Grrl Power #321 – Naming rights
I have more multi tipped screwdrivers than I have any reasonable need for. Every time I go into a home improvement store, I feel a compulsion to buy one. Or a LED flashlight. It’s the same compulsion I get when I go into a comic shop. It’s nearly impossible for me to leave without a new set of dice.
Ren’s powers aren’t really just super speed and strength. It’s really more reflexes than speed. He can move very fast, but it’s not the sort of super speed that lets him outrun a race car. “Super adrenaline” is really more of his elevator pitch for his powers. There’s more to them than that, but I should get out of the habit of trying to explain everything on one or two pages right as it’s introduced. It’s ok to throw an idea out there then revisit it later when that person is doing something with their power in a more show don’t tell fashion, or more realistically for me, show and also tell. It’s something I’d like to try and transition the comic to. More explain as it happens rather than people standing around talking about stuff.
#MakeComics: I hear people ask artists if they use a lot of references when they draw. It depends on what you already know how to draw and what you’re drawing. I’m generally pretty good with anatomy, but my webcam folder is full of shots of my own hands, and I always need pictures of expressions and heads in different angles. And expressions in different angles. In addition to those usual references, here are some other things I searched for to use as references:
Hallway: for lighting reference in panel 6. The “corner” behind Ren is supposed to be a wall that ends at the lightswitch, then the blueish wall is a perpendicular hallway leading to another room, but I couldn’t figure out how to make the lighting look right. Still need to work on that. The problem with googling “hallways” is that almost every shot I could find was just a photo taken straight down a hallway, no hallways connecting to a room. I googled “kitchens” after that looking for rooms with connecting hallways and didn’t have much luck. My human bodies/faces/hands reference folders (and pre-existing knowledge) are pretty flush. Obviously my architectural knowledge, and the lighting thereof need some supplementing.
On the previous page I searched for “firing range” “shooting range” “military firing range” in order to find some common signage you’d find in such places to populate some of the background with, but 99% of the stuff I found was shots looking downrange or across the shooting… area. You know, all the people doing the shooting. I searched for “firing range signage” and still got really sucky results, but eventually found one sign about “Always treat your gun as if it was loaded” yadda yadda.
Then I came to the thing I needed a reference for that I though would be super easy to find on the interwebs: “Woman smushing boobs together” It’s not that I needed reference for the boobs, it was the hand position I was having trouble with. I had surprisingly poor results, so I tried variants; “Woman squeezing boobs” “smushed boobs” “squeezing boobs” Really poor results. I think the problem is people don’t name photos “woman squeezing boobs” they name the picture “Angela_showing_off_the_girls.jpg” and google has no idea what’s in the picture other than Angela and girls.
So I turned to crowdsourcing my search on Twitter, figuring someone had a folder on their computer of this exact thing. I wound up getting a few people who thought I was asking for selfies, and I’m not going to say no to that (after making it clear I wasn’t looking for anything explicit) So thanks very much those who contributed. You can see the results on this page. I’m not sure why Harem is hefting herself other than that’s what I pictured her doing when I wrote her dialog.
It must be an oversight that I haven’t included The Hero Biz on my list of recommended webcomics. I think I’ve linked to it before, but it should live over there. It’s basically a superhero comic strip from Arianna’s point of view. The Director of PR character actually looks rather a lot like her. Anyway, they’re running a kickstarter, so check out the comic and then the kickstarter if’n you like what you see.
Here’s the link to the new comments highlighter for chrome, and the GitHub link which you can use to install on FireFox via Greasemonkey.
SuperheroThey're super, thanks for asking!
Meatspace ComicSeriously these are awesome. Check 'em out!
Not UpdatingNo longer updating or only updates sporadically, but definitely worth reading.
SeriouslySeriously you guys. If you like Grrl Power the check these out.
"Mature"Mature subject matter and occasionally something explicit but usually safe. Can't guarantee the ads are safe though.
Dongs Ahoy!Full frontal and backal. Lots of skin, sex on some or all pages, explicit or otherwise.
He should go with a name like “Beast Master” so that whenever he’s fighting bad guys they always keep watching out for attacking animals and are thrown off guard.
I distraction is the purpose maybe he should call himself Orgazmo. Every time they felt a stirring they would be afraid it was his power kicking in. With the added benefit that Dabbler could then freely use her power whenever near him without worrying about people asking questions about it.
As I see it, The Number One problem with that name (AFTER the Trademark Mafia and the Morality Brigade are done) is that it would lead to ….. unrealistic expectations.
Well, just add a bit on the end Orgizmatic. That’ll keep em guessing.
Not necessarily.
If he has super-strength and super-speed….
Trouble is that Arianna’s press briefing (and subsequent updates and the back of the box on their action figures) summarise the visible powers of the unit. Only those like Sydney’s truesight, which will not be apparent, are kept secret.
Super reflexes and super speed are very obvious powers. And the fact that he does not have any pet animals around him would be likewise too.
Not that I am against deceptive names. To the contrary, I think it is a very good tactic. Likewise the real world simple principle of using code-names that do not give clues as to the identity or function of the person/thing that they apply to.
So whilst it is good for Arc-Light and Arc-Dark (think of “X” as an example), dealing in the world of the covert, it does not carry over well to Arc-SWAT. Given that they are operating in the full light of public scrutiny.
Plus are acting as ambassadors of and champions for the super hero community at large. So they need to exemplify honesty and transparency. Whilst a feint and stealth are acceptable combat tactics, in today’s society, lying to the general public, about his capabilities (even if only by implication, by choice of name), will probably not sit so well. Especially as many individuals will be suspicious of supers and their strange powers.
He wasn’t in the first press conference and his powers are fairly subtle for the group as a whole. If his muscles, though he said they get stronger, can’t quite keep up with the 10x faster reaction/thinking thing than what his powers will come off as will be very minor speed and strength boost to a guy who is very good at strategy and making the best use of every action (cause his mind will probably be the fastest thing about him). To me he would be like an improved version of that joke character “Prock” of Hulu’s The Awesomes. Well, assuming he is smart enough to take a leadership role.
And before anybody says that’s Sydney’s job after her display at the restaurant:
1) There have been many times when the question of group dynamic or even whether V makes an acceptably challenging return villain when I have said that they will most likely be split up into smaller units to handle multiple problems at once, just to make sure that there is always someone in reserve to handle problems as they pop up, or to give the public the idea that ARC is a whole force of capable people who can handle a variety of problems as they arise (maybe even each other if it comes to that) and not just Maxima on beat downs and Dabbler on tech running the show.
2) Mentally and to a certain extant physically (mostly mentally I’ll bet) he can effectively slow down time, if he has the smarts to go with it, there are some surprised with their shorts/panties down situations where only he might have the time to react intelligently. Sydney can bubble and go of to the sidelines to observe and react in normal time, making her an excellent source of calm strategic thinking but her bubble isn’t saving everybody else if we need a change in tactics Right NOW.
So yeah, if he has the chops to think strategy for the group I am really looking forward to an addition to ARC’s “less flashy powers that ACTUALLY can save the day” category.
Sound thinking. And, yea, if he has rounded leadership skills, being able to think very fast is an invaluable asset. If he has flaws, such as poor judgement, then that power alone will not change it. Some people will consistently make bad decisions, no matter how long they are allowed.
Leadership actually covers a gamut of abilities, such as people management. And combat leadership is even more demanding. So, even if he is a fairly capable thinker, there are many aspects that could make him unsuited as a leader.
But, that caveat aside, it is worth noting that he is the only team member, other than Dabbler, who has a power that does enhance cognitive capability. Given that she is a civilian consultant, they could not make her a leader. And the military/government would probably not want to be too reliant on an alien/demon anyhow.
But, provided he is even moderately capable as a leader, being able to all-but freeze time would give him a considerable edge, in a dynamic crisis. So that point is very well made.
Harem can process a ton of information and react to it all intelligently simultaneously. That sort of suggests her intellect is pretty vast. She gains in physical strength when she goes down to 1 does she gain mental abilities or some kind of focus when she does it? Anyway if she had any leadership qualities she has the brain chops for it I’m sure.
Yea, I did look at Harem, when considering my comment. But decided that what she has primarily helps learning. But that simply allows her to gain more skills at a younger age, rather than actually think better. So whilst she has more effective mental capability (factoring in being pretty smart to begin with and having five times the learning capability) than an average person her age, it does not actually make her a gifted thinker.
And she does make some very poor judgement calls!
This point is debatable. In that she does have five bodies, each of which can be doing multiple different things. So presumably can multi-task a critical situation by having each deal with one part.
But here we have the Harem paradox. She only has the one mind. As always I view her as being one person with ten hands, and multi-dexterity. Harem can get each pair of hands to do different things. And each pair of eyes can be doing different things, such as studying or watching the news on TV.
So clearly, in a tactical situation she could look up things, see things from a different point of view, and so on. As such you are correct to bring it up. And I simply forgot to myself, even having considered her.
But the reason being that I concluded, as I did, is that, although she can get input faster (and respond to it in multiple ways), she is clearly not currently a good prospect to be a leader. And, most importantly, Harem’s power does not make her process information any faster, or think any clearer, or make her judgement calls more wisely, or have a better grasp of something new that crops up.
Whereas Ren potentially can.
If he is a capable thinker, in the first place, he has the time to consider his judgements, which will emulate wisdom (there would be no such thing as making a rash judgement for him, he could still choose badly, but it would be a carefully considered choice he made).
Plus he can run through multiple scenarios, and ‘what if’ alternatives, in his mind. Allowing him to pick and choose which he thinks is the best. Not as powerful as the hero in Edge of Tomorrow, as he can only guess probable results, rather than actually play them out. But it has very strong shades of that, if used well.
And if there is something totally new, that he has never come across before, he can take the time to try and figure out what it is. And this aspect can help in suprising ways. Being able to observe partial information, carefully analyse any clues that might be seen.
In a way it would be like us reading the comic. We can analyse every frame, in minute detail. The only thing he lacks is having other people to use as a sounding board. So would not get the synergy of input and feedback from others.
But, if your life depended on it, even an average thinker could do a fairly good Sherlock Holmes impersonation, if able to consider every detail they saw and heard. And, if he mis-judged something, he would be able to read micro-expressions in somebody’s face, in the way that TV companies can do if playing back high-speed footage. But in real time.
A momentary (normally invisible to the naked eye) look of contempt or disgust, or various subtle clues as to evasion or lying, can all help him make much more informed judgements. He could be a very capable fast-talker, able to see if he made a mistake, and cover for it, before it became obvious that is what he was doing.
And those are just a few examples of the numerous ways his power could help.
Clearly if it only works in a crisis, that limits the potential. But that is when it is at it’s most useful, so it is not a crippling limitation.
I agree with the Ren bit. (I’m the one who suggested it so you know I’m on board)
I also agree that Harem has shown no leadership capabilities or attitude yet which I pointed out previously.
However as far as raw intelligence goes the fact that she does indeed have “one mind” probably means she is only next to Dabbler (possibly not even less than her) in intelligence. See if the meat brains only handle the information processing to a point but the being that takes all that and turns it into 5 individual unrelated solutions which then each body carries out independantly is some kind of individual overmind then that “one mind” must be fast/smart enough to process 5 unrelated streams of data (each with 5 senses) and crank out 5 unrelated solutions (they aren’t all doing the same thing or walking around in lockstep or some kind of children of the corn setup) close enough to simultaneously that all five bodies can carry out those actions (while making wisecracks, etc… ) at normal enough human speed that they appear to be thinking and acting on their own.
Now when she puts all those extra bodies in storage and focuses her powers on herself she gains super strength, etc… If the overmind is a function of her powers maybe she doesn’t loose the calculating speed and multitasking ability just cause she is now in one body. So maybe when she isn’t focusing on all those bodies she can be an incredible super fast thinking strategist. Hell, if she just has those other bodies standing in a safer spot on not doing much but gathering extra sensory data maybe she can do it without putting them away.
Her one mind seems to be way beyond our one mind. Given her slightly shady moral leanings maybe its best she doesn’t have the discipline, focus, drive, etc… to be a leader.
Interesting theory, but we have not seen anything to back up an improvement in mental acuity, when she stores bodies. Or even a hint of that. And her cast list only talks about the strength increase. So chalk me down as sceptical on that one.
Part of the reason being that although she only has the one mind, she does have multiple brains. So a big chunk of what you are attributing to being controlled by a single consciousness is (in my opinion) just being handled by local autonomous systems.
The low-level things like processing incoming sensory information and summarising it, is likely to be handled unconsciously with her, just as it is with us. So only the key decisions, and high level thought need be attributed to her conscious over-mind.
But, that said, I probably did downplay her capabilities somewhat, in making my argument. She can do five disparate things at once. So, at the very least, she can be viewed as capable of delegating out that many tasks (assuming a single issue that needs all of her capability focussed on just that).
Even with that though, she is not thinking five times faster than a normal person. She is just capable of dealing with five aspects, of a problem, at once. And if it is something that cannot be conveniently broken down, but is just a single issue, then such delegation is of little help.
Regardless though it does amount to a significant capability, so I should not discount it.
That said, I think a good name for him would be “Bullet Time”(Assuming that there aren’t any copyright/trademark issues with the name.) Since it would be a good description of his power…. (Plus give him enough guns and the name could still lead to a tiny bit of misdirection about his powers… As some people might assume outright time-travel/time manipulation powers…)
he just homura’ed that engagement dude, shot down all on target rounds and stuffed a thermite down the criminals craw! potential future dialogue?
I was working on a reply for this and used up about all the time I want to spend on a single comment. It still needs more research and work but I’m gonna leave what I had here so I can use it as a reference for the next time I think on Harem power related issues. (and to let me know where to start up gathering quotes again)
You’re right about never seeing proof of increased mental abilities because its never happened in comic yet. So either it doesn’t occur or Dave thought it was obvious so forgot to mention it in his other explanations out of comic.
On to your other points.
From Ye Old Cast Page.
“Despite this, each body is capable of totally independent action, she can perform multiple disparate and complex tasks simultaneously.”
However the overmind and local brains “outside” it are functioning together each individual body has inside it or by borrowing from the overmind enough thinking power “assigned to it” to function as a completely autonomous human brain. That’s five times the thinking going on simultaneously however you want to shove the figures and function responsibilities around. (while the girls are all out anyway)
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/340
“She’s always wanting to try new things, so despite that she’s not old enough to drink, when someone asks stuff like “who here has experience with animal husbandry?” her hand always goes up cause over a single summer, she worked on a farm, worked in a department store, became a purple belt in judo, read 82 books, watched every episode of Start Trek, taught herself how to bake pastry, got her drivers license, a fishing license, became a 1 girl acapella group, got in to rock climbing, etc. The ones you don’t see in the comic are always off doing stuff.”
Decisions of import being made all over the place all the time. Its hard to be on automatic that much while learning new things and it sounds like she likes to put several of herselves in a position to learn new jobs at the same time.
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/345
But yes there are some autonomous local brain functions going on but they seem to be mostly involved in getting information ready to be used or performing some set of learned reflexes.
“Harem has 5 separate visual cortexes to process the information. Similarly, she has 5 different motor cortexes, so she can juggle and use chopsticks at the same time as well as someone doing those tasks separately could.”
While decisions on what to actually do and why to do it for that body are made by the overmind.
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/373
“Adamas is right, she has 5 visual cortexes, so seeing 5 different things at the same time isn’t a problem for her. Having 5 brains doesn’t really increase her intelligence, but it does increase her processing power, she can read 5x as much or do 5 separate math problems. Of course it depends on what you mean by intelligent. She’s remarkably educated and worldly for a 19 year old since she’s always consuming new experiences.”
I’m interpreting this to mean that any individual thought uses Harem’s baseline I.Q. which must be basically high average human? but she can think about 5x as many things simultaneously. If all 5x processing power is being used to consider the same situation in coordination as part of the linked overmind then isn’t this effectively 5x faster thought (way faster than 2x anyway… )
The weird thing is the way that involuntary reactions from one body bleed over into others. If a lot of processing and less “key” decision making was being made by the local brain meat I would think they would mostly deal with this reflex to the point that the overmind could filter it out from the other bodies. I’m stretching but I think the way it bleeds through so easily lends itself to the thought that the overmind is handling a lot more of the little stuff than even I was thinking.
This next one isn’t exactly on track but I like it cause the last line of Dave’s speculation seems to half support one of my own personal theories on the nature of Harem’s overmind. So I’ll strap it on here so maybe I’ll have twice the chance to find this quote later on. ^_^’
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/373
” Is it a case where one brain is the server and the rest are slaved to it? That’s tough to answer because it’s not like the other bodies operate only if the “original” one exists. She can “unteleport” that one and the remaining 4 function normally. Maybe it is like that but she has instant “host migration” to one of the active bodies. Is she really just a disembodied consciousness floating in the aether that links to the bodies? Maybe we’re all like that… Wooooo…”
If the last one turns out to be true it increases the chance that shutting down extra bodies, while decreasing some abilities and senses, would possibly reallocate all of the disembodied “Overmind’s” (that maybe is the true source of her power’s nature) focus and intelligence to once being with perhaps interesting results. If we ever get to see her do this for long enough to realize the effect. She doesn’t like doing it and maybe only does it for long enough to execute the rare special attack. Maybe she hasn’t even realized this effect fully.
The most excellent ‘How To Be A Superhero’ by Mark Leigh and Mike Lepine has sound advice on naming –
1. Don’t call yourself by your real name.
2. Equally, don’t call yourself by someone else’s real name.
3. Choose a name that suggest power, heroism and prowess
4. But don’t labour the point (eg, Mr So-######g-Powerful-Don’t-Even-Think-About-It-Buddy)
5, Then again, don’t be too modest (eg, Mr Pretty Good)
6. Equally, don’t choose a name that is actually detrimental to your crime-fighting image (eg. Captain Spongecake, The Yellow Streak)
7. Don’t choose a name with a (possibly sexual) double meaning
8. Don’t choose the name of an existing superhero, unless you have lots of noney and enjoy fighting litigation instead of supervillains.
9, It’s no use calling yourself Captain Invincible if your only power is control over Hostess Twinkies AND you suffer from a congenital heart condition. It’s just asking for trouble.
10. Don’t call youself The Invisible Boy … if you’re not.
11. Don’t call youself The Invisible Girl …. if you’re not.
12. Don’t give away any important information in your name (eg. The Glass Jaw, Mister Vulnerable-To-Strontium-90)
13. Don’t call yourself The Green Avenger if you wear an orange costume. You’ll confuse people.
Super Heroes being what they are there are special exceptions to most of those (probably all if I thought about it hard enough).
Like you can call yourself by your real name if your an alien and your cover identity isn’t your real name, if you are a shape shifter who has several identities with paperwork and has pretty much abandoned your original identity for civvie use, etc…
And its damn smart and sneaky strategy to call yourself The Invisible “Whatever” if your powers are telekinesis and say far sight or you are good at ducking out of sight like Batman as soon as they look THAT (something explodes) WAY. This would work best as part of a team though. (if you have good telekinesis you can fake so many things and you probably should and help your team mates fake a few things too)
If your weakness is something that most of your enemies are going to figure out pretty quick anyway the only reason I can think for putting it in your name would be that you have thought up a ton of defenses for it to the point that it has become a sort of trap for your enemies so you make them focus on it to the point of it being hard to look for “real” weaknesses.
“Don’t choose a name with a (possibly sexual) double meaning” Unless your powers and mindset are like Dabbler’s. In that case a name like that is just saying, “Please give your will to me and insert jet fuel here.” Not really a problem.
So this is a good list for making new supers actually think about what the pitfalls of naming might be but they still have to compare it to their actual situation. (and then think of pitfalls that are special to them)
+1
A good initial list, to give due credit, but a sound commentary, on it’s flaws.
Noting that the list (like the book it comes in) is mainly for comedic entertainment purposes.
Indeed.
Many a true word said in jest though.
#13 reminds me of “the Blue Raja” from “Mystery Men” – a 1999 American superhero comedy film directed by Kinka Usher and written by Neil Cuthbert and Bob Burden, loosely based on Burden’s Flaming Carrot Comics, and starring Hank Azaria, Claire Forlani, Janeane Garofalo, Eddie Izzard, Greg Kinnear, William H. Macy, Kel Mitchell, Lena Olin, Paul Reubens, Geoffrey Rush, Ben Stiller, Wes Studi, and Tom Waits. The film details the story of a team of lesser superheroes with unimpressive powers who are required to save the day.
Scanned through the comments and if it cropped up I missed it, but my two cents is
–
“BIGTIME”
–
‘Course there’s always ‘Zippy’
Yeah, that could work. :)
Ahh dammit Yorp…but great minds think alike.
Heh.
Personally I have been using Ctrl-F to check this and the previous two comment pages, using my browser’s search facility. Although Ehnawneemuss has very kindly made a summary since, which greatly simplifies finding suggestions. Up until that point, anyhow.
so I’d just like to comment that it’s possible for someone to have adrenaline in their system all the time, it causes stressed adrenal glands and a sodium deficiency along with an increased risk for PTSD, and Ren’s power sounds like it is what would happen if all that adrenaline was compressed into the normal amount of times that one gets a rush.
From his introduction, it sounds like he’s served in the military. And I’d imagine that since he seems to be doing okay, he’s also highly resistant or outright immune to adrenal fatigue.
Might not be adrenine at all but just roughly how he understands it. I’d honestly think he’s got super efficient nerves or a higher proportion Of the fast twitch variety that can send signals faster than the 250mph limit on average human nerves.
“Super adrenalin” may just be his layman a interpretation of that. Incidently Bob Munden, a quick draw artist was tested and his draw was faster than a tenth of a second and the guy testing him said he was essentially faster than a striking snake. You could barely see him draw it was so fast. If Ren is faster than that, holes would just appear in the target along with noises that sounds lot like a machine gun with a hideous Rate of fire.
No, not unless his ability can be transferred into other objects: the bullets (and the gun) would still be working at it’s normal rate of speed, but more like this
My favourite cowboy! Of course Clint is my favourite Hollywood one. But I loved those two.
The director had a very strange filming style. He employed actors of many nationalities, and knew that his films would be dubbed into many languages. So he just allowed each actor to speak their own language, regardless of what their opposite number in a scene might be saying! Re-shooting each scene for any actor who was fluent in more than one language.
It must be absolute hell for any lip-reader, trying to follow those films!
You’d be surprised how fast you can fire even a semiauto weapon. The main limitation tends to be the users ability to manage the weapon through recoil, Ren would probably have fewer issues that way, it’s probably easy for him to follow the front sight through recoil even cranking out fire at speeds that would send another persons aim straight to hades.
The point is, no matter how fast his reaction speed is, it is limited by what he is using, and unless he is able to ‘boost’ the weapon, the bullets won’t hit the target any quicker than someone else firing the same weapon (it’s just, in his case, his weapon will look like it’s never left his holster)
That could be his name: Quickdraw McGraw :D
Mmm, I think I can see what Alecto is getting at. When firing a hand-held machine gun, you need to fire short, controlled bursts. Amateurs who hold down the trigger, will find that recoil makes the gun rise up, wasting a long burst firing above the target.
So, even though you can potentially fire a vast number of rounds, in practice you can only fire a few, before needing to release the trigger and re-position the gun, on target.
Whereas Ren has three advantages. Firstly is raw strength. He can lock the gun in position, so it does not rise up. Secondly. with his enhanced perception, he can see the path the bullets are on and tell if he needs to correct his aim. Perhaps without even needing to see where the bullets hit. Unlike us he could actually see them in mid-flight.
Thirdly his reactions are fast enough that he can correct his aim. Notably combining this with the first two aspects, he can do so without needing to release the trigger. He can walk the bullets precisely where he needs them.
So you are perfectly correct in saying that the gun would not fire any faster for him, than for anyone else. But Alecto‘s point is that he could continue to use it when others could not.
Taking the line of thought further though, there is another significant advantage he has, that would be of incredible utility to a policeman. Assuming that he can hone his skill to the following degree.
It could allow him to fire his machine gun, sweeping it across a mixed crowd of hostages and villains. Using his heightened perception to judge exactly when to ease off the pressure, as the mussel approaches a hostage’s position, then re-applying it, when they are no longer at risk.
End result: just one clip of ammo used, and every (exposed/visible) villain dead, but not a single hostage harmed!
Like that scene in “Top Secret” when the farm house gets overrun and the black French guy shoots all the Germans but leaving his friends alive?
Hollywood does rather blur the concept of what a heroic person can do until it becomes something that would only be realistic for a super-human.
But, I would have said the same of a proposal which pitched one sniper, caught in the open, in a crossfire from thirty dug-in machine guns, on higher ground, being able to kill them all before they killed him.
Yet that really did happen!
Trouble is such things only occur on freakishly rare occasions, in reality. Whereas they happen in every other scene, in some productions.
I do like it when it is used cleverly though. Such as the scene in Pulp Fiction, where a guy empties his handgun at the anti-hero, at point blank range, and misses with every shot.
Especially as it resulted in him having a religious conversion. He recognised that it was not an ordinary every-day event.
Mm wasn’t what I was saying at all Yorp however that would also be true, his reflexes should give him a significant edge on drawing aiming and firing the weapon. You don’t so much as lock the gun in place as “manage” it. You try to hold it down with some weapons you get gun in your forehead.
My point is this: the rate of fire with a semi auto weapon is limited to how well the shooter can manage the weapon. I can make a semi auto weapon fire like a machine gun. I have done so, but the fire this produces is NOT accurate or controlled. I cannot shoot as fast as jerry Micelek, who can deliver fire and reload a revolver much faster than I’ll ever be able to shoot an automatic. This is because the man has exceptional talent and can manage the weapon at those speeds. To wit he can exploit the weapons full mechanical potential far better than I ever could and it’s a lot higher than the human user can achieve. That ceiling is a LOT higher then you seem to understand Guesticus. The difference between a full auto weapon and a semi auto is a couple of parts. Rens reflexes would preclude that, he can react fast enough to BE his own full auto sear probably with better control than the average human could do with a full auto weapon and extensive training, that’s what makes it a super power, he can put Jerry and I to shame because his reflexes exceed anything within the scope of normal human capability. More so if archon tailors his weapons to him. Point being to Ren, *everything* is a machine gun. Because he can operate it that fast. If this sounds hokey go look up some of these guys on YouTube and see how fast they can shoot.
The above comments made many excellent points about recoil, firing speed, and controlling the weapon vs being able to fire rapidly.
Counterpoint: Billy the Kid was once timed and was able to draw and fire 12 shots from a single-action revolver in under 1 second, all shots hitting a target. Now single actions had an ability called fanning where you hold the trigger down and keep pulling back the hammer with your other hand meaning a skilled gunslinger could empty a single-action faster than a double-action, but The Kid hit the target with all twelve bullets.
Extreme marksmanship is possible and a bullet is only in the gun barrel for a fraction of a second. Someone with Super Agility or Super Reflexes combined with Super Adrenaline to slow down Hyperheuristic Time (thank you Bolo books for that term), all of which it sounds like he has, could be hell on wheels with guns, especially if he starts practicing with single-actions and learns to fan. He’d be pretty badass in hand-to-hand and knife fighting too, but as a modern military group I think they’d do best to turn him into a gunslinger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBAl9cchQac
“… Big time, so much larger than life
Big time, I’m gonna watch it growing, big time
Ho ohh ohh, oh oh, ho ohh ohh, oh ohhh
My parties have all the big names and I greet them with the widest smile…”
~ Peter Gabriel “Big Time”
Yea, I can see where you are coming from. Not as far as I would be able to see Ren mind you.
Just so we are Clear, Adrenal sounds like a good name as is in this situation.
His power though superhuman, is mundane enough that many would not notice it if he didn’t say anything. And it’s a power that can be used in a GREAT MULTITUDE of ways. So far I really don’t see a downside unless he can get Adrenal Fatigue as a backlash.
I could set up a lot of reference shots like for panel 6 in a 3D modelling program. The lights are…probably pretty close to real lights, if the artist is careful. I haven’t designed many building interiors myself, but it’s one thing those programs are pretty good for.
I’m thinking Ren has a better version of Battery’s power from Worm, as he does not need to charge up for his heightened reflexes/speed/strength. Wonder how he’s not bored all the time. Hype might be a good name for him. Synapse, Matrix (he’d get sued).
Strange how I’ve never seen Worm mentioned in the comments here, one would think there’d be overlap in fanbase.
I am guessing that it is because the early bird got their first.
Actually during the teamfight, there was a short debate on what Worm characters could take down the team. I ended up losing a month because of that due to checking out the serial. (If caught by surprise, Grue could do it easily, Skitter could probably find a way although Maxima would be tough, Contessa because she’s BS, although victory would probably look different than you’d expect)
What? No. Grue would not be able to take out Sydney. She’s kind of impervious. Maxima… maybe, depends what settings she’s using, how well trained she is. Harem? He might be able to take out a couple.
Losing two weeks to a month is the normal response to Worm, yes.
easy fix for your last problem is really very simple. use bing for… naughtier searches. google’s been paring down the returns on pornographic image searches for years. a phrase that we all know grows to encompass quite a bit once you start such a process. bing, however, uses an algorithm nearly or as potent as google with no such censoring.
learned that from an article on cracked. i swear.
I’m sure everybody has already done this but I’ll throw in my own additions to the Find That Ref! image scavenger hunt DaveB likes to challenge us to once and a while. Enjoy while the links last.
He was right the perpendicular hallway glimpsed from another room was the hardest. Mostly because he has that uncased doorway which uses a corner of two walls as one side. That proved impossible to match with keywords. But just a perpendicular hallway at that angle I could kind of do.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/78/9f/b1/789fb1d6966fd3b09cd294cfd903c659.jpg
https://images-51.har.com/e1/mediadisplay/51/hr3292051-17.jpg
Next up is vaguely military gun safety posters. Some of these are more on point than others. I actually was on one .mil site and the posters they had on offer looked mostly like ordinary weapons/gun range safety posters but I included a couple that seemed to be mostly from their sites even though I guess they don’t really seem especially military.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/47/e8/a4/47e8a413d4b6a087dae9a228fae0b76c.jpg
https://www.thaiwreckdiver.com/images/uxo_safety_poster_image.JPG and here is its .pdf version below
https://www.thaiwreckdiver.com/documents/uxo_safety_Poster_1.pdf for better quality.
https://www.public.navy.mil/comnavsafecen/PublishingImages/media/posters/misc/words.jpg the .mil sight has a download section I assume with better quality. (hard to read that last line)
https://goingplaceslivinglife.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/gun-safety-poster.jpg?w=820
I like this last one the best. Its simple in a classic way.
https://www.deltapress.com/images/P-32_Your_Mind.jpg
Boob grabbing and smashing wasn’t all that hard. Maybe Dave used the wrong key words on that one. But here are a few more why not? 2nd is a bit NSFW in the nipple department. (don’t all click at once).
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/01/11/article-1346014-0CB65C53000005DC-485_468x529.jpg
https://www.ddcup.com/big-tits-blog/carli.jpg.pagespeed.ce._tyKzJ7a0N.jpg
Pretty much spent all my time on the first one. I would suggest, and its probably already been suggested, getting a 3D architectural program for when you just can’t find your ref fast enough and need SOMETHING to get the light vaguely right. A bunch of real pics would be better but at least then you would have something good enough to get the idea of what it is supposed to be across. You wouldn’t need to make a whole “set”. Just slap vague walls, ceilings, and floors in place and bounce the right lights off them for the basic idea in a hurry.
Ren doesn’t exactly look like Will Smith and he doesn’t exactly act like Will Smith. Yet I keep thinking about Will Smith when I see him… odd. I like his powers though, sort of reminds me of those genetically engineered super soldier race from an alternate earth they have in the Legion of Nothing series. She could use it for straight speed and strength (not that much more than human though) but what it really excelled at was it gave her TIME to think out strategies and attack PRECISELY. Sort of like that scene in the Sherlock Holmes movie where he mentally envisions every attack and counterattack as they will actually happen and then time starts and that’s exactly how it goes but much faster.
Dunno, there are quite a few points of similarity. Especially in the key feature of him looming over Sydney. Will Smith is over six foot tall, so would be well cast in the part. Plus it take a good comic actor to play a comedic guy well. And there are few better than Will Smith.
Take note, future casting agent, for Grrl Power the Movie. Assuming that Will Smith would be willing to take such a
smallminor part.He’d be pretty old by then though that never stopped Hollywood before. I suppose his kid has had such a different life that he may never be as funny as the old man or at least not in the same way. (he oddly seems kind of shy in interviews sometimes but that might be because his father is often in them overshadowing his personality in most of the interviews I’ve seen with him… )
But if I could have a young Will I think it would work out great as long as he didn’t demand to be the main hero of a show called GRRLpower…
I hadn’t considered the age thing. I guess time has moved on, since he was the Fresh Prince of Bellair.
:-/
Not that I think it is time to put him out to pasture yet. But, given the likely age range for new recruits (ignoring Sydney) of 18 to 19, he is a bit long in the tooth for that particular role.
Shame. Having his face on the poster would put millions of bums on seats, in the cinema.
Maybe his look alike kid will start coming out of Dad’s shadow more and surprise us all.
If Smith is young enough to play Deadshot in that crap movie, don’t see why he couldn’t play Ren (apart from cost and ego)
and I was already hearing the voice before reading this
You totally need to take your pills!
I meant heard ren’s comments in will’s voice while reading the comic. LOL.
So, same power as the “hero” of Wanted?
Assuming you mean the movie here?
In the comics Wesley’s powers are never really stated as such. Other than a comment about it being “the ability to end life”. Of course, it’s never really been clarified whether this is meant to be an actual power or just an observation on the fact that he’s just. that. good.
Why is Sydney upset?
Isn’t Sydney the one going through weaknesses of daylight, being shoot with bullets and being beheaded
Don’t forget shirtless guys with great abs! (in truth you probably have to see the special appendix of The List to get them all)
Whilst being self-depreciating about guys may amuse a feminist, with a good sense of humour, it plays less well to a tom-boy, like Sydney. She is a fan of super heroes and so wants to talk about super powers. And gets frustrated if thwarted in that, as Peggy found out, in the lift.
I thought that was actually Williams point. Sydney did a very similar power discussion blocking joke at the closed panel discussion. I suppose the answer is that Sydney can dish out delayed gratification (he came through in the end just as she did) but can’t take it.
Mmm, the examples he listed are just things that Sydney does when she is bored, or the mood takes her. But genuine super powers, she has a real yearning to know and talk about them. Be it her own or other peoples. Think of her and Joel talking in the shop, as an example.
Not that I am saying it is all she wants to talk about. Simply that, at the point in a conversation where she wants to do that, she has twice now shown signs of being frustrated when the other party impedes her.
One of the reasons why I admire good comedians so much, is that they have a grasp of timing. In this case Ren made a mistake. His audience was not receptive. Sydney has a driving passion for super powers, and was hanging (literally hanging in the air) on his every word.
Choosing to toy with her, at that moment, failed to make her laugh, as a result. Not that it was a big issue. Just the ebb and flow in a conversation, and she was grinning at the end.
But, as for Sydney ‘not being able to take it’, I think that is true enough as regards anything that frustrates her desires. Be it Peggy not wanting to talk about super powers. Or Tubey activating it’s “calorie denial force field” or her ovaries trying to ruin the fun, of her first day going to work as a super hero.
She resents such things and fights back!
As President Obama found, she is not even shy of taking on even America’s most powerful super hero, if thwarted in her desires!
Ah-buh… wuh? He’s quoting the weaknesses she listed here https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/589 (include the mini-comic) which is why I responded to him with the shirtless guys with nice abs reference which is also from that page. There she was being directly and purposefully questioned about superpowers and her weaknesses and she immediately decided to use the opportunity to list the funny answers even after Maxima clarified the question.
Dave has mirrored that joke here except Ren is making funny answers to the powers end of it instead of the power weaknesses end of it (with some help from Harem). I really do believe that is what William was talking about. Sydney dished it out but couldn’t take it with as much grace as many of those who take it from her. She will happily block others with wackiness that are seriously trying to learn about a subject she loves but when its her turn either doesn’t see the similarities to her own sense of humor or is too frustrated to care even if she does.
I get why you saw it that way since the sunlight one was also used in some of her random wackiness. (at least twice before)
Its a minor issue as you say. Its just something Dave did for funny and then mirrored here for the same reason. (the mirroring of something Sydney did back on her makes it funnier) It isn’t really meant to give super deep insights. Since wacky and funny reactions are the norm a character being serious in the face of it actually says a lot more about them than Ren or Stimpy going off at each other a little. Just clarifying the point I believe William to be making. Should also be noted that I think he meant it to be funny (as was my reply to him).
I must admit that I missed the significance that all those points were on a single page. But do not feel that it detracts from my points. Sydney was enjoying making her jokes, and was revelling in the build up to her point. She was not being thwarted in something she was trying to do, ergo there was not a problem.
But you are correct to say that she does not like it when the situation is reversed. So conceded, on that point.
And DaveB could well have been making a play on that point.
However, it does not detract from my original reply. Sydney was upset, and I explained why. On your linked page, if Maxima been doing something that got in the way of Sydney talking about her powers (on her own schedule), then she would have gotten frustrated.
You can even see an example of that, earlier in the same interview. Even though Maxima was trying to reassure Sydney that she was not going to be held against her will, she was going on about it long enough, that Sydney got impatient. She just wanted to get on with the big reveal, and Maxima was delaying that.
As for the comedy side, yea, that was not lost on me. Trouble is, I felt it to be ambiguous. In that it could either be read as a tongue-in-cheek rhetorical question. Which you covered nicely in your reply. Or it could have been a genuine query, for somebody who was bemused.
I am not good enough with names to be able to recall if william has made previous comments, so do not know if he is a joke-maker or not. So, when in doubt, I tend to err on explaining. Sometimes, in similar previous situations, the person was just making a wry joke, so my comment just falls flat.
But, if they are the comedic sort, the fact that they made a deadpan joke, and some stuffy guy took it as a straight comment, can be amusing for folks. So no harm done at all. Unless I come across as patronising. And if I misjudge it that badly, then I can always apologise.
Other times folks are appreciative. I have no problem coming across stuffy sometimes if, on other occasions, I can actually help.
No problem at all and your points were correct in and of themselves. I just thought you missed the point and maybe the jokes.
Of course since William never weighed in again we will never really know if either of us understood the dear soul. Its always nice batting something back and forth. You’re responsive. Its fun. Time consuming but fun. And you’re one of the original guard here so its good to see you so active again. (after this one I think I need to scale back a bit myself)
Ahh, it would be a shame if you scaled back, just for the sake of it. If it is cutting into the rest of your life too much, then that is understandable. But debate within an informed and intelligent community can be both stimulating and rewarding. Given that you are good at it, it would be a pity to see you cut down.
Combination taking too much time and the more I comment the more peoples eyes start to glaze over when they see “That Person Again’s” name. I get less replies the more I post. Though it is fun.
Ren dragged the joke on too long?
Unless it was his intent to get a rise out of Sydney. Which seems unlikely, given him saying he was a fan of her work. But it is all part of socialising. Getting to know what buttons to push, or not to push, for particular individuals.
Hopefully Ren is smart enough to make a mental note of how fixated Sydney is on ‘talking shop’, so will, in future, be able to judge a better moment to make a witticism.
Or, at least, recognise the glint in her eye, when irritation starts to take over. If he can use his powers at will, and pays attention to subtle cues, he can head-off such, by changing the conversation, before she reacts.
Overclock would be a great name for him
How about Big Ren as a take on Big Ben and his time ability.
Yup, a perfectly logical rhyming slang abbreviation of Adrian. To those in the know. Which is rather the point of rhyming slang.
Ironic mind, in suggesting it as the call-sign for a policeman. Given that rhyming slang was originally developed by cockneys, to obscure their conversation, so that police would not understand it.
My dad being a Londoner though, means that I have grown up with a lot of rhyming slang, as a part of my vocabulary. So that gets my seal of approval.
That what some kids’ slang is for as well, to confound authorities(adults).
DaveB,
I’m not an artist but I do see your problem: I don’t think you are accounting for the lighting effect of the hallway. How about if you imagine a light source in the hallway – ceiling, window – whatever. Then the light would be brighter at the corner and get dimmer with distance. Just opposite from what you have.
Working off of Adrenals and Adrenaline, why not just A.D.? Confuses the bad guys to the actual powers and they waste time on Einstein based traps for the guy.
And yes, it would be short for Anno Domini.
The Dynamic Duo, ADHD and her sidekick AD.
You should have searched Real estate, those photographers are specialists and making dull rooms seem larger by connecting stuff together. Put a filter in it to block the prices or you’ll either never stop shopping, desiring a different place, or you’ll die from seeing the asking prices.
Super name… bored guy.
I suspect that Arianna would veto that. But panel 6 does inspire alternatives, which would draw from the same well.
Deep Thought
Deep Thinker
Initiative
Heightened Anticipation (his action figure box would need to be big, so the name would fit)
Reflexion (spelling intentional)
Think Tank (boom boom)
Initiative sounds perfect I could totally see Sidney calling him in by saying they need to “Roll for Initiative”
My two cents about perspective in panel 6 (sorry if already mentioned)
I used to have the same problem when I worked in 3D design, its hard to solve just with lights because there’s little difference without stereoscopy.
Here are a few tips I found useful:
– Make the edge to cut an object (pretty easy and pretty effective): Make an object in the rear to pass beyond the edge of the wall (in your panel it could be the picture behind Ren), that will render obvious it’s not a corner. Since you have the panel already done, this is likely the only one that will worth using.
– Make a shadow to go beyond the edge (easy but no always effective). Make an object to cast a shadow over one wall that get cut by the edge. Or else make the very edge to cast a shadow over the rear wall.
– Make the floor or ceiling visible (restrictive but highly effective). Use a POV that makes visible the point where the edge of the wall reaches the floor or the ceiling. That will make unmistakable the relative position of the walls.
Hope it helps.
You can never have too many LED flashlights…one for every drawer in the house….and backups
Just don’t keep a lot of other junk in the same drawers as you do your flashlights…When the power goes off & everything’s dark, you’ll be fumbling for a light just so you can find the flashlight.
I think this Super Adrenalin would be taxing on a normal human body.
In an Anime I heard once that humans only use 30% of their strengh and was also mentioned multiple times in other shows. So I thought with Adrenalin, fear or stress induced, they get to maybe 50-60% and have “super strengh and reflexes”.
In the same Anime was said, would a normal human body use 100% for to long, the body would damage itself: muscles tear, bones break, blood vessels burst etc.
In an X-Files episode had an teenager required super speed. That similiar to super reflexes. This teenager had massiv injuries at his joints and if I remember correctly his muscels at the end of the episod.
Yup, good safety tip. Super Adrenalin should only be used by Super Heroes. If any pusher tries to offer you some, just say no.
I sooooo want the instructor to be like Mahren:
https://www.crystalhall.org/ParkourJam.html
perhaps even Mahren after he got turned into a superhuman female (how WOULD max deal with a super whose powers had changed them from male to female or female to male?)
Sue me, I didn’t do a scan, but – ‘Reflex’. If it was already suggested, my vote is for that. :P :)
Hi Sue. Me Yorp.
Reflex has been mentioned, but it is a good one, so worth voting for it.
People seeing him move in adrenalin kode without knowing his name are likely to point and say “Matrix!” so it would be a good name.
When is he offering Sydney the bleu pill, or the red pill?
Gee, thanks. Now I have a mental image of Ren, moving in swift, but short steps, so he does not trip on his Kimono.* All the while speaking to Sydney in French.
Mind you, he does pull it off well, I will give you that. I guess that enhanced time sense is really flexible.
* Because if ‘kode’ is something that you use, whilst moving, it seems likey it is a garment. And it sounds kind of oriental.
There are “Kote” which are bracers or sleeves in Japanese armor.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Kote
I realize that for Ren, everything is slowed.
But for people outside his frame of reference he would look like a BLUR.
“Blur” seems like a good name for the character.
Not bad. But from Ren’s point of view he is in an oasis of calm. So how about “Oasis”?
I guess we should leave that for the girls to decide.
Blur or Oasis?
Blurasis!
Amp, rAmp, Ren-alin, Stimpy (just ’cause), Nerve, Vibe, or even Matrix all sound like viable super-names to me
My favourite LED torches are the ones that use either a squeezing action, or a rotating handle, to provide the power. You never run the risk of the batteries going flat. I even have a lantern version. I bought all mine over eight years ago, before emigrating, and they are still going strong.
Given that we do get occasional power cuts, they have proven to be invaluable. And have paid for themselves, several times over, by virtue of savings on batteries. Given that we have both wolves and jackals that come into our village, and who consider small dogs, like Jack Russells, to be juicy snack boxes on legs, I feel happier using a torch, if out and about after dark.
For emergency lighting in my home I use oil lamps.
https://www.manorhg.com/store/images/MAT_Trentino_Oil_Table_Lamp_918.0.jpg
Zip-Strip
GOTTAGO!
Fast-Track
Da Blur
Not the Hulk, DAMMIT!
Nitrous
Fast (as in, “Hi! I’m Fast!”) Heh.
Doppler’s Proof
It seems to me, that panel six is in a corner of a room, with the picture on the touching wall, yes, some sparkies can (and do) screw up the placement of light switches and power points (like putting them inside closets)
How about MP for Max Paine? Since he’s in the military too, MP would fit, right?
I would suggest the code name “Relativity” except that it somehow sounds like a supervillain’s name.
Epineph-ren (Epinephrine, adrenaline), or Epi-ren (epi-pen).
I’ll just go stand in the corner now.
β,3,4-trihydroxy-N-methylphenethylamine to his friends.
Sometimes, I really took my time reading everthing. Then I pitty *DaveB*. For one or the two reasons
1st: the time it takes to read EVERTHING
2nd: Some good things posted that you’ll miss if you don’t read them
He probably uses his phone to read them when he’s on the pot.
He seems to respond to most of the things he cares about the first morning then uses the new comment gizmo to cherry pick the new additions at a glance. But yeah, towards the last day or more he is missing stuff maybe.
I’m pretty sure he’d have told me what font he uses for regular word balloons in the comic if he’d seen it. And possibly acknowledge the spelling error on page #319. But I could be wrong. (or I comment so much he has started to have his eyes go blurry whenever he sees my name! XP LOL )
Since he has enhanced cognitive and motor abilities, he would be the one to initiate any action in a conflict. Arianna wants more ‘heroic’ names, so she would pick something like ‘First Responder’.
On a side note: His abilities would be able to sense an adapt to any action you took against him before you even noticed. He could easily be world champion at Rock Paper Scissors.
What’s the deal with Harem’s expression. I’m not a big fan of fanservice but usually there’s at least a raison for it, in context. I’ll accept almost anything for a good enough raison.
I think Dave is trying to use Ren’s answer to the power question to mirror Sydney’s response to the power weaknesses question(s) found here https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/589 where Sydney lists weaknesses that are just the same weakness she would have if she had no access to super powers to illustrate humorously that she is vanilla human unless actively using an orb.
Ren is doing the same thing as to his powers, listing normal human male “abilities”, to humorously point out that most of the time he is vanilla human unless he activates his powers for what I am assuming is a limited time. Maybe Ren isn’t the kind of guy to push the sexual conclusion to the joke and Harem is so Dave used her for it. Plus Harem supported Sydney in the original joke, in the sexual weaknesses part of it no less, so she has a memory of a very similar humorous lines. You will note her entire comment is about the power weaknesses end of things so really she is mimicking what she heard Sydney doing yesterday and adding 1 more degree of sex to it cause well, she does appear to be second in command of overt sexuality after Dabbler (a distant second).
Dave has created two permanent team members who have personalities that are perfect outlets for his old well honed fanservice needs: Dabbler and Harem. They will do fanservice and the reason will be that it matches who they are. However if any of the rest of them do some random fanservice in the middle of an inappropriate location/situation then yes, it should be set up properly. (and you’ll be seeing a decent amount of that too since Dave is Dave and many of his most loyal fans are MORE than OK with lots of fanservice… I’m one of the exceptions to that as far as the main comic goes.)
All that mouthful said it wasn’t much of a fanservice moment really. It obscured about as much as it showed.
Just to add to Observer‘s points, I do not feel that this was intended, in any way, as fan service. To the contrary, in fact. The kinds of folks who would normally be keen to see a woman manipulating her breasts, were the butt of the joke here.
And Harem was driving the point home with her “Dat Ass” facial impersonation. Which was none too flattering to the males it was parodying. The grasping of her breasts was simply part of her parody (linked to the cleavage point). She was doing that to mock, rather than to … um… titillate.
*wags tail*
This is Ren, so who is Stimpy?
Blondie :P
Let’s name Blondie “Snarkmeister”. So far that looks like all he’s good for.
Let’s call him “zen time”
because physical speed has not been established, only mental speed for super-super-super early and accurate reflexes plus probably super strength
I don’t have the time to read all the comments today – MOUNDS of homework – but if no-one’s asked yet, DaveB, did you get the idea for Ren from the (also black) guy with much the same superpower on Alphas? Just curious whether this is a case of influences or of ‘great minds think alike’ XD
Slow Jam.
Black Flash, maybe Blash?
Wicked Quick Tall Dude.
I’m pretty sure Dave already has a name picked out for this guy, but this makes me think how fun it would be if he actually let us all work on a name for an upcoming super at some point, as everybody coming up with names is pretty fun to read and there are great ideas like “Redline” and “Overdrive” though I like “Bullet Time” the best from the list earlier.
I’d say “Renegade” for the way it works his nickname in, even though it has no relation to his powers.
Or, if he had some sort of ability to break down matter, then he could be “Acid Reflex”
I am sure he has a name. But, who knows, he may well be tickled by one of the ones we come up with, and decide to go with that instead.
There are some precedents which show that Dave can change his mind, even with all the years of planning he puts in. For instance Sydney was not even a member of the cast, in his original concept! She was a very late addition.
And, following the introduction of Arc-Dark and Arc-Light, a commentator came up with a list of witty Arc-“something” names. Several of which appealed to Dave enough that he said he is likely to use them, in future.
So keep the suggestions coming, in Rapid Fire. Be it Quick Wit or a Sure Shot, maybe a Precision Strike, you could land on the correct target. If you can come up with something poetic, that gives the impression of him floating like a butterfly, but stinging like a bee, you could be the World Champion.
“I hear people ask artists if they use a lot of references when they draw.”
Considering that, as an aspiring artist, I once PM’d you on deviant art to ask you that very question, I believe you :P (Thanks again for your response. It was very encouraging at the time.)
About the page, nice one as usual. I can’t wait to find out more about the un-amused girl behind Halo. But then I have an affinity to secondary characters so that’s not unusual for me.
I am sure that there will be at least one thing you will be surprised to find out about him.
Oh, so it is a guy. It’s rare that a guy character would be so against Ren’s monologue. Even better.