GrrlPower III: Crisis Of Infinite Filler Comics

[lord_khaine]

Its not like Sydney needs to use her force field orb. Her air orb can create a bubble around her on its own. That leaves her with a free hand to fly or shoot.
(its seen in comic 541)

[Eldan]

The version of that joke that I've heard has "loose grammar" rather than "new words".

Nah. English doesn't do grammar. English is German with the Grammar stripped to the barest bones (barely any verb conjugation, no grammatical gender, cases basically nonexistant) and then French words stacked on top.

[lord_khaine]

Nah. English doesn't do grammar. English is German with the Grammar stripped to the barest bones (barely any verb conjugation, no grammatical gender, cases basically nonexistant) and then French words stacked on top.

English doesnt do things well, but by Gods it do a lot! (of other languages)

[HandofShadows]

English doesnt do things well, but by Gods it do a lot! (of other languages)

Actually English does do one things very well. It adapts. It's flexible like few other languages are.

[Eldan]

Yeah. Every time we get a new word from English into German, the authorities have to discuss what gender it would be. Like with every computer term ever.

[Traab]

Its not like Sydney needs to use her force field orb. Her air orb can create a bubble around her on its own. That leaves her with a free hand to fly or shoot.
(its seen in comic 541)

Hmm, thats true I guess. Should be interesting to see how well that works then. It would be kind of like one of those old fashioned diving bell suits that has air pumped into it to avoid pressure issues. Also, what the limits on speed are that they can travel at with the bubble able to keep up and surround them safely.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Yeah. Every time we get a new word from English into German, the authorities have to discuss what gender it would be. Like with every computer term ever.

Aren't computers neuter case? After all, they've evolved beyond biology.

[HandofShadows]

Aren't computers neuter case? After all, they've evolved beyond biology.

Der, Die and Das. These actually more a part of the word and they don't need to make sense in gender terms. For instance precipitation is considered "male". I may have forgotten 99% of my old German classes, but remembered that at the language.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

Its not like Sydney needs to use her force field orb. Her air orb can create a bubble around her on its own. That leaves her with a free hand to fly or shoot.
(its seen in comic 541)

The other way around might make more sense though, hold the force field orb continuously, refresh the air when needed (I'm assuming the orb has some build in thing against overpressurizing, like absorbing the used air, but if not she can just grow her bubble to fit) and at all other times use the fly orb in that hand. That way she can transport other people. If she has someone in their with flight powers of their own the ride will be even smoother.

[lord_khaine]

The other way around might make more sense though, hold the force field orb continuously, refresh the air when needed (I'm assuming the orb has some build in thing against overpressurizing, like absorbing the used air, but if not she can just grow her bubble to fit) and at all other times use the fly orb in that hand. That way she can transport other people. If she has someone in their with flight powers of their own the ride will be even smoother.

Well it is true that the force field orb would make it possible for her to take passagers without flight along. But if its that kind of operation they might as well just use a submarine.

[Forum Explorer]

Well it is true that the force field orb would make it possible for her to take passagers without flight along. But if its that kind of operation they might as well just use a submarine.

Submarines require large crews, most who likely aren't aware of the council.

Anyways, I like how this is all politics. The Vampire is trying to regain some pride at Maxima's expense, first by trying to sneak in, and then by making the meeting place inconvenient. But Maxima isn't having any of it.

[Traab]

Well it is true that the force field orb would make it possible for her to take passagers without flight along. But if its that kind of operation they might as well just use a submarine.

They would need very very good submarines as even the modern american nuclear subs seawolf class have a test depth of 490m and crush at 730m while this secret meeting is at 1000m. Some small subs can go that deep apparently but its pretty rare.

[Calemyr]

Submarines require large crews, most who likely aren't aware of the council.

Anyways, I like how this is all politics. The Vampire is trying to regain some pride at Maxima's expense, first by trying to sneak in, and then by making the meeting place inconvenient. But Maxima isn't having any of it.

I don't know how much of this is politics and how much of this is paranoia. And justified paranoia at that. The major issue here is that the active participants in the conspiracy are a pair of vampires. That puts Ingsol in a very tough position if he suspects anything. Revealing them (or even investigating them) would be devastating to the Vampire faction in the Council, but leaving them alone would risk destroying everything they've worked so hard to build. Especially with the burgeoning Super population, this is NOT a good time to make an enemy of humanity. Crimson was trying to be discreet by breaking in, not necessarily arrogant. The more people that know about this meeting, the more chance the conspiracy will learn of it. Limiting those who know to just his trusted daughter, the most trusted Super in Arc, and those Maxima trusts, is probably just an old bloodsucker being prudent. According to Dave, Crimson's expression wasn't meant to be trollish "U mad, bro?", it was meant to be uncertain. In the "We really need you to do this, but can't explain why yet and we don't know how much of hardship this will be for you. Please don't let this be a deal-breaker or an insult..." sort of way. Fortunately, Sydney is standing right there next to her, with newly revealed powers that render the caveat irrelevant.

Of course, it could also be a trap. Crimson may be Ingsol's "daughter", but she is not his thrall and admits to having a low opinion of humans. If she has signed on with the conspiracy, this would be a perfect opportunity to isolate Maxima and any trusted retinue in an environment where her powers are probably less effective. I rather doubt it, as the story seems to stress that there are both evil vampires and practical vampires ("good" is a stretch, but they're definitely being practical). Crimson being a traitor would really sink the "practical" side's stock in the eyes of the readers.

[lord_khaine]

Of course, it could also be a trap. Crimson may be Ingsol's "daughter", but she is not his thrall and admits to having a low opinion of humans. If she has signed on with the conspiracy, this would be a perfect opportunity to isolate Maxima and any trusted retinue in an environment where her powers are probably less effective. I rather doubt it, as the story seems to stress that there are both evil vampires and practical vampires ("good" is a stretch, but they're definitely being practical). Crimson being a traitor would really sink the "practical" side's stock in the eyes of the readers.

I dont really know about this. I dont think there is any enviroment on earth were a a couple if vampires are handicapped less than Maxima. Her power level are extremely high, and can easily be boosted to high tier Avenger level. At that level chugging her into an active vulcano will only leave her pissed and naked.

So to create that sort of enviroment you would need to cheat and use a lot of magic.
Thats why i think its a lot more likely that this is Ingsols secret Hide-From-Vampire-Hunters lair.

[Celestia]

It could also be Atlantis because it's been several pages since we were last introduced to something new.

[Calemyr]

I dont really know about this. I dont think there is any enviroment on earth were a a couple if vampires are handicapped less than Maxima. Her power level are extremely high, and can easily be boosted to high tier Avenger level. At that level chugging her into an active vulcano will only leave her pissed and naked.

So to create that sort of enviroment you would need to cheat and use a lot of magic.
Thats why i think its a lot more likely that this is Ingsols secret Hide-From-Vampire-Hunters lair.

My thought was less that it would make it easy and more that it would make it easier, by isolating her in an environment where her super strength and speed is hampered by the water.

Of course, she then proceeds to bring Halo and Dabbler with her, two of the biggest heavy hitters in Arc besides herself. If this is a trap, I feel sorry for the people trying to spring it, so it's probably not a trap, not that I ever thought it was a high probability. Besides, they blindfolded Halo, but not Maxima, so they seem to be planning to return them unharmed.

Also, I can't be the only one having bad flashbacks of the NES game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, can I? I know I'm old, but... *shudder*

[Traab]

Well I WASNT. Then you had to bring it up. Seriously though, its kind of a lame design for the lair. Anyone capable of making it this far isnt likely going to be bothered by stone spikes that dont do anything but exist.

[lord_khaine]

My thought was less that it would make it easy and more that it would make it easier, by isolating her in an environment where her super strength and speed is hampered by the water.

Of course, she then proceeds to bring Halo and Dabbler with her, two of the biggest heavy hitters in Arc besides herself. If this is a trap, I feel sorry for the people trying to spring it, so it's probably not a trap, not that I ever thought it was a high probability. Besides, they blindfolded Halo, but not Maxima, so they seem to be planning to return them unharmed.

Well.. yeah alright i guess even Max would be a little slowed down if she had to do something underwater. I Just cant really imagine anyone else send against her who would not get hampered equally or more.

Anyway, i disagree with the notion of Halo being a heavy hitter. And as such i actually think Maxima is more vulnerable in this company. When she is alone she can always reply with her nuklear blast if sufficiently pissed off, but that option vanishes when there are teammates around she have to protect as well.

[Traab]

Well.. yeah alright i guess even Max would be a little slowed down if she had to do something underwater. I Just cant really imagine anyone else send against her who would not get hampered equally or more.

Anyway, i disagree with the notion of Halo being a heavy hitter. And as such i actually think Maxima is more vulnerable in this company. When she is alone she can always reply with her nuklear blast if sufficiently pissed off, but that option vanishes when there are teammates around she have to protect as well.

Halos shield has already tanked numerous big blasts and withstood the fallout of some of maximas bigger shots, so unless something there is SO POWERFUL that it requires a total stat dump into kablam, its doubtful she will have to hold back that much really. And sydney has already shown her power in a number of ways. She has a roughly 15 ton lifting limit on her hentorb, can blast through tanks like they arent even there with her beam weapon, or use scatter shot to take down crowds, has a shield that so far nothing has broken through, and can fly. She also now doesnt even have to worry overmuch about things like air either. Yeah, if this is a backstab attempt, im thinking bringing sydney along wasnt a bad thing at all.

[Calemyr]

Well.. yeah alright i guess even Max would be a little slowed down if she had to do something underwater. I Just cant really imagine anyone else send against her who would not get hampered equally or more.

Anyway, i disagree with the notion of Halo being a heavy hitter. And as such i actually think Maxima is more vulnerable in this company. When she is alone she can always reply with her nuklear blast if sufficiently pissed off, but that option vanishes when there are teammates around she have to protect as well.

The trap could simply be an extremely reinforced room. Without Halo's newfound ability, even Maxima would risk drowning before she could break out. You don't have to fight power with power, you just have to negate the power that's already there.

Halo being a heavy hitter is kind of the whole point of the series. Girl has a suite of powers, all of which are very powerful. She can fly at absurd speeds, generate shields that can tank shots from Maxima and resist a hyper-charged violence mage's auras, nuke tanks with dramatic effect on par with Dabbler's rail gun, create lighthooks strong enough to throw Anvil like an over-powered lawn dart, and true sight that even a succubus can't overcome. The girl is unquestionably a heavy hitter. She's also untrained, very distractable, hyper-active, so she's a long, long, long way from being an ideal hero at this point. Despite her flaws, however, she wields power in magnitude and variety that dwarfs most actual supers.

[lord_khaine]

Halos shield has already tanked numerous big blasts and withstood the fallout of some of maximas bigger shots, so unless something there is SO POWERFUL that it requires a total stat dump into kablam, its doubtful she will have to hold back that much really. And sydney has already shown her power in a number of ways. She has a roughly 15 ton lifting limit on her hentorb, can blast through tanks like they arent even there with her beam weapon, or use scatter shot to take down crowds, has a shield that so far nothing has broken through, and can fly. She also now doesnt even have to worry overmuch about things like air either. Yeah, if this is a backstab attempt, im thinking bringing sydney along wasnt a bad thing at all.

She is also easily distracted, and only have a human reaction time in a world of supers. Max is constantly protected, Halo is less so. As a glass cannon she is especially vulnerable to sneak attacks.

The trap could simply be an extremely reinforced room. Without Halo's newfound ability, even Maxima would risk drowning before she could break out. You don't have to fight power with power, you just have to negate the power that's already there.

Well.. its just that bit i dont see as viable. I mean reinforcing a room to keep Max captured long enough to risk drowning. In one of the early blogs the Author gave an explanation of Max's power level. And he mentioned how that if she dumps her entire pool into a single attribute then its boosed to a level that correspond to Thor/Hulk from Marvel.

Thats why i have rather high regard for just what sort of power Max posseses.

Halo being a heavy hitter is kind of the whole point of the series. Girl has a suite of powers, all of which are very powerful. She can fly at absurd speeds, generate shields that can tank shots from Maxima and resist a hyper-charged violence mage's auras, nuke tanks with dramatic effect on par with Dabbler's rail gun, create lighthooks strong enough to throw Anvil like an over-powered lawn dart, and true sight that even a succubus can't overcome. The girl is unquestionably a heavy hitter. She's also untrained, very distractable, hyper-active, so she's a long, long, long way from being an ideal hero at this point. Despite her flaws, however, she wields power in magnitude and variety that dwarfs most actual supers.

Actually, im pretty certain that the main point of the serie is a genre savy nerd suddenly getting a chance to be a super hero herself. But Math has given us a very clear picture of just how meaningful skill is in a actual fight. It boots his rather low physical attributes (for a super) to a point where he is the most dangerous male member of the team in a fight.
Sydney meanwhile is the opposite example of this, with a higher base strenght and a negative skill multiplier.

[Yuki Akuma]

I think the main point of the series is to show off all the cool "realistic" superheroes the author has made up over the years.

[Calemyr]

She is also easily distracted, and only have a human reaction time in a world of supers. Max is constantly protected, Halo is less so. As a glass cannon she is especially vulnerable to sneak attacks.

Yup. Halo wields a lot of power, but she's both the weak link in the machine and the spark of creativity that makes it so freaking scary. What makes her interesting is that she's simultaneously so much stronger and so much weaker than her peers, and even more so that, for all her power, that's not what makes her dangerous - it's her intelligence and her genre savvy. At least, that's my take on her.

Well.. its just that bit i dont see as viable. I mean reinforcing a room to keep Max captured long enough to risk drowning. In one of the early blogs the Author gave an explanation of Max's power level. And he mentioned how that if she dumps her entire pool into a single attribute then its boosed to a level that correspond to Thor/Hulk from Marvel.

Thats why i have rather high regard for just what sort of power Max posseses.

To quote Dave B's commentary from the previous strip:

Maxima could probably get that deep on her own, but she doesn’t know, she’s never tried. The pressure wouldn’t be an issue, and her power can subsidize her need to breathe for a limited amount of time. But just in case she can’t, she doesn’t want to be in a position where she’s at the mercy of The Council’s schedule.

Namely the "limited amount of time" bit, there. Sure, in an air environment, she could punch through anything in her way with probably minimal trouble. In a completely submerged environment, her speed would be crippled, as would her striking power, unless she's got more powers under the hood than we know about. Sure, she probably could punch through a trap like that even underwater, but it would take a lot of time, and I think it's reasonable to imagine the bad guys assuming she wouldn't have the lung capacity to exert herself that much for that long with no external oxygen. In fighting, she drowns more quickly. In preserving her oxygen, she drowns more certainly. Without Dabbler and Halo, it'd be lose/lose.

Of course, if it were a trap, it's not going to take her out anyway. This strip is meta enough that it knows that we know that it knows this. But if I were going to try to kill Maxima, this would be pretty high up on my list of plans.

Actually, im pretty certain that the main point of the serie is a genre savy nerd suddenly getting a chance to be a super hero herself. But Math has given us a very clear picture of just how meaningful skill is in a actual fight. It boots his rather low physical attributes (for a super) to a point where he is the most dangerous male member of the team in a fight.
Sydney meanwhile is the opposite example of this, with a higher base strenght and a negative skill multiplier.

That's part of the point of the series, true. But not the point for Archon. Archon is not agreeing to bring in a creative loose cannon because it will entertain the audience or serve as a venue for exposition. Only Sydney (and possibly Maxima) are medium-aware enough to consider that. They're bringing her in because the range and potency of her powers is unheard of. If it were for her true-seeing alone, they said, they would have to have her. They hired her for her power, and the sick bit of it is that, based on her level-up screen, she hasn't even scratched the surface of her powers. And yet, that power is not why Death Toll and Kevin "Vehemence" are chilling in prison, it's Sydney herself. So far, her most powerful weapon is the shield that buys her time to think things through.

[Eldan]

She is also easily distracted, and only have a human reaction time in a world of supers. Max is constantly protected, Halo is less so. As a glass cannon she is especially vulnerable to sneak attacks.

Heh. Yeah. If she was in Worm instead of a comedy story, I'd give her three chapters before someone either sniped her from three blocks away or found a way to make her unable to use the orbs.

[Kantaki]

Heh. Yeah. If she was in Worm instead of a comedy story, I'd give her three chapters before someone either sniped her from three blocks away or found a way to make her unable to use the orbs.

Just think what some of the Capes with more... creative powers could do to her.

And even if she gets her shield up there are individuals who might get through it with their powers.
The Siberian, Foil, Shadowstalker, possibly Behemoth...
Pretty sure those guys could hurt Maxima too.

I wonder if the shield could protect Sydney from being influenced by a Master class.
Eye contact or hearing them would be enough in some cases.
And both would be possible through the shield.

Aunt Edith says:
Speaking of sound getting through Halo's shield, I wonder how well would Screamer's „sound-bending” work on her.
Sure, imitating a team mate would work as well as on anyone, but one of Screamers biggest tricks is imitating the targets voice to manipulate them as a „voice in their head”.
Would that even work on Sydney, considering having three contradicting trains of thought at the same time is normal for her.
So, would she even notice another one?

[Douglas]

And even if she gets her shield up there are individuals who might get through it with their powers.
The Siberian, Foil, Shadowstalker, possibly Behemoth...
Pretty sure those guys could hurt Maxima too.

Shadowstalker I would expect to be blocked. Behemoth, and maybe Siberian, might be able to hit harder than it can handle, but it's by no means certain. Foil probably would get through it, since her power is specifically to go through anything and so powerful it worked on Scion.

I wonder if the shield could protect Sydney from being influenced by a Master class.
Eye contact or hearing them would be enough in some cases.
And both would be possible through the shield.

It blocks teleportation and magic auras. Wouldn't surprise me if it blocks all kinds of powers, including sight and hearing based mind control.

[Traab]

Dabblers hypno boobs worked on vehemence through the shield, even while it was blocking auras. And I have to think it was more than just sexy woman bouncy bouncy jiggle jiggle seeing as he was a little busy choking maxima to death. So its very possible mental attacks can make it through. Maybe not all of them, but who knows?

[Forum Explorer]

Shadowstalker I would expect to be blocked. Behemoth, and maybe Siberian, might be able to hit harder than it can handle, but it's by no means certain. Foil probably would get through it, since her power is specifically to go through anything and so powerful it worked on Scion.


It blocks teleportation and magic auras. Wouldn't surprise me if it blocks all kinds of powers, including sight and hearing based mind control.

Siberian cancels powers entirely, to the point where even Scion was taking damage from her attacks. Behemoth would likely just bury Sydney, even if he might be able to break it. It seems to be more his style, I feel.

[Eldan]

My thought was less that it would make it easy and more that it would make it easier, by isolating her in an environment where her super strength and speed is hampered by the water.

Of course, she then proceeds to bring Halo and Dabbler with her, two of the biggest heavy hitters in Arc besides herself. If this is a trap, I feel sorry for the people trying to spring it, so it's probably not a trap, not that I ever thought it was a high probability. Besides, they blindfolded Halo, but not Maxima, so they seem to be planning to return them unharmed.

Also, I can't be the only one having bad flashbacks of the NES game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, can I? I know I'm old, but... *shudder*

I was thinking of the Abyss in Aquaria.

Also, as the comic itself says, the shield is not opaque, so a laser or radiation can go through it. So, Behemoth kills her instantly if she gets close.

[Calemyr]

I was thinking of the Abyss in Aquaria.

Also, as the comic itself says, the shield is not opaque, so a laser or radiation can go through it. So, Behemoth kills her instantly if she gets close.

She does, however, freak out when she realizes the beams fired from the girl with the laser orbs were blocked by the shield. She tries to check with Dabbler to see how that might be, but then abruptly hangs up when she discovers Dabbler is currently busy recharging her batteries with the Barberian.

So it's likely a "slow blade pierces the shield" scenario. Light with a frequency or intensity to harm is blocked (Sydney sees the beams, but isn't harmed by them) while other light (such as what reflects off Dabbler's chest) goes straight through. As another example, Vehemence's wardrobe malfunction would have dealt some SAN damage to Sydney with or without her shield up.