Girl Genius XIX: Worth a Third of Your Grade

[thorgrim29]

So, doctor Rothfuss, big guy with a bushy brown beard huh? Sounds familiar: http://www.patrickrothfuss.com/content/index.asp

[wingnutx]

I might have known!

[Nourjan]

It is a world ruled by mad science, not copyright or trademark law.

...Come to think of it, I don't recall ever seeing a comic based on a world ruled by mad lawyers battling it out for dominance, and yet it seems such an obvious subject. Can anybody help me out here? Surely somebody must have written something like that.

I believe Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl's writer) have one book where the lawyers in that universe are basically special forces commandos (gives paralegal a whole new meaning).

[The Glyphstone]

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Doesn't Tarvek also call Gil "Wulfenbach"?

[thorgrim29]

Yeah, but he's passed out and like a few seconds for dying isn't he?

[BRC]

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Doesn't Tarvek also call Gil "Wulfenbach"?

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Probably? But Tarvek wouldn't have said "I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!"

That's a Hero Line.

And we know what that means...

[eschmenk]

Yeah, but he's passed out and like a few seconds for dying isn't he?

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Right. I don't think it could be Tarvek; if it is, he's doomed because Gil isn't ready to save him. And I think Gil would be acting a little more excited.

If I had to guess someone other than Othar, I'd guess the Abbess because she might say something like that. She should be a little clawed up, but OK otherwise. We don't know that Gil is familiar with her, but he might have learned about her at some point. She was in the Red Cathedral, but the room she was in was lit by green lights and the portal, but she might have moved from where she was. Still, I think Othar is more likely than her, even though we weren't told that he was at the cathedral.

FWIW, I'm pretty sure that the last canonical time we've seen Othar was way back at the beginning of Volume 13.

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Probably? But Tarvek wouldn't have said "I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!"

That's a Hero Line.

And we know what that means...

Huh? Villains say that a lot, too. Really, any frustrated over-the-top person with a high opinion of themselves might say it. And Tarvek can sound just as bad as Othar at times.

[halfeye]

Have Othar and Martellus been introduced? If not, why not?

[eee]

Have Othar and Martellus been introduced? If not, why not?

They may know of each other; but how we know they'd react to each other, they probably haven't met face to face yet, because they are both still alive.

[Rockphed]

They may know of each other; but how we know they'd react to each other, they probably haven't met face to face yet, because they are both still alive.

That is a fight I would pay good money to see. Not my money mind, but it would be legal tender somewhere. Or at least look like legal tender. Okay, so I made a counterfeiting clank, but it is really bad. I have a pile of bright yellow US bank notes to unload and a fight between two homicidal, incredibly-durable sparks seems likely to have the bookies distracted and open for fraud.

[Deliverance]

It has got to be Othar.

While Tarvek also calls Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, especially when annoyed, if Tarvek has been freed it has - for him - been only a few hours since he was sad that Agatha had thrown Gil out of Mechanicsburg, so they couldn't keep him safe and an even shorter period of time since he saw Klaus dropping from the sky, and didn't know what it was, but was sure it was from the Wulfenbach fleet after which he was struck near the heart with a knife.

I just don't see Tarvek being having either the inclination, being in the shape, or having reason to shout "Wulfenbach! I might have KNOWN!" under those circumstances.

Othar, on the other hand, was presumably in good shape when the Time bubble went up, hasn't been mentioned since then, and knows that Gil is a villain! If he has just been freed, is confused about the situation (well, he's Othar, but more confused than usual), and seeing how something is terribly wrong with Mechanicsburg? "Wulfenbach! I might have KNOWN!" would fit perfectly... if followed by, "but know that I, Othar Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer, will <insert rant>".

[The Glyphstone]

Yeah, I have no doubt it's Othar either. But the speech patterns would fit Tarvek as well, so it's possibly if exceedingly unlikely they've selectively freed his head from stasis or something, letting him talk without the poison progressing.

[Lethologica]

It has got to be Othar.

While Tarvek also calls Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, especially when annoyed, if Tarvek has been freed it has - for him - been only a few hours since he was sad that Agatha had thrown Gil out of Mechanicsburg, so they couldn't keep him safe and an even shorter period of time since he saw Klaus dropping from the sky, and didn't know what it was, but was sure it was from the Wulfenbach fleet after which he was struck near the heart with a knife.

I just don't see Tarvek being having either the inclination, being in the shape, or having reason to shout "Wulfenbach! I might have KNOWN!" under those circumstances.

What, you don't think enough can happen in a few hours of in-comic time to get Tarvek to say pretty much anything? In Girl Genius?

(I don't think it's Tarvek, but I think this is an amusing way to go about disproving it.)

[Deliverance]

What, you don't think enough can happen in a few hours of in-comic time to get Tarvek to say pretty much anything? In Girl Genius?

(I don't think it's Tarvek, but I think this is an amusing way to go about disproving it.)

I find it unlikely that such major changes in a few hours of in-comic time would happen off-screen. Especially since we know that Tarvek spent the part of that time before the time freeze going to the Cathedral with Agatha.

[Grif]

On an entire different note, Gil's looking quite well rested now.

[Wayson]

And things seemed to be going so well too! Bleh.

[memnarch]

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The interesting thing is the red lightning lines all over Othar. I wonder if that's because they're still in the Time Bubble or just because of the difference in removal from Vole.

[lurkmeister]

This has to be going through Gil's mind right now:

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[Rodin]

Spoiler: new comic

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The interesting thing is the red lightning lines all over Othar. I wonder if that's because they're still in the Time Bubble or just because of the difference in removal from Vole.

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It's because they're still in the time bubble - look at the previous page, you can see the red lines all over Gil as well.

[HandofShadows]

This has to be going through Gil's mind right now:

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I TOTALLY agree.

[eee]

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Hey, OTHAR! Should you not also be concerned with Sanaa? You know, your sister? Who has shown an ability to get herself into trouble, but less competence to get out than you or Agatha? The girl lobbying to be your sidekick? Who is also missing? Her?

(I'm not looking forward to when Sanaa realizes her beloved older brother IS crazy. Good reason to keep them separated as much as possible.)

I too noticed the tendrils of energy. I saw them first on Othar's classic torso and thought "Wow, he's got some interesting scar patterns." Then I saw they extended down onto his pants, and revised my view.

[eschmenk]

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(I'm not looking forward to when Sanaa realizes her beloved older brother IS crazy. Good reason to keep them separated as much as possible.)

Minions like to follow crazy masters. Why would this be any different?

[thorgrim29]

Wow, Othar is pretty ripped under the sweater he usually wears.

[memnarch]

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It's because they're still in the time bubble - look at the previous page, you can see the red lines all over Gil as well.

Ah, yeah. I was just comparing to the guy in white on the right and didn't see any of the lines on him.

[The Glyphstone]

Wow, Othar is pretty ripped under the sweater he usually wears.

You didn't notice that back when we first met him in Volume Two, on the airship? Dude has muscles on his muscles.

[thorgrim29]

It's been a while since I read that section, also the art is a lot more detailed nowadays

[Rogar Demonblud]

You didn't notice that back when we first met him in Volume Two, on the airship? Dude has muscles on his muscles.

It helps he doesn't have anything inside his skull that needs nourishment.

[The Glyphstone]

It helps he doesn't have anything inside his skull that needs nourishment.

Eh, Othar can be extremely canny at times. He's just erratic and single-minded even by Sparky standards, in addition to being utterly delusional.

[lurkmeister]

You know, Othar brings such an unusual vibe to the story.

When we first met him, Agatha freeing him from Baron Wulfenbach's clutches was an establishing-character moment for her: She's a genuinely good person, even when she has to take risks to be good.

Now, though, I'm pretty sure all of the protagonists and even most of the antagonists would positively salivate to get him back into that sparkproofed thing the Baron devised to hold him. Which, in turn, makes Baron Wulfenbach a more complex and sympathetic character (especially since he obviously knew what Othar's like, while Agatha didn't).

[Deliverance]

Except, of course, that Baron Wulfenbach didn't want to keep Othar locked up in a spark-proof thing; When first we meet Othar, Klaus wanted to dissect Othar's mind to better understand the spark, destroying the mind in the process. When second Othar and Klaus meets in the comic, Klaus has captured him because he wants to enslave Othar, forcing him under duress with an exploding collar to save Gil from the deadly Castle Heterodyne as an alternative to killing Othar. I've a hard time seeing Klaus as a more sympathetic character for either of these reasons.