Grrl Power #520 – From distress to datstress
Maxima, as you might imagine, is quite strong willed, so even if the eyepiece wasn’t cracked, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether the Super Husk could have stunned her into sitting still for a withdrawal. There is at least one vampire who learned the hard way that unsuccessfully trying to mesmerize Max is such a bad idea.
“This looks important” is the number one thing said before shit gets broken. “Hey watch this.” is the number one thing said before someone hurts themselves, and “I wonder what this does.” falls equally in between.
Also who keeps their power supply behind an easily removable armored plate? Besides Iron Man I mean. And by easily removable I mean it requires super strength to remove. Still, seems like a design flaw considering who it was designed to fight. Really, Hiro got a lucky yanking that stuff out. After all he didn’t know how it was designed or what powered it. If I designed a big evil robot, I’d put the power supply in a well protected place, but not in the center because that’d be too obvious, and I’d hide a claymore behind the glowy plate.
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Ouch….
“No disassemble! NO DISASSEMBLE!”
~Johnny 5
Dear God. Think of J5 and Sydney on the same team.
Thought it. Can’t un-think it.
Welp, guess I was wrong last time in thinking that Max doesn’t have a high will save. Even a fighter gets a few bonuses to will saves at epic level.
Nicely done.
Given her experiences, personality and training, I’m not surprised. An example of her willpower that quickly came to mind for me was: https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1557
Did you mean https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1715?
I agree, the former page was more about changing her super power setting (which only covers physical/energy attacks in any event).
Likewise not blacking out, whilst being strangled, is something physical. But I do grant that having the strength of will to keep fighting, is a very necessary component part to that.* Although not quite an indicator as to resilience against mental attack.
* And I know that the mental aspect is critically important, having gone through something similar myself. Give in to panic and you will not be around to tell that tale!
or if your into 5e she could have Legendary Resistances.
I dunno. I’m kinda partial to 3.5e
Especially because that’s what OOTS still runs on.
Can’t go wrong with OOTS.
Yup. D&D stopped at 3.5. I had always been slow to give up all my old source books and modules, in order to transition to a new edition. Although the various improvements offered did gradually win me over. Even then though I figured I would let them iron out the kinks, and give me a good range of products, to make the effort worthwhile, before I did.
That stopped when I got analysis of what they did in 4th. Even when described by the (very rare) enthusiasts of that!
5th simply is not on my shopping list. If it ever gets on there, it would be somewhere below ‘get a minion to hunt for any books that are missing from series, or favourite authors, in my library’.
Unless I come across a 5th edition using group, of course. But that is just a matter of practicality.
I got into D&D kinda late (1979ish) and stuck with it inly for a few months, don’t recall which version, but “Advanced” was already out. then the guy who was my favorite DM moved away. Lord British, perhaps you’ve heard of him.
If you think that is late, I didn’t get into D&D until well into 2000’s. Doesn’t help that I was born in 85.
First game AD&D in ’86. next group was 2001. Hard to find a group in an area with more churches than stores.
From what I’ve seen in play and based on my analysis, 5th Ed has a lot to recommend it. It focuses less on game mechanics, plays fast, and combats don’t take the whole evening – most of the absurdity of 3.5/Pathfinder and all the new types of bonuses they engendered got dropped.
I’ve got too much time and effort invested in my (heavily) modified 2nd Ed system to switch to 5th, mind. And there are some … interesting statistical outcomes in the system. The advantage/disadvantage system is fast and convenient but can lead to… significant bonuses to attack and defense. Those of my friends who’ve played it have enjoyed it – caveat emptor: most of them prefer rules light systems, though. :D
Haven’t played since 2nd Edition, sometime in the mid ’90s
I stopped about 1.5…The core books pluse Unearthed Arcana, Oriental Adventures, the Fiend Folios, Dungeoneer’s & Wilderness Survival Guides, Manual of the Planes, etc.
All those books just got too damn expensive to keep up with…
Managed to get Oriental Adventures, and fairly sure that was 2nd Edition
Also got a Spelljammer book, and set up a clichéd volcano base south of The Dales in Forgotten Realms for a rival organisation to The Harpers :)
Yea, all the ones listed were 2nd. But they were still compatible with the 1st edition rules, using appropriate conversions where necessary. Dragon Magazine published guidelines, for instance. Using the combination of the two would ‘average out’ as the 1.5 edition stated.
Critical Role uses 5e, though pre-show they used Pathfinder.
I’m one of those weird 4E enthusiasts. But not one that thought it was perfect. And then they started trying to dilute it… with stuff that was too much like the (as perceived by 4E fans) flaws of previous editions to be popular with THEM, but not enough like said characteristics to please anyone else.
I watched 5E development for a while, and when it felt like they were taking everything good about 4E and making sure there was LESS of it than in ANY previous edition… I gave up.
So unless they later took my recommendation to fire everyone involved in 5E development and burn all their work, I’m rather less than excited about 5E.
As someone who doesn’t play the ruleset at all what were the good things about 4th over previous editions?
While I don’t like 4e, the great thing about it is its simplicity. It takes the mechanics of an MMO like DDO or WoW, and fits it into a pen and paper game. It is a great way to make the transition from comp to paper gaming, as well as being an easier way for new players to get into the genre without being to overwhelmed by the math of 3.5e and Pathfinder.
One of the main complaints about 3.5 and previous editions was the “imbalance” between magical and martial classes. Wizards and such could deal massive effects, but could only do it for so long, where as martial classes could cause effects all day long, but to a much lesser degree. 4E brought all the classes closer together by giving all classes abilities that fell into a tier based system. Low tier abilities could be used at will, mid tier once a fight, and one daily power. Then the effects of those abilities were more or less balanced between classes. At least that was the theory.
Both yours and K. Drakor‘s posts serve to show the problems too. They were trying to make the tabletop game like the computer games. Without appreciating the advantages of the former, and pandering too heavily to the latter. Yes encouraging in players from D&DO and other computer games is a good thing. There are a lot more of them than there are tabletop players, to it helps to both keep the community going and expand it.
But what is not good is when it looses too many of the elements that make it good. The distinctiveness of each class, and the differences between spellcasters and others, was actually something that allowed players to choose the style they preferred. And it gave challenges to the party in coping with situations which were not optimal for their mix.
Whereas trying to turn each class into dumbed down variations on a theme they all become homogeneous. “Press fire for primary attack (insert name appropriate to class)” “Press B for defensive option (insert special effect appearance appropriate to class)” Etc
I played D&DO, which I very much enjoyed. But it had its flaws. Which they were tryng to export to the pen and paper community. Along with a bunch of other things which worked in a computer game but not a good idea to try and implement in a roleplaying environment.
You want to feel like you are in another world. Not like you are playing a computer game on paper.
^ This. This is exactly the complaint I had about 4th Edition.
I’m playing in 5e these days, although I’m definitely not the best person to explain it. I do think it’s a lot better than 4e in most ways, with the caveat that it’s really hard to gain any form of elemental resistances in 5e, compared to 4e where my character ended up with resists to practically everything.
5e feels like it was a modification made off of 3 and 3.5, rather than building from 4, IMO. I like it well enough, although I still miss 3e’s version of Disintegrate.
I imagine psychic resistance is part of basic training at ARCswat. They clearly know that it is a thing given the presence of dabbler and their knowledge of vampires, mages, etc. so training against it would be a good idea.
Also, given her powerset, “fighter” probably doesn’t fit. More likely she’s one of the fighter-spellcaster classes, which usually have a good will save.
Monk seems the best fit for most superhero builds – they often fight bare-handed, wear little armor, and rely on special abilities to defeat specialized foes.
Also, high resistances.
But is has the disadvantages of being OCD and having various phobias.
Fist-based mage?
War-mage. Can use weapons and heavy armor, and mostly evocation spells and the like, and they can wade through bad guys with the same finesse as a fighter or barbarian.
Never did understand the restriction on a mage wearing a leather vest: it doesn’t restrict movement (no sleeves) and it’s not metal so no ‘weird reactions with the arcane magicks’
It is pretty arbitrary, true. But not too hard to argue, if emphasising that mages are sedentary scholars with little or no fitness and no combat training. Unlike the sleek Hollywood leather armours, the ones designed to give real protection, in combat, are pretty bulky.
Plus if you only wear the vest, you get only partial protection. You need the rest of the kit to get the full armour class.
Unfit people over-exerting themselves find difficulty concentrating. So having to cope with armour, without training for that or keeping up daily fitness training, would impair a mage’s ability to do their spell book studying.
You do not want to roll percentile dice to see if your lapse in concentration resulted in a misfired spell. Even if it is a relatively small chance, the benefit from leather armour, for protection, is not really that big, in game mechanics terms, to justify the danger.
What do D&D rules have to do with this?
Maxima isn’t a “fighter”, doesn’t have a “level”, and doesn’t “roll to save”.
What’s next, people trying to assign slots in D&D’s pathetic alignment system to characters?
It can be fun to try and adapt the arbitrary rules systems of a given game to characters from another setting. Not many games though have an in-depth enough setting or mechanics to allow such to be done. However games that do allow you to play another character, but which encourage you to use the mind-set of the character, than your own, are ones well suited to do that.
Of which, indicating the ‘moral compass’ of the character can be a very interesting aspect. If you truly want to see the world through their eyes (and more importantly their mind). Using real-world personalty classifications and disorders can be a bit too heavy for an escapist game though. So it is especially appropriate for a fantasy system to adopt a more stylised mechanic.
Of course adapting such for other games would only be of real interest to those who play the roleplaying games (or something similar). So I can well understand why it does not appeal to you.
Generally speaking though I think it can be a good idea to better understand people by getting into other mind-sets via roleplaying. Although it is much better, if wishing to apply that to the real world, to use realistic models, rather than arbitrary game ones. Trying to pigeon-hole real people (or characters based on such) into stylised simple mechanics will yield very flawed results in some situations (despite the fact that others might match relatively well, in a simplistic way).
Simple can be useful though, if only trying to get across basic points. Letting kids know that many people are not interested in doing good, for example. Knowing that a lot of people are only out to protect their own interests, and not care about other’s, is helpful.
Likewise that some people behave in an inherently evil way. But that is where simplifying can cause problems. It is necessary, for example, to be able to distinguish between a mental illness that someone may be suffering from, which makes them act out of character, from a moral stance. Someone might choose to do things, which they know to cause harm to others, even without the excuse of insanity.
This is relevant
Yes, with the nine-point alignment system, there is a lot of variance in each group, to me, it doesn’t so much as ‘pigeon hole’ people into set stances, but gives others a general idea of what to expect: not all Chaotic Evil are going to be full-on Demonic, but they aren’t going to play nice with others unless they are planning something (usually nasty)
It’s a way of finding a common vocabulary to talk about a topic that doesn’t come with its own vocabulary. I have the same thing with using Hero System to talk about practically anything. I have friends who do the same thing but use GURPS instead.
It’s the same thing as every engineer I’ve ever known when they tend to talk about everything in terms of their sub-discipline.
I have a computer programmer friend who got his masters in electrical engineering and his phd in electronic systems design specializing in optical imaging. He once described a project RPG he was working on in those terms. Very very odd… and hard for this soft-science/humanities person to follow.
Luckily, he’s a *very* good teacher and also a bootstrap anthropologist / linguist / sociologist as well. I learn an awful lot from having friends who are so much smarter than I am. :D
Also, what are the odds that it managed to get a sample in panel six?
0 didn’t touch max’ shoulder before Hiro disassembled it
Pretty sure the dark bit on her shoulder is the shadow of the sampler tentacle, not a scratch.
whew… was wondering about that
Initially I agreed with your line of thinking. But then was pursueded by a counter-argument. See the reasons in the thread further down.
However there is one decisive point that was not raised there. It is presently night-time and there is no light source above the tentacle. It cannot therefore be a shadow. The drill itself is giving off light though, so that is creating other shadows on Maxima. As are the other glowing bits it has, in other panels.
If you zoom in, you can see that it can not be a scratch: it’s too thick and the wrong colour
Ahh, I have not said that it is a scratch mind. A drill, being dragged through skin, would not give that result. Especially not one made by a drill with some kind of energy as its principle component. Between that, Maxima’s force fields and her ‘screwy skin’, in general, I think we would be hard pressed to prove it reacting in any predictable way. There are too many variables.
However do see Stefan’s reply below for one fair interpretation, which would fit well with my take. Although it could also just be skin that has been ripped up and torn off.
Not a shadow though, either way.
The bot’s eye is a lightsource; you can see the shadows from the cracks in the lens on Max’s face.
Reasonable point. I would counter that with ‘diffuse light source’. I do not think it could cast a shadow that crispy. But it is within the bounds of artistic licence, so am open to the possibility. Well raised.
If the light was too diffuse, it would also blur the shadows from the lens. IMHO the mark is the shadow of the tip and that lightsource is most likely the eye.
The light is being directed in a cone shape, like a torch, at Maxima’s face, and the crack is blocking that direct light, to cast its shadow. That I would expect to be sharper. Whereas this shadow would have to be formed from the ambient light, as the tentacle tip is not within the cone. Which I still think it is too pale to make such a sharp shadow.
However it does fall within the scope of artistic licence. Plus the weight of argument over various small points has shifted my opinion. So I agree that the intent is probably as you say.
Maxima herself is a lightsource. But I think it’s some sort of light burning mark. It’s probably a laser needle based on Pixel’s powers. Not enough to do real damage but enough to leave a mark.
I’d say the chances are next to zero, because isn’t that a “laser” claw? Laser, as in “Cauterizes all wounds as it makes them”?
Rather like a diamond, on the tip of a drill, it has been adapted to its purpose. Unlike the amputating attack that Pixel used, the construct is making a precision cut. Incidentally our readers in the know indicate would not cauterise but rather rip flesh apart (amongst more grisly effects). It is very different to what we are used to from flames and hot metal burns, as examples.
The aim being to make a small wound that would allow bleeding, from the areas which were not rendered into meaty chunks.
We can actually see bits of Maxima’s flesh have been cut off by it, and are falling away, in the same manner as a drill going through metal.
No, that’s not bits of Maxi flesh
I agree it looks like tension force and slight vibration.
Max is arm wrestling essentially here. Fighting the mesmerising effect isn’t allowing her full body use.
I agree with the shadow idea as the wider end at the outer line is a smooth curve, no hint at all even at the widest part of the shadow that there is even a slight surface imperfection. I know it’s drawn with relatively thick line work, but a significant point like this if it was an injury would have more graphical merit… unless it’s more like a surface burn.
Max does have zero point TK field for extra defence which is a physical issue. Energy damage would negate that and hit her skin and actual flash based defence level will be in effect.
Agreed. Those are motion squiggles, indicating that Max’s arm and the “claw” are moving back and forth very slightly. Note that the squiggles are color-matched to the things they’re adjacent to.
As to the dark area on Max’s shoulder–“laser claws” is a sort of a fanciful description for slightly glowy, energized claws. They don’t emit much light, and we can see by the shadows on the mace-arm version of the claws that they’re solid enough to cast shadows. As long as the claw emits less light than whatever is causing those bright, specular reflections on Max’s skin, it will cast a shadow. The tapered shape of the dark area is also consistent with a shadow.
I disagree that the ‘laser claw’ could cause a shadow of itself.
However, that aside, y’all have put up compelling cases. Conceded.
Is it just me, or does Anvil look like she’s in the process of diving for cover?
I had the same thought. Sh e’s diving behind Sydney’s shield…
Same here. She likes absorbing kinetic impacts, but other kinds of energy attacks she is not so fond of, so the big girl gets to a secure place quick. Sydney’s shield has shown itself as a pretty safe place in the past, so let’s try it again.
Agreed.
You’ll recall how quickly she was felled (Pg.242, during the restaurant battle) by “For Whom The Death Tolls”.
FWTDT’s power was nemesis, and he didn’t hit Anvil with an energy blast, his power allowed him to copy and counter Anvil, draining her stored kinetic energy and incapacitating her, sort of.
Without looking it up, I got the impression that his power countered an attacker in whatever way would defeat them. So it was not limited in just turning their power against them. Otherwise, for example, Heatwave could take him down, as she is immune to heat, so reflecting a heat attack against her would not harm her.
This is also what required Sydney to think so hard, to figure out what was happening. Something that would not be necessary for basic reflection of an attack. That is simple to spot and deduce.
Likewise (whilst noting you did put in the caveat ‘sort of’) even if FWTDT did copy Anvil’s power and use it directly against her, it would have no effect. Anvil’s power is principally defensive in nature. So anything that an identical power could use to attack her she could negate by absorbing it.*
Yes, it might have corrupted her power, to turn it against her in a way that she could not defend herself from it. But at that point it is simply a very complicated way of saying ‘it would counter Heatwave with ice or cold’. Or ‘it would counter Anvil with an energy attack’.
* In case an evil Anvil clone does turn up, there is a way of getting around this. Build up a significant store of energy, such that it exceeds Anvil’s maximum limit on absorption. This though is not available to someone who has only just copied the power and does not have that stored energy to draw upon.
This, of course, is pertinent should the construct regenerate, from the VORCH, and manage to copy Anvil’s power. If Anvil still has a store of energy, even after her impressive blast, then she has the edge over the construct, when purely considering the kinetic power’s uses.
Before she dropped, he electrified her, which hurt her enough to make her back off of him.
Yea. Although it is more than what that would mean for a normal human. In her case, Vehemence had increased his power level to the point that his attacks were consistently stronger than her defense. Maxima had no choice but to divert ALL the variable power she could to her defense.
What little may have been left over, in addition to her minimum capabilities (even then she is super strong and super fast) was insufficient to effectively counterattack Vehemence. To the extent that he was not even noticing her (low-level) super strength and thought it had been drained by the lightning!
At that point Vehemence was both stronger and better defended than Maxima. And getting more powerful still, as the violence continued!
Note one significant point though, Maxima’s energy attack operates independently of her force field powers.* Meaning that she could still retaliate with a nuke-like explosion! Knowing that nothing less would even scratch him, she did though have the option to save her life using that. At the expense of killing most of her team and a lot of innocent civilians in the surrounding area!
Survival instincts are powerful, and Maxima was bearing the full brunt of Vehemence’s aggro aura. Yet she still had the willpower to avoid taking that catastrophic option!
* Her flight, super strength, speed and, obviously, defenses all draw upon this source. They just use the telekinesis effects, that the force field can emulate, in different ways.
I agree with all that [Yorp] is saying here, but he’s answering my (in hindsight, unclear) statement, which referred to Anvil’s clash with ‘FWTDT’, not “Max-vs-V”. The confusion is understandable, as both baddies were using lightning-attacks.
Ahh, sorry, I had forgotten the specific way that FWTDT overcame each attacker. Just recalling that it was not a reflection. Otherwise I might have made that connection.
If you don’t have a convenient ditch to dive into, Sydney’s shield works great, depending how the blast wave acts….
I’m sure she is. I get the distinct impression that (for her)absorbing particle energy is completely different than absorbing punches and impacts.
She was able to absorb Bombshell’s blast though, which did look like it was more pure energy than kinetic.
Dave’s said before that Anvil CAN be hurt by shrapnel and bullets, just not As badly as a normal human. (Enough pinpricks can kill an elephant though.)
Imagining herds of carnivorous porcupines hunting elephants.
I’ll never imagine such a thing!*
*imagines it a lot
I’m imagining a swarm of mosquitos with sharpening stones all filing their noses to a pinpoint.
They do kill a lot more people than elephants do though, despite that size difference. Millions upon millions more!
I’m not the only one who thinks it looks like the “Kappa River Escape” from Strongest Disciple right?
… +1(you beat me to it). Also, Anvil is trying to avoid the ” I was off to one side ” damage trope…
Yups, noticed that as well, but came checking to see if anyone else noticed it first :D
My first impressions were driven by the zip-lines in that panel, indicating movement. Because they were the same colour and shade, as Halo’s shield, I initially attributed this to Sydney having raised her shield, and having tumbled down from a more precarious vantage point. With the knock-on effect of bouncing Anvil out of the way. Reinforced by the fact that I recall the three of them (including Super Hiro) being in a tight group before. So Anvil is now further away, from Sydney, than she was before.
I only mention this as feedback for DaveB, given that subsequent examination made me realise that was incorrect. Clearly the zip-lines are meant to be from Maxima ripping the tentacle off. This might have been less ambiguous if the zip-lines were closer in shade to the tentacle. But, I appreciate that it would make the lines more intrusive and possibly confuse the scene, so I can see why Dave went the route he did.
Supporting evidence comes from comparing the previous page and noting that Sydney and Anvil were not at a greater height then.
But, even without that, once I realised the movement was the tentacle, then the rest did become obvious. Including, as you point out, Anvil diving for cover. Clearly she must have moved away from Sydney, as the shield was raised. Halo would not have the intent to enclose Anvil, so I imagine it pushed her away, as it expanded.
Alternatively Anvil may have (between panels) told Sydney to raise her shield, and stepped to one side.
Either way I love her comical pose and expression, with her dive!
There’s an old saying “discretion is the the better part of valor”, Anvil is offering a demonstration…
Douglas Adams would always add that cowardice is the better part of discretion, so when he cowered in a closet, he was doing so valorously.
This is for those times when you find yourself inching your way up the corridor towards some potential danger, when you’d rather be yarding your way down it.
Just be wary if the floor is waxed, because your foes might be wolves!
Maxi didn’t rip the tentacle off, NotBot simply fell down when Hiro ripped off it’s chest plate and Maxi released the tentacle
Is that ‘released’ like an airline ‘re-accommodating’ a passenger?
That ‘doctor’ should have just left peacefully, instead of making a huge fuss over nothing!
Probably would have been compensated for the overbooking and placed on the next available flight, no fuss no mus
But no, it’s ‘released’ as in ‘let go of’
Police do house calls simply for nurses who sleep in and can’t be contacted. A doctor who has already checked and can’t be on the next flight would expect to be permitted to do his job. Few jobs have protected status like police, fire brigade and medical staff.
They had no legal right to remove him, unless he volunteered. He did not. Had they refused him boarding, then they would have been in compliance with the terms and conditions of their contract with him. They did not. They allowed him to board, and he had taken his seat. At which point they were obliged to take him to his destination.
The only exceptions were if he became disruptive or otherwise compromised the safety of the aircraft. Which he did not, other than to insist on his rights to remain on board. Strengthening his demands by indicating that he had patients to treat the following morning.*
They should have stopped at that point and made a higher offer of compensation for another passenger to volunteer instead.
End of the day they had no right to bump him for members of their own staff. And they were acting illegally in declaring him persona non-grata, so that the police could remove him forcibly.
If you are acting within your rights, you should stick to your demands. And making a fuss when they try to tread on them is also wholly correct!
* How good a doctor he may be, or his own personal history, have absolutely zero bearing on the matter. You do not prevent a doctor from treating patients, especially when he is insisting that it is important. Not when you have other options at your disposal, and when it is your duty to help him do that. Which as a paid, boarded and seated customer, they had an absolute duty to him!
+37
Unfortunately, all the major airlines deliberately overbook their flights. They’re banking on some of the passengers not showing up. It’s a fine balancing act… if they don’t overbook enough seats, they end up with empty seats. If they overbook too many seats, they end up losing money by paying compensation to the overbooked passengers.
In general, the last passengers to board are the first ones bumped. That’s why you should arrive at the gate at least 15 to 30 minutes before the boarding call. Usually, the closer the airplane is to its take-off time, the airline becomes more desperate to empty seats, and the greater the compensation gets… cash, airline miles, free meals, free drink coupons, free headsets on the next flight, an upgrade to first class, admission into the swanky airline clubs, etc.
They ARE required by law to ask for volunteers before bumping anyone, but if they can’t find enough volunteers, you can still be bumped involuntarily. Airline rules typically state that if you don’t arrive at least 15-30 minutes before the scheduled departure, you will forfeit your reservation and have to fend for yourself.
If the airline arranges an alternative flight that gets you to your final destination within an hour of your original scheduled arrival time, you won’t be compensated. If the substitute plane will get you where you’re going one to two hours late on U.S. domestic flights or one to four hours internationally, the airline must pay you double the cost of your one-way fare, up to $675. If you’re delayed more than two hours domestically or more than four internationally, or if the airline doesn’t make substitute arrangements, the overbooked flight compensation doubles, with a $1,350 ceiling. You can demand payment on the spot, and if you feel entitled to more, you can try negotiating with the complaint department. If you paid in advance for optional services such as checked bags or premium seats, the airline must refund you for these if you do not receive them on your alternate flight.
These federal bumping rules do not apply to charters, planes with fewer than 30 seats, or smaller aircraft that are substituted for originally scheduled ones. (On flights carrying 30 to 60 passengers, you will not be compensated if you are bumped for safety reasons such as weight or balance constraints.) Bumping rules don’t apply to inbound flights to the United States or to flights between cities outside the U.S., but various airlines or foreign countries may have rules of their own. The EU, for example, has its own rules.
NOW, having said all that: Yorp is absolutely right. The airline screwed up badly. They should not have given preference to their own staff, they should not have gotten the police involved in a matter that should be handled by airline personnel, they should not have tried to involuntarily remove people who had already boarded (the correct procedure, by UA’s own rules, is to deny boarding before they get on the plane).
As it stands, they’re being skewered by public opinion. Their stock has dropped and there is talk of a possible consumer boycott… and the four people who were deplaned have grounds to sue United for “breach of contract”. UA is treading on thin ice right now.
So the purpose of this long post was not to say that Yorp was wrong, because he isn’t… he’s absolutely right. I just thought it was a good idea (at least for the U.S. readers, and those planning a trip to the U.S. in the future) to know what their federal rights are.
EXACTLY.
Congress is also seriously considering air-passenger bill of rights.
Bullshit. The man paid in advance for a service, and had every right to have that service delivered. “Next available flight” sounds so innocent when you say it like that, but there are plenty of situations where a delay of several hours or perhaps days can ruin weeks of planning for a flight. Time taken off of work, vacation plans, reservations, shows missed, there are plenty of ways that getting bumped off of your booked flight can have a much greater impact than “next available flight” is able to correct.
Both you and the news media are playing into the airline’s attempts to whitewash the facts by using the term “overbooked.” The flight was NOT overbooked. United simply wanted to punt a paying customer so that they could move some of their own people around.
Well… mostly correct, Oberon. The flight WAS overbooked. They’re not lying about that. ALL flights from ALL airlines are overbooked, on purpose. They’re trying to not have any empty seats, and they’re banking on the fact that not everyone will show up. BUT…
You are right in that he should not have been bumped off the flight (neither should the other 3 passengers that were bumped), because he had already boarded. By UA’s own rules, only passengers who have not boarded yet can be bumped (by being refused boarding), and they are required to be given a considerable amount of compensation depending on how long they will be delayed. The federal government has specific rules for that, plus the airline may offer extra compensation (upgrades to 1st class, airline miles, entry into the VIP clubs, etc.)
When UA gave priority to their own staff and bumped four passengers from the flight to make room for four crew, they broke the contract they made with the passengers… there could be serious lawsuits as a result of this. Not to mention the pounding their reputation has already taken.
UA’s contract with the passengers does provide a clause for force majeur and other unforeseen circumstances, and allows the airline to take actions that are “reasonable” or “advisable” in response to circumstances beyond its control. But I really don’t see how they’re going to be able to successfully argue that it was “reasonable” to deplane four passengers to transport the misplaced crew.
Please prove that the flight was overbooked.
The fact of the matter are this:
The flight was full.
All seats were taken by paying customers.
United did not ask anyone to give up their seat so that a different paying customer could have that seat.
United did ask, and then demand, that paying customers who were already seated exit the aircraft, in violation of their own policy, so that they could seat non-paying United employees.
This event had nothing to do with overbooking, and again using that term only plays into the United attempt to whitewash the events of the situation and their horrible failure at customer service.
Regarding the last, one of the biggest failures was for their chief executive to state* that the staff had acted correctly, and compounding this by stipulating the reason being the removal of a disruptive passenger! (I am paraphrasing from memory, but this was the gist).
It is my opinion that he was laying this as the groundwork for a legal defense. Knowing full well that a disruptive passenger can be removed, due to laws that have been enacted to ensure the safety of the aircraft.
However those laws were not designed to be used to remove a person patiently awaiting their flight, who’s only disruption is to refuse to be kicked off the plane! It was his staff who were the root cause of the disruption.** As such I believe he was attempting to pervert the course of justice! Fortunately stopped by the weight of public opinion.
Resist injustice! Even from the public relations of the year winner.
* In an internal communication, but one to the whole company, so therefore bound to become public knowledge.
** Which should have been very apparent from the widely available footage and press coverage detailing eye witness accounts.
Aww, teamwork wins. Such a cliché. Where’s the fun and excitement when the heros don’t behave stupid?
Deconstructing dumb hero tropes is like 90%of the point of this comic.
Making fun of them is the other 10%.
The nice thing is that the villains aren’t dumb either. Makes for a much more interesting confrontation, when the bad guys are competent too!
I doubt that the heroes appreciate it much, though. “Why did I have to get the competent badguys?” is probably what they are thinking through most of this fight.
OK, so Dabbler is probably thinking “ooh, goodie, a challenge!” instead, but that’s Dabbler.
And Dabbles isn’t even here
They had a good example when they faced Vehemence. He was quite competent is the way he faced ARC Swat. While standing off to the side (to charge himself during the first fighting), he was also watching & analyzing tactics & powers being put to use. For example, he figured out Anvil’s power when he noticed her leaning into a punch.
He may have been pulling a lot of new stunts when he was fighting, but that was because he’d never been powered up that far before. Even so, as he was improvising with his ability he was still using the stunts in an effective & efficient manner. I’d say his first big fail was to actually admit what his power actually was.
Very well put. As to the last point, that too is in keeping with the way the heroes are portrayed. Both sides have character flaws. Maxima has hubris, anger, intolerance (towards chauvinists) and the tendency to forget how squishy humans are. Whereas Vehemence has a lack of compassion for the harm his love of violence causes*, plus he too has hubris and a desire to boast, along with it.
A mistake yes, but one very much in keeping with human nature. Having super powers does not make personality flaws go away,** it just gives a much more impressive way for them to manifest!
* Yet showed compassion in hoping that Sydney survived. So he is a multi-layered character, with endearing aspects to slightly offset the much more significant bad sides he has.
** Although a super with the power to do that would be an ethical nightmare.
“Maxima I can cure your anger problems, permanently!”
“Sure go ahead”
“Maxima a dinosaur is attacking the orphan and bunny sanctuary!”
“Oh that is awful.”
“But, but aren’t you going to do something about it? It is eating babies!”
“Oh we should not get so worked up about it, the thing has to eat, to stay alive. Here, come have a beer with me.”
I have read enough fiction to see what kid of damage supervillains can do when they work together. I’ve also seen enough fictional and real world damage and drama resulting from people not working together. So I’m thus very appreciative of seeing teamwork here.
That said, who says there won’t be any fun and excitement from Archon’s working together? VORCH!
Hmm, I can’t tell if the Needle like tip actually touch max or not.
Even if it did touch her, it didn’t necessarily do anything. Given her defenses, it could be the equivalent of trying to drill though an inch thick plate of steel with a drill bit for wood.
it’s more like trying to get through a sheet of Diamond with an electric toothbrush
or getting through 20 feet of diamond/Azbantium by punching it. It just takes a while.
Or eroding a mountain made of diamond by sharpening your beak on it.
Looks to me like the laser claw did draw blood. Max was not actively shifting any of her power pool to defense…Mesmerized into submission, remember?
Max’s blood is blue, not red.
Yea, I concur with EvilMidnightLurker’s point above:
I would however point out that the detailed corkscrew styling around the tip has given me the impression that it is using a drill-like effect. As supported by the shavings coming off from Max’s shoulder. Those closest to the luminous point are coloured green by its light. However those further away are golden.
We can see no blood, but it was cutting bits of Maxima’s epidermis off!
I thought those were “shiver” lines showing they were shaking as they struggle.
Remember how DaveB draws things. There’s no “stab” onomatopoeia, so probably just a shadow.
Well, the laser left a red line on her shoulder, but since we know she bleeds blue, it’s probably just hot.
If you mean the line on her shoulder in the sixth panel, I think that is the shadow of the needle (there is no such line on her shoulder in the fourth panel).
Lasers are made of light…They don’t leave shadows. They generate enough light that other objects make shadows though.
It’s not a laser itself, it’s simply laser-coated, like it’s spikey ball
Mmm, having agreed with the shadow point above, MidnightDStroyer has made a good counter-argument.
Although I agree with your point too. Clearly Pixel’s claws are not normal lasers, so your interpretation is as good a way to describe them as any. Whilst they could be made out of pure energy the visuals appear to be that of something solid, so your way of describing it is consistent with those points.
But the fact that the skin shavings nearest to the drill/claw tip are green in colour makes me believe that it is giving off light, so should not be casting a shadow. Despite my previously agreeing with that. I think that is the drill track, in the outer layer of skin.
This is consistent as bleeding would only occur slowly, if at all, on the outermost layer of the skin. So some darkening, initially, is all that would be seen initially. Subsequently we may see some blood dripping out slowly. Or it may not have been damaging enough for even that much.
That’s not skin shavings, look near Maxi’s hand, that same effect is there as well
I saw that and just took that to be them flying off in all directions, as they are shaved off.
If they are not that though, then what are they? They are certainly constant with my interpretation and do not seem to have any other purpose that springs to mind.
As Mike said above in a reply to you, they are ‘shiver’ lines, to indicate movement, specially the one near Maxi’s hand
OK that is a fair alternative. Not sure I am convinced. but I suppose the lack of an onomatopoeia, as Torn points out, does hint towards that.
Not that it really matters, either way, as no blood was drawn. Or painted. Not even a sketch. Or a scratch.
I think it might be a shadow, not a red line. Besides, Dave is usually really good about motion lines, I think if it slashed her, he would show that, and a slash would be required to heat her skin up like that. Either way, safe to assume it didn’t get her blood. And maybe couldn’t use it without it’s power-supply (assuming) anyway?
Even if it did get a sample of Max’s blood, how much of a chance did the killerborg get to analyze or utilize it anyway? For all practical purposes, it got nothin’
“Any difference which makes no difference is no difference.”
~A famous Vulcan
Yep, analysis requires an analyzer, which is now vorching itself into very small pieces…
I remember that book – “Spock Must Die!”, by James Blish.
I’ll have to re-read it to be sure, but I thought that he said, “A difference that cannot be detected is no difference at all.”
Same difference.
;)
I detected a difference! It was the lack of a “difference”!
And *if* it’s a shadow (it sure looks like one) they aren’t touching meaning the tip of the drill isn’t touching the surface of her skin.
Nope, not just you. Anvil is indeed doing the bunny hop duck and cover maneuver. With style!
Yup, she didn’t simply hide behind Sydney’s Bubble, she dived behind it, with style: 10 points from the Kiwi Judge :D
I like the claymore idea – “THIS SIDE TOWARDS SMARTA**ES”
Hiro guessed correctly…That piece definitely was important.
:)
Actually, you put the claymore inside the removable, glowing plate. It’s bad robot design to have an explosion deliberately go off inside the outer armor (and yes, I’m implying the vulnerable, necessary bits are inside inner armor).
It was only a tongue-in-cheek comment. But that said claymore mines are directional, and the plate would have been removed, ergo the blast would not be contained and would therefore send the worst of the blast towards the enemy.
But, yea, I would not advise strapping one to your chest, using that principle. I suspect there might be a teensy bit of splash back. Would probably smart a bit.
By the way, just in case you were wondering: how that was said.
Eww! Bad puppy!! Spit that out!!! You have no idea where that hyu-mons tongue has been!!!!
I can never remember, except that it’s supposed to be “7 times what’s in a dog’s mouth”…
…is it “7 times the QUANTITY of germs”…?
…or “7 times the VARIETY of germs”…?
:S (…confused…)
…I think I last saw it mentioned in a “Far Side”-cartoon, to give you a sense of how long-ago it was for me.
If your chest-plate is ripped-off, then your primary defenses have been breached, & you’re about to be destroyed anyway.
If you’re designed to be expendable (sentient-or-not), then a bomb mounted on the inside of that plate would make sense. My only question is, should the bomb be powerful-enough to destroy the plate on which it’s mounted?
As for the “sentient-or-not” comment above, we only have one clue about that (it hasn’t spoken since then), & that clue is not yet definitive (not much of a ‘Turing Test’, here). If it’s NOT self-aware, then it could be remote-controlled (& the operator talks thru a speaker), to sow uncertainty in Halo’s mind.
Even if the blast plate is intact, it’s dangerous to be too close. You’re supposed to be at least 16 meters (~52.5 feet) away, in a foxhole, behind cover, or lying prone in a depression. Otherwise, the backblast can cause injury by concussion (ruptured eardrums)… and if you’re more than 16 meters but less than 100 meters (~328 feet) away, you should still take cover to avoid injury by flying secondary objects such as sticks, stones, and pebbles.
On the plus side, as long as you’re somewhere behind it, at least you won’t get skewered by up to 700 steel balls, which are deformed by the blast into a shape similar to .22 rimfire bullets. Those tend to be a little more deadly than ruptured eardrums. (/understatement)
Claymore or not, it still wouldn’t have hurt Hiro in this example.
anything that says “this end towards enemy” is dangerous at both ends. Schlock Mercenary, I think.
*reads the instructions on a shield*
*above reader is Captain America*
Lol. Good one.
Mind you if you are in a society where there really are instructions on a shield, then political correctness has gone mad!
Reasonable exceptions being on toys. Likewise for real shields detailing properties for specialist needs (such as ‘will resist exposure to petrol fire for X minutes’).
I’m sure there’s an iconography behind comic book sound effects, but I’m having trouble with “Vorch”.
No real-world examples come to mind, and I’ve seen YouTubes of high voltage incidents.
I’m getting something like the ignition sound from Kylo Ren’s lightsaber.
For an Electronic Technician, Hiro performed what we’d call, “the magic smoke test.” It relates to what Hiro did because the test he performed was successful…The Magic Vorch did indeed escape.
Indeed! You release the magic blue smoke from your microprocessor and it does not operate properly after that, so the smoke was important while it was still trapped inside the component. Same thing here with the Vorch.
Y’all be quiet, that’s a secret known only to electronic nerds….
And there I was thinking we had reached the limit of public knowledge possible, once it was found out that the elders of the internet dance naked around Big Ben, on nights of the full moon!
We also upgrade servers by sacrificing a chicken while facing north….
In the New England area, we get the best results by using a ‘Rhode Island Red’ breed of chicken, & a rooster is preferred, but a hen will make do if we’re strapped for time…
…but we NEVER, EVER use any bird that has NOT been properly DEGAUSSED!
Honestly!
The very IDEA!!!
I don’t know HOW these heathen rumors even got started!!!?!
YOU face south…The chicken must face north.
All right, but in THAT case, just make sure that the bird is in FRONT of you, OK…?
;)
Bearing in mind that the dance is held INSIDE the main bell-tower, out of sight.
We Yanks tend to forget that ‘Big Ben’ is NOT the clock-tower, not even the clock IN the tower, but solely the BELL that we hear being rung. I can’t recall ever seeing the bell itself, in any film-footage anywhere.
Heh, it has just been going through a repair process, so got a lot of news coverage.
Every angle very carefully chosen to avoid compromising any security about where the internet is stored.
…I AM an electronic nerd. Indeed, I was a professional at it for some time.
Oh. Was this you?
Ahh, if you are looking for the iconography in a book, with pictures, then there is one that has a similar sound to Vorch, which might be illuminating.
I would have guessed that was its logic matrix over the power core, but ether way it works.
I love Anvil in panel 8. Nothing quite says “f*** this s***! I’m out!” quite like that swan dive behind the bubble shield.
Nice reflexes there, Anvil! Getting behind Sydney before things go “VORCH”…
Yup, that is the difference that being an experienced officer makes. Knowing when to dive behind the tank.
Mind you when a tank dives behind a tank, you know s**t is about to get serious!
As any infantryman will tell you, armor makes a great distraction from YOUR delicate skin….
It’s become extremely serious when the tank dives behind Achilles.
Now, I have an image in my head of Sydney in her shield holding up achilles in the light hook as a shield.
Somehow I had to read the title a few times in order NOT to read “disastress”.
I’m thinking it’s s play on “This Stress” and “That Stress.”
Several of the ladies here could qualify as a “Disastress.” Sydney definitely.
Oh the shame, Hiro will be needing a new shirt after this Vorch.
DaveB, can Maxima be needing a new shirt as well please?
His pants as well, maybe? (Her’s too!)
♥ +1
So, um. “Bring me my brown pants.”
Well, if your pants weren’t brown before Hiro tore off that plate, they will be just before the explosion…
Ask and you will receive. Check the next page.
It’s good to be back.
Okay, so I’ve been gone about a year, I get more sense of movement that way, so please forgive me if this has been hashed to death already. At last some more action on the skill tree. Hopefully some with better artistic skills than me (a pretty low bar by any measure) will present a better look from Krona’s perspective. As an aside, I calculate that finishing this flashback (I refer you to the first handful of pages), will take another 330 years of real time, assuming that when Sydney says, “LET ME BACK UP A FEW MONTHS”, she meant about 6 months.
As it’s unlikely that I will amass enough wealth to fund the research necessary to transplant my brain into a cyborg replacement in order to extend my life that long, let alone Dave, allow me to indulge my conjecture/wag impulses on the nature of the skill chart.
The inner ring – None of the options directly connect to any of the spheres. I believe that the inner ring determines how many orbs can be active at the same time. Considering that the selections connect to the wedges in the middle, It may be a two point buy.
The spheres themselves – Each sphere has a buy that is surrounded by a line, rather than connected to it directly. This option is the most clockwise (from our perspective, not, Sydney’s) of the branches of each respective sphere, barring the synergy options (the options connecting each sphere to the other six). Call me simple, but I believe that since the line “holds” the option, the option allows use of the orb without requiring physical contact.
The second branch is, I believe, the amount of intensity of the effect from the orb. Careful examination of the Force Field, Flight, and Beam orb would seem to support that, but not so much the Lighthook and Comm orbs, at first glance. The rest of the branches seem to be individualized. Let’s move on to the orbs.
Starting at the top, the Beam orb. First branch, as I stated, I believe is the “hands-free” option. Next tis the intensity with 3/5. Looking at Halo’s write-up on the cast page, her beam attack is 3/5, so all good there. The next branch is, I believe, the firing options, with basic and advanced levels. So she started with advanced cutting beam (basic probably gives the straight-line attack, while advanced allows her to writer her name in the snow with it (or in the ceremet).
Continuing counter-clockwise (again, from our perspective, not Sydney’s) is the Lighthook. Branch one: Hands-free. Branch two: Intensity. Wait, there’s only one point in that branch. Does a single point equal 16 tons of force? No, but it does equal one tentacle. It will be interesting to see the rest of the points spent in this branch. Will it be 1,2,3,4,5 or 1,2,4,8,16. The second branch would seem to indicate a tentacle’s strength at 3/5, this also matches her profile. Of course, there’s a sixth dot on this branch, connected by a gray-ed out double line. I believe these double lines indicate that a prerequisite needs to be met in a branch from another sphere. There are two more branches available, I believe one indicates dexterity and the other tool shape.
Next is the comm ball. With no points in intensity, Halo’s avatar is unable to affect the physical world. Branch three is obviously the Truesight. Either branch four or five is for the different vision modes, and the other one probably allows her more ability to sense her surroundings while navigating in “lightbee” mode. We know branch six is the “Teleport to Avatar” function
Next is the green orb, the only one with the “Hands-Free” option active. I’m guessing life support. Maybe one branch for how many people it will support and the other for other environmental needs, gravity? Temperature? Pressure is probably handled by the shield. Or, the second branch might provide specialized atmosphere to each passenger. More likely the first, I’d think. The fact that she can’t tell what it does is due to her never needing it, so she doesn’t notice when it’s supplying a breathable atmosphere, rather than the environment. She’ll notice when she does the tear gas test, maybe
“Sydney Scoville Jr. Recruit.”
“You can leave recruit.”
“I can stay if you want.”
“Out!”
“Man, this test made me so hungry.”
Next is the Brown orb. I have a feeling that this is the power supply/regulator. The two branches look like sharp sine graphs or the symbol for a resistor. It would be interesting if I were correct about the center ring, and after purchasing a third or fourth active orb, the rest of the dots grayed-out until the power orb was upgraded. I also think that this might be why the sixth tentacle strength dot is grayed out. There simply isn’t enough power to activate it. Note: This and the Green orb are the only ones without tendrils fading into the background.
.
Next up is the Force Field orb. While 4/5 dots doesn’t match the quick chart of 5 shield points, it is close. Since nothing has rocked the shield yet, I’m not sure how they’ve rated it. Achilles is 6/5 on defense, but he also appears immune to disease, aging, poison and embarrassment. The best test would be for Max to redline her strength and beat on Halo’s shield with Achilles until one breaks. Probably not OSHA approved though. I’m not sure about branch three. Maybe it allows some flexibility to shape or size, beyond what she’s already demonstrated. Branch four is the single dot, that I’m pretty sure allows her to shield something at a distance from herself.
Finally the Flight orb. Branch two’s 4/5 speed is inline with the quick card. During testing she maxed out at mach 4. I believe dot 5 will bring her up to escape velocity and then liven up the intrastellar speed branch. Branch three would be maneuverability. With Branch four probably being FTL. If my theory on the power orb is correct, it would appear she doesn’t have the power for interstellar flight yet. Flight – Beam is the only synergy option active and I believe it’s intended to keep her from running into her own attacks
Anyway, I’ve enjoyed this as a cognitive exercise, and I thank you for joining me on this journey.
Holy Wall of Text, Batman! Interesting read though.
Very well considered, and I think you might be correct on most of them.
One issue, though- the Green Orb cannot be providing Life Support (at least, not if it’s hands-free) since it doe not freshen the air inside her shield. Unless that’s a specific synergy, and it only provides life-support when the shield’s down, which would be somewhat silly.
I would posit that Green is indeed hands-free, but that it is more based around Healing, and the single point filled in is Poison/Chemical immunity or resistance. Which, again, she doesn’t notice because she ‘lives up to her family name’. I’d like to know if she has higher-than-normal alcohol tolerance as well, due to it. The other branch would then be regenerative or healing capabilities- possibly self-focused until she unlocks synergies with other orbs (the Beam orb for healing others, or possibly the Shield heals those inside it).
Brownie…could be the Power orb? Except it doesn’t have the ‘hands free’ option, which would suggest she’d need to hold it while using everything else. It’s possible it is a booster, but my money is on at least one of the orbs having ‘brain’ powers, and this would be it. I’m thinking something like auto-translation and maybe intuition, which lead into full-on superintelligence and psychic abilities.
Everybody has a guess, yours are better thought than many, but it depends on DaveB’s id… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2BYyeS-fIU
Interestingly and well thought out. Anvildude has already pointed out my reservation about the green orb comment. The only other is the very often proposed concept of allowing more orbs to be used. Unless it allows Sydney to grow extra arms though, this would break the mechanics already shown for how they are operated. Not to mention breaking a very carefully constructed limitation, which is intended to make Halo more interesting.
So I would concur that if such is the case it would be for hands free operation, and only for very specific functions. Perhaps Sydney will not need to hold the PPO, in order to light campfires or cigarettes, for example? Thus giving her limited extra functionality if in a situation where she has to wear mittens (or is being held up by her hands).
The two unknown orbs make for some great guesses, I just hope that neither of them can directly affect space-time…because Sydney…
Nice job breaking it, Hiro.
Now that is a nice trope-pun. Well done.
Thank you! I mean, *someone* had to say it…
He he.
1) Glad Maxima’s continual sexual ‘sparring’ with Dabbler has had an unexpected side-effect. Increased willpower +3. Plus having to roll resistance checks to overcome Sydney’s cuteness and puppy-dog eyes probably ups that to a +4 on her mental saves!
2) Nice to see that folks worried about Maxima going in solo were ill-founded. They train as a team, and Hiro (like all of Admiral Nelson’s officers) knows that he does not need orders to act if an opportunity or need presents itself. Plus not giving the orders allows them to blindside opponents, who expected something different from overhearing the commands given.
3) Glad we have the call-back to the armour-piercing attack of the lesser constructs.
4) ‘catastrophic vorch’…. ROFL
Max did show resistance to being mesmerized. She at least blocked the tentacle from striking her. It looks to me though, that her resistance was not as much will power as it would be reflexes; Years of training & experience as a combatant super tends to kick in when there’s a lack of conscious thought.
In the military (& even in martial arts dojos) the whole idea of so much practice is to turn well-thought action into a reflexive motion. In other words, when the mind is shell-shocked, the body responds to training. The training focuses on the idea that, during a combat situation, you have to keep moving, keep doing something…But the training focuses on a person’s reflexes to keep moving & doing something positive
As aptly demonstrated by Daniel-san’s “Wax-on Wax-off” training :D
Max has developed a very wide and long stubborn streak from the many years of people judging her by her looks….
If the eyepiece wasn’t cracked, who knows whether Maxima could resist. She’s a super for many attributes, and she has a strong will, but fully-formed magic vs willpower rarely works in the latter’s favor.
Still, the idea of Max going in solo was silly. She can be hot-headed, but wasn’t promoted for stupid.
>the idea of Max going in solo was silly
Going in solo, not super silly. Going in solo and then grandstanding is a bit worse.
>wasn’t promoted for stupid.
No, she was promoted for being so insanely powerful that she could dictate terms to the US gov
That is possible. However Maxima has managed to assemble a team of independent-minded supers, including several who were out-and-out vigilantes, without using totalitarian means of coercing them into working for the government.
Plus she has demonstrated the smarts to be able to connect with even the most extreme eccentric personalities (not just Sydney, by the way, note both Dabbler and Math as other examples).
Further Maxima has shown forward-thinking morality and ethics in insisting that there will be ‘no whisking away whilst I am around’. Whilst it may imply the same kind of tactics you stated, in dealing with the government, that would not be consistent with her approach to other problems.
Even when under direct attack by potentially lethal supers, Maxima ordered that non-lethal options be used, to counter that, where possible.
So whilst there is a sympathetic administration, who do not see all supers as being a threat, I do not think Maxima would even need to imply a threat. She is using her intelligence to justify her position and get the results that are needed.
Whereas we have seen, in other comics, the results that stupid commanders get, under hostile administrations, when they use bully-boy tactics to try and force supers to work from them, or shove them in laboratories to copy or steal their powers.
Haha, I tried to find something that could have thaugt Max’ willpower. As she is super tough, our everyday challenge are no challenges for her. I figured dealing with her skin and hair colour as a kid would have done it.
I did not think of Dabbler, Harem and Math and their antics to boost her will strength. Good thing Sydney joined the team to finish Maxima’s training.
Yea, I figure that Dabbler’s continual ‘pushing the dial up’ (enough to strain Maxima’s resistance to her advances, but not to break it) would be like somebody continually taking small doses of a poison, like arsenic, which would gradually build up resistance.
Although I agree with Lord Evil‘s comment that this is only strong will, so merely grants some degree of resistance, rather than a flat immunity. And an overwhelmingly powerful mental super attack might not grant any chance of resisting. Hence his pointing out Dave’s comment about the crack is very important.
We therefore should not assume that Maxima can consistently fight off mental attacks. She failed with Vehemence, for instance (take ripping his arm off, which is something she may not have resorted to without being emotionally influenced).
Just as well Maxi has back up then: she may have gone in solo, but she wasn’t alone
Excellent point… the combat equivalent of a weightlifting spotter. “Oops, you seem to having some trouble … let me insert a catastrophic vorch and relieve some of the pressure”
A point-of-order, Good Sir:
I believe that Vehemence didn’t activate his ‘Aggro-Aura(tm)’ until AFTER he pinned her to the ground with the lightning from his regenerated arm. [Ref: Pg.275 – “Wake up call”]
Unless you’re referring to his taunting banter, & not his innate power…?
I disagree. Every indicator is that Vehemence had been using it all the time, and long before the heroes even got to see him. We had enough indicators that the bulk of the ‘villains’ were just normal citizens, such as hairdressers, going about their daily business. Before unexplainably finding themselves becoming violent and seeking out the police, to attack them!
Clearly this must have been continually maintained or otherwise the peaceful citizens would have reverted to their normal behaviour and been appalled at finding themselves in a war with super-police!
“Maxima, as you might imagine, is quite strong willed, so even if the eyepiece wasn’t cracked, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether the Super Husk could have stunned her into sitting still for a withdrawal.”
looks like it initially stunned max and definitely slowed her down and cut into her str stat otherwise that tentacle would have gotten so close or been such a fight for her to keep it away from her shoulder.
Only one issue with hiding the power source away – how do you get at it?
It’s like the new trend with phones to have a battery that can’t be removed.
What happens if it goes all “Note 7” on you?
I think what DaveB meant was that it should at least be in a less obvious location.
That said, there aren’t many other places one would guess an automaton’s power source would be, nor are there other places where it would be more secure. A limb? It’s almost a trope (or is it already a trope?) that a robot character is likely to lose a limb in an intense battle, all the way up to the shoulder or hips. Same would apply to the head. Th abdomen is pretty close to the chest so not much of an improvement if there. A backpack thing? So maneuvering behind the automaton would be the way to go?
The chest may still be the best place for a power source- but it should deeper in the mechanism, harder to reach by attackers through damaging the automaton. I commented below, definitely not attached to the armor plate protecting it.
Butt-plate!
The robot’s shield withstood Sydney’s rapid fire with a shield, so it’s not totally irresponsible to place the power source there. Perhaps the robot is just bad at multitasking?
And it can easily handwaved with being bloodmagic science that you have to place the power source where a “normal” being would have its heart.
“Not a robot!”
But, yea. Even without the blood magic there are simple engineering principles that would probably place a key component, that needs to distribute’s stuff (energy, fluid, or whatever) in a similar place in any humanoid-shaped body. Trying to fit all the wiring needed (for an energy system) down one leg would be problematic, if it were in the foot, for example. Plus would make it very vulnerable to toe-stubbing power malfunctions.
If nothing else it is the easiest part of the body to armour. We use ribs, it uses a breast-plate. Its option makes servicing a lot easier. Neither of which would hold up against a super grabbing hold and yanking hard, so there is no reason to make the service witch’s job any harder.
Servicing parts makes for a big part of it. I doing a lot of restoring on old vehicles as a hobby, and it plain old pisses me off to spend two hours taking something apart to replace a ten cent part…
One tip, if something looks like it is just about to burn or explode, the last thing you want to be doing is handling it directly! Chuck it in a fire bucket and claim compensation.
Don’t try to add a personal injury claim. It may be granted posthumously!
Wait, how did anvil get in the “who’s who”?
Um, she appears in panel 8 near Halo?
Isn’t the rule if they don’t talk they don’t get listed?
That’s normally if they haven’t been introduced formally, butt, in this case, her little dive was enough to get her on the board :D
She’s diving for cover behind Sydney’s shield. No lines though, but DaveB already has her entry prepared, so easy enough to add.
Her entry has been prepared for a long time; it’s easy to drop in.
Think of the rules about who gets in as a workload control. Dave doesn’t need to do an entry for incidental characters – even if the same incidental character appears in multiple pages.
There have been quite a few incidental characters who logically SHOULD have been on multiple pages – particularly among the crowds at the press conference – and at least one (Yorp’s human) who would be expected to appear randomly in a certain area and I think has thus shown up two or three times.
Even having spoken lines doesn’t necessarily qualify for a Who’s Who or Cast Page entry.
But once an entry is done, there is generally no compelling reason NOT to include it on any page where the character appears.
Good to see Anvil has enough foresight that when the big scary machine starts humming and sparking it is best to dive into cover.
It is convenient when explosive devices give you warnings before going boom. I can’t remember if it was a Trek movie, but I there was one where the bad guys boarded a ship with the computer voice counting down and it was actually set up to detonate when the counter reached something like 20.
Been done a few times in modern media. NCIS had a scene where the bomb squad was training and the “bomb” went off at 32. After which the DI said “Terrorists watch movies too gentlemen!”
” I am a thirty second bomb, 29, 28, 27….”
In WWII, dive bombers had holes in the wings that caused the screaming whistle when they went into their attack dive. It was to distract/terrify enemy troops that they were aiming for. Bombs were sometimes equipped with whistles too.
The Stuka, or Junkers Ju 87, nasty piece of psychological warfare
Mythbusters should have sampled that, when searching for the ‘brown note’. It would certainly work on me!
Also, American F4U Corsairs that were equipped for the dive bomber mission.
The sound that says “F.U. bombs 4 u.”
The holes in the wings were mainly intended to improve the handling in the dive. The screaming was largely a side-effect in comparison, although it may well have become a deliberately sought one.
Of course, the Jericho siren on the Ju-87 Stuka was completely psychological – but it came with a price, as its drag caused a noticeable loss of speed. It was actually removed in some cases, as the enemy got used to hearing it and the psychological effect wore off.
The slotted panels were raised as air-brakes when diving, so that the pilot could concentrate on aiming his vehicle without running out of time/altitude or exceeding its aerodynamic capabilities. In many cases, solid panels generated too much turbulence, causing buffeting and (depending on location) severely affecting the tail-mounted control surfaces. Slotted panels allowed enough air through to avoid the worst of the control problems, while still being effective as brakes. And, as a bonus, producing a screaming note without creating any extra drag in normal flight!
Should Hiro have done that????
Better than the husk getting a sample of Max’s blood if he hadn’t. It’s quite possible it would have even with Max fighting the hypnosis.
They stopped NotBot, didn’t they? And that was probably going to happen no matter how they stop them
Disassembling the enemy is often a part of the neutralizing the threat, so yes, he’s just doing his job.
And this is what happens when you pull the dilithium crystals from the antimatter reaction chamber…
“We’ve replaced the dilithium crystals on this Federation starship with new Folger’s crystals. Let’s see who notices…”
Anyone in Ten-Forward, who has ordered coffee, I am guessing. They could be in for a shock.
No, didn’t say they swapped the dilithium crystals with Folger’s
“Vorch!” Best web comic sound effect since, “THOOM!” :-D
I disconcurr.
The sound doesn’t parse.
GZZZZT! (?)
My favorite one so far has to be “Invisible Grope.”
I prefer the subversion, namely “Dramatic gasp!”
“Woof!”
Did that dawg just say “Woof”?
I always liked “Ominous Hum” which is often followed by a Thoom or two :D
Indeed.
You are forgetting the great and powerful “Ka-Pants!!!”
Anvil is very wise to dive behind Halo’s shield bubble.
So far, Sydney’s shield seems to be “the Holy Grail” of defensive measures. So yeah…Anvil “chose wisely.”
^
| Movie reference intended
Depends on whether we’re talking Indiana Jones, or Monty Python…
Ahh, now the brown orb’s purpose is clear.
The Holy
Hand GrenadeOrb of AntiochHaven’t seen anybody comment on this, but [spoiler] the Golem doesn’t blow up. Dave hasn’t wrapped up on that “Not Robot, Not Dumb” line. I’m thinking that the thing Hiro yanked out of its chest is probably some sort of control chip or inhibitor. Maybe it’s a power-supply, and the Golem has to find a new power source while everybody is blinking off the ‘vorch.’ It would also make sense with the debunking bad tropes thing he likes to do. [spoiler]
That’s all speculation, but my writer-sense is tingling. I wouldn’t be surprised if this turns into a pretty long fight.
it doesn’t need a new power source, it has regenerative abilities right now, remember? it will just regenerate the power crystal
And how is it going to power its regeneration while it has no power?
Supernatural creatures like werewolfs don’t carry batteries to power their abilities. Max sort of covered that saying even if power copied, her abilities would be stronger. Also, this isn’t a robot so it may have a natural power source like Max though Max is confident her own is greater.
if it is like normal Were-creature regeneration then the regeneration can only be suppressed by silver or Wolfbane, to the point where the only way to actually kill a werewolf without those things are decapitation, yes the werewolf can and will regenerate a new heart without issues, so unless that crystal was the robot/automaton/golem/construct/whatever-it-is’ equivalent of a brain it can regenerate it in short order, well that or if that crystal powered it’s power absorption so it lost it’s regeneration.
Pixel did have a girder through her torso and was well enough to join the banter, after only very brief first aid care. So it does seem likely that the regeneration can heal massive internal injuries very thoroughly. Supporting your contention about the heart.
As to the issue of power sources, or lack thereof, I let the various comments stand on their own merits and/or flaws.
Your prejudice for siding with the automaton wouldn’t happen to be related to your choice of screen name would it?
I wonder if it has some way to transport the blood or the bond or the dna.. whatever it uses (kind of assuming not dna) elsewhere…
or maybe it will have a new power source ala the mass amount of power Max has.
I mean.. even if you can only steal 1% of a nuke.
That is still a fair bit of power.
Let’s see:
1) Distinctive chest logo
2) Crystal based technology
3) When it first appeared it was able to leap a tall building
The ‘robot’ is Kryptonian.
…It didn’t seem to be “faster than a speeding bullet though”…
Thank goodness this fight is happening in the night.
Welp, guess we’re going to find out who is truly invulnerable!
Please dear lord not another fight as long as the vehemence one.
I disagree. The comic was getting a bit stale with all the non-action, this is a nice refresh. Even the Vehemence fight wasn’t that long, what made it long is the release schedule. When I go back to reread the comic, the fight feels paced allright.
Someone always bitches no matter what happens: during the initial Council meeting people were bitching about the lack of action, when the Killer-trons broke in people were bitching about too much action
And there’s always someone complaining about someone’s complaining about someone complaining…
::winks ironically at Guesticus, then giggles::
:P
Is that your formal complaint?
Ryan Murphy: Dude, do you even read comic books? Regular comics, not webcomics. The ones that cost $3 to $4 for 22 pages plus 10 pages of ads. (Yes, I think they’re overpriced, that’s why I stopped collecting comics 17 years ago.)
There are battles in the comic books that have gone on for anywhere from 2 to 4 issues. That’s 44 to 88 pages. Even the Vehemence fight didn’t last that long.
Examples:
Spider-Man vs Morlun: last pages of issue 473, all the way to issue 476 (4 issues).
Franken Castle vs Daken: Dark Wolverine issue 88, Franken-castle issue 19, Dark Wolverine issue 89, wrapped up in Franken-castle issue 20. (4 issues).
Thor vs Dr. Doom: Issues 605 & 606 (2 issues).
And that’s not even getting into Manga, like Dragonball Z. Each story arc is several issues long, and most of the panels are fighting. Case in point, Frieza vs. Goku. Longest fight in manga history.
So, stop bitching and count your lucky stars that DaveB usually limits the fights (that we’ve seen so far) to 20-30 pages max, because they could have been much, much longer.
Ryan probably doesn’t remember paper comics
Paper? That’s merely a rumor on the interwebs….
Pfft. The closer we get to this so-called “paperless society”, the more paperwork I have to do.
Which makes me wonder how many trees had to die just to issue & distribute that old Paperwork Reduction Act back in 1995.
I don’t like that long of a combat. So sue me. I didn’t realize that your preferences were the only preferences someone was allowed to have.
We do get very protective of the comic. But this kicks in when something is expressed as a complaint, rather than as constructive criticism.
If you think about it it must get very tiresome, for the author, to always have folks demanding that he script the story the way each particular person wants. Especially when this is phrased as a demand, rather than a request, or as a criticism.
Further it is impossible to satisfy everyone’s demands as they are often contradictory. This being a case in point, given that folks usually demand ‘more action and less talk’. Mind you a story written by a committee is just dull, in any event.
Given that we have seen authors get fed up with such, and stop making their comic, or, even worse, have a breakdown, we would rather stand up for the author, when he is put into such a loose-loose situation.
Such is not necessary though when feedback is expressed in a way that is unlikely to hurt feelings (be it the author’s or us highly protective fans). If that is done then we can each chip in with our own feelings on the matter.
In my case, for instance, I too normally prefer shorter combats. I literally find myself nodding off if a Hollywood action scene goes on too long. Even as an Arnold Schwarzenegger fan, I found that happening in the terminator movie with the fire engine chase scene.
But Dave always manages to fit in some thought-provoking stuff, even if there is combat going on. Look at the interlude where Sydney popped over to chat with Vehemence, when he was just standing under the tree. Likewise when Sydney relied on her snap judgement of him, to risk her life in trapping herself in the force field with him.
Similarly, in this fight, we have had the reveal that the construct they are fighting is probably a person. And the most recent scene is most definitely not a normal combat one!
So there are lots of depths to these fights, and emotional ups and downs (such as Sydney;s tombstone award) rather than just being a mindless series of attacks and counterattacks. Therefore, personally speaking, I manage to enjoy the story just by taking it as it comes, despite my own normal preferences.
I just wanted to say that seeing Anvil dive under Sidney’s shield was PRICELESS. That made me laugh a lot. Good job.
What is it with not-quite Robots exploding in Maximas face lately?
A “running gag” just getting started, perhaps?…
Better than mosques exploding in her face.
I read that as “mosquitoes”. So thought “Yea, I guess when running at super speed, or in her normal flight, bug-splatters on her face are a daily hazard!”
Some people claim that speedsters are overpowered, but when you really think about it, they can barely survive. They need so many secondary powers. Even opening doors is nearly impossible.
But the ones who can open doors, and run without burning up or tearing themselves to bits clearly do have all the required secondary powers. Maxima’s super-speed is every much as powerful as her nuke-like attack. She just needs the right balance between speed and anti-bug force field.
it’s more akin to gravity manipulation as in order to run so fast without ripping themselves apart, be it by friction from mach 5+ or on a sub-molecular level from causing fission in their own atoms due to near-light speeds a speedster needs to be able to remove their own inertia completely as well as still be able to generate enough friction in the bottom of their feet to move, all the while without ripping their own feet apart, meaning they also need superhuman durability on top of all that, in fact Flash would actually need to be just as, if not MORE durable than Superman to run as fast as he does.
and the best part? this is only accounting for the speedster him/her/itself, at mach 5+ you would sonic boom pretty much everything you run past and cause hurricane force blasts of vacuum-powered wind in your wake, at near light speeds you would be a moving, constant and ever expanding nuclear explosion due to fission from the air molecules colliding with your form, releasing such quantities of gamma radiation that the speedster and everyone else for miles around would quickly die from the radiation alone.
Good thing comics lets you break the laws of physics, eh?
The way I personally view Maxima’s super speed is that the is using her force field (which doesoperate at a molecular level) to grab pockets of air that are in her path, divert them around her body and then position them behind her in much the same position (and velocity) as they were in prior to her passing through.
Any imperfections in the process would contribute to a sonic boom, but would otherwise avoid many of the nasty effects you describe. We can ignore any energy differentials incurred in the process as Maxima clearly has the ability, from her super power, to handle vast amounts of energy. Be it creating it for her energy attack or negating its impact by using her force fields.
I.e. if there is a net surplus of energy after moving the air, she can soak it up the same way as her force fields have to do for other things. Whereas any energy needing inputting she can likewise provide from wherever she draws upon when she is lifting up and throwing a tank (which Maxima does using her force fields, rather than muscle power).
Likewise, from the speed that she demonstrated in dismantling the grenade, presumably Maxima does have some kind of ‘inertia dampening’ effect, probably generated within her force fields. Although it may simply be an extension of the structural reinforcing that the force fields provide which accounts for it.
If organic molecules, brain cells, or the like would be torn apart by the forces involved the force fields may strengthen their own atomic structure by enhancing whatever is necessary to avoid collapse. But clearly needing to do so in a way that allows it to carry on functioning normally.
Perhaps strengthening atomic bonds in one case, but avoiding doing so in another, where it might cause an undesired alteration in the properties needed to carry on interacting normally with Maxima and the things around her. In that instance it might use the force field to manipulate the interaction with dark matter instead (thus supporting your contention about gravity control).
Obviously this would be using techniques which are very much more advanced than anything our limited knowledge of science could achieve. So the ‘rules’ that we have created, in order to allow us to function, at our basic level of understanding may well be broken. Whether or not any truly fundamental laws would have to be broken is another matter.
The ‘laws of physics’ are mere guidelines, to those possessing a perfect understanding of how reality works. As you might have noticed from Krona’s reactions at glimpsing parts of the machine code!
That reasoning does not work. We know her force field has only a short range. While in defense it can barely protect her clothes and for lifting stuff she needs to touch an object. When flying at high speeds she would need a far reaching force field so she can spread out the air. This way a lot of air gets only slightly compressed instead of less air that gets compressed stronger.
But I am not sure sonic booms would be a big issue for Maxima’s environment. She flies head first and her cross section does not increase with her body lenght. She is slender and really small compared to even a fighter jet. Sydney’s sonic booms would be much stronger because of her big spherical shield.
Actually the force field has a considerable range beyond her body. Despite being described as ‘zero range telekinesis’ We have seen it in action when the ambulance was picked up. Without the force field extending to include the ambulance, and strengthen its structural integrity, it would have crumpled at the point where she was holding it.
If that part was not designed to hold the entire weight of the vehicle, on the area of a palm, it may have even been destroyed, or detached. Possibly resulting in the ambulance falling. As it is it was completely undamaged.
The principles were explained in one of the Dabbler’s Science Corners. We have seen Maxima barely exert herself picking up, and throwing, a tank. So Maxima can clearly lift far bigger objects. Whether it is a tanker or a jet airliner, depending on her maximum capacity, Maxima’s force field will protect it, once she has laid hands on it.
Then it just becomes a matter of debate as to whether ‘touching the air’ allows the effect to extend, to enclose more air, until it covers the same kind of volume as those vehicles. I don’t think that is the spirit of Maxima’s power though. The description is there to prevent her from becoming a Sue Storm-like force field wielder.
Not that I think it does need to reach an ambulance-length away from her mind. All she needs to do is snag any air molecules before they touch her skin. Anything else further away is irrelevant.
dark matter —> dark matter or dark energy, as may be appropriate
Who needs to open the doors? Most speedsters,at least DC ones, just change their bodies’ vibratory rates so that they can pass through solid materials….
… and usually without that causing those materials to explode…
^_^
Fortunately I do not read comics that take the ‘can move really fast’ principle to such ridiculous lengths. They already have an overwhelming advantage that should make them pretty much invincible to most foes, as it is. Without adding in ‘walk through walls’ as a freebie extra power!
In other words I can see the logic, but think it abuses the spirit of the power. They already need to have a bunch of secondary powers, as is, per this thread.
But, that quibble aside, the door was principally an example of something that is designed to be moved, and is engineered to make that easy. If a super-speeder is incapable of opening a door then they should not be able to move something much harder to shift, like a person.
Meaning that their power would be, at best, just a fast means of getting around, like teleportation. But it would otherwise be practially useless for interacting with the environment when moving flat out.
Fortunately Maxima does have super strength, to overcome the inertia of objects, whilst at speed. And she has her force-field, which can get around many of the other issues, such as by providing structural integrity to her body. However, personally, I would loose my sense of disbelief if she started to ‘vibrate her way between the atoms in a door’!
Hey, that was only ONE mosque and that was an accident…mostly.
Extreme! Extreme!
What was the name of and/or the sound of the Alien Ray guns on Rocky and Bullwinkle?
The moon men had a weapon called the scrootch gun that paralyzed the target for a short period.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gidney_%26_Cloyd
“Also who keeps their power supply behind an easily removable armored plate?”
DaveB, sir, I think a better question would be, “Who keeps their power supply *attached* to an easily removable armored plate?”
Define easily removable. Since Hiro is the second strongest on the team, easily works out a bit better for him…
It can be removed without ripping the whole thing in half.
It can be removed without tools or knowing the proper removal technique, without ripping the whole thing in half.
You do usually want parts of a robot or cyborg (the non-organic parts) to be removable – but not by the enemy during combat.
Considering it is Hiro doing the removing, easily is a relative term here.
“This wrench isn’t doing the job – hand me that disruptor, would you?”
Depends on how often the designer anticipated needing to access it, for maintenance. If it’s a prototype, you’d want to keep the power source easily accessible, for adjustments.
If anything, it seems more likely that Maxima wouldn’t be particularly strong willed. Her power set is such that almost nothing takes a large amount of effort on her part. As we saw during the battle royale last chapter, she doesn’t even feel most of the attacks used against her.
So if everything is easy, and she rarely has to struggle through pain, how did she build up huge reserves of will? What training granted her that endurance?
Gotta point out: She *did* feel something during the battle royale-
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1557. Max is really powerful, but even she’s far from completely shrugging off all attacks- https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/2329.
I’d just chalk it up to her experiences growing up, her willful personality, and even her military training (even if she already had powers by then).
I know that during the battle she felt some of the attacks, however her reaction was such that the situation seemed the exception, not the rule. She was genuinely surprised when Vengeance made her take a step back, and I seemed to recall commented something to the effect of ‘actually felt that’ when an extremely powerful explosive managed only to pop her back.
How DARE you forget about Dabbles! Years of in-her-end-oh! has helped Maxi’s willpower more than you can imagine!!
This level of personal ability falls under ‘rule of cool’. When she dialed it up to 11 by dramatically posing in front of a glowing mushroom cloud it falls under ‘rule of awesome’.
The author covers this in his blog, above:
The author’s comment is what prompted mine. He stated a point about Maxima as if it was obvious (‘as you might imagine’). I was pointing out that, as far as I knew, the facts that had been presented in the actual comic did not seem to support his statement.
Ahh, it is just that you went significantly beyond what the author had stated “Maxima, as you might imagine, is quite strong willed” by asking “…how did she build up huge reserves of will?” Clearly if the attack is malfunctioning, due to the crack, then ‘huge reserves’ would not be required. Hence why I thought you had not read the comment.
But to address the points as to how Maxima could have developed ‘quite strong will’, we do have several examples shown in the comic. A comedic one being her resisting Sydney’s puppy dog eyes (emphasised by a literal depiction of her making a ‘mental saving throw’ roll playing game style).
Then, on a more serious note, we saw Maxima trying to use non-lethal options, as her duty demanded, despite being under the influence of Vehemence’s aggro aura. In that case she failed, and ripped off his arm. Likewise using a huge pillar to smash him down below the ground.
But it shows that she has had experience with attempting to resist top-level attacks, of this general nature. Reflecting on her failure will have allowed her to see where she went wrong and also make her determined to recognise the signs, when she felt them again, and resist them.
Dave very clearly conveyed the fact that Maxima had recognised this assault, from the outset. Which even on its own will give a significant advantage, in being able to actively defend against it. Something Max could not do with Vehemence, as nobody had guessed the nature of his power, for much of the fight.
Likewise, as Guesticus points out above, we see that Maxima keeps getting Dabbler helping her in this regard. For instance exposing her to tantric attacks, in their sparring. The nature I hypothesise, supported by the fact we know she has many such capabilities, but the sparring we have had referenced in comic. Also every time Dabbler cranks her dial up, Maxima is being affected by an attack that she has to overcome by willpower alone.
Maxima is getting plenty of practice. Over and above the fact that she is a top-level hero, who we would expect to have force of character. Clint Eastwood can keep getting up, whilst taking a beating, and come back for a second attempt after that, solely due to his force of personality. Likewise, as linked by Messenger Maxima has done just the same, in comic.
Frankly, without the author telling me that the crack was dampening the effect, I would have no way of knowing that was the case. Just as, without the author telling me, I would have no way of knowing that Maxima might be capable of shaking off this attack by force of will.
To your points, Maxima failing to fight off Vengeance’s aura is not evidence of strong will on her part. Most everyone else failed it as well, so it’s not evidence of weak will on her part.
Dave has stated in the past that Dabbler can fight Max to a standstill. If her continued success can be attributed to successful will based attacks (which I am uncertain of given Dabbler’s arsenal of other magical and technological abilities), it only shows that will is an area where Maxima is reliably weaker than Dabbler. It says nothing about how strong her will is.
You mention that Maxima is a top-level hero, equating her to Clint Eastwood who can take a beating and get back up. Presumably you meant a Clint Eastwood character. The difference between them, however, is that Clint Eastwood’s characters do tend to take beatings, they have to struggle for the win. That is not usually the case for Maxima.
Maxima literally won the super power lottery (possibly twice, given the events which gave her golden skin). She tends to be some combination of stronger / faster / more durable than any situation calls for. Thus she does not struggle with most tasks, or opponents. Even in the worst case, we’ve seen that Maxima can simply turtle, turning her defenses up to 11 and wait out a potentially deadly threat (mind you, I’m not criticizing her for doing this, merely pointing out that the majority of fights are not meaningfully dangerous to her).
If she does not ever face meaningful adversity, why would the audience assume that she has strong will? She may, in the future, display it, but she has not yet done so, in my opinion. It needn’t be a physical conflict, she could make a tough call regarding who to save, or order a friend into a dangerous situation while knowing that they were unlikely to make it back) or any of a number of things.
Regardless, that’s my take on the matter. You will almost certainly disagree. At length. As we’ve gone into the weeds before on similar matters, I don’t think I’ll have anything to add.
Best wishes to you.
Life does not come with help to interpret what you see. You have to observe the evidence that is available and draw conclusions. And very often things happen which we have no understanding why they do. We just have to accept that they did, and hope that, in due course, we manage to figure out why.
The crack was evident in the comic. The clue was provided as to why the discrepancy you noted had occurred. Your failure to make a reasonable logical deduction, from that, is not a failing of the comic.
Fortunately the author is kind and helps point out things at times, to folks who may miss such subtitles. Other times he does not do so, to avoid giving spoilers. So it is safer to assume that there is a valid reason for something happening, as we very often spot the clues retroactively. I will not detail examples though, as I would not want this reply to be overlong.
You asked:
That point (along with the others I mentioned) contributed to answering that. It is an accumulation of many life experiences, this being a formative one.
Nope, that was not my intention. Doggies have difficulty in understanding such distinctions, so it amuses me to phrase it the way I did. But clearly taking it that way should help you to understand the matter under discussion, so please do so.
Maxima would have died in that fight, if it were not for her doing precisely that. Sydney could only assist if Maxima lived long enough to be helped. This is why we cited the example.
Clint Eastwood probably does not average more than one severe beating per film. The rest of the time he is doing his heroic thing and easily dispatching lesser foes. Maxima had one beating, in the first book of Grrl Power. The second book has not finished. So she is keeping within the parameters.
We did not. We do now. Although clearly you choose not to. That is your prerogative.
From your comments, it seems clear that you’ve misunderstood the point I was actually arguing. As before, I can only encourage you to reread what was previously written.
It should go without saying, but I would add that just because someone disagrees with you, does not mean they are attacking you.
Regardless, good luck!
The crystal is not the power source. It is like a Nuclear reactor. They are like cooling rods for the power source controlling the “reaction” you pull those it goes “nuclear.”
Sounds like an equally bad design flaw.
epically bad. what’s the first thing any geek does when fixing a box? takes off the outer panels. mounting the safety device on the outer panel is more like a booby trap than a design flaw.
however, mounting the power supply (or connector) to an outer panel could be safety design – opening the box automatically removes dangerous power from the innards, making it safer for the techies who may get complacent about safety.
Self-destructs when opened to destroy the evidence (and the investigator)? Or it could be for working on it safely like you said. If it blows up next page it’s probably the first one. I’d say 50/50 whether we get an explosion or just silence and “Where’s the kaboom?”
Yea, if it is opened by a duly authorised service witch, reciting the appropriate deactivation spell, the booby trap can be bypassed. But unauthorised access renders the warranty invalid and punitive measures are enacted explosively.
Is it just me, or are the crystals reacting (badly) to the spikey-ball? o_O
Yes. A design flaw that is hard to avoid when adding random new powers. Sometimes they might disagree with your power source.
Maybe opening the chest plate would have been perfectly safe, under normal servicing conditions, and without a weird new hybrid super weapon next to it?
So I was right. It was vampiric Charm Gaze. Oh yea. Sparks arcing and a giant Voosh sound is seldom a good sign.
I think Dave has been watching reruns of Stargate Atlantis.
https://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Zero_Point_Module
At least Syd can now say she wasn’t the one causing the most catastrophe… for once.
Claymore jokes!
https://s7.postimg.org/w75nzuhmj/photomanip.png
every time someone says claymore it takes me a second to go from sword to explosive, irritating name
Claidheamh-mòr versus claymore.
Lazy, lazy Englishpeoples.
::giggles and scarpers::
The Claymore Mine was named by its inventor, Norman Alexander MacLeod, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1905. He was the son of Norman MacLeod (born in Bennevalla, Benbecula, Scotland) and Annie McRae (born in Blythswood District, Glasgow, Scotland).
In other words, the Scottish-born inventor (who became a U.S. citizen around 1949) named it after a Scottish sword. Makes perfect sense to me.
Ahh, but was that just his cover story? Some of the MacLeod’s are immortal, and need such tricks. So he may have just named it after his personal preferred weapon? But decided it needed upgrading, to try and kill multiple rival immortals at once.
Well, considering that I know that this particular MacLeod died in 1964, I’m pretty sure he wasn’t an immortal.
Oh, sorry, I keep forgetting how old you are. If you witnessed that in person, then clearly that could not be him continuing his cover story. Immortals, of that kind, have unmistakably distinctive deaths.
Under normal circumstances though you need not not only fake your birth, you also need to fake your death. And repeat at regular intervals, of one average human lifespan. Or earlier if your immortality faces exposure and you need to relocate urgently.
Smartass. :)
Usually involving Stuff Blowing Up, yes.
Actually, I should have said ‘each less than one human lifespan’. It is wise not to hang around long enough that your lack of ageing becomes noticeable. Unless you have active control over that or are good with makeup. The latter still limiting you to the adult lifespan, so excludes the childhood years.