Girl Genius XXXII: The scientific method at work!

[Traab]

You know, I'm mildly fascinated by the Jaeger's Aesthetic.


In the past they seem to have been an Atilla-style Hoard, and there's certainly aspects of that in how they dress, especially with Oggie, but most of the Jaegers prefer to invoke the Contemporary Shiny Buttons style uniforms of other Girl Genius armies. Lots of bright colors and such indicative of line infantry rather than melee brawlers.

Of course, there's nothing "Uniform" about the Jaegers at all.

My personal theory is that once a Jaeger loots a Hat, they commission an outfit that fits that Hat's aesthetic. A Jaeger still wearing a ratty old helmet from a century ago will have clothes that fit, but as their foes adopt new fashions, the Jaegers do so as well. Spiked Shoulderpad in today's comic had the black uniform (With a metal) commissioned AFTER he looted black-and silver hat. Purpleskin Spikedchin probably got his hat off one of the Papal armies, stuck a heterodyne sigil over the cross, ect.


Maxim was lucky in that Old Man Death's hat already matched his outfit pretty well.

Keep in mind the jaegers are also varying in age from basically their 60s or so to hundreds upon hundreds of years old. Some still remember the original storm king. So their sense of style can be wildly divergent because of that too. A dude who was born in the 1700s is going to have a different sense of fashion than a guy born in 1950.

[Radar]

Except Krosp wants the job.

With the bears (and they seem to behave way better than Jeagers)? Sure. With the cats though (which he thought was his whole purpose)...

[lord_khaine]

The bears seems pretty chill and easy to handle actually.
And i also think at this point its clear the whole "king of cats" bit was misdirection.
Krosp was always meant to be the bear general.

[Radar]

The bears seems pretty chill and easy to handle actually.
And i also think at this point its clear the whole "king of cats" bit was misdirection.
Krosp was always meant to be the bear general.

It was a misdirection, but Krosp did not know that until he met the bears. When he though his sole purpose was to be the emperor of cats? I think he felt a similar burden as Dimo right now.

[geoduck]

It was a misdirection, but Krosp did not know that until he met the bears. When he though his sole purpose was to be the emperor of cats? I think he felt a similar burden as Dimo right now.

I suppose he faced the same problem as Dimo, redoubled, in that cats are even worse than Jagers at following orders, but I wouldn't call it a burden. Dimo doesn't want to be a general even if every Jager obeyed with clockwork precision. If cats could be used as spies, Krosp would be gleefully running spy-rings all across Europa.

And someone has to give the Jagers orders. Krosp can cheerfully ignore his subjects and they will mostly get along just fine.

[lord_khaine]

Eh.. to be pedantic.. i think it was pretty different feelings.
Krops was feeling despair when it felt like his entire existence was a big cosmic joke, due to his creator being a idiot.

Meanwhile Dimo is feeling intense frustration due to being close to the only sane man in charge of a bunch of idiots.

[Rockphed]

The first jaeger we see talking to Dimo ... did he completely fail to understand what a map is? Or, is it all part of an elaborate act?

[Majiy]

Is it possible Bang has never seen Higgs in combat?

They actually fought before. Though it is unclear if or how much Bang does remember about that.

[Shining Wrath]

They actually fought before. Though it is unclear if or how much Bang does remember about that.

I am not certain how canonical that flashback is, because even River Dyne geese should have difficulty in breaking a Jager General's arm. Or, for that matter, Bang breaking his arm is a stretch. Even a delirious Bang would have a dozen knives on her, but she's not known for her vast strength. She's a sword fighter, not a brawler. Remember this story was produced after they gave Higgs lots of rum.

[Ailurus]

I agree with the multiple breaks flashback probably being mostly made up (or, perhaps, retconned later if the Professors decided to change Higg's role a bit as that was 15 years ago), but Bang and Higgs were both present when Gil fought Martellus after the Timeskip.

[lord_khaine]

I think Higgs being a secret Jaeger is 100% a retcon.
Just also one that could be done pretty smoothly because we really didnt have anything reliable about what went on.
Just 3rd hand accounts at best.

[Divayth Fyr]

I think Higgs being a secret Jaeger is 100% a retcon.
Just also one that could be done pretty smoothly because we really didnt have anything reliable about what went on.
Just 3rd hand accounts at best.

That would be a relatively early retcon. The moment we enter the Castle everything we see implies he is at the very least a trusted servant of the Heterodynes, one known by the Castle, and who can recollect events from quite long ago. Adding to that his physical abilities does fit a Jaeger. His looks and behaviour obviously don't, but we know those can vary - Jenka looks relatively normal after all.

[geoduck]

That would be a relatively early retcon. The moment we enter the Castle everything we see implies he is at the very least a trusted servant of the Heterodynes, one known by the Castle, and who can recollect events from quite long ago. Adding to that his physical abilities does fit a Jaeger. His looks and behaviour obviously don't, but we know those can vary - Jenka looks relatively normal after all.

It's pretty clear from the first time we see him in person that he's at least a Jaeger; he's hanging out in the secret Jaeger bar having immediately recovered from some severe injuries.

[Rodin]

Even taking the flashback pages as canon places him above a Jaeger in my book - the creatures onboard are the goopy ones that Da Boyz and Zeetha ran away from, and which caused Dimo to lose an arm. Higgs solo kills the whole lot without getting injured. Bang injures him to begin with because he was carrying the Baronnand wasn’t expecting her to attack him. She injures him a second time by attacking from behind while he is treating the Barons injuries, and even with a broken arm and leg he’s able to non-lethally subdue her. He gets bit in the process because he’s trying not to hurt her while he restrains her.

The swan is the sticking point, but I’ve always read that as pure comedy. It doesn’t have to make sense.

[geoduck]

Even taking the flashback pages as canon places him above a Jaeger in my book - the creatures onboard are the goopy ones that Da Boyz and Zeetha ran away from, and which caused Dimo to lose an arm. Higgs solo kills the whole lot without getting injured. Bang injures him to begin with because he was carrying the Baronnand wasn’t expecting her to attack him. She injures him a second time by attacking from behind while he is treating the Barons injuries, and even with a broken arm and leg he’s able to non-lethally subdue her. He gets bit in the process because he’s trying not to hurt her while he restrains her.

The swan is the sticking point, but I’ve always read that as pure comedy. It doesn’t have to make sense.

We also need to remember that everything we've heard about that sequence came from Higgs, and he could have easily been lying about what actually happened.

[halfeye]

The swan is the sticking point, but I’ve always read that as pure comedy. It doesn’t have to make sense.

I'm vaguely remembering a duck on the Dyne being much more dangerous than usual, a goose from the Dyne being able to hurt Higgs isn't that unreasonable if an ordinary goose can hurt a normal human.

[Shining Wrath]

I'm vaguely remembering a duck on the Dyne being much more dangerous than usual, a goose from the Dyne being able to hurt Higgs isn't that unreasonable if an ordinary goose can hurt a normal human.

Yeah, but didn't all this take place near Sturmhalten? That's where the Baron ran afoul of Agatha.

[Rockphed]

Yeah, but didn't all this take place near Sturmhalten? That's where the Baron ran afoul of Agatha.

They aren't specific about where he crashed into a farmer's pond. However, I don't think he crashed within the walls of Mechanicsburg, so it probably wasn't a Jaeger duck.

[Devlerbat]

They aren't specific about where he crashed into a farmer's pond. However, I don't think he crashed within the walls of Mechanicsburg, so it probably wasn't a Jaeger duck.

Maybe, but this is still the world of Girl Genius and so it still could have been something sort of Frankenstein giant three-headed cyborg monster swan.

[Shining Wrath]

Maybe, but this is still the world of Girl Genius and so it still could have been something sort of Frankenstein giant three-headed cyborg monster swan.

Raymond Burr voice Assumes facts not in evidence.

I wonder just how good a woman has to be at kissing - let's assume it was kissing, shall we? - to earn a Jager's hat. Especially because we know Oggie has smooched before. At least, when he fathered a child I assume there was some smooching involved.

[lord_khaine]

I'm vaguely remembering a duck on the Dyne being much more dangerous than usual, a goose from the Dyne being able to hurt Higgs isn't that unreasonable if an ordinary goose can hurt a normal human.

But a Goose cant hurt a normal human. It can make a lot of noise and make you think its the case.

Else. Lets assume the family friendly version. That a honorable defeat took place.
And that Oggie, upon being unable to go on, conceded and handed over his hat.

[Traab]

Raymond Burr voice Assumes facts not in evidence.

I wonder just how good a woman has to be at kissing - let's assume it was kissing, shall we? - to earn a Jager's hat. Especially because we know Oggie has smooched before. At least, when he fathered a child I assume there was some smooching involved.

It may have been a group effort to earn that hat going by the giggling kissy face posse behind her.

[Radar]

Else. Lets assume the family friendly version. That a honorable defeat took place.
And that Oggie, upon being unable to go on, conceded and handed over his hat.

Reminds me of the time Haley met Elan's father: Eyes. Let's both pretend you were about to say, "eyes". (link)

[Devlerbat]

Raymond Burr voice Assumes facts not in evidence.

Okay okay, it was probably not a giant or cyborg since one of the facts we know about this swan is what one of its wings look like. The only other fact that we know about this swan is that it was able to break Higgs's arm (albeit an encumbered, distracted, and heavily injured Higgs, but still.) So, it was still probably not a normal swan. Third fact: the world they live in means that some sort of arm breaking super swan would not be that out of the ordinary regardless of how far from Mechanicsburg they were.

[Radar]

Okay okay, it was probably not a giant or cyborg since one of the facts we know about this swan is what one of its wings look like. The only other fact that we know about this swan is that it was able to break Higgs's arm (albeit an encumbered, distracted, and heavily injured Higgs, but still.) So, it was still probably not a normal swan. Third fact: the world they live in means that someone sort of arm breaking super swan would not be that out of the ordinary regardless of how far from Mechanicsburg they were.

To be frank, a regular swan can easily break an arm of a regular adult human, so there is that.

[Shining Wrath]

Two points:

1) Higgs may have been retconned into the story after the Foglios discovered he was popular. He started out a loyal Wulfenbach airman and became the secret general *after* he rescued Klaus - not in-story, but by author fiat. If that's the case nothing actually has to make sense.

2) If Higgs was already (in Foglio-brains) the secret general during the flashback, he had strong motivation to lie to the Wulfenbach troops about how badly injured he was and the source of those injuries. Telling them "Yeah I got my leg broken by a Ocnor Megaclank Mark VII while saving the Baron", when a O.M.M.VII. is known to be capable of defeating entire battalions of ordinary troops, tells them he's an incredible fighter. Contrariwise, telling them it was a swan preserves his cover. And how much rum would you have to give Higgs in order for him to lose control and start blabbing freely? Probably, an amount that would be lethal for a human (several times over).

Higgs' loyalty to the Jagers, and preserving his secret as the Hidden General, would in my opinion trump his loyalty to the Baron.

[TeChameleon]

Yeh, a nesting swan... or Canada Goose... can seriously mess up a regular person. And if Higgs already had airship-crash-, monster-, and Dupree-injuries, it's entirely possible that his arm bone had been weakened to the point of being as breakable as a regular person's arm. Or, as has been noted, mad science swan. *shrug*

[Shining Wrath]

Dimo may not always like being a general, but when the situation requires it, he generals.

I wonder if Agatha even notices the assembled Jagers, or if her attention is entirely on her city?

[theangelJean]

Dimo may not always like being a general, but when the situation requires it, he generals.

I wonder if Agatha even notices the assembled Jagers, or if her attention is entirely on her city?

She's learning the proper forms of command. Admittedly, she's learning from Zeetha, but Zeetha isn't the worst role model around.

Also since she didn't grow up in Mechanicsburg, but met the citizens before she met the Castle (and the Jaegers even before that), I'm betting the people have equal significance to her to the place itself.

[runeghost]

We also need to remember that everything we've heard about that sequence came from Higgs, and he could have easily been lying about what actually happened.

Also, recall that we are reading something recounted by Professors Foglio & Foglio of the Department of Irrefutably True History, to which, "Occasional guesswork and narrative license have been applied in cases where facts were uncertain or where documented occurrences would have been more amusing if only they had happened in some other way."