Grrl Power #244 – Recruitus interruptus
Lots of speculation about (FWT)Death Toll’s powers, and there have been several correct guesses, but I won’t say which ones (but those should be further reinforced by this page). Those people get to say they called it, and hopefully the actual reveal will still be worth it, but first I need to show the characters doing a little work to get there.
Not too much else to say about this page, other than Sydney’s armband is suspiciously bereft of content. Let’s assume she’s locked out of many of the usual functions until she is trained on using them. That’s one of those things I would have put a lot more time into designing if I still had a job where I was bored at work for long stretches. But that’s fine, I’ll have time to spruce it up at some point and if it looks radically different I can use say Sydney is using a different theme.
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Dump all the weaklings on him if it involves Harem at a guess.
No she send Harem to get her realy spice food and than uses her breathweapon on him
That would help.
At least in my experience most super heroes and villains forget about gas attacks. That includes my experiences as a gamemaster in Superworld.
Unless a character is sealed away from the environment, tear gas will at least make them blink.
I guessed in previous pages that Halo would request Harem to teleport a large cage around Death Toll.
She would have to do it in pieces…her carrying capacity is somewhat limited, if she can just barely carry a barrett….
I assume she meant with all the bodies out. Based on that and what she said about the weight of her clothes and alternate bodies. She can carry between 50-600lb in a teleport.
Oops may have made a little calculation error. If the 50ish lb base she can transport with each body is additive it could add another 200 lbs to her top transport weight.
Bodies Fixed base Additive base5 50 50
4 87.5 100
3 150 183.3
2 275 350
1 650 850
Hrm! The code tag isn’t working properly.
Still mostly readable and handy.
Raw physical strength based on matching Kenya’s strength combined
5 bodies = 360 lb each
4 bodies = 450 lb each
3 bodies = 600 lb each
2 bodies = 900 lb each
1 body = 1800 lb
Now I am intrigued: Is there such as thing as “breath of doom” on the skill-list ?
And what would the opposing / nullifying ability be ? Mentos flipping, gas-mask wearing, toilet deo spray, eye-drops and the plain old fire-extinguisher ?
And I thought that I was insane to have thought of that….glad to see I’m not the only one. After all: it’s just really spicy food, not a power to counter.
Yeeeaaaahhh… I really don’t want FWTDT copying Max.. something tells me that would be a bad, bad thing…
And just what he has been waiting for. Lucky Halo found the pause switch on her controller.
Yep.
Then again, I’m still pretty sure that DT is Deus in a created suit or item.. he doesn’t even want to defeat the team, though. More profitable to show the team is powerful (so he can sell to bad guys to bulk them up) and conventional defense forces (the supers can be taken down! Buy my suits that give you better super powers!), and to himself (BWAHAHAHAHA… queue the lightning screen again).
I think Deus is behind the suit but not in it. Field tests are tricky and a failure that revealed him would be a disaster. He doesn’t strike me as the Tony Stark type.
I’m dang sure DT is NOT Deus.
DT is a pretentious dweeb (as evidenced by his name choice and the earlier conversation he had about it). Deus may have pretentious leanings, but he is certainly no dweeb.
Does deus has an evil clone? There are two meanings to “deus” in pig latin at least.
While the real Deus … only THINKS he’s evil while being stupid?
He has a lighting-screen on a clicker and paws posters of Max… the only thing keeping his full dweeb in check is pretending he’s head of a major company in the military-industrial complex. I could absolutely see him taking on the persona of FWTDT when behind a mask.
Although I’m still thinking its the fedora mobster guy in body double mode. Again he’s in his own words “multi-tasking” and even pointed Sydney at FWTDT who was actually being very unnoticed and passive. Being ignored is a bad thing for a power absorber.
Which if he was hired by Deus to both scout ArcSWAT (which I don’t think Deus needs since he’s already supplying the materials and has a spy) and field test the power-absorption-suit, it would be a good fit. Also if he’s a body duplicator he won’t be caught since he can just de-duplicate. Or maybe he’s a mind controller and is possessing someone else, thus “multi-tasking”. Not as good since that leaves suit (if that’s the source of the power-absorption).
That was a TV news broadcast, possibly TiVoed, not a poster.
For something as large as Archon, I would think it more likely that someone like Deus would try to have as many spies/sources of information as he could possibly find.
Deus comes across as a child in a large man’s body. Think about the expressions that we have seen on his face, and some of his dialog. He’s childish. He’s got a lightning-and-thunder toy so he can do Maniacal Evil Laughter.
Death Toll presents a completely different personality.
They may look somewhat similar, but I would say that’s because they are both supers, and supers have a certain “look” to them.
Oh thank GOD! For a second there, I thought Maxima was actually going to try to fight him. That could have ended badly.
you’re welcome… but you misinterpret what is happening… Max WAS going to fight him… UNTIL Sydney stopped her from doing so via throwing up the Hentorb in between the two of them…
I thought we were going with lighthook?
Officially? Yes. But unofficially, it’s either “hentorb” or “mollestorb”. I’m sure Sydney has other even ruder names we haven’t seen, too…
You forgot the Violator.
Nobody forgets the Violator… :(
Oh the humanity!
I’m sure even without using that he’ll be begging to surrender on the condition she be kept as far from him as possible.
Along with Lee Press-On Claws and Shadow Boxer. Do not attract Halo’s personal attention. Your body may survive but your ego will be shattered.
I can imaging her being on an inspection the other prisoners threatening and taunting her and those three shaking their heads and motioning stop, bad idea, bad idea.
Can you imagine if they met the guy who tried to mug her?
it’s not the verifier, it’s not the vindicator, or even the vibrator! you have been violated girly man.
Don’t worry about the big reveal not being big enough.
This fight would be just as epic even if we knew what is actual power was (I’m still convinced it’s perfect counter though)
Hell, it’ll probably give even more fun to those that called it
Short range power mimicry.
The only attack I can think of is custard pies.
Who have we seen who is able to absorb energy out of Anvil? Perfect counter seems most likely. I’m betting that Halo is going to have Harem teleport a cage in.
…a kinetic energy source?
Anvil.
Wait, Anvil can absorb energy out of Anvil? o_O
Oh my, of course :)
Don’t forget the 360 degree arm swinging bop on the head.
There’s also the fluttering hand followed by the eye poke.
And lastly, the two finger nostril grab and lift maneuver.
(The last two may be hard to pull off with the mask, so Max may have to resort to the ‘ladder over the shoulder quick 180’)
Oh, right! Anvil can absorb energy! Then who had ice powers? I still think his power is perfect counter.
Dabbler used an ice spell to incapacitate Heavenly Sword. She’s also using it here in panel one.
Also absorbed powers need not be from during said battle. If I had the power to absorb and store powers for when I needed them, I’d hang onto them until needed if I could.
that’s not a spell per se, it’s an enchantment on one half of the Reaver
4th Panel, Maxima, moon warrior. She’d make an ominous villain if she were on the other team. And seems we’ll have to wait a while longer to find out who of us in the comments had the right idea about Death Toll’s actual abilities.
Honestly, I don’t think Maxima is a hero. She’s too militant, even more so than Captain Atom or Captain America.
Sure she’s militant. But the real issue is that she has a grudge against the whole world, and isn’t willing to respect the rules if she gets pissed.
She is essentially petty superman.
So Super Dickery Superman. I can just see her replicating some of those covers. Artists, there’s your fan art challenge.
Heroes in the real world, since they’re human like the rest of us have their failings. They have biases, issues, various isms. Heroes can be assholes and petty. Feet of clay and all that. George Washington, a hero through history to many was a crappy tactician and got lucky with the battles he won. He’s still a hero.
So yes, I agree, often times Maxima can be petty. And yes, she does break the rules when they anger her and she has no respect for them. Her brand of feminism tends to turn me off of her. But she is still a hero at her heart since she wants to make the world a better place. With her powers, I would have wanted to watch the world burn a long time ago.
That really depends on what your definition of ‘hero’ is. Many real-life people whom I consider to be true heroes are not who I’d choose for my son’s role models. Being a nice person isn’t a defining aspect of heroism.
I can hear her saying in a Denzel Washington voice “SAILOR MOON AIN’T GOT SHIT ON ME”
Denzel can suck shit!
I wonder if each Harem has a communicator,or if only one of her has one.
Most likely one per Harem. Each one can be doing something different. Halo’s simplified comm-link must go to the original. Or all five of their radios at once.
I would’ve guessed just one, since mass matters to how much she can teleport, so fewer comms would mean an extra gun or two in emergencies.
I would guess each Harem has a communicator as part of their choker.
And when you phone her you get the one who picks up.
Seeing as Harem has an entangled brain, I bet she only needs one communicator.
Because of this you only need to talk to one of her (or them?).
But with five bodies she is capable of taking five calls at once.
But there’s literally no need. Anything you say to one of them the others know instantly, even if five (or more) people are speaking to her at once. It’s no different then the five of her being in five different conversations at the same time, even if those conversations involve more than two people each. So she can have just one of her be the switchboard operator for the entire harem of her.
Unless 5 people need to tell Harem about 5 different things at once. Trying to use 1-person logic on a 5-entangled-persons is going to hurt your brain. She’s penta-parallel. She could be getting orders from Max, chatting with Sydney, with ArcLight, blabbing secrets to Deus, and arranging to prank Sydney with meat products at the same time.
A better question from her POV is why would she not want 5 radios? She loves being maximally active. Having one radio would be like limiting yourself to playing piano with only one finger.
Also a touch of redundancy can help. What happens if that Harem is out of range on a supply run. Or worse, if a bad guy actually manages to take that one of her down.
Harem would have 5 communicators. Less for 5 people talking to her at the same time, and more for her disseminating info, instructions, commands, warnings, etc, to 5 different listeners (individuals or groups) at the same time. She is a communications hub, as well as a logistics resource. She would be great at directing and organizing groups of widely separated bystanders, in addition to her retrieving and delivering equipment.
I failed to point out that she could be disseminating that info over the radios. All 5 of them at the same time.
The thing about radios is that each channel can only be in use by one person talking. If you are talking and they are talking, then no one is listening. We know the reason that she has 5 radios, and 5 chokers. It so the FoF can locate her.
Still don’t believe knowledge is transmitted between Harem instantaneously
I think “5 brains but only one mind… interconnected forming a single sapience” means yes.
Anyway if tactile information (like pain) does, I do not see why visual, audio, even deduced information would not.
No, can you imagine (at least, try and imagine) how confusing it would be to be driving with one body and having a wet dream with another? Or simply walking through town while having a wet dream? Or having a meeting with Maxi while… well, you know the rest by now :P
By ‘instantaneously’ was meaning ‘at the time they experienced it’, although sometimes it does happen (like when Bodie got MaxiWedgied)
Yet, that is exactly like it works: https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/413
There is “only one mind”.
“I am watching it rigth now”: https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/340
“Bwa hah hah hah!”: https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/572
true, but then if that single radio is put out of commission (OOC) by being broken, or just jammed, then you’ve lost contact with all five Harems. the military way would have installed redundancy to prevent that, therefore while it may reduce her Vorp capacity by a few ounces each body, it would provide a much more secure comms situation to have them all have a radio, and with today’s cell/smartphone tech, they can be made to only call one of them at a time to prevent her getting distracted by all five radios sending the same message at the same time, and if that specific radio is OOC for whatever reason, then it retransmits it to the next one in the series.
Agreed – all 5 should have basic radio capacity.
Other generic kit, like the arm band, looks a bit heavier, though – maybe only one or two Harems would need something like that.
If you’re talking about the PipBoy that Halo is wearing, that’s just a temporary thing until she can get some proper glasses. She’d have trouble seeing stuff if they’d just given her a random pair. None of the other team members is wearing one.
That thing has many functions that are in Maxima’s phone (we see Syd using it WAAAAY back during the game) This is a Jury-rigged version since Syd needs both of her hands for the Orbs.
Agreed though her phone likely has as many of those capabilities as Leon could get on it as well.
If you notice the only members of the super community we’ve seen with glasses are Zephan, Halo, Platinum Blonde Harem, Glowbug & Hex. Zephan and Sydney aren’t traditional supers, They gained their powers from other sources. Platinum Blonde Harem doesn’t need the them any more than her other bodies do. With Glowbug and Hex, you really have to wonder why.
Zeph doesn’t have powers, other than his knowledge
No pwers of his own but according to Dave, the dude picked up more than a few interesting artifacts (including a badass sword) doing the Indiana Jones thing.
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/457/comment-page-1#comment-11608
First response
As he noted not as impressive as Sydney’s orbs but still cool
Zeph is a Mage, not a Superhuman.
He’s not a super but he is a member of the super community, in part due to his abilities and in part due to his expertise. Same could be said of Sydney, Math, Peggy, Gwen, Joel, and Arianna.
Joel? Do you mean Leon?
joel but up with syd for how long while leon less than a day sounds more super on joels end
Good catch Not Fred but Iove the way shenron look’s at it.
Hex is a gadget user. Normal baseline human otherwise. Glowbug may have also received her power not been born with it. Just guessing.
I would tend to agree at least on Hex. She very well built but grey elephants and such
Unless my memory’s playing tricks, Glowbug and Hex are both reader cameos. Their appearance therefore depends on that of their sponsors, rather than following the ‘normal’ rules.
Maybe this is just me being silly, but I think the most logical way to do it is just have one with a radio, but have it be the one sitting out with Peggy, or somewhere farther out. Little chance of getting smashed in combat or jammed (unless the entire area gets blanketed, and then it doesn’t really matter who has it) and the entangled brain means it doesn’t matter which you call.
As a spotter she often has to stay quiet, besides which the the battlefield is likely going to have EMF shadows (especially with all the energy users) and the likelihood of her losing radio contact as she ports, which she’s regularly do every time Peggy takes a shot, it just make sense for her to have multiple radios.
Given how her powers work, only one of Harem’s bodies actually needs to “listen”. I assume they all have radios though, so that com-Harem doesn’t get taken out.
They probably have a way to toggle which body is “live” too (ATM, the one by Peggy seems safest?)
No doubt one per body. Otherwise the one with the comm would be restricted, could not unteleport, could not turn it off to sleep, could not go away out of range, could not take it off for whatever like the others supers have done, et cetera.
Also the others Harems would have to wait turns to notify thru the only one with comm, pretty inefficent, even dangerous.
It is nonsense to destroy the perfect interchangeability between the Harems for a so little saving.
Look at #243 (prev page), panel 2, when Jiggawatt puts on the glasses. There’s ID icons showing the collar symbols to identify where your friends are. There are 5 of the Yellow/Blue “-IIHII-” Harem wears.
Thus, 5 collars for Harem.
Well, we’ve seen her with a choke on each body before (https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1195) and now the display ensures all of them has at least GPS, but that do not necessarily mean that each one has all the functions, like a comm.
I strongly bet yes though :)
Harem can understand 5 conversations at the same time with only 1 communicator but she can respond to all with only 1 mouth ergo 5 communicators are the answer.
The chokers are communicators.
Ok, that is a point. Actually as far as I remember the chokers are just microphones, contact microphones, they needs to be connected to the actual radio, but then it only makes sense if the user has a radio, so you are right, a choker implies a communicator.
The GPS and other functions are really in the transponder device, be it the Halo’s wrist one, Max’s phone one, or whatever. So the glasses must be actually pointing to the transponders not to the collars.
I think the transponder could include the radio as well.
Has anyone tried to put a bullet in the back of his head yet?
As soon as someone shrugs off multiple different powers, your best bet is to either evacuate all the air from his immediate area, (if you have that capability) or you apply ultra high velocity copper/lead projectiles.
Possibly depleted uranium, if you are worried about armor penetration.
But that is the Marine in me.
If he has absorbed/copied as many powers as it seems, he is at least up with Hiro or Stalwart in bulletproofing. Even if not, kinetic absorption would stop a bullet on contact. Or an explosive shockwave. If he ever stole Max’s powers he could catch the bullet and return it faster.
Bullets could still distract him while the others made plans to down him. I just worry about him copying Harem. They might still find a way to beat him if he copies Maxima. But five For Whom the Douche Tolls running around coordinating and acting as a team? Yeah, he would be unstoppable at that point. Get Harem out of there!
I brought that up in the last comic.
.50 cal sniping is a super power that he can’t copy.
But I was reminded that he absorbs kinetic energy.
Dave stated in comments on a previous page that Anvil’s power doesn’t work fast enough to stop bullets so she usually wears kevlar,still not sure why Harem didn’t port one in for her either, But Anvil can absorb the impact against the vest, stopping her from getting broken ribs when playing bulletsponge.
But also having Stalwart’s and Hiro’s toughness as well pretty much negates that limitation. Provided he can use more than one power at once that is.
I bet Max could beat FWTDT. But it would be a hell of a fight. Hard on the neighborhood, maybe the whole city. Once Death Toll pumped up to Max’s level, he could start living up to his handle in a very dangerous way.
maybe a high drop?
to clarify:someone chucks a big rock in the air, Harem teleports onto it with DT and the pushes him of of it
Might be a better idea to go the other way. Grab him and fly up as high as possible and hope the thin air will cause him to blackout.
I was thinking that too but this guys powers any sort of phyical contact or possibly even the lighthook is a bad idea. Only thing i could think of was light hooking a car or bus and using it to wrap the car/buss around him like a glove to avoid direct contact then flying up high and either dropping him or choking him out from thin air.
Toss him up in the air with the lighthook, switch to shield and flyball, catch him on the top of the shield, and then fly straight up until he blacks out or surrenders because the fall would kill him. At which point have a Harem (with oxygen mask if needed) teleport up and tranquilize him.
Harem can’t teleport with that much additional mass.
Though I don’t know how strong her powers are when there is only one Harem.
Harem cannot teleport other people, though, so someone would have to pick up the chunk DT is standing on and hurl it away. And somehow I doubt he’d let that happen.
Sydney seems to need several the Harems to pull off her plan (did you find them…). Basically how to stop him without using any energy DT could grab and turn on them. That Kinetic Absorb power is a bear to get around.
Probable several items not Harems,Harem don’t needs to search for Harems she always knows where she is.(And talking about Harem produces wierd gramatic)
She still needs Harem (the Harems?) to place the items.
I guess the items itself are common enough to find in a supermarket or the ARCHON weapons depot.
that was a single counter draining anvil and added to profile because it was so notable, he may not be able to do so again. we have not seen how the profile has updated with dabbler and jiggawatts attacking.
So Cunning you could give it a tail and call it a weasel..
Yeeessssss!
Would that make DT I.R. Baboon?
Well, he’s ugly and his mother dresses him funny. Close enough.
He’s always on the lookout for good food! Make him a “plum duff”!
I know she actually has a plan, and it’s probably pretty good, but somehow I fear for everyone when Sydney says she has a “cunning plan”.
My thought exactly. :-D
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Methinks we are about to see the Genesis of the exchange in the opening sequence of the comic, where she defeats Kopy Kraut and his Copy Cap by using his inexperience with stolen powers against him.
That’s what I’m thinking. That, or the gassing him with spicy foods…
Everyone. ALL THE PEOPLE.
His power is to absorb energy by negating it – much like jiggawatt did with her positrons. It’s like he can generate customized krypotnite for whatever super he’s facing – no matter what your power is, he seemingly has the power to neutralize it (including kinetic energy in the form of a punch or kick). His powers are therefore completely reactive – he had to goad Anvil to start fighting him, instead of him starting the fight – which would also explain his shitty name that just makes you want to smack him one; the superhero equivalent of a snotty-nosed brat whose behavior gets increasingly worse the more you react to it.
If you can’t counter him directly with either force or energy, then you need to counter him indirectly – control not him, but the environment around him. Stop attacking him directly and fill the room he’s in with knockout gas, confuse his senses with illusions, lift the ground he’s standing on into the upper atmosphere until he passes out or freezes solid, bore him to death with holiday slides, make him read YouTube comments and shitty self-inserted fan fiction until his IQ shrinks and starts drooling on the rug … anything but take him on directly.
I think that last plan violates several laws and most moral codes.
True – but think of all the other hilarious ways they could then think up to take this guy down – everything from frat-boy pranks to lousy poetry recitals. You could have a lot of fun thinking up new ways to turn “For Whom the Death Tolls” into “For Whom The Bitch-Slapped”
Oil slick? hard to concentrate on villiany when you can’t even stand up. I wonder if DT has taken the Ice Bucket challenge yet?
Oil slick is nice but it might cramp your other team-members style too.
You could fill the ice bucket with vodka – get him drunk enough so he CAN’t stand up.
Not that I know what that’s like or anything…
Personally I also like attacking the ground there my enemy stands. Preferably melting and freezing it.
[Ding]You’ve got mail*!
*This joke is going to bomb terribly if no one else remember AOL.
Link correction: mail
No.
Sorry – There’s not a whelk’s chance in a supernova that I’m going to willfully expose myself to a vogon’s version of iambic pentamater.
;-)
sincerely i LOVE your reasonning on this )
Thanks – but it’s not really reasoning, more like a really mischievous guess.
I do love this strip.
I love his reasoning too, but don’t call him “sincerely“.
didn’t mean it like that…
That was a humdinger of a misquote. It’s:
“Surely you can’t be serious”.
“I am serious… and don’t call me Shirley”
tries to trigger retaliation for both deof and sadlon but laughs to hard to find weapons contols
Not my fault if he set it up wrong.
Let’s face it, you were stretching more than Reed Richards
If he had just written “Surely, I love your reasoning on this”, it would have worked, right? But noooooooooo! He had to do it his way.
I was thinking along the same lines. I was thinking that the only person they would need to confront would be Achilles; with no offensive powers to counter, he could just hold him down and knock him out using drugs, gas, what have you.
“I’ll take victory any way I can get it.” That’s smart. But directly attacking ARC SWAT was dumb.
Now, we get to see if Max can override her ego and command training. Can the Colonel let herself be guided by the newest Private (or is Halo a Corporal) in a matter that the Colonel has vastly more experience and training in. I think that would be unlikely at best in a normal command structure, but my experience with the military is second hand.
“Did you find them?” Huh? I have no idea what that sentence refers to. Did Sidney send Harem out for hot sauces?
Arc SWAT is much less formal about these things. Sydney isn’t even a private yet, she is a new recruit. Not even raw yet. But Max has spent time just talking with her and knows Sydney is smart and very much a lateral thinker. Max can always start punching if Sydney’s plan fails. And she can always override Sydney if the plan is too dangerous or dumb.
yep, i’ll bet that she sent her out to get your namesake from the restaurant Fusion… https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/697
by that same token, Max didn’t get to be a Colonel for being pretty (and pretty powerful) she would have been an officer sure, but NOT in Command, some else would have been if she had NOT been able to take direction from someone else that had more situational awareness about whatever was going on at the time. you’re right in that it might take a second or two of WTF!?, but since Sydney explained her reasoning for stopping her, then Logic kicks in and she’ll do as requested of her…
PS, could anybody tell me how to get the URL tag thingy to work? every other time i’ve tried to use it (her and elsewhere) i screw up my posts so i usually just end up posting the full url like i did…
Let’s see if I can post the tags without screwing up.
<a href=”https://putyoururlhere.wut/”>Say something about your link here</a>
Thank you. I put that where I can paste it in and add the details.
AAH HA!!!…. That’s how you do it… they never tell you about the stupid part… or if they do, not where the heck it goes in relation to the rest of it.. you have my many thanks…
though i have to ask, what is the (title=””) portion for? you don’t use it in your example… that could also be why my previous posts got screwed up, as i did try to use it…
“But directly attacking ARC SWAT was dumb.”
Not necessarily at the time he did it – originally there were a lot more backup supers to pad out their ranks. So, they did have numbers and surprise – they just underestimated how well coordinated ARCSWAT would be. I see this guy making a very fast retreat if Death Tool gets taken down, though.
He underestimated the enemy. That, no matter how one sugarcoats it, was dumb.
Maxi (and the entire Archon) underestimated the numbers of Supers in general and Villains specifically, does that make them ‘dumb’ too?
Depends on how much confidence they put in those numbers. And it seems from their reactions to current events they put too much confidence in them. That may count as dumb, but the speed with which they are recovering from that mistake shows the difference between them and the mook mob who attacked them.
Speaking of which; exactly who came up with those numbers? And why was Archon so confident of them? I smell a rat, but I’m not sure if he is real or just a paranoid delusion.
(A lot of this is going to echo eddi‘s points, but said in a different way)
1) The numbers quoted by Maxima probably came from scientists making a SWAG, rather than being formulated by her and most likely based on insufficient data.
2) Maxima herself doesn’t seem to have made a tactical error based on the underestimation.
3) Even if she had, she would probably would have had to have had to face the same enemies as if she hadn’t. The supervillains, however, could have chosen to refrain from attacking Archon (unless they’re under some sort of compulsion, although the evidence for such seems extremely poor).
So, apples to oranges.
“A PV in motion outranks a LT (COL) who doesn’t know everything that’s happening.” (slightly paraphrased)
This is where I would try my NND attack called, “Suck Vacuum”. A lovely indirect assault that simply bell jars the target and removes the air…
well this sure needs more brain than brawn on this one. gotta say good thing halo is using her brain this time because the rest of the team isn’t really. they just go RIGHT IN TO GET SPANKED… which is scary. even maxima… WHY NOT FREAKING USE A DIRECT SHOT FROM ABOVE TO TRY FIRST? nope get in and risk getting copied too… if that’s his power.
on a different note i love the professor name in the column for the plan hehe
. . . because that would potentially kill or severely injure her incapacitated team mate(s)?
and why wouldn’t harem teleport them away? or ask halo to hook them away? right now they not doing much thinking if at all sorry
Because Harem can’t *vorp* a human body, not in one piece anyway
she can depending on the weight limit
so i guess anvil is out hehe
Remember that Friendly Hat on the edge may be using mind-control powers to suggest bad ideas to the supers. If that’s his power, it could account for a LOT of poor battlefield decisions.
Though I kind of hope it’s not, because that power is super-hard to storytell and adjudicate. How would the author convey which ideas were planted and which were just someone being dumb, yaknow?
granted we don’t know what power that guy has so far. if any at all maybe he just likes to watch for whatever we know so far.
but sincerely right now i think the arc team just got cocky and are going in without thinking or using any brain at all. especially seeing some teamates down. and that’s the dumbest thing to do as it creates more casualties.
might be odd to realize halo is the one actually using her brain in this one hehe
Oddly enough, the bad guys were making the same mistake (jumping in without thinking) at the beginning of the fight. ArcSwat is going to need some serious tactical training after this.
the first ones were their “canon fodders” to study the team and were easy to dispatch. problem is that they now managed to study the team while arcswat got cocky it seems and don’t really think anymore.
they just JUMP IN AND TRY TO BASH THROUGH.
halo being the only one not lost into the fever of battle is actually the only one still thinking “straight”, if you can say that for her, in the end.
The only reason Sydney is in any position to take the time to study DT is because she was ordered Under Glass by Maxi
not agreeing on that part
she is the only one not lost in the fever of battle
she was ordered to “interact as she sees fit”
“Halo, put your up shield and keep it up!” Although Maxima later ordered Halo to “find a way to be useful without getting in anyone’s [way]” in response to Halo’s question of whether she “should… really be standing here doing nothing”, even Halo seems to understand that this does not countermand the earlier command, as she has yet to appear without her forcefield since then.
Being cannon fodder and thinking before jumping in are not mutually contradictory. Even HS tried (unsuccessfully) to stop people from doing the latter: “Ok, guys, no more testosterone fueled tac… …tics”.
FWTDT reminds me of the character Jin from the manga “Area D”…
I’m curious, if Dabblers bewitching/seducing powers would work on him. Since she has psionic powers, there probably would be another funny and perhaps harmless way to stop him: plant an ear worm into his focused mind, let it slowly grow and distract him at least. In the worst case he’ll suddenly start performing YMCA on the battlefield, or maybee “I feel good”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgDrJ5Z2rKw
Nobody’s tried illusions on him yet. I’m legitimately curious if they would work.
If his ability is to invert copy somebodies attack by nature, I would be more interested what his natural all-purpose counter would translate an illusion into … *scratching the dented head*
Did anyone see the ice bucket challenge issued by (someone dressed up as) Greta Gravity from Spinnerette to this comic? https://www.spinnyverse.com/
That was KrzayKrow’s wife.
Well Dave, you got challenged. Video of a soaked you on monday?
Awwww, Maxima vs. Death Toll woulda been awesome.
an awesomely short curb stumb of Maxima, lol.
It would have been nice to see Maxima put in her place, but it doesn’t look like that is happening yet.
There’s more than one way for Max to be ‘put in her place’.
Having some dude unexpectedly stomp the team, and then Max, into the pavement is one way.
Having ‘the new kid’ suddenly stop Max from getting the prize drubbing of her life – and THEN take down her intended target without even raising a sweat, is another way.
Well that was a cunning stunt.
…Must not make spoonerism…must not make spoonerism…
But you already have… IN YOUR MIND! Now don’t think of a purple rhinoceros…
“I couldn’t help it! It just popped in there!”
(A handful of air thrown your way to the first person who recognizes the CR).
GhostBusters 1, Dan Ackroyd’s character
And don’t even think of doing that to the Dickens novel “A Tale of Two Cities”
If she tells Max her plan in multiple languages, would she be a cunning linguist?
Non-stop Facts of Life marathon. ^_~
*sigh* that should have been a reply to https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1464#comment-240189
Ewww! But reducing DT to an eggplant level IQ is a good plan. But how to avoid collateral damage to one’s own brain?
Wait–Death Toll is Zodon? :D
“Hello, Mr. DocSavage? The United Nations on line one. Something about inhuman atrocities in direct violation of the Geneva Conventions.”
Send them the tape marked Evidence. They will stop bothering anyone about 30 minutes later.
You know announcing you have a “cunning plan” that isn’t the direct approach with in earshot of the bad guy normally isn’t a good idea…
Lets just hope she is using the comm. She doesn’t appear to be shouting in the last panel and she had enough sense to stay at a safe distance. To me, it looks like she’s not really within earshot of the big bad if she’s using a conversational tone.
If Sydney is still where she was in panel one, she is well out of hearing range. Except for a shouted “stop” which is likely to just confuse DT.
based on the markings on the ground in that panel I’d say shes maybe 3-4 ish cars length away, I’d still call that “within earshot” range.
Personally, it looks like Syd is drawn saying the top bubble as well as the bottom bubble in the lower left panel. If this is what she is hearing Max say over the comm channel, I think the top bubble should be pointing to the arm.
Sydney is saying the top and bottom bubble. The top bubble is her conversation with Harem about her plan. She then noticed Maxima was about to attack FWTDT, so the bottom bubble is directed at Maxima.
1) FWTDT is going to know something (and probably some sort of plan) is up when Maxima suddenly refuses to fight him after announcing her intentions to do just that.
2) I have a feeling this is one of those plans that it’s too late for him to do anything about anyway.
Only if the plan includes deception
Point to note: Sydney actually used the comm ball’s illusion busting capabilities – the results were negative, but she did manage to verify that FWTDT is actually a powerhouse instead of a smart illusionist.
Whatever Sydney’s plan is, we know it’s going to work. It has the Unspoken Plan Guarantee!
But is it “As cunning as a fox who’s just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University?”
For a little while, I was confused at how Sydney got that bruise. She did not have it in #240, but she did have it in #243. I eventually remembered that it was from when “Shadow Boxer” hit her in #205, and it was just left out (presumably by accident) for #240 (and possibly others between 240 and 205; I didn’t check them all).
Anyway, I like where this is going! :)
Keep in mind, bruises don’t show up immediately. They are created not by the damage, but by blood slowly filling the broken tissue beneath the skin with fluid. If Sydney didn’t get bruised immediately, then that’s only expected.
Actually, Dave acknowledged that as a continuity problem in comments at least once. Sydney is supposed to be bruised after her encounter with Shadow Boxer (right name?).
I thought about that, Freely, but in looking back at the previous comics since the punch, it appears that the bruise showed up almost immediately, then disappeared, and then came back stronger. Getting stronger (darker) over several minutes does make sense, though. Anyway, it is just a minor continuity error; it only caused me minor, temporary confusion. :)
Only have time to say this: no fair!!! That’s cheating!!!! Bad form recruit!!!!!
Sindey’s last sentence reminded me of Madagascar: “I have developed a cunning plan to see whether they are savage killers.” *kicks out the small guy*
I like to move it move it. I like to move it move it. I like to move it move it. You like to: Move it!
With Sydney saying she has a cunning plan is equivalent as Sokka saying “I have an idea.”
It’s probably pretty clever and will work, but scary as hell…
Or like the webcomic Erfworld, where Parson’s ideas can completely reshape a battle.
I bet it’s as fun to watch (from the same side or from the sidelines) as a Shiro plan from Log Horizon.
I mean Shiroe.
I’m wondering if the fight between ARCSwat and DT is going to end up just like the fight at the verrrrry beginning of the comic. The one with Copy-King, I mean. Or at least Sydney’s experience here will inform the events and arguments she makes in the RPG scenario (chronologically) later.
Sydney quotes Blackadder. Good one!
which one? there were 6 =P
That guy doesn’t even know how screwed he is yet…
One can tell by the lack of brown stains on his pants.
No one is helping poor unconscious Anvil get out of the line of fire. In fact they seem to be shooting in her general direction right behind him…. This seems like a very poor showing by the commander of Arc-SWAT on her first battle in view of reporters. Maxima HERSELF was about to let fly with some kind of attack in the same direction. (maybe Maxima’s best leadership qualities involve choosing recruits and training them up? Nah, I’m being harsh cause I can’t stand to see Anvil lying there so long… curses on whoever pointed this out a few updates ago. Now I can’t NOT think about it every update. So thanks for that… ) While I’m grateful to Sydney for stopping this insanity why didn’t she, in all her deep contemplation, have a moments thought to use the Lighthook to remove Anvil from the area? Unless Anvil’s unconscious form is integral to the “Cunning Plan” which is not a very nice way to use your unconscious team mates…
Looks like one of the various incarnations of the, “He just counters attacks” comments is right. Not sure exactly how but all he does is counter with the exact right ability to neutralize (which is still amazingly powerful and if his team, if they can be called that actually rallied enough to USE the opportunity he’s handed them on a golden platter before he is stopped… ) whatever comes at him. Unless he is an omnipowered godlike character that is very determined to stay “powered down” until the last fight in order to create a slow horror show that will make humanity bend its knee with much less fuss. The type of story this is and Sydney’s actions/diologue suggest otherwise though. And if he’s not “god like”, he is intelligent and aware that he is in a fight with the some of the worlds greatest “known” supers (who might have been holding back some abilities) I doubt he would screw around this long if he had a more offensive power. Better to attack with an entire team of fodder to distract them earlier.
Its interesting to see how many Arc-SWAT members he has to neutralize and or engage in order to draw out the heavy reserves.
Anywho, can’t wait to see how Sydney puts him down and kudos to Maxima for knowing when to listen even when it seems like an annoying battle distraction from a green as spring grass after the first rains recruit! Interesting instinct she has there. Thanks for keeping up with the fun comic Dave. I am entertained. :)
Actually…. I’m fairly sure “rescue attempt” is the reason everyone is going for close-up combat. And the team is (mostly) smart enough to try and pretend that isn’t what they are actually doing!
I also think Sidney’s plan will include getting Anvil out of there.
I like that idea but if that is what they are doing it makes more sense that the ones in front attacking are the distraction and the actual rescue evac will be performed by someone sneaking in from behind. I guess maybe I can go along with Maxima deciding she needs to join the distraction squad so his attention will fully committed forward and suspects nothing even though her speed, armor and flight make her an excellent evacuation vehicle for close to supervillain work…. If we see someone making a grab for Anvil in the next run I guess I can let it go then. Thanks that feels a bit better thinking of it that way.
Still am a little worried about the kinds of attacks Dabbler is using as a distraction in Anvil’s general direction. A fireball definitely seems like something that could harm a drained unconscious Anvil and dido an ice attack that went to far. Let alone FWTDeath Tolls responses are not entirely predictable but generally involve the opposite blasts of fire and ice….
I might be recalling this incorrectly – I believe that S.O.P. is to neutralize the immediate threat before rendering assistance. This prevents the rescuers from becoming another casualty while attempting to render aid.
They are attempting to suppress the target, while engaged FWTDT has limited opportunities to mess with their downed teammates.
OK, trying to follow standard procedure during your first fight as quasi-police-military I can buy into. That is the best reason yet.
But AFTER this fight they may want to examine this procedure when individuals on both sides might be throwing around the power equivalent of a sci-fi/fantasy tank, jet fighter or both and a few folks like Maxima with the offensive power of ocean going warships…. Aaand the individuals who are knocked out might be powered down closer to human baseline…………. AAaaaaaaand are directly behind the target they keep flinging fire and stuff at. AAAAAaaaaaaaaand they haven’t neutralized all of Death Tolls team yet even as more and more of them get drawn off to fight him so the other baddies could see an opportunity to do the kidnap thing which seems to be a story standards when they have had their eyes opened to how close they have come to loosing before Death Toll.
But yeah if that is the way she has been trained for part of a decade or so and its worked for her then I guess I have to accept that as a legitimate call on Maxima’s part even if I think it functionally poor here unless she is a lot tougher powered down than I thought. (I was pretty sure some of that would have hurt her if she was awake)
I think I would have had the side stander in the shield use the long reach of her Lighthook to see if she could safely snag her from a relative distance (I’m not sure how long that thing can get but it seems middling long.) while he is distracted. If Maxima had called that in a little bit before she showily charged down and made a speech (which looked like the BEST distraction yet) Sydney from a middling distance would have had a great chance to somewhat safely snag Anvil. Though I admit Maxima isn’t used to thinking of Sydney as a member of the team yet (nor should she really) but its a pretty solid opportunity that appeared and she has already let her engage the enemies attacks from the side drawing some aggro.
Cue villain drowning in Capsaicin!!!
he can’t copy THAT, can he??
Will he try to copy Sydney’s immunity to the stuff?? Will it throw out his other powers in distraction while doing it???
To be seen in the next cliffhanger squared episode!!!!
Oh dear….is she actually quoting Black Adder?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp5St7hORyw
@Observer
Anvil’s primary power is to absorb kinetic energy and use it to strengthen herself and that probably works even while she is unconscious and gives her a high level of defense to most of the attacks with the rest being specific area targeting abilitys.
If it works while she is unconscious I guess that would explain them not trying to pick her up two different ways since 1) she’s partially (and I stress partially) protected and 2) Some of them would have a hell of a time picking up a body that is subconsciously absorbing the kinetic energy they are using to do so (presumably she can control it much better while conscious or her life would sort of suck in some areas… )
Assuming this is true, and we have no reason to do so, that doesn’t mean she is protected from the wide variety of attacks the team might now be throwing at the top priority target (Dabbler alone just used fire and ice in as many rounds sheesh ) let alone what ever Maxima was about to do and last but not least the not entirely predictable things For Whom The Death Tolls is automatically unleashing to counter (he turned to copper…. double sheeshk!) Aaaand she is starting from a empty tank for whatever that adds to her defenses.
Unless she has something that the team knows about and we don’t I would highly recommend getting her out of the direct line of fire at least and ground zero at best lest she join the wounded Heatwave. Assuming they CAN move her past this unconscious energy drain problem… Which is a cool thought Shade. It could make the comic’s future very interesting if Dave B has their powers partially active during knock outs and the rest of the team has to deal with them to rescue them and stuff. I like it, with in reason.
Theory 1 . Harem is retrieving some sort of novlity item gone wrong from the comic shop that will disable death toll.
Theory 2 some sort of hot sauce attack from Fusion or the place Sid visited before the bank .
Probable Fusion,Harem never was in the other location
Is it a plan so cunning you can stick a tail on it and call it a weasel?
Two…
As for Sydney’s Pip Boy being somewhat bare, I’m guessing that it has a customizable interface, similar to the way you can mod your interface in games like WoW, and this is the “Straight from the shop” configuration.
Still calling it a kind of a Jury-rigged version since Syd might not be able to tap her throat mic or use the phone because both of her hands are on Orbs.
Except we see her doing that here quite clearly…she can use an orb and poke buttons with a finger at the same time apparently.
My guess: Sydney instructs Harem to grab DT’s costume and/or mask and teleport away with it.
Very nice idea – I don’t think anyone else had come up with that one yet.
If that works, Harem will be insanely powerful against any super using objects for power.
Hmmm… could Harem teleport away one or more of Sydney’s orbs?
That’d be something to try. Since Maxima couldn’t move them, I expect she wouldn’t be able to do so.
I think it would be very dangerous to try…If Harem tries to teleport an immovable object like the orbs (immovable beyond their “tether limit”) would it simply stop her from teleporting, or force her to leave her hand behind?
See Splinching
Ouchie.
Can Harem make copies of equipment when she copy/teleports herself? There was a self duplicator in the online serial Legion of Nothing that could copy anything she could carry seemed like. If Harem could do the same she could quickly become insanely overpowered in a world full of Supervillain trophies like Death Tolls costume! (Harem: Hmmm… a gun powered by the rarest element in the world… Zorp zorp zorp zorp Aaaand now there’s five. ;D )
Nop.
Is that a typo for “Nope” or does nop have some kind of meaning in net jive?
A typ. Sorr.
So when she makes a certain copy of herself for the first time or after its untimely destruction the fresh clone comes out with no gear of any kind? That could make an interesting comic down the line…
Math has dreams of infinite Harems popping into existence.
Harem no Jutsu! (I’m assuming this is actually where her name came from really)
Be careful, so far it happened only at underage (8, 9, 11 and 14).
I forgot that. but I doubt Math dwells on the past. He pins his hopes on the future.
We might see that being tried, but we know Harem cannot teleport through Syd’s shield.
Undressing a super holds it’s own dangers for members of the opposite sex though ( orientation wise ) … ;-)
Also, my guess is that she asked Harem to pick up some different non-super toys with which she can simultaneously probe / tickle / tease DT – something Harem sort of is made for.
If it works out, all she has to do is get serious and DT’s obnoxious self is flailing history.
Please tell me Sydney does not get a promotion for this, please, the world, there a fragile thing.
You mean like a promotion to corporal?
Love the UN Spacey logos on that page BTW.
Not until after basic training.
The current actions show that she can coordinate the actions of others, resulting in a later promotion.