Domino Quartz's Delightfully Quaint Random Banter Thread #248

[Rater202]

So I've mentioned a few times that I'm writing an Owl House/Marvel fanfic.

A comment left on the most recent chapter made me realize something.

To summarize: Amity learns a number of details about the (Marvel) Human realm that she does not react well to, including "There are people who have been turned into hulking berserkers of godlike strength by being exposed to the energy of city-destroying super weapons" and "there are n fact an absurd number of city-destroying super weapons laying around."

The comment reacted to these two tidbits specifically, pointing out that, well, the existence of Gamma Mutates should realistically factor into the decision to use nuclear weapons in a given situation. The idea that there's a nonzero chance of one or more pissed-off survivors graduating from "civilian" to "Avengers Level Threat" and coming after you for revenge...

Basically, Bruce Banner is a living nuclear deterrent but not for the usual reasons something is a nuclear deterrent.

I shared this on a Marvel fanfiction thread... And some guy was like "Nuh uh, Hulks only come from gamma radiation, conventional nuclear weapons are fine" and then they doubled down when I explained that Gamma Rays were a real thing and that conventional nuclear weapons output them

[Form]

So I've mentioned a few times that I'm writing an Owl House/Marvel fanfic.

A comment left on the most recent chapter made me realize something.

To summarize: Amity learns a number of details about the (Marvel) Human realm that she does not react well to, including "There are people who have been turned into hulking berserkers of godlike strength by being exposed to the energy of city-destroying super weapons" and "there are n fact an absurd number of city-destroying super weapons laying around."

The comment reacted to these two tidbits specifically, pointing out that, well, the existence of Gamma Mutates should realistically factor into the decision to use nuclear weapons in a given situation. The idea that there's a nonzero chance of one or more pissed-off survivors graduating from "civilian" to "Avengers Level Threat" and coming after you for revenge...

Basically, Bruce Banner is a living nuclear deterrent but not for the usual reasons something is a nuclear deterrent.

I shared this on a Marvel fanfiction thread... And some guy was like "Nuh uh, Hulks only come from gamma radiation, conventional nuclear weapons are fine" and then they doubled down when I explained that Gamma Rays were a real thing and that conventional nuclear weapons output them

If a situation has escalated to the point that nuclear weapons are deployed, I suspect a bunch of Hulks pale in comparison to all the other problems at play in such scenario and are no more than an afterthought.

[Rater202]

If a situation has escalated to the point that nuclear weapons are deployed, I suspect a bunch of Hulks pale in comparison to all the other problems at play in such scenario and are no more than an afterthought.

I'm not just talking about the big ones, though those were part of the topic that prompted things.

A dirty bomb is a nuclear weapon, after all, and those are more likely to be used by terrorists.

Beyond that, in a comic book world, people stealing nukes with the intent to use them is pretty common. One a stolen nuke got set off in Atlantis during Aaron's Avenger's run. She-Hulk was able to absorb all of the radiation but the city itself was leveled.

You'd think that, realistically, people would consider that

[Form]

I'm not just talking about the big ones, though those were part of the topic that prompted things.

A dirty bomb is a nuclear weapon, after all, and those are more likely to be used by terrorists.

Beyond that, in a comic book world, people stealing nukes with the intent to use them is pretty common. One a stolen nuke got set off in Atlantis during Aaron's Avenger's run. She-Hulk was able to absorb all of the radiation but the city itself was leveled.

You'd think that, realistically, people would consider that

Erhm... I don't think terrorists deploying a dirty bomb or stealing a nuke are going to factor the hulks into their plan either. I mean, if they're willing to go that far and apparently aren't worried about the rest of the world (nation states and superheroes alike, some supervillains may not even appreciate those sort of shenanigans) coming after them, then what's a couple of hulks?

I'm not very familiar with superhero universe logic, though. I'm approaching it from a real world logic perspective*, but superhero universe logic can get pretty wacky.

*insofar as it can accommodate hulks.

[LaZodiac]

I mean, on YT, my VODs rarely exceed double digits in views, and get a like/dislike maybe once a month, and my streams tend to average between 6-8 views (low teens on a good day). This is an absurd amount of views for me (the last "blow up" was 100 views on a random Metroid Prime video, and that got maybe 3 likes out of it)



I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the actual cosplay, have been putting a tonne of effort into it, and I'm glad people find it interesting. I'm just shocked it was able to carry like 9 seconds of silent video with a shaky front cam.

Fair enough! I had the impression that you were a lot more popular than that, was all

[Rater202]

Erhm... I don't think terrorists deploying a dirty bomb or stealing a nuke are going to factor the hulks into their plan either. I mean, if they're willing to go that far and apparently aren't worried about the rest of the world (nation states and superheroes alike, some supervillains may not even appreciate those sort of shenanigans) coming after them, then what's a couple of hulks?

I'm not very familiar with superhero universe logic, though. I'm approaching it from a real world logic perspective*, but superhero universe logic can get pretty wacky.

*insofar as it can accommodate hulks.

Anyway, he main point was "this guy didn't know what Gamma radiation was."

Like... I learned about alpha, beta, and gamma rays in a mandatory science class back in highschool. God damn.

[Keltest]

Anyway, he main point was "this guy didn't know what Gamma radiation was."

Like... I learned about alpha, beta, and gamma rays in a mandatory science class back in highschool. God damn.

Given that real life gamma rays don't turn people into green monsters based on their personal demons, I don't think Marvel gamma radiation is the same thing, or intended to be the same thing.

[Rater202]

Given that real life gamma rays don't turn people into green monsters based on their personal demons, I don't think Marvel gamma radiation is the same thing, or intended to be the same thing.

1: It was back in the 60s when this was all being done the first time. While Bruce was mutated by a "Gamma bomb," his arch-nemesis The Leader gained his superhuman intellect and psychic powers because he was a janitor at a laboratory conducting chemical research and was tasked with disposing of canisters containing waste material. One of the canisters was faulty and cracked open and radioactive material inside mutated him.

2: Per more recent comics, you need a specific genetic marker (the "gamma gene") or something that emulates its properties to become a Hulk. Otherwise, you'll just ****ing die.

3: Even more recent comics, while attaching overtly supernatural aspects to Gamm Mutates as part of a general trend of lampshading the "science doesn't work that way" tendencies of older comics as well as a recurring theme of supers being in the middle ground where conventional science overlaps with magic, the mystical properties of gamma radiation in the marvel universe are explicitly in addition to their IRL scientific properties. The mystical whoohah that turns people with the right genetic factors into metaphors for their own mental issues is referred to as "the secret third form of light" with real-life properties(being a particle or a wave most prominently) being summarized before going into detail about the new ones.

4: Further supporting this point: There are people who have powers related to Gamma Radiation who are not hulks and do not have the same properties to their powers as Hulks. Quiet prominently, Spider-Man, whose radioactive blood lets off a radiation signature that is not only explcitly referred to as gamma, but is explcitly of an identical frequency as the radiation let off by The Hulk which has been a plot point in a few crossover comics.

[Lord Raziere]

Actual discussion:
Rater's logic makes sense. unless Rater wants to depict a vastly different marvel universe than the one shown, Hulks are pretty dangerous and supers are consistently depicted as stronger than anime powerful, if rater wants all hulks to be able to absorb massive amounts of radiation thus changing what happens when a nuke drops making Bruce Banner a defensive nuclear deterrent, thats fine, and if Rater doesn't want to create some big reordering of Marvel physics or whatever to satisfy whoever, thats fine. as long the story makes sense enough that it works as a story, its fine. Rater is making a story himself after all and other worlds do not matter as long the world he wants is presented and executed well.

Related thoughts:
Yeah lets be real. If comics didn't have radiation to do magic super-power granting nonsense, we'd totally just have a lot more chemistry-based superheroes like the Flash or Static Shock getting powers from a random mix instead. like, no matter how much you point out how little sense a power or origin makes, its never going to make MORE sense by doing so and adding to the explanations is only going to make it more convoluted.

sure you could hypothetically argue that all superheroes should be like, just chosen by some magical thing or whatever "to make more sense" but not every superhero wants a magical chosen tone to their hero. an origin like an accident allows for smaller stories where the choice is on the hero to be good rather than some higher power forcing a duty on them to be good. it also points things in a more science-fiction direction if the creator wants to go that way and thus establishes a different tone.

For example, Spiderman's superpowers are an accident- just being bit by a weird spider. all his enemies are similarly kooky science experiments gone wrong. if you change them all to be explicitly magic "to make more sense" somehow, that vastly changes the tone, presentation and aesthetics of Spiderman. In a fictional medium, a thing doesn't actually exist so presentation and execution of its depiction become everything.

[TaiLiu]

Nah, I just think I'm funny. I cropped the job title and those specific requirements because I was amused that, because USAJobs is completely standardized, the job of "we put you on a space station for six months or more, and you literally travel across the entire globe 17 times every hour" had to put no telework, no remote work, and extensive travel in the requirements.

ETA: to completely dissect the frog, the ISS travels about 250mi/400km above the earth, making its circumference 26,440mi/42,600km, at 16 (not 17, i misremembered) orbits a day makes 423,040mi/681,600km per day. So the job requires you to "travel" seventy-six million miles/one hundred and twenty-two million kilometers over a standard six month assignment. Not counting the trips to the launch site, from earth to the station, from the station back to earth, and from the landing site to the space center, because those aren't even enough to be rounding errors here.

"Extensive travel" indeed.

I think you're funny.

That is a funny example of bureaucracy. Though I'm wondering if they're counting the ISS's orbit as part of the extensive travel. Cuz we don't consider the Earth's orbit as travelling.

[Peelee]

I think you're funny.

Well, sure, but i also think it's funny to respond "i think I'm funny" at opportune moments.

That is a funny example of bureaucracy. Though I'm wondering if they're counting the ISS's orbit as part of the extensive travel. Cuz we don't consider the Earth's orbit as travelling.

Imean, honestly? I'd put five bucks on "the people in charge of submitting the announcement also rolled their eyes or giggled at the remote/telework/travel fields, and the extensive travel was 100% due to 'we shuttle you to space and you stay there for half a year or more, buddy'".

[TaiLiu]

Well, sure, but i also think it's funny to respond "i think I'm funny" at opportune moments.

Imean, honestly? I'd put five bucks on "the people in charge of submitting the announcement also rolled their eyes or giggled at the remote/telework/travel fields, and the extensive travel was 100% due to 'we shuttle you to space and you stay there for half a year or more, buddy'".

That's funny, too.

That makes sense. I love it when something fits criteria but is super different from the archetypal thing that fits criteria.

[Rater202]

Popculture Triva.

The "Graveyard Shift" episode of Spongebob Squarepants (in)famously ends with the reveal the flickering lights in the Krustry Crab were done by "Nosferatu," portrayed by edited archival footage of Max Schreck as Count Orlock from the film of the same name.

The episode first aired on what would have been Schreck's 123rd birthday had he been alive at the time.

[Bartmanhomer]

Well I have better days compared on Friday but I feel so much better. A good rest and drinking no caffeine relax me.

Also Chapter 6 of Dungeons & Dragons: The Dragoon Family is up finally.

[Rater202]

I was today years old when I learned that the original comics version of Emperor Joker, the storyline wherein the Jiker tricks Mr. Mxsptlk into giving him 99% of the Imp's reality-bending power, was published in the year 2000.

I am distinctly uncomfortable with the knowledge that I'm older than an iconic Batman storyline.

[Peelee]

I was today years old when I learned that the original comics version of Emperor Joker, the storyline wherein the Jiker tricks Mr. Mxsptlk into giving him 99% of the Imp's reality-bending power, was published in the year 2000.

I am distinctly uncomfortable with the knowledge that I'm older than an iconic Batman storyline.

Imean, events that you have lived through are taught in schools.

[Anonymouswizard]

Imean, events that you have lived through are taught in schools.

Are they? I think my history education in school, including the history of medicine stuff, ended in like the 1960s. There's a lot of history, hard to fit recent stuff in between all the monarchs.

Maybe once I'm in my 40s.

[Bohandas]

There's a lot of history, hard to fit recent stuff in between all the monarchs.

They've gotta make sure they get in all that medieval celebrity trivia

[Anonymouswizard]

They've gotta make sure they get in all that medieval celebrity trivia

War was the football of the 16th century.

Okay, in actuality football was the football of the 16th century, but it was hard to tell the difference.

[Peelee]

Are they? I think my history education in school, including the history of medicine stuff, ended in like the 1960s. There's a lot of history, hard to fit recent stuff in between all the monarchs.

Maybe once I'm in my 40s.

I checked before i posted, and yeah, looks like. In the US, at least.

For comparison sake, in grade school was taught about things that took place only 20-30 years prior, so sadly this has now been a generational truth.

[Anonymouswizard]

I checked before i posted, and yeah, looks like. In the US, at least.

For comparison sake, in grade school was taught about things that took place only 20-30 years prior, so sadly this has now been a generational truth.

That's ridiculous, you don't even have any monarchs! It should let you fill out your history curriculum with things entirely unrelated to your country

(From what I've heard modern history is mostly a degree level thing.)

[Keltest]

Obviously since history is written by the victors, nobody has won history yet.


Its a silly game anyway.

[Rater202]

Obviously since history is written by the victors, nobody has won history yet.


Its a silly game anyway.

The only winning move is to stop everyone else from playing.

Hence the invention of deterrents.

[Batcathat]

If I ever have a sufficiently bad day, my plan is now to become a supervillain trying to win history by writing it.

[Peelee]

That's ridiculous, you don't even have any monarchs! It should let you fill out your history curriculum with things entirely unrelated to your country

(From what I've heard modern history is mostly a degree level thing.)

If you'd like to talk offsite, I could easily shoot off the two most relevant examples I'm thinking of.

[Keltest]

If I ever have a sufficiently bad day, my plan is now to become a supervillain trying to win history by writing it.

Isn't that more or less the plan of the antagonist of Persona 5 Royal's additional content?

[Rater202]

Isn't that more or less the plan of the antagonist of Persona 5 Royal's additional content?

Less "write history" and more "alter the congition of the world while using the power of Momentos and his OP as **** Persona to overlay the cognitive world over the real one to impose that altered cognition on reality."

He wants to create a world where everyone is happy and there's no conflict or strife. He alters the cognition of several party members so that they perceive dead loved ones as alive, or people who betrayed them as still being good to them, and substitutes cognitive constructs for the missing persons.

In fact, one can infer that he doesn't actually care about history: There are inconsistencies and contradictions in the world he creates which are in fact how th eprotagonists realize there's a problem in the first place.

[Peelee]

If I ever have a sufficiently bad day, my plan is now to become a supervillain trying to win history by writing it.

Unfortunately that would just make you a regular villain. Tragically common, I'd say.

[Rater202]

Unfortunately that would just make you a regular villain. Tragically common, I'd say.

Umhmm. You gotta at least have a flamboyant costume.

[Batcathat]

Umhmm. You gotta at least have a flamboyant costume.

I'm not sure about my costume, but I'll definitely have a huge (like room sized) book and maybe some sort of giant, flying pen to write in it (and get dramatically smashed by some meddling hero at the last minute. Or maybe they'll make it write that I was defeated, that would be kinda fitting).