Grrl Power #428 – F.U.tility
You know, except for all the stupid Swiss Army doodads, Sydney’s fantasy multi-axe might almost be a workable tool. (Ok, minus the laser sight as well) And since she can fly, why would she need an ice climbing axe? Because she’s been playing Tomb Raider, that’s why.
After Sydney gets over her initial enthusiasm, Anvil may need to point out that Arc-SWAT isn’t the investigatory branch of Archon, so stuff like a lock pick gun might not be the most practical gadget if she’s really tight on space.
Still, I’ve never understood why superheroes don’t all have utility belts of some sort. Sure, batarangs don’t do you any good if you can’t throw then with 90 plus percent accuracy, but everyone from Wonder Woman to Spider-Man would benefit from a fingerprinting kit and some zip-cuffs. The super soldier formula and process used on Captain America is functionally impossible to replicate for story reasons, but not his shield. Tell me Black Widow wouldn’t benefit from vibranium bracers at least, and think about how much more Spidey’s punches would hurt if he had some brass knuckles, vibranium or not.
(Actually, since when is his shield vibranium? They keep calling it vibranium in the movies, but I thought it was adamantium, or at least an adamantium/vibranium alloy. It probably is, they just don’t want to keep saying “adamantium/vibranium alloy.”) Edit: Ok, as about 20 people have commented, they apparently can’t use the word adamantium in the Cap and Avengers series cause Fox licenced out the X-men and all their particular baggage which includes the word adamantium and maybe even the word mutant, which seems like a really dick thing for Fox to do – I mean beyond the dumb Fantastic Four reboot.
I’ve updated the vote incentive with that picture of Peggy and Zayra. It’s pencils only at the moment because… well, because of Overwatch if I’m honest. Anyway, check it out, and I’ll hopefully have it further along in the next week or two.
So, A-kon is this weekend, and I will be around. I’d say I’ll be at most of the webcomic panels, but looking at the schedule, I hardly see any. I’m not sure what’s going on with that. Fan Expo Dallas is the same weekend, I don’t know if non-anime indie people are moving over there or what – though I did see that Joe Madureira will be giving a talk at Fan Expo. It’s probably not worth a one day ticket to see just one panel there, I mean, it’s not like hearing him talk will make me a better artist or anything, but for the first time I’m considering bouncing between the two cons. Actually their guest list is pretty amazing. We’ll see.
As for A-kon, if anyone is there and wants to meet up, there’s a restaurant in the hotel called the Media Grill and Bar. I’ll be there at 7pm on Friday wearing, uh… I don’t really have any Grrl Power shirts or anything. I’ll have one of those short brimmed green caps that Max wears. It doesn’t have an eagle on it, it’s just the kind you can get at Target. I have glasses and a goatee (technically a Van Dyke – something I learned from the City of Heroes character creator) Anyway there’s a tiny picture of me over at the Patreon.
Patreon supporters can view this page at twice the size! (as soon as I wake up and post it then immediately go back to sleep since Patreon doesn’t have a way to schedule posts yet.) $1 and up, but feel free to contribute as much as you like :)
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1. Niche protection. If everyone had a shield (which is actually far LESS trivially duplicable than Cap’s serum, which has been approximated in the comics at least a dozen times), then Cap’s shield wouldn’t be iconic, would it. Ditto for batarangs, webslingers, etc. Everyone has to stick to their gimmick, or else you get…. a superpowered paramilitary force with uniforms and standard gear loadouts. Which is also awesome, but not really standard comics fare.
2. Spidey could already punch people into gibbets if he wanted to, brass knuckles would be pointless.
Sure, those are comic reasons for Cap’s shield being impossible to reproduce.
We’re talking about in universe reasons, which are pretty silly (you don’t experiment with new metal alloys without writing down everything you do, as you are doing it)
IIRC Cap’s (who it was revealed in the early 00’s was Weapon I )shield was an experimental alloy that they could never replicate. Adamantium was a happy accident from one such attempt.
In a semi-related note Wolverine was created after the Weapon Plus program (which was created to try and replicate the Super-Soldier Serum) switched to using Mutants for it’s programs.
Marvel’s most recent explanation is that the shield was created when a lab assistant fell asleep in the middle of an experiment so the exact ratio of Adamantium and Vibranium was unknown, and both metals are too rare and valuable for anyone to be willing to waste them on experimentation.
Except for that lab assistant, who happily threw shit together without notes and fell asleep
Adamantium was a result of them attempting to recreate the experiment, and it was done by some Japanese guy
And apparently, Logan volunteered himself (his kidnapping was either a false memory created by his own mind to make sense of things or part of the plan and he only pretended to be captured)
You’re forgetting that Cap’s shield was produced during the war effort, people working long grueling hours under pressure to see that we succeeded against the Nazis and Japanese. People working under such pressure often make mistakes, including falling asleep while an experiment is going on (several modern discoveries are the result of just such mistakes), so a guy falling asleep and not seeing what X-factor happened to make an experimental alloy properly bond isn’t unbelievable it’s really Truth In Television along with an example of Reality is Unrealistic.
But in the real world, such people take notes
Just skipped right over the point that even in the real world people actually fail to take notes when they should didn’t you? Because in the real world people don’t always take notes and no amount of note-taking is going to do you any good if some x-factor you can’t predict or replicate occurs while you’re not observing things. Look at Dr. Jekyll, he kept meticulous notes only to find out an impurity in his salts was what actually made his potion work and he had no way of replicating the successful formula because he had no idea what the impurity was.
But in the real world the scientists that don’t make notes just discover that notes are important to take.
In the real real world, scientists make mistakes (that’s how the best discoveries are made)
There have been a few What If comics where Parker goes off the rails and stops restraining himself against soft, squish humans. The results are pretty gruesome. (In one alternate story, an enraged Peter punched THROUGH the Kingpin.) While there were extenuating circumstances, Spider-Man has fought both the Hulk and the Juggernaut to a standstill. He is easily the most underestimated hero in Marvel cannon. With his strength, reflexes and Spider Sense, I’m betting he could give Math a run for his money.
That is the very reason the first superheroe DC & Marvel crossover had Sider-man vs. Superman
Still have my copy. I still smile at the the Bugle’s Superman headline, New York Welcomes a Real Hero!
Parker never gets a break.
You forgot that Parker up and knocked a Herald of Galactus OUT! And not in the pretty boxing way, I mean on the ground and breaking his face out.
I remember that. Firelord was just wanting a Pizza, and Pete had to come in and mess with his lunch. Ok sure the Pizza place wasn’t open yet and the oven wasn’t heated and Firelord kind of melted it trying to heat it up…
From the Wikia:
“Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Due to his life being bullied and pranked as a young teenager to acquiring amazing superhuman capabilities and combining them with his scientifically adept and creative mind, Parker has through time become an excellent hand-to-hand combatant utilizing a fighting style that directly complements his superhuman abilities. His methods are volatile, enabling him to rival practically all types of combatants. Peter has been trained by Captain America in unarmed combat.[188] He also received formal combat training from Shang-Chi through the recommendation of the new Madame Web (Julia Carpenter) as a means to compensate for the temporary loss of his spider-sense. Together, they created a new martial art style, the ‘Way of the Spider and Peter’s skill with it has substantially increased following the return and amplification of his Spider-Sense. He is very skilled in his fighting style. His feats include defeating Firelord, Daken, Wolverine, Hulk, the Sinister Six single-handedly, the X-Men single-handedly,[189] Spider-Man (Otto Octavius),[130] Spider-Woman,[190][191] and Morlun.[144][133] He has stalemated Captain America, Iron Man, Julia Carpenter and Shang-Chi. Iron Fist stated that Spider Man is untouchable because of his spider-sense. ”
“Utility Belt: Upon first entering the super-hero world, Peter created a utility belt that held extra clips of webbing, Spider-Tracers, and his Spider-Signal.[34] Recently, he upgraded his utility belt to hold cartridges of different types of webbing, freeze capsules, new Spider-Tracers as well as a newly upgraded Spider-Signal that has a UV light setting for forensic analysis.[197] ”
https://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Peter_Parker_%28Earth-616%29
Also, Spider-Man defeated both the Fantastic Four and the X-Men single-handedly when he was a rookie…..both incidents were his ill-conceived attempts at an audition to join. Fantastic Four told him he was too reckless (correct at the time), Prof X (after using mind-control to stop Spider-Man humiliating the X-Men) said “you’re not a mutant.”….which pretty much sums up a lot of the problem with the X-Men.
It’s funny that the FF told Spider-Man he was too reckless when he’s always been portrayed as being smarter and less impulsive than Human Torch.
And they also just told him to take a hike after he came to them looking for help.
Well, the FF turn down all kindsa people–I mean, they even turned down Willie Lumpkin and him with Ear-Wigglin’ powers!
Well, they didn’t precisely tell him to take a hike. They told him they didn’t make any money and that they were in financial trouble themselves, and then Spidey basically said “oh that’s too bad” and jumped out the window before the conversation could go any further.
But Spidey/FF teamups have been among the most common in the entire Marvel universe, regardless. Probably more than any other non-FF character (including characters like Black Panther and She-Hulk, who were actually members of the FF for a while), Spidey is part of the FF family.
About point 2, I’d like to point out that tools are always useful. As for brass knuckles for Spidey, if we consider they won’t protect his hands, they could concentrate the strength of his blow on smaller surfaces (see way back the explanation of Sidney about joules per square inch: https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/716).
I’d also suggest you read Super-Powered since, in book/Year 3, there is a compelling argument for strong guys to use melee weapons, with a perfect example for American people: baseball. There is no way any man can strike back a ball with his hands as fast or faster than using a bat. Physics support this claim, as far as I know (after all, tools are also called force-multipliers for some reason).
Regarding the super tool – the Chinese army has one already –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b60OZhrTB6o
Other than the wire cutting and the nail pulling the U.S. has had an entrenching tool like that since before WW II. The current one folds up smaller than that Chinese one.
Open:
https://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/84/27/c8/8427c81618f78b353ba31ff1244a8be6.jpg
Folded:
https://apocalypse.supplies/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/us-military-original-issue-e-tool-entrenching-shovel.jpg
OK the saw, wire cutter and grapnel all took me by surprise. I would like to get my paws on one of those!
But Sydney still wins. Hers has a fishing rod, hook, line and all!
Yeah? But what is she going to catch with it? Silver-fish? o_O
Sydney probably envisages it being telescopic, inflatable or somesuch. Don’t forget that ugly fish are on her menu.
Silver-fish aren’t actual fish, they are a type of cockroach or earwig
Heh, yea, I appreciated that. Which is why I indicated that she would want a bigger rod, to actually catch something edible. With the size depicted she would have trouble even catching a small goldfish.
Not sure if I like the saw as part of the shovel blade, as opposed to the hacksaw built into the handle, like what Sydney thought up – as a leverage ideal, having it at the center seems like a better idea, instead of at an extreme end. On the other hand, holy shoot that’s nifty – *bookmarks*
That hacksaw ain’t gonna be cutting much with that laser pointer thingie in the road
While I would like to see Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine wander into an MCU movie, I kind of like that because of the licencing ruffle Fox’s X-Men universe is separate from the Avengers based MCU. As a kid, I had problems with the fact that in the same world where you had well liked heros who were clearly more than human mutants were feared and scorned. Having two separate universes deals nicely with that problem.
A good example of a utility belt is what cops carry around. Once you get past the gun, spare ammo, cuffs, and taser, they have a few Really Useful Things. I am reminded of a friend griping about Zootopia:
“Why the heck was she just carrying around a ziploc bag for her phone, anyway?”
“Dude, it’s an evidence bag. You know, for cops?”
“Oooooh…”
For Sydney, I’m thinking the following: Her portable air supply, a decent knife, small flashlight, the afore-mentioned zipcuffs and fingerprint kit, lockpicks because she wants them, a small stun gun, and most importantly, a bottle of her ADD meds.
Most importantly the ADD meds.
A proper fingerprint lifting kit is the size of a small suitcase.
but an improper one can be done with a modified compact, brush, and some quality specialty tape XD There aren’t too many situations where she would need the full kit, that she won’t have a way to access it. Harem-supply drops solve a lot. Her toolbelt kit would be for emergency lifts where getting it right is secondary to getting it fast, and most of the full kit isn’t that useful for fast and dirty.
You have to have the right powder for the surface you are trying to raise the prints on. A powder that works on glass won’t work on marble for example. And the lifting by tape rarely works. You take a high quality picture of the prints before you attempt to lift them.
That last part Sydney can do with her pip-boy. It has all the functionality of a smart-phone and more.
Ever since Monday I’ve been thinking: Sydney, you’re 5 foot nothing and skinny as a rail – keep it light.
By Wednesday I was asking myself if we’ve ever saw any of the others with a “utility belt” and if not – why would Sydney (who already has a Swiss Army Knife of powers in her orbs) need one?
Glad to see she sees the trap so quickly.
don’t forget, the only time we really saw the rest of the team was at the dinner prior to the boss-fight. in a relaxed, off-duty environment (in a public restaurant) not in an on-duty, loaded for bear, gonna-pop-some-tags in a PLANNED firefight scenario… but as it stands right now, I’m sure that the various personal utility belts may have been part of the load-out that Harem was doing at the beginning of said boss-fight.
You know there is one thing I’d like to see in Sydney’s kit: A wingsuit.
Yes, I know she has the flight orb but it would make for a good backup. It gives her the option of letting go of the FO while flying if she needed to use another orb and her other hand was already holding one she also needed. A wingsuit wouldn’t let her actually “fly” but it might keep her in the air long enough to finish the task and/or switch over.
*examines ai_vin, very suspiciously*
Have you been corrupted by the Evil Squirrel Overlord? It sounds like you are trying to get Sydney to put in a lot of effort, carrying around a bulky piece of equipment, with the sole purpose of becoming a flying squirrel!
Squirrels are orders of magnitude more sinister than the Illuminati wish they could be. Nothng that cute is up to any good.
Resist the Squirrel Conspiracy!
Tippie-Toes and Monkey-Joe would like a word with you (oh, and so would this lovely lady name Doreen)
All hail Squirrel Girl. She who is destined to save the World.
Or be distracted by a shiny acorn
How dare you impugn my character!
Actually, I was remembering a scene from one of the Transformer movies; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PR3UW-SMxs and thought if Sydney had one she could use both hands to clear the drop-zone, and/or scout the area with the telepresense orb.
Impressive sequence. They still look like flying squirrels mind, barring the skunk colouration scheme.
But you are of good long-term standing in the community. I guess you pass examination.
*slides over a plateful of Yorpie Snax*
SMALL problem with this idea- FO cancels out Vertigo. She would have some severe issues.
That being said….. *goes to check out the testing page*….. Nope, not shown! Could Sidney use the BACKS of her hands to power her orbs?
I don”t believe we know that, but we do know that she is limited to two, and only one per hand. If she could activate it with the back of her hands it might be a good idea to create a special glove with a ball harness. Not to hold them totally secure, but good enough that she could slip them in to have active while still doing something with her fingers and hands.
Heck, even if they must be in the palm of her hand such a harness would still be a good idea on at least one hand to keep a crucial orb from slipping out during a fight, or, oh, during flight! Much better than the duct tape solution she had before.
Speaking of which, her kit should definitely have at least a small amount of duck tape. I find keeping some on a popsicle stick or paint stirrer is quite handy and doesn’t take much space. In most situations you won’t be needing anywhere near as much as fits on even the small rolls and unless you are using a dispenser you don’t need the huge hole in the center.
Thought she showed (or mentioned) that she tried using the backs of her hands to no avail (definitely showed, or mentioned, trying to hold them between her fingers)
From Sydney’s comments about exhaustively testing alternative ways of holding or activating the orbs, we can take it that all mundane combinations have been tried and failed. I am certain that she will have tried the backs of her hands long before she tried holding it in her butt crack! And we saw her (remembering) doing that.
Seriously! When is the List coming back?? I’ve been agonizing over that the List is ever since it first showed up O___O
Don’t worry, Brendon, you’re not on it.
Yet.
The List was here just three comics ago (final panel). How can you be missing it already?
Not the “Make Maxima Say…” list. THE LIST, in large suspicious letters on the cover!
hmmm, that link imbed didn’t seem to work. Here: https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/735
The ‘Make Maxima Say…” list is scotch taped into THE LIST so that it isn’t at all suspicious when suddenly Sydnie pulls it out and starts writing. Everyone knows about THE LIST, and some fear it, but it’s not going to raise any eyebrows anymore. As Yorp said, you can see the cover of THE LIST itself in the last panel as she is giving the low-five.
If you had examined the final panel as Yorpie suggested, you would have seen THE LIST
It’s been my impression that Captain Americas shield is made of a very rare material (whatever they’re calling it). They don’t make more because they don’t have more to make it with. Was part of the plot in Age of Ultron where they found out there was more, and then Ultron went and stole it all.
I fully agree a few tools are pretty universal, but some I do question. A couple zip tie cuffs might be nice, but what percent of supervillians would they actually work on? Also, if you don’t know how to use it, a fingerprint kit just encourages you to screw up fingerprints for the next guy.
They are not just going to be fighting Super powered villains, and not all Supers will have the abilities to get out of them anyway
BUT… if they are NOT Supers, then Archon has no authority to do squat… and they wouldn’t even be there in the first place. however for the sake of argument i will concede that supers like TPBS, or the girl that defeated Math, would probably have been stopped just fine by that method
Archon cops are federal agents. Although this statement does not mean they are FBI, as several agencies have federal powers (eg the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives). As a federal body, they have authority to operate in any state and their fully empowered field agents** (in this case including all the Arc SWAT officers*) have full powers of arrest.
Jurisdictional issues arise when initiating an investigation, but have nothing to do with stopping federal agents from preventing a crime from happening in their presence. Here is an excerpt from the FBI’s FAQ page:
Of additional note Archon does not discriminate by distinguishing between supers or normals. They are all treated under the same laws (barring the one requiring supers to operate within Archon, if they wish to work for law enforcement).
Therefore their remit is not limited by the nature of the people involved. Only the degree of threat they pose. So a terrorist with a WMD is wholly within their jurisdiction, human or super-human.
* Using law enforcement terminology, in this context. So it does not exclude the enlisted ranks nor the NCOs. They are all police officers.
** Not all field operatives have full federal powers. Leon for example may not have any. Or he may be granted limited agent powers. I doubt he has special agent powers though, and it is the latter which grants powers of arrest.
Thank you Yorpie, have a Yorpie (similar to a Yorkie but made specially for Yorp) :D
*sniff sniff sniff*
Ahh, simulated chocolate, without the stuff that is poisonous to dogs. Mmmm.
*munch munch munch* Faanku
Mmmm, Carob!
When was a law brought up about supers having to work for Archon if they want to work for law enforcement? Looking back there was the thing about no vigilantism but that’s not a super specific law, normal people can’t go around enforcing the law on their own either. There’s also mentions that supers have traditionally secretly worked for the government.
From looking at it my best guess is that while they could work for normal law enforcement just fine they shouldn’t expect much special consideration there, Archon is where all the funding and systems are setup for and it’s the one equipped to deal with the big threats. If you worked for a local police department expect to be like just another police officer, where it’s not your job to fight super villains and you don’t get the training or gear to help you do that beyond the standard for normal humans.
Here, bottom left panel.
Dave has mentioned that one-off exceptions might be made for supers who’s powers have no likely abuse in a law enforcement role. For instance if there is a cop, presently serving in a city police force, who turns out to be bullet-proof, there is no reason to order her to resign.
Of course, Archon will still encourage her to join them instead, for the reasons stated in your concluding paragraph. She will be able to serve her country much better there, than just in one city. Of course her precinct and/or city hall may not want to let her go, even if the officer does want to. Which is where Archon can use this specific law to enforce the transfer.
And I naturally immediately found the right part just after posting, looks like I was right though and the law just says vigilantism is just as illegal and if you want to use your powers join Archon. If you want to just be a normal cop it should be fine to become one, just expect some resistance about why don’t you go join Archon if you’ve got a relevant power? Could always have a useless power like the ability to change hair colour or something that’d make Archon non-viable though while not impacting the ability to be a normal cop.
Most municipalities probably can’t afford the required Supers Insurance for employees. And the union would probably object to super powered officers, even if the department could insure them.
The union may object, but the union members will tell the union to shove it: a brother (or sister) in uniform is still a brother (or sister) regardless if they have powers or not
I was thinking more along the lines that the union would object to supers joining in the first place–firstly because an individual with any number of a range of powers could render multiple officers redundant, and secondly, due to the risk to other officers (ricochets from the invulnerable, collateral damage in fights, etc).
Oops, I should have read on. Yea, the hair-colour changing cop would fall in the same category as a bullet-proof cop. Neither have powers which are likely to compromise their job. However the act has been created for those who do. Think of the problems for a cop who could breathe fire or who was telepathic.
The former two examples probably would not impact on their department’s insurance. If anything life insurance for a bullet-proof cop should be lower. But the fact that she is likely to be put in more generally hazardous situations, due to the power, could swing it the other way. She is not immune to fire, acid, or tasers, for instance.
A fire-breathing cop however, would have the problem that darnkitten mentioned. If they had even a single instance of using the breath weapon, be it deliberately or involuntarily, they could face a whole host of charges and civil suits. Not to mention the loss of life and/or damage that could result.
Oddly, you do end up with the situation that said fire-breathing super could work at a kindergarten, but not in the police. However a kindergarten teacher is a lot less likely to be put into a hazardous enough situation that she might attempt breathing fire.
However, if the fire-breather could demonstrate total self-control, and agreed not to use the breath-weapon on duty, they might be able to argue their case for a non-Archon law-enforcement position.
A telepathic cop though? That is a no-goer from the outset. You can see if a cop is breathing fire. You cannot see if he is snooping on people’s private thoughts. Every case he was involved in could be challenged and thrown out, on numerous counts. The first of which would be the breaking of the suspect’s right not to speak.
Society could not trust law enforcement officers, with such a power, unless there was some way of providing suitable checks and balances. Archon may be able to do that. A city police department definitely cannot.
Regarding your point about the kindergarten teacher: when was the last time you were in a kindergarten? Ever seen “Kindergarten Cop”?
On Cap’s (mighty) shield, my pet theory has long been that some entity put the scientist to sleep and made the shield (nearly) indestructible for REASONS (came from the future, high prediction skills, preferred the Allies, etc).
Uatu, I always theorized.
I actually have wondered if someday they’d have a story where someone travels back in time to see what occurred in order to reproduce his shield, or a what-if where the scientist didn’t fall asleep and knew what happened and was able to reproduce the material (similar to how they had the what-ifs where the formula for the SSS wasn’t lost and we saw a war fought with super-soldiers or even the entire US becoming super-soldiers after it was made available for civilian enhancement).
Just wanted to mention something I’ve been thinking about. While I absolutely LOVE Captain America: Civil War, I also love that this comic takes that issue that is basically the main plot point of that movie, and entirely circumvents it.
Because of course supers need to be regulated. Of course they should function under supervision of the government/military. As much as I am TeamCap in regards to the movies, irl I would absolutely be TeamIronMan.
And I love that you’ve pre-built that into this world from the get-go. It makes it a non-issue, and makes it seem silly that there’s even a question about it over there in the MCU. It makes me want to see a fully realized, big-budget, live-action Grrl Power movie some day, maybe many many years down the line. Idek if that’s something you as the creator would want, but it would be pretty cool.
It also makes me interested in whether this comic will tackle the “Team Cap” perspective on the situation: lots of drama potential in some members feeling strongly enough about an ordered intervention (or ordered non-intervention) to disobey orders, bend the rules, engage in politics or even just debate emotionally about them.
BIT of a difference. Dave has said that ARCHON is only for supers that want to be in Law Enforcement or the Military. Speedster wants to be a bike courier? Not a f^(k shall be given. Super Strong Construction Worker? Just watch what ya doing and we cool. The Civil War was about doing this to EVERY Powered Human no matter how minor their ability or what they were doing (or not doing) with their powers. 16 year old kid who has 1 fingernail that can open a can of tuna? REGISTER or go to the Negative Zone!
Yes, in the Grrl-verse, Supers are embraced for what they do not or what they are and are not treated any differently than anyone else because of it: if they want a normal life then they can have one, there will only be a ‘problem’ if they make one (no covert or overt surveillance unless they attempt to either break or enforce the laws with their powers)
It’s a “No Vigilantes” Law, not a “No Supers” Law
In the comics, yes, in the movie, no.
Of course currently in the comics Cap is and apparently always has been a Hydra agent.
In the movie, there was no Civil War–there was merely an intra-team squabble, such as happens at least once a year in the comics. And then one reference in the increasingly mis-named Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
…very disappointing.
Not mis-named: Son of Coul and his team have always remained agents of SHIELD, even when there was no official SHIELD
That’s what I mean–S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t exist, for all intents and purposes, and hasn’t since Fury disappeared and S.H.I.E.L.D turned out to be Hydra. At that point, Coulson’s team became Agents of the Anti-Hydra Resistance arm of S.H.I.E.L.D, then Agents of an Untrusted Faction of S.H.I.E.L.D, then Agents of a Former Independent Organization Called S.H.I.E.L.D That’s Now Under the Control of the US Government and now have become Agents Who Still Call Themselves S.H.I.E.L.D for Nostalgic Reasons, Even Though They’re Really Only a Minor Super-Team With Slowly Decreasing Specialist Backup
I dunno. It just feels like they’re being downsized for marketing reasons; i.e. to serve as background for a future theatrical film, or to simplify toy lines. They just don’t feel like S.H.I.E.L.D any longer, and feel increasing irrelevant to the universe in general. YMMV.
Sorry-forgot to turn off that italics tag before the last paragraph.
Spy agencies in general, are less popular since Snowdon did his thing. Which I find odd, as pretty much all the stuff he revealed was something the world-wise already knew full well about. There was not a single thing that came out which surprised me.
Not that I object to limits being drawn on their activities mind. We do need to set boundaries, on what is acceptable. Which they will probably ignore. Hence why their popularity is on the decline.
I, for one, am enthusiastically looking forward to GrrlPower the Movie. And will make every effort to attend the premier, even if it involves doggy-paddling across the Atlantic!
Likewise I agree with your comments about how sensible the setting is. Archon has been set up with the intention of looking after humans and super-humans equally. As opposed to engineering laws which will create a divide within society and foster hatred, fear and eventually violence.
All pretty good analogies of issues which have grown to the forefront of society since the comic was started.
I think it’d make a better television series–films can’t take the time to let things develop at their own pace. Plus, ensemble casts (even with the ensemble in supporting roles) work better in long-form.
That said, I’d still pay to see Grrl Power: The First Six-and-One-Half Hours or Grrl Power III: The Battle of the Parking Lot
Yea, I had been thinking that the other week. Special effects costs are going down enough that a network TV budget could probably handle the job. I don’t routinely watch TV myself (other than when I am travelling), but my folks love watching a particular TV series where the cop (from one of the Easterly European nations) will spend an entire series investigating just one murder. Plus each episode is long to boot.
And I gather that slow paced TV is getting more popular in general. So I think Grrl Power would go down well. Plus it would translate nicely into the medium (budget permitting). Obviously cartoon or anime would do that easily. I would be disappointed though if a live action one was not made though.
That said, multi-part movies, or series of movies are also popular now. Personally I would script the first book of Grrl Power as a three-part movie. I would not make the mistake that was done with Dune, in trying to cram such a big body of work into a single film. But, we are of a like mind, noting your title for the latter film.
Films would have to cherry-pick which content to include mind, even with three per book. However there is enough action and dramatic moments that each movie will be able to give cinema audiences the kind of fare that they are used to. Whilst, of course, using that to compliment the comedy.
I find that comedy is at its most effective embedded in a straight, realistic, setting and off-set with serious drama or other moods. Which is what Dave does well.
Though, I think that TeamCap has a point about the safety and security of the information. They touched on it, a bit, when the villain cabal hacks the registry, pulls out the PII, and starts blackmailing/threatening heroes with their civilian friends’ and family’s safety. I’d have been more comfortable, were I superpowered and in Marvel!Universe, if I had any reason to believe that the information would stay confidential and not be used immorally. But I know the exact opposite is the case, soooo
Thanks! It seemed sensible to me. :)
Wow, guys, I was not expecting that much response. Y’all are cool. :)
Re the upper thread: yeeeeah was definitely referring to the movies. The Accords. Have not/will not read the comics. Nothing against them, I’m sure they’re great, but at this point it feels like too much to try to take on. I read enough (a lot of) comics without the big two, and for that, the MCU is vast enough for me. So, I had no idea about any of that (the stuff Adamas is talking about. I knew about HydraCap cuz the internet won’t stop talking about it. Meh. If I don’t read the comics, that news is irrelevant to me.) Anyway, there’s a lot going on there that I don’t really feel the need to get into, re the registering of supers (it sounds like MarvelComics verse wants to “register” concentration camp-style, and I just keep thinking of them registering DMV-style). Since we’re essentially talking about three distinctly separate universes here, things could get sticky trying to compare them.
Re Grrl Power the Movie: Yeah that’s about what I was thinking. A series of movies. But ya know, gotta start somewhere. Grrl Power VI: Sydney VS. The Media can’t happen without Grrl Power: The Recruit first. And live-action, for sure.
And Re Dave: You’re welcome! It is quite sensible. :)
Now I’m thinking about the last time I had to renew my license at the DMV. I’m thinking that the concentration camp would be more humane. ;)
I always enjoy reading the comments on this webcomic almost as much as the comic – it’s one of the nicest, most troll-free comment sections I know. And full of people who know what they’re talking about, too. Bonus!
Can someone explain the “240 pound down-arrow,” “300 pound up-arrow” and “37 pound (hand?)” in panels 3 and 4? I’m not quite understanding what they’re supposed to be telling me. I started out assuming that her total encumbered weight was 240 pounds, and the grappler could lift 300 pounds, but the 37 pounds made me wonder. Or was that the weight of the grappling gun? In which case holding it up and firing it would be a real struggle…
You got most of it.
The 37 pounds Sydney’s grip strength. So although the gun can lift her encumbered weight, it just pulls itself out of her grip.
Obviously, she needs the wrist mounted model, but I am not sure whether you can strap it on tightly enough without cutting off her circulation…
Okay yeah, I get the point of the picture, but don’t such lifting devices in real life usually clip to the belt?
Sidney’s not exactly a fitness nut, so more than 240 pounds (factoring increase due to acceleration) of stress on one arm might be enough to do some damage or pull her shoulder out of her socket even if you could secure it that tightly to her arm.
Thanks for the reply – I can’t believe it never occurred to me that she wouldn’t be able to HOLD the grappling gun at 240 pounds. The only times I’ve ever seen Batman use one the movie made a point of him clipping it to his belt. I do remember laughing at the dialog for that scene…
“How much do you weigh?”
“Uh… about 110?”
(Hoist)
“You weigh more than 110…”
“~affronted look~”
I believe it’s grip strength, 300 lb pull on a 240 pound load with a grip strength of only 37 leaves you with a rapidly ascending grappling hook and a painfully sprained hand.
I’ve run into the whole “shields are incredible, why doesn’t everyone use one” in gaming, even SciFi gaming.
I ended up with a self powered, self propelled 600kph, shield that went from a medium sized shield all the way up to a full body shield, at which point it was space capable and atmospherically shielded.
Talk of putting FTL capability was quashed due to size restrictions.
Weighed 100kg and needed antigrav on before you could hold the thing for all but super humans.
So, what–a General Products Type 1.5 Hull?
I know other people have commented on this, but yeah, Caps shield was originally adamantium and they lost the formula so couldn’t replicate it. Then later they started saying it’s a adamantium vibranium allow and they lost the formula. And for a time he’d lost his shield and used a vibranium replacement. Apparently since I gave up on trying to read the comics due to massive insane crossovers being forced down my throat, they have retconned it to be just vibranium. Don’t know anything about any movie stuff, since that only covers the movies anyway. (Otherwise they couldn’t continue to use it in their own comics, now could they…)
They never said it was Adamantium/Vibranium, it was always a mysterious alloy of Vibranium and an iron alloy, then they discovered Adamantium decades later trying to recreate it, the shield’s incapable of having something in it that never existed when it was created.
I think USAgent’s shield was Adamantium, but that was many years ago.
USAgent likely had one of those as well as a pure Vibranium one since he was using Cap’s cast-off shields (including I think the energy shield gauntlets). Since he was originally a replacement for Cap (or at least got upgraded to that from his thuggery days) he’s ended up with Cap’s various shields and costumes as well.
The only unique piece of gear I could really see her wanting is some air for extended shield usage. She’s not part of ARC-LIGHT, so she doesn’t really need a fingerprinting kit. She can brute-force anything lockpicks would work on, and probably much faster. However, if she wants the stealth entrance, they take up very little bulk, so it wouldn’t hurt her to keep a kit. Maybe a camel pack and some MRE’s in case she ends up getting separated and lost. Maybe some rope?
Sydney is actually one of the few characters who would not get much use out of a shield due to her forcefield performing the same function. In fact, I wonder if one of the forcefield upgrades would be something similar to just making a riot-shield shaped forcefield.
A good utility knife is probably standard issue, as would likely some form of LI/nightvision eyewear.
She wants the lockpick-gun for her personal geekisfaction, not as part of her official operating gear
Ahh, but Anvil has stated that she can’t have one without the other. If she wants a bit of kit, and is not already competent in its use, then she will require training. For that particular item, it would also include full instruction on when it is and is not legal to make use of it.
That is not a souvenir stand, all items are Archon property. Any mis-use would reflect on the whole organisation.
Don’t believe Sydney would mind a bit of extra training if it meant she got that lock-pick gun
And simply meant, she would want one even if she didn’t need one, not for her personal off-duty usage
> Maybe some rope?
The
hentorblighthook should do whatever you need rope for, although you could use a paracord belt as the basis for the utility belt and then you’re good to go.Why would Spidey even need to carry cuffs? His webbings work just as well if not better.
in case of needing them restrained more than 2 hours?
… Or, in case he’s run out of webbing. I know THAT has happened more than once.
usually in the middle of a running battle and mid-swing
Or trapped under rubble with Triple Jay
Here’s my thought: everyone’s focusing on Cap’s shield and while yes, it would be very handy to make it standard issue, it probably weighs like ninety pounds and not everyone is gonna be good with it. Like, Cap’s got the whole thing going on that he can freeform the geometrics to get the pinpoint accuracy ricochets, but nobody else is gonna be able to do that. Plus, other heroes would probably have it interfere with their own gear or powers. The real problem isn’t distributing shields, it’s recreating the unrecreatable formula, like Dave edited in in the description.
Exactly. It’s a nifty item in the hands of a skilled user (and let’s also consider all the years of practice Cap has had with it), but it is not necessarily “The Answer” for EVERYONE.
I thought the Andrew Spider-Man was way better than the Tobey Spider-Man. Felt way more like Spider-Man to me.
As for the zip ties, I’d say it’s likely because those who don’t have them, wouldn’t likely need them. Them being more about the beat em up and then leave aspect.
Marvel Spidey is best Spidey though.
Off topic here, we need a full color version of that vote incentive, that’s a great piece.
It is fine to talk about the vote incentive here, as we no longer have separate comments pages for them (that I am aware of).
Utility belts are dumb. Utility hover-bots are where it’s at. ED-E, my love.
Don’t listen Sydney.
*covers Sydney’s ears with paws*
I won’t let all your Christmas and birthday presents be ruined!
At least not until I can get my paws on an utility hover-bot, as a present for you.
Prefer ED-NA.
Mode.
And guest.
So,Sydney will learn the difference between utility and economy soon enough???
Maybe she should have a weapon similar tothe Noisy Cricket?!?!?
She does, it’s the PewPewOrb
Actually fox isn’t responsible for fantastic flop and spideremo they were Sony Travesties FOX only has rights over mutants and Adamantium
Fantastic Four is also Fox. That’s why Marvel (undoubtedly at the behest of their dick overlords at Disney) has killed off the comic at the same time that they’re gradually strangling the mutant titles to death.
One can argue that FOX has done serious damage to the Fantastic Four brand and both Marvel and Disney are in damage control mode until the licensing agreement ends.
On the other hand, the X-Movies have been above average/good (if not excellent) and have more than likely added value to that brand.
While I agree with you some dickables are present in both companies, Marvel and Disney are trying to retool a media type to increase sales of the product. Can’t get too upset about people trying to save their livelihoods. I do, however, agree that disregarding/destroying continuity and poor writing / art is probably not the best way to retool these IPs. But since these tactics seem to be the hallmarks of that industry…
Here is one equipment upgrade Sidney could use:
Since she has been issued a handgun (apparently FN Five-seveN MK2), she might request a suppressor kit for it. The kit includes extended barred, a suppressor (SS Sparrow, Gemtech SFN-57 or something similar) and elevated front and rear sights (so that you can properly aim at target over the suppressor).
In practice, the modified pistol is carried in a holster without suppressor, and the suppressor is kept in a separate pouch next to the holster. In this way, the pistol can be quick-drawn and fired instantly when rapid reaction is needed, and the suppressor can be quickly attached when you know you are entering a danger zone.
Here is a picture of a “Sparrow” suppressor kit which allows quick attachment:
https://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/04/3f9fda736c3cb678d3725f3e76fad60c.jpg
https://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/04/8bb11249ca45ca4ffa2c07f69ade2eb8.jpg
Here is a picture of Gemtech suppressor. You can see that the elevated sights are higher than the suppressor.
https://www.gem-tech.com/store/pc/catalog/product-svn-57_1467_general.jpg
With these kind of suppressor kits, the weapon weight increases by ~0.18 kg, but it also reduces recoil, eliminates muzzle flash and reduces muzzle blast to ear-safe levels. This would help Sydney form going “Eek” each time she fires a shot.
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/comics/2016-03-03-GP0402.jpg
Sydney in shower…
*drifts off*
Oh… umm… silencer. Yea, good idea.
I need a cold shower. No, make that a hot one.
The GI term I’ve heard is ‘Gear-do” for young troopers who load themselves down with all sorts of really neat but ultimately unnecessary gear and tools.
Sorry to correct on your correction, but Spidey is Sony, not Fox. Which is why they finally got him in Civil War. Sony finally figured out they needed the guys at Marvel to help with the movies.
I dunno, Spidey already benches a couple tons, and seeing as his bones don’t turn to dust while doing so, betting they’re already about as hard as steel.
But he doesn’t shy from gadgets. He’s got spare web canisters on his belt, which he sometimes uses in a grenade like capacity (both web AND smoke, if he has access to an open flame). But, since he’s also supposed to be a tech genius, he does more “one off” stuff. He’ll build a specific gadget for a specific scenario, take it out in the field, then leave it in the lab once the situation is over.
True enough. Although, for info, Spidey can lift twenty tons and “has moved thousands of tonnes on occasion“. Just think about the scene, in one of the movies, where he brings an out-of-control train to a dead stop. Although he used his webs, he was holding them in his hands, and then using his feet to help braking.
Okay, everyone who thought the shield was made of adamantium is dead wrong, okay? Cap and his shield were around decades before the X-Men were ever even dreamed up, and vibranium came well before adamantium, as well.
Adamantium is also very heavy and unsuitable for the sort of utility Cap’s shield has. Nothing about its mythology has ever supported the shield being made of adamantium that I’ve ever heard, nor would it make any sense in continuity. The shield is officially a vibranium/steel alloy. That has absolutely zilch to do with Fox’s ownership of the word adamantium.
Incidentally, vibranium is rare and dangerous and its use is politically problematic. Cap’s shield is not replicable for those reasons. The Black Panther mythos is where you can best get a sense of all of this stuff. Spiderman and several other characters in the Marvel universe have has access to vibranium with less than ideal results. They haven’t just ignored its utility (although they’ve definitely gone out of their way to justify why it doesn’t have as much as some people think.)
Well to be fair you have to remember that Cap’s shield isn’t all that thick so it’s not going to weigh a large amount (heck Ultron’s Adamantium shell is apparently paper-thin from what I remember of his specs) and given Cap’s got peak human strength it would have to weigh a LOT for the weight to be an issue.
So what? It’s still not going to bounce around a room 20 times like it does if it’s that heavy. And that’s beside the point anyway: it’s not adamantium! It never was, ever. Canon tells us it’s vibranium, and has done since before the word admantium was ever even suggested.
> Okay, everyone who thought the shield was made of adamantium is dead wrong, okay?
Wikipedia disagrees.
“Type Large round shield / flying disc (Vibranium-Adamantium alloy”
“Rogers’ indestructible shield was long referred to, even in continuity, as being composed of an adamantium, vibranium, and uranium alloy.” (Although, in fairness, this is then followed by: “In actuality, the experimental iron alloy is now referred to as “proto-adamantium”, which is slightly stronger than true adamantium.”)
“In the 1980s, in a story written by Mark Gruenwald, Rogers chose to resign his identity rather than submit to the orders of the United States government and took the alias of “The Captain” instead. During this period, the role of Captain America was assumed by John Walker, the former Super-Patriot, who used both the costume and the indestructible shield.[20] In his new identity of “The Captain”, Rogers initially used a pure adamantium shield provided by Tony Stark,”
“Ultimate Captain America uses a shield of pure adamantium, although that metal may not possess the same properties in the Ultimate Marvel universe as it does in the mainstream Marvel Universe.[34] The shield was destroyed when Gregory Stark smashed it with Thor’s hammer, though Captain America would wield another later.[35] “
You REALLY can’t go trusting a wikipedia entry. The shield was never referred to being made up of Adamantium or Uranium in the comics, ONLY Vibranium and an unknown Iron Alloy (any comics that said it was Adamantium/Vibranium were repeating the original Marvel Handbook error since Adamantium was created decades later from the failed attempt to replicate Cap’s shield).
So…can’t trust Wikipedia because it’s not from the primary source (the comics), but if it was in the comics you can’t trust it because it was a restatement of an erroneous posting in a canonical databook published by the owners of the IP? I think that once it’s in a databook and in some comics, it’s canon. Marvel can decide to retcon it later, for whatever reason, but it was still canon at that point.
It was never canon because it was never true, it was an error that some mutton-head editor didn’t catch
You can think what you want, won’t make it true. A mistake is a mistake and doesn’t become canon just because someone repeated the mistake. Like Guesticus says it was never canon because it was never true and repeating an unreliable wiki entry that’s obviously not true again won’t make it true or canon.
Her Carry Limit is slot *and* weight based, naturally.
‘Slot’ being physical space and LBE pockets/ attachments.
Reality is annoying like that.
Also, credit to Sydney for figuring it out before she was told to run laps.
you know, her multibar tool might actually be a real thing. have you seen the required chinese military gear, the shovel? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b60OZhrTB6o
Yes.
The dumb Spider-Man reboot was Sony, not Fox. Sony can (eventually) acknowledge when they fucked up and give Marvel some control (although they still want the money).
When it comes to gear, a climbing axe is actually a versatile tool. Of course it’s for people to climb (and can’t fly) but also works as an impromptu crowbar and improvised weapon. At least the ones I’ve seen online… in pretty sure you can fight climbing axe vs machete in the ones with a handle guard.
What’s always puzzled me about Cap’s shield…whatever it’s made of…
If it cancels out kinetic energy, how does it ricochet? That’s essentially what vibranium does: instantly counters the `vibration’ of the incoming kinetic energy. Otherwise, Cap would constantly be shoved backwards because the (somewhat-reduced) energy is transferred through the shield to his body. Where most weapons…swords, bullets, baseball bats…are energy concentrators, shields are energy dissipaters: they spread the force across a larger area. A bullet or various superhero force-blasts will pack a *lot* of energy, and Cap’s vibranium-alloy shield counters whatever it is completely.
So…how does it ricochet? It should hit the wall and instead of the energy rebounding, be instantly cancelled by the shield, resulting in the shield simply falling to the ground. Never mind why it does damage when Cap *hits* someone with it!
Personally, I suspect the shield is a blind. Cap is secretly a mutant, and the SSS interacted with his mutant gene to give him the ability to use *anything* as a shield and it does exactly what he wants it to, and damn the physics because he’s a mutant and they’re all about circumventing the laws of physics!
Hey, it makes more sense than the hundred or more `explanations’ for the shield Marvel has given us…
It cancels out vibrations from a direct angle (ie face on), but not the edge, that’s how he is able to Rick O’Shay it and use it as a weapon
I’m pretty sure that Cap’s shield, which is made out of a combination of proto-adamantium (different than Wolverine’s adamantium even) and vibranium in a very unique way, has never been duplicated because the person who created the formula died and the exact mixture was lost. Something about how the adamantium was manipulated in a way to allow vibranium to bond to its structure. Or something like that. I’m pretty sure there were a few storylines on that, including on the cartoon Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
No, the material of Cap’s shield was never duplicated because its creator fell asleep due to exhaustion and never saw the x-factor that led his Iron Alloy to blend with the Vibranium harmoniously. The creator of the shield’s material showed up decades later in the Avengers when he introduced Adamantium, a while failed attempt to recreate Cap’s shield proved fairly indestructible in its own right (enough so he clearly wished he’d never developed it and hoped the Avengers could actually destroy it but even a strike from Thor wielding Mjolnir couldn’t dent the test cylinder).
Wait, wasn’t the guy who developed Adamantium Japanese?
No, you’re thinking the guy who developed the process of bonding Adamantium to bone a la Wolverine (it’s most famous test subject, although Bullseye has also enjoyed the same).
Oh, thought he was involved in it’s creation as well, thank you
But what about what happened on Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, where Vision was sent by Ultron to collect samples of adamantium, vibranium, and Cap’s shield in order to recreate it?
I think the episode was called ‘Behold the Vision.’
Just looked it up. Yep, 14th episode of season 2.
Well we don’t know what the history is for that version of Cap’s shield, Adamantium or Vibranium beyond Vibranium was used in creating Cap’s shield. It’s unlikely that shield has any Adamantium in it but Ultron being a genius level computer intelligence that did get a chance for a brief scan of Cap’s shield during his taking over of the SHIELD helicarrier may have developed a means of creating a blending of Adamantium or Vibranium or hoped to do so after a more detailed analysis that it never got the chance to make so ‘settled’ for Adamantium for its shell.
Zarya! Hell yeah!
Bonus speculation:
After beating the system and picking zero optional gear (and having an easier time on the track) they are going to put Sydney in a situation where much of that optional gear would have been useful, to demonstrate that you still need some gear
See what happens when too many dungeon masters screw with player wishes? The players start to realize that getting everything you want isn’t always a good thing. Then they start questioning authority. Where will it all end?
Fire and brimstone, coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes… The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together… mass hysteria!
*chuckles* Back when I was running D&D in college (this is pre-3.0), I had some players join who were from a previous group that had broken up. They were so used to their previous GM being a sadistic overlord who would always screw with wishes, that one of them bought me a NINE-PAGE WISH, typewritten, single-spaced.
Me: *trying to find a way to avoid reading nine pages* “So sum it up for me. In as few words as possible, tell me what your character is wishing for.”
Player: *explains*
Me: “Okay… done.” *Throws it in the garbage bin*
Seriously, any GM that is so sadistic you have to write a nine-page essay about a wish to make sure he doesn’t screw with it, has no business being a GM. Get up from the table and walk away. Being specific is fine… even I will screw with a wish if you are too vague, or wishing for something stupidly over-powered. But I prefer “one or two paragraph specific” to “nine page specific”.
As GMs, we can screw with you at any time, for no reason, and make it stick.
Granted, this makes that kind of a GM a bit of a tool.
As a player, you can screw with a GM and with a sufficient degree of whininess, rule lawyering, belligerence or combination of the above, get the GM to capitulate.
Granted, that makes this kind of player also a bit of a tool.
I’ve had players walk from my games for lots of reasons – I don’t follow the rules, I’m a rules lawyer, I’m a killer GM, I don’t makes fights hards enough, I give out too little magic (okay, that one’s probably valid), I give out too much magic. But I’ve never once had a player complain about wish fulfillment.
I keep the rules simple:
a) A small benefit to the player or group yields small consequences. The bigger the benefit to the layer or group, the bigger the consequences.
b) Consequences should always be logical and never mean-spiritedness – unless the wish is being granted by something mean-spirited.
Of the five times the players have found and used wishes in my D&D game, my favorite one is when the PCs wished for.. a mule. And then spent the next three weeks of game time waiting for the other shoe to drop (when one of them finally checked their cash, each player was short a few silvers. The total amongst the party was the cost of a high quality mule).
My all time favorite happened in a game I was watching after mine had ended. Deck of many things, whole party was drawing cards, no catastrophe draws so far. Guys draws a card, gets 1d4 wishes, but since the card doesn’t have a visual / audible effect, nothing happens. The party FREAKS, the players spend 20 minutes trying to figure out what just happened. Finally, in a fit of frustration, the player who drew the wish said, “Shit, I wish I knew happened when I drew that card.” A nearby turd from the pack animals said, “You drew a card, you got a wish.” Guess how many wishes the GM rolled? That’s right, one – and the party spent the next ten minutes writing up their wish while several other GMs had to leave the room.
He he, very nice literal granting of a wish. I have been in the same situation, as a player, but asking for a (carfully though out) wish to be granted was the first thing I tried. For precisely the reason your players found out.
Mind you, I always live to the mantra “Treat the ‘W’ word with the same care you would the phrase ‘please castrate me’!”
Yups, that’s why personally attempt to never use the ‘W’ word (also never make a promises or use ‘sorry’ if ‘apologise’ can be used instead: far too many have bandied both around to make them near-meaningless {just try and explain to someone you made promise to why you had to ‘break’ it because a tornado destroyed half the state including the Amusement Park})
Yeah, my last DM WANTED my group to be able to come up with things he didn’t. (using my spiked chain as an ad hoc grappling book to pull a lever set about 15 feet up the wall for example, or using Tumble to get past a pressure plate and out of the trap’s area before it could trigger.) As for wishes, you had to be fairly specific, keep in mind what was giving the wish, and of course, be careful what ya ask for.
A modicum of snuff is most efficacious.
SCENE: Baron Munchausen is just about to be executed.
SULTAN: Have you any famous last words?
BARON MUNCHAUSEN: Not yet.
the Spider-mans were Sony
Love seeing Math’s “Three Moves Ahead” being personified in a battle against her desire to Min Max.
And ‘Min Max’ is actually ‘Mini Maxima’ :D
Halo already has some rather versatile abilities. Her Lighthook (energy tentacle) alone has a lot of potential. She doesn’t need a crowbar, hammer, axe, or throwing knife.
However, a couple of her ideas aren’t bad: Some sort of rangefinder could be useful as I assume that several of her abilities have a range limit. (I assume that they make rangefinders that are small and lightweight now.) And an EMP grenade could be nice. It causes little to no physical damage, but fries electronics. In the right hands, that just might save the day. And maybe a few tear gas grenades? (I don’t know if I’d trust her with the more destructive kinds.)
Yes, her Hentorb has a lot of potential, but that’s just it: potential means it isn’t a reality… yet (or ever)
One of her Mystery Balls has the ‘potential’ to allow her to give Maxi the ultimate deep tissue massage (or melt her face off), but that doesn’t mean it is yet something she can rely on (or actually accomplish)
Yup, in fact Halo could become more powerful than even Maxima, in due course. Once she is fully trained, gains enough experience and manages to unlock all her orbs capabilities. But, even with what Halo has demonstrated so far, she is, as you say, clearly very versatile. Those suggestions do compliment her capabilities too.