Girl Genius XV: The Weasel, the Spark, and the Wardrobe

[Cracklord]

It is possible Tweedle was always the super fighter and murderous rounder he is now, and the small singing bears (I WANNA SEE THEM SO BAD!!) were subterfuge. He wanted to research biological construction; he knew if he started by building Sparkhounds right off, the Family and/or the Knights of Jove would notice and that might mark him for early 'weeding'; so he built bears. Tweedle may not be much for intrigue but he's obviously not stupid. Except with regard to Agatha.

(Most Sparks seem to specialize in certain fields. Agatha in mechanics and 'bot tech, or Gil in biology, for instance. Tweedle also seems to be a biological Spark; so far he's messed with Agatha's body chemistry and built creatures.

I wonder if his superhuman fighting ability is natural or if he enhanced himself?)

Well, ridiculous feats of strength do seem the norm in this world, so it's too soon to judge one way or another if he's got a little something extra in the engine.

I disagree with the idea that he can control his spark to the point of making things he's not interested in for moral reasons, but I accept it's a possible explanation. Just not one that I like.

[The Glyphstone]

Have we seen a full Spark who hasn't demonstrated superhuman strength in the Madness Place? Tweedle, Gil, Agatha...

[Aquillion]

Have we seen a full Spark who hasn't demonstrated superhuman strength in the Madness Place? Tweedle, Gil, Agatha...

I think that that's fanon (I remember fans going crazy with glee when Agatha lifted up a particularly large rock at one point.)

As far as I can recall, nothing in the comic has indicated that Sparks are any different from normal humans beyond their mentality (and a few related tropes, like making it easy to recruit minions and strong personality.) I think the feats of strength we see Sparks manage while in the madness place is just normal comic-exaggeration for someone who is really angry -- I'm pretty certain that if eg. Zeetha or any other decently-fit character got angry, we'd see them do comparable things.

(Also, it's heavily implied that Gil was modified somehow by his father, wasn't it? He was noted as healing faster than he should. And Momma Gilka did something to him, too.)

[eee]

I would not say that Gil specializes in biology. While he is good at it, he has done a lot of high level purely mechanical stuff. The Fencing Clank, the Flyer and his Lightning Stick for instance.

Careful consideration shows you are quite correct. Who can forget the Falling Machine, after all? Gil seems to be a well rounded Spark. And yet, he built Zoing when he was 8. He put Punch and Judy back together; and apparently improved them in the process. And he was the one who knew how to set up the Si Vales Valeo Rolling Resurrection Chain, AND about the secondary process. He's VERY good at biology.

Which is good because Agatha admits she sucks at it.

Have we seen a full Spark who hasn't demonstrated superhuman strength in the Madness Place? Tweedle, Gil, Agatha...

Tweedle's apparently got superhuman strength all the time, though.

Tarvek was able to beat Zola, who took the worst Higgs could dish out, to a pulp and was throttling her when Gil interrupted. But I'm not sure that was the madness place so much as unholy rage at her injuring and trying to kill Agatha. In fact I'd note BOTH Gil and Tarvek seem to reach otherwise unattainable levels of physical power when Agatha's threatened.

Also, Gil's cheating. He took a point blank shot to the chest from Dr. Merlot and was only bruised. Klaus obviously enhanced him just as the Mongfishes enhanced Tarvek.

[Cracklord]

Careful consideration shows you are quite correct. Who can forget the Falling Machine, after all? Gil seems to be a well rounded Spark. And yet, he built Zoing when he was 8. He put Punch and Judy back together; and apparently improved them in the process. And he was the one who knew how to set up the Si Vales Valeo Rolling Resurrection Chain, AND about the secondary process. He's VERY good at biology.

Which is good because Agatha admits she sucks at it.

He also built the best Death Ray in the series. Agatha might have improved on his design, but he built the prototype, she just tacked a few new things on top.

From the wiki, we have Klaus:

Every spark has a recognizable, somewhat hereditary style. Klaus's spark is more abstract than most: He has the gift of analysis and synthesis, which allows him to identify Sparks simply from their creations, and on a more pragmatic level, allows him to match up personnel with their most appropriate and fulfilling job functions. His preferred application of his ability is the study of the Spark itself, which he does, in part, through brain coring.

And of course, Gilgamesh:

When introduced, his creations are ambitious in concept, but almost all have been deployed while still in the prototype stage. Only his music box functioned without fault. Once inspired, however, his talent proved truly outstanding; he single-handedly destroyed an entire army of giant war clanks. Like his father, his Spark is seemingly all-encompassing; though his breakthrough creation was a construct, he is a talented electrical and mechanical engineer, and when we first meet him he is fondly working on the only heavier-than-air flying machine seen in the series. Repeating elements in his sparky style include lightning and insects

Not sure how canon the wiki is, but that seems all correct from what I remember of the series.

Tweedle's apparently got superhuman strength all the time, though.

Tarvek was able to beat Zola, who took the worst Higgs could dish out, to a pulp and was throttling her when Gil interrupted. But I'm not sure that was the madness place so much as unholy rage at her injuring and trying to kill Agatha. In fact I'd note BOTH Gil and Tarvek seem to reach otherwise unattainable levels of physical power when Agatha's threatened.

Also, Gil's cheating. He took a point blank shot to the chest from Dr. Merlot and was only bruised. Klaus obviously enhanced him just as the Mongfishes enhanced Tarvek.

Which is part of the question, isn't it? Of course, how much is the enhancing cheating, that's the question. I mean, perhaps we begin with some secret Skifandarian warrior techniques or Smoke Knight Skills (whichever is applicable), continue with plenty of hardcore training, then utilize either stolen Jaegar secrets or highly secretive chemical therapy (whichever is applicable). Where does one end and the other begin?

Looking at this scientifically, we haven't got quite enough data. We've seen plenty of Sparks exhibit variations of superhuman strength, but just because there is a correlation it doesn't mean the two are related, and by no means all of them. Now it's quite possible that Sparks get super-strength by experimenting on themselves, however that's all speculation. Gil is implied to be a super-soldier, however if he is and Tavek can equal him through training (even semi-mystical kung-fu training), then making a super-soldier in the first place is a waste of effort.

We see exhibit abilities that certainly seem super-human all the time, but that might just be a reflection that he is a hero, rather than he's a spark. Klaus is a construct. The list goes on.

Furthermore, we've seen people perform super-human feats without the Spark. Zeetha is a fine example, of course, but Bangladesh, Violetta, Old Man Death, not to mention Sanaa and Zola and… anyway, there's a long list. So it's difficult to determine with any accuracy what normal human capabilities are in this comic. I mean, it's quite possible that most of said examples are superhuman themselves. Zeetha is the daughter of at least one astronomically powerful Spark who is implied to have used his own child as a guinea pig (by which I mean that Gil is both adorable, and was used for the purposes of science). Bangladesh seems to be human, but who can say for sure. Sanaa is the sister of a guy who not only exhibits super-human strength, but is a spark, and so it's quite possible that she's not entirely normal herself. And Zola… well, given the rate she churns out revelations, she could be a construct for all we know. At the very least, the drugs were contributory.

Now what we haven't seen is a spark failing to exhibit strength while in the madness place. And while that's hardly evidence, until we do it'll be hard to say for sure one way or another. Even if it is, we don't know if it is something brought on by the strength of the spark, or some other factor we haven't thought of yet.

[Landis963]

New comic. I wonder how you pronounce "Xerxsephnia?"

[Cracklord]

It's pronounced to rhyme with onomatopoeia, of course.

…I wonder how many he's killed so far. And what it is about Xerxsephina that made him slip out of the Madness Place.

[The Glyphstone]

Probably just the realization of a suspect he hadn't considered - note that he says 'He' to Julius at the beginning, the "man at the top' maybe Tweedle never bothered to consider that it might be his sister/aunt/mother/etc. running the rebellion. I doubt a secret society dedicated to restoring the storm King is 100% egalitarian in terms of its leaders.

[Turalisj]

New comic. I wonder how you pronounce "Xerxsephnia?"

I'm going by the pronounciation "zerx-sef-nee-a"

[factotum]

I'm going by the pronounciation "zerx-sef-nee-a"

Yeah, I'd go with that too, although my brain keeps trying to twist it into zerx-sef-ee-na despite it not matching the spelling!

[Cracklord]

Probably just the realization of a suspect he hadn't considered - note that he says 'He' to Julius at the beginning, the "man at the top' maybe Tweedle never bothered to consider that it might be his sister/aunt/mother/etc. running the rebellion. I doubt a secret society dedicated to restoring the storm King is 100% egalitarian in terms of its leaders.

I'd expect that to be the case, yes. For one, knight is a masculine title, so one would associate an order of them more with a fraternity then a sonority. For another, well none of the Order look particularly feminine.



Of course, everyone expected the new Heterodyne to be a boy, remember, so perhaps they were grooming some other options in case the wrong heir showed up. On the other hand, given their connection to the Mongfish clan, one would anticipate them to be in the know. They've certainly appeared to be in most cases.

[eee]

Oh Lord, we're about to get another incandescent Foglio female. I would assume this one will be red-haired. And the 'he' Tweedle has been searching for.

I also expect her to win the upcoming power struggle...

New comic. I wonder how you pronounce "Xerxsephnia?"

Carefully.

[datalaughing]

I'd expect that to be the case, yes. For one, knight is a masculine title, so one would associate an order of them more with a fraternity then a sonority.

Well, the Smoke Knights certainly aren't all guys.

[petersohn]

Well, the Smoke Knights certainly aren't all guys.

That's quite obvious considering Violetta.

[Scarlet Knight]

Oh Lord, we're about to get another incandescent Foglio female. I would assume this one will be red-haired. And the 'he' Tweedle has been searching for.

I have always believed that the story was driven by what was fun to draw.

That said, I hope Xerxsephnia is hot ...I mean a "smoking" knight...

[eee]

I have always believed that the story was driven by what was fun to draw.

That said, I hope Xerxsephnia is hot ...I mean a "smoking" knight...

Like Her Undying Majesty? Every time a link gets posted to that sketch of Albia amidst flames and wearing not much at all, the response from those who haven't seen it before is "THAT'S the Queen of England?????????"

I wonder when we're going to meet her...

[Cracklord]

…Right.

Well, I guess Andronicus Valois was a lot more egalitarian then the average supreme executive autocrat.

That said, I hope Xerxsephnia is hot ...I mean a "smoking" knight...

Well that goes without saying.

[Lochar]

Like Her Undying Majesty? Every time a link gets posted to that sketch of Albia amidst flames and wearing not much at all, the response from those who haven't seen it before is "THAT'S the Queen of England?????????"

I wonder when we're going to meet her...

As I haven't seen this sketch, link please?

[SlyGuyMcFly]

Here it is.

That said, I hope Xerxsephnia is hot ...I mean a "smoking" knight...

No need to hope, really. S'not like there are any females in GG on the colder side of smoking.

[Traab]

Here it is.




No need to hope, really. S'not like there are any females in GG on the colder side of smoking.

I dunno, one of those fake jaeger girls was kinda short and pudgy. She wasnt UGLY, but she certainly didnt match up with most of the other ladies in the series.

[Lochar]

Here it is.




No need to hope, really. S'not like there are any females in GG on the colder side of smoking.

Nice. Now I see why the islands haven't sunk completely. She's boiling it away. And Gil's threat is made funnier then. :)

[Zigg'rrauglurr]

Here it is.




No need to hope, really. S'not like there are any females in GG on the colder side of smoking.

Having never seen that before I'll have to go with:

THAT'S the Queen of England????????

[eee]

Having never seen that before I'll have to go with:

THAT'S the Queen of England????????

Yes. Not at all a Victoria, or an Elizabeth. Even an Elizabeth I.

Albia's a character that's gotten a LOT of foreshadowing. We know she's apparently ruled England for a LONG, LONG time; that to go against her merest whim is literally unthinkable; and while she's not actively at war with Klaus her agents see nothing wrong with spying on him and disrupting things if possible. And, to judge from Wooster's comments, she may be capable of dealing with the Other should such re-appear. Now that Agatha's out of Mechanicsburg we may wind up in England sooner or later; and when we do I imagine we'll meet Albia in the flesh.

Assuming she actually has flesh and isn't something TRULY bizarre...

[SlyGuyMcFly]

Assuming she actually has flesh and isn't something TRULY bizarre...

I can see plenty of flesh from where I'm sitting

[HandofShadows]

And, to judge from Wooster's comments, she may be capable of dealing with the Other should such re-appear.

When The Other was controling Agatha, she seemed very HAPPY at the idea of going to England. I don't see that as being a good thing in any way.

[Landis963]

When The Other was controling Agatha, she seemed very HAPPY at the idea of going to England. I don't see that as being a good thing in any way.

She was happy to go to England because it was an excuse not to go to Mechanicsburg.

[Cracklord]

Say what you like about the von Blitzengaard's, but

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they really know how to dress. Though she is a lot more adorable then I anticipated with a name like that. To me a name like Xerxsephnia suggests a ponderous, stately sort of character, which she certainly doesn't seem to be.

Still, how's that for a twist? Two loving siblings who seem genuinely fond of each other, at least on first impression. Isn't that interesting…

[Oracle_Hunter]

Say what you like about the von Blitzengaard's, but

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they really know how to dress. Though she is a lot more adorable then I anticipated with a name like that. To me a name like Xerxsephnia suggests a ponderous, stately sort of character, which she certainly doesn't seem to be.

Still, how's that for a twist? Two loving siblings who seem genuinely fond of each other, at least on first impression. Isn't that interesting…

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I was not expecting that reaction based off of Martellus's face on the last page. He really looked like Xerxsephina was someone he was surprised and not particularly pleased to see and yet apparently they're favorite siblings?

I'm not sure if I'm missing something in his expression or the Foglios have abused their Friday Cliffhanger Privileges.

It is a cute character design though. Subdued for Foglio, I'd say

[slayerx]

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If i had to guess It seems like Seffie is the one who's currently in charge of the knights of Jove, but since she's a female she's not actually allowed to claim the title of "Storm King"; hence why the title is vacant. Most likely because of the position she put herself into, none of the various potential heirs can claim the title without her approval (or without killing her). Knowing how much she favors Tweedle they wanted to get rid of him before she found out he had returned so that they might all still have a shot at the title.

[multilis]

This is a family of backstabbers Cousins, uncles, etc kill each other. Their allies the Mongfish sisters are plotting against each other.

So while sister could be ally she also could still be head enemy. Fridays update, Tweedle might not be sure what to expect. She plays friend, he needs others who want to keep him alive, so he may still be in distrust but not profitable to show it mode in case she is really ally.