Girl Genius XX: Endothermic Life Forms Are Inherently Heretical

[eschmenk]

True enough but Tarvek did make the Anevka clank from Tinka's design. While it's entirely possible that her lightning attacks were added by Tarvek. It would make a form of sense for a spark to make what he was designing, for what amounts to the king of lightning, capable of emitting electricity.

I think there was a misunderstanding. Both Prende and Tinka zapped people in order to knock them unconscious. I think nearly everyone assumes that Van Rijn built in the ability to do that much. However, I think there was some confusion over how to interpret Calemyr's quote, "You think a Spark wouldn't weaponize their mechanical teachers?" I had assumed he was talking about the Storm King or later sparks weaponizing whatever muses they had learned things from. (I don't think that happened.) Now I think he probably was talking about Van Rijn weaponizing the muses himself. (In that case, I think he did, at least to some extent.)

ADDED: I suspect that sometimes teachers or tutors for sparks did wind up weaponized, though. Or even worse, of course.

[SZbNAhL]

True enough but Tarvek did make the Anevka clank from Tinka's design. While it's entirely possible that her lightning attacks were added by Tarvek. It would make a form of sense for a spark to make what he was designing, for what amounts to the king of lightning, capable of emitting electricity.

I may be wrong, but I think this is the only other example of a muse using electricity-based powers thus far. They can definitely knock people out, but we have yet to see anything fatal.

[Porthos]

Sneaky Gate:

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Well, THIS looks less than ideal!

[Aquillion]

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I'm getting a bit tired of the smoke knights and their kawarimi. It was amusing the first time, but now it's just getting repetitive.

[Rodin]

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Madwa, meet the Storm King. Storm King, this is Madwa. She's kinda evil and wants to steal your stuff.

[Grif]

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I'm getting a bit tired of the smoke knights and their kawarimi. It was amusing the first time, but now it's just getting repetitive.

Honestly it's one of those things best played only occasionally.

[geoduck]

Honestly it's one of those things best played only occasionally.

Yeah. It's not like GG is some grimdark spectacle, but it's too.. cartoony. I rolled my eyes way back when Violetta was able to instantly produce an exact copy of Theo and his clothes and swap them out of Lucrezia's grasp, and we've reached that same point again.

[petersohn]

Yeah. It's not like GG is some grimdark spectacle, but it's too.. cartoony. I rolled my eyes way back when Violetta was able to instantly produce an exact copy of Theo and his clothes and swap them out of Lucrezia's grasp, and we've reached that same point again.

I agree. It's been what, the third time Madwa does an impossible escape? It's starting to get boring.

[factotum]

It's only the second time? She escaped by leaving a cardboard cut-out when Agatha and the others originally arrived, and now she's escaped Prende by leaving fake arms behind. I think whatever happened to the lantern in that last-but-one panel is perhaps more significant, though--what did Violetta throw at it?

[Rodin]

I think just a stone, and she nailed the lantern hard enough that she broke whatever power cables it was attached to as well.

I'm most interested in whatever corpse that is that grabbed Madwa. The fingers are obviously skeletal, which makes me think that this is actually the resting place of the Storm King, who is very much alive and kicking thanks to the lantern. That would explain how Prende knows that Tarvek isn't the Storm King - it's because the Storm King is literally 10 feet behind her. It also explains why the lantern can't be moved - move the lantern, kill the Storm King. Simply moving both also doesn't work, since the lantern is plugged in to a fairly substantial power source.

Of course, with Agatha available this may be less of a problem than Prende thinks. Assuming Violetta didn't just trigger the death of the Storm King by snapping the cables, anyway.

[Shining Wrath]

I think just a stone, and she nailed the lantern hard enough that she broke whatever power cables it was attached to as well.

I'm most interested in whatever corpse that is that grabbed Madwa. The fingers are obviously skeletal, which makes me think that this is actually the resting place of the Storm King, who is very much alive and kicking thanks to the lantern. That would explain how Prende knows that Tarvek isn't the Storm King - it's because the Storm King is literally 10 feet behind her. It also explains why the lantern can't be moved - move the lantern, kill the Storm King. Simply moving both also doesn't work, since the lantern is plugged in to a fairly substantial power source.

Of course, with Agatha available this may be less of a problem than Prende thinks. Assuming Violetta didn't just trigger the death of the Storm King by snapping the cables, anyway.

You can't both have that being the Storm King grabbing Madwa and the Storm King being dead because the lantern is damaged - just sayin'.

I think that's the Storm King's brain in the jar. And I'm unsure what it is that just grabbed Madwa, but the sound effect is "CLAK" which certainly indicates something dry. And whatever it is frightens her.

[HandofShadows]

Maybe it's not that the lantern was keeping the Storm King (or whatever it is) alive, but keeping him/it in place and out of trouble?

[eee]

Ah, I *thought* the back of the cell looked a bit improvised! Evidently the wall was walling off something really dangerous.

And it appears Prende isn't an inescapable trap, after all.

You can't both have that being the Storm King grabbing Madwa and the Storm King being dead because the lantern is damaged - just sayin'.

I think that's the Storm King's brain in the jar. And I'm unsure what it is that just grabbed Madwa, but the sound effect is "CLAK" which certainly indicates something dry. And whatever it is frightens her.

It can be the Storm King if he's dead but still moving for several seconds after the Lantern is broken.

This could solve a story telling problem. Madwa is a bad 'un, like Margolotta. She's got to go. But Agatha isn't a killer - usually - and Madwa's physical abilities are sufficient to make her really hard to kill. Something extraordinary is necessary to finish her. What's behind the wall may be it.

[Darth Tom]

It looks like an organic rather than mechanical hand, the voice bubble suggests but doesn't confirm sparkiness, and recognises Madhwa? I'm guessing this is Lucrezia, walled up and guarded by Prende. Not the Other, the actual Lucrezia. Otilia was keeping Agatha "safe" for the world - on the orders of either van Rijn or the Storm King himself depending on interpretation - so it seems plausible that other Muses would be guarding other dangerous people.

Probably wrong, but guessing is fun!

I'm concerned that the lantern is broken though. Could be an interesting look at Agatha's growing skills, or even a chance for her to see some time-stuff close up.

[stsasser]

I'm concerned that the lantern is broken though. Could be an interesting look at Agatha's growing skills, or even a chance for her to see some time-stuff close up.

Pfft!...'broken' is just shorthand for 'Ready for Upgrade' to Agatha.

Now let's all enjoy a perfect cup of coffee.

[Rogar Demonblud]

That sequence still freaks me out more than most anything else in Girl Genius. Imagine if she uses time travel to snag a litre bottle of Dew.

[Ellen]

If they're lucky, that's the Storm King. If they're not lucky, that's a time window. If they're really not lucky, that's a lot worse than a window.

[factotum]

So, confirmed that Violetta's thrown object broke the Lantern. I wonder if that was her intent? To ensure that, if Agatha couldn't have it, Madwa wasn't going to have it either?

Anyway, this doesn't work like any time window we've seen. Whatever is in there appears to have the ability to age anything it touches, though, judging by Madwa's hand.

[geoduck]

If they're lucky, that's the Storm King. If they're not lucky, that's a time window. If they're really not lucky, that's a lot worse than a window.

Of course it's the Storm King; from the comments that Prende has made, it's the only thing that makes any sense at this point. The real question now is what exactly happened to him. Whatever it was, I assume Van Rijn and Prende used the Lantern to trap/contain/freeze him in this vault, while Van Rijn went to his Hermitorium to try and capture the Muse of Time and use her to somehow fix the problem in a more permanent fashion. Unfortunately, he died in the process, and here we are, 200 years later.

[Porthos]

My bet is that The Traveller has come!

[anon62453]

My bet is that The Traveller has come!

You know, I just now noticed that Madwa is wrapped from neck to toe like a mummy. None of the other smoke knight seemed to be wrapped in such a fashion. I wonder if that is due to old age or for some sort of tactical advantage . . .

[hajo]

Madwa is wrapped from neck to toe like a mummy.
None of the other smoke knight seemed to be wrapped in such a fashion.
I wonder if that is due to old age or for some sort of tactical advantage . . .

You remember the fake arms, just a few updates ago ?

[HandofShadows]

If they're lucky, that's the Storm King. If they're not lucky, that's a time window. If they're really not lucky, that's a lot worse than a window.

They are REALLY unlucky and it's the Storm King. Or whatever he was turned into.

[Darth Tom]

That green light coming from the crypt is interesting. I think it's a pretty unique colour effect in the comic, with only one other example I can think of: the release of Otilia from Lucrezia's lab. Given the shout of "Free!" in that instance I wonder if it represents a decaying stasis thingy?

I'm getting a nagging feeling that I've seen that effect somewhere else though - any ideas?

[Grim Portent]

The hand seems more alive than in the previous page. More fleshy and healthy looking. Is it possible the Storm King has become some sort of lifeforce stealing being?

[eschmenk]

The hand seems more alive than in the previous page. More fleshy and healthy looking. Is it possible the Storm King has become some sort of lifeforce stealing being?

That was my thought already on the previous page.

[Shining Wrath]

Yep. Storm King awakened from a long sleep, ready to reclaim his throne. Prende knows he's a bad 'un but is programmed to serve and protect. Madwa just got the life drained from her hand and if SK gets through that wall there's gonna be a whole lot of draining going on.

Now, since the Storm King more or less founded the Smoke Knights, do they have to obey him? Maybe there's some Sparky way for him to compel obedience, sort of like Agatha's voice and wasped folks?

[geoduck]

Yep. Storm King awakened from a long sleep, ready to reclaim his throne. Prende knows he's a bad 'un but is programmed to serve and protect. Madwa just got the life drained from her hand and if SK gets through that wall there's gonna be a whole lot of draining going on.

Now, since the Storm King more or less founded the Smoke Knights, do they have to obey him? Maybe there's some Sparky way for him to compel obedience, sort of like Agatha's voice and wasped folks?

I've never gotten the impression that the Storm King himself was a Spark..

[eschmenk]

Now, since the Storm King more or less founded the Smoke Knights, do they have to obey him?

He did? Are you sure you aren't thinking of the Knights of Jove? Yes, the KoJ uses Smoke Knights, but they aren't the same thing.

Anyway, I doubt Smoke Knights can be compelled like that. Tarvek and Martellus didn't try to do it even though they both thought they were the legitimate Storm King. People like Violetta were born generations after everyone thought that the original Storm King was gone. (The KoJ was looking for descendants of the Storm King, not the original one.)

[Kantaki]

Great. The Stormking is pulling the classic "king in the mountain" scheme. With added vampirism/ lifedraining/ chronovorism*. Well, maybe Agatha is lucky and can fix the lantern before he breaks out. I doubt it.

*Is chronovore the right word? Assuming he "eats" his victims' time of course.