Grrl Power #517 – Here comes the Wha-Boom
Anvil executing her Super/Ultra/S-Rank/Q move. Get someone strong to use her as a punching bag till she’s brimming with energy, then dump it all into on hit. Extra flair points for incorporating that into a sweet wrestling move. Guaranteed to hit harder than a sidewinder.
I really wanted to make this page and the prior one a single double sized page, but I underestimated the amount of time it takes to do proper rubble, even when I cheat a little with the brick spray brush I made. Also flipping though the pages of One Punch Man then looking back at some of my old fight pages, I found my action a bit lacking. Granted I’m comparing myself to one of the best in the industry, but I thought my comic could use a few big action shots.
Feels weird putting up a page with only 3 panels but the contrast with all the 9+ page panels should be pretty stark. Typical manga have a pretty crazy page rate, I think its like 16-20 pages a week, (at least stuff appearing in Shonen Jump) and the need to fill that much space lets them really spread out the panels. I’m not going to start doing 1-3 panel pages where it’s just someone realizing they saw something weird on the previous page, but I’d like to play with the pacing a bit. I don’t mean slowing down the already, ahem, leisurely pace of the story telling, just taking a little time to emphasize stuff when needed.
Double res version will be posted over at Patreon. $1 and up, but feel free to contribute as much as you like.
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Dongs Ahoy!Full frontal and backal. Lots of skin, sex on some or all pages, explicit or otherwise.
I’m still worried.
Sadly, it really is almost certainly leading into a Worf moment.
Heh, I was just about to create a comment indicating that everyone whining on about the Worf effect, now has a necessary qualifier. In that Anvil has demonstrated a significantly powerful attack, so finally does qualify for the term.
However breaking down interesting stories into TVtropes rots your brain and ruins enjoyment of otherwise good entertainment! I would say stop doing it, but sadly once you have contaminated your mind with such poison, it is very hard to do that.
So for others, I advise steering clear of TVTropes, unless you have already become bored with all TV, film and written entertainment.
For you though, your best hope is that Dave has read as much TVtropes as you have. So you may find the trope subverted.
Personally I do not care which way it goes, as Dave will find a way to make it entertaining, either way. And I would be happier if he did not feel compelled to fight TVtropes as that would be driving his writing, in itself.
I’ve never understood this sentiment. Increasing my lexical ability to encapsulate concepts with identifying labels has always increased my enjoyment of things, by making me better able to understand what’s going on and make connections between things I might not have, had I lacked the conceptual clusters to link.
To that end, I have found TVtropes to be highly valuable in increasing my enjoyment of media. As long as I wait until I’m done with a given work to read up on it, because spoilers aren’t any fun.
Nice to know that it increases enjoyment for some folks. And I may well be in a minority, as the site is clearly popular.
Personally my dislike of it stems from a warning my dad gave to me, when I was young. Namely that if you become a professional in an entertainment industry, it is possible to loose your joy for the medium. In his case he became a director. Once he had that skill set it became harder to enjoy films, as he found himself focusing on the technical aspects and found it difficult to just enjoy the story.
So I have payed attention to interviews, down through the years, when such professionals have been asked questions in this area. And have found that his sentiments are borne out by many others, in diverse fields.
What I see TVTropes doing is very similar. It itentifies cliches in writing, and highlights them by giving them an amusing handle. If it just did this, then it would be a useful service, in alerting writers to the pitfalls of a cliche. Trouble is that it takes it too far. It breaks down every varient of a story into one trope or another.
And note the subtext, cliches are considered to be a bad thing. So if a story element matches a ‘trope’ this means it is predictable and thereby has the negative association of being a cliche. But, what industry professionals have known (and going back to ancient Greece and Rome) is that there are only so many variants available.
Comedy is one case in point. I recall Des O’Connor (I think) saying about a upcoming young comedian who performed a brilliantly funny sketch and boasted to Des about how innovative he had been. Des congratulated him on it but also sent him a video, containing Des himself performing that same routine twenty odd years before, in a Royal Variety Performance.
Not that he was accusing him of plagiarism, as it had been before the youngster had even been born. And he was under no illusion that he had been the first, himself. If you look back at comedic scripts from antiquity, you can see similar sketches being performed. The names change but the gags get repeated. So the kid was beaten to it by two thousand years, in actuality.
“Trouble is once you know them all, it is a lot harder to force yourself to laugh.”
This is what I am warning folks of. TVTropes is giving you that burden, but without the advantage of actually earning a living as a writer, to compensate for that. Nor in fact is it even giving additional skills to help become one. Other than the ‘skill’ of being able to name every cliche or trope.
It also makes it much harder for budding writers, as people keep complaining about the ‘boring predictability’ of their writing, ‘because it matches one trope or another’. Even when they are often completely mis-applying the tropes they are quoting. So, in that case, just creating a false illusion of knowledge. Ruining not only their own enjoyment but also discouraging the writer. Which is all too easy to do.
Fortunately it is possible to still gain enjoyment, despite finding it much harder to be surprised by a plot twist (otherwise known as ‘the subversion of a trope’), if one is able to concentrate on the skill of the delivery or the elegance of the dialogue or acting or art (as may be applicable). So I can see how people can rise above it.
It just makes it a lot easier to become jaded and cynical about the ‘predictability’ of writing at a much younger age. And makes one dependant on the definitions of each trope, as made up by some jaded cynic. Rather than having the enjoyment of discovering such plot twists organically, in a story, yourself.
Problem is, TVTropes forces links that previously never existed, but now, because of that crap, do exist
The weird thing is that although knowing about the “Worf Effect” has allowed me to pinpoint an annoyance or weakness in something I am consuming it has never made me dislike the character for which it was named. I guess they were sneaky enough writers to snow me until sentimentality set in. Talent writers can get away with more.
I kind of thought that TVtropes was a good place for beginning writers to go and find out what they thought they could sell to their audience considering their current level. Like, “Here are some possible pitfalls but if you think you can jump ’em then go ahead and try.”
Not sure she qualifies as a Worf anyway since it was established earlier on that she is not at the top of the teams most dangerous list. Maxima and Dabbler are. Maxima by demonstrated ability and Dabbler by unseen second hand account of having stood up to Maxima’s power level in a fight.
1st) HOLY SHIT!
2nd) Dabs’ right!
Even as a heterosexual woman, I have to admit that Dabbler is correct :)
What? Dabbler was talking?
Great name for that comment.
it’s even more appropriate for my comments that are incomprehensible. My brain has a bigger vocabulary than my fingers, which the internet displays to great effect.
I dunno if she was talking, but she sure was BREATHING! I was monitoring that the whole time.
Speaking as a gay man I can still agree that Dabbler is 100% correct. She is very keenly aware of how horny humans can be and has never gone broke overestimating that factor.
Speaking as a straight man, Dabbler would be disappointed to know that I didn’t even notice until the chibi comic at the end called attention to it. She shows up like that too often, and chibi almost* invariably deactivates any “sexy” cues the art may have for me.
*(I say “almost” not because I can think of examples where it has, but to hedge my bets against absolute statements that I can’t be certain there are 0 counterexamples to.)
Dabbler in a tube-top would BE a physics experiment…
Not so much an experiment as a demonstration… ;-)
While I will definitely pay more attention to a topless lady, it’s usually not what she’s saying.
Is Naked News still around? Because I suspect Dabbler would wonder why all news isn’t like that.
If Dabbler got involved you might as well get your news from Hypnotoad.
Hypnotoad, also known as an incubus. Beware of Toad inna Hole.
ALL HAIL HYPNOTOAD!!
Naked News is still around and still recorded in Toronto. It sure shows the wide diversity of races and women’s body types we have here.
Superhero wrestling seems like a potentialy awesome show. Halo should tag in and pin Gary the Golem before he stabs Anvil.
Dabbler have a good point.
Yes, points, two of them.
She use to have four of them
I just knew someone would say that.
glad I could live up to expectations
So is any of that purple actually being seen or is that just for our benefit? It makes a lovely glow either way.
————–
Obligatory mentioning of the typo in the undercomic author’s comment from https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/2457 now completed.
Is that the only typo on the hole danm innernet or iz therr somethin g spevial about itt un particklure yurr trine tu poing owt?
No, just reporting it till acknowledged. Once per update. Maybe there is a typo reporting thread somewhere I should look into? Somewhere people know he will eventually look for typo info dumps? Till I stop being lazy and look for that, this doesn’t cost me anything and is easily ignorable by those it does not concern.
By now, if it were an in-comic error I would expect it to be on the ‘list of things to do, someday’. As a blog typo, I expect it is on the ‘list of things not to be bothered about’. Much like the above ‘…into on hit’ most people will read it as intended (in this case as ‘…into one hit’) so there is little point in amending it.
If Dave was amending anything else substantive, it does not hurt to mention it. Otherwise it is just one extra chore, the time for which could be better spent on art or scripting. Not a lot of time, but lots of little things add up, eventually.
Once you know that it costs you more to pick up a penny (for folks on more than my zero salary) then it becomes viable to ignore it. Unless the thought of it sitting on the pavement will cause you sleepless nights for weeks to come…
Confess that coin is still bugging you, from last year?
The penny that still bugs me wasn’t from last year. It was almost a decade ago and tarmacked into the street. I still wish I could have pried it out.
my uncle did that with a quarter on his front porch, trolling his many, many nieces,nephews, grandwhatevs back ummmmm before there was an internet.
Its the little comment he makes across from his copyright info in the white border. Technically sort of kind of part of the comic I guess. In so far as it would take his editor to correct it.
Eh, I don’t know if I really care all that much by now but I thought he would if he knew so I was trying to let him know. I’ll stop after a few more updates.
(I like how nobody cares about my ACTUAL comment… guess it was kind of boring. *sigh*)
I cared. On the inside. I just could not think of anything to add to it, as it both pretty much covered all the bases and I could not think of anything which would make one option or the other the more likely.
But I guess I may as well go through my thought process. Kinetic energy would not have any visual effect, other than the movement of material. So the purple is a way of conveying ‘super power at work’.
However we have observed that super powers do manifest visible effects, and we know that various super powers do have secondary or ancillary effects. Further I view the ‘spellcasting effects’ as being representative of the cues that a person on the scene might be experiencing. Some of which could be non-visual (such as the sounds of casting, superheros smells etc).
So there is no reason why it is not just as visible to those present, as it is to us. Or it being analogous to something that such an observer would be picking up that made the unnatural state of it very apparent (yet hard to convey in a picture).
In other words, I wonder too.
Not terribly appropriate but it made me want to listen to the chorus from Purple Rain. *shrugs*
“Purple rain, purple rain
I only wanted to see you
Bathing in the purple rain”
Purple rain has to be better than a golden shower :P
*hands you a cookie*
I suggest you go back and actually take another look at the (now missing) undercomic comment.
It’s been addressed. It wasn’t that important in the first place. Get over it and move on.
Sorry, didn’t mean that the undercomic comment was missing. Meant that the typo was missing. Somehow a word got left out. I’d blame autocorrect, except for the fact that I’m on my PC.
The second “as” is added back in when you look at it? I tried reloading it and still can’t see it.
Not sure why this is a problem. I made a regular comment along side it most times lately. It is easily ignored. I probably won’t do it much longer or I’ll find a better way to communicate it. I admit this is kind of a lazy way of getting word to him but I don’t see why it should bother anyone.
Fixed!
https://img08.deviantart.net/155f/i/2012/362/e/1/success_max_by_davebarrack-d5pfxbr.jpg
Mission Completed!
So.. is this a successful troll or an act of staving off the cultural death of western civilization?
I’m torn…
Yes, it took me years of non-troll activity to finally lull you all into a false sense of security but it was all worth it for this masterful stroke!
LOL, not really sure why everyone overreacted to my trying to help the author do something he WOULD want to do if he knew about it. Sure I was doing it in a lazy way but sue me. I’m kinda lazy…
Purely in answer to your implied question (“… not really sure why…”) and hoping that it does not make you feel bad, it is purely because of general internet conventions. Like typing in caps locks is considered to be shouting. In this case I recognised that the repetition was starting to trigger folks spam sensibilities, so thought speaking up might help to prevent that from worsening.
That it, the rest of this reply is all positive. You are a great guy, and you must be, as I do have incredible difficulty with names, as you know. So there are very few names that I can (reasonably) consistently recognise (without having to find earlier comments, to help me, for example).
Yet, despite my condition, I recall how very positively you contribute to the community. And, importantly we know that you were acting with good intentions, so no harm done, and you got the error corrected, so you got a good result!
The purple is my “kinetic stuff is going down” effect for Anvil.
Reminds me of the color of the Force Field orb. I like that.
Dabbler smart.
Why? Was she saying something?
Yes, both verbally, and non-verbally…
I trust that they got Krona out of the way. Anybody standing at the base of that building, who does not have a top-grade force field, is going to have a bad day!
And Sydney may be about to experience the buried under rubble sensation that Achilles and Maxima have already suffered. Unlike the former, Sydney should be able to dig her own way out mind.
Even so, book another couple of sessions with the shrink, pronto!
That’s how the rookie crumbles.
A stitch in time saves checkpoint?
Der badnik gott roboticized.
Krona is going to have some some interesting, if horrifying stories. Of course she has to survive hanging around with Sydney first…
Huh. I wonder if the forcefield is also an unstoppable force. We’ve not seen Sydney push it against anything, certainly not with the flyball propelling it. Can she just fly upwards, forcefield up, and push everything out of her way?
Possibly. I had been envisaging her moving stuff out the way with her tentacle, bit by bit. But Sydney is unpredictable, especially when tired, surprised or panicking. So that or a PPO blast do become possible. Despite the potential risks involved.
As to whether it is technically possible, someone did point out the damaged sign as a clue (from when Sydney was flying home one night). This does show the potential, in principle, if not in scale.
Although as that was a comedic effect, we should allow leeway for artistic licence, rather than argue that as an unshakable precedent.
I’m guessing she may decide to teleport out.
Very good point. Rubble should be loose enough that there would be sufficient gaps for the lightbee to find its way out. Still it may take a while, and only being able to sense her way out by feeling the gaps (as Sydney described to Harem) would still have a claustrophobic effect. Especially with her own body remaining engulfed in darkness (and able to sense that).
But, that said, I imagine it would be quick enough to avoid any long-term problems. I am sure we have all been trapped in lifts or stuck in a tight gap, for a while, without it causing psychological damage. Let us hope that Halo is as much on the ball as you are.
Been caught between the hold and bulkhead of a barge, while below water level. My coveralls got caught on a protrusion and I eventually cut them off to get out. It was -5 F (-20.5 C) outside. Thank goodness for thermal underwear!
Yikes, close squeak! And potentially nightmare inducing.
I have almost died from drowning mind. Twice. Not a bad way to go, all things considered. But I am glad that survival instincts kick in and find a way to get air again! For those of us still around to tell the tale.
Oh, I wasn’t IN the water. just close enough that is was absorbing my body heat at a rapid pace. I was in shock by the time I got the hundred or so feet back to the pushboat.
We have seen that Sydney can expand her shield significantly, think she could just grow the shield outward and the gobs of rubble would just cascade off of it to the sides? If she has her comms in place and can confirm that the immediately adjacent areas are clear just growing the bubble would probably get her loose.
Cunning idea.
I always examine the negatives, and there is one bad potential, in that if the shield was not designed to do that, and failed, then there would be nothing keeping tons of rubble off Sydney’s head!
But the force field seems capable enough (see the above scene as an ideal example) that such is not likely to be a problem. At worst (if it cannot exert significant force when expanding) I imagine it would simply fail to expand, as opposed to fail catastrophically. That is the kind of thing that happens with our primitive technology, rather than orb technomagic.
One of the problems is that the capabilities she has haven’t yet been fully tested. Then her skill set keeps getting upgraded, and discovering things like teleportation at inconvenient times is not optimum. Training is going to have to get serious, if just to keep her from accidentally throwing herself into a meat grinder….
Um, we saw her smash that billboard at the end of her first day
A variation of texting and driving….
Mmm, if she was trying to get her pip-boy navigation to work at the time, that is reasonable. Otherwise it is closer to driving whilst sleepy.
I know it is invisible to our vision, but our atmosphere is still there. And even though it is a gas, it is still matter. We have seen Sydney pushing huge masses of air out of the way using the combination of the force field and flight orbs.
Good point.
Sooo, Anvil’s power functions something like Vince’s from the Super Powereds franchise?
I don’t know if she has to be mentally as aware of it as he is. (and of course she only gets kinetic )
It has been theorized to be at least for now a lessened version of Vince’s. He can absorb ALL energy pretty much. Even when you limit it to kinetic energy, he uses his abilities to absorb to kinetic energy in someone else’s circulatory system at one point. For now, Anvil’s seems to be limited to absorbing kinetic energy that impacts her.
* key into the words SEEMS and FOR NOW
or Sebastian shaw(black king hellfire club) of MARVEL
Strong Guy from Marvel comics as well (without his weakness of his body increasing in mass so much he heart could explode from the strain)
I’d guess that Anvil is into skydiving. It’s a relatively easy way to build up large quantities of kinetic energy.
Although people who don’t know her well, freak out when she exits the plane without a parachute.
That series is unfortunately on my to do list still.
Try the audiobook versions, your local library probably has them available through the Hoopla app or some such. Good stuff to listen to while entertaining us. :)
Why do I get the image of Maxima giving Anvil spankings for power-ups for later use mwahahaha.
well now we’ll all be thinking that every time Anvil kabooms a bad guy (or building) from now. DaveB might as well surrender to the inevitable and make it a very incentivizing voting incentive.
what Maxima & Anvil do when their alone is their business, but there’s a time and a place for everything and the middle of a mission isn’t it
So its not just Pixel that enjoys that then.
I could ask, what if someone else was hiding in or near the building…..or, what if the explosion of debris caused Halo to loose her grip 8n the shield orb…..or, how much is that property damage going to cost them…..but, nah. Practical questions about over-kill actions would just take away from the fun.
Does Anvil have control over how much stored energy she uses? Or is this level of destruction unavoidable?
Since she is usually asked to fake being a mere low level strong super I’d say she has pretty good control of how much she uses.
Regarding the property damage: it more than likely won’t cost them anything, it being an ‘abandoned’ derelict warehouse currently occupied by a wanted criminal (before anyone goes shit-ape over that, yes, Sci-fright is a wanted criminal, they just didn’t know they wanted her in particular)
Maxima has already pointed out that property destruction is inevitable in super-fights, much of the time. It is sensible to realise that and go for overkill up front. The other alternative, of gradually ramping up the damage, until the enemy’s threshold is reached risks a deadly counterattack too much and will inevitably cause more property damage in the long run.
In this case they are presently in an abandoned industrial area, so significant damage here is at less risk of people being killed or injured. Whereas if the fight develops into a literal running battle, then it could result in Wall Street, Manhattan Island and/or the Statue of Liberty all being devastated. Going by other rampaging monster or super fights in New York, anyhow.
The press conference has shown that supers and their super-foes are now public knowledge. The government still needs to ask itself if admitting ALL of what goes on is in the public interest or if it will cause the oft-feared panic and hysteria in the general populace. Plus, this is still an ongoing investigation of a criminal conspiracy. We may get to see Suzy News reporting about a ‘gas leak’ in New York causing a building explosion and nearby brush fire.
And fears of monster damage in downtown NYC has been taken into account by the Mech faction of the Council. In the event of an attack, the Statue of Liberty turns into a giant Voltron-style robot and defends the city. That torch isn’t just decorative.
That is beautiful, and certainly better than Dr. Who’s opinion on the statue.
Any time they restrict the big-bada-booms to derelict abandoned old warehouses out in the middle of nowhere, the ARC-Spin division (i.e. Arrianna’s team) could probably manage to bill it as a near public service by providing the free demolition rather than needing to procure and move in equipment to knock down the derelict facilities.
Octa ma oozi!
But then again, someone would complain about ARC Swat taking that job away from Union Contractors…
Except the union contractors would only be able to present with mundane crooked lawyers and judges.
If they went all physical those union thugs would be outmatched and outclassed dealing with a paramilitary organization of sanctioned supers.
Would take mafia / union busting to whole new levels of ouch.
Full military, rather than paramilitary (the distinction between say ‘the Marines’ versus ‘a mercenary unit’) so Archon has the full backing of the US government, and other military arms, on top of their combat prowess.
But your points are otherwise good.
There are counter points though. One of which being that Archon almost certainly would not wish to deploy force against its own citizens. If the unions decide to block something, Archon would probably prefer a negotiated settlement, than risk deploying the tactics of hostile regimes.
Here, of course, we come to the double-edged sword of me raising the point about them being military, rather than paramilitary. In that they are answerable to the government. So if the commander in chief (Obama in the current story arc) gives the order to break a strike, then they are duty bound to do so.
Although, of course, heroes might find a way to satisfy the unions, without directly disobeying an order. If they are smart.
The military has been used to break strikes in the past, but only when a union has really gone over the edge. The military commanders tend to use minimum force for some very good reasons….
And you are in good company, in making that slip-up. I just had to berate the BBC for exactly the same thing, in one of their articles! That gendarmerie is a full military organisation. By getting it wrong they are giving a false impression of the difficulty the officer will face in pursuing her claim.
A military organisation has far greater leeway for suppressing the rights of an individual member, than in a civilian police force (which is what ‘paramilitary’ would imply).
*facepalm*
They corrected it. But have replaced the word “paramilitary” with “military”, yet failed to indicate their role is policing. So now their article is implying that the Guardia Civil is the name of Spain’s army, which it is not.
*sigh*
But yesterday’s news, so not bothering with it again. Just mentioning it here in case anyone reads the links and is confused due to it not mentioning “paramilitary” now.
Still it is nice that they always act promptly on my advice. I must be flagged as ‘not a time-waster’, or some such.
wags tail editorially
For years, always believed the Gendarmes was just the French name for their police force, largely because the ones in those dashing caps are the only ones have seen (not sure if have ever seen a ‘normal’ French police officer), but then again, that’s been mostly in old war-time movies and action movies
Oops, the second link should have been to this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Guard_(Spain)#Ranks_and_insignia
That has got to be hard on the insurance companies. “You want to make a claim for what? Are you sure she wasn’t a goddess? Since you can’t be sure we are labeling it as an ‘act of god’.”
Most times “acts of god” actually mean god or government with government becoming responsible. It’s a bitch collecting compensation though…
Actually if the courts agree that it is an ‘act of God’ then nobody is liable, including the government. I bet you a Yorpie Snax™ that no government, in the world, has passed legislation binding them to that. Especially as even national governments can find the levels of payment necessary for hurricanes, earthquakes and the like to be beyond their means (either in their immediate budget or, for poorer countries, at all).
What the better-off countries do though is offer compensation, without admitting liability. Which is one of the reasons why it is harder to claim, as it is harder for the claimant to press for it, as it is not an automatic right.
If a government allocates a specific sum to meet a particular disaster’s needs, for example, and that is used up, then no amount of suing will get a claimant extra money. There is no legal recourse. Only if somebody in power feels sympathy will they get an extra payment made out.
America pays for their screw-ups, but they hate admitting they might ever be wrong, so you have to drag them through the courts first, which in the end will make them look even worse. The latest is the Gold King Mine fiasco https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Gold_King_Mine_waste_water_spill which was directly due to the actions of the EPA. It will be years in the courts, cost billions of dollars, but the people who actually caused it will walk away scot-free….
Ahh, but if there is a screw up, then it ceases to be an act of God. It was the act of whoever made the screw up. Plus, in that case, note the way the government has to get out of responsibility even then, namely Sovereign Immunity.
This is one of the things I dislike about our society, namely how it has been set up to protect those in power. Similar to t that is the way that companies, and those associated with them, are protected by limited liability and the like. The original principal being to encourage entrepreneurs to make financial investments, but limit their loss, in the event that the venture was not a success.
Which is a good thing. It encourages new products to be developed, it stimulates the economy, provides jobs and so on. The trouble is that the principle is abused, because companies use it to take risks that affect everybody else. Namely through pollution, health risks to customers and so on.
So personally I feel that the basic principals need changing, such that those kinds of risks are not protected, in any way. The people taking those risks, and those benefiting from them, should be liable in perpetuity.
So this includes the company directors, the staff, the shareholders and all of their families and descendants. If somebody is living off money made, by their grandfather, giving lung cancer to half the world, then they should not have that anymore. So everybody today who is living a luxurious lifestyle, at the expense of others suffering from their pollution is likewise building up a debt for themselves and their decedents.
To be replayed… someday. Be that if society finally becomes just or if the universe offers some karmic mechanism, after all.
What I do recall the US government doing is passing that obligation on to insurance companies, for declared disasters (such as hurricanes). Unfortunately, for the public, all this is doing is pushing up their insurance premiums, for those who pay such. Because the insurance companies need to have a huge pool of money, in order to pay out for such disasters.
But, even if it was payed by the government, that would still come out of the taxpayers pocket, so all is good. If I recall it correctly it gets paid into a common pool, that is drawn upon, in such circumstances. Thus allowing people to claim from that regardless of whether they have insurance or not.
Still I know that it does not comprehensively compensate for such, as I have a friend who’s house was effectively destroyed (still standing but uninhabitable) by the flooding last year, and they were only anticipating a fraction of the repair costs to be covered.
“Practical questions about over-kill actions would just take away from the fun.”
The way I see it, there isn’t any practical questions about overkill; There’s no such thing as overkill simply because there is such a thing as underkill.
All this makes me question which maxims are appropriate in this scenario?
.
11. Everything is air-droppable at least once.
25. If the damage you do is covered by a manufacturers warranty, you didn’t do enough damage.
36. When the going gets tough, the tough call for close air support.
37. There is no ‘overkill.’ There is only ‘open fire’ and ‘I need to reload.’
66. Necessity is the mother of deception.
If you kill hard enough it also becomes ‘hiding the evidence’.
SOL.
No, there is no such thing as ‘underkill’, you can not ‘kill them just a little bit’, it’s either ‘killed’ or ‘not killed’
‘Overkill’ is when you use too much to kill them, like dropping a moon on a walking carpet
Actually that was ‘just enough kill’. It was the authors specific intent to make sure that no later writer could find a way to bring the carpet back to life. No ‘oh it was only a flesh wound’ type lame excuse. It does not matter how good you are at dodging, you ain’t avoiding a moon!
“If I am going to be known as the man who killed Chewbacca, I don’t want the hassle of hate mail to be in vain!”
Just enjoy a muscular amazon piledriving a killer robot through a building.
He he.
*swishes tail, like a robotic shark swimming through water*
baDum… baDum… baDum baDum baDum baDumbaDumbaDumbaDum!
She can parcel out the energy she has stored, otherwise she’d have to power back up every time she threw a punch.
“I’d like to play with the pacing a bit. I don’t mean slowing down the already, ahem, leisurely pace of the story telling, just taking a little time to emphasize stuff when needed.”
You have the right core audience for that DaveB. There are a lot of us who would appreciate that. The short-attention span ones who only want fast-paced action will mostly have been left by the wayside. Those that remain are clearly open to experiencing something more. Breadth and depth will win out in the end, either way.
Yups, sometimes taking time to elaborate on things is good
As long as you don’t spend like a year on a single conversation of course.
I suspect it is more like showing individuals reactions to events. If you watch a big explosion it can be impressive. But if you see Kari Byron “squeeing” in delight or Jamie Hyneman’s composure breaking and him stepping back and going “wow”, then the impact of that is magnified proportionately.
Both Sydney’s “!” and Dabbler’s science corner interjection do that magnificently above. Plus Sydney’s pathos is palpable, in panel 3 on the previous comic page. That grabs the heartstrings far more than any action scene can alone!
Of course there is also the occasional small detail that Dave might want to do a close-up on, perhaps for comedy or just for interest’s sake. Somebody being bonked on the head, by a bit of debris perhaps? Funny if it is Sciona or her vampire companion. Angst-generating if it is an innocent bystander or one of the underground hostages (with a bit of the ceiling hitting them).
See the raccoon scene for an example of how it can give a feeling of how much the surrounding world is being affected by these fights, whilst throwing in a bit of comedy that is otherwise unexpected.
::mutters something about ess eff pee::
I just want to see more rubble. We need a few pages of very detailed rubble to make us appreciate how complex super powered demolition is.
sexyrubbleporn.com
Anything thats not more people showing up to just give detailed explanations of their own/someone nearby’s powers/origins is a win with me.
Blade Bunny has the most effective counter to that:
“Stop! I am not interested in your boring back story”
*stabity stab stab*
Soooo… we taking bets on what parts of Anvil’s clothes survived that if any?
I volunteer to be the judge of the betting results.. I’ll measure very carefully, I promise.
As Anvil is not on my ‘A-list’, I am impartial in this matter. So am able to say, without bias, that clothing damage would be realistic in such a scenario. Without risking Anvil herself being hurt.
The one exception being if Anvil’s power can operate through clothing or armour. However we have indications, for instance with the nose-boop, that skin contact is probably required. Another example being that she already managed to damage her outfit in the previous fight.
Given the devastation unleashed, and the points noted, the more of Anvil’s outfit survives the less realistic it is. Although I imagine Dave would handle it tastefully, if he goes down that route, going by past similar examples.
Anvil: Hey, Max. That Kevlar/Spectra outfit doesn’t get torn up as much at the regular ones, but it feels weird.
Dabbler: That’s because it is made of long continuous fibres instead of moderate-length ones. It is sort of like wearing a really tough silk or polyester shirt. Also, it does not absorb sweat.
Max: Dabbler! Okay, Anvil. How about wearing a cotton shirt and leggings under it?
It would be interesting to see if skin to skin contact is in fact necessary.
If she could still use her kinetic transfer using an item she is in physical contact with then that opens up a world of possibilities. Gloves –> all manner of gear with the capacity for supplemental damage could be developed. How close to her actual body does the energy transfer point need to be? could she use a bat or some other melee weapon to transfer the energy through?
However, if she can’t transfer except through skin contact, then I could see her, at least while she was training and building control, having kept around the perpetual gloves like Rogue used on X-Men to prevent inadvertent use of powers.
If she picked up a rock and threw it, she could transfer energy into it to give it a very high velocity…
I don’t think Anvil needs skin-to-skin contact to absorb kinetic energy. She can do that merely by walking…While wearing shoes. She could (at least) theoretically absorb the impacts of shrapnel that would be hitting her from an explosion fast enough that it might rip through her clothes (before hitting her) but it would lose its is kinetic motion quickly enough that she might not be harmed…at least, not much.
IIRC Dave has said that Bullets and Shrapnel would still penetrate her body, But they would injure her FAR less than a normal human since she’d absorb most of their energy. (A knife doesn’t need to move fast to cut you)
The shoe example doesn’t necessarily work (nor would gloves necessarily) now that I think about it. There is a kinetic force exchange between the shoes and the ground, but a (depending on the quality of the shoes) lesser corresponding exchange between the shoe and the foot. Shoes are designed to reduce the impact of the ground on the human body. We would need to know if she is getting the kinetic energy from the foot shoe interaction or the shoe ground interaction.
However, since she could do the ‘stealth walk’, that would be an argument that it is the shoe ground interaction that is being absorbed … Thoughts?
That is why I edited my post from “skin to skin” to just “skin”, although the former rolls off the tongue much easier. The key point I was aiming for is that I do not think Anvil can absorb energy from a distance. She could not form a bubble around her, to protect adjacent allies, for example. If my assumption is correct.
Likewise, if applying the same rules for absorbing as expelling the energy, then she could not nose boop somebody standing the other side of a room. Anvil would need to close, in order to touch them (but not necessarily on skin, so an armoured knight would be just as much at risk as a casually dressed brawler).
Or, as KnuckleDragger says above, she could pick up some nearby item and throw that (either just with super strength or with that and her kinetic boop).. For the latter though she needs to ensure there is not a city beyond the wall behind her target. As her top-end damage potential is vast!
Thinking on that, she’d be hell on wheels with a war-club of sufficient size…
I’m certain she could transfer the energy to the melee weapon. Then it, on impact, would naturally – i.e. no superpowers needed – transfer a large share of that energy to the target.
Unless the melee weapon breaks, of course; that tends to soak up a lot of energy and then spray some of it in not-particularly-predictable directions, while also leaving a disproportionate share of it in the portion still in the wielder’s hands.
I doubt that a bat in her hands gains any superpowers. It remains an ordinary bat, wielded by a super-strong person.
As for landing while wearing shoes, the bottoms of her feet hit the insides of her socks which don’t compress much when they hit the insoles of her shoes, and those soles also don’t compress much when they hit the ground. So I suspect that if she landed in wet cement, she would initially leave less of a footprint than an ordinary person walking across it would.
True, as far as it goes, but the question is if anyone ever remembers anything other than the topless lady.
Huh? I was… distracted.
Not sure what is happening.
remember the taunt in second grade “I’m rubber, you’re glue, so everything you say bounces off me and sticks to you!”?
Well, Anvil is the personification of that. She’s rubber to any kinetic energy, BUT she controls when the “bounce” happens and how. So as the brilliantly kinky kcmack suggested in the comment above, Max spanks Anvil all night long, Anvil just giggles, and gives all the combined handprint-shaped charges of smackery to the construct at once, in a downward direction that blows the building apart as collateral damage.
To translate, Anvil can build up a massive store or battery of kinetic energy. Dabbler confirming that such has happened (probably by being repeatedly hit by another super in the osprey or earlier). Anvil’s power allows her to choose how much energy to release. Be it small enough to knock out a super-brawler, without ripping his head off, or, as in this case, dumping a vast amount into a single devastating attack!
Imagine ten minutes of Maxima (or other super strong hero) pounding on Anvil (and having all of it safely absorbed) then all of that damage being unleashed against the robot and building, in one burst.
Ah, that is how that insult ends. I wondered where that came from when I was playing the Monkey Island series.
no, that was a red herring. feed it to the Troll.
didn’t mean to troll, sorry. just an “explanation” that apparently would only clarify things to me. Hence my username.
Heh. Although I could be mistaken, I read that as being a troll in the Monkey Island series. Or just a generic joke alluding to such. I have not played any in it, so can only guess.
Certainly I find your comments to be interesting, and that one in particular to be flamboyantly so. I only ‘translated’ it because we have numerous English-as-a-second-language readers, plus others who might struggle with the more flowery reply.
But please do not feel the need to rein in your remarks, as they are enjoyable!
that “rubber/glue” taunt predates the internet and video games by decades, at least. and thank you, if I can’t be lucid, at least I can be amusijg.
dammit.
I was alluding to the troll bridge, as, to get past it in Monkey Island, you need to pay the Troll, and, well…
… ANVIL SMASH!
That’s equal to maybe a 250, 500 pound gravity bomb? Less than, I’d guess. A 500 pounder will demolish a lot more than one small building.
Since Anvil isn’t actually exploding, there’s no concussion shockwave expanding from around her other than her aerodynamic whooshing, so explosives will do far more area damage, where as of her ergs, joules, newtons, psi, (ask the geek) will be delivered at object of her aggression. so more damage to the object, fewer windows blown out across town.
… whereas MORE of her….
There isn’t enough of her for you? ;)
Any more of her and she would be positively Liefeldian, and not in a good way.
Since we see Anvils feet in panel two I don’t think we need to worry too much about mr Barrak going Liefeld. That said it could be fun to see the ArcSwat gang in nineties Liefend style.
*cold shudder passes through body*
[seriously, in real life]
Something like the idea of a shaped-charge explosive, like a claymore mine (although quote a bit of it explodes out the back too) or an armor-piercing anti-tank rocket/missle.
or an armor-piercing anti-tank rock missile.
There are specialized contact mines like that for anti-armor, and of course AT rockets like Yorp mentioned are very directed….
Oh no, credit for that goes to MidnightDStroyer himself. I was suggesting Anvil’s ability to use rocks, for the same effect.
Well stand waayyy over there —> when you tell Anvil she weighs 500 pounds
Probably closer 350 pounds. 6’7″ and really muscular. Yeah.
Plus density. Some comic-book supers are known to be denser (and therefore heavier) than they look. Mostly super-strong / tough types like Superman.
I’ve seen some fairly dense characters but the tend to be male protagonists in anime.
He he.
Bananaman is the normal goto super for being dense.
…But she can hit like the proverbial ton of bricks. More literally, a megaton.
Much depends on how the damage is distributed.
Typical bombs explode and inflict damage more or less equally in all directions. Then there are specialized bombs like the so-called “bunker busters”, which tend to focus much of their destructiveness in one specific direction.
No, I’m not going to speculate as to how Anvil might achieve that kind of effect. ;)
A nose boop seems to work pretty well… https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1271
not sure if true of all bunker busters, but some are actually two bombs in a frame keeping them separated by a calculated distance. the first explodes, starting concrete, etc outward from its blast, then the second explodes, milli- or microseconds later, digging a second crater at the bottom of what would have become a rubble-filled crater a few milliseconds later. the idea is that the second bomb doesn’t have to move the rubble from the first before digging deeper into the bunker. Even loose rubble, deep enough, can absorb a lotta boom with little effect other than being rearranged.
During Desert Storm the army needed a perpetrator for hardened bunkers in a hurry, so they came up with the GBU-28 https://www.military.com/Data/EQG/GBU28.htm they originally made with 8 inch gun barrels. It worked pretty well too…
So they drew their inspiration from Hollywood then? Hero fires at the enemy, and the shots bounce off, so then throws the weapon at them.
Except they cunningly filled it with explosives before hand.
Beats the hell waiting years for bids on a contract proposal… :-)
See, now I have in-universe science questions: how much energy can anvil store and how does she apply it?
She’s demolishing a building (and possibly leaving a crater), so that’s probably equivalent to several dozen sticks of TNT (~4 MJ/kg). And she seems to be releasing energy through the bot, as she is not in contact with anything else and previously she applied it directly through her hands. Could this energy be used to generate limited thrust or increased mobility?
Oooo, another “Dabbles’ Science Corner” coming up?
I do not see why not. Especially as Anvil can apply it in a safe* steady thrust, rather than having to do it all in one shot. Making the difference between being launched by a jet or rocket, rather than fired from a cannon. And much more controllable, as a result.
If Anvil has only expended previously stored energy, and still has that she used in landing from her jump, she should be able to get back up onto the Osprey. She just steadily expends her kinetic energy pushing against the ground (initially) then the air below her (continuously) until she gets close enough that she wants to control her approach. In which case she could either reduce the force going below her or switch it to ahead (or left/right) as may be needed to ensure a safe intercept rather than a collision.
Doubtless, unless she judged it perfectly, that would take more energy from course corrections, but she may well have enough surplus even for that. All assuming that the osprey has returned to about the same location, or has remained there hovering. If it was in horizontal flight, it may take more energy, for Anvil to catch up, than she has stored.
This latter point probably accounting for why Anvil does not have a flight rating, in her statistics. Whilst she could replicate it (in theory) it would be of strictly limited duration (without a super passenger whacking her arse).
We need to find out if she can transfer stored kinetic energy to another object. She might be able to pick up a boulder and throw it at something at about Mach 2.
I spy a pagefull of objects above that should answer said question. Although I appreciate the distinction that ‘person’ might be different to ‘object’ as far as a super power is concerned. Generally speaking though people are just a class of object.
However we have already had proof that Anvil can act on non-people things, in that she absorbed the impact from hitting the roof. I do not see any reason why she could not affect a car or a chunk of ripped up ground just as easily (albeit intending the reverse effect). And the radiant explosion above seems to support her blasting everything rather than just the construct.
Mind you even if there is some technicality that prevents her using the kinetic power that way, Anvil does still have considerable super strength to play with.
Now contemplate throwing something with three star super strength AND boosting it as the last moment with four star kinetic assistance!
Although that almost certainly would not equate to an unparalleled seven star attack, it would probably push Anvil’s up to Maxima-level damage, from thrown objects!
I believe that mostly depends upon the molecular cohesion of the objects primary substance. ‘People’ are mostly made of water with a thin membrane coating, not as resistant to torque pressures and friction as, say, a large ‘object’ made mostly of silica, hydrated lime, and a matrix of mild steel. A 200 lb chunk of concrete is more likely to survive the initial thrust that a normal human body of the same weight.
Of course, I am basing all of this on the fate of Sergeant Detritus’ crossbow bolts…
Throwing fast would need super speed, not strength or kinetic transfer. A bike crashing into a target versus a massive cargo ship crashing into a target at the same speed (whatever speed she or her body part is traveling at) is how I interpreted this. Otherwise she would have a high rating for super speed.
Ooh, I forgot to detail my aside:
* Anvil does not have super toughness (or defense) listed as one of her powers. So although we can take it that she can handle G-forces as well as a test pilot (courtesy of the free fitness that all super get) Anvil is otherwise limited to how much acceleration her body can withstand.
Of course there is major kinetic component to the g-force equation. Which, if properly controlled, would eliminate any risk to her. So the upper limit that constrains Anvil’s ‘flight speed’ (or ‘jump speed’) is actually determined by how good she is at controlling her power.
I daresay that using stored kinetic energy for propulsion, whilst simultaneously removing the effect of that force, acting to compress one’s own organs, is very tricky. With deadly consequences (when wielding these magnitudes of forces) for any significant error.
Well sticking with the conservation of energy [lets assume 100% conversion with only frictional losses to deal with] and a bit of acrobatics + ballistics training, she should be able to Hulk Hop some goodly distances. Jumping across known terrain or anywhere she has a birds eye view via drone or some such should be practical. Here the limiting factor would not be the physical strain and energy management as such but actual mental fatigue from precision maneuvers for any extended period of time using such a mode of travel.
Just made me think, next to Achilles, Anvil could be the perfect teammate to jump on the proverbial grenade. Absorb the concussive force and the kinetic energy of the fragments blown outward.
I am sure the people who know such things will point out that this depends on the type of grenade, and I acknowledge this. What other types are there that aren’t extraordinarily custom and niche?
I can think of flashbangs, concussive, fragmentation, smoke. What else? (Ordinance nerds, I CHOOSE YOU)
*looking around for offensive nerds*
Not many of those here!
Ordinance, not offensive
Military friends of mine (pun not intended, mine.. explosives ..i kill me, explosively) have assured me that ordinance can be defensive as well as offensive.
Two things in counterpoint.
62. Anything labeled “This end toward enemy” is dangerous at both ends.
3. An ordnance technician at a dead run outranks everybody.
Anvil’s biggest danger, even with regular grenades, is that they are not just kinetic weapons. She would be at risk from burn damage, for example. Much lesser in non-incendiary grenades, and less likely to kill or maim than the shrapnel or explosion itself, but still a factor that Anvil would be exposed to none-the-less.
In the above explosion, for instance, if a gas mains has been severed, then any spark might set off a gas explosion or (more likely given the ventilated nature of the property) a gas fire. This would be as deadly for Anvil as any unprotected human.*
* Unless accepting the argument, proposed by some readers, that ‘heat is caused by molecules vibrating and she is thereby immune to that’. However there is a limit to that argument as convected heat is only one source. Radiant heat will also be present, and that Anvil categorically has no protection against. Barring some unknown power, needless to say.
Things like grenades and claymores rely on shrapnel, and it would come down to her skin toughness. Pure concussion weapons like daisy cutters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2qLuASjKXo is more of an Anvil battery charger…
That is their primary damage (and it is so effective that anyone close enough would be dead from that before the minor burning would be an issue). However to see what I mean just check out the explosions on mythbusters. Unless they have a pressure explosion (such as a boiler blowing up) they almost always have some pyrotechnics involved. The pretty flame part that looks so spectacular on TV.
Anvil can ignore the shrapnel, but the flames will burn her. Even if, for something as small as a grenade, it is unlikely to be deadly for her. In fact for the more efficient ones, that convert most of the energy into the shock wave and propelling the shrapnel, even the burns might be no worse than a boiling water splash from a kettle.
But that would be enough to hurt even a hero. Albeit probably not incapacitate her.
Combining two theorycraft chains here, but if (and it’s a big IF) Anvil could do the whole immunity to heat by absorbing the molecular vibrations, I would argue that it would almost certainly have to be an intentionally invoked ability rather than a perpetual or reactive one.
Also, for the heat absorption theory, there would be weird effects. Se should only be able to absorb the molecules immediately adjacent to her, so what would happen to the air around her? For starters, if there was any degree of moisture, she would immediately generate a fog bank as her newly drained cold molecules bumped up against ambient temperature molecules and tried to normalize their temperatures … Anyone have any further cool (sorry, irresistable pun) consequences/effects if she could do that?
Dave’s recent reply, on the next page indicates that the heat absorbing trick is too small-scale for Anvil to use.
You are perfectly right that Anvil could otherwise do all sorts of weird things with that, whilst Dave wants to keep her power nice and simple.
As a mentioned above, WOG is that a frag grenade would hurt her somewhat, as for the rest, I think it might be more reasonable to say that since she absorbs impacts the other grenades WOULD affect her as normal.
Lots of the crew could do that. Max could disassemble it before it could explode, or just eat it. Mr Amorphous is probably not vulnerable to anything that doesn’t have an edge, he’ll just get thrown around and bounce, etc.
My main question is why she went all suplexy… Wouldn’t it make sense to apply all that lovely energy to the smallest spot size possible? I mean, a blade-hand strike with the kind of energy that levels buildings would cleave most materials. Or would that kind of application hurt Anvil in some manner? It certainly didn’t seem to with the nose boop. Just flicking this automaton in the forehead should end the fight immediately when Anvil’s this powered up.
Because Anvil has been practicing wrestling as her chosen martial art. So she is utilising a well-practiced and therefore much safer to implement attack. Not necessarily as damaging as the type you are suggesting, but if she was after that then she would have gone for karate or something similar.
It’s the safer option, against unknown abilities. You don’t want to be scattering that stuff across the countryside, if you don’t know what those bits will do.
Scion has access to blood from various supernatural beings. The construct could have some Hydra blood. If Anvil exploded it there could be a hail of Hydra bits all over the place. Then we would have a whole bunch of new enemies to deal with.
(and yes, I did word it that way just so I could have hail and Hydra in the same sentence)
He he.
Your allegiances have been unmasked!
Sydney should still be safe though behind her … wait for it … S.H.I.E.L.D.
I have watched episodes of Naked News. It isn’t as distracting as you’d think, once the clothing is removed. It’s the stripping that causes the synapses to snap.
*checks out Naked News*
“Here’s a look at what’s coming up!”
*covers eyes with paws*
Noooo TMI, I don’t want to see those things!
Why do you not want to see them. They are just milk-delivery devices. Most of the ones shown are in an inactive state.
I can recognise an erection double-entente when I hear one!
Although I am pleased that they displayed a fair range of milk-delivery devices, rather than obsessing overly with one end of the spectrum.
Inactive state, as in not delivering milk. Come to think of it, those are milk-generating devices, not just milk-delivery devices.
So anvil is like bishop but just with f=ma
She is mostly fleshy, with two or three artificial parts, rather than being wholly synthetic.
Wrong Bishop, I suspect, Xero was referencing the energy absorbing Bishop of the X-Men; who only had one cybernetic arm. :)
Of course, a closer X-Men reference is Sebastian Shaw of the Hellfire Club, who like Anvil, absorbs kinetic energy from impacts and channels it into enhancing strength and endurance.
But Shaw has been shown no-selling a Sentinel’s energy blasts and using that energy for power as well. And Bishop mainly channeled energy into his own energy blasts.
In Shaw’s first combat in the comics, Storm drops a lightning bolt on him. Shaw then grabs Storm by the ankle and slams her into the ground.
How many gigawatts, Doc?
Believe you are thinking of Cable with the cybernetic arm
Darn it. My brain decided to translate “Anvil” as “Dabbler” (and it took me a minute of solid thought to come up with the latter name).
*sigh*
Was wondering about that :P
I am thinking that
E(k) = mv^2/2would apply more. Just remember what happened at the end of “Days of Future Past” to Bishop. Anvil could get overloaded too.The Supra-Suplex?
I wonder if Dabbler would’ve made that commentary in….
A zebra costume
Standing next to Sydney in a “I’m With Stupid” t-shirt(arrow pointing at Sydney BTW)
Dressed as Jenny Everywhere
Wearing a parka….????
Maxima might insist on that, to make up for the time Dabbler got her to wear some kind of mouse outfit.
I definitely want to see Maxima in a mouse outfit
Your wish is my command.
That is supposed to be Beakman’s lab rat.
In any event, I bet you hypnobubbles was hoping for something more like this.
;-)
Mouse??? I thought you said “moose”?
… und squirrel
yup, that kind, yes…
I was thinking a costume like this
Gah – messed up the code – naked link instead https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/1d/0c/9c/1d0c9cba1fc65c9a349433daf90d77bb.jpg
I’d almost be willing to bet Dabbler could make a parka look dang sexxy
Not the commentary at the bottom of the page anyway. Zebra costume? So imitating Zebra-Girl, or is Zig Zag more her speed?
How about the I’m With Stupid t-shirt?
For most humans, that would apply. If she is standing by Steven Hawking, then it is a close thing.
new meme: Steven Hawking and Einstein side by side, each wearing an ‘I’m with Stupid’ T-shirt
Then researchers find a message, hidden below the surface, in a Leonardo Da Vinci painting and only visible using advanced imaging technology.
You also have to translate it from Latin or 14th century Italian. Yeah, I guess Google Translate will do a decent enough job.
Zig Zag’s not a Zebra though…
Believe Dabbles _has_ ‘met’ a were-Zebra though, back when she still had a tail and four-bewbs
What’s with the purple streaks in panel 2 and the purple rings in panel 3? Is that supposed to be an in-universe visible energy effect or just some sort of visual indicator of the forces being exerted?
I think it’s ugly and just prevents getting a good look at the artwork behind it, especially in panel #2.
It is ultra-violent radiation.
Having read Kid Radd, I just assumed Dabbler was BOTTOMless while in chibi-science mode.
Whatever floats your boat… :-)
Ow.
I think Sydney just invented a new sport: Blast wave surfing on a slab of concrete.
(And if Dave was so ticked off about having to draw the rubble for the previous comic, the live stream of him drawing this one would definitely get a ‘mature audience only’ rating for language.)
So…much…RUBBLE!!!
It’s not rubble till it quits moving. Right now, it’s shrapnel…
Lol.
This doesn’t bode well for the bodies strung up in the basement…
Or for the basement.
Or whatever might be underneath the basement.. Or anything under THAT.
Fortunately the basement in question is underneath the Mars building.
Still of concern, of course, but much less so than if they were under this one.
This awesome wrestling move would shake up any building close enough.
Probably. But Mars is a reputable company. So the building is likely to have been built to code and thereby strong enough to survive a shaking, without serious structural damage. And underground is the best place to be when rubble comes raining down!
Also a smart supervillain always makes sure their underground lair is sturdy in case of superhero attacks.
Actually, the entrance was inside the Wars Building, we have no way of knowing how far the tunnels extend below
True. But if it is, say, 50 yards away from that building, it still ends up being likely that it is nowhere near this building. Only a small part of the radius, of potential points, actually intercepts this area.
Plus it would be very unusual for a commercial building to extend its cellars underneath what appears to be a dirt road. Heavy trucks would travel over that, as this is a warehouse district. If they did have a need for that, then I would have expected them, as a reputable company, to have a properly reinforced road.
The roof of that building was already weakened and flat roofs aren’t terribly structurally strong to begin with. Wouldn’t a super strength suplex pretty much just smash the robot/golem through the roof of the building without doing a whole lot of damage? It would be better if she slammed it into the ground or at least the top of one of the walls of the building.
Anvil is suplexing Gary the Golem down to the hard concrete in the basement. The building was pretty much destroyed anyway.
Honestly, I didn’t even notice that Dabbler looked like she was topless when delivering the science commentary until I read the undercomic commentary.
Didn’t Maxima specifically warn Sydney against causing massive collateral damage to buildings?
Yes. But because of her inexperience. Anvil, on the other paw, is very highly experienced. She will have attended courses on controlled and uncontrolled demolition, risk assessment in combat situations etc etc.
One day Halo will be trained well enough to be able to make similar attacks whilst minimising the risk of setting a forest on fire, or killing unseen hostages.
Sounds great in theory, at least, but considering Max’s road deconstruction, I wouldn’t bet on it….
Well the PPO could carve a path of destruction across half the city with a single blast. LITTLE difference in scale there.
They may need an earth-mover or two to dig Sydney out. Her tentacles only move about 10 tons, or so…
16 tons, but I doubt if there any pieces of rubble exceeding that limit…
While they were cleaning up the mess after the fight at the steak house, Maxima roughly gauged that the Lighthook could lift about 16 tons.
*Sings “16 Tons”*
Tying into the pacing category, how long has it taken Sydney to get “another day older”? Also with her new salary, she sure isn’t “deeper in debt.”
Unless she gets docked pay for a burnt forest.
Unlikely, but it is a potential way to get Sydney to be cautious about reckless attacks.
I can lift 16 tuns. I used to confiscate kegs during Spring Break all the time.
Ahh, I always wondered why you walk, rather than fly. I guess a combination of beer belly and a respect for not flying, whilst under the influence?
Mostly the beer belly, but sometimes I like to dress like a pigeon and play ‘tag’ with the cities park statues. You know, some light exercise after a large meal.
Anyone can lift 16 tons, it just takes equipment or a very long time and for it to be broken into manageable pieces like, oh i don’t know, bricks.
Good point. Mind you Random Guy was doing a play on words, using ‘tun’ instead of ‘ton’. Whereas Adamas was referencing the song lyrics.*
* Which implied that the coal miner of the song could shift sixteen tons every day. Which was
probably unrealistic. Although not by a huge amount. Alternative lyrics gave a more realistic nine-to-ten tons.
Actually the song presented that as an extraordinary event, for which he has no expectation of ever being compensated.
I had not looked at it that way before. But I can see you are right, from the later lines:
With the ‘another day older and deeper in debt’ making it part of the daily grind, despite the extraordinary feat, as you say.
*weary sigh*
We really need to push the development of liquid thorium reactors, so that unlimited energy can break us out of this depressing cycle!
16 tons, and waddya get?
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BTjyF1iWsok/VlcjUgG4WVI/AAAAAAAAdH4/6XJzSW30Pl0/s1600/igor_1291016c.jpg
Another day older, and deeper in debt.
Which kind? US, UK, or metric? :)
Maxima is American, so probably US.
The song is about the plight of American coal miners, so we would be looking at 16 short tons (2000 pounds each).
well. Timing is also a way to tell story too. Don’t forget the people in ‘panic’ mode time seems to slow down.
Also. Dabbler is right. All Hail HypnoDabbler!
Wait a second. Is there a critter of some kind inside that mech armor?
Possibly. That has been of concern to some readers. And it would match its “Not a robot” claim, just as much as being a magical construct would.
Although I am concerned for potentially killing a person regardless of whether they are made of flesh or metal. But fleshy ones do tend to be more squishy, so you are right to be worried, from that point of view.
If Halo breaks the golem and a bluebird flies out of it…
If Halo hurts the “bird”, she will be bummed.
Thanks, Yorp.
Anvil unleashing all of her energy in one shot is probably unwise. One, it could be overkill (probably not against this opponent, considering it’s a mini-boss). Two, if it isn’t enough, she’s really vulnerable to counterattack, especially if it’s of a kind she can’t absorb.
True. But we have no indication that she has emptied her reserves. Plus she is an experienced fighter, so I doubt she will have left herself vulnerable.
However do not forget that she is both a highly skilled (two star on the super rating) martial artist (chosen speciality wrestling) and has super strength (three star). Both of which can be used to provide protection. The former by dodging attacks, or incapacitating the robot, by grasping its limbs. The latter by using a chunk of masonry as a shield or to parry an incoming attack.
And, of course, they are principally of use for attacking. So Anvil does actually have a bunch of options at her disposal, even with a low or flattened kinetic battery.
Avoiding damage only being necessary versus the laser spikes, as its other known attack forms would just serve to top up Anvil’s battery.
“brick spray brush” 10/10
Wow, this arc is really bringing the rubble porn fans out of the brush!
;-)
Loud sonic boom? check
Heavy impacts? check
Tons of rubble? check check check check check check-
…
Wheres the seemingly topless alien? This page needs more seemingly to-
Oh, nevermind, Check and check again.
Ship the page out gentlemen, job well done.
Know what I enjoy but is rarely done? When you get really specific figures on things like how powers work. For example, Anvil just did a super german suplex, but when you think about it, she probably also absorbed a lot of the kinetic energy she just released. So there almost has to be a less than 1:1 ratio on kinetic energy absorbed versus kinetic power unleashed. Otherwise she would virtually never run out of juice just from the recoil effect of whatever attack she unleashes. Also, is there a cap? Or can she stand next to achilles while the rest of the heroes are practicing their hand to hand combat abilities and act like a punching bag, forever building up more and more strength until she could punch the earth hard enough to set off a volcano on the other side of the globe?
The upside to getting the really specific info is it lets us know more about the characters and their limits, plus allows for fun theorycrafting with the facts “She could also do THIS if her powers work like that!” The downside is then the author has to be really careful with things like this building blowing up because then there would be an endless stream of pedants pointing out how with x strength and y kinetic energy she couldnt possible have done z. So I guess in the long run its both easier and better to leave it nonspecific so it gives dave the flexibility to do what the plot demands without having to justify it much.
Whilst you are right that Anvil is almost certainly absorbing energy, she will only be absorbing that part which is being directed at her. Given that the explosion seems to be radiating outward, much like any other explosion, that means the vast majority of it is not being re-absorbed. Ergo she could have 100% effectiveness, but still only be getting a small proportion of the energy back.
Almost certainly. Anvil’s absorption power only rates four star, versus, for example Maxima being five star in most of her powers. So Maxima could probably overwhelm either Anvil’s maximum-absorption-at-any-one-time capacity, with a single blow, or exceed her cap rapidly, by a series of blows (or both). If not, then Anvil should rate a five star absorption.
Indubitably, and wisely said. On top of which it can also ruin the sense of disbelief, if an author contradicts his own canon. Which can, in a worst case scenario, turn them off the story completely.
Also, “artistic license to kill” may become an option with fans that are way too pedantic.
Red shirting should do it…
Nerf guns with thumbtacks taped on the darts.
I’m kinda worried about the folks that were trussed up in there.
Pretty sure they were already dead, but yeah, that might be an issue during cleanup
Considering at least one of them is/was a vampire, dead is kind of relative….
It is lovely to participate in a community where people are thoughtful enough to remember that point and also feel worried about it. And you are not the first, for that matter.
However it is not as bad as you might think, as they are being held in the building on the other side of the road, and underground, at that. So still potentially at risk, but not in the deadly peril that anybody inside the building (or adjacent to it) would be.
So were it not for the fact that Archon coordinate actions like this, and will likely have evacuated them urgently, I would be very concerned for Krona. Harem was last with Pixel, in said building across the road, but is also tending to Krona so she is also at risk.
Traab has not factored in one thing, in assuming the hostages are dead. And that is dead bodies do not bleed. Blood coagulates fast. So this is actually something that coroners look at, in order to determine if a wound was inflicted pre or post mortem. If no blood came out, then somebody has stabbed them after their heart stopped pumping and the blood ceased to have its fluid properties.
So those being bled were very likely still alive when we saw them (unless left up after being drained), and the tiny size of receptacle that was set up for Pixel indicated that Sciona was only after a small proportion of her blood. Thus indicating that she probably intended to keep them alive in the long term. Which, for a blood mage, is by far the most sensible option.
Or there was a vampire involved.
But most coroners do not leap to that option, if they want to keep their jobs.
Hm, while I’m a fan and certainly not going to stop reading, I’m not a big fan of the coloring format of the last couple comics. I don’t know if it’s a softer blend or lower definition or what but it seems more like a watercolor, particularly on bodies/faces, and makes them seem flat and lacking character. Just wanted to point that out
What you need to look for is the author comment “This page colored by Keith.” Dave uses a less saturated and lower contrast palette (which I happen to like). Keith uses a more saturated and higher contrast format (which you happen to like).
Ahh, that explains your pastel-coloured lightsaber.
Also, it’s still night(ish)-time, colours tend to be a bit ‘muted’ at night
Dabbler has a point. Herpes, for example. I’m completely uninterested in getting it, but if I had to get it, I’d be more enthusiastic about receiving it from a topless lady.
I would prefer one with both an upper and a lower body. Plus fully nude. But… mmm…. still pass.
I would prefer Sydney, fully clothed, with ear-scratchies and a treat.
At first I wondered how she is able to cope the drag and thus ensuing heat, but I’m curious if she can A) leech kinetic energy from the air drag on the way down and B) is immune to heat attacks because heat is simply exchange of kinetic energy at the molecular level? Additionally on that note, if she is immune, does that mean she can choose to be chemically inert effectively, because particle impact is a part of chemical bonding?
She isnt falling from ORBIT. She is falling at terminal velocity which people without super powers do on a regular basis before deploying their chutes. So no heat to worry about absorbing.
Yea, there is heat being built up, but negligible amounts, at that velocity, which is easily being vented by the air they are falling past. The difference with space craft reentering the upper atmosphere is that they are travelling at a considerable speed,* which a skydiver never reaches in the first place.
Note that you are right about a portion of the heat, but we must also consider that it is not the only form of heat. Another type is radiant heat, which any heat source will be emitting, in addition to the type you are describing. This does not travel via vibrating molecules, as demonstrated by the fact that we get most of our heat from the Sun, across interstellar space.
Anvil has absolutely no protection from gradient heat as that has no kinetic component.
* In order to stay up in orbit, for a prolonged period, you need sufficient velocity such that your centrifugal force can overcome the Earth’s gravity. The parabolic flight of certain aircraft (such as ‘the vomit comit’) can only achieve achieve weightlessness for a very short period, because their speeds are far too low and gravity is dragging them back fast.
This means that craft which stay up for months or years have to travel very very fast, in comparison to speeds we are used to using on the surface. So have such speed before starting the drop back down to Earth. Which even a ‘low orbit’ is actually a frighteningly high fall, before reaching the point that friction starts to slow the decent.
about 28000 kph / 17500 mph at low earth orbit ( ball park of 250 – 300 miles up for the space shuttle/ISS),
or about 35000 kph / 22000 mph at geosynchronous altitude ( ball park of 23000 miles)
Its ‘time’ for fun with relativity.
Time slows down for objects either traveling at a high speed or in the gravity well of a massive object, such as the earth. A clock in low earth orbit runs slower than one at Earth’s surface due to it’s speed. A clock in geostationary orbit is far enough out of the gravity well for it to run faster than at the surface. At about 5000 miles up those forces balance out, and an orbiting clock will be in sync with a clock on the surface.
just guessing, but I’ll bet that it’s a very narrow orbital window, with mascons, etc screwing up the theoretical smooth roundness of the gravity well. The Fischer ellipsoid is a math expression / book that defines, in a “single” calculation, the shape of the Earth. As I understand it, it’s parameterized (or at least, the software I was working with was) so that the “ellipsoid” was either magnetic or gravitic. I suppose variations occur for atmo density, etc. but Earth has so many gravitic anomalies that low earth orbit can be considered to a unicycle highwire act in comparison to say geosync at 23000 miles. And yes, doppler shifts etc are critical to not just keeping your antennas aimed at the satellite, but keeping on the exact freq of the telemetry. When I was a kid, I thought TV sci fi was BS when their orbit was always “decaying”, but any orbit under several thousand miles IS constantly wiggling around, and atmosphere will bring down anything that close eventually.
Yea, the gravity well must be at its worst when the satellite passes close to the edge of the planet.
*whistles innocently*
gradient = radiant