Grrl Power #320 – Don’t call it sidekick school
From what I understand about basic, you spend a fair amount of time learning about guns before you get to use them. Seems sensible enough. Sydney is joining mid stream here, so it’s a fair bet no one will hand her a loaded gun today.
Part of me didn’t want to roll out a bunch of new characters at this point if for no other reason that the more characters in the bank, the less screen time each one gets. This is obviously where Sydney would meet the other recruits though, so we’ll need to do introductions. Also I think they’re all generally entertaining. I’m just saying there were only so many Barkley episodes because the officers generally got the bulk of the dialog. There are actually only two of them that haven’t appeared in the comic to date though. Ren and the gal with the side cut. Blondie appeared way back when Harem yoinked all the boys’ shirts. Jiggawatt is the only one who got to show off at the press conference because her powers make for such a good show.
That’s Shawn the ex-Seal in the firing range, I realize he’s probably hard to recognize without his hat and seal shirt.
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Wait Blondie is a guy?
I was about to say, Congrats on first btw. But yeah, I was almost gonna say (she looks like the blond guy’s sister) But hey *shrug* I dub him Bishounen Bill (Until we get a name.
I approve of that name so very, very much.
In the comments for that strip, one poster nicknamed him Whipcord.
Name works perfectly for me.
I switched back and forth from the referenced comic to this trying to find the blond girl in the crowd watching the guys, but the only one was one of the Harems, so I was confused. Then I realized the skinny blond dude had similar hair to this one and figured it out – though I still didn’t quite believe it/
The Gargantuan Girly-Man!
She-Man, Defender of the Metroverse!
Gyno-Guy!
… and last, but not least…
Sephiroth’s Kid Brother.
Yeah, I thought he was a girl until I looked back at his linked earlier appearance…
Given that supers are generally much larger and taller than regular folks, I really want to know why Bishonen Bill is so tiny! Though that could explain why he looks so pissed.
Actually going by the linked pic and cast page Blondie is about 6′ – 6’1″ as he is shown to be just a little taller than Math who is listed as 5’11”
Those must be tall benches. The girls are all seated on them, but I think BB is standing between the first two rows.
And I would have found him more attractive than most of the current female cast.
(obligatory quote)
“Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
(End obligatory quote)
But I agree, if they ever do a live action FF movie blondie’s in line for a lead role.
To quote Ray Person (1 internet if you get the reference) “It doesn’t make you gay if you think Rudy’s Hot”
Was that in the comments for Rain LGBT when Rudy was crossdressing during Halloween and Christmas?
nope, think HBO true story series, based on a a series of Rolling Stone articles, every one in the room was strait
Ok bean long enough, HBO’s Generation Kill, based on the book of the same name by Evan Wright.
Ep.1 Evan Wright is walked in to the billet tent for the unit he will embed with and Sgt. “Fruity” Ruddy Reyes (who plays himself in the series) is in the buff putting on sun screen, Wright is taken aback, that’s when Cpr. Ray Person sais “It doesn’t make you gay if you think Rudy’s Hot” as Ruddy is a highly attractive man, so much so that hetro guys can admit it without raising a question about their orientation.
What exactly are they sitting on, that makes Harem have a table infront of her?
They’re probably sitting on rows of benches. The desk is probably something else.
If you look at the parts of the benches that aren’t covered by Sydney’s head, it looks like they have fold-out desks. This is supported (figuratively and literally) by the rivets on the left side of the one that Daphne’s at.
Phew. Glad that Harem had not had a teleport accident, and ended up being bisected by a table!
blondie looks nothing like the blondie from the other page
You might be having trouble because on this page, he’s wearing a shirt…
Also – either those … surfaces the ladies are sitting on are high enough they had to hop up onto them, or he’s much shorter here than his previous appearance implied.
He’s probably sitting at Jiggawatt’s row, so he’s further back than Harem.
But that would interfere with Jiggawatt’s knees… Maybe he’s just half-sitting on the edge of Jiggawatt’s row. Which might explain why Jiggawatt looks so much taller than him. (According to the other page, he seems to be not really short, about the same as Math, a bit larger than Ren.
another possibility is he’s kneeling or sitting, meditation-style
The dark skinned gentleman in the link is not Ren per word of Dave in his little blurb above.
Though upon doing some research I do believe hi is Goose’s space marine partner.
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/385/comment-page-1#comments
His hair is a different color and style, his face looks different, he is different clothes, and wearing a shirt (but mostly the first 3 things) He looks like an entirely different character, but admittedly, it has a lot to do with changing art style
Facial features wise I would say he is spot on myself. And agree with the comments made by others about clothing and different posture (standing versus sitting) and the individuals around him in each picture.
also, slightly different hair color. in the “previous” page, his hair were slightly lighter. but that might be just the light of this place.
other than that i think his looks might have been updated.
I like, I like the new gal!!
The almost scowl made me think of a less tattooed Jack from ME3 right away.
Yes. That’s exactly who she looks like! I love Jax, psychoses and all!
Or Christy Mack…
You can tell she is an official super with powers since she has huge, um, muscles! Yeah, that’s it.
The only clue on her ID is her choker showing her code name starts with V.
I also like like the new girl. Extremely my type. Ya’ sure know how to draw em’, Dyn.
Like the heart-shaped bullet grouping. That’s a nice touch.
I don’t. He juse totally fucked up his score. The target appears to be like on used during basic training in which case you want to hit the center mass of the target. And assuming they are more military then police I’m pretty sure he’d miss out on the opportunity for chest candy.
He’s an experienced NAVY SEAL. I’d think they compete with pritty drawings rather than direct scores.
“Smiley face, top that”
“Mine actually has a nose”
“Monocle and top hat”
“Your girlfriends phone number. BOOM!”
And her identical twin sisters number, BADA-BOOM!
And her non-identacle twin sisters number, BIGA-BADA-BOOM!
And her mother’s number, GIGGITY-BIGA-BADA-BOOM!
And your sisters and mothers numbers.
“straightens tie, walks off”
And all their measurements *snickers and BAMFS away*
see max looking at targets quietly wings away leaving note about her presence on my target
He may be screwing around. I’ve met shooters who do odd stuff when they get bored making the same group over and over, like cut playing cards in half edgewise. That said Zanaan is right, the heart’s not remotely NEAR where he shot the target, you want a tight cluster up and down the heart and Aorta, as well as the head, preferably around the nose area.
Shawn is demonstrating on the target what the difference is between “Expert Professional” and “Consummate Artistry.”
Also I believe that is where the heart is located in your chest or at least the major arteries.
Or maybe he’s practicing the fine art of shooting range stress relief. Results may vary.
There is a way to show his skill AND keep his score – put all the bullets through the same hole with out making it any bigger.
That’s the highest skill in nonlethal shooting, that is.
“Although all the shots were placed near vital organs, it seems to be a miracle that all of the body shots missed the heart by a fraction of an inch, and the shot in the head lodged between two brain halves and did not damage any grey tissue.”
+1
Not only a top marksman but an expert anatomist too.
MEDIC: It is no good, the bullet is embedded too close to the heart, for me to try removing it. We would need full surgery, and she is not going to live long enough to get her to a hospital!
MARKSMAN: Don’t worry, I will just shoot it out.
A collapsed lung ain’t exactly non-lethal.
Heh, I was visiting a neighbour today, who has only just come out of hospital, after his lung collapsed. Twice. And is up and about. No necromancy involved.
Not that any puncturing of the lung was mentioned in Ed Z.‘s comment. To the contrary it was made clear that the vital organs were missed, in the scenario imagined. Barring the brain, of course. But that was just taking the gag to it’s ultimate ludicrous end.
I have read a book written by a field surgeon on his experiences in WW2.
One case was a soldier who got drunk, took his rifle (probably something not too powerful, maybe a carbine), put the barrel under his chin and pulled the trigger. The round went through his tongue, hard palate, sinuses, brain, skull and stopped just under the skin on the top of his head.
The surgeon did a field operation, removing a spoonful of damaged brain tissue in the process. Next day the soldier woke up, three days later was walking under his own power, and in a week returned to his unit.
…and started winning card games with everybody.
Since two of those shots would go right through the heart, and three more would collapse a lung, I think he’s doing OK, even if he’s a little left of the aorta.
After putting one in the head and one center mass, the rest are just decoration.
Have a nice day –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aSdLAndoJU
Danny Glover is good. Mel Gibson is gooder.
True, but both of them are at the point where the difference is academic in most cases. Both of them are going to wreak horrible vengeance on any target they have to draw on. Riggs will just be doing it from an extra 20 yards out. :p
Mind you Danny Glover is good enough that he will fight a high-tech alien, all the way back to his space ship. Then be ready to take on it’s entire crew, with just his bare hands.
He does, very much, get my seal of approval.
“Okay. Who’s next?”
Never heard such a badass remark before that…At least not within easy-recallable memory.
I’m sure there would be at least one person who would fail to appreciate such artistry in ammunition; whoever it was that they selected as their “canvas.”
So, for the sake of making sense of the past, I’m going to asume that Jiggawatt is already a very experienced recruit, and infact close to promotion.
Otherwise it makes very little sense that only she was called in during the attack last night
She was called in because her power set fit the situation very well, especially with Glowbug there.
She’s also the only one of them who can get across the city in a few minutes.
Though she must be advanced, since they have two powers-based maneuvers settled already.
judging from her entrance during that, she might be there for remedials like harem. Or she had plenty of experiance prior to joining and they trust her enough to call as backup despite her being relativley new.
She might have a lot of combat experience but not have any of the police type training or the Arcon specific squad training.
Heh, now im picturing bishie bill ren and the girl with the haircut stuck in a minivan halfway to the restaurant trying to get there in time to help out. /HONK! HONK! “Come on man MOVE! Lets us by! ARCSWAT COMING THROUGH!”
I hereby declare that side cannon!
That is the best mental image I have had in quite awhile
It does rather tickle me too.
Also, it took me a second to realize the desk Harem has springs out from those ‘accents’ on the benches.
Being tall is a superpower now? Who knew?
It is part of the usual package that most supers get, for free, in the Grrlpowerverse. Albeit that some stand out even amongst that crowd.
Something Sydney has yet to come to terms with.
Of course it is. Wasnt that what Steel was about, and why it starred Shaq? He already had the ‘Tall’ superpower?
Of course it’s not “Sidekick School”… they are going through the “Hero Support” track. :D
But, if their teacher is a whiny dweeb wearing the same style of uniform as Maxima, and going on and on about how he Used to be her partner and that she doesn’t mention him at all anymore, then we have issues Dave…
Do you really think Max would leave ex-partners who could reveal things about her past alive?
Only if they’re either above her in rank, somehow tactically necessary, or damn near as badass as she is.
I actually read the page title as a reference to the Young Justice animated series. In the first episode of series Kid Flash, Robin, Aqualad, & Speedy were entering the JLA’s Hall of Justice and Kid Flash asked if all four sidekick’s had ever been in the same place at the same time before and Speedy angrily stated “Don’t call us Sidekicks”.
Just so it’s clear, Speedy is the protege of Green Arrow, he would later change his name to Red Arrow. I rather enjoyed the show, and wish it had gotten more time.
Oh Young Justice was one of the best superhero cartoons ever! I put it right up there with Batman: TAS.
Wait, isn’t ‘Speedy’ his half-sister? She who goes to the same dentist as Captain Lance?
Only on the TV series. Thea Queen doesn’t even exist in the comics, the true original Speedy is Roy Harper.
Only on the Arrow TV series I mean, in the comics there have only been two Speedys, Roy Harper the original, and Mia Dearden. On Young Justice when Roy quit as Speedy and became Red Arrow the young Artemis Crock was recruited. Her father is the criminal Sportsmaster, her mother former criminal Tigress, and her sister the assassin Cheshire.
Oh right, the bargain basement Taskmaster
I’m curious if there’s any rhyme or reason to the color scheme for their collars? We see here both of the guys have a basic black one (which might be ‘standard issue’ for recruits…yet all 3 ladies have personalized ones…).
I mean, some of them seem to have an initial on them. Sydney and Harem have long Hs on them, for example. But then Dabbler’s had a triple X (cuz she’s obviously X rated, oh ho ho). And it makes me curious about the woman on the left in the last panel–such a pretty collar! Rainbow with a golden V on it. I really can’t wait for the introductions to come around in a page or three.
Well, most of the guys don’t actually have collars, but half collars instead (cause it looks better on thick muscled necks
Well, Dabbler’s collar has FOUR X’s on it.
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1597
…You know, it’s a whole new level.
Or it could just indicate her drinking preferences –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX5UGJGhVIo
Yes, in Australia, Fourex is a brand of beer.
No, it’s a brand of bog water sold to idiots who think it’s beer, like VB or Fosters
If I was a beer-drinker, I suppose I might be expected to feel insulted by that.
But I’m a tee-totaller (mostly), so I don’t. :)
Correct, and it’s probably some stylized spelling for “Xuriel” in whatever passes for her native tongue
Dabbler takes it to eleven.
or forty, indeed :D
(ok, so you could argue that ought to be ‘xl’, but I’ve seen enough medieval use of roman numerals to deduce that the correct method is whatever suits the scribe)
I was assuming that ‘black banders’ either didn’t have powers, or didn’t have codenames. So, either they’re only at backup’ levels, or Arriana doesn’t think they’re merchandisable?
They don’t have code names yet.
My guess is “black” is the basic standard issue comm choker. Those for whom Adrianna has trade-marked a “Doing Business As” (DBA) hero name get a customized color scheme, courtesy of the fabrikinetic Ashley.
But unless he is “off-duty”, Shawn the Seal is out of uniform as he is not wearing his.
As Dave has stated previously they can make custom skins to go on the chokers.
Only one x in Xuriel. That leaves xxx. Hmm…
Xuriel daughter of Xuriel, daughter of Xuriel, daughter of Xuriel. Whilst on Earth we would tend to call her Xuriel the 4th, succubus tradition abbreviates it to XXXX.
Indeed. Thanks. : )
There is also the tradition in letter writing of adding X’s and O’s to represent kisses and hugs. So her collar reads 4 kisses, as befitting a succubus.
And thanks to you, I now have a song stuck in my head: “I’m Xuriel the fourth I am. Xuriel the fourth I am I am…..”
…. Or XXXX could be a reference to the land visited in Sir Terry Pratchett’s ‘The Last Continent.’
https://wiki.lspace.org/mediawiki/XXXX
(I LOVE the Discworld books, and have to say that The Last Continent’ is an absolutely first-class parody of Australia.)
So, on that basis, the four X’s coould signify the wearer as being a fan of (a) Pratchett, and (b) Australia.
I think the chick with the die cut looks like Jack from Mass Effect.That is all.
You are not alone. We all love Jack.
yes but do you know jack??
*purrs* I can go with that.
From one of John Ringo’s books (the Paladin of Shadows series – my guilty reading pleasure) I seem to remember that former SEALs don’t like to be called “ex-SEALs”. Because of ex-parrots, perhaps?
In the spirit of espirit de coprps, you don’t refer to former Marines as “ex” Marines either.
Once a Marine, always a Marine…Once a SEAL, always a SEAL…etc.
You’re only ex-SEAL or ex-Marine when you’re a total ass and have done some very bad.
The currently only ex-Marin is the dude who shot JFK.
Semper Fidelis (Semper Fi for the rest of you) – Always Faithfull, not faithful till the end of my contract.
I only call him an Ex-Seal because he’s doing something else now. I’m not sure what to call him though. Ex-Seal cum Arc Knight?
Formerly active, or just former.
“Former Seal” or “Inactive Seal”
This is an ex-seal.
I’m pretty sure of at least ONE SEAL that didn’t get clubbed for that…
As is this.
Being a Seal is like being President of the United States, you can never be less unless you do something bad enough to be removed from your post. Former presidents are still Mr. President. Former Seals are still Seals. An ex-Seal would be one who was either dishonorably discharged (he REALLY fucked up) or one who committed some kind of crime, and not a small one.
Or maybe they just get promoted to Walrus.
LOL.
If a SEAL can get promoted to Walrus, then EOD can get promoted to Eggman…which makes up half of the Fabulous Four.
And The doctor was the Fifth Beatle…
https://www.themarysue.com/doctor-who-the-beatles/
Seal Emeritus?
Ren’s Who’s Who is perfect.
He’s quite tall.
lol :)
Given that, and Anvil’s thought about Blue Hair along the lines of “Of course any guys taller than me are jerks,” either she’s taller than Ren or they haven’t met yet. Either way, now predicting a “Ren-vil” ship at some point. Tall, but more importantly nice.
So far, Blondie’s power seems to be the power of gender-confusion…. or maybe the ability to look like Link.
His most vicious power is to unleash Navi…
“Hey, listen!”
*twitch
I’m grabbing a jar.
I’ll plug in the bug zapper…
earplugs and butterfly net
Some guys have that problem. Of course superior species are not dependent on visual assessment alone. If you were better equipped, by evolution, you could just sniff each other’s butts to confirm gender!
I dunno… sniffing other people’s butts might get you put into an extra-long course with Arianna again for inappropriateness.
Mmm, not really my sort. But I am getting a bit long in the tooth to be picky. Ok, I will sniff her butt, if you insist that I must do so, in order to keep things appropriate.
Is that some kind of social hierarchical thing, amongst you bald apes? I guess she is one of the alpha females, in the Archon pack.
You canines don’t have a monopoly on that, ya’ know…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1181208/Trunk-disorderly-TV-stars-horror-cheeky-baby-elephant-attempts-lift-skirt.html
I accept that I am totally to blame for where this thread has gone and I apologize to the world.
https://sidekickgirl.net/abducted-heroes-vii/ skip to panel 5
At least in the Army, never, ever call it “a gun.” But yes, you do spend a lot of time learning about your weapon before you’re ever issued ammunition. Classroom lectures, then lots of taking it apart and putting it back together again, etc. Only after all that do you get to go to the range, and under close supervision, get a chance to learn to shoot it accurately.
It’s been a while, but if memory serves me right, I shot live ammo on the second day of basic training. Which is not to say there were no theoretical instructions first, but by no means did they take their time either.
Israeli army, infantry basic training. Circa 1992.
Shachar
Israel? That explains it. Israel has good reason to have as many armed and capable soldiers as possible, actually several good reasons. Hamas, Syria, Lebanon, and Libya all come to mind.
…Libya?
Ghaddafi duck used to be a major terrorist sponsor.
Calling it a weapon not a gun is mental training. The longer word actually makes it more important in your mind. Thus you treat it with more respect. You think gun, you think bang bang. You think weapon, you think deadly, something to harm or kill with.
I would imagine ‘firearm’ is also a popular alternative.
I favour “Wolfwhacker” myself.
Heh…
I have a friend, more of an acquaintance really, who was an embedded journalist in both US and Israeli units. He said the biggest difference between them was that when an Israeli unit would come under fire they would fire back for a good, solid 15 minutes in the general direction of the incoming fire. He was quite impressed. US units tended to fire back for a couple minutes and then move either in or around.
Well yeah. If you’re sitting still in a firefight someone’s taking a bead on you.
There used to be a cadence call.
‘This is my Rifle
this is my gun
This is for shooting
This is for fun.
Are Marines the only ones who do a week of “snapping in” anymore?
Oh man. Memories…
Seller Fi! : )
Semper, that’s Semper Fi. Damn auto-correct. :,(
He he. Way to loose street cred. I feel for you.
That’s curious, I wonder why. I get that it’s a weapon, but it’s is also a gun. “Gun” is just a kind of weapon.
Oh, no. Gun covers all kinds of weapons. People who use them know the difference. People who use “guns” or “gats” or whatever are just ignorant thugs. Uh, no offense. Just fyi.
I’m saying an axe, grenade, brass knuckles and Martin Riggs are weapons, but they’re not guns. Gun simply describes a sub category of weapons. It’s like a cow farmer saying he’s a mammal farmer and only amateurs refer to them as cows.
I have always figured the principle to be that the army discourages vagueness or possible ambiguity. Any term that covers a broad range of options, especially when dealing with something critical to survival, would be stomped on hard, and replaced with the specific name.
Even in casual usage, as a lax habit, of using a generic term, could end up with somebody bringing the wrong weapon for a situation. They will have complied with the order, but in having more than one option, could choose poorly.
Yup. Imagine a soldier carrying a submachine gun in hand, plus a sniper rifle slung over the shoulder and a pistol in a holster at the waist or under one arm (aka side-arm). Think of Peggy, for a good example, heading up to the roof of some building, festooned with ammo pouches full of clips for everything she’s carrying. They’re all guns, but the rifle is for long range, the burp gun is for clearing rooms, and the pistol is for close range. People like Syd, and maybe convict girl over there, talk about guns. People like Peggy and Shawn know their stuff, though. If I see them saying gun to anyone, I’ll suspect they’re joking or condescending. “Me want gun. Ugh!” Like that.
TheCrimsonF*cker
TheCrimsonF*cker
May 21, 2015 at 8:54 pm | Reply
Calling it a weapon not a gun is mental training. The longer word actually makes it more important in your mind. Thus you treat it with more respect. You think gun, you think bang bang. You think weapon, you think deadly, something to harm or kill with.
*singing*
TheCrimsonF*cker
TheCrimsonF*cker
Does whatever a TheCrimsonF*cker can…
Correction
Does whomever TheCrimsonF*cker can… :p
Spiderpig!
Spiderpig!
Does whateeveer a Spiderpig does!
Can he spin!
A big web!
No he can’t!
He’s a pig!
Look out!
Here comes the Spiderpig!
actually it is referred to as a rifle not gun or mere weapon unless you’re the one with the saw or an officer with a pistol.
Lol.
A lot of jargon doesn’t objectively make sense, and/or is overly picky. But it’s still the kind of thing a former SEAL or career military like Maxima would use, even if it’s only because that’s what they’re used to.
IIRC, in the Army or the Navy it’s only called a “gun” if it’s crew served.
When I went through Navy Basic, we only had about a 2 day course on sidearms. Using Colt M1911A1 with a .22 caliber conversion kit fired about 50 rounds, and then that was it. When I was on the submarine, besides the torpedoes and cruise missiles, we had a half-dozen M16s and M1911A1s. My assigned weapon during boarding drills was… wait for it… a Nightstick.
Then after I left the Navy, I joined the Army National Guard and ended up as the Tank Commander for an M60A3 tank, a .50 cal machine gun under my direct control, the 105mm cannon that I could either tell the Gunner to fire, or fire myself, and the 7.62mm machine gun that the Gunner could use. Probably not very many Tank Commanders who were Submarine Service qualified.
Then after doing that for a couple of years, I ended up as a REMF, driving a computer.
I think the issue here isn’t that they call them ‘weapons’ but that they call them by more specific terms- “Pistol” or “Rifle” or “SMG” or whatever. Being told “The enemy is armed with guns” when they’re really far away, you really want to know if those ‘guns’ are pistols, or long-range rifles.
…. Or battleship guns. :)
…… Orbital Bombardment Cannons. :P
You ordered a Kinetic Kill-sat?! I CAN MAKE YOU AN ORBITAL KILL-SAT!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!
Watch out for the WolfCo maintenance crew
Ordered?
I had my minions build them decades ago.
They get upgrades when needed.
You’re… not wrong. But you’re not really right either.
I guess it really depends on how much training and familiarization with the various types of weapon platforms you’ve had. Generally, Pistols, Rifles, Revolvers, Shotguns, ect. are referred by their particular type in the ‘sub catagory’ of weapons known as ‘guns’, out of respect for the weapon platform and because each type has their own unique quirks and traits, and require training for using each one, similar as they may be in basic traits.
It’s… it’s like calling a square a rectangle. You’re right, but at the same point, that rectangle sure as hell ain’t a square.
I know I’m replying to myself, but it’s similar to calling an Aircraft Carrier a ‘boat’. As stated, you’re not really wrong, as it’s a water going craft that holds items and people, but a Carrier is so much more and has it’s own special traits, which is why you call it a Ship or a Carrier, not a boat, as ‘boat’ generally works as a term for smaller water-going craft.
I dunno if I’m makin’ sense, but I hope I’m kinda helping.
Some examples…
Shoulder gun = rifle. (Except shotguns, which are called shotguns.)
Hand gun = pistol.
Crew served gun = field piece (artillery).
In the military, you have a sidearm/pistol, or a longarm/rifle/carbine. The ammunition is measured in millimeters or in percentage of an inch (i.e. caliber). A gun is mounted (either to the ground or to a vehicle), and its ammunition is measured in inches (e.g. 16-inch guns on the deck of a destroyer). There is crossover, but usually with numbers large enough that it’s pretty easy to distinguish (e.g. the 30mm Vulcan cannon on the A-10). The closest it gets to confusing is the Minigun, which fires 7.62mm ammo, the same as what is used by the M60 (technically a longarm).
Point of info: Largest gun mounted on a Destroyer is a 5 inch. 16 inch guns were mounted on Battleships.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OmOQs0ziSU
I think the British Tribal class and the French La Fantasque class destroyers had 6″ guns, and those were considered big guns, for destroyers.
Yeah, I’ve seen those 16″ guns on the Battleship Missouri during the RIMPAC ’90 exercises. Range=Over the Horizon…Light ’em up & the whole deck is covered in the discharge smoke…Each round of ammo weighs about the same as a Volkswagon Beetle.
Ah, memories…
Battleship Yamato 18.1 inch
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Yamato
Space Battleship Yamato: Wave Motion Gun
https://yamato.wikia.com/wiki/Yamato
was going to go there but thought I would be nice to you people.
Depends on Basic. USAF in 1989 we had a whole two hours of classroom before going to the shooting range. And most of that was “do not point the weapon any where but down range or we will shoot you.”
Which is kind of what the sign in the background of panel 5 is saying. Always treat the weapon as if it is loaded. Keep the barrel pointed in a safe direction. I added Italics for the parts of the sign we could not see.
Reminds me of a repeated line from an Australian movie that just predates me (which means it’s positively antediluvian to most here :-) )
“The gun’s always loaded, and the horse always kicks”
Truer words etc..
And Recoiless Rifles…Aren’t.
1. Treat Every weapon as if it were loaded.
2. Do not point your weapon at anything you do not intend to kill.
3. Keep your trigger finger straight and off the trigger until you are ready to fire.
4. Keep your weapon on safe until you are ready to fire.
Had this drilled into my head for over a month before we even went to the rifle range in Paris Island to begin training with weapons.
5. Know your target and what’s behind it.
What year? Company? MOS?
03′ Charlie 0311 for me.
’76 – ’80. HQ Co, First Marine Regiment, First Marine Division. 2512 and 2531.
Yeah USAF gets half a day on the M16 and then done. You want to be good with a rifle call a Marine.
This pretty much sums up my AF career.
https://www.ratatosk.nu/fun/strips/Flygning/Aircraft%20Maint.jpg
’76? Thanks for chasing off those pesky redcoats.
Whoops, I pulled a Boot and listed my boot camp company and enlistment date. Time to go haze myself.
My unit was 1st. Bn. 23rd. Marines Alpha Company. Served January 03′ to January 10′.
Semper!
The Devil loads the gun.
…Geeze, Blondie, androgynous much? Without the link I would never have recognized you.
And… wait, that’s Shawn? How is anyone suposed to recognize him without his hat?
How did you not? With that smirk…
Ohhh, yeah, the spikes are kind of surprising. Scroll down to cut them off, that’ll solve it.
Ren looks like the guy besides Blondie. Maybe he has Hair powers?
It’s the soul patch that makes them look similar. The shirtless guy is shorter, squatter, with a bigger head.
Ren doesn’t have those beetle brows, and his eyes curve up instead of down.
looks lik esydney is missing her collar on panel five. unless its hidden by her uniform?
I tend to forget it in side views.
Looks like there is a line across her neck where it would start though.
Basic Training was a blast. I spent most of my time working hard to not laugh my ass off at how the Drill Instructors said the most hilarious stuff.
So, the most basic theory goes like this:
-All guns are always loaded. (or at least you treat ’em as if)
-Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
-Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
-Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.
That’s Jeff Cooper’s rules, interesting guy btw.
Yup. The basic rules of gun safety. I have a friend who all my friends have agreed we will not allow to own a gun because he managed to shoot himself in the face with a nerf gun because he thought it was unloaded. Twice.
Heh. I had a project manager who, when his laser pointer was becoming intermittent due to dying batteries, decided to “check” it by holding the laser end about 4 inches from his eyeball and squeezing the activate trigger. I almost snatched that thing right out of his hands, but luckily for him it didn’t fire.
Depending on the class of the laser it’s possible that there was no risk. (class 1M and below is safe, and for 2M and below, the blink reflex protects you from damaging anything, usually…)
But it’s true that staring directly into a laserbeam isn’t the brighest idea.
I knew a hunter who managed to discharge an “empty” shotgun right into his fireplace when cleaning it.
And I know a guy who managed to put a rifle round (not sure what caliber) through his left hand while cleaning an “empty” rifle. To be fair, the gun started to fall and he grabbed for it, and that’s what set it off, so the accident was the result of reflexes and negligence, and not gross stupidity (like looking down the barrel to see if it’s loaded). To this day there are still pins in the bones of his hand, though some of them have actually migrated out. He’s lucky he regained full use of it.
It seems the unnamed girls are not very happy to see Sydney. It might be expected, given the spotlight that Sydney received in the extremely short time since she was recruited.
Shachar
One of the unnamed girls is a boy. And I think they are unhappy because they all ended up in the orientation training due to various attitude problems (same as Harem).
I doubt. During the press conference Maxima corrected Sydney that there are, in fact, other recruits. I’m guessing this is it.
If these are not it, where are they?
Shachar
In hiding.
BTW, if the instructor was in the room, during basic training, the recruits would not be just sitting around in any old way they like, yakking it up.
The instructor is over in the firing range, testing a handgun. See panel 2.
Yup. Forgot that little detail.
“Richards are nicknamed Dick, so figure that one out.”
First Richard I ever met acted like a real…um, you know. It didn’t take me long to figure that one out.
If we get to that media prep course,will it be likely that Sydney will sleep through it?
I’M hoping Sydney will find ways within that course to make Arianna HeadDesk several times, and maybe even cry.
Sorry. Didn’t mean to shout. :)
It’s OK. Jiggawatt is still hard of hearing.
Really curious about V girl’s power set. Also is it just the girls who have their superhero inital on their neck piece? Blonde guy and Ren don’t seem to have them. Do they not have super names yet?
On the page Dave linked we can see Math(ias) has a design on his neckband, though it too is a black band to begin with. Then again – none of the other guys on that page even have bands so who knows?
DaveB once said the broad personal collars don’t look good when drawn on a male’s usually wider neck. Math was the one exception that I know of, the rest of the male Archon field personnel gets a plain black collar.
Artistic license, I guess.
It’s just one of DaveB’s fetishes to have women wearing collars.
As to Maths wearing one . . . . . . You do the maths there.
WoG up page is that plain collar means they don’t have a codename yet.
There was some brief discussion of the men wearing torqs, but the idea seems to have gone to the wayside. More’s the pity, as I think it’s a good look.
The latter.
Achilles Super Hiro and Amorphous have them.
boy
no offense but i was nearly sure the blonde was a woman until the flashback hehe
I am just waiting for the first commentator who says “ooh I really fancy that blonde girl”. :-D
…not to put to fine a point on it, Yorp, but given your stated preferences in women’s appearance and figures, I kind of expected that comment to come from you.
If he has a twin sister, I would not say no, true enough. Unless she ended up with the butch looks. Mmm and she may be a super too, so would probably be over endowed.
Nope, on reflection, I will hold out for Sydney.
Maybe blonde guy should get the code name ‘Trap’. As in the cosplay term for a guy who is dressed up as a female character, and is doing it so well that guys try to hit on him.
That term is actually a derogatory slur against transgender women, by the way, as it reinforces the false idea that trans women are being purposely deceptive somehow in how they present their gender identity versus their physical sex.
Ooh I really fancy that blonde girl.
:-D
Kind of you to ‘take one for the team’. I hope it is a pleasure, rather than a burden to you.
Panel 1 is an accurate depiction of reactions from people when I round corners.
I mean panel 3.
I was going to say if that’s your reaction, maybe leave the gun at home?
Okay, let’s open a can of worms…
What gun for Halo? My personal fave would be something similar to Chiappa Rhino:
– revolvers are easier to learn than pistols
– big punch with very manageable recoil
– looks futuristic (and that’s the main thing!)
Similar?
Then go for the Mateba autorevolver.
It’s like the Rhino but it’s also semi-auto (yes, you read that right: semi-auto revolver)
Might not get a pass on the easy to learn though.
And I think a Walther PPQ would be a nice fit.
Any one light enough in caliber that it wont bounce off the inside of her shield?
Anything that is no a gun…pistol, rifle, weapon, not a gun….. Guns usually have a prefix like “Field” or “Anti Tank” or “Chain”
“This is my rifle. This is my gun. This one’s for business. This one’s for fun.”
Okay, I could have said “sidearm” but why limit Sydney?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun
With her lighthook she could carry around something that’s normally mounted.
Just give Sydney a BFG: Bigass Fu**ing Gun.
Oh wait! She already has the PPO!
Picture Sydney with Alucard’s Jackal from Hellsing.
16 kilograms, wasn’t it?
I can only picture her as having trouble lifting the thing up.
Unless she uses the lighthook, but that’s cheating :p
“I got that bitch a cannon. Bitches love cannons.”
I wonder if she could use the light hook to hold a field piece…
. . . Hello Hyconian cannon!
… She’s got the friggin’ PPO already. What the heck she need a friggin FIELD PEICE for?! I mean, heck, she broke up that fire dude pretty damn well with the Lighthook, and we haven’t seen full power for the PPO yet…
Just remember they really need to work on Sydney controlling HER weapon the PPO.
None. Almost no circumstance where her hands wouldn’t be better filled with 2 orbs, and you don’t want her having to drop or holster a pistol in order to get another orb in hand.
Good point.
A 9mm probably offers more range and moves faster than the lighthook, and is certainly less prone to collateral damage than the PPO.
If you’re working in the middle of a populated area you might prefer the weapon that doesn’t pierce through four buildings and starts fires in the process.
That being said, it’s likely that most of the time the shooting can be done by other members of the team. But it’s still a useful skill, specially if Sydney is alone and can’t wait for backup.
If she is fighting a werewolf, she may find that silver bullets are better.
Likewise with other specialist munitions. Not to mention the high-tech things like firing tracking devices or the ilk.
Well, she may need something which produces less collateral damage than the energy blast orb (as opposed to some people in the discussion, I’m aware I’m not hip enough to call it otherwise). Even Maxima wears a sidearm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp2aCtHRv48
Attach the trigger ring to her pinky and she may still be able to simply twist her hand far enough to get the require amount of skin contact with an orb.
One issued by the Weapon Shops of Ishar. Sydney already has enough ways of accidentally killing the wrong people. It would be nice for her to have something that prevented ‘friendly fire’.
Sydney has shown a fondness for spearguns https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/554
There have have been some good points about her being better equipped with orbs but if she needs to be armed with something to give her more options what about a dart gun or maybe a tazer?
Maybe they could twist Dabbler’s arm to make a non-lethal handgun. Like the “I.C.E.R.s” from “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”, except, different…
Such as her tickle gun?
A device she probably created in order to punish anybody who persists in pestering her to share her toys with them!
I’d say some sort of gas gun with a wide range of techy rounds (tracers, tazers, gas, spy camera, etc).
Suck GAS evil doers!
I can’t wait to see NegaHalo.
still say splat gun from the rachel morgan hollows series “sleepy time suckers” options for paralytic or incendiary available with permit glue and itching available at the corner spell shop. specialty charms and curses contact vampiric charms ltm.
Actually, the Richard/Dick abbreviation does have some basis in logic. It comes from a fad for rhyming nicknames; Richard became both Rick and Dick. Robert shortening to Bob has the same origin, to rhyme with Rob.
So is that also how William became Bill? Thanks, never knew this.
Willy Billy
I knew twins in grade school named Willy and Billy.
No no, “Kate” is short for “Bob”.
I don’t even need to follow the link and I’m laughing.
Thanks gor reminding me of this.
Peg is a nickname for Margret. Jack == John.
I worked with a Vietnamese guy who had an uncle Tony, then when he had a kid, named the kid Anthony. I asked him if he named the kid after his uncle, and he didn’t know that Tony was a nickname for Anthony.
‘Bert’ is also short for Robert, just ask Ernie :P
So, what’s with the feathers in Rainbow Bright’s hair? Is she a Native American?
Or some hippie trying to hide her roach clip?
*eye twitch*
Might be just a hair tie. Her hair is quite long and it would help to keep it out of her eyes.
Not trying to racial profile Ren here, but it looks like Kenya could have someone to date who won’t spend the whole evening having to stare into her cleavage. (not that that’s a bad thing)
And for the rest of this training session I vote the group gives Sydney the temporary nickname of Stimpy.
Depends, if he is actually taller than her he could stare down into her top quite covertly.
All we have so far is that they are both tall and of similar coloration. Kind of a limited basis for a match.
Well Kenya has commented (to paraphrase) “Typical the one guy big enough that he does not have to look up at me, and he turns out to be a villain!”
So she has expressed that, for her, size does matter. As such it is rather pertinent, given that guys her size will be very few and far between!
If they do ever start dating and it gets noticed by the tabloids, their celebrity couple name could be ‘Renya’.
Or, seeing how his name is actually ‘Richard’: Kenyard
And the list shall grow.
So wait, the last of the guys on the shirt yoink page is not Ren? Here’s me thinking they are the same person. I look forward to meeting him too, then.
Note that some of the guys in the “yoink” page are decidedly not happy. The guy between Harem and Jiggawatt is on that list.
That was my first thought too they both have that soul patch thing and the rest (except hair) could be excused by art improvements.
Too short though?
Sydney asking that question about the conference could go 2 ways. Notice how the 2 new recruits in the last panel who were not there are glaring at Sydney.
Either this will tick them off, reminding them, or let them know she had no idea what was happening
Mmm, it does not look like Sydney is the flavour of the day. Either that or she is getting to meet the Surly Squad. And surely an interesting look for Shirley, the Suicide Girl of the Surly Squad.
I’m guessing it’s more a matter of being “back in school”. Harem’s sulking because she’s essentially getting disciplined. Blondie just looks bored.
The “new girl” looks a like she’s going for something along the lines of a “tribal” look (that tattoo and the feathers just visible over her right shoulder). Her expression doesn’t quite seem hostile. From the psychedelic choker it looks like she has a “V” so it’s possible her codename begins with a V?
She’s pulling a Kitty Pryde.
Back in the 80s she’d always throw a tantrum when Xavier would even SUGGEST that she be placed with the New Mutants ( X-Babies as she called them ) instead of the X-Men.
Perhaps it’s more about what Maxima was talking about at the press conference. If you’re a super, there’s a good chance you’ve never met another super, which could lead you to believe you’re the most powerful being around. Suddenly being thrown into a larger pool with larger fish can be a bit disorienting. I’d expect a lot of them to throw attitude at each other until they get their egos back in check. It’s a recognized phenomenon at the Air Force Academy, where EVERYBODY is a valedictorian AND captain of multiple sports teams AND politically connected AND scored near perfectly on their entrance exams… throw those guys into a room together, and expect some “fronting” until they recognize their place in the pecking order
Heh, I would imagine it gets harder to feel REALLY superior when its like, “Oh yeah? Your lifetime gpa is 3.9997, where MINE is 3.99985!”
I want to see Harem’s face when Sydney tells her about how she has beaten Harem’s “Bursting into closed door meetings in a highly inappropriate manner” record by several orders of magnitude
Sydney would be wise not to boast about that. It is unlikely that the others present in that room will be wanting the incident promoted. And the only other person, who may do it, is the guy who was guarding the room. I suspect anyone, entrusted with such a job, will be picked from the ranks of people who do not engage in idle gossip.
So Sydney might not be doing herself any favours, if she did bring it up. At least not at the present time, whilst punishment is still pending.
Agreed. Best if Sydney just lets that one die a quiet death.
I wasn’t aware auditing basic was even an option o.O
Given Harem’s ….. shenaninigans at both the bank AND the press conference, I’m guessing Max created the job especially for her.
Just realize this is not her second run thru.
It is her 3rd+.
Because she said she is doing it again.
I do find it a very odd term. Is it some kind of Americanism or military jargon, that I am not familiar with? Because if she is ‘conducting an audit’ in the normal sense, she should be stocktaking the equipment and doing some bookkeeping. Not hanging around with the recruits for re-training.
In American universities, you can “audit” a class by just showing up, but not signing up for it. You don’t get graded or take tests. Sometimes, you do this for a class you already took, for a refresher.
This works for the bigger classes, mostly. For a smaller class you need the professor’s permission, so you aren’t a disruptive element.
Ahh, gotcha. Thanks.
Wiktionary agrees. It’s good to learn a new word (or meaning) every day, even though I’m aged considerably more than 13¾.
Gotta admit I was surprised to see jiggawatt there. At first I thought SHE was the instructor. I mean, when she got called in, I got the feeling she was pretty high end, and she really didnt seem like a new recruit when she was signing at hiro for his dumb hand sign. Sure Archon is pretty laid back on discipline for the most part, but then again, so is the air force, and there is no way in HELL I would say, sign, or in any other way infer the words “fucking DOY!” at the actual officers as a damn trainee.
High end powers. So like a slightly more trained Halo. Since they didn’t tell Halo to fly away because she hadn’t begun training, it makes sense they might call on JW even though she hadn’t finished.
Yeah I suppose, though there is a difference between letting the powerful recruit who is already there stay put (though at first it was mainly, shield up and hunker down, then it was, dont get in the way and do what you can to help) and something else to actually call in a trainee for backup. I get that her powers were a huge asset so its not like it doesnt make sense, but I was just surprised to find out she was a trainee and not a full member.
I recognized the SEAL. I said to myself “Hey that’s the SEAL” though I didn’t recall his name. I think it’s his expression of glee while gun fondling that makes him memorable
*nods*
I don’t think the newbies are glaring at Sydney. I think it’s more like trying to get her measure. In one day she went from possible recruit to major asset and I’m sure like any workplace the rumors about her were thick thick as a New England fog. They probably were just asking Harem and Jiggawatt about her and she just walks in without seeing them.
I’m getting more of a ‘out of the group’ vibe. Sydney, Harem and Jigawatt all participated in the big battle. None of them have anything to prove to each other, all of them know they can work together well. The other two probably feel left out (and a little defensive) that they didn’t get that chance. I’m pretty sure if I was in a class of five recruits, three of which had already participated in an actual operation (including one MUCH newer than me) that I’d be a bit defensive and feeling the need to justify myself as well.
Agreed, they have likely been together (for the most part, harem might be new) for awhile now. No telling how long. They gotta size up the new girl, I just hope that with jiggawatt and harem there, sydney wont feel an urge to go all superior acting around them and get slapped down for it.
Noting too, all they have to go by regarding Sydney are the You-Tubes from the bank job, her performance at the press conference and, presumably, in-house talk about her part in the Big Fight the night before.
The first two set her out as being, put as nicely as possible, both erratic and eccentric. The last marks her as being a Heavy Hitter. Kind of mixed signals there. At the very least, ‘Approach With Caution’ seems a reasonable first reaction.
Kinda looks to me like they entered while she was distracted by the seal fondling the pistol