Grrl Power #245 – Operation angry muppet
Lightstorm is one of those things that I set up early in the fight and it kept getting pushed further and further until I finally found a place for it. In its original form, it was Harem finding a cluster of tough villains and dumping a dozen flashbangs on them all at once, then the team dogpiles them while they’re still staggered. I wound up having Max supply the flash and the bang when she knocked Hex from the sky, but this use of the tactic is still valid. Sydney took Math’s lesson to heart and was thinking several moves ahead here. She’s trying to verify what she suspects Death Toll’s powers are, and while a lot of you have figured it out already, she doesn’t want to commit her teammates to anything before she’s at least tested her theory. She didn’t think for a second the flashbangs would do anything, but it made a good cover for sticking the googly eyes on him. It’s weird, he mostly looks like a guy with googly eyes on his mask, but then if you look at him just right, he does look like a scary muppet.
I wanted Sydney to say something funny as her operation activation phrase, so my first thought was “go” in German. Google translate spit out a bunch of options, one of which was “Aufgebraucht werden” A more thorough examination of the phrase seems to indicate that it more closely means “to be depleted” or “to go and deplete.” I’m sure there’s at least one reader who can clarify the phrase, but the non-sequiterness actually makes it more perfect for Sydney. Other than knowing how to curse and a few phrases from video games (meine lieben!) she doesn’t know German, but she probably thinks she knows a few words based on some cursory googling. Plus, I just like the idea of Sydney randomly screaming semi-sensical German.
#MakeComics: Thirteen panels on a page. How not to draw a comic right here folks. Scott McCloud would be rolling in his… well, he’s not dead, so I’ll say Segway. In a normal comic that would be 2 pages of content at least, but I have this need to make each page its own semi-self contained scene. It’s a better read if you’re keeping up with the comic as it’s posted, though I am a bit worried it will make the book rather dense feeling. More bang for your buck I suppose. Probably should have made this a double pager but too late now.
<— If you enjoy the comic, consider supporting it via Patreon so I can continue to food. Or buy something via the Amazon referral link.
SuperheroThey're super, thanks for asking!
Meatspace ComicSeriously these are awesome. Check 'em out!
Not UpdatingNo longer updating or only updates sporadically, but definitely worth reading.
SeriouslySeriously you guys. If you like Grrl Power the check these out.
"Mature"Mature subject matter and occasionally something explicit but usually safe. Can't guarantee the ads are safe though.
Dongs Ahoy!Full frontal and backal. Lots of skin, sex on some or all pages, explicit or otherwise.
Gone -could be translated to aufgebraucht werden its totaly unreasonable to translate go as aufgebraucht werden
Not entirely so. Examples are “there goes my breakfast” or “my power is almost gone,” contexts in which ‘go’ takes on the meaning of ‘being taken away,’ ‘running out’ or, indeed, ‘being used up.”
Admittedly, those are fringe cases, but *not* totally unreasonable.
Still sounds fucking weird though.
I got be depleted on Google Translate.
Literal translation: to be used up.
Slangy. “Waste Him!”?
But only with cringe-inducing grammar. Which might be the point, admittedly.
“Macht ihn alle/fertig!” would be a better, idiomatic translation, or “Angriff!” for “Attack!” A more precise/useful translation of the imperative “Go!” is “Los geht’s!”
I don’t think there is an actual translation for “Waste him!”.
The closest I could think of would be “Macht ihn alle!” or “Macht in fertig!” – but thats kind of retro.
“Aufgebraucht werden” doesn’t make any sense, but it still is perfect for Halo’s nonsense german.
German is a rather complex language and dangerous to be auto-translated to; you always have a rather severe Babelfish-effect.
If you want a rough idea of what I am talking about, use the translator twice – to german, and back.
It could have been worse though, like Russian or Chinese, for instance – nice languages, but extra hard to master.
And no, Mandarin is not meant for eating.
How about “Vermöbelt ihn!”?
I also once heard “Dreckt ihn ein”(Dirt him)
and just one thing about german: there is a big differnece between “Was willst du schon wieder?”(What do you want now) and “Was, willst du schon wieder?”(What, you wanna go again)
How about the difference between “umfahren” and “umfahren” then? One of which means to drive around, the other to knock and usually run over. The first one being stressed on the “fah”, the second one on the “um”.
Yes, German is a fun language indeed. B)
And no. “Aufgebraucht werden” does not work as a slangy “Waste him!” As in not at all in fact. Working translations for that one that weren’t already mentioned would be “Erledigt ihn!” or “Macht ihn nieder!” Alternatively also “Macht ihn zur Sau!” though that could also be used as an order to give someone a good verbal bashing. And “aufgebraucht werden” is pretty much “being depleted” or “to be used up”. It really doesn’t make any sense unless as part of a bigger sentence.
Which makes it kinda perfect for Sidney, I concur. ;)
I am german
“Die Fahrer sollen den Kameraden umfahren” (The drivers should drive around the comrade/ the drivers should run the comrade over)
yes, that was a text about Driving in the DDR
German can be a lot of fun
“And no, Mandarin is not meant for eating.”
Well, if you intend to use multiple Babelfish translations on Mandarin, you’re likely to be eating your words…Would you like a bit of salt & pepper with your translation?
“Mach ihn alle!” is the closest translation in intention, but “to be used up” is the closest in translation of “aufgebraucht werden” – except that you also have to use the passive tense and present case – ‘being used up’ or ‘being depleted’ are the literal translations.
Want to learn German quickly watch ‘allo ‘allo https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086659 – you can also learn French …
Sweet! It takes advantage of Harem’s love of fun to get her to do it and is super effective! Somehow!
Maybe the more seriously you take him the stronger he is? That’d be an interesting twist.
“Fight me! Fight me!” No touchee no poweree. He’s useless without an opponent.
His name should more accurately be ‘Troll’ not ‘Toll’. They are powerless if you ignore them.
Disney’s ‘Wander over Yonder’ recently did an episode with the same theme.
https://wanderoveryonder.wikia.com/wiki/The_Troll
Max is trying so hard to keep her command face going in the face of googly muppet doom.
Makes her look like a turtle.
Call me crazy (people are going to anyway), but I think she sort of looks like Cher.
A slight resemblance. But why is Sonny standing on a chair in that picture?
Sydney’s shield is protecting her from the light? Is that a nod to the roleplaying scene at the very beginning?
And, presumably the sound or shockwave.
It raises the question if such a defense is automatic, or if the shield automatically filters for ‘excessive’ levels
It has been verified by DaveB a couple of times in the past that her shield can filter excessive levels automatically that is why she can still see or can breath normally.
I do wonder if the “excessive” levels are predefined/configurable, dependent on the user or the ambient arround him, and if that can somehow be altered by someone other than the user…
Same bad guy as well.
So, if his powers are based on defense as I hazarded a guess on, always giving him the means to counter any attack throw his way, but when everybody is busy laughing and not wanting to attack the cute muppet, he is suddenly left… powerless :-)
Now, how to apprehend him without attacking him? How many moves have Sydney thought ahead? :p
Normal cuffs should suffice.To force him to come along you need a cage, and someone to lift said cage
There are a few candidates available for the lifting part. A couple more when Anvil and Hiro wake up.
Is there now two of him?
Old comic convention he is spinning in place.
No, that is him looking left and right really fast
I see a motion line; there’s just one in that panel.
Like the others implied, it is probably just a motionblur.
Really good question though. Doesn’t anyone else question the relative safety of sending a Teleporter/Duplicant right next to a possible power-absorber? Doesn’t anyone else think that is, I don’t know, stupid as hell?
Even if he had gained a short range blink attack and temporary doubles, he would be instantly one of the most dangerous people in the comic, like Harem already is.
It was my thought to do it on purpose in getting DT to copy Harem’s power.
Harem shows off her abilities, DT copies, then when he splits into 5 DTs…
1) Power levels of all his stolen powers are reduced, divided over the five bodies.
2) The 1 mind / 5 input sources (of 5 senses each, plus any superpower senses) would stun & disorient, making it hard to target & use the right power from the right body on the right target. Harem had time to grow up with her powers. DT’s mind would have to learn to cope on the fly, in the middle of a battle royal.
3) If the DT 5 bodies retain the copy other powers ability, would they feedback on themselves, trying to copy each other’s copied power? Is his copying automatic or at will? And is there a range to his copy ability?
Now, if / when DT had complete mental control of Harem’s power, then yes he would be be even more dangerous on a factor of am unknown level. Very risky to put Harem in his copy / absorb zone, and we don’t know the range of DT’s ability, Harem has been popping around the battle field since the start, DT could already have it, he just hasn’t used it yet.
… if DT is a copy / absorber type. I’m waiting for the surprise twist…
And Sydney’s bruise is gone again.
It disappeared in the glow from that smug smile.
And today we have as our special guest commentator noted German psychologist Dr. Heinrich Aufgebraucht. (to be read in a thick German accent)
“It is mine opinion zat Herr Barrack has repeatedly not shown the injuries to Sydney due to zee fact that he is subconsciously thinking of Sydney as his own kinder, und is hesitant to harm his own offspring.”
Good day, dear comic maker.
I believe the word Sidney (or much rather you) was looking for was ‘Los!’ (Go!) or ‘Jetzt’ (Now!). ‘Aufgebraucht werden’ makes very little sense in every context, however you are right. In it’s nonsensicalness it’s about perfect for Sidney.
And heh…he really does remind me of that one Super I made up a few years ago…not exactly the strongest in the beginning, he became a really scary dude down the line…simply because he lived the phrase ‘what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger’, simply because his brain would copy (not steal, copy) the energy pattern of whatever ability was used against him, giving him that ability, albeit not as strong as with the original, but having a box of tricks like that trumps about any one-trick-pony, no matter how strong they might have been.
To be noted about my character however, he was unable to copy things like ‘Invulnerability’ or ‘Super strength’ or stuff like that, because it really needed to ‘hit’ him. (And what hits him with Super strength is the knuckle of the one punching him, not the strength enhancement).
Okay, enough ranting, I just thought I’d say hello :)
Keep up the good work.
You’re pretty much right about the expression.
My personal favorite would be the german motto of the cip & dale rescue rangers:
Rettungstruppe! AUF IHN!
AH! This would be an example of the “battery” variant known as a “Betty Crocker”. Once affected by the power, they gain the recipe and can now whip up a fresh batch whenever they like.
I just noticed Max put her fingers in her ears when the Lightstorm went off.
So, how vulnerable is she to sound? Enough to knock her out? Or does she just find that level of flashbang annoying?
Simply trying to protect her hearing, I guess. Flashbangs ARE unghodly loud, after all, so figure that cumulative damage / progressive hearing loss could still be a concern, even for Max. So covering up whenever possible is very arguably a good habit to get into.
In all fairness, we only see Max’s left arm in-panel, so she might be merely adjusting her glasses with one finger. (or holding them steady against the concussion-wave.)
Remember, she used no gestures at all to protect either sight-or-hearing when she vaporized that tank earlier.
I do not think so. She endured the “BIG BADA BUM” without blink.
She cold be feigning weakness, it’s not actually all that wise to let your enemies know you’re untouchable. Especially if you want them to NOT start the fight with tactical nukes.
Just because it doesn’t cause damage, doesn’t make it comfortable.
OK, I just realized why Max would have her fingers in her ear. When Harem yelled “Lightstorm” it was the warning to the team that the flashbangs were about to go off. She was just setting the example since the others no doubt keep an eye in her for signals anyway.
Kobayashi Maru!
So far it seems that as Halo suspected, FWtDT has a purely reactive power. He can’t counter unless attacked. The only way to win is not to play.
Bad example, that has been won repeatedly. Only the first win was a cheat.
Would you like to play a game?Tic Tac Toe
German is a fun languare to shout semi-sensically.
You can also shout a cooking recipe in German and it sounds like scolding someone.
I’ve been told that Russian is also very well-suited for this sort of thing.
I have heard that too.
And from watching “Seven Samurai” (in Japanese with English subtitles, the only DVD version I could get at that time) I am sure that the same applies to Japanese.
Wasn’t there a Tool song that souned like raging deathmetal in German, but in English was a recipe for eggless pot-brownies?
German is a fun language to shout, regardless of whether it makes sense.
As a reader from Germany that “aufgebraucht werden” hurts my eyes ;)
“Feuer frei!” would have been more appropriate. If it should have been something funny, at least to the older German readers you could had her say “Sport frei!”. We always had to say that before and after PE classes in school XD – and in some way Halo made a sport out of mockery :D
To the “aufgebraucht werden” it means that something will be depleted in the future.
As another German, you should know that “Aufgebraucht weden” means “completely crappy google translation that has no basis in the actual language, whatsoever”
“Der Inhalt sollte nach dem öffnen, innerhalb von 2 Tagen aufgebraucht werden.” So it is legit in German, but not in the context here. Here it is complete garbage.
Especially when you Google-Translated “go”
“Feuer Frei!” would also have been a phrase she’s likely been exposed to, through Rammestein and videos like this one. It’s something I can see people making sure a comic-shop owner knew about.
I prefer this version.
If I did that right. :-)
Well, it is in there. :-) First time to add a link.
It’s a good video, but it misses the point of the video I chose: That it was an unofficial AMV. (Anime Music Video) The type of thing a comic-book store owning nerd would be exposed to on a regular basis, by customers and her own browsing of the Internet.
There are dozens of AMV’s with that song, I just picked one I could find and remember. I figure Sydney’s seen a few, in all likelihood. I’m not sure where she would have heard ‘aufgebraucht werden’.
I just meant I like their version of the song better. You video is fine, and probably more relevant.
Next time Sydney could use my favorite line from “Tobruk” “unter der hoofen geshootin!”
Looks like everyone can see death tool for what he is.
Might explain a lot about his personality.
Let’s face it, as kids a lot of us learned a lot of social skills by getting pummelled by our peers when we cross the line. If Death Toll had his powers from an early age, he probably missed out on that.
aufgebraucht werden, epending on context it could mean:
to be used up, to be depleted, to be drained/emptied, to consume smth…
Most times we germans use this word when we took the last of a batch like we used all eggs for a cake.
Often something has to be used before it’s starting to mold like:
Let’s make a cake and use those apples before they get moldy.
Wir sollten einen Kuchen backen und die Äpfel aufbrauchen bevor sie schimmeln.
I just noticed that Sydneys big facial bruse is missing… did she heal somehow?
Yes i noticed that too … XD
Probably an art error.
If anything, her face should be slowly but surely SWELLING from the punch.
It is not the first time the bruise vanished for a strip only to return as dark as ever.
Ah! Of course! His weekness is that he litterally can’t see what’s right under his nose while he’s wearing that mask! Now we can… oh wait. That doesn’t help us at all.
Okay…we are going to need a buff guy to Cos-play this at every geek-related convention for the rest of time… and once we have teleport and and holographic tech it will need to be acted out.
Really, every time I see “hah hah” in this comic I have to take a moment to figure out if the characters are being sarcastic. It’s such an unusual way to spell it.
I’m calling it now, that guy’s blind. How else could he not tell that someone had pasted goggly eyes over the eyeholes on his mask?
Oops, my mistake. Saw the eyeholes on the second read over
I did the same thing. I even went back to when he absorbed Jiggawatt to see if his mask had the “eyebrows” beforehand.
Turns out the answer is technically yes.
This tells us something interesting about Sydney’s shield – it seems to be able to selectively prevent anything harmful from getting through. The flashbangs create deafening noise and blinding light – Sydney can perceive both, but is bothered by neither. Presumably, the shield would render a direct beam attack from Maxima into something no more bothersome than a dollar-store laser pointer.
I like to think that the shield has a similar effect to photochromic lenses in glasses :P
This is nothing new DaveB confirmed this a dozen times before that Sydney’s shield is selective and only blocks escessive amounts of air,light,sound etc.
Maxima’s “laser” is a Particle Beam. =P
So, if FWTDT understand they managed to discover how it’s power works, will he try to act as a ‘tank’ to protect the other supervillains ? (Afterall, if he manages to intercept an attack not directed at him, his power should protect him) That would make him a tough wall to hide behind for the other supervillains.
Archon would refrain from making a distance attack on someone shielded by FWTDT to prevent triggering it’s powers, so they’ll need to move in close combat to attack the one protected – which could prove to be dangerous if the protected supervillain was just awaiting to use it’s contact attack power but could not expose himself to ranged attacks.
So he’s completely useless if you just ignore him?
I honestly did not see that coming.
I think of him as being pure defense. if you think as Maxima’s pooling power, he permanently has EVERYTHING pooled into counter-attack and no points anywhere else.
Achilles also has pure defense powers, but this guy can throw the attacks back! If he has half a brain then he can make himself hard to ignore. Start attacking civilians, change costum each fight, etc.
Do not fight the man who’s powers are reaction based? fun solution :P
i will to imagine him running around the battlefield while ARC mop up the last of his allies, trying to put himself in the way of attacks*.
*which, were he not a pretentious douche-waffle, he would have been doing to contribute to the teamfight from the start anyway
Sidney’s bruise is gone?
Thumbs up for the gratiutous use of German, but it’s not working for me. For one, as has been noted several times, it’s using the completely wrong meaning of “go”. Secondly, it’s got far too many syllables for a surprise shout. By the time Sydney mangles the “ch” sound, Harem could have bagged the guy already. And thirdly, it’s too correct. Unless she learned German extensively in school, Sydney isn’t going to get the passive of “aufbrauchen” correct. It’s also not a word an American is going to be able to pronounce recognizably on the first try.
I’d have her just shout “Aufbrauchen!”, which is nonsensical, short enough to be shouted, and actually the imperative conjugation.
But at least she didn’t quote Rammstein, or this comic would need a NSFW in Germany.
Actually, I’m guessing her pipboy has a google-translate function, which is probably where her awful phraseology came from- not from her head, but from the even more amazing brokenness that is a machine-translation of a living language.
yeah duplication through vision or mask… i would sitll bet on the mask
Ah yes, the difference between normal (?) superhero teams, and military teams.
Normal teams are far more willing to listen to different ideas and allow the other guy to have a turn.
Military team is of course “you do not direct combat operations”
Which is a really rigid way of looking at things, particularly when the person in charge is likely to do something stupid.
Seriously, I think Max is getting so used to being the ultimate fighter, she believes her strength will beat all, or at least believes there are no other options. But that’s where Sydney’s out of the box thinking will help.
that’s partly why at the very beginning even Anvil’s calling her a Big Gun.
Actually, the military is pretty good at taking suggestions. It’s just unusual to do that in the middle of combat. But if a private tells the Sgt. that he has a better way to take an objective…that Sgt. WILL listen to him.
A good commander listens to their subordinates, and a good subordinate knows when to shut up and follow orders.
and this would be an example of….?
there are even stories of critical military equipment first thought of by a private. like the ARV(Armor recovery vehicle) that was invented when a privat told his company commander(some guy named patton) that it might be a good idea to take everything out of the tow trucks that kept getting shot up and mount it to one of the tanks in the platoon so they’d have a tow truck that could actually survive.
I think you use your space well. It’s not unclear, and it doesn’t look padded.
I’m guessing Death Toll is purely reliant on counter-attacks. That is, he can’t initiate an attack, just damage someone who’s attacking him. That’s why he’s insisting on getting people to fight him without “rolling initiative” and why Halo stuck googly eyes to his mask.
“Thinking several moves ahead.” Really? All that scatter brain spaz is doing is interrupted a good fight just so she could do a lame joke. Waist of a good page.
The Troll is strong with this one, best ignore him chaps.
I think somebody needs some googly eyes.
…. And maybe a cookie. Run along, little troll.
He’s tried this before.
It’s only a troll that calls someone a troll.
So are you calling him a troll?
I know you are but what am I?
Neener neener neener!
Rusty Red Lipstick?
and if some one calls another an uro’kia does that make the speaker one? am I a kitten for calling a friend one?
I wonder if the same principle would work if I could talk to some millionaires and tell them that’s what they are.
I didn’t say troll so it must be your guilty mind that put it there.
Yeah, she stopped the fight with no more injuries (except to FWTDT’s pride). Shame on her.
Exactly! The guy was on a roil taking out heroes and then that little nut-job just pops up from out of nowhere and has to act like such a little bully! And they call themselves heroes, they ought to be ashamed!
#facepalm
Sad, isn’t it?
please stop IR. I almost burned my drapes when some flame leaked out laughing at him.
Which?
1) The desperate plea for attention;
2) The seeming inability to recognize sarcasm;
3) The disconnect from reality necessary to believe that a sizable portion of readers are going to agree;
4) The amount of time wasted reading and commenting on a comic whose lead character one dislikes; or
5) more than one of the above?
6) all of the above
Got it.
Counter to a counter user is incidentally the same way you beat Gogo in FF5.
Don’t forget the Dark Knight in FF4 (FF2 in the US)
They put Batman in Final Fantasy? Cool!
*thump*
It’s a good thing that Death Toll has super-toughness or all those flashbangs could have killed him. Also, I happen to know quite a bit of German from listening to Rammstein and playing as the Nazis in mil-sims. There’s also that “promoted for his accent” guy in Far Cry 3.
i am ashamed of myself cuz i actually expected Sidney to do something smart
she did something smart
she created a scenario in which everyone laughs about DT thereby enraging him
rage -> clouds his judgement, maybe even makes him attack and his reactions are slowed
I think it was pretty smart actually. If the team is too busy laughing at him she gets more time to explain her theory to them before they start getting themselves stomped on again Also, if the plan ends up aggravating him, he’s more likely to start making mistakes.
it also demonstrated that he can be caught by surprise and that he can not negate/counter all powers everywhere (Harem was able to port to and away from him)
Teleportation in itself isn’t an offensive power like Maxima’s Particle Beam
Harem’s power wasn’t directed at him; vorp’ing around him isn’t an attack to his person. Everything else Harem did was the same as a non-powered person actions, which leaves nothing for him to grab a hold of to use against our team.
She is revealing things about his power that while everyone in the comments section has at least guessed at the in comic hero team is at least partially clueless about… dangerously so.
All you have to do is put a box around him and he is stuck. I wonder how we would have reacted by indirect attackes – e.g. removal of air ?
And finally Harem gets to do her lightstorm.
I guess the flashbanks were voice-activated and the original plan was to use them while spread out and not concentrated on one target.
the flashbangs being voice-activated would explain the nonsense pseudo-German… a verbal trigger-code with zero chance of being accidentally spoken.
like how half the K-9 units use commands in foreign languages?
That is just because those dogs were trained in a foreign country, or at least by trainers who spoke a non-English language. Also, this also means that the dogs are less likely to get confused by someone else yelling out their commands, because other people will get it wrong.
Yeah, I had a friend who adopted a retired Police dog who had to be commanded in Japanese
Flashbangs use a timed fuse. When Harem put the belt on FWTDT, she activated all of them. A few seconds later, about long enough to yell “Lightstorm!”, they go off. The screwy German was for Harem.
We’ve always known there were two possibilities, power absorption and power countering, but there was no way to know if he was just really resourceful in his preperation of what he absorbed or if he was just bad at getting himself into fights.
That said, regular handcuffs would’t work, thanks to super strength (regardless of where he got it from). From this it looks like his powers are power countering, but the real question becomes “how far does that go”? Does the power of personal training and skill count, or would Math be his ultimate counter? If he can counter stuff other than superpowers, as he seems to be immune to the flash-bangs (which may or may not be a holdover from earlier immunities he may have gained), than there may legitimately be nothing you can do to him. Put him in a box, he counters the hardness of the walls and gets out. Hit him with sleepy drugs, he counters them and just keeps on going. Perhaps there is a limit to what he can counter (two pronged attacks have been mentioned, or else you might be able to just overload him) but that could have it’s own problems and issues.
From what we know in the past there are two big evidences for each. His nabbing of Jiggawatt and his counter of the headlock. The nabbing of Jiggawatt caused his entire costume to change, which would be inconsistant with him just absorbing her but would fit in with his body changing to counter the electric charge making him immune and allowing him to redirect her efforts. Of course this could just be that absorbing an actual person had greater effects than what he normally absorbed. On the other hand the normal counter to a headlock is strength and toughness, not an electrical dischange which he could have easily absorbed for later use at any time. The answer to that is that he could only be able to counter with attacks and that backhanding a flying stone girl counts as an attack (granting him super strength and durability for a time) but he would only be able to take some counter to the headlock if it were in the form of an attack (meaning zappy was needed or else he would gain nothing).
Most recently we have two more clues that seem to most likely nail it down. Harem teleported in but did not do a direct attack and he gained nothing. This could be that he needs to absorb attacks with his hands (so he couldn’t take her teleporting power without being able to directly touch her) but more likely it is just that she didn’t try to harm him so he couldn’t counter to harm her back. The other clue is at the very end when he starts yelling at people to attack him. Power countering requires an attack to activate his power but power absorption would have allowed him to pull his own attacks by just throwing one or two of his own out rather than just yelling.
So, unless he is just really dumb about things, power countering it is. Now for the question, how far does it go and what will they do without Math?
Have to agree with you on the power countering/countering power thing. Since he can counter non-power things like the flashbangs though, it means his power counters “attacks” and not just “powers”. It’s likely Math would have just as many problems with him as he’d have with Achilles – can’t actually hurt him, just (maybe) trip him up, or tie him up. He’d still be able to win, but he’d probably have to think about it for a few seconds first.
Not so sure putting him in a box wouldn’t work though – the box isn’t attacking him, so countering it’s hardness may not be something he could do. If it requires some kind of actual action against him, the sleep drugs would be useless (they act on the target by making them sleep), but a good strong wall may be just as effective at impeding his progress as a floor (or the parking lot) is at making him not fall to the center of the earth.
New idea: His power is the ability to draw on and manifest the subconscious fears of his opponents, allowing him to be a ‘perfect counter’ by picking up on what they’re afraid he might be capable of. Now that he looks like a big dumb skull-headed muppet, however…
This makes sense. He wasn’t learning their kung fu so much as trying get into their heads.
Then how could he absorb Hex’s lasers (when she wasn’t even close enough to register hitting him)?
That is a good question. Maybe a touch of energy absorption to fuel the fear-based adaptability?
While everyone else has had their theories, I’m gonna put in my own. Maybe it’s the 3 days lack of sleep, but I’m guessing this guy is powered by the same thing that powers the Tardis. Pure bullshit. If you don’t believe his bullshit, it fades, like a henna tattoo. And how can you believe someones bullshit when they have googly eyes on their face? (End stupid suggestion brought on by exhaustion.)