Grrl Power #225 – Guess who switched from speed to armor
I’m back from vacation, and I’m running critically low on internet.
It’s hard to believe the last time we saw Hex, she was leaping off the roof on page 209. I guess she’s been just hovering there all this time. Of course, comic combat exists in an extreme version of comic time, so it hasn’t been weeks or even minutes. She’s been chilling out for maybe a minute.
There’s a big difference between how battles are handled in manga and how they’re handled in American comics. For one, there are very few team on team battles in manga because there are very few teams. Nearly everything that contains significant fighting falls into the category of Shōnen, as in Shōnen Jump. Basically a single male protagonist getting into lots of fight. The cast is of course much larger, and the main character can have some combination of team mates and frenemies like in Bleach, Naruto, or DBZ, but nearly every fight still comes down to one on one battles. It’s probably unfair to call American comics more varied in that regard, but personally it’s easier for me to think of examples of both single title protagonists getting in to fights, (Spider Man, Batman, Wolverine, etc.) as well as team on team battles. There’s a huge difference between one on one fights in comics and team battles. One on ones can span a significant chunk of the issue in American titles, and in Manga with their much higher page counts, they can span multiple chapters, going on for 50 pages or more. Team battles, which like I’ve said are mostly the domain of American comics, though I’m sure there are exceptions, are different because of the much smaller page counts. In most team battles, everyone goes down in one hit. It’s something I never noticed until the very first time I tried drawing a team battle, something I did probably 20 years ago on copy paper. I realized if I had everyone have these big battles that showed off their abilities or how resilient they were, the battle would be 80 pages long. I grabbed the nearest X-Men comic and realized the one hit rule was how they kept team on team battles down to 4 pages, and the cool battle moments were always saved for much lower population fight.
This battle is kind of a combination of both of those rules. It’s the first fight the characters are having (on screen anyway) so I want to show off some of their cool tricks, but that makes the page count go up. It’s also why I have a lot of disposable villains, so they can go down in one hit. In D&D 4th Edition rules, they’re 1 hit point minions. It’s also the reason I’m trying really hard to edit a bunch of the fight out (and not always succeeding mind you). Achilles for instance is just buried under some rubble. It would take almost no effort for Mr. Amorphous, Maxima or Sydney to dig him out, but then I’d feel obligated to make him be useful in the fight, and while I have some other funny things for him to do, I think I’m going to have to leave him KOed for now. Rationally it makes little sense for Maxima not to super speed down to the rubble and just kick him out of it since she doesn’t have to worry about hurting him, and it would take her all of 2 seconds to do it, but having her do that might add 5 pages to the fight, and I’ve already got a ton left to get through before I take my next editing pass. It’s hard to lose entertaining content or cool action sequences, but I can save those moments for later in the story.
Some of these pages during the fight are just fighting, but where I can I try to include other elements, whether it’s insights into Archon’s battle strategy or just setting up something for a future page. This one is mostly trying to fold Sydney back into the fight. And setting up Hex for a little action.
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Beware of drawing the attention of the mighty.
Yes, it would have been smarter to attack Halo.
Just as futile but Halo would not blast her. Of course we don’t know the range on the molestorb do we? Halo uses “Wedgie”, Hex shrieks.
The Buster Buddies seem to work with lasers.
And we know that a transparent shield is no protection against light based attacks.
Poor intel from Hex’s team, and poor threat assessment from Hex herself. Zotting Math would have been better.
This bunch of baddies had no idea what they were dealing with. Outside of the show and tell Arianna ran. No organization whatsoever. Everyone is trying to fight their own brawl. And the results are laid out on that parking island for all to see and still not heed.
Which makes you wonder… why? It was pointed out at the start of the battle that these criminals caught the team off guard. They should have had an edge, even with the limited intelligence they had.
Someone is manipulating the lot of them. I really doubt they’re all working independently after seeing a bunch of cops on TV. “Hey! I just saw a demonstration on how I’m going to get my ass kicked! Let’s put that to the test!”
Except for crazy stupid martial artists like Math, people just don’t do that. So where’s the profit? Is it blackmail? Mind control? Something smells fishy in Denmark.
“Never attribute to maliciousness that which can adequately be explained by mere stupidity” I don’t know who the author is or even if I got the quote exactly right, but I’m sure that’s a pretty good paraphrase if I didn’t.
The problem remains about how the baddies all got there the night immediately after the press conference. If supers are so rare, this suggests that someone with knowledge of both supers and the upcoming press conference has been gathering them together for a while.
If it isn’t Arianna then it is someone with a lot of resources. Someone like, say, a weapon manufacturer with a big ‘X’ scar across his face…
Why is another question. Only way we will find out for sure is if the action cuts away to where you see those behind this talking amongst themselves. Might or might not happen any time soon.
The problem here is much larger than it seems. At the press conference they said there was between 400 and 600 supers total in the United States. They also said that supers were no more or less likely to be criminals than any other demographic you wanted to name.
So you look at the FBI numbers for violet crime, and you find out that it boils down to about one violent crime per year per 250 people. With a population of over 300 million, that’s a lot of violent crime. But out of a possible 600 people, that’s only 2 or 3.
Two or three violent crimes per year would be committed by supers. That is what Archon was expecting ArcSwat would be facing. That’s why only one team was needed for the entire country, and they didn’t figure ArcSwat would be kept busy.
So where did about 30 violent criminal supers come from? Even if Deus has been planning this for the past decade, where did he get that many supervillains?
Remember, what is happening here is that approximately 30 heavily armed perpetrators have staged an attack on a group of off-duty police officers in a public place. The ones who get arrested here are looking at serious prison time. In a situation like this the police are perfectly justified to use lethal force, so it’s possible some of those 30 perps will -die- in this attack.
So where did someone find 30 supervillains, and once they found them, how did they convince those people to risk death or long prison sentences by attacking one of the most powerful supers known and her team?
@Nephandus:
My suspicion is that Mr.Deus has his hand in here, somewhere behind the scenes.
If so (& assuming he has an I.Q. higher than slime-molds),
he’d better be certain that none of these baddies know that he even exists, lest this get traced back to him.
TheARCMageWrote:
“The problem here is much larger than it seems. At the press conference they said there was between 400 and 600 supers total in the United States. They also said that supers were no more or less likely to be criminals than any other demographic you wanted to name.
So you look at the FBI numbers for violet crime, and you find out that it boils down to about one violent crime per year per 250 people. With a population of over 300 million, that’s a lot of violent crime. But out of a possible 600 people, that’s only 2 or 3.
Two or three violent crimes per year would be committed by supers. That is what Archon was expecting ArcSwat would be facing. That’s why only one team was needed for the entire country, and they didn’t figure ArcSwat would be kept busy.”
You’re making the strange conclusion that the probability of criminal acts is constant across all population groups. That clearly isn’t true, because crime statistics vary by geography and the type of crime committed.
‘People with super powers are ten times more likely to be involved in a violent criminal act’ is entirely plausible and likely to wreck the insurance rates of super heroes. :)
If nothing else, it’ll be because people with super powers get recruited by people looking to use those powers in violent situations.
The basic explanation should be that there are a whole lot more super-studs than they thought. That has the advantage of letting us introduce as many other baddies [or heros] as we might want. Now for our particular case…
Mr X has been carefully recruiting a super-crook team for some time. He has found that many recruits have flaws, like disobeying orders or not being willing to work as part of a team. Having disguised his own involvement, X tells his rejects whatever story that will sending them charging into battle. [He may have some mental powers that will help here]. So he gets rid of the rift-raft and gets some intelligence on the competition, and nobody knows he had a thing to do with it.
David Argall‘s argument does hold water. And it would result in rapid public acceptance of the necessity of Archon. Small armies of super villains, attacking cops, would be panic-inducing in the general populace, if they did not have super heroes to protect them.
Timing being critical in this issue. Once the public debate had started (on tonight’s TV) the major issue of a military force, being permanently deployed on US mainland soil, in a police capacity, would have polarized opinion. And could have resulted in mass protests along with a refusal to accept the organisation.
But, introducing the panic, by ensuring that the TV channels are full of dramatic footage and interviews, covering the fight at the Steakhouse car-park, it nips that debate in the bud.
Smoothing the introduction of the new arm of the military will ensure that their supplies, of super gadgets and weaponry, will be able to keep making serious long-term profits. That being Machina Industries, we can see the clear motive for Deus.
The prime, but not only, suspect.*
* I have my suspicions that even if it is Deus, he may only be a pawn, and have my eyes on a possible candidate, for the actual mastermind. But it is a remote possibility, and would be a serious spoiler, if so. Therefore shall keep that one under my hat.
The argument not only holds water but at the start of the fight Max & HQ specifically comments on the number of villains (here).
ARC Mage summed up my point better than I did. I want to believe someone rounded up several people with super powers, and is forcing them to fight Arc against their will. That’s why they aren’t functioning as a team, and that’s why there’s so many of them: they’re a bunch of individuals who are being forced to do this.
Harem is not the one Mistressminding the whole thing :P (this is in reply to puppy)
That’s if victory is the main goal here. Sometimes you can learn a lot more from failure. These guys are going down way too quickly for it to be a full on attack in my view. Plus with the general damage to the building, and so many supers flying in the face of them telling people that there’s not many makes me think that the goal was to gain more intelligence and damage their face in the public eye rather than beat them.
Not that the canon fodder knows this. Never tell the stooges the full plan, always leave them in the dark.
Not all stooges are idiots, and if you keep them in the dark about being used as expendable canon-fodder, you had better hope they actually do become canon-fodder or you have a means to put them down because they may pay you a visit, or spill what they know about you and pay you a visit
That’s why when coming up with a plan that involves cannon fodder you figure out who are the smart ones and put them in a position of power over the dolts. It keeps them content and then they accept the risks. Give them a little knowledge so they think they know what’s going on, but not enough where if they get captured they can screw you over. Give someone something they want and you can treat them as expendable as you wish, the ole Bread and Circuses tactic weaponized.
Halo’s shield is an adaptive field much like the shield in star trek, I surmise:
– it’s drawn differently at different times
– a purely transparent shield would not have kept everyone safe from Max’s super ball explosion
It has been stated and prooven repaetedly:
Halo’s Shield blocks harmfull amount of Light/Sound, while still leaving normal sound, light and radio waves through.
Lack of a disadvantage ‘deaf and blind’ does not imply a weakness/limited defense.
They’re pretty plainly not lasers. Any laser powerful enough to generate over a gravity worth of thrust would be doing a LOT more than making little molten holes in the pavement. The entire parking lot would be molten at a VERY conservative minimum.
Its officially the lighthook now not molestorb
Also anyone else think the “buster buddies” seem like nerfed halo orbs
Not personally. Visually they hover around her head, true enough. But Halo has such a range of powers that many villains abilities will be a sub-set of hers. So the fact that Hex can fly and blast I see more as a co-incidence, than being a cut-down version.
One of the distinct differences being that all Hexes blinkies seem to have the same capabilities, for instance. They can all blast and they can all aid in flight. So they do have their own flavour.
But, in terms of sheer power, yes, Hex is playing out of her league at the moment. A fact that seems to have just dawned on her.
Personally, I’m not reading Hex’s ‘buster buddies’ as ‘orbs’ – I’m seeing them as ‘openings into energy realm’: Just one-dimensional scars in space that let energy through.
+1
Yes, she does seem to have gotten the message, “Congratulations! You have gotten the attention of King Kong. Whether he loves you or hates you, you are screwed.”
Run away! Run Away!
“There isn’t enough Lube in the whole of Lubeistan to allow that to fit!”
It might be lighthook to the public, but to us and the boardroom committee and, thanks Harem’s gossipy tendencies the whol ARC-Swat, it shall forever be known as the Molestorb, although i would’ve gone with Hentorb myself :P
It’s gonna be Molestorb in the comments forever. Unless we need to explain what we are talking about to a newcomer. Hopefully we won’t forget what a Lighthook is.
I must admit lighthook is not growing on me. Although I opt for the less controversial ‘tentacle’ descriptor.
Does that imply that tentacles are growing on me? Eeew get off! Bad Cthuloid – stay away!
That’s neat, Hex’s orbs reconfigure.
If she’s smart she’ll get Sydney to hide her until Max gets distracted by a real threat.
Getting close to Halo might not be such a good idea. I seem to recall Max advising Sydney to do a ‘Hulk smash puny god’ tactic, earlier in the evening.
Actually just the opposite, https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1224 she warned Sydney to be careful of throwing things with the lighthook because it was so powerful. Doesn’t mean she can’t try a punch or two increasing the force as she goes along or just tangle Hex up and let someone else, like her big sister Dabbler, zap her into lullaby land.
Actualy ‘Hulk smash puny god’ means grabing oponent and make dent in solid ground with him, no throwing
I don’t think Hex, or a number of the other attackers would survive that. Remember non-lethal. The light hook as an entangle and the shield as a wall. Let the more experienced SWAT members take the offense. Of course, Sydney’s swearing could cause nose and ear bleeding.
Which is why hiding behind Halo, and using her as a shield, to shoot at her friends would be a bad idea. Not that Hex, or the other villains would know that mind. But Sydney’s very inexperience will be putting their lives in extreme danger. Even deliberately avoiding the PPO, and going for the safer tentacle option, the villain could end up in a morgue.
Which is an acceptable result, if they are trying to kill people. Maxima is taking a calculated risk here. If the villains show restraint, in their attacks, Halo will be able to use her powers in a controlled and calculated fashion. Push her, and she may panic and over-estimate how capable they are of surviving being pounded into the ground.
But it will only be the bad guys, who pushed her too far, who are at severe risk. Not the innocent bystanders , allies and the surrounding business park.
Played in a Champions campaign (well superheroes using HERO System) once for a year or so ran by my brother. We were more or less the super-equivalent to a black ops team. All three of my teammates had no problem with killing (or feeding bad guys to extradimensional horrors) while I played a life-time super fangirl who always knew she was alien-descended and had just recently got her phasing-based tank powers (though the manner in which she acquired them left her horribly disfigured). She was rather naive with a “protective of others” disad.
Over the course of the campaign she killed three people two of which she doesn’t count because they resurrected one and the other will come back to life as soon as he makes planet fall on a life-sustaining planet, which will hopefully be thousands of years later….though the previous time we killed him and stuffed him in the base furnace, he only came back stronger when the govt shut us (and the furnace) down.
The first one was a telekinetic that had nearly pwned her the first time they met and was really hard for her to hurt. So next time she met him, she went straight to pushed 55 Str double knockback haymaker pointed straight down. I was unaware until I connected that an earlier power had caused him to be giddy and disoriented and his force field wasn’t up….so 55 Str double knockback straight into the Earth and practically no defenses.
This incident was followed immediately by a presence attack which consisted of Greyskin looking horrified at the mess she had just made, glancing up at the enemy minions and saying “Oops.”
That’s the one that got rezzed.
The second was a death-touch, resurrection preventing, nigh-unkillable serial killer who she grabbed while the baddie was desolid and unconscious and threw him out the side of a space ship (his desolid was vulnerable to dimensional powers, Greyskin’s strength was dimensional based) All the table discussion about how to handle the unconscious and desolid killer stopped when I pantomimed throwing him out the wall and my brother checked “yep, he needs to breathe.”
other players: “You don’t get to complain about us killing any more.”
“But it’s orsornio, he’ll just come back later.”
Ironically, if she’d used her entangle, defined as sequestering people outside the current dimension, it would have matched his susceptibility and killed him permanently. He could only permanently die when removed from his home dimension and would die almost instantly. I knew that…Greyskin didn’t.
The third one was a repeat of the first one. There was a class of minion that stood out for having two force fields that acted as shields for their compatriots. I was rocking a buff from the summoner putting me to about 65 Str and decided “two shields, I should go all out to knock him out”. Push strength, haymaker, straight down. The hit stuns the minion and knocks him out, the knockback makes pizza out of him.
“Oops.”
“They’re just minions, Luke, even with two force fields.”
Sydney should grab Achilles with her tentacle and use him as indestructible club, far better than the previously mentioned cars (though gas cistern could be useful for AoE)
People constantly suggest this, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why.
Achilles is not ideally shaped to be a weapon. He’s actually rather poorly balanced for that, and even more so if he moves at all.
He’s kind of soft. Sure he’s indestructible, but he’s still made up of flesh and blood, not solid steel.
He also isn’t going to add much to the damage done, since that is entirely a matter of the strength of the person swinging him, not how tough he is. He’d extend the length of your swing, which would help a little, but anyone strong enough to be swinging him around isn’t going to notice the difference.
It’s a waste of his time. He could be running around defending people instead of pretending to be a baseball bat.
People with super strength sometimes grab large objects and swing them around. This is a way of using Strength to make area of effect attacks, which are more difficult for some types to avoid. Martial artists tend to be great at dodging punches, not so great at dodging garbage trucks.
I’m not thinking Achilles as a human weapon is being recommended for its effectiveness (though he did apparently make a decent bowling ball/dart on the roof) but more because it would be hilarious.
Also if Achilles is at the end of the Lighthook grabbing onto people then there’s no worries about Sydney accidentally constricting someone to death!
Ok new idea: Instead of the hammer/nail tactic I came up with before, Sydney flies up into the path of the fleeing Hex, expands her shield so it’s harder to miss, and “thud,” Hex falls to the ground looking just like a bird that’s hit a window, off panel we hear Sydney say “Three.”
In fact, Syd could do it “Now! While she’s distracted.”
Yeppers. Now would be a good time, whilst Hex is not looking where she is flying.
Yeah, like said on the 2nd page, time for Sydney to go all Scorpion on poor Hex
Personally I think Sidney would go all Scorpion’s “Get over here!” with her lighthook and then play paddle ball with the shield until they are sufficiently subdued.
Man, she’s not even a super! She’s obviously just a Stand user!
Sydney isn’t a super either
Nor are Math or Peggy, who are still ARCSwat :) Lot of non-supers in this fight.
More non-supers I think in Archon. The expert types like Peggy, the support crew in ARC Light, some investigators in ARC Dark, and just the people who inventory the supplies after a party like this. People like Peggy and Duke, properly equipped, could deal with low-level super villains without high-power help. At least that seems to have been the plan. This fight is going to cause some changes in strategy as well as tactics.
And a recruitment drive to replace those who fall
It may be a high-risk assignment, but I’ll bet on the military side there’s a waiting list already.
Is she really not a super herself I wonder ?
We know she is a serious nerd and loves super-hero comics ( as long as they are not mainstream ). Also, while she obviously did neither muscle nor bust up, she still has some at least near unhuman abilities she apparently already possessed before finding her orbs, such as epic swearing and resistance against spice on a level of chemical weaponry – the Scoville name genes / inheritance. She then found said orbs, as in plural, in a well known diving paradise at the “Keys”, which accidentally are a match to her interests and personality. And: She is able to use them intuitively as far as her current skill-tree allows, which also means that the powers are not a ready set to be used but rather evolve.
I do not know if these orbs revealed themselfes to her because they sensed a “compatible wearer”, if they actually called her over for the same reason, if someone dropped them there just in time, … but it quite obviously was King Arthur style tool action – something only she, or at least a very select number of people, could do
The “merlin type” supers of some super-hero stories are known to introduce objects into the world that suddenly can be found because they are there to retrieve them. It might be the same principle for Halo, especially considering that the orbs appear not to be even there regarding any technical or magical attempt to prove or analyse their presence.
So, whoever made the orbs, attracted Sydney to them. Mmm. This would imply that they value some aspect, or the whole, of Sydney, more than anybody else in the world. Presumably because of shared values, behaviour or other attributes. Of all humanity, Sydney is closest to what they perceive as ideal.
In other words, somewhere out there, it is likely that there is an entire race of beings, who are like Halo. Even down to having access to super-powerful technomagic.
Ummm, Dabbler, I don’t suppose you know where they might be found? Can you arrange a visa, and perhaps a lift? Pretty please.
I actually was leaning more towards merlin types because I find the idea of an entire race of Halo’s desturbing if not worrisome. Not that I don’t like her, but I am pretty sure that there is a limit as to how many Halo’s the universe can manage without getting ADHD hiccups. It probably also would result in the need to cuss in order to curse ( or work magic in general ) instead using regular chants.
Besides, if an alien race placed the orbs on earth it probably would be for entertainment which might explain how Syndey got selected and why there is a skill-tree. :-)
I think the orbs are part of a game. I imagine them to be the property of an extra-terrestrial visitor who might well have been vacationing in the Florida Keys when he lost them.
All that would be needed is for one of those orbs to allow you to respawn when killed.
So, presumably, the other one would be the ‘change character’ option?
Man, that is a nice bruise showing up now from Syd being suckerpunched. I am a little suprized that her words are not slightly slurred, but then again I have never been punched in the mouth like that before.
A fat lip doesn’t mess up speech enough for it to noticeable usually.
Seeing that makes me want to whack Shadow Boxer. He better hope that the bracelet keeps him out of the combat. Because messing up that cute face, with a nasty bruise, is just begging for someone to get over-protective, on her behalf.
Grrrrrowl!
Normally, I’m kind-hearted enough to say “down boy!”. But in this case, just don’t forget to brush your teeth after you fang him.
Oh no, Maxima is POINTING AT ME! *Runs away* ;)
… … WTF?! That was supposed to be an independent remark…
I dub thee Yorp Biter of Sydney Foes! Unleash the Yorp or WAR!
Let’s not forget that Shadow Boxer got what he deserved from Sydney ….
…. As a result of which, various activities he may wish to undertake (eg. reproduction, horse-riding, jogging, sitting down, etc.) have been rendered problematic, at least for a while.
Not to mention his cell-mates calling him “Squeaky”.
I hope you have all your shots. *pats*
Now, sick’em, boy!
Aw, how cute Syd is, wanting to actually try her hand at tanking. And nice work with the blood, DaveB.
Maybe her orbs now will show special tanking-powers. Like self-heals or aggro-generation.
Why would she need self heal when she has damage immunity?
Self-heals are always important, especially for those rare instances you’d otherwise get one-shotted when something gets past your tanking immunity.
As a WoW reference: I have seen SoO HC geared warrs die by plague-scientists in ICC25HC.
I don’t think Sidney needs any help from her orbs to get aggro :p (ok, taunting maxima was easy, but sydney still has her full arsenal of swear words :p)
Yes! Finally time to see Sydney use her vocabulary for good.
Don’t forget her Tongue Fu skills too. ;)
Operation draw aggro fire seems to be a three way initiative. The Buster Buddies (TM) could be due to for a bit of glass shattering/
If the Buddies can generate a cool plasma with a magnetic field, it may act as a deflector Trek-style. Or counter-fire on Max’s beam. Mind you, I don’t think Hex has enough power to actually affect Max’s attack much but she could soften the blow. Otherwise she plays Last Of The Glass Cannons.
If Max has control of her Kerby finger, not putting the energy into it like when she tested Sid’s force field, she should just knock her out the sky, but not kill her.
No Hex just has Tony Stark’s repulsers tethered to her by telekinesis that is her true power. Short range invisible static tethers to one of her friend’s gadgets. Remember Max’s earlier comment. “Please don’t tell me that she just has telekinesis?”
Why do I see that girl getting grabbed by Syd’s hent-orb and *puny-god*-ed# (or at least effectively becoming Syd’s 3rd beaten villain).
Halo is going to be subbing for Achilles for a while now. A good task for her to get some flight time.
Heh, I only just now noticed the ‘manga sweat beads’ on Hex in panels 7-8. Kind of makes me wonder why she looks so calm in panel 9.
He he. And count how fast they increase. Love it!
“Never let them see you sweat.” That’s why the drops are behind her. She has at least that much control.
And that finger is probably the super powered equivilant of swatting away a fly
A super powered fly though, with a deathray
When Maxima gives you the finger, it hurts.
“No, not the finger. Anything but the finger. I’ll change, I tell you, I give up. For the love of humanity, no, no, NO!”
]collapses in a sobbing, heaving wreck]
Well, when you can make a foe flee with no more effort than raising a finger…
Some normal humans have that power too.
Proctologists.
Jack Elam’s greatest line: “Somebody call for a doctor?”
Also note that she put in the turbo for getting away from Max.
Outrunning light is a futile effort. Hex should surprise everyone and surrender before she gets her hair mussed up.
I like how when it was just two beams, Maxima ignores her in favor of talking to Sidney and SCRATCHING HER FOOT.
And all doubling the power did was mildly irritate Max. “I’m on the phone, do you mind?”
He he. I missed the foot scratching, on first pass. I just love re-reading, and/or having my attention drawn to such details via the comments.
Yeah Dave is a good storyteller. Every time you read it you feel like you come away with something new and most of the jokes are funny every time you read them.
Dave does an excellent job. That is so true. We should all be thankful to get to read his comic.
Ok Hex…You just successfully got Maxima’s attention. Now, what are you going to do with it?
:P
okay this is just “hilarious”
“you are TICKLING ME STOP THAT NOW OR I SMACK YOU” hehe
other than that “team work” REALLY? the only one really following team work so far is PEGGY … like before with mr claw,she can only help and not really make it worst if she stays in her shield
Maxima herself has been exemplifying teamwork. Giving a sensible set of orders to the team, then acting as the lead tank, to draw the bulk of the enemies, and their fire, from the rest of the team.
And she even managed to slip away from that role long enough to rescue Achilles from his low-orbit course, to use him as a super-human bowling ball. Classic comic teamwork.
to my point of view maxima’s doing is just a recipe for a bad ending. a leader has to do his fights but at the same time direct his troups.
the way she does it they can easyly get themselves into the ways of each other’s.
since the begining it’s only the third time she gave orders. i know, in real life time for them it’s not THAT LONG. but still it could have ended a lot faster as the bad guys don’t really use a set plan either. and the stronger ones didn’t even show yet. just the “silly ones” mostly if i can call them that way.
Max is fine, she can see everything where she is and her powers allow her to assist others without moving from that position in most cases (speedsters and people strong against directed energy but weak against physical attacks withstanding). Moving out of that position unnecessarily, even briefly, puts her out of position to see and attack the whole of the battlefield. If no one else can handle something and she absolutely has to move to handle it she will. She considered the speedster enough of a threat that she was ready to move on him if Dabber were unable.
Harem is teamwork personified. S
I hate trackpad near keyboards
Max is fine, she can see everything where she is and her powers allow her to assist others without moving from that position in most cases (speedsters and people strong against directed energy but weak against physical attacks withstanding). Moving out of that position unnecessarily, even briefly, puts her out of position to see and attack the whole of the battlefield. If no one else can handle something and she absolutely has to move to handle it she will. She considered the speedster enough of a threat that she was ready to move on him if Dabber were unable.
Harem is teamwork personified. She’s spotting for Peggy, supplying her teammates, securing defeated enemies so they aren’t in the way and reentering the fray, and likely doing triage duty.
Peggy is covering her teammates so no one gets in over their head.
Sydney is a relative noob but she covered Math’s ass, assisted ArcLight in information gathering, assisted Harem in securing defeated enemies,and is now about to pull aggro.
Achilles saved Dabbler when she was disarmed and half the team is using him as a blunt object.
Dabbler and Math are exactly lone wolfing either. Math provided a distraction against Heavenly Sword for Dabbler before getting bogged down with Jabberwocky and Dabbler stopped Mach the Knife despite being occupied with Heavenly Sword.
We haven’t seen much of the others yet but I suspect Anvil, Hiro, and Stalwart tanking for the team, the non-supers are providing cover fire and Dr Amorphous is helping however he can.
And of course, Max’s advice to Math is sound, but will his ego let him heed it?
I think so. Math has a better grasp of teamwork than Dabbler. He might be enjoying himself, but the fight as a whole needs to be considered. He’ll just have to hope Jabber is still going when the herd is thinned out a bit more. Or wait for the next time.
Looks like Hex had the same idea as Max had.
Good plan but Hex needs some major backup on her end. Or at this point something soft to crash into when Max grounds her.
Remember what happend when she pointed a finger at something last time?
I don’t think there’s going to be much left to crash
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1041
Fortunately, Max can dial it back a bit. (I hope for Hex’s sake) She looking to catch this bunch not vaporize them.
Agreed. But Hex doesn’t seem to know that. Even Heavenly Sword was über-confident at the start of the fight that everyone could shoot Max or at least take her on. Hex was firing beams at Max (and missing), so maybe she still believes Max isn’t as tough as she made herself out to be.
Actually, Hex was on target, first with just the 2 lazers, then with the 4 to the face
I think Kfox is referring to some pages ago when Max first exited the building and drew all the enemy artillery fire. None hit her at that point.
Aren’t drawing fire and providing cover mutually exclusive? If I wasn’t bullet proof, the last thing I’d want to see is a bullet proof team mate goading people into shooting at them while running towards me.
The role switches depending on the situation. Drawing fire allows the other SWAT members to spot a target that needs dealing with. Covering teammates allows them to move out of immediate danger. Or rescue someone in over their head like Achilles did for Dabbler.
If someone is shooting at a teammate, Halo’s job is to attract that fire away.
Sydney can increase the size of her bubble, and interpose that between allies and hostile fire. Plus making herself a serious offensive risk, will force the enemy to attempt to overcome her defences. Or flee.
So, whilst your point is true, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Considerably.
The one caveat being that Sydney is very inexperienced. Maxima has given her a basic talk though, and Sydney is smart. So hopefully she will err on the side of safety, when making judgement calls.
She also knows how tanks and taunting works from RPGs
Just annoy the guy enough so that he switches his attention to you, so that your squishier teammates can wack him
In Germany gamers have a proverb for getting on groups of enemies.
“Zuerst musst Du die Zauberwirker knacken, dann kannst Du auf die Krieger kacken.”
Losely translated it means that you have to take out the healers and other casters before kicking warriors and such in the bum.
tabletop Rpger’s and online Rpger’s do tend to forget that, the only time they seem to remember is when their doing PVP
Unbelievably annoying trying to take down a fighter/tank and the healer keeps, well, healing them, end up screaming at the monitor “WILL YOU STOP DOING THAT!”
The most irritating healers, in City of Heroes, were the Tsoo. Because they were teleporting sorcerers. If you did not lock them down, or kill them fast, they would teleport out of harms way. Only to come back, just in time, to heal their allies up, before you take them down. Then teleport back out of harms way again.
If one got away, I would ignore the body of the mob (other than lobbing a few AOEs their way, and setting my pets on them), in favour of watching the Sorcerer and, if able to reach it fast, chasing it to take it down. Or wait until its return. Such healers are by far the most dangerous elements in such mobs.
Fortunately they could not teleport if encased in a block of ice, or the like. So Dabbler would have no problem zapping them with lightning.
if I remember, i don’t think they could heal themselves, so my blapper just use to snipe them first, wait form to reappear, then snipe again
damn typo’s wait for them to reappear
True enough. Trouble is you always had at least two sorcerers in any mob. So they could heal each other. Early on, before realising that was the cause, it could result in party wipes. Given that their heal was strong enough to restore the target to full health.
Not to mention the fact that teleporters can often land in other nearby mobs, so could end up drawing them into the fight too. Which could be avoided, if anticipating the problem. But accidental aggro could still happen.
Mind you, that is something that I always felt should happen anyhow, with proper AI. Enemies sending for reinforcements. But, accidental or not, having all hostile groups, in the area, converging on the fight, bringing their own teleporting healers with them, made for an enjoyable fight.
Especially when the mobs were heavy on debuffers. And were capable of using weather magic, to prevent melee attackers from closing, to fight hand to hand. Making it that much harder to take individuals down, even without healing. Using some of the player character type tactics against the heroes. Much more sporting!
Well in the PVP defence, usually PvE doesn’t have those things. It’s just mobs.
It was a big deal when ESO promised mobs that would operate on tank/healer stuf, because it’s so rare (they didn’t do it offcourse, but still, they promised it)
On side note, a game that DOES have dungeon mobs operate on healer/tanker/glass cannon basis, is Aion Online.
That game has dungeons with mobs that run on very impressive AI, with dedicated healer mobs keeping the DD mobs alive (who will murder you because you can’t kill them if you ignore the healer)
TERA also has mobs with healers and tanks. Normally the PC is strong enough to just muscle through them regardless but sometimes the numbers can overwhelm you, especially if you’re playing as a Mystic.
Shadowrun has a phrase with the same meaning. It’s short and not so elegant. “Geek the mage first!” Though admittedly, I find it an elegant phrase and have used it in real life, really confusing the people at the DMV.
That was hilarious
I’m still laughing
I agree with RobK! :D
I don’t think you need worry too much about the page count DaveB. This fight is being really entertaining. If it goes on for 100 pages, and/or a year or two, we might start itching for a bit of the ‘in between fights’ stuff that you do so well.
But, I am sure you will feel that urge before most of the readers. There will always be some folks who will have a particular wish to see the story go one way, or another. Or at a different pace, or with a different tone. However, you have an interesting enough style, and an ability to bring entertainment into every facet of the story.
So, as always, I am happy to see the story go at whatever pace you feel is right. Especially as it goes interesting places, when you do that. By not conforming to the conventions, and resisting undue pressure to change, you can explore your world your own way.
Don’t forget, we’re still in a narrative flashback. If it did go 100 pages, Dave could kick out to some “present day” silly hijinx and then kick right back to the fight.
Dave, Yorp is right you are doing a great job and we get to watch such a great story.
Don’t worry about page count, it doesn’t matter. Just tell the story and we will be here and lap it up. :-) I wouldn’t even care if this fight were going on 25 years from now, you tell your story too well.
This is the only superhero comic I read and I don’t watch the superhero movies and such. Oh I saw some years ago and know some of the basics of the big names, but yours is the only superhero comic I want to watch.
Thank you.
I always say that we, the readers, are privileged to have a webcomic artist share their work and stories with us, and we should not be the ones making demands. Dave, you do what you have to, and we’ll keep enjoying the comic. So far, most pages have a serious side and a good bit of humour, and the ones that are more serious overall have character building (such as Sydney’s contemplation about the orbs just before she left for the bank), which makes the characters likeable and more realistic. So please, keep doing whatever you are doing and whatever you need to.
I’m not complaining about the current pace and I don’t see many others doing it. Fact is I can only remember one negative comment about your pacing, but I can’t count how many enthusiastic comment’s I’ve read since Grrlpower started. That includes mine, LOVE IT! Don’t change a thing Dave, do it your way.
I’m thinking this extra drawing you commented on and drawing styles, you should do, when that is you want to sell your book. Grrl Power. Put extra pages in it that we can’t get anyplace else would inspire us to buy.
There two other differences between American comics and manga.
1) most manga is in black and white, if DaveB uploaded in black and white he could do more then two issues a week (of course if we didn’t keep nit-picking, he have more time to spend on the next issue)
2) manga tends to be published once a month.
There’s no “like”, button, but what Yorp said. Take as long as you like on this fight, its good stuff.
+1=like
I`ll only too happily introduce my children to this comic once they`re old enough.
Considering that I actually have to make some first…XD
So, just marry Elastigirl & get busy…
;)
I have no evidence, but intuition says that the shōjo version of fighting manga might have more group battles, with heroes winning through combo attacks or coordination rather than just the Protagonist Super Final Blast.
Archetypical example: Sailor Moon.
“Girls und Panzer” did a lot of teamwork.
Some of them do have the heroes needing to combine attacks at the end, but I think that falls more into the Shōjo realm, like Sailor Moon or dare I say it, My Little Pony. Still, that falls under the umbrella of Manga, so I should have included that in my examples.
My Little Pony? when did they get in to a fight?
That will be the Call of Cthulhu cross-over. More of a get eaten, than a fight.
;-)
Oh yeah, must of missed that one :)
and the ever-popular Care Bear Stare (c)
Magical Girl shows do tend towards team fights quite a bit. Precure, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, etc. tend to be more team oriented. In Precure’s case the first cast was incapable of firing off any ranged attacks without doing so as a combo move.
There is one show, that has a really odd combination of genres, called “Betrayal Knows My Name” that has quite a few team-oriented fights as well. Most of the characters work in pairs at minimum.
Nanoha Is a Sci Fi with magitech and you will not be able to convince me otherwise D: <
At least later in the series. Magical girl stuff aside.
If you can’t pen, switch to HE, if you don’t have HE, you probably shouldn’t even try for the toughest opponent on the field.
If you don’t have HE, use super glue
Or don’t try a decapitation strike with a butter knife.
You play Tanks, see you out in the field :)
In this case, it’s more off a ‘don’t try to fight a tier10 with a tier3’
First aim for weakspots, then switch to prem.
What is HE?
So the one with the “Buster Buddies” is the one whom every calls Hex….
I would have called her Lilly Liver.
I wonder if Maxima will need any direct attacks or apprehending to stop her and her buster buddies. Firing a blast right next to her head, thus causing her to faint from terror, might do the trick with this one.
Why? Because she had the brains to know to leave as quickly as possible once she gained the undivided attention of Maxi’s Finger? That is hardly the mark of a coward
In fact Hex is the only one so far to exhibit an IQ over double digits. She’s still gonna get hurt, but that’s show biz.
She’s still a part of this, you know. Jabberwocky and Heavenly Sword actually seem to have something they gained out of this. She would have to have been forced to be a part of this to qualify for being smart, rather than simply more cautious than the first two mooks that went down. She’s still skittish much like how Harem’s attention hungry, and Maxima’s hard-boiled. Hex doesn’t come off as someone who would want anything to do with vigilantism or thuggery unless pressed by threatening her family or the like unless she was a buffoon, especially since her powers don’t seem to be deadly enough to handle ArcSWAT in general, much less Dabbler and Maxima. Once again, if whoever set this up has her family hostage or whatever, that’s different. If not, I don’t see her having the same plea-bargain options as Heavenly Sword or even Jabberwocky now that enough of the mob, that had been drawing ArcSWAT’s sights away from her, has been taken out, and she just hit the deadliest hornet’s nest, no less. I mean, if she chose to cast her lot with these guys, is her surname McFly or something?!
“Nobody calls Hex ‘chicken!’ Especially not a bunch of idiots who think just because they have superpowers that they’re invincible, and I’ll join your stupid and trivial cause, thereby throwing my own future away, just to show you why!”
We haven’t seen enough of Hex (this is the most we have seen of her the entire fight) to judge her motives.
The only ones who could possibly answer that is DaveB and Meghan
I’ve got nothing- I’m just the face.
However, I will say as an outside observer that the smile in panel five is much more of the “evil glee” smile than the smile of someone who is just trying to do this to prove something or save her family. It’s possible that in a world where there aren’t many supers that these villains don’t really understand their place on the powered totem pole. After all, compared to many of the other baddies here Hex isn’t all that unpowered. She might have honestly thought, going into this, that she could make a name for herself.
That said, thy DPS should not try to tank. Even if you’re trying to give your buster buddies their first real field test.
Technically, if you are solo, you aren’t Tanking :P
I’m going to have to own up to how my choice of jest can only be believably interpreted as calling her a coward rather than humorously craven-laced, and explain my current impression of Hex (I thought Hex was the jerk in the hood who squatted Concretia before now.) She’s ‘Lilly Liver’ much in the same way as Usopp from One-Piece and Krillan from Dragonball would be ‘Lilly Liver.’ Past appearances, Usopp’s no more close to cowardice of any of the Straw Hat Pirates, and Krillan’s possibly the bravest of the cast.
I’m basing this on reading into her multiple cameos up to now, and I’m picking up on a bit of a Scooby & Shaggy quality (which I like) to how she reacts to the carnage as opposed to the other idiots. In those same panels I’m also seeing signs that she is one of the sharper knives in the drawer when it comes to this mob, comparable to Heavenly Sword in that regard….Making A) Her choice not to take advantage of her status as the least squeaky wheel in the bunch to escape now that the fight has clearly gone south for her side B) She didn’t seem to be trying to take anyone out until now, and picked a very chancy target no less…The same one she is seen shooting at and missing by about a mile, as if on purpose, earlier in the fight. C) How, now that she isn’t surrounded by flying supers, debris, and explosions, she’s rather contemplative…And D) Maxima as a choice of target; very interesting.
I honestly hope this won’t be the last we see of Hex, regardless of what her story is…..
I’m betting we see Hex, Heavenly Sword and Jabberwoky show up as a real team somewhere down the line. They have a good complement of powers and even though Hex goofed on target choice, some brains. One-on-one they are a match for at least some of the SWAT team. Add some ablative minions and they can deliver a serious fight.
I love the first two panels – they pretty much explain Hex’s powers by themselves. She has energy beams that produce enough recoil to let her fly! Brilliant. With all these supers just flying around through weird TK effects, it’s refreshing to have somebody whose powers actually come with an exhaust jet – weaponising the exhaust is a bonus.
I guess the reconfigure command lets her switch them between “plasma rocket” and “plasma gun”.
Hm, y’know, I didn’t pick up they were keeping her aloft. I was under the impression that she’s just being absent minded, and didn’t realize she was tearing up the asphalt.
And I’m still under that impression. I don’t think they’re rocketing her forward, as there’s not enough thrust for that, and she’s not that aerodynamic. There’d have to be a few busters that would be dedicated to stabilization for that to work.
But even aside from that, I don’t see how they’d hold her up with thrust since there is no visible means of support. I literally don’t see how she’s connected to them.
I could be wrong. Maybe you’re right and that’s what’s happening, but that’s not what I’m seeing.
We can’t see how Halo is connected to her orbs, either, but just try getting them too far away from her, or her too far away from them, and you’ll see that the lack of a physical connection doesn’t mean anything.
Halo has to touch the flight orb to allow her to fly. How the orbs can yank her to the ground after walking away from them at a certain distance is a mystery to me.
Try jumping up into the air. You will find that some orbs have the ability to pull people towards them. Even with no physical connection.
Well, or you might just keep going. But, hey… super power!
The earth is a lot bigger than any of those orbs, and gravity is usually a result of a large mass. (Excluding dark matter, but I’m no physicist.) But hey! Super powers! They’re designed to include miraculous exemptions.
I like breaking minds by explaining how Captain Cold’s ice gun reaches temperatures BELOW absolute zero. I’m always surprised how nerds tend to react to that. I don’t understand why: if you can accept shrinking or flight or that someone can walk on water, then accepting the abstract concept of temperatures below absolute zero should be just as fine.
Temperatures below absolute zero are the same thing as numbers larger than infinity.
They are not only mathematically possible, they have been achieved in practice.
I freakin’ love you, Yorp.
Halo did feel it when Dabbler grabbed one
Grabbed one? What are you talking about?
Pull the other one. It has bells on it.
With six separately maneuverable rockets, Hex should be dodging all over the place. It may even take Max A few seconds to lock in on her.
Hex MAY have control and/or multi-tasking issues with her thingummies (just as Halo can only run two orbs at a time, so far). Allocating some to zapping and some to flting in one direction may be all she can manage. The big trouble with doing fancy aerobatics at a low height is that, unless your control is extremely good, you are as likely to get hit by the ground or a tree than whoever is shooting at you.
Then too, if someone like Max gives you “the finger”, the first and arguably most sensible reaction might be to crank on speed and leave the area ASAP, rather than hang around.
Also should consider how much Max can vary the focus of her blast. Narrow focus, lots of concentrated power us great for a single tough target, or if you just want to make a statement. Wide angle, lesser damage (shotgun effect, basically) is probably better for a (possibly) less tough target who is actively evading.
I was figuring Hex would have just enough time to regret choosing a life of crime. “Mother was right, I should have gone into Accounting.”
Henceforth, I shall call thee Robin. :-)
A “hero” who specializes in stealth and wears black, “adopts” (kidnaps) a wise-cracking, loudmouthed protege (child), and dresses them in flashy, colorful tights? Yeah I have no idea what you mean ^3^
Brave, brave Sir Robin, bravely turned his tail and ran away.
All of a sudden I’m picturing Achilles being dragged out and used as a nunchuck or bo-staff against people
Achilles is a shield to stay behind and use ranged powers.
The other way to handle group fights is one you used back in #209 where you see the progress of other fights in the background of the central one. Of course that makes for much busier panels with more confusion and quadruples your choreography workload so….
I really laughed at the final panel. And then some more, because it reminded me of this gag.
HAHAHAHA! That is a fantastic prank!
I was actually thinking of this tourguide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTdNSA_CWvc
This video not available
Sorry
Had no trouble seeing the “Dave” clip
probably can’t see it due to locality or something like that
Can see it in Middle Earth
must be my computer, till says it’s not available
I tried to find another clip, which might not be region blocked, but none jumped out. Easier to sum it up.
The core of the scene is just a tour guide showing a group around the White House. Doing the usual “walk this way” bit. Which is disrupted by a very angry looking man, storming through. The subtext parallel to Maxima, being (for anyone who has watched the movie) that he is the man who, behind the scenes, is in de facto control of the government.
So the guide is quite sensible in keeping her group moving. Given that the most powerful man, in the country, looks like he is willing, able and in the mood to kill somebody.
Love the woman at the 1:15 mark: “Umm, yeah, don’t point your finger at me!”
My thoughts:
https://fav.me/d2x3z91
Hah hah nice.
That reminds me of one of the old Asterix cartoon movies.
Asterix and Obelix as gladiators in the colloseum and having a discussion.
Other gladiators attack them from behind and get one-shotted off-hand, literally.
nearly as bad as the two “heroes” having an argument in the middle of fight, and beating the bad guys up for interfering with their argument.
Could be worse for them:
https://fav.me/d2x3xx0
https://fav.me/d2x3y1s
https://fav.me/d2x3z19
I think your tankers one is a classic. But also liked the one on controllers.
The most memorable motivational/de-motivational poster that I have seen recently is, sadly rather sacrilegious. But funny.
Odin on Frost Giants
Whether that’s sacrilegious is entirely dependent on what religion you are…
True, but pagan Viking worshippers are tough. I do not need to worry about hurting their feelings. They will just bite their shields and froth at the mouth a bit, if I do. No harm done.
Actually, I think most of the Heathens I know would be amused by that poster. ;)
Unless of course they are Berserkers. Never piss off a berserker.
Yeah, never piss off the guy that the REST of the Vikings send out of camp to wrestle trees because he PLAYS TOO ROUGH!
Okay I don’t think Hex is stupid. I think there is method to her madness. Either she can absorb or reflect the imminent blast OR she’s placing herself to get Max to blast someone/something behind her.
I think she’s doing what Maxima told Halo: draw aggro and distract the über-powerful leader, or else distract Max into zapping her teammates by rapid flying and dodging.
No, she simply saw an opportunity to attack the Golden Child and she went for it, she then saw an opportunity to practice highspeed aerial dodging while under live-fire
I imagine she thought her blasts would do more to Max. Probably a lot of this mob believed that the demo’s whole “stand in the enormous explosion and don’t even muss up my outfit” was a fake or a stunt of some sort.
As has been said, denial is not just a river in Egypt. And this bunch is gonna have the hangovers and scorch marks to prove it.
Random thought time! We now know that supers are more numerous than first thought which means there are a lot of unaffiliated supers out there. Most are probably just going about their lives (got to pay the bills) but odds are good there is one or more nearby. I see ordinary people do “Heroic” things often enough to wonder if a local super might step in if someone is endangered.
… Or even if not. There could be supers OR super-wannabes who are nearby quite by chance*, and decide to jump in. Which could prove to be helpful or not.
(* – It happens. However bizarre and unlikely many coincidences in the comics and the movies may seem, they are often trivial compared to what can happen in reality.)
Super-wannabes can and will be a danger to everybody around.
Just see those Bat-dopes in The Dark Knight; nuff said.
something I read somewhere
“Is there an increase in the number of heroes to counteract the increase in the number of villains
or is there an increase in the villains to counteract the increase in the number of heroes?”
So, do any of the villains have draining powers? That could be bad for Sydney or Max.
Only until Max rips the drain out of the ground and uses it as a weapon. ;)
Not everyone in Arc SWAT is super. A power draining type might attack a super until he gets a normal sandbag grenade round at kidney level. Then Max tears out his drain (metaphorically, he hopes).
I hope she didn’t like that shirt.
Later it turns out one of the orb’s secondary powers is laundry and clothing repair! :D
That shirt is going to be worth a fortune.
Remember, she’s being made into a world famous superstar
Your comment reminded me that we must keep working on making Grrl Power world-famous. DaveB deserves to be taking down rock-star level of rewards for his work. Which should happen, with enough readers.
And, of course, that level of fame would lead to movie deals.
Which got me to thinking about who we would cast for each of the parts.
And then it struck me what a nice bonus there will be for at least one of the comic’s patrons. We know that Hex is the spitting image of her real life counterpart. So who better to play the role, when the films get made?
Not if Hollywierd has any input or control (remember, it was them who added the 3-way inter-species romance to The Hobbit)
Err, Ent, Halfling and… Kiwi?
Elf + Dorf + Elf = 3way
The what now?
Sounds like I missed something in the movies
If Sydney is going to tank and aggravate, which is a dream job for her, can I please make a special request? If someone ignores her then have her smack them on the wossnames and say “If you do go away, then I shall taunt you a second time!” Sydney as a french knight has a great deal of charm.
Sydney as a french knight! whats that line from Monty Python
“I Fart In your general direction!”
Also accompanied by “Your mother is a hamster, and your father smells of old elderberries!”
Now go away, before I taunt you a second time!
Yeah, Hex is starting to realize how tough Maxima is, considering that her beams aren’t even disturbing Maxima’s HAIR. And there’s no reason to believe that Maxima has concentrated her power into defense.
For practical purposes, were I Maxima, if something were causing me to concentrate power into defense, I’d want to deal with it immediately, which can have a drastically different meaning for somebody capable of superspeed.
Actually there is every reason for Maxima to max out her defence stats.
She’s floating around without paying attention. Obviously she’s going to max out defence. She doesn’t have anything else to put it in, and you never know, there MIGHT be something that can be a risk, better safe than sorry.
However from Hex’s point of view, you have to remember that Maxima having to swap around powers is EXTREMELY secret. I actually doubt most of her team knows it.
So for all Hex, or any of the other villains knows, she’s always this invincible
Of course, the other rule of comics is that the villain is never stronger than at their debut. That’s when they beat up Wolverine/Worf/Wonderman/Mon-El and show just how badass they are. Once the powerful first impression is made their power level can drop a little. In this case we’re still seeing the D-listers while presumably the real villains are standing back and watching, waiting for the optimal moment to strike or slink away with the info they’ve gathered and decide how best to attack the team. Hopefully.:)
Or the bad guy’s powers are a bit of a mystery at first and are easier to fight when you know them.
Have you considered having some action happen in the background? I realize that makes art and blocking tougher, but you could have Achilles or Dabbler or Harem be doing minor tricks in the background without distracting from the overall pacing. And it’d give people more stuff to dig into, in the comments.
You know, I am reminded of the comic ‘Battle Girls’ by Rod Espinosa.
A huge group of (what I like to call) conventional superheroes charge an opponent they know nothing about. In their arrogance they decline any advice by the main heroes of the comic.
In the end it turned out that the villain and his cronies had led them into a multilayered trap.
The heroes’ mecha squads got taken out by infantry with rocket launchers build to work on mechas.
The heroes computers were hacked a day before so they did not detect the chemical weapons.
The villains had ihostages tied to bombs that would wipe out a city.
And that was before one of the cronies actiuvated a force field and teleportation scrambler to stop the heroes from retreating.
Before it turned out that they faced not the villain, but a robot duplicate with a potent bomb build into it..
The few survivors fell to the satellite weapon that fired shortly after the bomb exploded.
Your comic has the opposite going. The villains know next to nothing about the heroes. Especially their power level. The only reasons this fight takes so ling is that the heroes try to limit collateral damage and don’t want to kill the villains.
Yes, Maxima could have probably eliminated all of them really fast, but it’d cause some massive damage to everything around her (hell, just the sonic booms she produces by going really fast would shatter windows in the area and cause damage)
I wonder if some of those vilians were blackmailed into this fight
It is a definite possibility. Or mind-controlled. Or they are actually bunny rabbits transformed into super villains. Or illusions.
The underlying reason, why they are attacking, is an interesting dilemma. It is not a healthy lifestyle choice.
Since Heroes are only needed as long as there’s a threat.
Is it possible that a different military department (or even the same one) is behind the villains. there by creating a threat. there by justifying the military department in charge of the heroes
Good point. I mean, from the observable power levels here, Maxima could lay down and let them all wail on her for a few hours and it would be to no avail. Several possibilities.
1. They have a big boss that they think can take Maxima, they are here to fight her buds.
2. They don’t believe the tv, think Maxima isn’t as tough as she appears.
3. They are somehow coerced/controlled.
A mix of these 3 is always possible, of course, but there’s some reason Guy With Crystals For Hands thought that it was a good idea to mess with the woman who catches bullets and stands in big explosions. We’ll likely see it as the fight winds down.
She didn’t show any super-speed during the ending (loudest) part of the press conference. He may have thought he could hit her.
And we don’t know what those crystals do; It’s possible they’d have ripped Maxima wide open if he’d hit her. That’s why the best defense is not getting hit and/or hitting the other guy first.
On the note of logical actions such as Maxima knocking Achilles out of his rubble pile, you could simply do such scenes as background like when she used him as a projectile. In this case she could also use the rubble as projectiles and dig him out that way making for fewer panels and it still KOs some bad guys.
I think there was one missed opportunity on this page. A chance to show the raw power of Hex’s blast. Panel 1 gives a hint, but does not make it seem that dangerous.
Whereas if it had been cutting a car in half, or given the shape of the panel, slicing a lamp post in two, then it would make Maxima’s obliviousness, to the attack, that much more impressive.
Hex’s attack carving a precisely detailed outline of Max in a nearby wall would have been one way.
Then again, seems to me that Hex’s attacks may tend more towards precision rather than wholesale blast-small-county effects.
Last it’s hard to breath, when your buried underground. Mr. Pristine face still needs to breathe, right?
I do like the idea of Achilles and Halo looking like Loki with Hulk.
You mean Achilles?
No, he can’t be suffocated.
Brings to mind an Aussie figure of speech.
When referring to someone excessively talkative, the line used is “S./ He can talk through (six feet of) wet cement….”
Yes, but how good are they at talking through dry, set cement?
This one made me laugh out loud.
Also, did Sydney get hit again? That mark on her face looks like it’s getting worse…
That’s actually what happends when you get punched in the face.
It takes a few minutes for the swelling to… swell
And for the blood to start dribbling out?
I put that down to her tongue poking her now loosened tooth, which will cause bleeding. Or ongoing minor bleeding, which is simply dribbling, whilst she is speaking. Poor girl. She needs a hug!
But, if it shows any further complications, Harem can stop tending to the villains and prioritise Halo. She was hit by a super-attack. From a villain with rather diabolic themed powers and morals. So anything, which does not conform to normal blunt trauma symptoms, should be treated as deadly serious.
Even normal brass knuckles can do major damage. She’ll be lucky is the damage is simple bruising and a bloody mouth. A strong hit can break bone, knock you out, even paralyze or kill you it you’re hit in the wrong place.
It sort of looks like the orb that blocked Shadow Warrior’s slash might have been slammed into Sydney by the force of the blow. That bruise does look orb-sized.
Nah it clearly showed the knuckles glancing her. The orb just made it be a glance rather than a direct hit.
Harem might have, but Halo just went galumphing off to play in traffic, sort of.
Is it just me, or is Hex somewhat taller in that second panel than most of the other characters we’ve seen?
There is nothing to compare her with, so I don’t think you can say much about her lenght
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1276 says she’s (probably) only a little taller than Heavenly Sword. But shorter than some other macho macho men we’ve seen.
If her toe had been behind the trees, then, yea. With that for scale, she would be several hundred feet tall! But as they are not, all we can say is that she is flying.
We know that vertical stripes are slimming. Maybe vertical blast attacks are heightening?