is invulnerable and invincible. And so is his eye. BUT, you could hypothecially still get something lodged inbetween his eye and eyelid, and somehow pluck out his eye. But since it’s invulnerable, he won’t lose the eye, he can just pop it right back into it’s socket.
And now i’m going to stop this train of thought because I’m giving myself the heebie jeebies.
Well, there is this story they tell about Isaac Newton and his eyes.
As you said, scientifically interesting.
Self-censorship mode activated.
Suffice it to say, that, towards the end of my reply, when I started on the serving suggestions, I suspected that I may have been going too far.
I hadn’t realized that such a thing as self-censorship mode existed on the internet.
Out of socket maybe, although they could never be removed.
I wonder if Max can swing him by the feet hard enough to knock out a villain with one of his eyeballs?
if i was a super with super strength and went on a fight with someone using a really sharp weapon:
i would use achille as a blunt weapon and/or shield, not fearing he would be cut by it
check back a few pages, Max used him as a projectile
I’m sad to admit that I only just today caught the Highlander reference here: https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1004
I was about to suggest that she should have answered “lots of different places” when asked about where she was from, went to check…and oh…she did say that….
Feel dumb now.
But is she immortal? Does she have inside her blood of kings?
Good girls don’t tell, and Dabbles is just waiting for the right moment to shock ;)
Who wants to live forever?
You just know It’s a kind of magic.
We do!
“When do we want it?
Forever!”
We could be princes of the universe!
Princesses have more fun though
Well, when it comes to a universal armageddon, Achilles may “be the only one” left standing…
Maybe Archilles is the Face of Boe!
Else he might end up very, very lonely in dark and cold times when the universe diese its cold death.
Poor guy, I hope by then he’s found his Archilles heel.
that which is eternal may forever lie and through strange eons even death may die so I’ll see him then
Don’t worry about missing that reference for so long…It’s not worth losing your head over.
+1
Not that Thrythlind should feel too bad. I love that movie, and that reference whooshed right over my head, without me spotting it either.
Same here, let’s give them the Prize
Gimme the Prize!
Considering that for an Immortal like a Highlander, Face of Boe Miss Jones, or Archilles (and others), the truest WORST thing in existence could be to literally live forever, aka the cold-death of the universe, choosing to be mortal and being allowed to have a family isn’t bad at all (especially with the perks MacLeod had).
If I were to gain a semblance of immortality, i’d prefer eternal youth, coupled with a clear-cut and achievable condition on how to die. Remembering that Justice League animated episode where Morgan LeFay’s son looses his agelesness and is forced to continue living forever as an ever-aging cripple gave me the heebie-jeebies. Not a nice fate, equally shitty to living to the end of time, literally.
“The only way to kill me would be to off myself with a sewing needle that has been blessed by the heads of every major religion piercing me under the toenail of my left pinky toe at midnight on Samhein during the darkness of a total Lunar Eclipse.”
Achieveable, but highly specific timeframe and having to do it myself prevents accidental destruction.
Yea, the get out clause is all important. With that, the universe is your playground, and you do not end up trapped in eternal torment, once you tire of it. Although, unlike Adamas, I would ensure that the means remained completely within my control. There are too many ways to suffer, even with Achilles level invulnerability, to risk not being able to escape it. But he is very right to make it something that will take time and effort to enact.
Bah I get bored, I freeze myself for a couple decades.
I honestly want Achilles power more than any other power. You can’t beat it!
It gets lonely towards the end. As the last stars burn out.
Worse after that mind.
Well, very very boring if you don’t have a way to travel beyond the planet or something to do. I feel creative people would have more to get out of immortality than less creative folks- we’ve yet to see what Achilles is like in actual personality, other than him taking full advantage of his invulnerability to do things people normally cannot do.
Personally, I’d see what I could do about interplanetary, and then interstellar travel first. You would, after all, have millenia upon millenia left on Earth still, and then you could check out Venus, Mars, maybe see what the surface of Jupiter is like (though you’d need a way to get back out… Hrmm… Dive through at high enough velocity?) Visit Europa and Io and Titan, before finally heading out either with the first interstellar colonists or when the sun finally goes Red Giant. Then you look for life, and maybe set yourself up as a god or join a space-faring Hero team.
And there’s always the Mystical realms to consider. I wonder if his invulnerability extends to the Soul?
Yea, yea, they all say that. For the first trillion years. Ever watched daytime TV? It can get even worse that that.
No, see, I’m playing the long con and making investments towards inevitably godlike projections. In the context of the Grrlpower setting, Dabbler establishes that there’s a way to mix magic and technology. There’s also an established extraterrestrial race. Eventually there would be a way to transcend this small blue dot and extend one’s influence on the cosmos, and eventually create more stars and more worlds in which to dwell in.
And if I do live eons, then it would be very short-sighted of me not to come up with a means of extending my sanity. If I am to become a god and beat the universe, then I’ll surely want to advance myself and my mind to not just become a Renaissance Man, but to become a Renaissance God.
As you say, a trillion years is a long time, but the universe is really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really big place.
Which we know will come to an end.
Make sure that you can create a new one, to replace it, once that happens. Otherwise, eventually, you will come to regret your lack of a get out clause. And such regrets may come a lot sooner than you think. Humanity is working hard to wipe itself out. They may be better at it than current estimates.
Give it a generation or two and you might be on your own, gasping for every breath and feeling like your skin is continually trying to peel off in the heat.
That is a problem that you can overcome, given enough time, ingenuity and effort. But would it be an enjoyable process?
But he will have the best seat at the reastuaunt
I wonder if he’d take the cow’s suggestion on what cut of meat to get…
munch munch munch
*looks up, hunk of meat dangling either side of mouth*
Mmble.
Face of Boe, Miss Jones.
’nuff said.
It would probably get very boring after awhile.
Everything we know indicates that he’s also imortal
Eh, but you could beat it all you like… it’s just that whoever has the power wouldn’t feel it.
My top pool suspects, Harem (she’s as bad as Dabbler when it comes to this sorta joke), Achilles & Dr. Amorphous (let’s face it, they’re like Beavis & Butthead)
My secondary suspects: Arianna (she really doesn’t like Maxima), Goose (he’s Duke Nukem fer Christ’s sake), Max via Peggy or Stalwart (for the Money)
My last resorts: Anvil (she’s more self depreciating for the money) Math (bit of a jerk but not his style), Joel (he’s a bit full of himself but too scared of Max)
I guess I just assumed Daphne was part of the pool.
I think it’s a fairly safe assumption. That said, which one of her?
There is no ‘one of her’
There is only ‘her’
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/376
I should say which her is the designated pool member.
There is thus also no designated pool holder. There is simply ‘harem’
By that I mean which body.
I think pinkie is probably the cash and card holder.
You mean ‘Berry’, ‘Pinkie’ is Suzie’s reporter nemesis
I think you mean Leon. I don’t think Joel has ever met any of the Archon People yet (except Sydney of course.)
Me thinks you might have been thinking of Leon?
I hope she becomes a recurring villain or turns hero just for that Grin.
Nice to see the ticker-tape border on Dabbles’ top is still working
Still hoping for a “wardrobe malfunction” m’self. Even from behind (rated PG-13 y’know) it would still be EPIC! :P
Yeah, and we can live it vicariously through the eyes of whoever is in front of her (or the huge spurting fountains of blood, specially if it’s Math :P)
I think Achilles is one of the few who never suffer from https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EyeScream. The only other time I’ve seen something similar is a Superman movie, when he took a .45 Cal slug to the eye without flinching even as the bullet smashed itself flat. I gotta admit, it’s impressive to see someone handle the situation like that.
Even so, KNOWING about some that level of invulnerability gives me no immunity to EyeScream when I see it.
O.o
I’m still wondering if that dude in Superman Returns was really serious or just plain retarded.
After Supes took all those bullets from the chain gun, did they really expect him to take notice of handgun? Especially since they have to have known by then that it WAS Supes, as he’d proven to be back, or even by being there alone. I mean…. really.
The movie would have been really short if that .45 had but a single Kryptonite round in it.
course, he wasn’t shooting at supes with a chain gun… that was a Gatling or “Mini”-Gun.
Chainguns are actually called that due to their loading mechanism. they’re single-barrelled. check out the Bushmaster mounted on APCs or the Apache’s nose-mounted one.
now you know! and knowing is half the battle. the other half is plentiful use of ordnance.
The guy poking the sword with a stick looks REALLY nervous.
Of course he’s nervous: he’s seen what it did to the poor defenseless bystander tree
I knew it, you are a closet tree-hugger!
He doesn’t just hug the trees you know
TMI right there, TMI.
Hey, stop casting nasturtiums at Guesticus, he is a good guy!
Nasturtiums are quite tasty actually, but haven’t had any fresh in years
I think he heard Dabbler talking about it being mammary trapped, and is concerned that if he touches it himself he’lll grow boobs or something.
I remember the guy poking the sword with a stick from an earlier comic. The one where Arianna is listing off scenarios to Maxima of possible villain’s reactions to her news conference demonstration.
apparently, I can’t use tags worth $#!^.
I meant to say…
Villain No. 1 of https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1189.
You, sir (at least I’m assuming it’s “sir”) are definitely eagle-eyed.
Samurai eagle-eyed, in fact.
I reckon they should clue Sydney in on the ‘Make Maxima Say’ bingo gag.
Problem is: there is high chance that Sydney may accidentally (or not accidentally) blurt it out to Maxi
Sydney is distractable, not clueless. The main problem that I could see is that she is a
badterrible liar (for things that really matter, anyhow). Whereas Dabbler managed to cover herself smoothly here, in similar circumstances, Sydney might just dig herself in deeper. Whilst I do not think she would blurt it out, Maxima’s suspicions could very well get aroused.On second thoughts.
That’s why said ‘accidentally blurt it out’: she might say something, not knowing that Maxi is within earshot (funny how Maxi tends to be ‘in earshot’ a lot :P), Maxi asks her what she was talking about, Sydney gets flustered and, well, “Game over man!”
I think we need a separate strip just to show flash backs or something for the charts conseption and the words crossed off.
Vote-Incentive!
I have debating mentioning this for a week or two, but then I remembered that Strong Female Protagonist is on the list of comics DaveB has posted off to the right there, so I’m gonna say that SFP is in the midst of a kickstarter. It is already successful, but is worth checking out for people who like superheroines, which seems likely to be everyone who might read this…
“If I let go of something, it automatically teleports back to my lab”
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1077
Hmmm, kind of a different story from requiring a booby trap for your sword, no? The railgun was pulled from hammerspace, and so was the sword. So why the different treatment?
The railgun was technologically teleported to her hand from her lab. Soul Reaver was apparently magically summoned from…somewhere else. No autoreturn on magical summons, to the grief of many an apprentice sorcerer :D.
Very nicely solved, I had been having problems answering that one.
Possible Reason #1. The sword is something she keeps on her person, inside her Bag Of Holding, rather than in the lab.
Possible Reason #2. The sword isn’t technological. She has her -tech- gear set to teleport away so as to prevent Humans from taking apart her toys and possibly learning secrets they shouldn’t have yet. They aren’t going to be able to learn much from her sword.
Possible Reason #3. The sword isn’t actually booby-trapped, and will teleport back to her lab any moment now. She just said it was to get a square in “Make Maxima Say” bingo.
Dabbler looks so cute in panel 6 :D
Even more so in panel 9!
Damn, she’s just CUTE!
And cuter still in panel 11.
She even has cute little claws in panel 10.
Cute when angry, in panel 5.
So cute you just want to dive in and save her, in panel 1.
Cute, cute… cute.
Has anyone else notice Dabbler is missing an arm in panel #5
It’s behind her. You can see the bicep and shoulder…ish thing.
Did you wake up feeling like a cheeky monkey this morning?
no woke up feeling like a well rested person on their weekend
Ahh, yes, I noticed your comment, elsewhere, about putting on your powered combat armour. That does explain the change in your look.
She lost an eye? Did it regenerate or does she have a cybernetic one now?
If it regenerated, then her heterochromia indicates different mechanism than mammals. Since in mammals it is caused by an injury to the fetus (the genes code for the same color in both eyes). Although being a half succubus half alien means her genome is open game for weirdness
She has a cybernetic eye. Dabbler also wins a prize for most inappropriate use of said eye. https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1167
It wasn’t that long ago that this got explained in the comic itself.
Do people just not bother to read it, or do they forget it as soon as they close the tab?
Forget what? o_O
It is a cybernetic replacement. The change in colour being attributable to the fact that Dabbler is of three race mixed heritage. So an off-the-shelf replacement eye for one of those species is unlikely to be an exact aesthetic match to her own eye. The fact that she managed to get one that worked for her, at all, is tribute to their technology and/or her resourcefulness. Presumably it would be within her capability to finish the job, and get a perfect match.
The fact that she has not could be down to her well-known lack of commitment to mastering specific capabilities. Or it might just be an aesthetic choice, or even one made for some emotional statement. Revelling in her difference, or giving her a reminder not to get into sword fights with sword masters.*
* She clearly should have spent more time looking in the mirror earlier.
Panel 6 is the best
A tip, for immortality, get yourself a hobby.*
* No ulterior motive in linking to this comic again. I am just doing an archive re-read, and stumbled across this.
Just thought of a new game: “Make Maxi Pop…”
*A Wheelie: on a bycycle; Front wheel
……………………………………………Back wheel
…………………………on a motorbike; Front wheel
………………………………………………Back wheel
…………………………on a horse
…………………………on an elephant; Front legs
……………………………………………..Hind legs
*A Balloon: regular party balloon (any kind of filling)
…………………………hot air balloon (preferably empty of passengers)
*A blood vein: literally
……………………………figuratively
*The Question: automatic win, prize? everything
Am sure other readers can suggest other things for Maxi to pop :D
A cherry?
Both competition and prize if you get her to do it for you
Sorry, I’ll just be in the corner
Question is: does it matter whose cherry?
Also, would ‘popping a cherry on top of a sundae’ count? or would that be extra?
Make Maxima pop…
… out to the bank (2 points) to…
… pick up something you “left there” (1 bonus point)
… “conduct a security test” (2 bonus points)
… guard against super villain attack (2 bonus points)
… “stop an alien invasion” or “the opening of a gate to hell” (5 bonus points)
… “prevent multi-coloured ponies with unicorn horns from robbing the bank” (10 bonus points)
Further cumulative bonus points if it results in:
TV footage (1 point)
TV interview (2 points)
Maxima using foul language on air (3 points)
Maxima using foul language to Arianna (5 points)
50 bonus points if you can make the ponies squeek like a mouse that has had a gold elephant step on it’s tail (figure out how to get the elephant to step on it’s own tail, get an extra 100 points)
Dabbler’s tech stuff usually goes back to her lab by built-in teleport-function.
Non-tech stuff, like her sword, would usually be stashed in her hammerspace.
Of course, she can choose what to put where in the end and both seem equally accessible.
Also, nobody ever said where her lab exactly is.
Space-ship, pocket-realm hideout, Tardis-like expanded room within Archon-building, other reality / time?
Hmm, no new entry in the database for Heavenly Sword’s super-strength? Is it just assumed that any
reasonably fit female can lift a 200+ pound man over her head and throw him a considerable distance?
Actually, yes, what they show Heavenly Sword doing is easily within what can be done with normal human strength. A Judo type throw that sends someone 10 feet is fairly easily done.
Hitting someone with a double palm strike so hard that they fly 30 feet and are still rising before they hit an obstruction requires super strength.
She didn’t throw him very far, and it looks like he had been charging her so she would have used his own momentum against him (it’s not like she just picked him up and threw him the length of a football field)
Yes actually.
That’s a common Judo throw
When I was younger, I took up Judo as part of my effort to overcome my obesity. Up until that point, the only advantage I had, if dealing with a bully, would be to use my weight to my advantage. Being almost 6′ with it, meant that could use considerable weight to great effect. I had the reach to grab an opponent, and the stride to close the distance. Plus I have very good reactions.
Although this gave me the confidence to take up judo, I soon found out though that neither my weight, nor my height, gave me any advantage. It is a martial art which allows you to use those against an opponent. One of my fellow students was a slender, tiny girl, who barely came up to my shoulder.
She could throw me around, just as easily as Heavenly Sword is doing above.
You were doing it wrong. Mass and reach are an advantage in Judo, just as with any other hand to hand combat. If said little girl was throwing you around it was because she was simply much better than you. If you and she had equal skill then your mass and reach would have given you the advantage over her.
She was throwing me around because we were being taught throws. The point was she was just as capable of throwing me, as I was of her. Super strength was not necessary for her to do that, despite the fact that I was twice her weight.
And, yes, I did figure out how to make good advantage of my physique. But small opponents, who were good tacticians, could use their own build to good effect too.
What gave me a significant advantage against unskilled bullies, on the playground, became a marginal advantage, on the judo mat. Combine that with the fact that I tired much faster, than someone who was not obese, and I think it was fair to say that I had no edge from my physique.
“They say that Superheroes are best defined by their gallery of rogues… I can promise you that our rogues will either be incarcerated… in traction… or interred.” – From Maxima’s “Terrify The World” speech.
Later on we had the AriannaVision™ view of supervillains considering that speech as motivation to attack rather than motivation to be good. The first image in the collage was of the guy we see poking Dabbler’s sword with a stick saying “Challenge Accepted.”
When Shadow Boxer was menacing Sydney, he said “You’re about to make us very famous.”
So how is this for a theory? Captain Crybaby, named for the tear streaks he’s got drawn on his face, wants to hand ArcSwat a very public Humiliating Defeat. If Maxima’s little speech terrified the world, then when he kicks her ass on tv it’s going to -really- scare people.
Why? I don’t know. Maybe he wants the state of Texas as his own personal kingdom, or he wants two trillion dollars in unmarked non-sequential bills. Maybe he just wants the NSA to stop tapping his phone.
Right now he may want to go somewhere quiet and reconsider his options. Besides just missing getting a totally unnecessary haircut from a passing Soul Reaver, his “team” is getting it’s collective butt handed to it. Of the group who got into the restaurant, only Heavenly Sword is still able to fight. Concretia is up but she just got promoted to “Peggy’s Target” for the evening. The rest are down and either out or not willing to take any more punishment. Overall, a bad night for a wanna-be Emperor of Texas.
I still think it is an immense tactical blunder for Achilles to ever be without explosives.
Explosives + a guy that can’t be hurt by them = freaking awesome opportunities for mayhem.
Just saying.
Explosives are uncompromisingly all inclusive. Sometimes you need less area affected. Achilles is strong enough to handle normal and just above normal types without extra gear. And the tougher types go nuts trying to keep down allowing for Achilles’ team mates to deal with them while they are distracted. He is Archon’s own version of Can’t Hit Me Man. https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1223
Explosives tend to result in collateral damage. It’s really difficult to prevent hurting people you didn’t want to hurt. Achilles could carry around a spray can full of cyanide too, but it has the same problem, lack of fine control.
The best thing to arm him with would be a really huge gun. He’s got no need to dodge incoming fire. He could stand there and take all the time he wants to aim, then -wham-. Give him the kind of gun that produces limb breaking amounts of recoil. He could handle it.
The thing is, if you watch the way he behaves, you will notice that Achilles has zero killing intent. He’s not a fighter. He doesn’t attack opponents, he just gets in their way. He seems to enjoy taking hits, and he finds humor in being sent flying, but I don’t think I’ve seen him attack anyone yet.
You want Mayhem? Give -Harem- the explosives. A person who can drop off bombs and teleport away is just as good if not better than someone who can’t be hurt by them, and Harem is a thrill seeker. She’d be all over the chance to blow some people up, just to see what that was like.
I agree with the tactical thinking behind your comment, but disagree with your implementation.
Reasons for not always having explosives on his person:
1) Risk of accidental detonation * This actually reduces his ability to carry out his primary role.**
2) Risk of theft. Villains have more uses for explosives than cops.
3) Requires high skill to use. Achilles lacks that. ***
4) Cops should not routinely use explosives. Even though he is a super-cop and therefore much more likely to need them, he should restrict their use as much as possible. Even in expert hands, there is always some risk of collateral damage.
5) Public relations. Due to all the points above, it would be very impolitic for a cop to have explosives as part of his standard gear. Arc-SWAT needs to emphasises their police role and play down their military side, or they will loose the support of the public. Nobody wants their city turned into a battleground.
6) His team includes Harem, who can retrieve explosives, from the armoury, as and when he has a legitimate need for them.
But, as soon as he is properly trained in using them though and, subject to teaming up with Harem to supply them on demand, I think your suggestion is a very good idea. He would make a superb demolitions expert, especially as he would be able to transport it through deadly conditions, that no one else could survive.
And there would be no delay whilst he fell back to a safe distance for detonation. Which means that he could take on certain targets, particularly mobile ones, that would be impractical or even impossible for regular demolitions to attempt.
* This risk can be reduced by only using relatively safe explosives, such as those that are inert unless mixed, or which cannot be set off by a shock-wave, but which require say an electrical impulse to trigger.
The trouble is that super powered fights have so many weird effects being tossed around that there is a good chance of them being triggered anyhow. For instance if being attacked by a lighting-wielding villain. And two-part explosives are only as safe as the containers which are keeping them apart.
** If a bodyguard has to pause, to assess whether the explosives on his person are at risk of detonation, by a particular attack, will need to hesitate to make that judgement. Achilles lacks super speed or reflexes though, so cannot afford to have any delay in his decision making process.
Had he hesitated in the above comic, for instance, Dabbler might have died. And there would be just cause for hesitation, we have absolutely no idea what effect Heavenly’s power is controlling. Therefore even an explosives expert could not guarantee that their explosives would not be affected by it.
*** But it is something he should prioritise getting training in, if only for disarming such devices. His power would be invaluable if he was trained in bomb disposal. And his training should include nuclear ordinance disposal too.
Achilles wont be alone at the end of the Universe :
https://www.airshipentertainment.com/buckcomic.php?date=20090627
Agghh! Kremulate The Winslow!
Stop using fake words: everyone knows ‘Winslow’ is a madeup word :P
As Halo would say :P
Omg! It is too late! The WInslow has already started breeding!
And more than just the one universe.
Only just now noticed something about Dabbler saying, “You know I lost an eye like that.” Is that to mean that Dabbler lost her eye trying to *deliberately* block a sword with her eye…Like Achilles just did, but somewhat more successfully than Dabbler, I might add?
:P
Not deliberately, no, but that was how it happened
EXCELSIOR!!
I would try to get Maxima to use “thrust” and “turgid” in the same sentence, finished off with a loud Stan Lee “Excelsior!”
25 Bonus Points if you can pull it off. :D
Be careful, or she will pull it off for you o_O
I demand a flashback wherein the conditions under which she said “trouser-ferret” is demonstrated.
Boring version: Note taped to locker in women’s showers. “Beware of Trouser ferret”
Max: “Trouser Ferret?”
“Score”
As amusing as all the speculation is on the “why”, wouldn’t it be fair to assume Arc-Dark had something to do with all of the supers coming together? They have an inside person, they have capabilities that concern the administration, and they surely have the resources to bring together a (albeit loosely stated) team of supers specifically to “test” Arc-Light’s combat capabilities and limitations. There have been several limitations seen already just by the few in combat we have seen, which could be exploited at a future time. Just a thought :).
Remember when Maxima said “Non-lethal if possible”?
Surprise tests are all very well and good, but in this case someone could get killed. No responsible agency runs live fire tests without controlled conditions.
Yea, I mean look at the last time that was tried. Even with the world’s strongest super to protect him, Mr Amorphous got the crap beaten out of him, by a civilian bystander!
His only good fortune was that she chose blunt parts of her body to attack him with. Had Sydney decided to use her teeth, he would have been a gonner!
Actually, she did use her teeth
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/250
Man, that was a close call! Ok, I will modify that to saying “if she used her teeth on a more vulnerable part of his body than his skull”…
H.S. grabbed Achillies package!
She sure sent him packing. Not to mention bringing the house down on him. I bet he will not forget that package trip, any time soon!
dident she say penetrate when they found out syndet had true site?
Ahh, but unless someone in the betting pool provoked Maxima into saying it, that does not count.
If Maxima spontaneously developed Tourettes syndrome, and said half the worlds on the sheet, no one would be able to cross those off. Unless someone had infected her with it, somehow. That would likely be a court-marshal offence though, so they better make sure that they do not get caught.