Grrl Power #332 – Guns and no nos
I wrote this page after a few people expressed… concerned with Maxima’s demonstration a few pages back. I think it’s kind of unnecessary now after the fact, not that it’s a bad page. I think it’s a fun bit of insight into Ren and Peggy, and a little call back to the bank. In any case this is the last we’ll see of the gun range for a while. I should note, Ren’s paper target is a bit small, that’s cause their range isn’t quite full length, so they compensate with smaller targets. They have a proper range outdoors somewhere not so near by for the actual certification tests.
I can’t help but image in a relatively low discipline outfit like Arc-SWAT, walking around with the “punishment gun” wouldn’t be all that much of a punishment… well, Sydney might not enjoy it. But like Peggy implies, that’s probably on top of whatever else they decide to pile on the careless and/or gung ho.
There is a new vote incentive, it’s just pencils at the moment but I’m hoping to get it colored by the time the next page goes up. (Maybe the one after, we’ll see how quickly the current pages I’m working on get done.)
There’s a chance I’ll be switching hosting this weekend. Godaddy has been pretty solid overall, but with the traffic I get now their prices are pretty crazy, so Saturday or Sunday the page might act a little wonky, or I might lock the comments so nothing gets lost while all the databases get ported. It shouldn’t be too traumatic, just FYI.
This page colored by Keith.
Ooh, just noticed Sydney’s glasses are missing in the last panel, I’ll get that fixed at some point.
Here’s the link to the new comments highlighter for chrome, and the GitHub link which you can use to install on FireFox via Greasemonkey.
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… y’know, gun whatevers aside, all this talk about Maxima’s speed got me thinking; there might be a fairly obvious way to noticeably up Arc-SWAT’s on-tap power.
If a fight is starting up, why wouldn’t Max shift into the highest possible combination of speed and strength and whomp on Anvil for a second or two? Presumably, Anvil’s limits have been tested to at least some degree, and having her start the fight with a topped-up kinetic ‘battery’ would expand their tactical options a fair bit.
Maybe, like Sebastian Shaw, her kinetic absorbing power has a limit (the Hulk once hit Sebastian Shaw so hard that it was too much kinetic force for him to absorb).
Oh aye, but I’m assuming that Maxima, as her commanding officer, has a reasonable idea of what those limits are- so she should be able to charge Anvil up without too much danger of making her explode or anything (also, speaking of Sebastian Shaw, have him and Guido/Strong Guy ever faced off? Could be pretty funny after a while…)
I’m pretty sure Shaw would be able to last longer than Guido, since Guido has that heart condition plus Guido has to use his kinetic energy within 90 seconds or it will hurt himself (and permanently distort his body even more than it already is), while Shaw can store the kinetic energy until he goes to sleep or expends it (and doesnt suffer any painful body distortion). Also I think Guido’s kinetic absorption only goes up to about 100 tons and his normal strength is around 50 tons, because her friend/teammate Monet St. Croix was able to outclass him in X-Factor Investigations after she had that major power up in her strength levels (compared to when she was in Generation X, and before she also gained telekinesis on top of the plethora of other powers she has).
Okay… I’m beginning to realize I might be a bit too obsessed with remembering stuff from comics :)
I thought about it and I think the main reason they don’t do that is because Anvil being a kinetic absorber is kind of a secret. Her leaning too much into punches gave it away to vehemence, I think her own teammate pounding on her at the start would give it away even more?
Though if you specified the speed thing to try and make it happen faster than the foe could spot….well, that’s making assumptions about if they can see movement that fast, and if they’re strong enough foes that anvil NEEDs the top up at the start, they might well see and giving away as little as possible is still a reasonable basic strategy.
I agree, you don’t give away things in a fight. Plus, it’s a matter of legal karma. (Yes, that is a phrase, hush.) Legally, they should not be using more force than a situation calls for. (We all know this is failing with cops all over the place, but comics don’t have to echo real life that closely.)
Legally, they don’t want to escalate things when the object is to get the other person to stop using their powers to break the law. If talking gets them to stop (aka the hairdresser dude), which is the best course to take, then it should be the first attempted course.
Pre-charging Anvil isn’t a good idea in that case. If the bad guy decides talking is pointless and takes a swing, then Anvil can absorb that impact, and at that point, she has karmic right to swing back, using his own violent energy against him, and the legal right to swing back, because now she’s the defender because he’s clearly the attacker, not her. (Plus we don’t know if she has to “use it up before it goes boom” or not, since her ability to hold and re-use kinetic energy hasn’t been explained in terms of holding duration as well as capacity.)
Various good points have been raised so far. But there is one key consideration. Anvil does have a finite battery. Super strength is a common power. It is entirely possible that, if Maxiama pre-charges her, Anvil will find herself being attacked (before she can release her charge in an attack of her own), but no longer have sufficient capability to absorb it.
Which could have fatal consequences.
This concept has not been ignored. The key thing is it needs to be held for when there is a use for it. A small-pre charge will always be of use to Anvil. But the massive kind, that would need Maxima, is probably best reserved for when the risks of a given situation can be properly assessed.
For a routine, or completely unknown, situation, heavily emphasising defence will be the safer option for Anvil. But I think it would be foolish to NOT have some pre-charging, to give her more flexible options.
If Anvil does not,* it could simply be indicative that it is not as easy to contain as we might assume. Imagine walking around with a spring squeezed shut in your hand. Get distracted, and SPOING! Which is … unfortunate, for anyone who can inflict a nose boop of doom that way!
* Bear in mind we have not seen how Anvil normally prepares for a potential conflict. They were at the restaurant, relaxing, not getting ready for a fight. In that instance, having Maxima punch her subordinate, in front of witnesses, would raise unwanted questions.
I know I’m more than 3 years late here, but I do at least think that Maxima could easily give several of her team mates an ‘encouraging slap’ on the shoulder, and put a lot of force into it for Anvil. Doesn’t give anything away, but it does give her a basic amount of force, which would actually HELP with keeping it a secret since she wouldn’t need to lean into punches to charge up.
Or just do that same thing to the bad guys instead.
You know, offhand, Peggy’s actually got a surprisingly effective training methodology with regards to Sydney. Knowledge interspersed with bursts of randomness, snark, and a little show to keep her ADDness on track.
Bravo.
I totally agree. What she did there should remain with Sydney far longer and much more vividly than any amount of talking and powerpoint slides.
+1 for both comments.
I hope they have at least one gun named ‘Reason’.
It is in the armoury. Right next to ‘Negotiation’.
Not trying to complain, but may I remind you that this was started five years ago. You are now only on the second day of a flashback which originated several months before the game Sydney was playing with some friends which was shown on page one. You’ve done great work and provided excellent content considering you are restricted to providing updates twice a week. But since it has been five years, it may be time to skip over some details concerning Sydneys transition and developement. She is a corporal now. What is she doing?
Here’s an evil thought – what if the end of the flashback is where the story ends?
Enjoy the current journey instead of worrying about the future. The current story is entertaining, in part due to the clash between military culture and Sydney’s ignorance of that culture, how do you know the story after becoming corporal would be better?
The first day comprised the first book. It ended when Sydney went to sleep. Dave has given us the schedule for the second book, of which we are still in the fist chapter. It roughly cover the period of basic training. Although it will be mixed up with more than just the training.
So , as Obtusity says, settle in and enjoy the ride. This is the story.
Hey, as long as the story stays interesting, and coherent, it can take a bit longer IMHO. I love the webcomic PITW, but GOD has that comic’s updates fallen off the wagon/story gone all over the map.
Oh I missed.
Until now, after the next page has already been posted! Which means that you have matched DaveB‘s style, flawlessly enough that I, for one, did not notice anything different. And there are some key panels where any mismatch would have stuck out like a sore thumb. Especially the bullet shot, where Sydney’s face is blurred, but the foreground is in focus.
Kudos!
Yes, this.
thanks for bringing up the ‘don’t point a gun in jest’ rule.
Why do I get the feeling that Peggy’s “Pink Latex Gun” might be a euphemism for something a LOT more embarrassing?
This is still wrong, though; their argument is fallacious. Maxima could catch a bullet perhaps, but in the unlikely scenario that her gun fired she would be SURPRISED, and that would cut her reaction time to where Sydney would unquestionably die.
Agreed. Their argument was just post hoc reasoning.
I dunno, to me that doesn’t justify it.
Sometimes you have to right justify it before you can left justify it in print.
Bahahaha.
Maxima is more than a little OP.
“You’re probably about to say:’She can catch the bullet!'”
“She can catch the bullet–NANI?
this is one of my favorite panels in this entire comic
Pink… latex gun?
Oh please tell me it DOESN’T VIBRATE…
That would be horrifying.
Not the knowledge of it not vibrating, I mean the vibrating part would be…. but… eh.
Okay, ending. I’m stopping here. No more of that.
Phew.
Finally! I found the panel that inspired SAO Alternative: GGO.
Yay ninja punches
The real reason “Lieutenant Colonel” Max can do it is because complaining about it up the chain of command won’t reach anyone who cares. Trying to roll shit uphill is almost certain to backfire. Shit rolls downhill easier.
I still dislike this one. Max should be setting a good example. At the very least, she should take the same penalties anyone else would.
Hmm… Shot-pistol? Load low caliber buck into an Autopistol and laet loose! Aim? What aim?
Or maybe just a normal G18 or something.
I just like how Sydney’s constantly bringing up good smart and valid points, and everybody recognizes her for it.
Hmm. Eight years later: Still not fixed.
I suppose the idea of the “pink latex gun” is that this is exactly what your weapon is *not*, so don’t go thinking that it is.