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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So cool! My favorite flavor of Harem (Co-ed gets the class time, of course) and Jiggawatt to keep Syd company. Excellent!
Not impressed by scowly new girl. Is that her impression of a convict, or what?
Which one? side-cut or the power-puff pretty in pink crossed-arms princess in the middle?
Blondy is a guy apparently, he’d make a dead sexy chick though.
Lofl.
I didin’t even notice that Blondy is a guy before I read that comment
You sure blondie is a guy? I mean I know that there’s a distinct lack of huge boobage, but so far all of the powered guys seem to be huge in physique.
And if the person isn’t powered per se, it could still be a girl without the huge boobs just like Sydney.
Follow the link in the author’s blog above. You get to see the individual naked from the waste up. Which should help you in your gender assessment.
Yeah, no. Blondie looks so femme here that I didn’t even consider that it could be a guy. I looked at the other page, saw the scowly blond guy, and decided the blond girl wasn’t there.
My headcanon says Shapeshifting
Nah, they’ve already got Mr. Amorphous for that. Blondie is too skinny to be a brick, so I’m guessing energy projector.
Could be speed
Possibly. But that has already been done. And DaveB feels that speed is overpowered, so I doubt that a pre-existing member of the squad would have that. Beyond the ones we already know of, that is. Such as Maxima and Math.
Plus remember the clue that Dave dropped about Jiggawatt being the only member (amongst these individuals) who could reach the fight in time.
If he is a super-speeder, he is not a high ranked one.
Doesn’t have to be foot speed, fastest human punch is 45mph.
have blondi doing 60-70 mph with corresponding boost in reflexes.
No reason they can’t have more than one Shifter in the team – they already have multiple Bricks.
And there’s no reason Blondy can’t be Brick-ish either. Most Bricks we’ve seen so far are seriously muscled-up, but that doesn’t mean all Bricks HAVE to be so.
They drew him even tinier here than before. Quadrupling the chick effect with every lost centimeter. He’s thinner/less muscly as well. Even his head has been drawn smaller than the girls around him.
Unless that’s his power. That would be fun. The Incredible Shrinking Bishy.
Wasn’t that a manga?
That’s Abbey, not ‘Co-ed’ :P (named her ‘Abbey’ because she seems ‘scientist-y’ more than ‘schoolgirl’, and named her in honour of Abbey from ‘NCIS’)
Oh, that’s a good idea. Easy to remember. Thanks! : )
Have a full list for the Harem’s: (just remember, they are all technically ‘Daphne’, this is just used to reference a particular ‘model’)
Pink:- Berry (as in ‘Strawberry Blonde’)
Goth:- Gothamer (alternate is “Gothette”, but not too fussed with that one)
Blonde:- Blondini
Punk:- Bodie (Bow {as in a ribbon} +die, came about when discussing suitable ‘warrior’ names and liked the name “Boadicea”)
White:- Abbey
I suspect- with the haircut, tattoo, and rainbow colored accessories, that’s a lesbian, not a prison convict.
Could be. Then again I know 1 straight married woman with children who looks like that.
That rainbow accessory is her issued choker.
Personal fashion choices are not always a clear indicator of such things.
Coach Boomer: “SIDE-KICK!”
Actually thought that the x seal was the invincible dude. Would make sense to have him as the instructor to take on the new powers, but I’m sure an x seal would make a better instructor, though he might not be able to deal with powers
No, Les is not Shawn (Sean?)
Not sure if Sean (Shawn?) is the instructor, or also a new recruit (recruit, not rookie seeing how he is a, well, a ‘transfer’ from the SEALs, or maybe brought out of retirement)
Shawn, rhymes with Dawn. That’s how I remember it. : )
Either way you spell it, if you’re Irish/around that area, it’s pronounced the same anyway. *shrug* Not sure where the “seen” pronunciation came from; probably phonetic, then wound up sticking, like the alternative spelling (with the h-a-w). n__n;
I’ve heard Sean pronounced-
Sea-n
Sheen
She-an
Se-own
She-own
Of course that’s not the worst I’ve heard, I’ve got a co-worker that’s slightly hard of hearing that drops the ends of her words. I’ve heard her call for Crai- when she meant-
Craig
Greg
Chris
Gwen
As well as others.
How Gwen ended up sounding like Crai- I have NO idea but I have witnesses that agree with me.
Shane
Shawn
Sean
Shaun
Seon
All of these have the same meaning (God has favored) and are Irish in origin.
Xion?
Siobhan – God is gracious
Pronounced shi-VAUN, go figure.
Anyone else think the model on the left look like Jack from Mass Effect 3? I bit ‘Healthier’ in the chest but it kinda looks like her face and of course her hair.
Brian McLean
There’s definitely some influence from ME3 Jack there, I’d wager – that hairstyle is pretty damn uncommon, and she’s the only one I’ve ever seen sporting it besides Jack herself, in recent memory.
Yes. I would say you stole my theory here, but you posted first. :)
Though I do wonder how a rainbow colored V fits with her name. We’ll see.
Uncommon? at least two ladies I work with have that haircut. And it is not some bike co-op. We sew costumes.
Is Jiggawatt yelling “Hi Sydney!” to get her attention, or is she still a little deaf from last night’s super-brawl?
Yes.
Poor Harem. Is this the military equivilent of summer school for her?
This strip made me think of what the other ARC members were like back in ‘basic’. The way Brooke/Heatwave has been written I can’t help but think that when the instructor said “Today we will be covering firearms training” Brook raised her hand and said “But I already know how to shoot fire from my arms.”
Yep. can totally see that one happening.
For HW’s sake, one can only hope that her instructor was extra-patient AND had a sense of humour.
Im calling it now, funny haircut girl has werewolf type powers. Some sort of animal shape change ability. Why? Call it a hunch, her muscly arms, and the look on her face makes me think physical powers and she kinda looks a little animalistic expression-wise.
She is wearing a feathered accessory, which would support your hypothesis. And give a clue as to the nature of her shape-changing.
Clearly a dinosaur.
V for Velociraptor
I like the way you think.
Sign on the wall:
237412500000 days without a velociraptor related incident.A sign like that could very well also be posted in Dr. McNinja’s office…
I watched “Jurassic City” last night. They needed that sign, big-time!
Do we finally have a finalist for Arc-Bark?
You don’t see that many fella’s wearing the collar-communicator thingy…
but more importantly..
Who’s the (saying “Girl” or “Chick” would be bad for my health I think… whats the right word here?) with the awesome sidecut look and what’s that in here hair on the left? Feather? lightning-bolt theme?
Yes. They look like feathers… White, Red, and White. This only adds to my Jack from Mass Effect theory, as those are the colors (and in that order) that the N7 armor has on the right arm.
I’m going with “Valkyrie”, or “Val” for short.
I thought that bullet grouping looked… odd. Until I gave it a second look and realized the chest shots were in a heart shape.
On an entirely different note, oddity noted among the recruits.
Two of them have a black, featureless choker. The third (Whom I shall call Alex from Mass Effect) has a rainbow transition choker with a V on it. Halo obviously has her H and loop.
Does accomplishment = choker?, or do they just not have names picked out?
Jiggawart is… in the new recruit uniform. Was only she called into the steakhouse superfight because she was the only one who could get there fast enough to matter?
Many questions. Hopefully some will be answered on the next page.
Re: Bullet group. Yeah I was going to be all snarky and like “terrible grouping for a SEAL!”, but then realized he was making a Valentine day card or something. So… pass.
AH! Mistake Alex is wrong! It’s Jack from mass effect.
(Obligatory regret of edit feature)
Actually you can find at least one of them, on the previous page (of comments).
“so it’s a fair bet no one will hand her a loaded gun today.”
I think it is a fair bet, that no one will hand Sydney a loaded gun ever.
Thing is, this is supposed to be a jokey exaggeration, but I honestly cannot tell how much it exaggerates.
To be 100% accurate in training & later during practice they NEVER hand you a loaded gun. They hand you an unloaded gun and a mag, sometimes an unloaded gun, unloaded mag, and a box of rounds.
no one will probably hand her ANY gun today.
considering the versatility of the PPO they probably focus on controlling the burst until it is equal to a bullit. Since the PPO is more accurate (true line-of-sight, no windage or drop), uses no ammo, doesn’t need reloading, and you can change “caliber” at will it should serve her much better than a gun.
Currently though she only has two settings. “Burn the forest down” and “Melt the tank”. Just in case she might need to shoot a hostage taker, she probably will appreciate having an extra option.
And do not forget that the PPO resists being used easily. If time is critical a gun might be preferable.
Although, for most purposes, the tentacle will be much more useful. Being a less-lethal option. But it is always best not to be over-reliant on one system. It is pretty safe that villains will seek to find a way to negate an enemy’s powers.
A strong net, or sack, would do the trick for the orbs, for example. If Halo is caught unawares, they could all be scooped up, cutting her off from her powers. Providing the holder was strong enough to resist their movement, and/or ignore any punching attacks they made, she would have no super powers.
And would be unable to move more than a few yards from the captor.
At that moment, having the option of whipping out a gun would be useful. If only to shoot a hole, for her orbs to escape.
I think that is just a training and experience thing. As she uses it she will get faster and faster at mentally jumping over the “safety’s” hurdle.
Though they would only have to resort to that if she’s wearing her armor plus a helmet with good coverage. I hope everyone with armor remembers their helmet in this series… (it always looks idiotic for fully armored folk to run around all the time without their helmets on in combat)
Worse the captor in your scenario would be encouraged to off her so they could move away from her body safely. (and of course get her powers)
Somebody, with that in mind, would not have undertaken the tricky procedure, of attempting to net her orbs, in the first place. They would have simply killed her.
That would require catching her with her shield down, of course. However so would the netting option. So either would only be viable under the same circumstances. Of the two though, killing her would be the easier to achieve.
But the lethal route would be neither helped, nor hindered, by Halo carrying a firearm. If they are seeking to steal the orbs, they already know that she is armed with a deadly weapon. So would not be making them more likely to choose to kill her pre-emptively, by carrying a less destructive weapon too.
If she is wearing decent armor plus helmet (especially if it covers all the bases like some of the suggestions last comic in the comments) I just thought someone might take an attack of opportunity to separate her from some of her orbs (assuming she didn’t have her shield up for a second which happens) but since you can’t take the orbs with you and can’t leave the area you now have to finish off the threat. ‘Cept with a gun holdout she would then always be a certain level of danger to approach no matter how many or what manner of orbs you scooped into a bag.
But yeah, its a pretty specific situation where that’s gonna matter. At least vs. supers who don’t mind killing you in the first place.
a hand gun for syd is not a bad idea. Right now her primary weapon is the light hook from what we have seen that maybe 20 feetish range. and more of a melee attack. I don’t even want to think about hitting something Human like with the PPO..
Of course that assuming she had make the shield let the bullet out.
A shield that lets you shoot out of it but stop bullets from coming in? TOO OP’! PLZ NERF
Her shield blocked V’s aura (and Harems’ teleporting), so I’m guessing firing a gun from inside would be noisy and useless unless her target was also inside the shield.
To be fair, her orbs don’t reach inside the shield either. She took out shadow boxer with the sheer force of her massive balls, but it might be a good idea to have a gun for anyone that gets inside her shield before she raises it. It wouldn’t hurt to have a slightly less lethal (read: doesn’t cause collateral damage) ranged weapon than her PPO. Remember how Maxima said “assume you will miss and hit the object behind your target (paraphrased)”? With most targets, the PPO can hit the target and STILL pierce through to blow up everything behind it. It’s terrifyingly lethal, unless she can find an intensity setting for the ball.
I don’t know. Everyone needs to know how to handle a gun so they know how to safely clear one. But in the field she needs her hands free to use the balls.
As others have pointed out, there MAY be times when her orbs are not the best option, or not an option at all.
Given what she is joining, some BASIC weapons training can only be helpful – knowing their limitations and safe usage benefits all. Think of it as like joining the Navy, and being expected to know how to swim even if you may be in shore jobs most of the time.
Syhd’s light hook has a range much greater than 20 ft.
It can extend for at least thousands of feet with exquisite control.
Ahh, but only when using cartoon physics. Without the cute Roadrunner impersonation, Halo could never have pulled that off!
But, but, this is a cartoon.
But a cartoon of real people. DaveB just uses the comic as his medium, for his role as a biographer. I can’t wait for reporting restrictions to be lifted, so that we can all get to see them in person.
*waves to Sydney*
Villains have good cause to feel fear if Sydney threatens to “go LoonyToons” on them…
Greater than 20 ft certainly but she may have caught up to Anvil fairly quickly. I don’t think it took thousands of feet anyway.
I agree with you. But can see how the impression was formed. If you look at the page linked, it can be interpreted as Anvil being higher than the clouds in the sky. Further reinforced by her dialogue, indicating how long it will take to come back down.
But I read it as her still being pretty low (perhaps just over 20 feet, as you say), and the clouds are simply in the distance. It is simply perspective at work. You can achieve the same effect, standing on the ground, by holding your hand above a cloud you are looking at. Although you can pretend that your fingers are walking on the cloud, that is not the actual situation.
Anvils comment meanwhile would just indicate that she knows it will take her a long time to complete the ballistic trajectory she is on. Especially as she is so near the start of it. She has not even got near to the top of the arc yet, before she can begin to fall back down.
That said though, such is simply my interpretation. As such TheSkulker‘s comment could possibly be correct. If amended from
to
I heartily disagree. With Sydney’s weird reflexes and attack methods, a lethal weapon is not for her hands. Non-lethal. That is what you give to Sydney until she has proven, over a significant period of time (like a year) that she has a handle on her reactions under stress.
+1
It’s a thing she will have to deal with in training AND in the field very early on.
Plus, one way to cultivate focus, self-discipline and control is via careful training in things that basically DEMAND these things. Why do you think most, if not all, martial arts place such emphasis on that?
I’m going to disagree with that, as under that rule, and given her tendencies for exaggerated movement/reactions, a bloody -pencil- could be a lethal weapon. n_n;
(And if it’s bloody, its probably already been used as such. ;) )
Actually, a pencil *can* be a lethal weapon, though it usually requires pinpoint accuracy. Hold the eraser in the palm of your hand, and let the point extend between your index and middle fingers. Then, throw an uppercut. Here’s where the pinpoint accuracy comes in: You want it to go through the soft tissue under the jaw, through the soft palate, and into the brain. (Don’t ask how I know that.)
On the gun thing: They might hand her a gun after a safety brief. You dont want to aggravate or generate a flinch by making too big a deal of things. You tell her how to load, unload and safe, to keep it pointed down range, and if she wastes a bunch of ammo hitting nothing, its a better start than being all shakey because someone overhyped guns at you… And making her play catchup saves the instructor time.
Proficiency is practice practice practice with someone there to note your bad habits and make you adjust to fix em. All the book learning you could want can come after, when you are cleaning the guns anyway…
I reckon all gun lessons should start with bb guns. There is always one idiot who turns around with his gun to ask how to turn the safety off.
There is always that one idiot. In a small class, you have everyone shoot their first time alone, and stand behind them so you can intercept. In the military, I imagine they just yell really loud… Im reminded of a scene in Heartbreak Ridge actually.
Don’t forget the reminders that “If Jake the Snake is in the hole JAKE will tell you to GET THE HELL OUT OF HIS HOLE!!!”- Overheard at Fort Benning
Truth! Found a snake or two in Benning foxholes on occasion. It is like sitting to take a dump, look first, look second, then sit.
You spelt the last word wrong.
+1
Well, if you do your word, before you do my word, then there will be consequences. Just sayin’.
Question: Isn’t giving Sydney a gun rather like giving a trained marine a set of Roman armour, complete with tower shield, pilum and gladius? Given that all evidence seems to show her shield is a two way block and the PPO is better than any hand gun, in what case is giving Sydney a gun anything less than making her MORE vulnerable and LESS dangerous?
There is training her on gun use, and then there is insisting she use one. Training is never bad, and for military, consistency of training (“everyone knows what to do with these weapons”) is important. She may never get issued a gun, as you point out, but she should know what to do with em.
That, or you can take the Dr. Doom approach. That mauser on his hip is for dealing with trivial scum unworthy of his armor or magic. In Syndey’s case, maybe you want the gun for when you dont want to cut a tank in half “like butta”. :)
As a US cop, weapons training is vital. If for nothing else than knowing how to handle them safely, when disarming criminals.
It is also worth noting that even Maxima wears a side-arm. So it may just be considered as part of the regular equipment. Even if that is just for public expectation purposes.
But there are good uses for them, even with a powerful hero.
PROSECUTOR: So, Ms Scoville, after you held up your ‘Christmas tree ornament’ and demanded that the deceased “Halt or I fire!”, were you genuinely surprised, that he did not take your comment to be a credible threat?
I like to call those kinds of things “death by misadventure.” Sure, you thought the girl in the ARC uniform was holding up a “Christmas tree ornament” instead of a lethal weapon, but you decided to go on doing something which justified her shooting you with the PPO anyway. Death by misadventure.
Real life story: A kid/young man is stealing a person’s car in broad daylight, and right in front of him. That person pulls their pistol and, while running alongside the car, shoots and kills the kid. It’s always a shame when some kid dies, but unless you are a homeowner your vehicle is probably your most valuable possession, and carrying insurance is in no way a guarantee that you’ll not suffer a devastating financial loss. You have, in some states, every right to protect your property with lethal force. The kid died by misadventure. If he hadn’t been committing a crime, he’d still be alive.
An excellent example of this sort of thing is to be found in one of my favourite books, ‘Snow Crash’ bt Neal Stephenson.
One of the central characters, Hiro Protagonist (yes, that really is his name!) works as a pizza delivery guy for The Mafia. Part of his issued equipment is a gun for self-defense. Trouble is that this weapon is a teeny-weeny, very stylish-looking object with zero intimidation factor and that absolutely NOBODY takes seriously upon seeing it (like the ‘Noisy Cricket’ gun in ‘Men In Black’, I imagine). Packs an impressive wallop, but just drawing the thing is never enough to make people back off and/or think twice.
So, instead of that weapon, Hiro routinely carries a samurai sword slung across his back. It’s highly visible and, as put in the book, “Swords need no explanation”.
Yeah, love that book myself. And I can see that pointing a gun at someone is going to be more threatening than holding an orb (until word gets out what that orb can do anyway), but everything we know actually firing a gun with intent to wound/kill will require her to drop her shield and become vulnerable. Why not use shield + flight to close the distance (400mph rush should be effective), then shield +
molestorblighthook to immobilize? No threat to Sydney, and one perp down with non-lethal force.Probably going to require a lot of training before that kind of stunt is doable. Or even safe.
I mean, 400 mph rush!?!?!?! What are you thinking? Unless both rush-er and rush-ee are PHENOMENALLY tough, ANY collision at that speed is not merely going to hurt someone, it is going to break multiple large bones and probably even kill. Messily.
which is why davem said restrain with molestorb not slam into them
“….Why not use shield + flight to close the distance (400mph rush should be effective) THEN shield + molestorb lighthook to immobilize?…”
I stand by what I said. Doesn’t matter how you want to slice it, ANY manuever involving closing at 400 mph is hugely dangerous.
You are implying that Sydney doesn’t know how to accelerate and decelerate, and that isn’t something we’ve seen her fumble yet. So stand by what you said all you want, you’ve got nothing in the canon which supports your statement.
Although both sides have merit, I would tend to agree with 7thsealord. 400 mph is fine in clear skies, but a very different prospect in close quarters.
However, I find the whole issue to be a moot point. DaveM made a very worthy suggestion and simply overplayed it by putting a number on the speed. The basic premise is otherwise extremely workable.
Although, to be strictly fair, it was more that it was poorly phrased. Clearly the intent was to say that “Halo has the capability of flying at up to 400 mph, so can easily close the distance”.
The fact that she would need to balance the speed, with her control and other safety considerations, like allowing time to decelerate, and leaving a margin for error, could remain unspoken, but implied.
For info I do agree with you that Halo has very fine control with her orbs. Look at the trajectory taken with the two orbs, which crushed Shadow Boxer’s dangly bits. Likewise being able to write with the tentacle orb.
But, where she is lacking is reflex speed. Unlike Maxima Sydney is actually just a normal human, and cannot see and grab a bullet speeding towards her face.
So, in judging how capable Sydney would be, I just have to visualise myself driving a car at 100 mph towards someone. And decide if I can reliably stop it before it bumps into them. Which I would not consider myself safe in trying, even under controlled conditions.
But Sydney does have very fine control, so that would not be as unreasonable a prospect.
Then up it to 200 and picture the scene again. This is at formula one kind of speeds, so is doable, but starts to get frightening, if you do your visualisation realistically.
At 300 mph it starts to break down. Sure we have seen footage of cars, on drag courses, and the like, but trying to judge the correct moment to stop, to avoid hitting something you are heading straight at?
And 400 mph is breaking the sound barrier. That is just something we don’t get to do at ground height. Not without being on a vast expanse of very flat desert, and having a team of volunteers going over every step looking for loose stones or other debris.
Super speeders, with all the necessary secondary powers, such as super reflexes, improved thought processing speeds, and so on, can handle that. Us normal people? The villain would be a smear on Halo’s shield.
@Yorp: Sorry, but 400 mph is not even close to breaking the sound barrier. In dry air at 68 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s around 768 mph. As the air gets colder, the speed of sound drops, so at about 35,000 feet (the approximate cruising altitude of an airliner), the speed of sound is only about 660 mph.
Sorry. As a former Air Force pilot, I had to call you on that.
Oops. Duly noted. I wonder why I had the wrong figure in mind?
Still I stand by the rest of the comment, even with that error.
Now taking bets on how long after they hand Sydney any military rifle for her to quote “Say hello to my little friend!”.
Hmm, this makes me honestly wonder how the trainee system works. I mean, in the military, there are always enough recruits coming in to form full training groups with minor delays for some at most. But there arent that many supers out there to join archon, so I am picturing something along the lines of author Mercedes Lackey and her Valdemar series. Herald students get chosen and come to the capitol to learn, but they are being chosen all the time, and are at all sorts of random levels of education since its everything from farm girls to noblemen, so when they arrive they get tested on their current level of knowledge, then slapped into a current class for each subject that more or less matches where they are in that area. Its also setup so you can join in at any point and still get the full course knowledge before you leave it. Like history, say you join history class at the time of the american civil war. You would stay with the class till it reaches current times, then it resets back to sumeria and you stay till they reach the civil war again.
Basically, im trying to get at that there might be one of the people in this group who has been there longer than the rest and everyone else has joined in at various points, so sydney would technically still be in training when everyone else graduates one by one.
On a side note – nice close up of the shoulder patch.
Me: “I don’t know why guys say they’d wanna date Sydney. She’s such a spaz…”
(Sees how short she is next to Ren.)
Me: ♥_♥
Some of us like spazzes. I liked the hyper brunette in “Real Genius”.
You mean Jordan? Yeah, she was fun. Did you know that she was the direct inspiration for the character of Gadget Hackwrench?
Shut up! Really? That’s, wow. Mind = BLOWN!
Rescue Rangers. One of Disney’s better cartoons.
Wow. Sydney was startled and didn’t instinctively start throwing punches? She’s already showing signs of improvement!
What’s that collar most of them are wearing?
A decorative identifier, which conceals the fact that it is packed full of electronics. Including communicator, IFF (Identify Friend or Foe) transponder and more. Once they get assigned their call-sign, they get a personalised version. Such as the one Halo was issued.
Anybody who does not have a call-sign yet, has to make do with the default black one.
Guys with chunky necks may opt to use a torque version instead. Or use a pip-boy, such as the one Sydney has on her arm.
Yes, you do learn how to use your weapon in basic training.
For three days.
Monday through Wednesday, you are instructed in the proper methods to shoot a rifle: Standing, sitting and prone. Thursday, you do preliminary qualifications just to see how you need to improve. Friday you do qualifications.
The rest of basic training is marching with those 8-lbs. rifles.
Of course, then there’s actual combat training, which is another month and a half of “Here is what combat is like and how EASY it is to use these weapons in a fight. SO BE CAREFUL NOT TO SHOOT YOUR BUDDIES!”
When I went through boot in the Navy (1981). The only firearm training I recived was how to disassemble and reassemble a 1911A1 .45 pistol. The range was being worked on so there was no live fire. Of course I was and still am a firearm enthusiast so shooting is second nature to me.
That last panel, it looks like Syd and Blondie are mirror image-ish. Does that signify something, one of those tropes?
Sydney is a tomboy, a girl who behaves like a boy. Blondie is just a boy who looks like a girl.
I have a new theory on his appearance change since the shirt incident yesterday. When he was getting ready for work today he found out his water heater was out and he could only shower with COLD water.
If you don’t get the reference I will give you a hint. But only “1/2” of one.
Interesting.
You don’t have to rannma it home like that. Subtlety is 1/2 the battle.
You don’t have to ranm a reference home like that. Subtlety is 1/2 the battle.
Come on, man. Just who do Jusenkyo are dealing with here?
I think he is panda-ing to the correct audience with that one.
*singing*
Ranma we love you, Ranma we do.
*hesitates*
I am confused, does this mean we can fancy her and still be macho straight guys?
Yes you can be a “Macho Macho Man”
You can also be a ‘Randy Savage’ if you so desire :p
that would tendo to cause grievous blunt force trauma.
Was actually referring to Randy “Macho Man” Savage
which would offend akane tendo into hitting (sure half the impacts would be on ranma but he can take an eighty Kg mallet or a mailbox to the head and be fine five seconds later others not so much)
making a cat-fist of it at least
“Maxima knows I have a persistent discipline problem, so she’s making one of me audit basic again.”
fify Harem
Why doesn’t anyone have name tape on?
Also, how is rank signified indicated on the “afd”?
And I see people are already wearing the C&Ts(camo trousers and t shirt) variant.
What is the hair standard, because I’m seeing a wide variety, yet I haven’t Seen any beards, but ren is sporting a very prominent soul patch.
Because it is very painful when you yank it off. And it is a small class, so should not be hard for folks to remember each other’s name.
No idea what “afd” is. But their old uniforms had the rank insignia in the usual places. You can see Harem’s corporal stripes, on her shoulder for instance. The new uniforms only appear to have lapel insignia. Or maybe that is because they are only recruits? Although the uniforms have only just been handed out, so possibly they will be handed a sewing kit soon.
Very relaxed. Given that the person who wrote the rules and regs was born with purple hair, I can see she would have decided that trying to enforce typical military hair cuts on supers would be counter-productive.
Well only 3 of them on the page are wearing the camo shirt that clearly has the place for a name tape, but only 1 of them in 1 panel is in a position where we would be able to read it clearly anyway. Could be they all have name tape but Dave just didn’t actually draw something on the strip where the name would be for those panels where the char is wearing the over-top. Name tape is really only useful when encountering some one from the front. In the US Army, the undershirt doesn’t have name tape or rank on it.
Also, allowing a unique look allows quick identification in combat, where everyone has a different skill set.
Seen two members with soul patches so far.
Three if you count Zeph but he’s a part of the intelligence branch not ARC-SWAT proper right?
Aww, Harem’s got 1/7 of a time-out!
1/5
Well she’s a double agent so who knows what secrets and aces up her sleeves she might keep. Perhaps she just didn’t tell people about the last couple of upgrades to her powers. (frankly I would keep at least one a secret and send her FAR away so that the chance of all of them dying becomes even more remote)
This one is the sleeper agent, or at least, every time a Harem has been seen with Vale it has been Abbey
No reason she wouldn’t keep secret holdout powers from the sneaky oddball rich guy who hired her to spy on her friends. I would.
I’m liking side-cut already and I don’t even know her name, nice tats, though not a plethera of them and the pose…
I think I’ll like this character
So, I’m guessing the leftmost recruit is an immensely powerful telekinetic who is just learning to clean up her act after years of terrible experiments performed on her?
I see a lot of teaching in her future, now that Max has shown her the meaning of teamwork.
Richard > Rick > Dick
or it could just be a reference to LFG sidestory featuring richard chibified with the name dick
Did Jigawatt’s hair change color?
It started out white, but then some commenter in the middle of the super brawl noted the too-many points of resemblance to Storm and Dave retconned it to gold. Past comics haven’t caught up yet, I think.
That’s silly. Storm has white-girl hair! It doesn’t really look that much like Jiggawatt’s hair.
Isn’t blondies eyes a different color than they used to be? :P
There is no way to tell as you really cant see his eyes in the previous picture.
Wait, people were looking at his eyes? Surprised people even knew what colour hair he had :p
I’d like to suggest that, for the chokers, that you only get one with a personal inscription/color if you have super powers. Maxima said all their fieldable personnel were considered elite, so it might be a good guess that they all have powers, but a super team like this is going to need support staff, like those guys who came after the bank incident. Black could just be for those who have no powers, since it is a generic color that nobody really complains about.
Both Shawn and Peg are “fieldable elite” both are ex-military snipers with no powers
I don’t know Shawn’s current role, in the outfit, but Peggy most certainly is not an ex-military sniper. She is a serving military sniper. Who was using her capabilities in the field just last night.
Don’t forget that they are all military personnel, in a new branch of the armed forces. They just happen to be assigned to policing duties, at the moment. They can be deployed, to a purely military role, at any moment, should the need arise.
That said though, you are perfectly right about Peggy not having powers.* And you are right about them being elite. Albeit even that is probably understating it. Anybody who gets to serve, on the front line, with Arc-SWAT, but who does not have super-powers, will only be there because they are so good that they stand out even in the company of elite individuals.
In Peggy’s case, she can confidently pull off shots that even the best real-world sniper would envy. But, to top it off, she also has another role, which we have not seen featured yet. Peggy is also a helicopter pilot. And I would guess she is probably pretty good at that too.
Peggy had no hesitation in opposing a super who was, for all intents and purposes, unkillable. Despite having no super powers herself.
Whilst Math might make that claim, his is a bit iffy. Given that his mystical martial arts are akin to super powers. But Peggy still excels, even without 999 generations of handed down experience and selective breeding.
* It is reasonable to assume that Shawn will be in the same bracket, but that may not actually be the case. He could actually be a were-seal, for all we know.
Akin to? I’d say more so a blurred line. Maxima did state that he was human all the way, but his skill in martial arts was so good it makes it hard to tell if he is a Super or not. You could almost say he is the Chuck Norris of this world, granted a lot more arrogant, and a much bigger flirt.
GURPs rules have a clear distinction on where the line lies. If a character can do things that are only possible in movies, such as running on vertical walls, like they were floors, or standing on a flimsy branch, like it was the ground, then they have ‘cinematic’ martial arts.
‘Cinematic’ martial artists can do things that replicate super powers. Such as turning invisible. Or killing somebody at a distance with a ‘projected punch’. To be able to do such esoteric powers requires being ‘trained by a master’. This is very much akin to explanations of super power origins. For powers that can be learnt, rather than needing to be born with them.
Whereas normal people, without access to such mystical capabilities, are restricted to doing things that can be achieved in the real world. Peggy is of that sort. She just happens to exemplify a combination of an Olympic class marksman with a trick shooter. Ie the very best that could theoretically be achieved. Plus a little bit more, as is expected of a hero. Even if she is not a super hero.
Peggy might just have the “Marksman” advantage for both rifle and pistol.
Though I think it is more probable that she just has the rifle version.
So they are super powers you have to work super hard for.
And keep training for the rest of your active “super” life. (till you retire cause you are super tired)
yes and no.
some are like that others are inherent talents that you posses.
Yorps example is the yes, mine is the no.
Another example would be
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taskmaster
I think that would count as a “weak” super power, since he was born with it and the overwhelming bulk of humanity wouldn’t have his starter ability to advance so quickly, that he then used very well to make up for its “weakness”.
I mean “normal” super power that you are born with or get through an origin story as opposed to training hard to enhance some better than the average Joe’s natural gifts. His natural ability seems like one that would be unique or very rare in real life and would probably require more than one odd/rare genetic trait to converge to make it work like that.
It is a very grey and foggy area, with lots of room for interpretation and “discussion”
Noting too that, whilst field personnel and those in important support positions (such as Leon), will all be powered and/or exceptioonally skilled, ARCHON looks like becoming a large and complex organization….
Which means there should be specialized jobs there best described as “very specialized, arguably mindane but absolutely necessary”. Janitors, kitchen hands, drivers, technicians, personal assistants, office workers, IT people (really doubt that Leon is on-call for EVERY in-house IT problem), laboratory bottle-washers, medical orderlies, that sort of thing.
I expect that the people filling those jobs in ARCHON would have excellent security clearances, be generally well-regarded in their areas of competence and probably skilled enough to fill several different roles as necessary. But, unless they possess powers uniqely specialized to their work (always possible), the majority are probably also going to be (comparitively) normal.
new call on the lady with feathers in her hair she is the viper, the viper isss coming, 5.75,west corner, top floor first. be ready.
May I have the ENGLISH translation, please?
reference to an old GI joe cartoon. the viper was calling a joe to announce he intended to wipe the windows of the joe’s house but did it in single lines that inspired the team to find cobra operations. I am suggesting she is a military janitor with suitable powers for such but she still needs to go to basic.
Oh my gawd, it was a Forrest Gump joke
“My given name is Benjamin Buford Blue, but people call me Bubba. Just like one of them ol’ redneck boys. Can you believe that?”
“My name is Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump.”
Agreed. (figured that one has been pointed out already… )
So THIS is what happened to Jack after Mass Effect 3. Who knew.
My headcanon has her and Sheppard attempting to drill from the “loft” through CIC and to the drive core with the bed.
I can’t help but laugh at Ren’s description. Precise enough, I guess?
Remember Anvil’s and Maxi’s descriptions on their first appearance? Or even Sydney’s?
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/60
Anybody else here think that Blondie there looks a whole lot like a blonde Sephiroth from FF7?
Will we see Sydney getting toilet training?
…And these are the kind of people we trust with National security?…
…
…Riiiiiiiiight…
I hope it doesn’t involve Cheerios.
Only after you have had yours..
“Grabs a rolled up newspaper and spray bottle”
New love interest? They’re so complementary! He’s supertall, she’s supershort; she’s pale, he’s dark; she’s a spaz, he’s mellow.
Yea, but “she” probably gets pissed off that folks keep thinking that he is a girl! But, who knows, blondie and Ren might already be an item?
Pretty sure Niauropsaka is talking about Sydney and Ren, not Nanashi* there, Yorp…
Though those two being an item prior to this is always a possibility until we’re told otherwise. :)
(*Nanashi = No-name in Japanese.)
;-)
I don´t get what Adrian´s nickname would be. o.O
Even the internet was no help…just found AD, and what´s the problem with that? (if there is any, pls tell me, english isn´t my first language)
Also found out the link between Richard and Dick…no help as well.
When Sydney meets Adrian, she is clearly startled and intimidated. Adrian then does his best to put her at ease. Even going so far as to say that he is a great fan of her work. And uses her tongue-in-cheek title of “The Mighty Halo” *
Further he seems to be genuinely pleased to have done that altruistic deed.
As any student of philosophy knows, Confucius called the state of feeling pleasure, at being altruistic, “Ren”. So clearly that is how he acquired his nickname.
To confirm that was the intent, one need merely look at panel 5. The exemplification of ren is when an adult feels protective towards a child. And that panel shows Sydney looking very much like a blushing child, next to the imposing father-figure of Ren.
* He can be forgiven for not realising it should be pronounced “Halo the Mightay”. He was not present when that was announced.
Note how straight I kept my face whilst saying all the above. To be fair to you, it is not a nickname I have heard used before. Every Adrian I have known goes by “Adrian”. So possibly it is an American thing, or just a personal one. Sometimes folks get such names for in-joke reasons, due to an odd incident. But do note Sydney’s thoughts on the matter, at the bottom of panel 4. They are as likely to be correct, as any.
As for Richard, that has very commonly been abreviated to Dick. To the degree that it is considered synonemous for many people. Even most English speakers would not know why, to them it is just a tradition. But another commentator, above, indicated it is due to rhyming slang. Where Richard is abbreviated to ‘Rick’. Which sounds like ‘Dick’.
Mind you, that would not explain why my mum is called Peggy. Despite having been born Margaret. Again, it is just one of those traditions that you accept. But it was very confusing for me to have to try and explain it to my teacher, when I was a kid. Especially as she had not come across that, so was just as confused as anyone might be as to why my mum used such a different name like that.
Thanks for he help.
The Richard/Ric/Dick explanation seems similar to what i found out, just more in detail, old language, 13th century…..
Where I was lost was that I thought, that the usual Nickname for Adrian was sth. dirty, just like with Richards, and that was why he used the example with Richard, and I tried to figure our what his dirty nickname would be, and that he just decided to use a differen one (Ren).
Ren…only available in 8 languages in wikipedia…seems like a secret lore to me.
The only Adrian I knew who shortened it (at school) went by “Ade”. And there’s a more famous one.
That, was hillary us, thank you for that :D
Yes! Hot dude is back! I missed you, hot guy.
I’m not sure I like the look of the new girl. She’s not going to be the designated class bitch, is she? I don’t want a bullying PSA.
With The Golden Elf of Doom as their superior officer? Not a chance
But humans can’t become seals, nor can seals become humans
{Damn this lack of an edit button!}
With that said, Yaay for Jiggawat’s return! ^^
Yes they can… Selkies.
Any one else notice that there seams to be 5 styles of the choker? With only 2 of them wearing the same style (the solid black choker).
Normally every hero has their own personalised choker. But that can only be done once their call-sign has been chosen. Until then they get plain black.