Grrl Power #51 – That’s gratitude for ya.
Even when not dealing with ‘villains’ Maxima doesn’t really put up with people who irritate her. It’s fair to say that she’s been described as bit of a bitch… usually not to her face though. I wanted to do a comic which showed that a little but it feels ham fisted to me since I’m used to writing lighthearted goofy stuff all the time. I mean, really, why would this guy come up and give the super powered amazon grief about how she saved his life (or at least foiled the robbery,) though he did have a gun pointed straight at him at one point, so maybe it’s just nerves. One challenge I have as a writer is remembering that not everyone is congenial all the time – it’s weird, I never watch a TV show with antagonist catalyzing a situation by doing something dumb and think what a hack writing job it is, cause logically, I know that people can be stupid dicks sometimes, but it feels 2 dimensional to me when I do it.
Edit: /me waves to all GWS visitors. I do a kind of different comic from Danielle, feel free to poke around a bit and hopefully a few of you enjoy it and stick around.
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She’s great at public relations!
Heh, she can deal with the public just fine.
So you say having Sydney in the comment-panel is enough to put her in the who-is-who?
More likely the fact that her feet are visible by the ambulance wheel
glad im not the only one to notice that
I actually almost added Arianna’s badge too. The thing with webcomics is that at any given moment, you could have 1,000* new eyes reading if for the first time, so if a character is referenced at all, the Who’s Who panel will at least give them some idea of… well, who’s who. The only reason I decided not to include Arianna is that she hasn’t been introduced at all within the comic, and I don’t want the Who’s Who to become a means of introducing characters. That’s why Maxima’s still says “A mysterious golden woman.” since within the comic itself, there’s not a whole lot more we know about her at this point. Obviously if you read the comments and cast page, there’s a lot more information than what’s in the comic, but really the Who’s Who is there to help ease new readers in as well as remind people who read 40 webcomics a week and have 2,000 cast members throughout to keep track of, which is definitely an issue that I have sometimes.
*I actually did a guest strip for GWS this week, if Danielle decides to use it and even 10% of her readership clicks over to my comic, I’ll have a record day.
Cool! I can hardly wait to see that. I’ve loved GWS.
Actually, people tend to flip out and blame the people who rescue them quite often. I think you handled it really well in this strip. I’m sure that by this point in her career as a super, she would be very grumpy.
Dude! Your guest comic is up over at Girls With Slingshots! Coolness!
As a GWS reader who clicked over, 2 things: 1. loved the guest strip (advantage of working from home, anything is SFW), 2. really enjoying this comic, I really like your angle. So, basically, yay for guest strips!
I liked the bit on the package about a theater full of epileptics watching Pokemon… ;)
Well, they were at a slightly elevated risk for panic-caused heart attacks for the duration, and they’ll be having worse adrenalin crashes because she dragged it out.
that cop seems very happy to see an annoying citizen in his place
Nobody likes a nitpicking self-righteous jerkwad who instead of being grateful for being alive is slamming his savior because he was scared for a few minutes and treated with slightly less respect than god.
then why do people read the “Daily Bugle?”
because people are stupid :P
I read it for the Girl on page 3. <__>
Aside from JJJ’s editorials, the paper isn’t any worst or better than the others. However, things are going to get interesting when the Spider Island storyline kicks into action – how will JJJ act when he has the webhead’s powers?
Whatever happened to the tube? and what the heck is in it anyway. those are currently my two big questions.
My guess is that Max is currently standing on the tube’s strap.
As for finding out what is in it, you’ll just have to wait with the rest of us.
I haven’t forgotten about it. It’s “secured” for now. You’ll see when we cut back to Sydney.
Seems pretty plausible to me. People are idiots. Panicky ones in particular. Apparently something about panic makes them get mad at the person who rescues them as soon as they calm down. *sigh*
So remember kids: “When in fear or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout.”
For Urd?
(guaranteed to make the situation more sexy and entertaining… and… explosive… and generally dangerous. but probably fixed in the end…. maybe…)
honestly, i’m not sure where that line’s originally from, but the first time I encountered it was in Oh, My Goddess!
The ‘scream and shout’ thing?
It comes from a much more sensible saying used in the Royal Navy: “When in doubt, helm to port and come about.” Basically it means that if you don’t know which ship has to give way, you give way by turning right. Since the other ship will be following the same rule, you will easily avoid each other.
Actually… the quote is from a Robert A Heinlein book: ‘When in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout’ was a prominent quote for a few of his heroes, but especially Lazarus Long. If you have no idea what to do, freak out. Maybe you’ll get lucky…
I first encountered it in Freefall webcomic. A scammer alien yelled it (and acted accordingly) when he thought they might be soon killed. Later, when crisis really hit he calmly explained to an eartling its not time to panic, she should have done it beforehand with him.
Dips “waving guns around” are the ones least likely to be able to hit the broadside of a barn with one. If they’re holding it on it’s *side*, like in bad John Woo films, you *know* they can’t hit the broadside of a barn with one. Criminals rarely practice with their guns, as gun ranges tend to be frequented by off-duty cops, cartridges cost money, and you can’t just stick up the guy at the gun range to get ammo and practice time, he’s usually better armed and an expert.
You’re not automatically in danger of immediate death just because a criminal has a gun. You’re in danger, but that has to be tempered with the fact that it’s a criminal that is lucky if he knows what end the bullets come out of, and thinks “caliber” is a brand of malt liquor. Keeping your wits about you will greatly increase your chances of surviving such an encounter unscathed. Your own weapon and a lot of practice will do likewise.
Most of the “robbers” are less movie style than we are led to believe. They don’t want a lot of attention or noise so firing the gun is the last thing they want to do. If you are calm and cooperate they will take what they want and go. Panicking will only raise the stress level for everyone. (this is my only my experience-based opinion)
Unless, of course, you are super-powered. Such as the ability, to pick one at random, to catch bullets with your hands.
If I had a super hero power I’d probably get sued for abuse of powers as I have little regard for those who hurt others in any way.
Two specific things I love about this page: 1. Maxima’s satisfied face in the last panel and 2. the use of the ‘metal gear noise’. <3
I find it much more satisfying to draw the goofy expressions and the anime style stuff than the “ooh look at me I’m a scowly superhero” but that stuff is integral to Max’s character, so I slip the goofy in when I can.
Sadly, stuff like that jerk ACTUALLY HAPPENS; I’ve been there for it. Usually it’s cops who just diffused a nasty situation who take the brunt of some [expletive deleted] idiot’s post-stress reaction.
I feel for Maxima and full well agree people are idiots. There are reasons I would never want to be a cop.
But on the other hand, just imagine what else Maxima could have said in panel 6.
“I said:
You weren’t in any danger…”
CRACK
“…Then…”
I love past tense threats VerrrrY subtle
I only just now realized there were more heroes in the page head image, and ….there’s a Harem hero ?
I’m *so* curious how that works out, I’m actually excited about the coming story. Never seen that done before.
If you go over to the cast page, there’s some information about her, but if you want to do it organically through the comic, we’ll actually be briefly meeting her in a few pages. (which, unfortunately at 1 comic a week means it will still be a while yet)
Actually, about those headshots, I’ve noticed that one of the ones for Maxima seems to be lacking a mouth.
That’s from the now infamous “Tounge-Fu” incident. As Dave himself often says. “I work on the comic at 600dpi, and some thing that show up fine at that res. just doesn’t show up on the standard computer screen”.
It’s at the very point of her chin BTW :P
Well no, I didn’t draw a mouth in that picture just cause… I dunno, sometimes you draw people without mouths when you’re doing funny anime reaction shots. Out of context it does look a little funny I guess.
People like that guy exist.
Rescued someone who was drowning from a canal. Removed my shoes and coat first. The friend of the guy I got out completely went nuts for me doing that (after I got his friend out safely).
Oh and that crack is another reminder of how seriously strong and though Maxima is.
Heh, the “crack” was supposed to be her knuckles, but I realized as I drew it that it’s just as likely look like she’s crushing the bullet, which is fine too I guess. As has been discussed in previous comments, the bullet woudn’t be any good for forensics since it would have deformed too much when she stopped it dead in the air by catching it, but I don’t think forensics would have been necessary anyway since there were a half dozen witnesses and bank lobbies are full of cameras anyway.
That, and they actually caught the guys if I recall red handed if i recall.
As a one-time Machinist I would have to say the bullet would have to be more than lead as lead would not crack (at least not loudly) more likely squish. However a steel jacketed slug would make a loud sound when crushed. So not impossible.
Yeah, that’s so. If Mythbusters taught us anything, it’s that if a modern bullet doesn’t go through something, it’ll splatter. They move so quickly Maxima would need to catch it in her palm. Pinching it between her fingers would probably just make the bullet fly to pieces in her hand and the fragments would keep going.
Minor nitpick, though.
Love Mythbusters too. The only Late Nite Robot sidekick was made by Grant Imahara,
Another Mythbusters fan here.
In a superheroic universe, I have absolutely no doubt that they would have superpowers, considering all the stuff they do. Heck, even in THIS universe ….. ;)
(Time stops and Jamie Hyneman appears) “Sorry that is not possible.” (time rewinds 30 secs and restarts. :)
Well, there’s the version of them from Undocumented Features:
Jamie is a Jedi, Adam is Kryptonian.
In my headcanon, the crack is the sound of Max’ fingers hitting her palm hard. And also the bullet is in one piece because she grabbed it and decelerated it at a highly controlled rate over the span of a few centimeters.
INTIMIDATION CHECK:
Nat 20
With 20 skill points in Intimidation as a Class Skill.
My DM would say this when I’d get a nat 20 like that: “the smell of (Expletive) and (Expletive) suddenly fill the air”
wow…if not for my strange friends, i might not get the metal gear solid noise reference…and if not for my sister, i wouldn’t get the monty python reference…i truly owe all that i am to others
You realize “Metal gear noise” meant the noise of sears grinding to a halt. :P
*Gears… I hate monday
Not with the exclamation point, it doesn’t.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icv-7qvFAHQ
*Headdesk* I hate this week
I love the Monty Python reference at the bottom.
“It’s Dame Not Appearing In This Comic.”
Brilliant 8-)
I love the emphasis on ‘weren’t’ in panel 6. That alone proves she’s good at dealing with people. She could have just as easily said ‘If you don’t shut up you’ll be joining the robber in the ambulance.”
Draw faster! This is gettin’ good!
LOL! I get the sentiment, but you have to let the artist work at his own pace on this one. he’s doing the work of 5 people on this comic. He writes, pencils, inks colors and letters. give him a break. Oh I almost forgot, he edits the letters to the editor page ;)
Well I finished the next page tonight, got to try and get pencils and maybe inks done for the next one in the next few days cause between Quakecon and Strip this weekend, I don’t think I’m getting a lot of drawing done. The good news is that after that, I don’t think I have many obligations for the next few weekends, so I’ll endeavor to get that buffer back to where I’m able to post the occasional Thursday comic.
SQUEEEE!!! Twice a week updates? More comic, more gooder!
Well Dave knows I understand. I know what he does and how hard it is. He knows I am pulling his leg. But with all the fame fortune and loose women we Webcomic artists have to deal with its amazing we get any work done at all. :)
Am I the only one who’s on this guy’s side?
I mean, he sort of has a right to be upset. Yes, maybe he was really never in danger, but he didn’t know that. He’s just supposed to take her word for it that she had complete freedom to screw around without risking their lives? Can we really blame him for not understanding that Maxima’s powers are so incredible that there was zero possibility that no one could have been hurt by the multiple gunmen? Was that really the case?
Man, guns aren’t funny business. If I see some dude walk up in a crowd and start grabbing people and waving a pistol in their faces, and then some fancypants comes around and starts cracking wise and eating a sandwich and clearly not giving a crap, well… I’d feel a bit peeved too. Especially if she’s part of a genuine law enforcement agency. We expect our officials to take their jobs seriously. If you’re a cop (or what-have-you), and you’re in a situation like that, everyone’s scared, and its only right to try and end the crisis as quickly as possible. Protect and serve. It’s not playtime.
Hell, what if there had been elderly in there? Someone with a pacemaker? Someone with a trauma? At any point, someone could have flipped out and tried wrestling one of the robbers. They could have had reinforcements. Explosives. Anything! What if Sydney had popped up in front of that one guy instead of under him? What if he’d panicked and blown her spine out? Would Maxima have been fast enough to stop a shot at point blank range? Heck, even just holding her hostage, if that gun had gone off next to her head I bet she’d at least have hearing damage. He even whacked her one. What if he’d done that harder? Kid might’ve had a concussion. And (while I don’t know jack about firearms) don’t shotguns have the potential to fire multiple particles in a wide radius? Isn’t there significant risk that if that thing had gone off, someone could have caught a ricochet? Could she have really caught all the pellets? What if the guy standing BEHIND Maxima pointing a gun at the giggly teller got a shot off? Even if Maxima could turn fast enough to dive back and catch THAT bullet, Sydney might’ve started struggling and the other gunman could’ve started firing and, and, and… see what I mean? The dude’s right, Maxima doesn’t know what could have happened! And if she does, well, I don’t blame him for thinking otherwise!
But the best part is that Maxima actually seems convinced that she has nothing to explain, and furthermore, should not be questioned in any way. Look at that second panel. This man is asking perfectly reasonable questions, and already she is annoyed at his impertinence. Almost immediately, after someone who’s been in a bank robbery and has seen a girl get taken hostage questions her approach in a mildly upset fashion, she resorts to sheer intimidation to scare him off. Instead of explaining her powers, or calmly reassuring the man, or, God forbid, maybe even apologizing for her lackadaisical manner (and did I mention a girl got held at gunpoint), she repeats the same glib response with increasing petulance. Unlike how, y’know, trained professionals are supposed to behave in a professional manner. I guess she knows she’s awesome, and everyone who disagrees should just shut their whiny traps. Seriously! What was she going to do, break the guy’s face because he’s talking at her in a way she finds less than pleasing? Might makes right? That’s just bullying, and man, I disagree. You don’t do a job like that so people can sing your praises. You do it because it’s the right thing to do. Any professional knows that there will always be hecklers in the audience. And y’know what? We NEED people like that, to remind us that we must constantly be at our best, to point out our flaws and keep us on our toes even when we haven’t really done anything wrong. I don’t blame people for criticizing when it’s clear they honestly feel I could have done better! Sure, sometimes trolls will complain just for the sake of complaining. People like that should shut up. But that’s not what this guy is doing. He’s scared, and he truly feels she behaved poorly. He has every right to bring that to her attention, and given the circumstances, I think he can be forgiven for being a little emotional. Has Maxima actually changed his mind? No! You don’t win arguments by scaring your detractors away, you win arguments by putting your best foot forward. Maybe she couldn’t have actually convinced him otherwise, but there are better ways to brush someone off than brute threats. That guy isn’t convinced that Maxima isn’t irresponsible now. He’s convinced that she’s irresponsible and potentially violent to boot. Our hero.
And that’s how I play Devil’s Advocate.
She could have caught every single bullet fired from every gun there without breaking a sweat. He is fine, so he should just say thanks and get on with his life. She had it under full control the whole time.
Are you the only one on this guy’s side?
Probably.
I would cut him some slack because he has just been through a scary situation. BUT it was no less scary for ANY other non-bulletproof bystander in that bank, and none of the others are queuing up to be an asshat about it.
I’d have said assscarf, myself… same thing, but further in.
I would say there is one factor here that that guy is not considering. Strategically, even if she was very very good, which face it… she IS, there were two gunmen, acting against one could have likely gotten someone shot before she could get to them. Syd’s freak out at the moment she made herself known provided the distraction she needed to nullify both at once.
Granted, she could have explained that and mollified his concerns considerably. but then he’d have likely gone over to Syd and started bitching at HER for endangering everybody.
Which would most likely get his head gnawed upon.
Which would make for an awesome panel.
Joe England is probably right. The guy is probably justified in being upset, Maxima probably was being a bit irresponsible by not taking it more seriously, no matter how powerful she is, and she was being kind of a bully….*BUT*….when someone saves you, the correct and *only* correct response is “THANK YOU FOR SAVING US”. Anything else makes you an asshat, even if you are completely justified in your asshattery. Being justified doesn’t make you not a jerk. Maybe she is a “cop”, sort of (not quite sure yet if that is a correct description of her job) but from what I understand she could just have easily chosen to use her powers to get rich quick instead as other supers in this world apparently do, so her saving people in an official capacity is still quite voluntary and should be appreciated.
So what if she’s rude, arrogant, impatient, insensitive, and kind of a bully? – she saved your flipping life from bank robbers, and she didn’t have to – you should do what anyone else would do – say thank you to her and then go home and talk trash about her anonymously on his blog. :)
Dude, whatever brand of pee was dumped in your Cheereos this morning, keep it far from me.
That was a rant from hell. Honestly, half way through, I just skipped to the end.
Even police and military are trained to not jump into action before you are ready and can be reasonably sure of the outcome. With two armed assailants, waiting till one was out of commission was wise. Second, they usually prefer to let the robbers get done and out, unless someone is in immediate danger. Fewer potential hostages /victoms. Also, what was mister whiny, wetting his pants doing about it all? Let the woman do her job and be thankful you didn’t have to end up as one of the more messy crime statistics.
Great! Now I’m on big long winded rants.
Y’know, it’s funny. Some people say she could have stopped both robbers almost instantly with no trouble, while others say she had to take her time and tread carefully. But in this case let’s assume the latter. She doesn’t make that clear to the man, in fact, she indicates quite the opposite. In which case, he has a valid complaint, that she was basically screwing around instead of getting the job done. Rather than taking a moment to assure him that she acted appropriately, she uses physical intimidation to frighten him off. Now, we can say that federal agents don’t actually have a responsibility to be polite. But there’s just no call for that kind of hostility towards a civilian.
And I don’t think we can really fault the guy for not helping her defeat the robbers, either. Not being brave isn’t a crime. In fact, as a civilian he could have just felt it best to keep out of the federal agent’s way. I don’t fault him for that.
Yeah, ranting is fun for the ranter. I do love my soap box.
“Do not question the results” is basically Max’s attitude. Doing so gets her irritated, badgering her about them gets you threatened.
Also, I need to catch up on Zebra Girl. I’d love to have my resident demoness Dabbler make some off handed reference to it, though I suspect different dimensions and demons and stuff in our respective universes are incompatible.
Hey, like Max says, “don’t question the results!”
Yipes – I have to catch up on stripes once more. As for cross-overs, stripes has been known to do some dimension hopping in the past so there is always a chance of her showing up in the most awkward of situations.
Well you can always let dabbler develop a fireproof blanket that for some strange reason is only fireproof when it’s print is plaid :)
Well, you already know how much I am looking forward to Dabbler. I can hardly wait for her intro. I wonder how Sydney will react.
MMmmmmmm Dabbler.
>Am I the only one who’s on this guy’s side?
Not … quite.
A number of people here do seem willing to let it pass because he’s scared, which honestly is his only excuse.
Maxima’s response made sense. In that situation, she’s not going to go off half-cocked because she’s not certain about the situation. How many armed men are there? Does one of them have a bomb? Is it a coincidence she’s there, or is this an attack on her?
No, she’s more likely to do what she did. Stay calm, try to talk the bad guys down once they recognize her, and not act until someone’s about to get hurt.
Alright, that sounds more reasonable. What’s harder to justify is her intolerance of some guy asking several seconds worth of questions. I mean, she growled in that guy’s face to get him to leave her alone. Just seems cruel to me. But, yeah, that’s a facet of her character. I only hope it’s not universally viewed as a positive trait.
In a situation like that, I suspect that everyone — even Maxima — would be feeling stressed at best. Throwing up is a believable reaction. Now, that guy is making the situation worse instead of better. Even if we take him at face value, the right answer is “Bring this up in the investigation.”
My brother in law’s a fireman, and based on some of his comments his reaction would be “I’ve always wanted to do that.”
Laudable? No. Understandable? Yes.
Assuming she was not able to stop both almost instantly, that would make sense. Her reaction seems to be appropriate, however. She was on her way to interrogate the guy in the ambulance. She does not have time to answer a lot of questions. He seems the type who ask endless questions under stress, and having dealt with them before, that is the only way to be rid of them.
See, I would take that rant more seriously if those arguments couldn’t also be applied to say…. a demon’s fanclub.
BTW, Sandra feeling sympathy for a crying basket case? I can hear the sarcasm from Mr. Floating black panel now. ^_^
Although to be fair, even Sandra couldn’t believe anyone was dumb enough to be her fanclub…
Of course, on the gripping hand, even a demon is proof positive of the supernatural and implict proof of the existence of God, so…
From Maxima’s point of view there are a few facts to consider.
1) She’s not a cop. She wasn’t there to deal with the robbers, she was there to use the bank, and just happened to stop the robbery because she could.
2) She military personel and this guy is not in her chain of command. I’m sure she’d take a chewing out from her boss. From a civilian who she just saved? She has no legal or moral obligation to put up with critisism from someone who isn’t qualified to critisize.
3) She’s apparently a combat/spec ops troop. Public relations is not her forte.
4) From a broader point of view, super hero comics are wish fulfilment. We have all dearly wished to scare/obliterate some nitwit screaming about things they know nothing about. So our heroine gets to do so, because that’s what we think we would do, if we could.
P.S. Any of you who don’t know who Joe England is should click on his name and see some of the most amazing art ever turned into a webcomic.
Thanks, Andor. Good points are made on either side of this topic, I’m just glad that the “other side” is being represented.
It’s fair to say Maxima had knowledge of the situation that informed her actions, but from his point of view it probably did look like she was goofing around. But I do feel better about writing him, as I guess he probably does have some valid complaints. That still doesn’t mean that Max cares to hear the critique.
True, true — but neither does it justify her response. Which is not to say you shouldn’t have written it that way; it was funny and very in character. But if the consequences of this are realistic, we can expect to see Max get a royal chewing out from a superior officer.
Depending on how it was handled, that could be pretty funny too…
Ahhh but here’s the thing. What if she IS the Superior? Like Commander of Field Ops or what not. Remember, the higher in rank, the fewer people that can tell you that your an a$$hole.
adamas- In my limited experience the ones at the top are also sometimes the ones who need it the most.
Agreed, Alas there tend to be few that CAN at that point. Not like we can hire someone to stand next to them and whisper in her ear “You are mortal” all day now can we.
The Devil’s Advocate is a verbose son of a gun, isn’t he?
Yeah, I do love that soap box.
As the operator of a pretty busy soapbox myself… ;) :D
Of course you are right, and from his own POV, the guy has every right to be angry. Maxima, however, IS bad at dealing with people. As the strip shows. And wether she could have caught every single bullet or not… Thats for DaveB to know, and us to make guesses about or have opinions about.
Now, I am also on the verbose side, but I found your post impressively long, detailing what-ifs and hypothetical situations in a page of a super-hero action/comedy comic.
Yes, the guy acted normally for having taken part in such a situation, but so did Maxima.
Imaginary thoughbubble for angry guy: ( Why did this golden thingie play with our lives? Does she think she’s some kind of bored goddess or what? )
Imaginary thoughtbubble for Maxima: ( Ingratefull civilan! Bah, I don’t have to listen to this anymore. It’s not like I’m a cop and had a duty to save anyone, I only did that because I am nice. )
However, regardless of reason, almost everyone will find it funny when someone acting like a pompous ass (regardless of the reason and justification for it) is taken down a notch or two, and the way DaveB let Maxima do it with finesse and subtlety was a thing of beauty.
See, that’s just it. I don’t see how the guy was being a “pompous ass.” From where I stand, his complaints were fairly legitimate. Or, at least, undeserving of such a contemptuous dismissal.
Oh let’s see. He was trying to tell a military superhero how she should do her job and demanding explanations. Hmm… Is he her boss? No. Does he have any real reason to complain? Hmm…. No wounds no losses not even a scratch so no. Is he complaining for no reason? Mostly yes. In conclusion ask any law enforcement officer would think and you will get the answer. He is an a$$.
I am definitely NOT on his side. Because I have been where she is at. When an emergency happens you don’t have time to form a committee to decide the best plan. You do what you think is best and do it fast. Could someone have got hurt maybe but unlikely. Should she have to explain herself in great detail to every idiot who has an opinion? HELL NO. Personally anyone who voluntarily steps between me and a bullet has my respect and that is essentially what police and military do. He is obviously one of those people who believes he can do your job better than you but never actually had to do it. In short an ignorant a$$.
BTW you are wrong about his manner he is clearly getting in her face with a raised half-closed fist in panel 5. He is using threatening body language to intimidate her. If you saw the movie Hancock you know how that could end. Admit it he is a “pompous ass” or at least an unthinking and ungrateful one. And if you think I’m being callus let me say I’ve been robbed at gun point before with the gun pointed directly at me and I did not attack the police who responded to the call. Perhaps I’m built of stronger stuff? Nah I think I’m just smarter.
To Maxima, a civy with a half closed fist is about as threatening as a toddler with a plastic spoon full of applesauce. Knowing Maxima like I do, she’s probably more concerned that he came within a few inches of a grope.
Agreed. His attempted intimidation is what I was referring to. Once had a homeless drug addict/dealer try the same thing. Just because they are not a real threat doesn’t mean they aren’t annoying as hell.
and now you know WHY Arianna says she’s bad at dealing with the public…
Are you kidding? That was AWESOME! I want to see her do MORE public relations.
Yes, in fact, I am part evil. Thank you very much.
I didn’t say it wasn’t awesome, but just stating the reason why Arianna says she’s bad at public relations.
Are you the only one on his side? Reading the other comments, I’m inclined to say yes. While I don’t disagree with you, I do think this is probably 10% or less honest-to-god constructive criticism and 90% or more adrenaline overdose.
As far as Maxima’s reaction, while it certainly does seem unprofessional, based on what Dave has presented so far, it’s perfectly in keeping with her character’s outlook. She appears to view us (especially the male subset of “us”) as weak, fragile, and utterly annoying in our smug questioning of our obvious superiors, and thus has little patience with us. Given her abilities, I’m not surprised. Maxima is most definitely NOT somebody I’d want to spend much time around (especially since I’m arrogant enough to piss her off constantly), but I think she’s a MUCH more honest take than her nearest counterparts (i.e. Superman, Capt Marvel, etc).
Well done, Dave!!!
Speaking for myself I have to say I have always rejected and disrespected(at least to myself) those people that take out their fear and tension on people they see as public servants. They blame others for everything bad that happens. If their children have poor grades it’s the teacher’s fault never mind that they never involve themselves with their child’s education that’s the teacher’s job. No adrenaline involved just know the type.
If you read the Cast page, it tells you that she’s not very tolerant of men. If a woman had asked the same question, she might have been more gentle (see her reaction to Sydney). The reactions of both Maxima and the lady cop standing beside her are probably triggered partially by dealing with too many ‘chivalrous’ would-be saviors who take the ‘women should be kept out of danger’ part to a point where it’s not chivalrous anymore.
I agree with the guy, honestly. By Maxima’s own previous statements, she’s lying in this comic. Yes, she can catch bullets, but only if she’s ready for them. How ready would she have been for a panicked bank robber accidentally firing into a crowd? Or heck, if one of them simply dropped his gun, causing a misfire? By the puke example, she wouldn’t have been, and by standers could have been hurt because of it.
As to her actions in this comic, they’re pretty much inexcusable. The man’s actions are understandable, he was in danger. Maxima’s are not. She has super powers, and was never in any danger. What she shows here is a complete lack of empathy for the people she, we suppose, protects. Worse, she makes threats of implied violence to the man, once again demonstrating that she has power and he doesn’t. The comic seems to imply that she has no respect for the average joe, and that being the case, one wonders why she protects them.
A bit late to respond, but we’ve learned more about Max’s power set since this was posted. The odds are, she had most of her power ‘points’ set into speed once she noticed the robbers. If so, given what we’ve seen of her powers when maxed out, no one was in danger. She probably had just reset her powers to default when Sydney puked, hence ‘not prepared’ .
My likely response the her “Probably not the best way to handle either situation but I certainly cant argue the results in either case.”
Hancock gets same kind of flak. I liked that, and I like this too :)
Agreed.
Hancock- “You’re fine, for now, so what’s your problem?”
Idiot- “My problem is, wait, for the MOMENT?”
Hancock- *cracks knuckles* “Keep bugin’ me, and I’m gonna take your head, and shove it up his ***.”
And never call him an a$$hole! :)
Unless, of course, you want your cranium lodged in someone’s a**.
See, guys like this are exactly why all the superpowered people in the real world stay hidden in secret instead of saving people.
Maxima: “You wern’t… in any danger…” CRACK “…THEN.”
Nope, she said it exactly right. if she had added the word “then” as she cracked her knuckles, then he has an absolutely valid basis for an Assault charge at the least, and if Maxima HAD actually followed thru with said threat, then we’d also get a “consummated with Battery” charge or even maybe an “Attempted Murder” charge as well (super strength and all). and don’t forget that she’s still in the military, and those kinds of things go poorly with the persons involved after the CO hears of them, and since she already talked to the police, and I’m assuming she gave them her Command’s Name and address, and/or “superhero id number” or whatever it’s called, the cops WILL be notifying her chain of command of the whole robbery event as per standard police procedure, then when that tidbit comes up, well, then she’d go to Captain’s Mast (or the equivalent in the Air Force, as i was in the Navy, i don’t know what it’s called there.) at the minimum, or, if they deem it serious enough, then she’d go to Courts Martial. as it stands right now, she can’t be charged with anything at all, since nothing was implied by the words themselves, nor her just “flexing her hand muscles” all of which the guy just happened to take the wrong way…
complete tangent here – you indirectly bring up something that’s bothered me a little. If Maxima came from an Air Force background, and (presumably) stood up the unit she now commands, why the Army ranks? I can understand not-AF ranks, as the names are a little niche, but the Army (and Navy/Marine) rank system can be utterly baffling to an Airman, with it’s parallel tracks and sidelines (Specialists and Warrant Officers). I really can’t see somebody growing up with a relatively clear rank structure doing that.
My assumption thus far is the unit had already been stood up and she was simply moved in to command it, replacing somebody who moved up or retired.
The ranks thing is something I’ve been trying to research, and I’ve asked and emailed several ex-military people about it, and everyone I talk to has a different opinion on it. Most of what I know about rank structure comes from Stargate SG-1, which is to say I know that there’s Airmen, Majors, Colonels and Generals. Trying to figure out rank structure is a little inside sports if you know what I mean. The basic progression seems easy enough, but when you get in to gunnery seargants and master chiefs and specialists it’s hard to tell what their jobs are and who reports to them. Maxima’s team is newly formed and comprised of people pulled from all the services as well as other non-traditional sources, so the rank structure of their old service doesn’t really apply, though it’s safe to assume that no one got a demotion when they moved over. Basically I have to develop a rank structure and stick to it. It’ll probably look like a mashup of Army and Police ranks, I have’t decided yet. Within the comic itself I don’t know that it’s something that will constantly come up, but I still want it to be consistent.
Here you go. All the info you never wanted to know about the Military rank system.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_rank
As a veteran I hope you come close.
Yeah I’ve seen that, what pages like that don’t really tell me is where someone like an expert sniper would land, since a lot of the team falls in to that ‘expert specialist’ category. I had assumed they’d be fairly high ranked but a few of the people I’ve talked to made me realize that those sorts of careers place you around Corporal or some flavor of Sergeant which was surprising to me. So yeah, I’ll try and make it as realistic as I can, but obviously since I’m dealing with super powers on top of everything else, I have to make some decisions on how that would be handled in the real world.
It might help to remember that rank is about chain of command, and not specialist skills. You don’t expect a General to be on the front line fighting; they are organizing and commanding the whole army. But they don’t need to be a good shot do to that. A good sniper is a specialist, and may command their own support group, but that will be no more than a couple of people.
Max I think is probably a low-grade Field Officer, of some sort (or more likely a high-grade Junior Officer). Basically, I’d see her as being the person the high brass expects to have in charge of the supers eventually, assuming she does well with this small, experimental, team. This would assume that ‘at base’ there is someone with higher rank who runs the base, but Max would be in charge of field operations for her team. (There are probably one or two others at or near her rank at base, in charge of different base operations, although they could well be lower rank.) If in doubt, I’d put her high, as she seems like command material, and you can make a good case that a ‘specialty’ group like this might have a higher ranked head than would otherwise be expected. So I’d guess she’s about a Lieutenant: She’s technically commanding a squad, but it’s a high-profile (and high-firepower) squad, so you want her treated as a bit higher rank. Of course, there is a Captain (or something similar) back at base, who is her direct superior.
As for the rest of the group… That would depend on how they are intended to interact with the rest of the service, and their own personalties. Many are probably NCO’s, under Max’s command. (Although they would really be ‘technical’ NCO’s, as they aren’t actually expected to use any command authority. In practice, they’d behave like enlisted personnel.) One or two might be a Warrant Officer, for specialist skills. (Dabbler, for magic?) Or they might be all be given Warrant-Officer style titles to sound impressive, without actually giving them much authority.
The result would look a little odd by military standards: Max would be higher-ranked than she needs to be, and the rest of the team would be low-grade with high-grade titles. Anyone military looking at the listing would see that there is something going on with the group, but in effect they are being given the ranks of the about of firepower they command, not the number of personnel.
The other thing to note is that high ranks are a lot rarer than you’d think, especially from watching TV and movies. People know the higher ranks, so writers tend to use them, and even in the news if someone is getting quoted or being given an award that will make it on TV, they are probably fairly high up in the chain of command. (For the same reason you hear more about CEO’s in the news than you’d hear about average people: The CEO has more power, and can more easily do something newsworthy.)
Like he said, rank has less to do with skill and more to do with position if that makes sense. Or to do with skill set perhaps.
The best technical welder in the navy will outrank a brand new welder, without odd circumstances pertaining. But he’s not going to outrank him by all that much, unless he’s stopped being a welder and now heads up the unit. And then his rank has less to do with his skill as a welder, but instead with his skill as a leader and administrator.
When determining rank wrt job ask youself “Do I need to be able to order people around to do this job?” If no, like for a sniper or welder, then it’s not a high-rank associated job.
Of course the other reason they give some units, like spec forces, what might seem like excessive rank is occasionally not because they want them to have huge amounts of command authority, but to limit who can give them orders. This is probably why Max is so high ranked.
Mind you it matters less than you think. Under most circumstances you are only subject to orders within your own chain-of-command. But it can cut down on confusion in odd situations, and probably Max runs into those more than most.
However as a Lt. Col or Full-bird colonel she’s probably THE head of the unit, answering only to a base commander or the like. Full-bird Col is pretty high even for that. It’s not clear which Max is yet, although the bird on her hat is either a rank insignia or unit insignia. Lt. Colonel would be plenty to head such a tiny unit.
For example I was in a detached unit in the Air Force, I think we had about 90 odd personel. Our unit commander was a Major. That’s an 0-3. Full bird Colonel is 0-5.
Heh you’re the first person to mention her hat. It’s actually not standard issue, that’s just a hat she likes, though she does have a gold bird on her shoulder.
Yeah, part of the reason she’s as high ranked as she is is due to the fact that some commanders have had trouble deploying her because they don’t understand the extent of her abilities. They’d see films of what she could do but still deploy her inappropriately and that sort of thing. Also, when she transferred to this unit, she worked in a promotion for herself as part of the compensation package. Maxima is, as you might imagine, not great at politics, but her unique qualities give her some leverage that she’s not above exploiting.
Might want to consider downgrading the rank to brevet (lieutenant) colonel. That is unless Maxima has been in the service for a decade or more now.
Means she still has the command of a full colonel but will most likely only get paid at the (commanding) officer rank she really has.
For anyone who shouldn’t have a commission but should outrank any noncom you might want to consider making them warrant officers.
The Airforce doesn’t have warrent officers though. Although this appears to be an oddball cross-service unit.
… I can’t even imagine what kind of between service infighting you’ld see over who gets the supers, if we ever developed rare superpowers. Heh, you could probably sell tickets.
Made the assumption that this was a cross-service unit. Neither navy nor army would want to be out of the loop when it comes to assigning missions to a team like this.
This makes the rank Maxima has more likely to be lieutenant colonel and there is a colonel somewhere being groomed for a generals star
*smiles* God reminds me of work. In Customer Service.
In my experience, the onomatopoeia for the Metal Gear Solid noise is “Vwing!”
Problems with the public? Hell even the cop was standing there going, “You’re good!”
I’d be REALLY tempted to just ignore the guy, but I like the subtle, “get happy or get unconscious” gesture much better. XP Much more self gratifying. X3
As the saying goes – “Some people, you just caint reach…”.
Doubtless, if Max had somehow INSTANTLY stepped in and took down the robbers before they could do anything at all, then that bozo would have bleated about her failure to ‘carefully evaluate the situation’ or ‘make a non-violent response’ or some such thing. Hmph.
Apparently, no one else noticed the nice backgrounds in the second and last panels…
I’m also going to throw my voice in defense of the guy. Max act irresponsibly and recklessly, and she handled both the action and the guy in a very unprofessional manner. She exposed not only all bystanders to undue stress, but heavy risk, unless she is fast enough to catch two separate bullets in separate places at the same time, and even so, it’s irresponsible of her to not even consider the possibility that she might ever fail.
Not only that, but due to her actions harm came to the criminal (If she can justified say that no one were at any point at any risk, allowing him to get hurt was unnecessary and unreasonable, as she was allowing the situation to escalate when she could have diffused it. If she can’t, then she should have acted as soon was viable to remove everyone from risk), which, while normal for revenge porn, is not acceptable for an officer to put in practice.
Still, the real issue with I had with her was her dismissal of the guy. Sure, he is, understandably, panicked. But his complaints, at least from the view that he (or anyone who was not aware of her powers) could see, were perfectly understandable. He was in no way a ungrateful asshole, he was in fact a panicked civilian who just passed through a very stressful situation, complaining to the federal official that instead of defusing and stopping the robbery as soon it was possible and safe to do so, she drew it out for no other reason than her amusement. And instead of even trying to explain or say to take it in the investigation/her superiors, she gone straight to physical intimidation. Sure, such kind of complaints are annoying, and most people who had at one point to deal with them probably have wanted to do something of the kind. But that does not remove any actual points the complaint might have, nor make it unjustified. If she had also been stressed from the situation, her reaction might be somewhat justified, but as all indicates all it was for her was a mild annoyance due to a little time lost, she just comes off as a unprofessional asshole. And that’s pretty much why I’m right now finding so hard to sympathize with her at all.
P.S. Yes, I do have a tendency to rant at times… =p
Hmm…see that’s the problem with armchair analysis. It’s easy to say what should and should not have been done when it isn’t you making the decisions. Considering that the whole situation took about five minutes or less in comic time, I don’t see what was so unprofessional about assessing the situation and looking for a prime opportunity to diffuse the whole thing.
What you and so many others seem to be overlooking here is the Sydney Factor™. Go back and reread the story from the time the robbery started until it ended. I dare you to tell me how Maxima could have handled the situation better with a hyperactive, fear-spazzing, potty mouthed wildcard of a hostage at play. It was just dumb luck that Sydney did half her job for her.
As for the criminals getting hurt, I think you missed the part where Sydney Judo-flipped one of the guys by his tongue. Superpowers or no superpowers, it’s not like Max had any control over the Sydney Factor™. The thug was lucky that Max was there to pull Sydney off of him or Sydney may very well have bored a hole into his skull with her teeth. As for the other guy. I’m sorry, but he shot with the intent to kill. That’s clear cut authorization to use deadly force in any normal enforcement situation. If all he walks away with is a few cracked vertebrae then he should count himself lucky. A normal cop would have shot him and likely killed him.
As for your third point. No I’m pretty sure the guy is an ungrateful asshole. He is willfully ignoring the Sydney Factor™ and the fact that any sudden actions on Maxima’s part, without assessing all the active variables, could have resulted in a civilian getting injured before anyone even knew what was happening. Again, armchair analysis is easy when you aren’t making the decisions. Given that all he walked away with was a pepper bombing, courtesy of Miss Scoville, and a case of post-fear shakes, he should count his blessings and walk the hell away.
Nothing is more annoying that some prick trying to tell the professionals how to do their jobs, especially after the fact. If the guy thought he could do better, why didn’t he step up to the plate?
It’s also worth noting that Max was trying to defuse the situation without resorting to force. If you go back and ‘listen’ to her, one good reading is that she’s trying to take command of the situation and prove to the robbers that they should just give up: She’s obviously a super they hadn’t noticed, and is in a position to take them all out. If she could have convinced the robbers of that before they resorted to force themselves, she could probably have convinced them to just give up as there was no way they could succeed, and turning themselves in would have at least lightened their sentences.
Then in came the Sidney factor. (Not that I blame Sidney: She is not trained in conflict management and resolution, or hostage situations, or even combat. She acted to the best of her current abilities to free herself and those around her.)
I have been where he was and the first thing I did was thank the police when they got there. No cop ever paid for coffee or soda when I worked and I was always happy to see them. At 2 in the morning there is no better deterrent to bad behavior than a couple of police cars in your lot. That moron forgot the most important thing. He is safe and undamaged BECAUSE she was there. Was he likely to handle it? No he was more likely to try to use someone else as a human shield. Yes she talked trash to them to keep them focused on her. It is a technique often used by police. And when did it become her responsibility to power his bum and give him a binky? Sorry he is as I said before an a$$. He reminds me of every idiot that I’ve had to deal with. They always know how things should be done better despite a total lack of knowledge ability or even reality.
Ya know, after reading some of the comments both for and against Maxima attitude, something occurs to me.
When it comes to superheroes, people seem to have a this strange entitlement complex. “YOU HAVE SUPERPOWERS, I DON’T! YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO MAKE SURE I’M SAFE FROM HARM!” It’s like those dumbasses who hang around near a dangerous area where shots are being fired because the cops are on the scene and then try to sue the police when a stray bullet clips them. “THE POLICE DIDN’T PROTECT ME!”
It never seems to occur to people that if a superhero is obligated to protect people because they have powers. Then it is the equal responsibility of the powerless to get the hell out of harm’s way and let those with powers do their jobs.
With great power comes great responsibility. To whom much is given, much is expected.
But the powerless also have a responsibility. Knowing when you’re in the damn way.
Totally agree with that.
When I see emergency personnel (usually police) deployed in what appears might be a serious situation, I ask if there is anything that I need to be aware of or avoid. On the basis of the answer, I do whatever will result in a calm situation.
Occasionally, I am asked why I am asking. I then reply why.
In one case, I came home to my apartment building with ambulance workers just hauling out a person (who I could not see) on a stretcher. I asked who it was. When queried, I said that my grandma lived in suite 129 and was told that no, it was not that suite.
BTW just a note to all. Remember this is a comic. Any resemblance to reality is due to th artist’s skill. We are basically debating the the appropriateness of a drawing’s actions in a fictional circumstance that’s already been drawn. Is’nt the internet fun?:)
Hehe… That was kind of the point I was trying to make with my first post. I agree with you fully.
Either way, enjoy the comic! And if not… enjoy it anyway! If you’re not enjoying it, you’re not reading it right! (Kidding, of course, what opinion you have about the comic is entirely up to you all, folks, and not my business to dictate)
Here from GWS, fantastic comic, I like the girl power and sillyness! Can’t wait to see more, I’m just upset that I read all 51 pages in one sitting, should have spread it out more.
Thanks! Glad you like it!
love the comic. there is excellent use of panels and everything else, the perspective is great too, well done, and what is Sidney complaining about? her feet were visible. :P
I have been reading this, but I forget it sometimes. GWS reminded me this week.
Is it bad that I now imagine Maxima using the Knobulator 3000?
Only if she finds out, otherwise your bones are fine. and if you male your right to call yourself one.
So checked the Cast page, but i did not see anyonr name Arianna….
So who is Arianna?
Arianna is the team’s “Lawer” and Public Relations specialist. And evidently a person of particular interest to Max.
Yeah, what jee said. He only knows because either he’s been diligently reading all the comments that I post or he saw the promotional post card I did that I posted in my blog. I think I’ve decided that building a bio page for characters that haven’t been in the comic yet was probably a mistake so from now on I’ll wait till they’re actually properly introduced in the comic before I add more detail about them elsewhere. I figured that this mention of her was fine since 1) from the context, you can assume that Arianna is someone who has an interest in how Maxima is viewed by the public, which in itself allows you to form some ideas about her and 2) we’ll meet her formally in the comic in like 3 or 4 pages.
Man can’t wait to meet dabbler she’s been a favorite of mine for a while as I’ve been with wereworld for god since it came out basically lol. Can’t wait to see her but good :P
After reading all the debate, here’s my final opinion on the interchange between Max and the Complainer (your mileage may vary; c’est la vie).
First, the guy was out of line. Even if he’d been right, getting in her grill and yelling at her was not the way to handle it. The thing to do is walk up to an officer who’s taking witness statements, wait your turn, and tell him/her what you believe happened. Possibly ask how to register an official complaint.
Second, Maxima was also out of line. The proper thing to do in her situation, if the guy won’t accept verbal reassurances, is refer him to the proper channels for registering an official complaint.
Third, that would have been boring. I like the way it was actually written much better.
I agree with all three points. With 1 side note Mr Buthead (no name so ad in descriptive noun) might think twice next time he decides to take anger out on someone. And if that someone is not as nice as Max he could suffer greatly. So she may have done him a favor by “rubbing his nose in it”.
well… guys are referred to as “Dogs” a lot… and isn’t that how you train them not to do something again in the future? xD
you know, i think she’d have more problems with shot guns since they have a spread not a single round.
Monty Python references, capsaicin reverence, wow, to think I shrugged this comic off 2 years ago because it had only just started and I was just not patient. Snap.
Sydney, not true. You DID show up in this comic.
Your feet and legs from the knees down are in panel 1.
Hey David, I didn’t know if you know already but in your description below the comic strip you put, “if feels 2 dimensional” I think you meant to put “it” feels.
Sorry for being a pest but I just noticed it.
Fixed it, thanks.