Grrl Power #601 – A slight escalation
Not too much to say about this page, just needed a little transition to the next page. Which is kind of a dumb thing to say. It’s a comic. Every page is a transition to the next one.
I hadn’t planned on showing off Vale’s abilities quite yet, but you know how it goes when you write. Sometimes the characters have a mind of their own.
Looking at this page now, I think I got a little too happy with the glass shard spray brush I made, considering that the middle pane was already busted in. Maybe whatever Vale did to knock Sciona out of the window swept up all the glass that got knocked in when Sciona smashed it the first time? Sure, let’s go with that.
I sure hope there isn’t some 5K going on in the streets below Deus’s building, or they’re going to need someone really good with jigsaw puzzles to sort out all the body parts after 50 square meters of shattered glass cascades down on the event.
Vale’s boots are so cute. I think because the reference I found for them were like a size 4 or something. This is assuming that small shoe measurements for women just means the foot is shorter, so Vale’s boots are a cute and short like a kitten’s nose.
Double res version will be posted over at Patreon. $1 and up, but feel free to contribute as much as you like!
This half makes me think Vale is a Mini Max, using that egg in some way. just far less of a dose.
Or maybe just as strong. Maxima only had half the geode, after all.
But then why isn’t she also gold with purple hair? Unless Deus has found a way to disguise her.
Maybe she ALSO started out blonde with freckles, but since it’s a lesser version, the transformation wasn’t as complete, so instead of getting gold skin, she only got burnished bronze, and instead of dousing her hair with blue and red pigment, she only got the red, leaving her strawberry pink.
Which would ALSO explain the biker gear (despite the obvious lack of needing a motorcycle) – she’s overcompensating for her transformation making her look like some kind of beach-babe bimbo, which she’d only feel the need to do if she didn’t like her body’s appearance (which would then cause one to ask “Why is she dying her hair pink if she doesn’t like it?”)
Biker gear does help supers. It acts as lightweight armour that can take some punishment.(imagine loosing control when flying and crash landing on gravel).
Plus it increases your coolness factor.
Maxima doesn’t get road rash. Roads get Maxima rash.
Yes!
As for the topic, perhaps she is gold with purple hair but Deus has fitted her with a… veil
Max also got the geode water. Her transformation to gold started on that side.
Deus probably examined the geode, took any remaining active residue and tweaked it a little. Remove the obvious characteristics that Max has.
That tweaking may have come at a cost, like reducing her overall power level. Or maybe Vale was just short to start.
It may even be possible to de-gold Max without affecting her powers.
By the time he found it, would have been well after Maxi had joined the Military (there is no way Deus was rich enough or connected enough to have gotten hold of Maxi’s medical records at the time of her ‘change’)
I somehow doubt that Vale’s powers, whatever they may be, are from the geode. No real side effects like Maxima has (elf ears, gold skin, etc).
Okay, I guess there’s a possibility of it being from the geode if Vale was a NORMAL human pre-geode, while Maxima was a super pre-geode, which might explain the differences. But I still don’t think it’s the geode, nor do I think that Vale is on Maxima’s level.
Maxima cheats. She can fly to a higher level!
Vale has to use platform shoes and elevators.
in Battlefield 1942 one of the Russian-side bots is named Maxim Minim
Check out Vale’s boots; someone wants to be taller. I guess nobody is really satisfied with how they are.
what brings me to, does that supers get there ideal body only apply to shape and not to hight? Then Anvil was that hight to begin with?
No, height is part of the ‘ideal package’, butt remember, what may be ‘ideal’ in one country or culture may not be in another
yes I thought so. So Vale is a super and thous has the height she wants. So there is no reason to wear “Want to be taller” boots. Except she just likes them even if they make her to tall in her own mind.
She is a bodyguard. Whilst she clearly has no problem staring down even a bigger opponent, it can make things easier if the height discrepancy is not so much. A big part of doing her job well is to avoid any unnecessary violence. Likewise she does not want to tip her hand needlessly, to give away the fact that she has super strength or other powers.
So it is a simple tactical tool, that can allow her to intimidate the less astute more readily. The keener observers will pick up on her air of confidence and a restrained desire to beat the crap out of them. But lots of people equate size to strength and may choose to push around a little woman.
It quite amuses me that the locals, in my village, assess the foreigner’s threat levels by their size and attitudes. Little realising that amongst our number there are two black belt martial artists.
The two smallest, mild mannered, female ex-pats.
Exactly. The best way to win a fight is to not fight at all.
No, during the discussion with Sydney, they did not say they were an ideal height based on culture. They said ‘Supers seem to be several inches taller than the average person, and tend to be an idealized body form.’ I don’t think they’re meaning ‘based on culture. I think they’re meaning literally ‘aesthetically perfect looking bodies.’ Fit, symmetrical, no body hair, muscular either fitness model-esque for women, body builder-esque for men, etc. Seems to be how the norm is for supers.
Guesticus: Here…
Peggy tells Sydney:
Peggy: “Apparently all supers, guys and gals included, are four to five inches taller than the average person. Harem’s the shortest one here, and she’s five-eight.”
Sydney: “She’d probably be six-three if she hadn’t had to grow five bodies.”
Peggy: “Oh at least.”
Sydney: “How tall are you?”
Peggy: “Five-four. I’m the shortest member of Arc-swat actually, but I’m not a super.”
Here’s the link also:)
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/868
Later on, Sandy goes into some detail about their body types.
“It’s just how superheroines are built apparently, despite not having an ounce of body fat there isn’t so much as a B-cup in the bunch.”
She later (the next comic strip) says: “No one knows. The fact that they just happen to look like hyper-idealized humans probably isn’t a coincidence, but if that implies some sort of intentional ampering, we’re left guessing at the source.”
Yeah, it wasn’t mentioned ‘in world’, butt implied (and speculated by readers) that ‘hyper-idealized form’ would vary depending on where the Super came from, just have to look at articles about things like “Beauty from around the world” to see that what is considered ‘beautiful’ differs from country to country
My point is that I don’t think that when they say ‘hyper idealized’ that there’s taking ‘different cultural and historical norms’ into account. They’re talking about more of a hollywood-ized version of the modern idealized human form’ – in being fit, toned, taller than the norm by several inches (at least), generous proportions for the women (and apparently for the men based on Hiro when he was naked), etc.
The idea that all supers seem to have similar body types in THAT respect seem to imply some sort of artificial tampering. Vale has a similar body type in many respects, except she is not taller than the norm (and in fact seems shorter than even Harem by at least 2-3 inches, who’s the shortest super so far, and that’s possibly because of how she had to grow five bodies).
We can not take that comment about Harem’s potential height-if-she-hadn’t-grown-extra-bodies by a couple of micro-sized non-supers to be scientific accuracy and not just snarky comments (specially seeing how Harem’s Super ability is growing extra bodies)
So far, we have only seen North American Supers, so judge all Supers by one small sample base we should not
Actually we have seen other non-American supers also. Like in that Olympic games panel on a past strip. And they all seemed to be roughly Maxima’s height.
That wasn’t legitimate, and that was a specific type of Super: variations on runners
its part of ideal package man
You all get an A+ in Useless Analytics. Go back a page. See how Vale is dressed? The leather jacket with studs, etc? The boots are FASHION! You can go to the mall and see a dozen girls (and guys) wearing those exact sort of boots…and other items of clothing. We don’t get enough info to know if she’s punk (though the hair does seem to suggest it), metal, goth…but her boots simply fit the rest of her outfit, not indicating dis-satisfaction with her height, the status of her powers, or how Super she really is.
I will say based on the last couple pages, Vale has surged into my Top Five.
Good argument. The other side of the equation is that it is fashion in 2018, not 2011. Plus if someone has a utilitarian need they can still fulfil it in a stylish way. But neither of these points need negate your conclusion.
“fashion in 2018, not 2011″…
I will beg to differ, in the crowds i hang out with, that has been standard street-wear for over a decade and a half plus… at least for the boots, the whole biker-gang / leather jacket look, meh, that was dance club gear usually on the weekends, but could be in the middle of the week depending on the bands or Dj’s playing… and for some people i know, i don’t think they even OWN any “normal” clothing… but i’m not privy to their closets contents, mind you, so i could be wrong…
If you are just going ‘boots are in fashion’ rather than ‘boots like those’, then yea. And you can go back to 1811, if you want. Cowboys were well known for liking them.
I don’t think they had such distinctively high heels though.
But this is not to say I doubt your assessment. I pay zero attention to fashion trends. It just seemed unlikely for something with that much character to ride the wave that long.
Clothing styles like that? Are never a ‘wave’, at least not by those who actually wear them, and if you believe someone like Vale is a ‘fashion-waver’? You are insulting her, big time
PSST…Yorp, Google `Dockers’…they’ve been around a *while*! Almost standard uniform for punks, goths, metal, and some emo…and have been since *I* was going to clubs, which is a good long while!
Not to say this `look’ isn’t Vale’s `superhero on duty’ uniform…it could very well be…but to focus on her boots alone and try to extrapolate her personality/powers/hang-ups from them and ignore the rest of her outfit…which the boots match…I dunno, seems kinda…well, you get my meaning.
Regardless, Vale is now classified as `awesome’. That is all.
Supers don’t follow fashions… they set them.
Ok, I admit I didn’t see this coming. I thought Vale would be some sort of ‘hyper competent’, like Batman or some such. Then last page has her pushing Sciona back with one hand, and then… this? Pretty fly ace in the hole, yo.
“Every page is a transition to the next one.” And after those words, the reader was enlightened.
Btw, are there koans of the webcomic variety? The programming one’s were rather amusing.
start a new meme. The Koanheads
i’m not entirely sure why, but that reminds me of something… i’m sure it’s nothing.
Thank you, been reading that and it’s fun
Max has a lot of koan-like advice for Sydney that I enjoy actually seeing in a comic of any sort. Especially and the following page.
? What is a ‘koan’? o_O
ko·an
ˈkōän/Submit
noun
a paradoxical anecdote or riddle, used in Zen Buddhism to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning and to provoke enlightenment.
You know, it’s amazing how suddenly everyone jumps to ‘must have flight/teleportation’, when this could simply be pure skill and maybe some superhuman strength and reflexes.
You don’t need to alter your trajectory in the middle of your jump if you have taken into consideration all variables and factors into said equation before jumping. Granted, something like super situational awareness, or if you prefer, ‘spidy sense’, would make it much easier.
And honestly guys, do you know how much a steel I-Beam can support? Unless she is also super-dense (granted, a possibility in this universe), she’s weighing in at *maybe* 120 Lbs (roughly 55 kilos). That’s not nearly enough to cause a steel beam to bend, even if landing at terminal velocity, which she clearly doesn’t have the distance to achieve without some form of flight (being used in reverse to significantly increase acceleration beyond gravitational constant).
My money is on ‘usual’ super-strength, super reflexes, and some form of sense that gives her a heightened spatial awareness, plus decades of training. Think Math given Spiderman’s powers and the time to learn how to best use it.
Deus did tell Sciona she was only maybe a match for Vale post-regenator-restoration, so pretty much anything’s on the table. What I find interesting is that Harem is burning her secret contact with Deus to point out Sciona.
By taking a picture of Sciona? Said picture(s) don’t need to be shared automatically, and given how Harem leaves anything trackable back at ARC (neither Harem is wearing her comcollar) before vorping to visit Deus, I have a shiney nickel that says the phone she’s using is a burner, or supplied by Deus.
No, by *VORP*ing back to Maxi and interrupting a closed-door session
Deus’ Harem didn’t VORP back; it’s been established what one knows, they all know. Granted, I’m not sure how Deus’ Harem is able to explain the sudden popcorn, but then again, has it ever been established that Deus *isn’t* completely aware of Harem’s abilities, affiliations, and loyalties? He’s on pretty good terms with Max…
His conversation with Vale, way back would have had different dialogue if that were the case. It would not have read “I’m counting on Harem being a triple agent” (from memory), rather it would have read “Harem is a triple agent”.
But that really would make no sense at all. How would his earlier conversation with Maxima have gone?
DEUS: Harem came to my office today to offer me confidential military secrets, from Archon.
MAXIMA: Oh yea, we sent her to do that. Err pretend I did not tell you that. We are not meant to let on that we think you are untrustworthy. Damn, I just did it again! OK she is a triple agent, working for us. Satisfied now?
Or, with the same line from Deus:
MAXIMA: The scheming wretch! OK tell you what, we will feed bogus information to her, so that you can get loads of evidence that she is betraying us.
That version would not work as there would not be the need to keep the charade going for more than the one betrayal, if it was all being recorded. Plus it would be pointless turning Harem to become a triple agent, as it would serve no purpose for Archon.
With Deus being kept in the picture as to what is going on he knows that the information coming to him is either bogus or stuff that Archon has authorised him to have access to.
They can’t exactly prosecute him for going along with a plan they have briefed him on.
The only way that the conversation could make sense, whilst Deus was still in the loop, is if Vale was not in his confidence. Which, granted, could be possible. If Deus suspects she may not be loyal, then all the play acting Harem is up to (assuming she is indeed an authorised triple agent) is for Vale’s benefit (and whoever she may be allied with).
Harem did VORP to Maxima, we saw that.
Whereas the ‘back’ was just in the same kind of context as ‘reporting back in’.* Whilst you are right to say that Harem did not teleport from Deus’s office to Maxima’s, she did teleport back to Maxima from wherever that body was previously.
This being the key point that Guesticus was making. Namely that no electronic device was involved in communicating with Maxima. Harem was speaking to her directly. As you say relaying what was happening in Deus’s office.
As such Harem was not making use of an electronic device that Deus could be hacking.
All that said we do not know what Harem was doing with that smartphone/camera she was holding earlier. Maybe playing Elfboy stripper. Or possibly streaming the scene back to Archon. In which case the possibility of hacking it remains open.
Not that Deus needed to. Harem was sitting on his desk. Merely glancing over to the screen would allow him to see what she was up to. Plus she was not looking his way, so could not tell if he was doing that. So either she was being lax and taking a real chance, or she was unconcerned that Deus might spot her streaming that to Archon (if that was what she was up to).
* Which can be done in person, as was the only option back in ye oldie days when the phrase was originally coined. Or it can be by using radio, phone, or whatnot. In this case Harem reported back to Maxima in person.
Prior to Abby recording Vale’s squeezable butt, we did not see her with a phone, and it is doubtful she is streaming that back to Archon, at best it would be being uploaded to uCubed (probably via an ‘anonymous’ account) or simply being recorded for later viewing (probably by Deus so he can see if there was something he missed)
Judging by the …heaviness of (the onomotopedic depiction of) the ^sound^ Vale’s landing (considering the height she jumped from), she obviously landed very lightly.
she punted sciona a few dozen (across at least half a building) feet through (presumably) bulletproof glass so yes im thinking super strength
Yea, but it is not like Sciona is a big orc/troll anymore. She is now some dainty little elf-like thing. Probably with hollow light-weight bones, as a flyer. Blowing hard would likely have the same effect.
;-)
Didn’t realise Sci-fright could be blown anymore, you saying she is a trap? o_O
Maybe she is an IED?
… Wrong sort of ‘trap’, butt let’s go with you idea, less messy
An IED what kind of IED? Improvised enchanting device? Irrational Enchanted damsel? Irritating exasperating demagogue? Irritating Elvish damsel? I mean there are just so many of them heck even irritating Elvish damsel would be one. Personally I would probably go with immature entitled damsel for her particular type of IED.
If you mouse-over IED, in my comment, you will see that I stipulated the acronym. Your ‘Irritating Elvish damsel’ came close, but is better. I is jealous.
Sadly I read and respond to these comics on a cell phone and do not have a mouse option
Mmm. OK first you will need three kittens. And a piece of string. And a sock. Then have a look out of your cell and see if you can spot a good area for mouse hunting. Once located, phone your warden for permission to conduct such.
If that is not forthcoming, or if your kittens are not adequately trained, then you fall back to plan B. Which is where the piece of string and sock comes into play. You tie the string to the sock and have a perfect simulated mousey, for training purposes.
The rest should be self-explanatory.
Yeah I don’t think the LG K7 is properly zoned for such a thing. But I’m sure something else will come up make it possible eventually if I can remember
Didn’t see anyone point out that Sciona’s energy-wing-things are gone. Presumably, stuns cause them to dissipate.
I had not noticed, to be honest. But she could just be laying on them. The way she was bouncing backwards I could well see them folding down like a cape. Humanoid is an awkward shape for a flying critter, but that is roughly the position you would expect wings to fold back, when comparing it to a bird.
Especially if folding them back to avoid damaging them in a tumble.
I thought that skyscrapers had to have their windows made with safety glass but, after looking around, I don’t see anything saying they do. It may be by city. It would truly suck to have that shit rain down on you while out for a nice walk with your family.
Said it earlier, will say it again. This is Deus’ office windows. Not going to be common tempered glass – probably every other window in the city is though. This stuff is going to be specially reinforced, because he’s got to deal with supers all the time.
Or it’s just normal glass… hanging around people like Max or Vale, the windows are going to get broken no matter what you make them out of, so might as well be practical and go with whatever is most easily replaced.
I hope this is a ruse. This is how sciona will get her hands on some “super blood” to be a viable threat to archon field team.
Interesting thought, but she still has to collect it…
The fight has just begun :P
i thought vale was a mage super combo like pixel being a were super. i hope i’m right.
Maybe with a dose of ninja?
Well, theory is, Vale and Pixelicious are related…
also if you want to keep vales powers a secret just have maxima take the fight from her.
I love badguy-on-badguy fights! When the goodguys fight someone is always holding back for some reason; even Max gave Vehemence like 6-dozen chances to surrender. And comics are always contriving ways to have good-guys get into a punchup for stupid reasons so that someone can be wrong and learn an after-school special lesson.
But IMO there aren’t enough stories blackhearted, ruthless, SOBs (or DOBs I guess) get into knock-down drag-out fights with total disregard for bystanders or collateral damage. It’s something I’d love to see more of.
Way back in the early days of the comic Vale was seen to be very fond of a Samurai-style sword in Deus’ office. If this world has a sense of poetic justice and/or irony Vale will use it to remove Sciona’s head, again. https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/797
Sciona survived that once, and practice has probably perfected her technique.
Am I the only one who wants to know what the worst landing was that that helipad has seen? :p
Nope, someone was asking about it upthread. Someone else suggested failed jetpack experiments…which called for a shopvac for cleanup.
At the risk of being defenestrated … Hey… Dave… you might want to update the year on your © copyright notice. It still says 2017.
Too bad they left the office. Based on what Deus keeps on his wall, this fight could have gotten interesting. https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/2038
The list is on https://www.patreon.com/posts/4881943
Maybe the reason Sci-fright is getting ‘pretty fucking sick’ of Supers, is because there is no way of knowing what power they have before they use them, not like in the olde days when you could tell what you were up to, even mages were forced (by law) to wear stupid pointy hats and fighters were dumb as half of a short plank
My question is – will Archon catch wind of this in time to respond? They are, after all, intended to be Superpowered law enforcement, so Vale is currently in violation, and Sciona is wanted for unrelated matters.
Go back a few pages, and you will see that Berry Harem has already informed Maxi
Vale is in violation of what? Doing her job of protecting her boss? o_O
It has been specifically stated that Supers do not need to register with, or by employed by, Archon to use their powers as long as they do not break any laws. Defence of oneself or others through any means necessary isn’t illegal in most places.
Sciona threatened Deus. Vale is simply coming to his defence.
Yup. Likewise for Guesticus‘s points.
The only new law, which is specific to supers, is that they are not permitted to operate in a law enforcement role, other than with Archon.* A bodyguard is not a law-enforcement role.
Although police can provide bodyguarding services, and many bodyguards may be ex-law enforcement, those are not requirements of the job.
* Dave has indicated that certain exceptions are likely to be made, where there is no conflict of interest nor possible abuse of a power. For example a bullet proof police officer could be given an exception (assuming no other problematic powers).
Whereas a telepathic one would not. There would be unending suspicion and every case they worked on would be thrown out, due to the presumption that the suspects right not to say anything was being abused.
Such powers would need the oversight of Archon, and specific measures that only they may be able to implement, in order to ensure that there are no abuses. And, if they feel that such are not available, then they should ensure that the individuals are not placed in policing roles, but in ones that would not contravene people’s constitutional rights.
In other words putting them in the spying arms of Archon. Given that our society allows spies to do whatever they like. But, for the purposes of ensuring that the public can have confidence in super police, keeping to this cynical present day status quo is actually a sensible route. Super villains will be sure to make use of mental powers. Likewise hostile governments. So counters to those need to be available. Just not within Arc-SWAT.
Talking about which, can anyone remember if DaveB has talked about a non-SWAT police arm within Archon? Or will Arc-SWAT be called out for domestic incidents, community policing and (super) kittens in trees?
Fairly sure ‘Arc-SWAT’ is just a branch-name, not exactly an indicator of function
Of every superpower, telepathy creates the biggest legal problems. One of the big problems is, even though they CAN read a mind, that doesn’t MEAN they are telling the TRUTH. Placing an infallible marker on a person because they have a super power is a dangerous slippery slope, as is the opposite where they aren’t trusted to testify in court and are barred from various jobs due to their abilities. Supers could see an equal yet opposite form of disability discrimination; Marvel comics has covered this with Hell Cat opening a job service for people with super powers OTHER than being Super Heroes, as so many Supers *Mutant, Mutate, Inhuman, and other* have found many employers don’t want the risk, the public hassle, ect…
But other employers do, of course the whole (can do 10 hours worth of work in 1 and the jobs of a hundred men) can be exploited, other employers may not hire them just for that reason because of a PR back lash with other employees and the one isn’t being paid enough even if they use less effort. Ect… Something along the lines of *being paid for their time, or the amount of work they do* will come back up.
Deus should see some of this, Opal can move large amounts of freight, yet contracts he has with freight companies may suffer as a result.
No, all Opal does is move the freight between the coast and his country without being extorted by the countries in between (and back again), once in country the items will be handed over to the various transport companies, same as once the export goods reach the coast
All I see is “second worst” and I want to know what “first worst” was.
Deus’s suit getting splattered with some oil?
Achilles dropped from low orbit to see how much material his impact would displace when his body takes none of the damage.
The same amount as with any of his regular sky dives. Once terminal velocity is achieved it does not matter whether he jumped from 10,000 feet or from the international space station.
He would create a crater about his own width (assuming he landed flat).
Whilst his crater will be better defined (none of his bones would be crushed for instance), he should make the same size hole as a regular parachuteless human. His body is still getting the same amount of energy directed into it (due to the equal and opposite reaction from hitting and damaging the ground).
It is just being dissipated in ways that do not involve organs rupturing. I imagine his “THUD” would be louder and the amount of heat generated would be considerably more.
But that is the question as to the nature of his invulnerability. Is he simply highly durable like or does he has *even as a secondary defense* a defensive aura like Maxima has that deflects kinetic force away from the body or back into what is hitting it
-a common excuse for why people can break things on superman even when the person shouldn’t be strong enough to break those objects even if they did hit something they couldn’t break *such as a bar, knife, and the like.
Nothing we have seen hinted at having reactive defences. For instance the tip of Heavenly Sword’s weapon was not damaged, when it poked his eye. It just stopped dead.
Likewise the descriptions all point to him simply not taking damage from anything.
Finally if he did have a dangerous aspect to his defence it would currently hinder his policing role (no catching a toddle being thrown down from a burning building for instance – not if it would get blown to pieces!) and would have put restraints on his stunt career too. Even though we have not seen much of Achilles in action, those are dangerous enough side effects that they would have merited a mention, at the very least.
Congratulations DaveB on the milestone of producing comic number 601!
I hope there is something climactic planned for 1001?
Ooh, ooh! I have found out the name of what Sciona is wearing. Although you have to go back a few pages to see her lungi.
I think what Skiona is wearing is something similar but different in that its much shorter.
*like the difference between a dress and a dashiki, or a skirt and a kilt* it doesn’t tie in the front and its not leg length; lungi are more temple things *also what I’ve done with a sheet on cold night…heh when I tie it around my waist*. What Sciona has on, looks closer to those battle skirts meant to hide knives and such around the waist over armor. Although you can also find longer battle skirts that look a lot like Lungi. *Independent invention of a similar design*
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/03/d4/4c/03d44c6a2de55973ad06ceac39fb4127.jpg
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/12/36/91/123691dcb0ee7768ca8a6d3adb48735c.jpg
That bodyguard sure has a hell of a punch to her, wouldn’t want to be on the recieving end of that.
Second worst?!
Is their a human version of Launchpad McQuack in the GrrlPower universe?
You are getting sick of these supers? Just wait a few seconds then you will really get sick of them. Did you know that Maxima can fly faster than sound? You are about to!