Grrl Power #906 – Lesmad
If someone tied Maxima to train tracks, the train would be the one in danger.
Fortunately the language Ray and Cora are speaking has a perfect analog to the English word “Damsel” with the same connotations. I guess there are lots of alien civilizations out there that made media involving women being tied to space railroad tracks. Or being tied to chairs with space bombs counting down nearby. You know the formula. Lady+Bondage+Space Danger.
Also, Ray’s alliteration works out in both languages somehow.
I didn’t know this, but “damsel” is actually a shortened version of “Mademoiselle.” #TheMoreYouKnow
Maxima’s attack isn’t actually a Metsu Shoryuken, after the first two hits, she grabs their leg as they fly up past her, and then she “Puny God“‘s them. I guess that would be a Metsu ShoRyuKashouKami. Well, two ground slams, then she leaps up in the air, windmills them and throws them into the ground. Then if they really ticked her off, she can finish it with an Atomic Curb Stomp or an energy blast. That’s the Metsu ShoRyuKashouKami Meteor-Strike Stay-Down WTFBBQ.
I assume Mr. Amorphous, Heatwave and Achilles keep trying to jump in to help with the fight, but the shockwave from those hits keep knocking them back. Dabbler’s just watching.
Oh, I can’t believe I forgot to pimp this: The kickstarter for Tamer 7 is up. It got funded in literally 30 minutes, but backing it is the fastest way to get your hands on the new book when it’s ready.
Just thought I should mention it, and before you ask, yes, I’m still working on the sequel to my fanfic novel. I’m hoping to have it done before Tamer 7 lands, but honestly the monthly nudie pinups are taking a lot of my non-comic time, so the book will happen, but I can’t make any promises about the timing.
Double res version will be posted over at Patreon. Feel free to contribute as much as you like!
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On the contrary, Maxima apparently DOES have a talent for causing people pain.
Honey, even if you contracted a dozen people, unless you contracted Vehemence, you won’t win this fight.
And believe me, Kevin does not want more of that action right now.
Not without a hell of a lot of buildup time.
Is Kevin even on the loose right now? I think Archon has been keeping close tabs on him. This isn’t like Arkham Asylum. Batman never knows when someone broke free the night before. Maxima does.
No, Blatman is the one who arranges for his lackeys to ‘escape’, so he always knows before he gets the call from Gordo
It’s more likely the “If you attempt escape you will most likely be dead before you take 3 steps” effects around the captives that prevents escape here. Batman didn’t ever arrange escapes. That was Alfred. A good butler knows how to help keep his master’s mind sharp. And Alfred already proved he could school Superman… or Batman…
Good point: have the butler do it, to provide an alibi
But Blatsie is still the criminal mastermind kingpin of Gotham: he trains the psychos and provides the crazy shit they always manage to ‘obtain’ hours after ‘breaking free’ after being incarcerated for months and all their previous cool toys nicked by the coppers (or ‘returned’ to Blatsie’s warehouse)
Dark, dark knight in Gotham.
Pretty sure he’s still in time out.
Although, given the general unscrupulous nature of the US Government, they might have cut him a deal. OTOH, if all Kevin is really after in life is a really good fracas, that might actually be the best deal for him.
Right now all that Kevin is really after in life is more cheese puffs and maybe some KFC. Maybe some Crash Bandicoot too.
He’s gonna love the KFConsole – he’ll probably need a few, though
Actually I bet two of him (him and henchwench) could probably take the team down. Beat on each other first to build power, then one locks down max while the other takes out the rest of the team
She’s having more fun than she’d like to admit.
Also, she seems unaware of Halo’s conundrum.
Also, that prisoner on the right in the first panel looks pretty hot. For reasons.
Maxima has a lot of fun beating up bad guys then she would probably like to admit, but that also means she is easily distracted. A weakness that I feel like is to easily exploited. Like right now, the LLC are a good distraction from anyone realizing that Halo is not there.
She finally has a chance to practice her street fighter combos on enemies that don’t explode after one punch
I just imagined Maxima doing the Haduken with Halo imitating her with her orbs. I want that art
I did not know I needed this until now.
You just know that Halo is going to pull out the PPO at some point, and go, “Kamehameha!”.
She already did that at the demonstration portion of the press conference.
So next on her list is the Megumi Beam
Instant Transmission. She’s already shown that to the brass but only Maxima knows she can teleport.
There is likely some time overlap between the two situations rather than linear from page to page.
think of the back and forth multi-fights in Bleach or Dragon Ball where the scenes/episodes jump between different sets of characters but it is stated or implied they are happening at the same time, its just they have to devote these scenes or episodes to the separate groups to give them the screen time they deserve (this is the reasoning of a half hour fight ending up being over thirty episodes after all),
Halo sent out a partial distress call, which may be why Maxima is in a hurry to get the fight over with. Not to mention the damage done to about five city blocks when Hench Wench knocked out the power and probably broke all the windows.
Point of order… Don’t think Dabbler missing from the scene is an accident.
Still say she is recovering from Henchie punching her lights out
Dabbler is doing the one thing that would help the situation at hand. Getting Arianna and the legal team involved to disolve the LLC.
You mean, the one with no ribs?
The one beside her is also hot (no, her other side)
I suspect Dabbler was the one who did the tying-up.
I sorta thought that Hench Wench knocked Dabbler out when she introduced herself, which is really the only reason I can logically explain her not being more involved in the fight. Remember how HW suckerpunched her after she nudified Brut?
Like I mentioned, Dabbler’s extremely tough and the only one who was capable of fighting Maxima to a standstill (who is still alive, probably). She’s taken punches from Maxima before even and …. well didnt die, which is still saying something. It was always doubtful that a single punch from a super would knock her out permanently.
Where was it shown that Maxi has punched Dabbles? Thrown her through a wall, sure, but punched?
Two words to describe Dabbles: Glass. Cannon.
Pretty sure she was punched through the wall. But even if it was a superhuman throw instead of a punch, my point is Dabbler didnt die from it. She’s tough enough to be able to handle a superhuman punch, even from Maxima apparently, although I’m assuming Maxima wasn’t trying to kill her when she punched or threw her through the wall. Or when they sparred, which Im also assuming involves punching. Or in the ballroom during Sydney’s interview, although Dabbler did get her shield up that time, which was able to stop Maxima’s punch.
The fact Dabbles ended up, upside down in the wall, makes me believe she was thrown, not punched
And again, as you just said as well, Dabbles has tricks and spells to protect her, like any other ‘finger wigglers’, but, take away her toys, and she folds like a soggy napkin after a marathon chick-flick weekend
A glass cannon with force shields is not a “glass cannon”. Dabbler is a gadgeteer + demon. No telling how much regeneration comes with the package, but she’s naturally tough, probably roughly the range of Umlaut guy, or just under.
Yeah, and just how did she lose her eye, hand and tail then if she’s all that?
Fighting against more dangerous enemies, of course.
Dabbler does fight against literal gods. And usually doesnt use the best fighting method as the first method because she has a VERY large skillset and she likes to use a lot of those skills even when the most deadly skills would usually be easiest.
Point it, Dabbles is not as tough as people think
Don’t know why they associate ‘accomplished adventurer’ with ‘brick shithouse’
Remember, Zephon (spelling?) is a former adventurer, doubt he could take hard hits either
Exactly. Which is the more effective adventurer – the one who can take a hard hit and shrug it off, or the one who can avoid taking the hit in the first place?
The one who manages to avoid the hit… until they don’t, then they go down like a sand castle in the rain
Until DaveB checks in with Dabbles, gonna stick with ‘she’s out for the count’, or at best having Doc Chevy checking her out
Dabbler has consistently been shown as physically superhuman.
Not only the already mentioned scene where she meets a wall head-on and wins(she survived, the wall didn’t.)
Also Maxima knows she’s sandbagging after Sydney hits her in the Gazorpazovum. This also means her toughness isn’t the result of external defences.
We know she isn’t on the level of Arc-SWAT’s bricks, so getting knocked out or not be Hench Wench are both plausible.
Hm… maybe not, … no fuzzy cuffs
More likely it was Cora, who’s been shown to dabble* in BDSM – and she’s on guard duty, so it would be a natural job.
*pun not intended, but not unwelcome either.
That prisoner you mentioned in the swordswoman that removed Cora’s hand & got choked out by Achilles, from the look of her.
“Reasons”.
U huh.
‘Puny God’ mode is all fine and good, but if you have a properly tough opponent, it’s *much* more fun to use them as a club.
(As a side note, Ronan the Accuser does NOT like my BASH Superheroes character…)
yeah, one of my first characters had a 22 strength in a campaign where really strong ppl barely broke 18/00. In a naked prison break, literally armed himself with bad guys. Comments were made as to sounds made as they broke apart after hitting their compatriots.
Or as one meme phrased it,
“You ever been so pissed off you hit a motherfucker with another motherfucker?”
Once again, Cora’s freckles <3
Space Irish.
You’re welcome.
(Yes, I’m claiming for The Irish (TM). Deal.)
What did they say again about the amount of Irish a person produces when not in Ireland again?
the amount of Irish an Irish produces is equal or higher than the amount of Scotch consumed
Panel 2 nuked my cute-o-meter, damn it Dave these things aren’t easy to repair… or cheap…
Nice to know that Henchie has faith… in something, and it looks tangible if Maxi can hit it :P
It’s a damn joke people, lighten up, the new year has just started, relax a little
My question is why it’s maximum wailing on brute right now I could have sworn that he had surrendered.
he surrendered when a huge gun was pointed at his “pride” gun is no longer being pointed there. maybe he got back in the fight or at least is trying to be captured.
*Not be captured
Faith doesn’t have to be tangible to take a hit. I’m sure Henchy had a lot of faith that she could win this fight.
Still waiting for my sphincter to unclench, worried about what may happen when it does.
Make up your bingo card for 2021. Literally no one had “Adolph Hitler gets elected in an African country” last year. SMDH.
Heh heh, loving the corks on the end’s of the space Mantis’ blade-thingie :D
Classic ‘dead-bug’ pose as well :P
Thanks! I hadn’t noticed the corks until you pointed them out. Hee!
The dead bug pose made me lol, I love snarky background details like that.
I was just going to comment on the corks as well.
Just like the rubber bands on live lobsters’ claws in the fish market. (They can close their claws amazingly hard, but a common rubber band will hold them closed every time.)
Same with a croc or gator’s jaws: tremendous bite strength (or whatever the technical term is), but not so strong muscles to open the jaws
Well yeah, Dabbler knows better than to get in the way when Max is doing her thing. She’s not exactly squishy, but she’s a lot less physically hardy than much of the team.
Ok, maybe she is squishy in some places.
At least, in all of the fun places…
Whoa, Bananahammock McGee went back to fighting? Not very bright, is he? At least Hecnchlass will have something to remember today by, unless her LLC has really good dental.
Its not that he went back to fighting, its Henchwench used the earth piledriver on maxima – at that point the military side of maximas training tells her to stop any possible threat, even one who had marginally stopped fighting
The problem with that is that if you intend to rock Maxima to sleep you’re going to have to use a much bigger rock.
Nice Shibari selection there. Particularly like the submission enforcement shibari on shadow blade gal on right side . fitting that it goes with her blindfold so well.
I’m agreeing with the other posters that Dabbler is responsible for that rope work. ;-)
Merry New Year, to all those who survived the last one
… And to anyone reading this who didn’t survive the last one?
Merry New Year to all the zombies then as well.
Happy New Year! I for one will be glad to see the end of 2020. Too many good people lost to COVID-19. Hearing about Dawn Wells passing yesterday really has me bummed out, and I normally don’t give a damn about celebrity deaths. Gilligan’s Island was a very big part of my childhood.
Same :(
Agreed. But if you look at the picture, it’s not Marianne that died. She’s still stuck on the island in a threesome with Ginger and the Professor.
Fuck the Professor, he’s still tinkering with his coconuts, the threesome includes Lovey
Disappointed Cora isn’t receiving an email via the Space Specs.
That was going to be my guess. :(
Dabbler is not in shot, so hopefully she’s investigating.
We probably haven’t gotten to that point in time yet. Remember, we left this fight the moment that HenchWench whapped Brumlaut out of the way of the gun at his ‘nads. Now we’re back, a second or two later. Sydney’s initial transmission could come at any point.
So are we calling the bad guy in heart underwear Lover boy?
Juggernot is his name
Juggernuts?
Nope, as in “Jugger(naut he is) not”
Or Brüt. Depends whose designation you want to use.
Of COURSE Maxima knows what a Focus Attack Dash Cancel would be!
For those unfamiliar, this is fighting technique from later Street Fighter games where the Focus Attack consists of holding an attack button to then release a powerful unblockable attack. That attack normally has a VERY long recovery time after it hits, preventing the player from using it as a combo opening move. HOWEVER. By spending a special energy bar to do a forward dash (double-tap forward), you can immediately break out of the recovery animation and follow-up immediately by using, say, an ultra attack.
Thanks! When I initially googled FADC it gave me “Fellow of the American College of Dentists” which is wrong, but not inappropriate.
So, we’re all ready to start crowdfunding the Grrlpower Tournament Fighter game, right?
There’s gotta be an easy way to just mod the character designs over an existing Street Fighter game and customize the special moves.
You won’t get Dabbler as a contestant unless there’s a mud pit. Or whipped cream.
If there IS, you won’t get Maxima.
Negotiations break down at that point.
I propose random “floor breaks,” resulting in sufficiently comical scene changes, allowing for sudden, unplanned mud, jello, lava, oil, whipped cream, etc matches. Wall breaks & ascents also allowable.
once you engage Maxima, you pretty much don’t get much CHANCE to contribute to the fight. It’s akin to being on a team with Superman-you have one person who can take on a whole army (and draws enough aggro to do it), that your best course is to make with the zip-cuffs or look for their flanking move, because you’re effectively out of the fight.
Considering how strong Vehemence was when he broke her nose and made her take a step back, i have to question the tactic of trying to grap her (or her hair?). How strong do you have to be so you hurt her by pulling her hair of to pull her back.
Unless you are in the upper range of invulnerability yourself, tying that might break your finger or hand if she resists. If you try to grab her hair, it might slice into your hand and fingers if she pulls against you.
I’m not sure, but I don’t think any other mainstream superhero comic brought up such questions.
At least not since Colossus got superheated and cooled down too fast so long ago.
Well, Henchwench does not strike me as being among the world’s foremost tactical or strategic thinkers.
Or thinkers, period.
Still she did prove better at that than her bosses when she wrote up her contract to successfully copy all of their powers and apparently at the same level of skill as they have.
Really, Henchwench seems more like a quiet paper pusher who got super powers that weirdly fit her training. Then used he abilities to get many skills, but has almost no training in there practical use.
Ever since her faceplant failed to interrupt her monologuing, I’ve also had the impression that she has more enthusiasm and angst to work out than she does training and discipline.
Which is exactly what Max addressed in her speech at the end of the press conference – supers are used to being the only one they know with powers, but they ought to reassess the new power scale before trying to tangle with Archon.
Super hair seems to have special super-suppression features, same as the other products of the bodies of supers, such as super breathe moisture, super sperm, and super-waste-products. Otherwise superhair would be damaging the furniture and sheetrock everytime Superanyone tilted their head back.
It probably has something to do with evolution
I don’t think Maxima’s hair is anything other than tough – if you grab a handful of it it likely behaves like regular hair except not getting ripped out.
Also to me it looks like Hench Wench was going for a chokehold, so her neck, not her hair.
This comment should have gone one level higher, but well.
It wouldn’t think superpowers affect something that has left the body.
Sperm would make a certain amount of sense, but it’s in no way compelling.
Superpowers usually have only been a thing for at most a few generations, so evolution can’t really come in.
Next Men had a bit where that happened early on. It’s kind of a play on a lot of the super hero tropes you’d expect, one of them involving a character that appears to be Achilles level indestructible, and her hair retains this ability and can be used to saw through things.
“I whip my hair back and forth. I whip my hair back and forth.” A hair whip to the face would count as a pretty solid attack from Max.
True, but does Hench Wench know just how strong and durable Maxima is? She may be thinking that non-impact pain might be sufficiently ‘different’ to be a distraction – or she may just be going on reflex, with a reflex trained on opponents of near-baseline endurance.
It’s clear the aliens are not familiar with Max as she was during the time the symbiote was mutating her.
She looked plenty helpless then. It was heartwrenching to see…
Even Godzilla looked ‘helpless’ when it was a tadpole
If Dabbler’s watching, she probably has a hand in her shorts.
I’m just amused these intergalactic crooks are secured with old-fashioned rope and shibari bondage. Kind of expected somrthing more high tech.
Also I like to think Maxima, Brüt and Hench Wench have been all standing around trying to process the horror of Mr. Fantastic- I mean, Mr. Amorphous being flipped inside out from the mouth, until the baddies assumed they’d try their chances and this is the result.
There’s a lot to be said for using methods that are ‘not smart enough to go wrong’, especially when you’re not sure what high-tech counters a given opponent may have in reserve. Plus, of course, the involvement of Dabbler and Cora.
Heck, I think Heavenly Sword might still trying to process Achilles blocking her sword with his eyeball…
So Mademoiselle Scoville got cliff hanger duty.
It also proves characters we expected to be responding in some way to be still otherwise occupied.
Dabbler, Achilles, Heat Wave, and Amorphous are not in this fight anymore
(I doubt a seasoned demon sorceress adventurer who has stood her ground against Maxima and fought gods got knocked out for long by Hench Wench’s punch); and with Maxima trading off to fight these two; the others could be responding to the cut-off transmission and loss of communications with Halo. As well as the likelihood Halo has been transmitting via her techno-glasses.
She’s obviously having fun smacking around those two.
I think Maxima is having a ‘world of cardboard’ moment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQabrSpKcJw
The one objection I have with this scene is that the big punch sends someone flying through several buildings. This goes against one of Maxima’s core combat rules.
Looks like she’s sending him straight up. No buildings to get in the way there.
I don’t imagine Dabbler is just watching.
She probably has a lot of X-rated ideas going through her head about the participants in that fight.
Nah. This is ArcSWAT, so she’s watching with popcorn!
Well… someone plays Street Fighter. Cause calling out Akuma/Evil Ryu/Kage/Oni’s empowered Shoryu super….
“perfect analog to the English word “Damsel” with the same connotations”
And damsel is the shortened version of damaisele – old french for maiden of gentle birth – the precursor of the modern french demoiselle – young lady -.
The english damsel in distress is the literal translation of demoiselle en détresse.
I love that they stuck corks on the end of mantis-guy’s claws.
no shes NOT the opposite of a dentist
Um, she is someone who CAUSES teeth problems as oppsesd to fixing them.
How is that not the opposite?
I can tell that your choice of dentists has so far been fortunate.
Xero is using the Little Shop of Horros definition of being a dentist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoWom0CCRKM
I don’t know what you’re talking about, Cora, Max looks quite helpless right now.
Or do you see anyone helping her?
Some called Maxima helpless, poor choice of last words.
I didn’t mean to put that one as an answer, oops.
Also, I love your joke
Henchie, Henchie, Henchie…
Haven’t you ever heard the old saying, ‘Don’t tug on Superman’s cape’? It also applies to hair!
Silly girl. Your dental bill is gonna be insane after this. Then again, when you figure in the lawsuits from all the people and businesses you just put in the dark, maybe having your face rearranged isn’t the worst pain you will have?
She just needs to arrange to be hired for a few minutes by somebody with mad regeneration powers.
She has a contract for this job. It probably has the standard ‘collateral damages’ clause. Plus they are in New York. If these businesses don’t have ‘in case of supervillain attack’ riders on their insurance then they have not been paying attention to the last 50 years of comic books.
It’s only a few months in universe terms. Remember, the announcement that superpowers really existed was approximately 4 months back.
Since the actuarial cost of super damage coverage would not possibly have been determined yet, those riders probably are still encompassed by standard force majeure and act of god clauses.
Honestly, tugging on Superman’s cape is probably the safest Super to do that to. Tug on Batman’s cape and you’ll probably have your nose bent in half.
True that. Worst case is Supes gives you a raised eyebrow and flies off, maybe even humming the song. Tugging on his cape isn’t a crime, after all.
“No dental plan survives contact with the enemy”
Not to be a nit-picker here, but criminals like that rely mostly on the medical/dental service that they get in prison…on the taxpayer’s dime. That’s why criminals steal…It’s income that should never be reported to the IRS.
Technically, income from stolen goods/money are supposed to be reported on your tax form. Obviously nobody does that, but having it written into law lets them add another way to punish those who do get caught.
That’s exactly how Al Capone went down for tax evasion – they couldn’t catch him ‘earning’ the money, but they could prove he had money coming from somewhere and that he wasn’t paying taxes on it.
Actually people sorta DO that. It’s what money laundering is about.
My brother used to go get tax stamps at the local IRS office when he was selling pot(illegally). He claimed that he was too small time for anyone but the local authorities to mess with and he would rather ruin their day than let a federal charge be added to the heap. His tax records and receipts actually showed a net loss, after payroll and insurance had been paid.
Supervillains do sometimes provide dental plans for their hench-people. But to boost their evilness ranking among the other villains they often get creative in the methods they use. https://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/09/12/arts/KIEL-1-obit/KIEL-1-obit-superJumbo.jpg
Well, just wanted to say that apparently Street Fighter 4 is alive and well in this page.
Those of you saying that Dabbler must have had a hand in tying those aliens up, due to the sexy bondage-esque nature of their restraints….
1> I still think Dabbler is unconscious or still recovering from Hench Wench suckerpunching her just prior to her introduction.
2> Cora is not only a close friend of Dabbler’s, but back when she & Sydney were discussing her holo-clothing when she first found Sydney on that space station, she accidentally changed into a rubber catsuit with a hood, ball-gag & ball-mittens cuffed to her thighs. You think she couldn’t have been the one to tie those aliens up?
*The corks on the end of the mantis aliens blades*
Knew it was going to transfer to a different location! Darn Him! LOL
Ok Dave B says Mr. Amorphous, Heatwave and Achilles keep trying to jump in to help with the fight, but the shockwave from those hits keep knocking them back and Dabbler’s just watching so who do we think has Halo duty?
Umm, no one? Because either they don’t know she needs help, or it’s too soon for her to have made that call at all
I’m betting we’ll see the initial call received on the next page, or at most 908.
ah of course.
the glasses have her tech. she can track them “always know where she is to avoid the calamity she attracts”
We have someone with cloven hooves. Dabbler may be interested. And there is also the bondage and the blindfold. Dabbler is DEFINITELY interested.
We have someone. Dabbler is at least a little interested.
Not sure Max has -never- been called helpless… maybe back when she was 8. But confidant it’s been a while.
Or when she was fighting Vehemence and would have died if she was not saved by Sydney.
Also by Dabbler’s hypnotic boobs.
So, is nobody going to mention how the Mantis Alien is only “Secured” by a blindfold and a couple of corks on the end of their scythe hands?
Is there some kinda quirk of their biology that make them unable to move if their eyes are covered?
Actually that’s plausible, one can hypnotize lobsters, as well as frogs/toads, by holding them upside-down. Apparently the excess blood flow makes them loopy…?
But I think it’s more just a position of vulnerability for his physical layout, just like the others are kneeling or laying down to put their legs in an ineffective position and give the armed guards some response time should they make a move. It wouldn’t limit an insectoid’s movement to lay them on their stomachs or fold their legs up, as that’s basically their natural position anyways, so legs off the ground is appropriate.
They may have gooped his back to the pavement (superglue?). His physionomy is such that he can’t leverage enough to roll over, or stand up.
MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!!!!!