Grrl Power #323 – She’s got the touch… she’s got the powah!
Naturally Sydney has questions. Some of them will be answered on the very next page! I want to discuss her abilities here but it would be premature before the next page. Also I would make a Who’s Who for Vance since he spoke and was named, but all it would say is “blond and pretty” which… I guess is about as helpful as the one Ren got.
Telford Porter is actually a real Marvel villain. Guess what his power is? People with powers that match their given name is… it’s one of those things that seems cool when you’re making up your own heroes when you’re 10, but it really requires some strained logic when you try and carry those characters through into other work. The easiest way to explain it is that super powers are at least partially psychic/psionic/etc in nature and a person’s identity can shape them. Dr. Doom is fine. His powers have nothing to do with his name, and his villain moniker is literally just his name plus his level of education. Doctor Octopus slash Otto Octavious is a little more of a stretch. I’ll admit Maxima is arguably skirting the edge as she can “max out” her powers. I’ve mentioned it before, but in her original incarnation she was named Ultima, but I changed her name to Maxima because of her her powers work – also it immediately helped start to form her personality. It would be pretty inexcusable if her name was Max Powers, but come on, Telford Porter? That has to take the cake.
I realize after I drew it that Xochitl’s power key flowchart looks a bit like Sydney’s Orb Grid, that’s not intentional. I probably should have gone with something that looked more like a DNA strand, but too late now.
Holy crap you guys, A-kon is this weekend! It totally snuck up on me this year. As such I wasn’t able to sign up to do a panel, but I’ll be attending several of the webcomic ones myself. This year, instead of just saying “hey let’s try and get together” and hoping it all works out, I’m going to propose a time and a place right now. There’s a bar and grill in the Atrium II (the big main one) called Media, if you’re there and interested, we can meet up there at 8pm Friday. It might be too busy to actually eat there, but it’s easy to find, so we can at least coordinate from there. The easiest way to keep track of and communicate with me during the con will be via Twitter. I may try and wear my one Grrl Power t-shirt I have for easy identification, beyond that, my headshot is on the Patreon page.
Here’s some Maxima fan art for you. Max is kind of… I’m not sure if cute is the right word, but it’s close. It’s by the creator of Magical Girl Neil. I’ve only read a little of it, but the premise is a guy gets magic girl powers a la Sailor Moon. The transformation sequence includes magical gender reassignment, and the requisite hilarity ensues.
Today’s page colored by Keith.
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.
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Just saw the Maxima fan art by Satellite 9,I wonder how’d she would look rendered by:
Kittyhawk(Sparkling Generation Valkyrie Yuuki)
Al Schroeder(Mindmistress,Flickerflame)
Chris V (Victory)
TV’s Mr.Neil (Dasien)
Erika Wagner (Sidekick Girl)
Grace Crowley (Magellan)
Essay Bee (Fusion,Dude in Distress)
Why don’t you ask them :)
I’m not sure how to get in touch with ANY of them and if they’re fans of this comic or not?!?!? :\
A comment in the comic?
Also I just checked and letting aside D.I.D. they all have Facebook and/or Twitter.
Wow, you are actually on it. You just gained my respect :)
+1
So you got a problem with Remus Lupin being bitten by a werewolf as a child? :p Seriously, I kept expecting to find out his parents kicked him out after he got bit and he was given that for a new name.
As for the comic, the plot thickens! Im guessing she has no control over her power activating, since she didnt want to shake halos hand before telling her about her powers, but since they dont seem to hurt her or the person she touches, she is a way less depressed version of rogue. It does make me wonder if she is stuck having to maintain contact to use her abilities though, or if thats just how she initially activates them, and from then on can access her new variant. As for blond boy, we get the first hint of his powers. Pretty clearly some sort of durability power at least, but what form they take could be interesting. After all, its not like she turned into a copy of ren, she just got the “lightning quick reaction time” of him. If he is a semi classic brick that could be amusing, because so far he would be the only male brick that doesnt have rippling muscles on his rippling muscles and blot out the sun when he enters a room. Of course, I could be wrong, and it turns out he has a magneto style power set of metal manipulation.
Let’s not forget Harry’s nemesis at school, Dragon Badguy.
And let’s also not make assumptions about Vance just yet. We still have a lot of questions about Varia’s power, and since she also gains powers from non-superpowered individuals, there’s no reason to believe that her power is always derivative of another person’s abilities. Maybe Harem’s power operates on a similar “wavelength” (or some similar jargon) to Varia’s, which is why her Harem-power is a near duplicate of Harem’s, but if Vance’s operates on a different wavelength entirely, they might not interact at all.
It just seems hasty to make assumptions based on something of which we currently have an incredibly limited understanding– indeed, of which the characters in-universe probably have a very limited understanding!
Draco’s family was all evil and pretentious, so it’s fair enough that they’d chose Draco. Lupin… yeah, now that name doesn’t make sense. But then again, magic. Perhaps being bitten by werewolves runs in the family.
There’s also stuff like Edward Nygma and Harleen Quinzel. With names like that, of course they’d become Batman villains! Although that’s more mental health problems than powers.
The way to really mess with people would be to have a character called something like Flannery Charr, with the power of ice.
with a name like that you’ll expect a fire based power not ice. just as bad as the blaster I had on CoH
Primary power: Electrical Blast
Secondary power: Energy Manipulation
Ancillary Power: Flame Mastery (only picked it for the self rez)
she was mostly a blapper (blaster/scrapper) with a bit of tanking and healing thrown in
then there was my stalker/blaster (confused a lot of players)
Plots don’t thicken. Pudding thickens and Jello sets. Plots, like busy-bodies, become more involved.
The plot thickens! “Things heat up”
– The conflict intensifies
– Gets more Complex
– Sub-Conflicts occur
https://image.slidesharecdn.com/theplot-120110143233-phpapp02/95/the-plot-line-study-guide-7-728.jpg?cb=1326227654
Jeez, it took forever to find this thread. Everyone else wants to talk about Varia’s powers.
I want to argue that Telford Porter is not CLOSE to the worst comic book name for a super. And we’ve already covered The Riddler and Harley, so we’re going well. [Aside: almost all names in the Harry Potter books are deliberately like that, like Sirius (the dog star) Black turns into a black dog because… stuff.] Okay. Telford Porter? Lame. But not even in the same league as my favorite hideous name:
Roy G. Bivolo, the Rainbow Raider. That’s right, they took that annoying mnemonic ROYGBIV and turned it into a guy’s name. No wonder he became a supervillain when he grew up. But there’s more! Let’s see what I can come up with, which are all worse than Telford Porter:
Dr. Dulmacher – The Dollmaker
Temple Fugate (or William Tockman depending on the writer) – the Clock King (yes, that’s a Latin pun: tempus fugit and all that)
Julian Gregory Day – Calendar Man
Captain (Nathaniel) Adam – Captain Atom
Scott Free – Mister Miracle (whose schtick is being a super escape artist – that and getting Big Barda to date him despite his schtick)
I’ll say that Telford Porter is on the same level of lameness as Victor Fries and Julio Richter (who just happens to get mutant earthquake powers). But there are hundreds of names this bad in DC/Marvel history.
Edward Nigma, or E. Nigma, the Riddler.
I don’t find the riddler one to be too terrible, as it’s more likely that his convoluted thinking was shaped by his name into a relevant form rather than him randomly gaining oddly appropriate powers.
From what I understood, it’s not likely to be his given name at birth. More likely an adopted name that he chose.
But it’s so fun trying to come up with oddly appropriate names.
I’ve recently finished working on a group of villains for a FASERIP game. They’re called the Road Crew and they have road themed codenames.
Bypass is Enid Drew, who has the power of phasing.
Getaway is Barry Weir, who is essentially the team teleporter.
Roadblock is Raymond Burke, who can generate forcefields.
Routemaster, the team leader, is a robot that can transform into a classic double decker bus. It doesn’t have a secret identity.
All those secret identity names are essentially nominative determinism, but not obviously so. The “not obviously so” is the fun part. I could have called Enid “Spooky McGhost” but that would have been retarded.
Varia has an interesting power, though it does seem kind of like a potentially lethal power if used carelessly – and doubly dangerous, if it’s automatically triggered by physical contact with another superhuman. Unless part of the power involves making sure she isn’t imbued with an ability that has dangerous side effects or that she’s instantly made aware of the details of her new ability, she’d want to carefully test it with each superhuman she encounters. After all, there’s no telling when she might spontaneously develop the power to exhale chlorine gas or spontaneously explode.
It’s triggered by contact with ANYONE. She said seven billion combinations– one for every person on Earth. The person she touches doesn’t need to be superpowered.
(Which arguably makes it even more dangerous, as I posited earlier: What if she wants to get into a relationship with them, but bursts into flame every time they make physical contact?)
Mittens
Full-body condoms?
Edna Mode makes those?
Not just makes, she models them as well
EM: I designed it to withstand enormous friction without heating up or wearing out, a useful feature. It can stretch so far its virtually indestructible yet still retain is shape.
And machine washable darling. That’s a new feature.
V: What on earth do you think we’ll be doing?!
EM: Well, I am sure I don’t know, darling. Luck favors the prepared.
Finn Mertens could no doubt provide a few pointers – he was dating a Princess of Flame for a while
So did Arsenal.
Threesome with a guy/girl who causes invulnerability?
Someone will retain their virginity for certain…
That got me to thinking about the female version of Achilles. If her power manifested itself before she…you know…then she could never, ever…you know…
I would be keen to see her touching Sydney to see if she was able to handle her orbs as well or even gain an orb like power.
If its DNA related her power would only be related to powers gained from DNA or at least something that directly alters the super’s body. Sydney doesn’t have that so she would probably gain some power triggered by Sydney’s ADD?
From me she would probably gain the abilities triggered by(though maybe not the same as) resistance to bee/wasp related venoms, super procrastination, the ability to find things/excellent pattern recognition and maybe merge with google.
What triggers would you provide?
The DNA might give her the power to hold an orb, that would give them 3 active (Syd’s two hands and Vera’s one free hand).
Only if Sydney is somehow genetically uniquely qualified to be the host and Varia manages to copy the effect this qualification causes?? Varia doesn’t look like she copies DNA but rather reacts to it to choose what to unlock in what arrangements. Is Sydney uniquely gifted to have the orbs? That would be interesting.
I’m betting she would get super resistance to spicy foods. Unlikely she could usurp the spheres.
okay so the MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION is, can she sustain the powers while not in contact with others?
At the very least she probably can for a short time unless they are permanent till she touches the next person.
What I’m wondering is can she “lock” her current triggered powerset and prevent touches from resetting it. She’s indicated she can’t from an unpowered state but can she hang on to a powered state? If not then she has a serious weakness villains can take advantage of. And just the general weakness that if the power she gains works best when she can get in and physically punch or grapple the enemy then that power is, at best, a one hit wonder unless she gained it from them…
Here is another good question: Does she instantly “know” what her triggered powers can do as she gains them. If she does than maybe she can learn a variety of fighting styles/strategies for different types of powersets and react on the fly confusing the enemy to great effect while smoothly using related powers against him. If she can’t well, she can still go with that type of training but the transition in fighting methods would not be nearly as smooth and it would create openings for the villain.
Like Anvil she is another heroine that can be powered up quickly by contact with other supers in the team in advance. I bet touching Maxima is quite a trip!
Yeah, a trip to the MOON!!!
Very good points. I wonder how the Nemesis power would react to her?
It would have to see her scan as an attack. So I guess it depends on how subtle or invasive the scan is. Of course it would repel or couterattack whatever violence she tried to do to him in touching him but As Anvil proved, the counter doesn’t automatically prevent touching just damage by neutralizing the attack itself. (has to be using his subconscious to determine what to defend against )
If it DID see the scan method as an attack it would block it and unless the only way to do that involved knocking her back or hurting her its just as possible nothing visible would happen.
You are correct that it hinges on whether a scan can be defined/detected as being an attack. Is looking at him an attack? We did not see people going blind. Is using truesight on him an attack?
I do not recall Halo trying to scan him, but that brings up the other point.
The nemisis power did not react until or unless a super attack was made. And it did not respond to mundane actions, like putting googly eyes on him. So it could not pre-empt Varia touching him. That is a mundane action, which only becomes a super attack when contact is made and the super power can actually activate.
So, even if it did react to that as an attack, Varia would still get her gestalt power. Whatever that may be. Given that it is being created from a purely defensive power though, it is likely to be defensive in nature itself. As such nemisis would not be interested in it. It is not an attack, so would ignore it.
Another perfect example of the naming thing can be found in My Little Pony (Personal feelings on the show/fans irrelevant). Ponies get their cutie-marks when they realize what their special talent (Ie: Their mission in life) is, and, remarkably, their names USUALLY happen to match perfectly. Obviously, this happens because of marketing, but from a story perspective, it’s ridiculous.
The worst is that all Smurfs have names that match their core personality trait. When is this decided? What parent would name their child Grouchy knowing what that would do to him? If it is inherently attached to them when they are born, this could be a warning for future problems. “Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Smurf. Here is your new son ‘Serial Killer’ Smurf”.
This is lampshaded in the Smurf Movie with Neal Patrick Harris.
Patrick: And you’re all named after your personalities? Do you get your names when you’re born or after you’ve exhibited certain traits?
The Smurfs: Yes.
First thing Snow White thought.
Well her mum and dad probably were sparing her by not giving her the family name “Evil”. She was probably rather anaemic even as a baby, so there it is easy to see how they came up with the name.
Actually the evil one was her stepmother, about her parents nothing is said. In the orginal tale she was named that way because she was wanted that way:
“If only I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood in this frame.”
I was referring to the dwarf’s names, at least in Disney’s movie, because Grimm brothers never gave them names.
“I have grown up kind and gentle, loving all the animals in the forest, giving alms to the poor and tending the sick. But, even as a young child I was taunted mercilessly about my name. With only my diary to confide in.
Well, now I have been crowned as Queen, every one of those f***ers are going to pay by having a twenty foot spike shoved right up their bottoms!”
To clarify, the Evil Queen in the Disney version of Snow White is not literally named “Evil Queen”, it’s just a narrative description, like how a background character in a movie isn’t literally named “Woman with Red Hat” or “Janitor #3”.
Her real name is actually the perfectly-normal-sounding-in-the-original Germanic name of Grimhilde.
https://disney.wikia.com/wiki/The_Evil_Queen (scroll down to Book Appearances)
:-P
There’s a decent case to be made that the ‘real’ name of the Disney version is ‘Regina Mills’.
It’s like in the movie Galaxy Quest.
“But I don’t even have a name! I’m just Crewman #3! It’s always the unnamed characters that die first!”
The concept of true names covers this mind. That everything in the world has a true name from which it is formed. If you know it’s name, then you have power over it. Some cultures have naming rituals which are meant to tap into this. Of course you do not reveal such a true name to the outside world. Because that would give them power over you.
Oddly enough there is truth in it. If you consider that DNA is formed of letters, which make up words. Somebody’s “name” is just particularly long. However it does precisely define them and how they are made up. Further, if you know it, you have power over them. Gaining the ability to heal or harm them.
Something that viruses and bacteria seek to do, for example. Some using your name, for their own purposes. Others trying to incorporate their name into your own. Some acting in a benign fashion, others to malign ends.
Throw super powers, magic and mind powers into the mix and names might just be a verbalised nick name, divining an aspect of the DNA or powers. Providing you can rationalise how that divining was done, of course. Which would not mesh at all, with our mainstream culture, in the present day.
DNA’s more of a recipe than a name, but I see your point.
There’s a bit more to liken DNA chains with names. As a person grows, their cells split into 2 “half cells” with only 1/2 of the DNA chain. As the new half cells struggle to absorb other chemical combinations floating around, they can produce “copying errors.”
MUTATION!
I think we may have gotten a clue about the hero form of ‘Blondie’ a.k.a. Vance. When Varia touched him she turned kind of silvery. And Vance does kind of have a surfer dude haircut.
Now see -I- went straight to Colossus. You know who i’m talking about, the Russian half of the FastBall Special.
I find myself wondering why Varia needs a whole person to touch. Is contact with a tiny piece of them acceptable… because let’s face it, skin grafts ain’t that difficult, and long before you have to go that far there are other technologies that would allow similar-sized samples to stay alive and touchable for days or weeks at a time on a sash or belt. Perhaps non-living samples are good enough….
Maybe she can store Maxima’s last haircut or toenail clippings in her purse and go golden girl on bad guys at will?
There’s really no reason to think Maxima’s touch would make her gold, or give a better result than any other person.
Ooh! Ooh! OOOOH!
What if touching Harem just makes Varia really lightweight?
Heh, I see what you are getting at. That Vorping not being done by Varia, but by Harem. But only because Varia is now within her weight limit.
Nice thought. And it would emphasise the ‘not copying’ part.
There is even an element of logic to it, rather than it being “oh, that is rather convenient that she just happen to get a power which is exactly what is needed to work well with Harems”. Harem’s power specifically has weight/mass associated with it. So that might be what the part of her power is drawn upon, to form Varia’s gestalt power.
Yes I found it appealing in a previous post and then came to my mind the “she can’t take anyone with her. Clothing, equipment, easy, but no people. Possibly nothing else living”. That makes Xochitl’s supposed power way more interesting :)
Depends on if the *vorp*ing duo can carry a living subject with them
Didn’t know Vance was a dude until this comic.
Yea, if you check out the comments, for the past couple of comics, you will find that to be pretty much the universal impression. Although the author’s blog, on the first page, did link to his earliest appearance, as one of the shirtless guys that Sydney was drooling over with Peggy.
A common mistake. If it makes you feel any better, here is your video consolation prize.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf0oXY4nDxE
Octavius essentially chose/designed his “powers” (arms), didn’t he? The “Octopus” portion was a name given to him by others, that he adopted, due to his constructed arms – anyways, I would put Maxima as a little more “too perfect” of a name than Octavius. Still, Telford Porter is obviously worse than both of those.
Yea, if my name was Battlemech and I turned out to be a gifted mad scientist, I might well choose to study the appropriate field. So that I could build a real battlemech and stomp on everybody who had teased me, over the years, for having such a weird name!
Oh, like how Max Fightmaster decided to go into the military?
Ah, you’re a member of the Society.
Shh I am am on the LAM.
As long as you got there via DFA.
Nope, via Shadow Hawk.
I was more partial to the Phoenix Hawk for the Commander of my Lance Unit.
I like coming up with new and improved mech designs. My preferred LAM was an 85 ton assault LAM. Off the top of my head I cant remember if it had one PPC or two. Although I probably made both variants. But I did have them arm mounted, to give maximum field of fire. And because they are not so good in melee.
So, of course, when in hand to hand, you use your arms for punching instead of shooting. Practically the same damage. But no heat build-up. Which means that you can also fire all your secondary weapons. Multiple chest mounted medium lasers (plus one in the head). The number chosen exactly matching the heat output of the PPC(s),
Plus carrying sufficient heat sinks to allow continuous jumping and firing of either the PPCs or the lasers, without overheating. Using PPCs for longer range enemies, and those attempting to flank. But, as the vehicle would be very slow versus Aerospace fighters, it also has a couple of rear-mounted medium lasers.
I seem to recall that the two-PPC version had to compromise by allowing the head laser to cover the rear. Instead of having two dedicated ones on the back.
But, due to having to give up space for the conversion equipment, it does still leave it a bit shy on firepower if toe to toe with other assault mechs. However it does have the manoeuvrability to avoid any of those it wants to easily. And one trick up it’s sleeves (well, in it’s torso anyhow). Machine guns. As many as it can cram in, without compromising the armour.
Lots more for the one PPC design. Either being deadly for infantry and anti-mech commandos. But also significantly increasing the hand-to-hand damage, without compromising the heat. And massively exploiting any holes punched through the armour by the primary and secondary weapons.
If I had a mini-empire, in that setting, with just the one mech factory, that would be what I would set up the production lines for. In hybrid mode it is faster and more manoeuvrable than most scouts. In space the entire force could be in aerospace fighter mode. So could overwhelm the enemy through sheer weight of numbers.
Plus, having all energy-based primary and secondary weapons, could sustain prolonged guerilla tactic wars, if outnumbered on the ground. Dispersing over a wide area, to harass supply lines and conduct raiding. Yet could easily mass, to take on concentrations of enemy forces.
Batman villains:
Calendar Man – Julian Day
Riddler – E. Nigma
Harley Quinn
Zeus – Maximillian Zeus
Mr. Freeze – Dr. Victor Fries
Poison Ivy – Pamela Lily Isley
Tweedle Dum – Dumfrey Tweed
Clock King – Temple Fugit
Humpty Dumpty – Humphrey Dumpler
Kite Man – Charlie Brown
Magpie – Margaret (Meg) Pye
Nocturna – Natalia Night
Werewolf – Anthony Lupus
Roadrunner – Bixby Rhodes
Rob Callender – bank robber from the future
Thor – Henry Meke – mild-mannered museum director transformed by meteorite
Thomas Trigger – cowboy style gunslinger
Oh golden age comics, what won’t you do?
Yeah with the glowing exception of Harley Quinn – Dr. Harleen Francis Quinzel who was a character added by the Batman animated series and added to the comic cannon afterward.
Harley’s a pretty tongue-in-cheek exception in the cartoon as well. She acknowledge from the get-go that ‘she’s heard it before. Harleen Quinzel, Harley Quinn – ha ha, she gets it’ when the joker mentions that ‘changing the name around a bit and she’d make the perfect sidekick.
It’s almost as if the Joker wanted her almost specifically because of her name. If someone else had come first with the name Jesse/Jessie Terr, he’d probably have chosen him/her as the person who would HAVE to be his sidekick. :)
Plus Harley is awesome.
Well with Batman villans there is sorta more of a justification for it than with others. Most Batman villans don’t really have powers so much as they’re a person with a mental illness that has fixaed on some particular concept. Therefore it’s kinda understandable that through said mental illness they’ve become, conciously or subconciously, twisted to match thier name.
It’s only a parial explanantion though, so many people with the same thing happening? Unlikely…. almost as unlikely as people actualy being given some of those names in the fist place… I mean.. Temple Fugit?
Can you imagine the twin daughters (actually born in Russia) who’s family name was Hogg & named Ima & Ura by their parents?
Oh, you beat me to it.
But don’t forget Roy G. Bivolo, the Rainbow Raider! Flash villain were almost as dorky as the Batman villains.
There’s another Clock King who is called William Tockman :)
IIRC, in at least some versions ‘Doc Oc’ was his nickname before he designed his arms, given as an obvious play on his name. Which then inspired the arms themselves. If the real name inspires the villain schtick, it’s at least semi-justified and makes some sense.
“Brought to you by Oakley™.”
So when is this training going to actually start?
Calm down tiger, we don’t rush in this comic. It follows a gently meandering stream of thought. Not a waterfall!
They are all good little soldiers and have turned up early for their course. And are rushing introductions, to get them done before the sergeant arrives.
This reminds me of the comments just before the Conference: “How long before we get to the Conference?”, five pages into the Conference: “How long before we start getting some action?”, five pages into the Parking Lot Battle: “How long is this going to take?”
How long is this particular thread going to keep going on? :)
As long as it needs to.
Gestalt powers, huh? So if she touches 5 people at a time, does she turn into Devastator?
Seven billion powers very strong implies one power per person. Further she says “Each person I touch unlocks my powah in a different way”. The way that is phrased makes it sound like she just has the one power.
My personal reading is that if she was touching five she could pick and choose which key to use. But could not put five keys in the one lock.
I read the image in panel 7 as indicating that touching 3 people at once unlocks her ‘powah’ 3 different ways. And she does use the ‘potentially’ qualifier, which could mean that she, or whoever at ARC examined her, was basing the assumption of her only touching one person at a time. It could be that touching Person A might unlock just heat resistance, Person B just telekinesis, but Persons A & B just super speed.
“Potentially” could mean that powers could repeat. Different persons, same power.
Would be interesting touching Maxima then seeing as she has a pool of powers she can tweak with rather than just technically one power she has a cluster. I am guessing the new guy is either invulnerable or can do a colossus and turn into organic steel. Though I doubt DaveB would do an exact clone of that so maybe the metal looking is an expression of being impervious? Shame on you DaveB! he spoke in this comic and yet didn’t get a mention of him on the side blurb. Oh and on that note Ren needs updating as his power was explained rather than just being tall :)
I’m hoping she shares Sydney’s love for hot peppers. At least a knowledge of them based on her researching her heritage…
Varia’s weakness hand whipped cocoa with chili peppers mixed in… of course every girl who’ gets cramps should really look into that beverage blend.
( “Constructicons, transform and merge into Devastator!” ) The joke Mechwarrior was making is that the (fan) term for several mechs that have combined into a single giant robot (vis Transformers, Voltron, Power Rangers, etc) is “Gestalt Mode”.
B.T.W. The power of a team to merge into a single hero form is also what the term Gestalt Power means in the Mutants and Masterminds role playing game; emulating heros such as Firestorm .
In GURPs gestalt is used to describe when telepaths link together, to operate as if one mind. This could either be done by the telepaths individually joining together. Or a high tech device could pool the consciousness of groups of any size. Possibly even those who are not inherently psionic. Potentially even up to an entire planet’s population.
Anne McCaffery had a couple of related series where talented telepath/telekinetics could gestalt with a power source such as a generator to increase their range and power.
No. Captain Planet.
Booo!
Tree. Tree. Tree. Everyone’s a tree.
Since we are getting into convention season, I had an idea for a new one. The event will be called Ret-Con. It will be held in a new city each year, and when asked about it the organizers will say “No, it has always been held in this city.”
No attendee will admit to having been to Ret-Con before.
Or they’ll claim that they’ve always gone.
I’ve attended every year since it’s inception.
Ahh, yes, such memories. Mind you Uruk was worse than Glastonbury is today, for the toilet situation!
I think it’d be pretty cool if Varia’s and Halo’s powers had some kind of connection, especially considering the similarity of their powers (both needing to touch something to gain a variety of powers), so not a total loss that they have a similar visual theme, potentially. Like, they could both be inheritors of some ancient Mayan/alien technology or something.
Sydney’s ancient sphere technology originated in pre-columbian Costa Rica https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_spheres_of_Costa_Rica. Luckily, they managed to miniaturize their technology over time. It would be hard for Sydney to lug around seven of those if they were all over a meter across.
Well the smallest ones were only a few inches across, and they did make some out of different materials. One day Sydney will be able to summon the big ones. All three hundred of them!
Well let’s see. First off, Otto Octavius isn’t a crazy one, considering I could completely see someone named that- Octavius (and Otto for that matter) doesn’t mean “Octopus”, but ‘eighth’- it’s a fine old roman name. And his tentacle arms aren’t specifically Octopus-like, or else they’d have suckers. That was one of the names chosen by the Media, based on his name and appearance. If he’d been named Chester Cuts he’d probably be known as “The Cuttlefish” or if his name had been Arthur or Archibold or something, he’d have an “Arachnid” name.
On Varia- I think ya’all’ve got it a bit wrong. (the guesses from the readers, that is). You’re all talking like she gets a new power with everyone she touches, replacing the old one- based simply on who she’s touched. But I think it’s more like this- She touches one person, and gets a very similar power to theirs- (Harem’s Vorp) then, she touches a second person, and that first power is modified by the second one- Vance’s power probably isn’t actually “Turn to metal” at all- but whatever his power is (maybe ferrokinesis?) combines with the Vorp (a body-focused power) to give Varia Colossus or TX powers. Then she touches OverDrive, and his power (um, Overdrive) then gets combined with the MetalBody power to create LightningBody powers- it’s still an ‘elemental body’ power, but one focused on Speed and Power rather than Metal.
BUT! If she’d touched the three of them in a different order, she’d have gotten completely different powers!
If, say, she touched Vance then Ren then Xochitl, (assuming Vance’s power is Ferrokinesis)- it would have gone like this: Magnetic Attraction/Repulsion (ferrokinesis causing external manipulation)- The Ability to ‘see’ from nearby metals (losing her initial attraction/repulsion effect- Ren’s ability this time being interpreted as one of perception), and with Harem’s Vorping, the ability to either trade places with those metals, or turn nearby metals into independent metallic copies of herself (or possibly phasing through metal)- losing the ability to see/communicate with those copies.
So it’s not so much that she gains a new bit of power with everyone, but rather that her power changes wholesale with each person she touches, based on possibilities opened by who she’d touched previously. So even with just these three people, there would be 6 different possibilities for 3-person combinations, 6 different possibilities for 2 person combinations, and 3 possibilities for 1 person powers. So fifteen in total. Add in Halo, you make a huge number more. Add in anyone else, again, a huge boost.
Xochitl is Varia.
Think about what you just said.
Blah. Durr. Meant Daphne. My point still stands, though.
Interesting line of thought. Which has an elegance to it.
I will ingore the maths issues, as others have already addressed those points below. Looking at Xochitl’s power key flowchart, in the bottom of panel 7 though, each persons hand seems to be associated with a new section of the flowchart. If the intent is as you say, surely one would flow into another? Or perhaps would be highlighting parts of a branching structure, but with each clearly descended from the previous?
That said though, if you are right, then it implies a couple of things. Firstly that the power must be sustainable even after there is no longer any physical contact. As we did not see her grabbing someone else before releasing the previous person. Unless the memory of the power is retained, even if the capability to use it is not.
Further that there is some kind of time limit involved, for how long she retains the power/capability, after which Xochitl resets to having no power.
Unless Harem happens to be the first person she has ever touched. Because, if that were not true (or Varia having the ability to force a reset, I guess), then when she touched Harem, she should not have gained teleportation, but a merger between that and whatever power she had from the previous person she touched.
While interesting, that doesn’t really fit with Varia’s description of her powah. Particularly the “seven billion potential powers” part. Seven billion is approximately the number of people on Earth, so if she gets a different power from each individual person she touches (regardless of whether or not they have powers of their own), that works out. If she has one power that mutates with each person she touches, her number of potential powers increases exponentially with the size of her pool of people, and a pool of only 33 people gives her eight billion power combinations. If the order matters too, then her potential number of powers is the factorial of her pool of people, and by the time we get to 14 people – and I’m pretty sure we’ve seen more powered people than that just in Archon – we’re already up to 87 billion.
Do you think she knows that? (I mean, she might, just, do you think she do?) 7 bill is a generally known number as the human race’s count, and so it makes good shorthand for ‘I get powers from every individual, and they’re all different’.
I based my assumption on the fact that her touching Harem gave an almost identical effect to Harem’s power, while her touching Ren gave a ‘lightning body’ effect that looked similar to her previous form. I’m also assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that Vance doesn’t actually do the T-X thing, since we’ve so far seen only a single ‘shifter/Logia’ style power in amorphous (and maybe Jiggawatt? Though her’s isn’t an ‘elemental form’ as much as a sort of full-body attack), so I figure that’s a rare/nonexistant powertype.
That, and the diagram (and use of Gestalt) suggests that it’s not a simple mix’n’match, power swap each time she touches someone new, but rather that her powers, in whichever way, are additive instead of replace-ive. Since her first touch (to Harem) clearly gave her Harem-ish powers, that suggests that order is important, and that she doesn’t just have a single power that ‘levels up’ as she touches people.
I am assuming that the things Varia has said about her own powah, which she lives with and has knowledge and experience regarding, are more likely to be accurate than things that you’re making up based on dubious interpretations of the art, yes.
You could possibly take it from a genetic standpoint of a series of independent genes and treat each like a binary on off state. In which case you would need a minimum of 33 independently acting genes giving a possible 8+ billion combinations to get a unique result for each person on Earth.
Obviously it is your call on this DaveB. Especially if you are intending to show enough of his powers next week, to do a full entry.
Personally though I would appreciate it if there were a Who Who entry consistently made under such circumstances. I have a serious problem with names, so it probably impacts me more than most. But you do have a huge cast, so I am sure everyone will have some degree of difficulty remembering the names (and/or spellings) of all of them. Especially if a name is only mentioned the once. So the Who’s Who is a very useful asset for that alone.
The super powers and/or summary are nice but are an added perk to the most important part of a Who’s Who. Which is to remind you who the character is. Whilst you might get the odd quip about ‘is tall a power?’, that is nothing to worry about.
Whereas, if somebody wants to mention Ren’s name, they do not have to go hunting through previous pages for it. It is handily there at the bottom of the page. And the fact that his entry is bland is just a reminder that we do not know much about him.
Something which could happen in future, especially with any character encountered in passing. Not every super will be willing to divulge their powers when meeting a cop.
It wouldn’t be the first time their powers weren’t mentioned in their introduction Who’s Who entry (remember when Maxi and Anvil were first introduced? way back in ‘the real time’ before it slipped into the ‘never-ending flashback’ :D)
Yeah the Who’s Who was originally intended to mostly be helpful for those of us who are bad with names, and also to help out the occasional reader; people who like to read story comics in chunks, so they only stop by once a month or half year to catch up, and may not remember every character who shows up. I started imposing some limitations on it so that it didn’t eat up a ton of space. Really I just try and make sure that all the major players on each page are represented at least.
My question (well actually the only question I have left after I saw the rest asked by others) is: Are super powers the only thing she can copy? What about skill sets, muscle memory or a knowledge base? Could she become a pro tennis player by touching Serena Williams? Or a doctor by touching a surgeon?
Honestly I’m glad she’s not a Super Villain. I mean Imagine if she just started kidnapping everyone and demanding highfives. She could unlock all of her powers within a week….. Unless the Gestalt isn’t permanent or something… Then again I like to imagine a super villian who runs around demanding high fives.
Still reading Xochitl with a female variant of the Gilbert Godfried voice.
Dear Gods, what have I done?
You “Dr. Girlfriend’ed” her.
+1
I’m still hearing Xochitl with Faith Lehane’s vocals.
This should be a meme.
Who needs Lol Catz or screaming goats? We have Dr. Girlfriending!
what would happen if Varia touch Vehemence?
Guess:
Varia would gain a ‘random’ power based on his DNA. His ability to gain power from violence might not be genetic; it could be a result of magical studies, in which case Varia might not gain anything useful for dealing with him in a fight. She might gain a power derived from his genetic ability to handle steroids, for instance.
It does look like she gets a power that makes her in some way more compatible with the target, so if Vehemence get his power from genetics, she might gain a similar ability to gain power from violence, or merely become able to engage in violence around him without empowering him.
You know? Based on Gerald Nobody’s comment I would be inclined to think that Xochitl‘s power is actually self-Transmutation, and what the person she touchs does is determinate which element, compound or combination she adopts.
In the way they are depicted Vance’s effect was clearly transmutation and Ren’s could be.
Harem may have transmuted her into a light compound so she technically ceased to be a living person (or at least became able to survive the teleport) and also her weight fell below Harem’s limitation. Using that Harem could teleport her, the vorp” effect don’t allow us to check if she was “normal” or “trasmuted”.
If not for the Who’s Who… :)
Ooh, and that brings my attention to the “Or set of powers”. Mind you that is probably a given. There are way too many powers that require a secondary power to be useful, or even survive when using.
But, if the intent actually is that she can gain varied powersets this way (say Flight Invulnerabilty Strength Speed for example), that would make sense of a couple of previous comments which may have been alluding to that.
Whilst Maxima may seem to be someone who has a lot of powers and could therefore (presumably) create a lot of gestalt powers, that is not actually the case. Maxima only has her 0-range telekinesis and her energy attack. All of her other powers are derived from the former.
The more intriguing possibility being that she might have no relationship between the number of powers (or lack) when determining how many powers her gestalt gains. Certainly the seven billion figure she bandied about implies that she can get powers from touching normal people.
In which case I would love it if her most powerful set of powers is activated by touching one of the janitors at Archon HQ!
:-D
Or (even with single powers) every now and then Varia might have to run into a kindergarten, somewhere on the far side of the city.
“Sorry to interupt, but I need to touch Betty so that I can cure Mr Amorphous of radiation poisoning!”
The real question is, “What powers would she gain from touching Sydney?”
My guess, the most complete mental dictionary of every obscene gesture and remark ever thought up by the human psyche. She’d be the only person alive who could out-swear Sydney.
All the guesses on that nature go to her more obvious traits. So I will suggest a couple of less obvious ones that might fuel the gestalt, should that happen.
Serendipity. Sydney has the knack of being in the right place, at the right time. She went scuba diving where the orbs were lying ready to be found. Ok, this is a single thing, which in itself does not prove anything. Somebody would find them, sooner or later, and the story could have been about them.
Or, if they were not found, then the story might not have included an orb wielder at all. Which was actually on the cards, given that Sydney was a late addition to the script.
But she then did go on to happen to be in the right bank, at the right time, just as the first demonstration of a super-police act, in public, was about to happen. Kind of a mixed blessing, in some regards. Being exposed to the trauma of a bank robbery and almost being shot (even though Maxima had her covered) being a downside. So her version of serendipity does not just have good luck, although it does significantly predominate.
As demonstrated by Sydney being too preoccupied with the bank robbery to stop Tubey from giving itself away. But that lead to herArchon interview and job offer of becoming a super hero. Another mixed blessing, given the fact that she has already come close to genuinely dying as a result!
And, just a few scenes ago, Sydney demonstrated that down side of the ability again. Managing to interrupt her boss not just when she was in a video conference, but when it happened to be with the president!
Her other ability she has just demonstrated here. Her acute intuition. Being able to piece together disparate clues rapidly, but most importantly correctly, to figure out about the gestalt power. Something that was critical when fighting both For Whom the Bell Tolls and Vehemence.
Note that several roleplaying game systems list luck and intuition as being characteristics, just like the more commonly used strength or intelligence. Sydney just happens to have very high scores.
I’m under the assumption that her powers don’t generate based on traits of the person she touches, that they are basically random per person. At the very least it’s safe to say that they do not have to be based off the powers held by the person, because 1 she says nope to copy powers, and two, non-supers work too…
Varia? As in variable. Meh. I dub her “Touchy-Feelie”.
Looking at this again I so want the last frame to continue with an Orb brushing Varia’s forehead. And then she can go digital momentarily and pass out for a second. Then wake up “whatwhatwhat?”
Green Ball.
DO. EEET.
You know you want to.
AKA foreshadowing: The balls are a lie, a crutch being grasped by a young mind unable to admit they have all this power. To paraphrase the bald kid in the Matrix “There are no balls”
I, as a fully functional male, heartily disagree with you.
OR… The Fickle Hero; always changing her powers.
OR… Peer Pressure; she becomes what others choose her to be.
OR… ADHD Lass; Look what I can do! And this.And this.And this.And this…
OR… Valley Girl; Cause she can do, like, whatever.
OR… The Glad Hander
OR… Dammit Janet; Touch-a-touch-a-touch me! I want to feel PoOWer!
OR… Hand Check!
OR… Valentine: Cause, she Groks you.
OR… React; cause that’s what she does to people, she reacts.
If she were named Reaction or Reactor, it would confuse the hell out of villains who might be expecting some kind of nuclear-based power.
Ah, I can see where the name thing might give you pause. It’s a thing comics books used to be called “fun.” They’ve moved away from it now, but back when they made use of it, no one much minded that the names were like that or that Wolverine didn’t murder people all over the place. In fact, it was part of the medium’s charm.
Being able to copy powers, but have restrictions like that is sucky. Not least because there is someone there who can already do that power, and who knows it a lot better than you to boot.
But gaining up to seven billion different powers, even with those limitations?
Meh, who wants to control time, make mountains walk, conjure up a second moon or turn rivers into chocolate, if you have to hold hands whislt doing it!
“…or turn rivers into chocolate…”
That’s only if she touched Willy(‘s) Wonka.
Not a very good power, just like Peter’s power after he got superpowers again back in the Hero’s series. Yes you can gain any number of powers that are out there but only one at a time, and then there is the fact you can’t touch anyone else with powers otherwise you loose the power set you had. Not to mention that this looks like Xochitl has to continue to touch the person to continue using that particular power set witch then leaves her one arm less.
So yeah. Not a very good super power here.
Man I wish I had hands, instead of paws, so that I could hold somebody else and gain the power to drag that post from the thread above and bring it here, where it belongs.
Yeah, yet a other very much unique and awsome, yet completely unusable (in regards to storytelling because hard to define and limitate therefore completely over powered) power. You are on a roll.
Except this is a character and humor driven comic, not an action driven comic. He doesn’t need hard limits on the powers, because there are limits on the people, and it’s those interactions (not the interactions between the heroes and the villains) that drive the comic.
So it’s not a major problem, any more than the Roadrunner can order anything from Acme is a problem. (Which it would be in a more serious comic.) Whatever he does order, it’ll fail because he’s still the Roadrunner. This isn’t quite that comedy driven, but it’s a similar idea.
+1
Yeah, I agree. 1+. I ddn’t really consider any of that.
I believe you have that backwards, it’s Wile E. Coyote that can under anything from Acme, but he’ll still fail to catch the Roadrunner. (This despite the fact that irl, coyotes have a top speed roughly twice that of a roadrunner.)
Yes, I do have it backwards, and I noticed when I came back. I blame sleep deprivation, as I was (and am…) posting in the middle of the night.
I guess vermin just do not have the same credit rating as a cunning canis.
For any arachnophobes who want to leap to the support of road runners, bear in mind the following. Road runners eat tarantula wasps, who are the only natural predators of tarantulas.
If you see Wile E Coyote give him a hug. He is doing his best to stop you from being overrun by tarantulas!
This may present a (remote) opportunity to help Sydney figure our her mystery orbs. Have Varia touch one of the known orbs to see if it elicits a corresponding ability in her. Note: Start with the flight orb, not the PPO. We don’t want her accidentally igniting all the ammo in the firing range. If that works, let the power wear off, then have her touch either the green or brown orb. If she shows another ability, then there is a good chance it is related to the orb’s function.
This has the same drawback as with Sydney. The power may be situational. If she is suddenly able to breathe underwater or is fireproof she would not know it just standing there.
Don’t you mean “rainbow chokah”?
I’ll admit, that Varia’s power(s) don’t deserve to be overwritten by a rewind time a little flavor power…
…however the previous page makes absolutely NO sense in panel 3. My friends think the same. What are we missing, or does the last page’s panel 3 need a correction? I can’t even figure author intent there.
In any case, great power — good for filling in plot holes with new powers discovered at the last minute LOL.
Varia’s dialogue in panel two is the clue
Which indicates that she is using a strong accent. Sydney does not understand what she is saying, so is confused.
Whilst I agree that up to panel three this is only supposition that is what Sydney is referring to. However it is confirmed by the time you read panel four and see Varia’s reply, in her saying that she is from Boston. Which does have a strong accent. And it may well be complicated if it is affected by her Aztec heritage.
For information their language, Nahuatl, does survive up to the present day and has 1.5 million speakers.
I took Sydney’s reaction as a “wrong accent” shock, like in DaveB’s anecdote.
Pretty much what I intended too, probably better if I slightly rephrase, for clarity:
And yea, the short version is ‘accent issues’.
Longer version, she doesn’t expect somebody who looks Aztec to have a Boston Accent, so suffered a little cognitive dissonance,
So, 2 things:
1) Would touching Sydney cause Aztec to spontaneously combust?
2) If I were her, I’d just stick with the metal body look all the time. Sweet. Plus I bet you don’t have to bother with a bra.
Depends on what Sydney had for lunch.
“I’d just stick with the metal body look all the time.”
Good luck on ever getting through the scanners at the airport.
Wolverine has a medical voucher document indicating that he has metal implants in his body. He shows that at the airport & he’s good to go.
Although I remember one issue where they didn’t believe his documentation, and he storms out and sticks his arm in the x-ray machine. While in his boxers.
One of the nice things about the Grrl Power universe is that supers get certain perks. Like having good looks thrown in for free, due to being born as supers. Another is that the powers tend to have safety features. Whilst they are not infallible (see somebody’s who’s skin was invulnerable being punctured by their own claws which were unstoppable), it does allow them to function normally as intended.
As an example Halo’s teleportation never runs the risk of her being embedded into something blocking her arrival point. Likewise Heatwave does not melt herself when she uses her power.
And, for the same reason, even if the power that Varia gains when touching Sydney is to “flame on”, it will not cause her harm, as would be the case with spontaneous human combustion.
Mind you, yours is not a bad guess, tongue in cheek or not. It seems that Varia can get power from anybody, not just supers. So, even though Sydney is not a natural born super, she should be able to grant Varia a gestalt power.
There seems to be some influence drawn from the partner,* and perhaps non-supers manifest their latent (undeveloped) super power in a very weak form, that may be only noticeable as a character trait, rather than anything supernatural. And being able to eat the hot stuff Sydney loves sure counts as noticeable!
* Harem’s teleportation being the most obvious. Although Ren’s reflexes being as fast as lightning might be contributing to the gestalt power actually being lightning, if following that line of thought.
Did you realize you said “Halo’s teleportation,” is this a spoiler of the green orbs power? or did you simply err?
Oops. Actually Halo can teleport (check her profile). But I leave it up to you to figure out how.
That was not my intent though. Just my usual name substitution problem.
Honestly I am surprised that it does not happen more often with me. Harem and Halo are both super-powered girls who’s names begin with H. And the length of the words are similar too. Trust me it takes a lot less than that for my brain to start shuffling them up and dealing out names at random!
Thanks for the catch though. It reminds me to avoid complacency.*
No persons from New Zealand, or any inhabitant of the Shires, should click below this point!
* Normally my brain stores the character with five bodies under the name of “The Duplicitous Traitor”. However that made a member of our community sad, when I referred to her in those terms. So I have stopped the practice. Which is obviously adversely impacting on my critical thinking. Given that Harem has appeared in the ‘girl heroes’ pigeon hole. Rather than the ‘traitors who have not yet been exposed’ pigeon hole.
Just in case my advice has not been followed, and clicking has been done, by the wrong hobbit, I should stress that my thought processes prioritise the most dangerous and worst case scenarios first. In a crisis, if you can confidently deal with the worst case scenario, then everything else becomes simple by comparison.
She-who-must-not-be-named could be posing as a double agent, under orders. Which, if confirmed, would allow me to amend those priorities. Undercover work is gruelling and to be respected. But without loosing the ‘I am suspicious of you because you are too enthusiastic as a double agent’.
Exactly. It comes down to somehow controlling outcome of the gestalt in a favorable way. How does she control what she can’t see coming?
Does it matter, as long as she can do it? If her ability includes adapting to each new powah as she gets it (as it must, to be useful), she could be the one person on the team that was guaranteed unpredictable every time. How do you beat what you don’t see coming?
Mittens. Fear them.
Soooo…. Rouge complex?
Red mittens could well trigger a phobia, if either Halo or Varia are prevented from using their powers, at a critical life-changing moment, by wearing them.
Kind of the opposite effect for the X-man character, whatever her name is? You know, the one who could harm people through her touch. Even if she kissed her boyfriend.
Fortunately not a problem for Halo. But Varia? We shall have to wait and see. But I suspect not. Just because she gains a power does not mean that she has to use it.
Even if she did though, it would not be as bad as with…mmm… ahh, Rogue. She would just have to pick her boyfriends more carefully than most.
Well, HERE’S a variant regarding touching Halo I don’t see anyone has thought about:
Halo has not exhibited any mutant powers, just has these orbs that circle her and provide her with a keen set of abilities. So, touching her is not going to unlock the orbs, similar to touching her wouldn’t unlock the fingerprint scanner lock on her laptop.
(Is Attention Deficit Disorder genetic?)
Sydney is, today, undergoing some serious discomfort due to her menstrual cycle. Since the menstrual cycle is indeed something defined by genetics, when Varia touches Sydney’s hand she is most probably only going to keel over from cramps.
If Varia gets a bad case of cramps when she touches Syd then why doesnt she become a he when she touches a male?
Your being silly. Stop.
Scientists cannot explain how super powers are gained in the Grrl Power universe. So if there is anything genetic involved it clearly does not follow the normal rules, or they will have figured that out already.
Mind you we already speculated on Varia getting powers based on the clues about her cultural heritage. Whilst that is the most interesting way to proceed on speculations as to what powers she might gain from individuals, we now have even more reason to speculate on it being something that has no apparent connection to them. Even more so for individuals who do not actually manifest any power.
So, for Sydney, it could be absolutely anything. Maybe healing or precognition? Either of which would make a Sydney/Varia gestalt very useful to the team.
However I am hoping it gives her the ability to summon ponies. Because… funny.
QUESTION!
If she touches different Harems does she get different powers or not?!
Not.
One person, one mind, one power set.
None of which would lead me to expect Varia to get more than she already has. The only differences between Harem’s bodies is cosmetic, like hair style and tattoos.
However, what Varia gained, and whether it is one power or a power set remains to be seen. It may not have been teleportation. Is her gestalt power, gained from Harem, actually illusion creation, for example?
The set including the granting of invisibility and the creation of illusionary duplicates, plus the ability to create simple visual and audible effects. Combine the three powers into one stunt and you can turn Harem and Varia invisible and then make the illusion of them appearing elsewhere in the room. Complete with a “VORP” sound effect and complimentary puff of smoke!
For the record DaveB I don’t think her tree looks too much like Sydney’s.
Vorp Said, >>My personal reading is that if she was touching five she could pick and choose which key to use. But could not put five keys in the one lock.<<
I bet Dabbler has suggested how she could try to do that…and how it'd fit the meme of her namesake…bet she even offered to help.
Yorp?
YORP
Name: Yorp
Age: 4 Height: 2′ 2″ (at the shoulder)
Hair: Brown and beige
Eyes: Brown
Rank: Police dog
Powers: Classified, under the Official Secrets Act. Possibly a ninja. Currently on exchange duty from his normal posting with Scotland Yard. Based with Archon’s Arc-BARK unit and on a covert assignment with an Arc-Light partner. Maintaining surveillance on an individual with extraordinary powers, gained from an unknown source.
Notable appearances:
Marketing 101
Morning Errant
Actually due the cold “Morning Errant” was performed by his stunt double “Xerxes”.
Fiendish counter-propaganda! I know because…
DaveB said it was Yorp in the comments. :-D
But Enquirer said it…
Well, you see “Yorp” and “Xerxes” are actually split personalities of a dog known as Woobie. It leads to naming issues like this cropping up from time to time. Xerxes handles most of the normal “dog” stuff and Yorp well, you’ve seen what Yorp does…
Yeah…As revealed in his first appearance, he yorps. Almost exactly, but not quite entirely, like Harem vorps.
Yes, and some of us have stepped in what Yorp does.
Given extreme circumstances there are certain “actresses” who would argue she could handle at least 6 keys at once, 8 if she used her feet.
It doesnt work on feet – only hands.
Is that stated somewhere officially?