Grrl Power #318 – Now she looks… human!
The “officially because the materials weren’t ready” line is my oh so clever way of covering my own butt for not having designed these outfits earlier. I originally had planned to have the team in variants of Maxima’s green outfit with the leather trim, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted them looking more like actual soldiers, so I’ll have to come up with a reason they have the green and brown outfits. I think it was a paramilitary outfit that Maxima liked to wear that got slowly adapted into the teams outfits until the Q-vex stuff was ready. Or maybe those are their casual patrolling outfits, whereas the one Sydney’s in now would be what they put on under their vests and tactical gear when they’re going door kicking.
The pattern on her outfit is based on the “Scorpion W2” pattern that will be replacing the digital one we’ve come to know over the last decade or so. Apparently the digital one has some issues in certain environments. It’s too bad because it looks nice and distinctive, whereas the Scorpion W2 kind of just looks like the old green and brown forest cameo with slightly different squiggles on it. Of course “looking neat” isn’t the point of camo at all. Except in the case of Arc-SWAT it kind of is. They’re military, yes, but they’re not going to be hiding in bushes waiting to ambush patrolling supervillians. (Ok, Peggy might.) They’re cops, and they’re supposed to be noticed, but they’re also supposed to look military. This outfit was the compromise they came up with.
On an almost completely unrelated note: Did you know “The Old Man” from Robocop also played Grigg in The Last Starfighter? I was surprised when I learned that but now I can’t not hear it.
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There is a whole lot of subtext to appearing in urban camo uniforms as regular wear.
1. They expect to be operating in urban areas. – Not a stretch here.
2. They expect to be facing threats. – When responding to an attack of some kind this is reasonable, but for day to day wear it’s questionable given their police role. Police don’t wear camo under normal circumstances because it implies you are in enemy territory. We have copious examples of why it’s bad to have a police force that feels they are in enemy territory rather than a part of the community.
3. The threats they are facing represent an immediate danger which calls for stealth tactics as a defense. – Extremely iffy. The team just fought the largest super battle in recorded history with only minor casualties and no fatalities. What are they afraid of? And how stealthy are they actually going to be when half of them fly, glow or both?
2 and 3 together should mean they have duty uniforms which emphasize their police role rather than their military one. Arianna at least should be pitching this heavily and I’m not sure who would be against it.
Arguably, since police uniforms are meant to identify police officers rather than to serve a tactical purpose, and since Arcswat above all is there to get hit with laser beams instead of civilians, they should have more conspicuous uniforms than the police. Bright colors so that the baddies know where to aim and civilians know where to get out of the way.
The final reasoning in the design probably had a lot to do with the ‘glowing and flying’ thing, actually. When ARC-SWAT needs to make a spectacle, they can do that without flashy clothing. It’s much easier for them to discard stealth than it is for them to acquire it in media res.
As for that one large battle, in many ways, it was an anomaly. It more resembled an actual military engagement than any form of law enforcement–they were literally targeted by a hostile enemy and engaged in open combat.
Keep in mind that one type of situation they are likely to frequently encounter in their typical duties is a hostage scenario. In that case, you want to be able to pull off an ambush.
So the squishies should be in camo and the tanks should be in neon. Which is Sidney?
She’s a Tanshie [Squishie Tank … and Squank sounds weird to say].
+5 for Squank it is very Sydney like :P
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9arBeBZvBs
Sydney’s a modest girl, not a Squank at all.
A Tanshie sounds like a Torrets Banshee, which Sydney is when she is mad, so yeah that works.
With her shield up in Tank Mode, Sydney would be glowing like neon…
Nah, even the tanks (including Maxima) will benefit from stealth in an ambush situation. Get as close as you can before springing into action; that way, you have the best possible intel on the situation you’re about to cut loose into.
Now, the tanks will bust out, while the squishies will remain hidden and sniping and such. That just adds to the confusion and impact of the ambush (since the bad guys will be attributing most of their initial damage to the foes they can actually see).
Not unreasonable arguments. And you may be right.
The most obvious counter-argument though is that they are not police. They are police SWAT. An important distinction. They are not there for community policing. Their job is to go in when Special Weapons And Tactics are required. But theirs is the super-sized version of SWAT.
If stealth can help them to minimise, or eliminate, the need for a devastating super battle, then having equipment, training and uniforms, which aid that is, preferable to the destruction which resulted from them being the ones caught by surprise.
Stealth is not ‘iffy’, especially if lethal force is on the cards. Especially in civilian environments. Which is always something that needs to be considered if the situation is severe enough that SWAT has been called in. And the presence of super-powers only makes it all the more useful. There are a lot of unknowns about super powers at the moment.
As such, the need for reconnaissance is vital. Whilst Arc-Dark and Arc-Light have a significant role to play in that area, if things can be handled by them alone, then Arc-SWAT will not even be involved. And no military commander worth their salt will ever assume that the intelligence they have been handed is infallible. Hence cautious approaches and recon are still vital tools in the tool box.
In the UK, whilst they do have police snipers and armed response units, if there were a situation that would require an Arc-SWAT like presence, it would be the SAS who get called in. And they do make extensive use of stealth, surveillance, reconnaissance and other such tactics. Only then do they blow the crap out of the enemy!
And, as I mentioned on the first page of comments, when balancing public relations concerns versus military ones, the latter take precedence if there is a significant conflict of interests. Which does occur in this particular instance.
Of course there are compromises possible. And the military has all sorts of different uniforms, for different situations. So they could put on dress uniform if attending a PR event, such as a school opening (although the kids will be disappointed, as they will be expecting the cool combat uniforms).
But, in practical terms, do you want SWAT to have to look around for a phone booth, to get changed in, if stealth is needed in an emergency?
The compromise that is often used, when troops are used in a polciing role, is that only if they are expecting fire do they put on their helmets. And in less-dangerous situations, they wear berets or go uncovered.
It is a subtle compromise, but can be a very effective one. Akin to the difference between seeing a police car/ ambulance/ fire engine in your rear view mirror, and seeing one those vehicles with their lights flashing, and the sirens sounding.
Adding to this. It’s also a matter of difference. Arc-SWAT is mostly a military outfit, with mostly military or ex-military personnel. Where they are expected to get shot, exploded, or have super WTF-attacks thrown their way.
So making a uniform that explicitly states they are semi-military. Not only sends a message to the civies that they’re safe (After all what sounds safer. A regular cop uniform, or a military one?), but if they need to abandon stealth, tells villians that they are two steps away from getting their butts handed to them on an adamantium platter.
Honestly? A regular cop uniform.
Speaking from experience, I’m from USA, and I’ve just recently been on a visit to France. They had three-man squads of soldiers patrolling with machine guns… and I immediately felt less secure and more nervous.
Seeing a radical step-up in security implies or necessitates a need. Which immediately makes one wonder about the security of the airport or the cathedral I was visiting.
Also. I’m deeply cognizant of the fact that when something bad goes down, no matter what happens, it’s the civvies with no body armor who get caught in the crossfire who are screwed.
To quote:
“When two Elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.”
Casualties (that is to say, any kinds of injuries, including fatal) are to be expected during a Super-Fight. It’s just a fact of life for Supers and Civilians in a Super world: There’s gonna be some collateral damage which sometimes means the shrapnel goes your way and can injure you.
Arc-SWAT is, like regular police and military, always at a slight disadvantage when there are civvies around, because the mundanes end up in the way of combat, and could get hurt, or get between a clear-shot to finish the bad guy.
I feel like a regular cop uniform wouldn’t do a good enough job of identifying the supers and making them stand out. Being able to quickly identify ‘Oh shit there’s Supers here’ will allow people to have a better chance of clearing an area, or at least calling for help should the worst-case happens.
To paraphrase in shorter terms:
It really doesn’t matter to the innocent bystander whether or not the forces engaged are military or domestic police…Wwhether it’s the State Militia or Federal Military engaged against terrorists, or it’s the Police/SWAT shooting it out with a drug cartel they’ve tracked down, the collateral damage is still dangerous & your best defense is to GTFO of the area.
Another thought that occurred to me is that it’s important for various types of uniforms to be readily identifiable… like the bomb-squad suits. If you see it, the first thought should be ‘OH SHIT GO THE OTHER WAY AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE’ not ‘Oh, I wonder what he’s doing?’
If you need to ask -why-, then you’ve never seen video of the EOD in action (see the Military Channel) or watched (ugh) The Hurt Locker. The Hurt Locker is not a very good representation, but yeah, the EOD blast-resistant suits won’t save you, so the even squishier regular humans might want to steer clear.
Ditto towards super power showdowns, yeah?
I have been in the vicinity of such work on a number of occasions. Each time choosing to change activities, to something I could do in some distant part of the town or city. The two occasions where work demanded that I remain adjacent to it, I ensured that the full length of a building was between me and any possible blast!
I think a carbon dioxide scrubber would be better for Sydney because it cleans the air around her without the need for some weird nose tube or mouth breather
I’m guessing that if asked, Dabbler might come up with a simple-looking face-mask that acts as an osmotic/catalytic filter, splitting off the carbon from her exhaled CO2 (perhaps in conjunction with her exhaled water vapor) so that she won’t require even the shielded air around her – just what’s inside that mask. If designed to perform “passively”, then no power-supply would be needed – just the occasional cleaning-off of any catalytic byproducts to unclog it.
It seems so obvious that it’s doubtless been suggested elsewhere, in an earlier comment.
No need for everyone to use Dabbler as the ‘go to girl’ for such equipment suggestions. Firstly she has made it clear that she does not intend to share her toys. So what gadgets she makes are for her use, not others. Sydney has even tried that, and been politely rebuffed.
Secondly we are now very much aware that Archon has a dedicated team of gadgeteers and quartermasters, in ARC-Sparq. So gadgets, which could be made by cutting edge human technology (and perhaps a bit beyond, as with the above Kevlar 2.0), can be handled by them.
As to your last, yea, various suggestions about a compact air-scrubber, have been made by folks, on page 1 of the comments. But yours is quite a nicely described version. Albeit a bit more ambitious than our more vague ‘compact versions of existing technology’.
Actually we (the human race) recently invented something that would be able to passively do this as a possible oxygen scrubber~!
Lets see where did I put that link… ah here we are~!
https://youtu.be/5ianKcdzhe0?t=3m10s
Nice, All the air benefits of plants without the need for dirt and disease.
The water it requires would just be a matter of maintaining high humidity in the air. Such artificial environmental system have long been put to use in building constructions already.
That’s easy – we exhale water-vapor along with our CO2.
Excess H2O can be collected for drinking water, if need be.
With Dabbler its probably 50/50 doesn’t want to share, and isn’t allowed to share her toys.
I’d say Dabbler is under the Reed Richards/Tony Stark Effect. While it would be easier, and more efficient to just have Reed whip up some hyper-tech solution to the entire team’s issues, or for Tony to just slap everyone in a suit of armor, they don’t… because it’s rubbish for storytelling.
Dabbler’s “tech” is a power, just like Maxima’s powers and Syd’s orbs. They can’t/won’t be shared because it would completely unbalance the story.
Except both Reed & Tony do share some tech aspects. They are selective about it however. All the Fantastic Four have access to the Fantasticar and unstable molecule fabric. The Avengers have access to much of the tech in Avengers Mansion. It’s Reed and Tony’s game changer’s that are under wraps. I can see Dabbler bending rules on something sufficiently close to human tech which can increase team efficiency without disrupting the power balance (and consequently the story).
See comment:https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1731/comment-page-2#comment-339321
Can’t it be both? CO2 absorber and an O2 tank, probably joined in a single compact device.
You would not need twenty-litres tanks usual for diving, as there’s nowhere for the air to go out of your immediate surrounding. So your immediate treats are oxygen pressure that may make you choke or burn your lungs, and carbon dioxide percentage, which may put you down quick, if risen above certain level.
Re: Synthetic leaves: it’ll be slow, waste up quick and will need constant replacement. Natural leaves pipe carbon from carbon dioxide into building material for a whole tree, and just look how quick trees discard leaves when they are used up/wasted/otherwise become nonfunctional.
Between his in depth knowledge of fashion, body shapes, his ability to put clothes together out of cloth without sewing, and his ability to add shapes to his clothes that don’t come from his actual shape but his power puffing them out or pulling them in Ashley would be a master of disguise and a mild shape changer since humans where enough clothes that is mostly what you see of them. If he ducks into the right shop he could quickly become taller, fatter, heavily muscled, or say in the middle east a woman since all you see of them is clothes (he could even make a heavily swaddled “baby” and have the bundle move a bit like a puppet) only limited by his own manly shape. If he was smaller, slimer, etc… he would be crazy good at spy work.
He has one of the strongest powers for versatility in the series so far depending on how much he can lift with it and whether he can lift himself (which seems a telekinetic rarity in this world). He could beat that though by just making wings and scooping air. And of course he can always just glide in a paper airplane like R.O.D.
Every department head within the ARC hierarchy must want him on their team!
He he. Yea, probably very true.
Well, other than Mr Ka-Pants, of course. He who can make clothing on a whim. But he is powerless without violence to feed upon, so it does not weaken your comment.
I said he had ONE of the strongest powers for versatility. Maxima and those who can go toe to toe with her and actually expect to win (not tie but like crush her) are in the top tier by series design. This guy would depending on his strength would be a shoe in for the second tier juuuust beneath them.
If he totally covered himself in cloth and goggles he could make a bunch of Shadow Cloth Clones to confuse enemy targeting. He could knock a bunch of enemy unconscious and then zombie them by their clothes to march him as a fake prisoner into a facility or at least close to it. (he carries sunglasses around in combat a la Weekend at Bernie’s so no one will notice the lack of eye function! LOL [man he would be so hilarious around people getting passed out drunk!]) SO MANY POSSIBILITIES. I’m sort of hoping he gets a spin off series after this gets close to wrap up a few decades from now.
I did good that time. I felt the urge to go all ranty at the mention of Ka-Pants but resisted.
See, I knew the power would be ridiculously versatile when I first thought of it, but it’s crazy how much further the powers can go…
With TK based powers, it’s always comes down to what the limit of their power is. Maxima is herself a TK, with just a few extra powers thrown in (energy blast being the only one i actually can think of. the rest may actually be a part of her TK field…)
But yeah, TK can be totally overpowered if not limited, Magneto (lv 5 mutant, out of 6 levels (lv being the Phenix)) has a less versatile power than Ashley, and he builds space stations and throws extinction level asteroids with his…
Please do not draw on Sony for their “mutant levels”. That was something they completely made up. And The Phoenix was not a mutant at all. It was a Shi’ar energy being that posessed Gene Gray in pursuit of vengeance (or justice, I forget which) and then refused to leave once it’s mission was complete because it became drunk on human sensation.
On the TK powers you’re absolutely right. TK powers are defined by their limitations and strength. He can obviously manipulate cloth enough to support himself as he’s sitting on air. Can he levitate or fly with it? Can he make it harden to stop bullets? Can he perform “mind control” by puppeting the clothing people are wearing?
As to what team he would be on from his mien at this point I would say it’s possible that he might not WANT to be on a combat team. I could be wrong. We haven’t seen that much of him yet. That’s just my impression.
And just remember with every power or power set there is always a means to counter it.
Sometimes obvious, sometimes not obvious.
Since he needs Fabric: cloth, typically produced by weaving or knitting textile fibers, perhaps his negator would be The Unraveler: villain with power to “un-weave” anything. Then its not fabric anymore and he wouldn’t be able to affect it?
Actually My 1st thought has been cryokinises per Gurps 3/3.5 ed.
Optimal effect is 10cubic inches and 10 degrees per level per turn (1 second).
So at level 10 power that means after 2 second whoevers cloths are being targeted will want out of them fast (clothes temp -100+).
And after 5 seconds said clothes will be gone because -420 degree’s is absolute 0.
Clothes shatter plus there will be frost burns to deal with.
So they would do damage to their own henchmen in order to destroy fabric the enemy could use? That does sound like a villain.
Of course if they knew he was coming they could all wear leather or just go naked while their cyrokinesis boss destroys Ashley’s ammo.
Additionally, the clothes themselves could be used as a formidable weapon (a la “House of Flying Daggers”)
Another use of his powers may be up for debate. He could conceivably lift someone up by their sweater or pull a stocking cap down over someone’s eyes. What are these made of? Wool. What is wool made of? Animal hair. Shouldn’t he be able to yank someone around by their hair? His specs may need to be tweaked to say that it has to no longer be attached to the donor animal to be subject to his effects. He could still mess with someone’s wig or hair extensions. He could quite literally pull the rug out from under someone. Give him a few spools of silk cord tied to his wrists and he could play Spiderman.
Based on how he’s ‘sitting’ in panel 2 it looks like he can levitate himself.
No, he’s just pulling himself up by the seat of his pants. :)
*slow clap* :-)
I wish I had thought of that first…
Or that’s what he WANTS you to think. Actually he had the fibers of the carpet grab his shoe and then he hardened his hidden super hero spandex suit to hold him up using the shoe/carpet as an anchor. Makes sense he would have such a suit or body stocking over his whole body so he could use his power to protect his body by stiffening, help him do tricks like faking super strength (don’t always want to give your power away first thing), etc… (I would have it cover my whole body in combat).
Or Dave made him the first telekinetic to be able to lift himself in the comic which kind of saddens me a little since it departs from the R.O.D. feel he got me hyped for with his underblog. :(
I’ll tell you what, no matter what you think, dude can do a hella Smooth Criminal lean.
Win ^_^
Not many seem to know this, but Michael Jackson (well, his estate, now that he’s passed on) actually owns the patent for the special shoes and stage-equipment required to accomplish that lean – you literally can’t duplicate it without their legal permission.
Ashley: “I’m not duplicating it. No shoes or preset stage required.”
The biggest concern I have with the new uniforms is that they look like they’ll take a long time to draw. Unless they’re cell shaded and then the details drawn over, but judging by the way the patterns shift angle where Sydney has her arm bent I don’t think that’s the case.
not cell shaded, I meant a pre-existing camo pattern
A lot of the items (such as Halo’s Orbs) do not need to be stored. They are saved as a skin (or some such – I am just using the gamer type term, not recalling the computer art wordys). So I doubt they will be a problem, from that regard.
Shame my internet connection is not good enough to make live-streaming an enjoyable experience. I would have been interested to see how that is actually implemented, rather than just inferring it, from general knowledge, and the odd past comment which would make me think along those lines.
So, is Ashley handing Sydney a spiffy new flak jacket to go with her new uniform in last panel?
Looks like. Not bad for a wet-behind the ears recruit. I think Arc-SWAT might become the envy of the armed forces/police. The best-dressed unit going.
Small size helps, here. They presumably cost a fraction of other branches of the military (even, say, smaller sub-divisions like the Navy SEALs) when it comes to mundane gear, so they can get equipped with the best set possible. If you’re only buying fifty outfits, you can spend what another branch would spend on five hundred (when they buy a minimum of five thousand), and you still look ‘frugal’ by comparison.
And Sydney and Peggy help balance out the massive amounts of material the amazon weightlifters and uber bodied men use in their outifts.
It’s actually a pea coat like she was wearing at the very end of the fight.
I think Sydney had a good idea there since her shield is after all air tight. It does have a unique probability to it though. How small an air tank with the most air can they make? Some that won’t encumber Sydney, but at the same tie will give her the optimum boost in air. Say a normal sized scuba tank will give you anywhere from 3 – 7 hours of air depending on design. Now these are after all the best you can get couldn’t these guy come up with something better? After all a scuba tank on land would also cause mobility problems. Not to mention that once Halo gets a power up the subject of needing an air tank may become a moot point. The next power up on shields could be an oxygen addition to the shields, or as in the movie Explorers in which a small chip on a computer board produces oxygen by changing the laws of physics and creating oxygen out of what looks like nothing. This last would be a type of alien tech (hint hint) which some members of the team might be willing to share to help in this situation. As long of course as its kept strictly between the two team members, perhaps some sort of system which if messed with will simply break down into base components.
Here is my fist result (with something for scale) when looking up pony tank. Which is actual technology used by scuba divers (thanks for the info Taulsn). Give Sydney a double tube arrangement, to carry around with her. One for Tubey, and the orbs, and the other for her pony tank. Plus there would be plenty of room to also fit in the mouthpiece and tubing.
They could even experiment to see if increasing beyond that minimal size impacts too much on her manoeuvrability, or otherwise makes it too impractical to carry around with her, on a continual basis.
About the pony bottles…
We are currently using 1.5 liter/300 bar carbon-fiber mini-tanks, which hold 450 liters/0.55 kg of air. Full tank with mini-regulator weights ~2.5 kg, and can be carried in shoulder bag or large pocket.
A diver uses 24 liters of air in a minute, while a firefighter in heavy gear uses 60 liters of air in a minute. So, depending on the activity level, high-pressure mini-tank should last 7.5-18.75 minutes. This should give Halo about 15 minutes of extra breathing time within the force field.
15 minutes is along time in a firefight…
Compressed oxygen bottle plus a CO2 scrubber is probably the best solution, check my comment below for a longer explanation:
Very good and all, but what about my reference to the movie Explorers, or haven’t you seen the oxygen device in it which was created by alien tech? That was another question I was asking in all seriousness and since their is an alien in the group a possibility which could come up as an answer to the problem.
Wow! Starfighter’s Grigg & Robocop’s “Old Man” ARE the same…I’ve got both on video & never noticed that until you said something, Dave.
Now that’s a character actor…He played both parts of corporate sleeze & alien reptoid with weird sense of humor quite effectively.
I was also impressed by Micheal Forest’s acting as Apollo, in the original Star Trek episode “Who Mourns for Adonis.” From everything I’ve ever read in Greek Mythology & the Olympian Pantheon to various analysis of those stories, I think he made that part in Star Trek so believable as to how those gods behaved.
Not an air tank a re-breather something that just scrubs the air I am sure dabbler could work up a simple belt mounted one the size of a large phone..
Well, a $5000 rebreather only works for a few hours before you have to stop and maintain it. An actual air tank can last longer.
I mentioned a movie up above, Explorers, which has an alien device which creates oxygen for space travel that is used by the group of kids in the movie in order to visit alien kids who want to know more about them. You may want to check that movie out. Its an older movie but very good.
Shouldn’t Sydney be getting new glasses that will be more combat durable sometime soon?
As long as she also keeps the arm device. Darn thing makes pretty good knife armor.
Actually she should just get powered armor to solve all her issues in one go.
Standard civilian glasses are almost always rated at the same level as industrial eye protection (except for not having side cover).
It wouldn’t stop a bullet but it also won’t shatter under any force that wouldn’t also shatter bone.
Right, but they are getting smashed off the faces of super cops who routinely take such bone shattering hits in the name of taking down empowered, robots or heavily equipped beings without killing them.
Maybe if their frames are super flexible and thick enough to take the bulk of the blow? Look ugly by today’s standards though. Call them the Geek Squad!
If the force hypothesized is enough to destroy regular-category eye protrection, then I think it doesn’t matter WHAT Sydney would be wearing on her face at the time.
I just assumed there would be new glasses designed to take more damage (or some other work around to get the info to the troops) and since that would then be the standard design Sydney, as a part of the team, would get one?
A little tougher to better withstand wear and tear, sure. But no point in making glasses so tough that they easily withstand stuff that would kill the wearer.
Presumably the extra-tough folks in ARCHON can get “extra-special order” glasses, but I imagine these would be EXTREMELY expensive to make, and therefore somewhat restricted in who gets them.
OK OK, maybe she’ll have to make do. But if those glasses show any signs of looking or being cooler than the ones they give her Sydney WILL eventually “obtain” a pair. She was willing to have her arm lopped off for a cyber replacement!
Transparent aluminum is a real thing now.
I want glasses made of THAT… if for nothing else than to say “My glasses are made of transparent aluminum!”
To appreciate the likely cost, just remember that it is actually just a specific type of gemstone. Albeit that we can manufacture various types artificially now. So it is very much akin to wanting to have your glasses made out of diamond. Very cool. Very expensive.
“… And if you lose your allotted pair, and don’t have an EXTREMELY good explanation, the cost is coming out of your paycheckl!!!”
Transparent alumina (aluminium oxide, or sapphire without any impurities).
But yeah, very cool. And you can have diamonds on the soles of your shoes, so why not?
8-)
Oh, and there’s ALON:
1.6″ thick ALON armor is capable of stopping .50 BMG armor piercing rounds, which can penetrate 3.7″ of traditional glass laminate.
O_0
…even cooler! Even Sydney couldn’t break them!
I’m reading this and realizing being a fabrikinetic would be pretty awesome.
Yup! It’s one of those powers that seems really stupid and pointless on the surface, but is actually incredibly versatile and useful given the right creative mindset, as other folks’ comments have indicated.
When I read “air tank”, I at first thought, “tank, that flies in the air”.
Then after a while, I realized it probably meant scuba-type gear.
and i was disappointed.
I imagine sydney might be too, if she wondered if she could requisition one of THOSE as well…
The Great and Powerful Turtle! –Wildcards
Bolos beat Turtle.
Ashley’s bio says that he has several fashion lines. Guys like that usually have several runway shows of their designs per year. These shows need someone to do the hair and makeup of the runway models. I think we just found a new job for Dabbler’s sleepover buddy.
“– A pouch for extra doses of her meds, in case of a long mission.”
This should be Priority 2, just below an air supply for inside of her shield. Why would it only be Priority 2? If Sydney dies of asphyxiation, the extra meds would be kinda pointless.
;)
Dangit! This should be nested under OB Juan’s comment, back at https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1731/comment-page-1#comment-339063
HA-HA!
I like the scorpion W2. I’ve always thought the digital camo looked dumb.
I wonder if with Dabbler’s hammer space if she could just store some oxygen and teleport that into Halo’s shield.
Probably only if she’s also inside the shield.
I don’t think she will be able to, even then. Dabbler’s “hammer space” is actually just summoning stuff from her laboratory, by teleportation. And we know that teleportation is blocked, as Harem cannot get through the force field.
Granted that the two powers may operate differently enough, that one could work where the other does not. But, there is not point in second guessing too much. Not when we have a reasonable precedent to cite.
Also, is that Sydney’s…costume that Ashley is working on? I don’t know what to call it; she’s wearing her undress uniform, and clearly some people wear actual costumes in combat, but what would it be called?
Nah, the pattern for the uniform is set. Individualized costumes are for full members, not raw recruits. Also she would be further back in line for a personalized set than others who have been training already –hence I think this would be Harem’s. It “could” be HeatWave’s –she wouldn’t be cold wearing it…
First thing that popped into my head when I saw the floating costume was “Heatwave’s got a new outfit!”. I just don’t think Harem has the length of leg for it, and I know Sydney doesn’t. The boobs either…
That costume, if you look closely, is a complete stereotypical Arabian belly-dancer outfit, even including the veil for the face!
Great job on the uniform! I assume the pattern’ll never officially be available in grayscale, although it’s objectively the coolest color scheme. Maybe Shipboard Blue…
Heh. Towards the end, of the article, the tongue-in-cheek grew barbs, pierced it, then poked through the face of the guy standing next to him!
I also fell for their click bait on the Coast Guard. But mainly because I got caught out myself, in not realising what a different beast the U.S. Coast Guard is compared to the U.K. one.
In particular that it is part of the armed forces, in the U.S. Whereas the UK one is strictly a life-saving service, and nothing to do with the military. Other than rescuing them, like anybody else. Notably customs searches and the like are nothing to do with them either.
Which very much threw me, when talking about it and not appreciating, at first, that the U.S. one incorporated roles I would only expect from border security agencies, such as H.M. Customs and Excise officers (for any on-shore activities) and the Royal Navy.
Mind you I would very much hope that the UK population has a better appreciation of both the existence, and function of, the UK Life Guard service, than appears to be the case for the US public and their Coast Guard. Although I have been disappointed by such misplaced faith, on occasion, in the past.
I kind of underestimated the US Coast Guard, until I read a book called ‘Rescue Warriors’ by David Helvarg. It covers the history of the organization (older than the Continental / US Navy), plus the author visits several different facilties and interviews a wide range or personnel.
In general, I have to say that the USCG is an admirable organization, with an amazing range of duties and obligations. Also worth noting that, unlike the other military services and certain other Federal agencies, it is NOT guaranteed a specific percentage of the US budget, but has to very literally beg and scrimp for every penny.
BTW, it has been said with much justification that the ‘Star Fleet’ of Star Trek’s Federation has much more in common with the USCG than with the USN. Star Fleet and the USCG both have a military component; but they also routinely handle customs / border security, law enforcement, survey, rescue, exploration, maritime safety, environmental protection, scientific research, expedition support, colony assistance, maintenance of navigational aids and so on.
Interesting to note that the Royal Australian Navy switched to a similar scheme some years ago.
Prior to that, the working outfit for RAN sailors was extremely plain – and the story is that they were sick of looking like civvie tradesmen, and so grabbed the new look with both hands.
Where can I buy an ARC SWAT uniform :)
Arc-mall.
They’ve moved online: Archazon.
You can place your orders using their new consumer gadget, the Arc-I-type.
Yep, it defines a new category of pun-hardened devices. Guaranteed resistant to Spit-Take Soda and Brain Bleach ™.
Also, the touch screen works with all known finger types: human, undead, metal, stone etc.
even doggy paws, it’s been said
Problem with Syndey’s air tank idea is that unless it’s an enclosed rebreather, whatever she exhales is going to be trapped in the bubble with her. After not very long, the overpressure is going to become extremely uncomfortable.
Seems like it would be simpler to just blink out the shield once in a while. A half a second would be more than sufficient, less if she’s moving when she does it.
She wouldn’t have a problem with overpressure, as she can always increase the size of the bubble as needed to maintain atmospheric pressure.
People are locking down on the notion that any spare air tank that Sydney takes along should hold enough to last a considerable length of time.
I think Sydney is better off routinely carrying a VERY SMALL emergency airtank (which are used by scuba divers). Something that can be carried under a jacket or clipped on a belt, and is only good for a few minutes at best. It mightn’t be much help if she gets stuck in outer space, but in situations where she needs a breath or two just to clear her head and keep thinking clearly, it is just the thing – and without woirries about CO2 build-up or pressure.
One of the most important rules of encumbrance and personal equipment – You Can’t Take It ALL With You
“One of the most important rules of encumbrance and personal equipment – You Can’t Take It ALL With You”
Even though Army & Marine Infantry keeps trying to…
Indeed. A sign of the times, I guess.
Between body armor, protective gear (NBC, environment, etc.), survival equipment, electronics, medical kit AND personal firepower, they keep trimming down the burden a modern infantryman has to carry, only to find yet more extremely useful and/or borderline essential stuff to pile on board as well. My understanding is that it has become quite the issue.in rtecent years.
Sure you can. You just need a camel.
Oh, and you have to put a special request in to Arc-SPARQ. “I need a needle, so big that my fully-loaded camel can walk through the eye”. Then, as promised in the Bible, you can enter Heaven, as a rich man, with all your equipment and wealth.
Remember, he who dies, with the most toys, wins!
…Wins what, exactly?…
Even if you die with the most toys, you’re still dead.
In Heaven.
Wings and all your precious consumer goods. At the least it saves getting callouses, on your fingers, from having to play your harp all day long. Just set up your solar panel, on top of the cloud, and put your IPod on play.
Eternal Katie Melua music. Heaven indeed.
It wouldn’t be Heaven if you had to take it all with you when you go…It should already be there when you arrive. So even if you obtain “all the toys” here, you still couldn’t (& shouldn’t) take them with you.
*headphones on, listening to Katie Melua*
*floating, in the air, in ecstatic happiness*
*waves*
Oh, hi. Sorry, can’t hear you. Listening to music. Come on up, it is wonderful here! You aught to see the view!
My favouritest KM track seems relevant:
“No, I’m not afraid of changing,
I’m certain nothing’s certain.
What we own becomes our prison.
My possessions will be gone,
back to where they came from…”
Tell that to this guy: https://www.paperspencils.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/tumblr_lsq09wsmmw1ql55zvo1_500.jpg
Heh. Whatever the system, Player-Characters are a law unto themselves.
Something I’ve wondered about Harem: are her powers a reference to Pratchett’s *A Hat Full of Sky*, where Rob Anyone tells Level that he’s seen one dimension where there were people with one mind in five bodies? (I had thought her power seemed familiar until I suddenly remembered where I had seen it before, with Level and her multiple bodies.)
It just hit me… those items Ashley is floating around… that’s not just some assorted bits of fabric like I first thought – it’s a bellydancer’s outfit, complete with veil-mask!
Can you say “Harem”?
I can say “Heatwave”. :D
Harem in a harem outfit… how very meta.
I figure Ashley is just checking out his results on the first outfit of five he’s going to make…
The guy who played Alex Rogan in The Last Starfighter, played Johnny Cash in a Broadway show.
Observer kind of brought it up before, but on a different thought process, but nice Chekov’s 2 day training with challenges. :) The previously referenced SCUBA training will have practical superheroing application on land and in the air (below low oxygen level altitudes).
And possibly in space.
Since she does not feel any air pressure difference when she expands and contracts the field, that means air must pass though as it changes. So if she is running low on air, she could just expand it, to get some fresh air. No air bottle needed
Might work while moving or in high winds but when stationary the local air mixture wouldn’t diffuse fast enough. Also depends on the mechanics of the size change. what if the shield is growing by layering itself. Basically the shield ads a layer just big enough to elclose the shield at it’s previous size plus a little extra and then disipates the inner shield. Rinse, repeat, until desired size is reached. Keeps the shield from losing integrity, while allowing size changes without affecting air pressure.
As yet we have not seen Sydney make the shield bigger, whilst it is raised. So, for precisely the same reason as you have said, I come to a different conclusion. Namely that she has to drop the shield, twiddle the embiggener, then raise it in it’s larger form.
Unless Sydney finds the ‘make air permeable’ button, if she uses the embiggener, whilst the shield is up, she may either find that it does not work, or that she suddenly has her ears popping, and start to suffer from altitude sickness, in a low-pressure environment.
Purely my take on it. But, since coming up with that hypothesis, I have not seen anything which contradicts it.
Sydney talks about no ear popping when changing size, implying it remains up when changing size
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1476
“the shield ball has an embiggener”
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1564
Yea, I had forgotten about the former point. Although she was suffering from the effects of carbon dioxide poisoning at the time, so we cannot be certain that what she said was sound. But, if it was, then yea, that does change things.
Arianna’s calves are a little on the thick side.
… I donno, they look fairly realistic to me :) It’s a pretty common thing to see someone’s calves about the same thickness as their thigh when they’re a certain age with certain fitness types. Or, you know, she could be Ukrainian.
Or maybe the pants are designed with more of a “relaxed fit” design.
The trouble with catalysts is that they only help reactions along, a catalyst can sometimes reduce the activation energy requirement and can only function passively when the reaction produces more energy than the activation energy required to start it. CO2 and H2O are in a low potential state because all of the atoms have a satisfied valence shell through borrowing, so splitting them apart requires a certain amount of energy because the amount of potential energy is increased by doing so (no creating/destroying energy),a catalyst won’t affect that energy requirement.
A scrubber would trap the CO2 as it is toxic to humans in concentrations>4% at atmospheric pressure (it dissolves in any water, including blood to form carbonic acid, the higher the concentration and pressure, the more acidic the water/blood will get), so a compressed air tank will not help much if there are toxic levels of CO2 present, a scrubber would act as a sink for the CO2, and an oxygen tank would be able to replace the lost oxygen without causing excessive pressure buildup in the shield (the oxygen is being consumed, so the pressure shouldn’t change much if the scrubber is working properly). She would need an O2 tank and a scrubber, just like a spacecraft would to stay alive for an extended period of time in her shield if it doesn’t allow for CO2/O2 exchange when in a normally habitable environment, and if she were to use her shield to dive, or travel in space the O2 bottle, pressure/flow regulator (defiantly a requirement), and scrubber would be required anyways. The bottle would be easy, and would definitely fit in a backpack, the scrubber shouldn’t be too hart to get, and should also fit in the backpack. Oh, and some materials used to scrub CO2 can be regenerated by heating them outside of the shield, so it would be a very re-usable setup provided a high pressure oxygen source can be located (they are quite common, compressed oxygen is used extensively for welding and medical purposes).
A compressed air tank would increase the pressure in the shield, would not recommend.
No an electrolyser would not be able to replace the O2 bottle, it would flood the shield bubble with H2, which would increase the pressure (causes problems when the shield drops), use a lot of electricity, and would be a severe fire hazard. Converting the CO2 into carbon and oxygen might be possible, but from what I gathered the equipment required would probably be bulky, and have high energy requirements, or use caustic chemicals with low efficiency and reusability.
The big problem with the shield being air tight is less lack of oxygen, and more build-up of CO2. Both cause drowsiness & confusion. Just adding O2 will add SOME shield time, but as long as there’s excess CO2 there will be problems. She should add some divers soda lime in an easy open, airtight container with battery operated fan, it would fix the CO2 problem. I’d suggest extending the orb tube with the absorbent canister, open the tube, remove a bottom cap, and the fans could automatically kick in.
I have to admit, the design of the uniform is cool, but I don’t really like the camo pattern. It looks… strange. And camo doesn’t really fit the MO of Archon, does it?
Also, this Ashley guy is awesome and I hope we see more of him. I have a certain fondness for cloth-based powers.
I’m guessing that this is the closest we’ll come to seeing an extremely-skimpily-dressed super heroine.
So you would think.
But I have faith in our beloved author .
Even if Archon members are issued gear that’s not skimpy, the villainessess in Dave’s comic don’t fall under those “outfitting regulations/paramenters.” We still have that loophole to look forward to…
;)
The new ‘urban cool’ suit is nice. All my mind kept thinking was — what if they shoot you in that open collar area? No Kevlar 2.0 — just exposed skin. Kind of like making most superheroines costumes with peekaboo keyholes … not a good design… unless they are invunerable/impenetrable.
The same thing as if they shoot you in the head. It’s probably not a combat uniform (or at least not a complete one), so the bullet-resistance is probably a bonus more than a design spec.
At the very least there’s going to be accessories (like a proper flak vest) for combat time!
Am I the only one who noticed the Ninja Model?
I thought it was either Ashley ‘playing’ with a design concept — but now that you mention it, maybe it’s an invisible ARC person who is afraid to show off haute culture in front of others.
Considering what little they are modelling, only someone who is invisible (or not even there) would be willing to model that out in the open with strange people
Professional fashion models aren’t noted for having an excessive amount of body-modesty…
So this is what ‘X’ looks like under the heavy coat?
Darn it. Why did I not suspect a ninja, in the belly-dancer’s outfit?
Ok we now have a plausible hypothesis for Iron Cloth not actually using telekinesis, but just animating fabric. He has stiffened his own clothing (plus socks and carpet), to form a chair to sit on. And the ninjitsu-practising model is performing a belly dance.
I guess, as that would very much have to be invisibility, rather than just ‘hiding really well’. Which means Halo would be able to see the ninja, if she grasped the true sight orb. Although she probably would not spot the other ninja, who is using mundane hide in shadows skills. Unless she was lucky.
Or, alternatively, Ashley is just telekinesing the belly-dancer outfit…
Naa, that would break our prime directive.
ALWAYS SUSPECT NINJAS!
I think the ‘Old Man’ also played the Chief Judge in Stallone’s ‘Judge Dredd’ as well.
That was Max von Sydow.
The uniform looks almost Starfleet… I’m surprised Sydney didn’t mention that…
Sydney using an air tank could expose make the needing air after a while weakness a bit more apparent, and a lot more obvious to anybody who didn’t catch it on the news (if the cameras were even watching her when that happened).
On the plus side, Sydney is unlikely to kill herself by suffocation with the shield orb, even if the shield orb doesn’t have a fail safe if she passes out from oxygen deprivation. There’s this thing called the “hypercapnic alarm response”. Basically, if you pass out from carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, or any other biologically reactive gas (helium isn’t reactive, so it wouldn’t trigger this response), the body will spasm. As such, she would be likely to let the orb go, which would drop the shield. So at least villains can’t force her to kill herself through suffocation, though they can incapacitate her by simply continually attacking to force her to keep it up.
So, you are suggesting that Sydney should hide her breathing gear in a second Tubey? We could have Twin Tubies!
Excerpt from Arianna’s merchandising notes:
Halo Action Figure
• Orbs… collect them all!
• Tubies to be sold separately. Ensure that orbs fit inside, as with pony tube and other accessories.
• Civilian tops likewise extra. Supply Sydney with sponsor company tops, but only for brands that we are given the action figure merchandising rights. NO RUDE SLOGANS!
Yeeeeeikes. So glad that Ashley runs his own fashion lines, or he’d be part of Arianna’s merchandising plans…
Ashley: “No. I am -not- going to be a barbie doll. Say it again and none of your skirts will ever fit you properly again.”
Gotta say, I appreciate the detail of panel 1, that Sydney’s floating down the hall. Reminds me of Nanase from El Goonish Shive.
Because that is 110% realism, there. I know if I could float around, I’d float practically all the time.
Nothing against walking. I actually love walking.
But floating, yo. It is so cool.
Harem did mention something to the effect when Max & Sydney were coming up in the elevator at Archon. When Harem was asked why she doesn’t ‘port everywhere instead of walking (or taking the elevator), she replied something to the effect of “the normal, mundane experience” of it & compared it to why Max doesn’t fly everywhere.
Me? If I could fly, my feet would never again touch the ground (unless I couldn’t fly while sleeping, then my feet would be in a bed anyway, not touching the ground).
So would I.
Plus it would save money by no it needing to buy gas.
As noted, vehicles serve other purposes. On the other hand, your shoes will last ~forever~.
Vehicles can be useful. What about rain/sleet/show/hail etc? I hope you can lug 12 bags of groceries back from the store without dropping anything. And then there are problems that come from lack of exercise by relying on flying. Remember baron Harkonnen from Dune?
Very good points. Modified lifestyle:
• Fly everywhere. Carrying an umbrella, or wearing my Arctic-rated coat, in appropriate weather.
• Hire physiotherapist to exercise my body whilst asleep.
• Her other job is to collect the groceries.
Okay, now this is a detail most people won’t have noticed I’m quite sure (unless you’ve actually put clothing together from scratch like I have, everything from designing to cutting to sewing and then actually wearing it through a variety of activities), but…in the new uniform Sydney’s wearing, there are wrinkles at the armpit, reaching up from the underside. This is an IMPORTANT detail, and an absolutely marvelous little detail by our favorite author/artist.
The cut of the sleeve at the top is very crisp-looking, but the way that sleeves fit together into the body of the shirt like that (very vertically aligned so it parallels the side of the shirt), they become very awkward to wear when you need to lift your arm over your head if there is no give in the fabric that allows one to do so. There are ways that this can be adjusted, but since the fabric in question probably isn’t all that stretchy and lycra-like, the easiest version is right out. If knit/stretch isn’t the way to go (and you don’t want that in a bullet-resistant fabric), then the next thing is to put in a gusset (diamond-shaped piece) at the right-angle seam between the side of the chest and the underseam of the sleeve.
That diamond-shaped piece forms a sort of diagonal bit of extra give to the fabric that can give a wearer a lot of mobility and freedom to lift the arm in a big ol’ circle. However, most military shirts don’t do that because they’re mass-produced items, and that’s an extra bit of fabric and an extra bit of time in the manufacturing process, so the sleeves tend to be stuck on at a right-angle, hence a lot of wrinkles showing up in the armpit.
HOWEVER, we can infer that Iron Cloth / Ashley, as a major designer of clothing, knows how to properly manufacture custom-fit garments, not mass-produced ones. So there will be not nearly as much wrinkling coming up from that armpit as one would expect with a T-shaped shirt, but enough give from a gore and clever tailoring to ensure that Sydney may look sharp, she can still go into full-on panic-flail-blargle-argle mode at will or whim.
Well done with this tiny yet very, very spot-on detail! *applauds*
*claps enthusiastically too*
(we must do our bit to save the faeries)
That’s very altruistic of you to try to save fairy lives that some other unknown person refuses to believe in.
+1
*wag tail*
*claps some more, whilst whispering conspiratorially*
Just between you and me, I suspect that there are more than a few who don’t believe in them!
what is he recreating in the 2nd panel?
An outfit for Dabbles?
• The Dance of the Sugarplum Ninja?
• Ninja Lake?
• The Ninjacracker?
• A Midsummer-Night’s Ninja?
• The Ninja Dance of the Seven Veils?
Ballet outfit for a performance of Ninja-Swan Lake?
Black of course.
Hey Dave, a simple suggestion for a stealth option. The shoulder chevrons could be on cloth that folds back over at the centerline of the shoulder (i.e. Is attached halfway down the length of the chevron) so they can flip up and attach to the collar with the underside being the same camo as the rest of the uniform. That way they could also walk around just wearing camo but when they need to “pop out badges” they can just grab the collar tabs, pull down, and have the chevrons visible. Doesn’t even require any redo on the drawing since it appears to be a separate piece of material already. Also can be worked into civies for lowkey urban wear that doesn’t scream military. Love the new uniform BTW. :-)
Browser is giving me problems (repeatedly coming up with “This page can’t be displayed”) when it comes to replying, so for the foreseeable future won’t be reading the comments, but will continue to read the webic and vote for the invotive
Aww. I hope you get it fixed. But, in the meanwhile, it is nice to know that you are lurking and not gone.
Let us know if you find Waldo, in the shadows. Perhaps hiding in a corner?
What about bullet-proof cars? Are they also a snare and delusion?
To a degree, yes. All you need is a bigger, more powerful bullet. Stuff that will laugh off small-arms fire will still have issues with a fifty-cal rifle designed to put a hole in an engine block.
Quartermaster, I require a bullet-proof air-tank! With armour at least ten feet thick. And a gun capable of taking out a modern main battle tank. Must be capable of flying at least one mile high, for several hours.
That’s probably possible with a zeppelin. It’d be gigantic, and extremely slow, but it should be possible to put armour plating everywhere
Unless that armor is superlight (Kevlar 3.0?), that sucker aint getting off the ground. Evfen the biggest zeppelins had/have an extremely limited lift capacity for their size.
…. And the Budget oversight people are, at the very least, going to have kittens over THAT requisition!
You are perfectly correct.
But, just to prevent folks from thinking that airships cannot carry large loads, that is not actually the case. Although, as you say, the loads do have to be small, in comparison to the ship itself, that does not prevent them from actually carrying very big loads.
A German company actually provides cargo and heavy lifting (slung load) services, in the present day. It has various advantages and disadvantages, when compared to the conventional helicopter alternatives.