Grrl Power VII: Let Me Explain For The Next Thirty Comics!

[Shining Wrath]

Keeping his mask on is weird. If the suit can't stand a punch, neither can the mask, right? If the suit can ignite, can't the mask ignite? Literally setting hair on fire?

And also, the pants. Why will his pants survive Max, but not his shirt?

Author comment suggests he is trying maybe to seduce Maxima. He doesn't realize that he's only about an 8 on the 1-10 Hiro scale.

[lord_khaine]

They are a secret group of bad guys, they dont have a pr team. At least not a standard one. If the official government super agency comes out talking about the latest bad guys captured and names them suck hole and periwinkle butt sniffer, i really dont think there is much that will reverse the image damage they will take. And yeah, I actually thought the mask helmet thing looked decent with the rest. Remove his top and its very strange.

You mean the image damage the official super agency will take, when other media roast them for slinging juvenile insults?
And these guys are mega wealthy. Of course they have a PR team. Even if other people might have called it a television network. Or a newspaper.

Keeping his mask on is weird. If the suit can't stand a punch, neither can the mask, right? If the suit can ignite, can't the mask ignite? Literally setting hair on fire?

I assume the logic is, if you fail to block a hit towards your head, you got other concerns that your cool mask burning up.
While a hit that can ignite the mask, likely have an even easier time igniting hair.

And yes the prudent think would actually be to also drop the pants. But i assume its harder to get tear-off pants that look good.
I also assume they are less of a target in a fight. People usually dont try and shoot you in the leg when they can go for center mass.

[tyckspoon]

Keeping his mask on is weird. If the suit can't stand a punch, neither can the mask, right? If the suit can ignite, can't the mask ignite? Literally setting hair on fire?

And also, the pants. Why will his pants survive Max, but not his shirt?

Author comment suggests he is trying maybe to seduce Maxima. He doesn't realize that he's only about an 8 on the 1-10 Hiro scale.

I think dude just thinks this looks cool, and going all the way down to battle underwear would be kinda weird so he didn't. The mask is for branding. Also not immediately showing his actual face to an agent of the law.

[Shining Wrath]

You mean the image damage the official super agency will take, when other media roast them for slinging juvenile insults?
And these guys are mega wealthy. Of course they have a PR team. Even if other people might have called it a television network. Or a newspaper.



I assume the logic is, if you fail to block a hit towards your head, you got other concerns that your cool mask burning up.
While a hit that can ignite the mask, likely have an even easier time igniting hair.

And yes the prudent think would actually be to also drop the pants. But i assume its harder to get tear-off pants that look good.
I also assume they are less of a target in a fight. People usually dont try and shoot you in the leg when they can go for center mass.

You seem to think that juvenile doesn't play in our modern media market. I assure you that it plays very well indeed.

[lord_khaine]

You seem to think that juvenile doesn't play in our modern media market. I assure you that it plays very well indeed.

Eh perhaps my media market is just more mature then.
Still dont change its immature and juvenile behavior. That opens up for counter attacks from other media sources.
And certainly. I cant recall seeing any military person engaging in that kind of behavior.

[Keltest]

Eh perhaps my media market is just more mature then.
Still dont change its immature and juvenile behavior. That opens up for counter attacks from other media sources.
And certainly. I cant recall seeing any military person engaging in that kind of behavior.

You probably just don't look for it. Military is famous for their gallows humor and general willingness to be completely irreverent to anything and everything (when not being ceremonial). Its halfway between a coping mechanism and being important enough to get away with it.

[Kantaki]

How do you think the suit would stand up to Maxima's weakest beam attack?

About as well as the rest of him? Unless he's got some serious super thoughness his outfit is his least concern.
Besides, it's not like the rags are safe. They're right there on the floor. Not wearing his clothes doesn't make them less destructible.
Maybe Maxima's first move should be a warning shot on the floor. Or some nice, fiery AOE...

And what about the rest of his outfit?
If he's so worried about his (probably bespoke) costume, shouldn't he fight naked?

[lord_khaine]

You probably just don't look for it. Military is famous for their gallows humor and general willingness to be completely irreverent to anything and everything (when not being ceremonial). Its halfway between a coping mechanism and being important enough to get away with it.

Well i am not talking about the internal stuff no. But recently due to stuff going on east of europe, all manner of military officers have suddenly gotten screen time for expert testimonies.
And none of them degenerated to infantile mud slinging.

And besides all the other argument against this. From risk of counter moves. To looking less professional.
To risking some villain with a thin skin carve his name on mount rushmore or the statue of liberty.
Then i though yet another problem with this. The risk of retaliation on the pr team.

About as well as the rest of him?

I think it would be kinda naive to count on Supermassive only having 1 super power.
Look at how many Max has.
And she kicked a tank into the air on open screen.
Supermassive isnt obviously suicidal. Its reasonable to expected he saw that and went
"i could do that" at the very least. Else he would not want to brawl with her.

Maybe Maxima's first move should be a warning shot on the floor. Or some nice, fiery AOE...

You mean encourage all her other opponents to fight her naked?
Good call :P

[Keltest]

Well i am not talking about the internal stuff no. But recently due to stuff going on east of europe, all manner of military officers have suddenly gotten screen time for expert testimonies.
And none of them degenerated to infantile mud slinging.

And besides all the other argument against this. From risk of counter moves. To looking less professional.
To risking some villain with a thin skin carve his name on mount rushmore or the statue of liberty.
Then i though yet another problem with this. The risk of retaliation on the pr team.

Of course they arent. Theyre being asked specific questions, not being given an open mic to say whatever they feel like. Do you know what happens to the Colonel or General who gets interviewed, asked about the situation and says "I think the Adversary are a bunch of bleeps."? He doesnt get his interview aired.

[Shining Wrath]

Some military lingo off the top of my head, where F means what you think it means (conjugate verb or parse noun as needed):
BUFF = Big Ugly Flying F.
SNAFU = Situation Normal, All F Up.
FUBAR = F Up Beyond All Recognition.

And talking to the enemy in combat? Do I have to remind you what Snake Island said to the Moskva?
For that matter, do I have to remind you of what a sweet little grandmother said to Russian soldiers (along with offering them sunflower seeds so their corpses would be good fertilizer)?

Periwinkle Butt Sniffer and Suck Hole are Bowdlerized. Real soldiers are quite a bit more juvenile.

[lord_khaine]

Of course they arent. Theyre being asked specific questions, not being given an open mic to say whatever they feel like. Do you know what happens to the Colonel or General who gets interviewed, asked about the situation and says "I think the Adversary are a bunch of bleeps."? He doesnt get his interview aired.

Indeed. Because he comes across as immature or juvenile.

Some military lingo off the top of my head, where F means what you think it means (conjugate verb or parse noun as needed):
BUFF = Big Ugly Flying F.
SNAFU = Situation Normal, All F Up.
FUBAR = F Up Beyond All Recognition.

And talking to the enemy in combat? Do I have to remind you what Snake Island said to the Moskva?
For that matter, do I have to remind you of what a sweet little grandmother said to Russian soldiers (along with offering them sunflower seeds so their corpses would be good fertilizer)?

Periwinkle Butt Sniffer and Suck Hole are Bowdlerized. Real soldiers are quite a bit more juvenile.

Thats not military lingo, but i have been in the military yes. But as i already stated. Im not talking about enlisted rank and file goons.
But military officers. So im kinda uncertain what relevance this have.

[Keltest]

Indeed. Because he comes across as immature or juvenile.



Thats not military lingo, but i have been in the military yes. But as i already stated. Im not talking about enlisted rank and file goons.
But military officers. So im kinda uncertain what relevance this have.

So you think what, officers act like they're auditioning for a news interview at all times?

[lord_khaine]

So you think what, officers act like they're auditioning for a news interview at all times?

I dont think stuff.
I know that at least in the functioning military's i know off, they behave like grownups.
That meaning with a certain degree of dignity. ESPECIALLY when being in the public.
Whatever they do in the officer lounge after a couple of beers is very much not relevant for this topic.

[Traab]

There is also a difference between talking about an ongoing situation where diplomacy may yet be expected to take part, and how you talk about the enemy that has been defeated in a lopsided fashion. And in addition the difference between talking about a rival nation and some criminals with no official backing from anyone willing to come forward and who are (hopefully) about to get pasted. If the military officials spent all their time talking smack about the east elbonians leadership they are currently at war with and how they smell of cottage cheese and month old weed, it makes it harder for the diplomats to talk things out in a way that prevents great loss of life and money. On the other hand, if you have some kim possible level wannabe bad guy talking a lot of junk about how awesome he is and you casually backhand him through the wall, your interview with the media isnt going to be kind to him.

[lord_khaine]

Well it can also be a culture difference i guess.
But certainly where im from, there is a big difference between expression critical views of something.
And giving it childish nicknames. Here hurling juvenile nicknames would hurt -your - standing.
Not the standing of whoever you insulted. Would make the insulter be seen as less intelligent. Less adult.

So even if your able to backhand Wall-hole through a wall, and could explain he got arrogant because he had newer
faced anyone in a higher weight class, directly calling him an inflated muppet or something in the press would
be a bad idea, due to it making you appear arrogant.

Meanwhile. Our current case isnt a kim possible villain.
But someone with enough power to be a mid-tier marvel villain.
So i cant understand why its not a given thing its a bad idea to needlessly antagonize someone who is a
potential city destroyer.

Worse off its someone who is a complete unknown. So even dumber i think, to risk being defeated by "suckhole"

[Keltest]

Well it can also be a culture difference i guess.
But certainly where im from, there is a big difference between expression critical views of something.
And giving it childish nicknames. Here hurling juvenile nicknames would hurt -your - standing.
Not the standing of whoever you insulted. Would make the insulter be seen as less intelligent. Less adult.

So even if your able to backhand Wall-hole through a wall, and could explain he got arrogant because he had newer
faced anyone in a higher weight class, directly calling him an inflated muppet or something in the press would
be a bad idea, due to it making you appear arrogant.

Meanwhile. Our current case isnt a kim possible villain.
But someone with enough power to be a mid-tier marvel villain.
So i cant understand why its not a given thing its a bad idea to needlessly antagonize someone who is a
potential city destroyer.

Worse off its someone who is a complete unknown. So even dumber i think, to risk being defeated by "suckhole"

Ok, but Max isn't in an interview.

[Shining Wrath]

Is Maxima wearing lead-lined gloves? That would seem unnecessary.

How did Stalwart produce that effect? He's strong, but that doesn't make you crash through the ground.

Anyway, we now learn if Supermassive can take a punch.

[Radar]

Is Maxima wearing lead-lined gloves? That would seem unnecessary.

How did Stalwart produce that effect? He's strong, but that doesn't make you crash through the ground.

Anyway, we now learn if Supermassive can take a punch.

Stalwart's key power is to modify his own mass. During the fight with Vehemence he demonstrated to be able to become as heavy as a space shuttle. With such a long drop he could easily break through the floor and a power generator.

[Shining Wrath]

Stalwart's key power is to modify his own mass. During the fight with Vehemence he demonstrated to be able to become as heavy as a space shuttle. With such a long drop he could easily break through the floor and a power generator.

I had forgotten that. Yeah, a space shuttle's mass compressed into the shape of a man and dropped 50' would leave a mark.

[sihnfahl]

Is Maxima wearing lead-lined gloves? That would seem unnecessary.

What makes you think they're lead lined? They do, at least, have things behind the knuckles and such, presumably for decoration.

Cause there's something beyond just 'functionality'. It's the 'look cool' factor without having to resort to capes.

Edna hates capes.

[Traab]

Yeah it took me WAY too long to figure out wtf was going on. Suddenly I went, "Oh yeah, Stalwart and his space shuttle thing" Kind of a lucky break a human sized target dropped through a presumably not see through building, was able to directly hit the power generator on his drop of destruction though. Oh, and the fact that he weighs as much as the space shuttle AND was going through mass holes gravity field (thats my name for him) probably made him hit like a literal meteor from space. He just went full Armageddon.

[sihnfahl]

Kind of a lucky break a human sized target dropped through a presumably not see through building, was able to directly hit the power generator on his drop of destruction though. Oh, and the fact that he weighs as much as the space shuttle AND was going through mass holes gravity field (thats my name for him) probably made him hit like a literal meteor from space. He just went full Armageddon.

Chymiriad managed to get them a complete layout...

[lord_khaine]

The scary thing to note, is that Max could feel that punch at all despite her armor being close to at max.
I think calling him the most dangerous all round villain we have seen is justified.
He might not have the same peak as Vehemence. But he dont need buildup.

[Traab]

Its a really clever fighting method too. The only thing more effective would be illusionary powers she cant see through or be able to reverse perceptions like either aizen or shinji from bleach. But this works too, he can constantly throw off her aim by fluctuating gravity in random directions. She isnt so much more powerful that she wont be effected even slightly so he has an excellent defense. The offense is kinda meh against her because it doesnt accomplish much besides dragging out a fight. I mean, he just basically two foot stomped her and it only made her growl in annoyance. This is a great tie up maxima technique though. She cant ignore him because he would rampage through like 90% of her crew, and she isnt really able to blitz him because she requires so much of an investment in her strength and durability just to function. Might want to switch to energy blasts, those probably arent affected by gravity below actual black hole levels. Still has to worry about her aim being thrown off though. But it might make for an interesting one two punch attack. Basically, he has to time how he deflects her or else she can adjust. She comes in with a punch, and by the time she is close enough that moving her arm makes sense, she fires a beam at near point blank instead so the deflection doesnt happen in time.

[lord_khaine]

Hmm. Im not certain i would call it smart. But &%¤# scary? oh yeah
Since needing to pull a super strong, super fast person's punch off course would require a degree of power control thats best described as surgical.
And a magnitude best described as "please no".

Energy blasts are likely the way out of this yeah.
Except if Supermassive's pet purple hole drags her aim off.
And thats beside i suspect he has a degree of super speed.

I do agree this ties Max up in a unfortunate way.
As i think the clock is against her. Supermassive wins if everything valuable at the base is dragged through a portal before it collapses.

edit.
I do get why they were bold enough to raid Archon though.
I assumed the supers we saw there, the fire guy and the telekinetic, were their elite. Obviously they were not.

[Traab]

Oh yeah, he is definitely on the upper side of the scale here. Just being able to last this long against a maxima level threat means you are very much so no joke. As I said, most of arcswat dies if he shows up going for the throat. Max can handle it, dabbler MIGHT be able to counter it in some way, there almost has to be counters to gravity issues with a alien demon adventurer on her level. I have no idea if a sydney bubble would block him or not. Probably, it seems to block everything including mental effects, so she might be able to handle him with enough warning to get the shield up. She could just start blasting from inside the bubble and his gravity deflection would probably do nothing other than maybe let him dodge better. Now that she has her enviro orb she doesnt even have the oxygen time limit to worry about. Take a break from blasting and hit refresh on the o2. This of course isnt counting whatever might be wrong with her orbs.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Her (relatively new) 'feather fall' would probably make her highly resistant to his powers, if not outright immune.

For Max, energy blasts are one possible solution. Another is cranking the super-speed. If he can't keep up, it won't matter that she's lost most of her strength, and it won't matter that he can deflect some of her attacks; she can just keep hitting him (relatively) lightly until the cumulative bruises take him down.

[lord_khaine]

Looking at what a staggering investment Max had to make into flight to shrug off the gravity field makes me doubt that feather fall protects against internal injuries or just getting knocked out cold.
Perhaps flight works? I dont think a passive effect is enough.

I meanwhile dont think a massive speed investment is worth it, when the gravity field forces her to tie so much of her pool into flight.
How many times does a normal human need to punch an Abrams before it explodes? Its a bit of the same here with a super on this scale.
Also a problem that Archon loses if Max spends 3-4 poking at this guy before he gets tired and gets gated home.

[TeChameleon]

... for some reason it's in my head that Halo's flight works by completely negating gravity? If so, she's pretty much this goomba's kryptonite.

As far as Max goes... hard to say. This guy's fine control and... burst power, I guess I'd call it..? are crazy, to the point that I'm a bit surprised that ARCHON doesn't have anything on him, or that Vehemence's violence aura thingy didn't pull him in.

Also, ARCHON needs to get themselves are teleporter stat. Seems like everyone except them has one.

[tyckspoon]

Also, ARCHON needs to get themselves are teleporter stat. Seems like everyone except them has one.

They have several! Harem can 'port, Jiggawatt's lightning movement may as well be teleportation, Halo can effectively teleport at interstellar distances with the flight orb's wormhole tunnels, Dabbler has demonstrated an understanding of teleportation techniques and could probably build a transporter or teleportation circle if given time, Cora could probably assist with same, there's the various wizards and gadget supers hanging around Archon and possibly accessible to them with a request to the Council of Magical Things..

But I figure you probably mean a portal-maker or somebody that has the capacity to bring a significant amount of others along from one arbitrary point to another without needing much investment in preparation or advance notice. That would indeed be very convenient, which is probably why they won't get one - from a plotting perspective it now means at every incident you have to explain why ARCHON isn't warping in the exact correct combination of team members to deal with it, and you lose 'they're already deployed on the other half of the planet/the Osprey only flies so fast' as a reasonable way to split up the groups. So the portal maker would experience an improbably high rate of being disabled anyways, just like how cell phones in modern horror movies are always being forgotten, damaged in the opening scenes, being confiscated from the characters so they can 'unplug and relax', etc.

.. similar reasoning I think is why Maxima doesn't appear to actually fight at super speed, incidentally - she uses it to move into position, but when she actually throws a strike it always appears to be in normal time. It's because having fights go from panel one: Maxima approaches target to panel two: Maxima is standing over a neatly hog-tied and subdued villain while everybody else realizes they blinked at the wrong time is.. just not very interesting, so Dave doesn't have her do it. Might be a gag panel somewhere or make a neat action sequence showing what things are like from her sped-up perspective, but she's not gonna speed-blitz anybody that is meant to be a respectable villain.