Grrl Power #363 – Where are they now?
Opal could try opening up a very small portal to slowly equalize the pressure or communicate with a cohort, but of course her cell is closely monitored, and the time it would take for her to decompress is multiples of hours, and they’re not going to let on how many atmospheres she’s experiencing at the moment.
Pressurizing a cell effectively negates several problem powers. Teleportation and portals, as well as phasing. It probably introduces a bunch of other complications, but in a world without alien or magic “Power-B-Gone” tech, or some peculiar substance like vibranium that phasers can’t penetrate (not Star Trek phasers… you know what I mean) you have to start getting creative. Of course there’s the induced coma, but as far as I’m aware there are significant risks to keeping someone in a state like that for an extended period of time. To the best of my knowledge, people can live in a high pressure environment indefinitely, it’s the decompression that’s the dangerous bit. Beyond that I’m not sure how else to incarcerate someone to whom physical barriers are meaningless. Maybe a poison that requires regular antidotes? A shock collar that activates as soon as their powers do is super risky because it would have to incapacitate them before their powers carried them beyond the effectiveness of the collar, and that assumes you can create tech that can determine when a power has been activated and doesn’t knock them on their ass every time they sneeze.
People don’t get to chose their names, and most parents don’t name their children by factoring in the possibility that they will one day become a crime lord, supervillain, or vampire lord, and will therefore need a threatening sounding name. That said there’s probably not a lot of mob bosses naming their first sons Mortimer.
I like the name Kevin for Vehemence because as names go, it’s humorously non-threatening. Apologies to any readers named Kevin who are looking to dominate the MMA world or become despotic dictators or anything. The most intimidating Kevin I can think of right off the bat is Kevin Spacey just because he can play some pretty intense roles, but really if you say Kevin to me the first place I go is Kevin Smith. After that there’s Bacon, Costner, Hart… uh, Nealon, Klein, Pollak… beyond that I’d have to start googling. None of whom really strike fear into anyone’s heart. Most major supervillains tend to have cooler or threatening sounding names; Victor (von Doom) Sebastian (Shaw)… also Sebastian the Crab so maybe that one’s a wash, Lex (short for Alexander Luthor). I try to not play that game when I can, or play against the trope like in this case. Deus is the obvious example of me breaking my own rule there.
This only applies to humans who become supervillains and not guys like Brainiac, Darkseid, Ultron, what have you. When it comes down to it, Brainiac and Ultron were given names by their creators probably with the intention of making them sound cool. Darkseid, well, we pretty much have to take his word that that’s his real name. I mean he might have been born Kevin McGeoghegan, but anyone who questions his current moniker get the Omega Beam express.
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.
dammitall, i cant get past the end of the page without busting my gut. this is why we love you, Dave
Kevin!!!! He’s high as fuck!!! This is literally the best counter to his powers, just remove any and all tendencies or desires to get violent!!! PEACE AND LOVE, DEAD HEADS!
Sounds a lot like Kevin Smith. Is Vehemence really Kevin Smith?
Probably not. The GrrlVerse does not have zombies (or so Sydney has been told by a reliable source). Kevin Smith is way too much into the Living Dead, not to be a zombie in some alternate Earth.
Just call me Crunches!
…Cause I bust guts.
Not that you can target a body part like that… but it’s snappier than “A low calorie diet combined with lots of exercise”
You mean you can’t specifically aim for the intestines, liver or diaphragm? Pretty sure the first two are rather easy targets.
No, Dave. Just… just no.
Fecking brilliant!
So how long do you guys think it’ll be before Vehemence/Kevin reappears as an inevitable ally of Arc-SWAT?
Or perhaps with brain damage . . .
Actually, he might join up for similar reasons Math did: he thrives on violent energy, and he has just had an example of just how much there would be hanging around Maxi, and fairly sure he would rather be on the same side and share in the snacking rather than be on the other end of another beatdown by Sydney :D
He doesn’t even have to take part, just be there and absorb all that delicious energy :P
On the other hand, he just created the first public super-brawl for no other reason than ‘it’ll be fun’. He may want to join, but I wouldn’t let him if I were in charge.
It’s still better to have him on their side, then against them
Yes, but you can’t control him in the field. Take him on a field op, and what’s to stop him switching sides once’s he’s powered up? With enough power he can take Maxima and the whole team, he’s proven that, so putting him in position to possibly gain that power is foolish. Especially since he’s shown he’s willing to create and use violence for no other reason than because he can and he likes the power.
Better to keep him behind bars where you can contain him. If he’s not allowed to power up, he’s not much of a threat.
In a battle I’d rather have him on my side than against me – but I have no way to keep him on my side, so I’d rather he not be in the battle in the first place.
Can you absolutely guarantee that he would stay behind bars?
And if you tried, and he eventually got out, don’t you believe he will be mega super pissed off and having a raging hate-on for Archon?
It’s better to appeal to his love of the energy it gives him, just like with Math (Kevin doesn’t like the power, he likes the taste, so tell him that if he joins ARCHON, he will be fed on a regular basis, if nothing else, they could just have Anvil and Maxi go a few rounds in the ring, MMA-style)
Not absolutely, but since he already appears to want to fight Archon, I don’t see why that’s a difference.
Basically, if I felt we could trust him in the slightest I might consider your plan – despite the fact that he’s already endangered lives and destroyed property for his own amusement. But he’s already shown we can’t. He’s completely untrustworthy, willing to stab his allies in the back for some momentary gain, and powerful enough to cause serious damage.
Keeping him in this cell is more likely to contain him then trying to make him an ally would – and it’s less dangerous than if he were to pretend to be an ally until he could power up. Even if he does break out he won’t have much power stored, so if we can find him we can capture him again. (Versus if he turns on us he’ll have the power to do serious damage.)
All of this is irrespective of the PR fallout of taking a dangerous criminal onto a team designed to protect the public.
You’re thinking you can tame him. He shows no indication that that is possible. Without taming him, your plan is basically suicide.
Best case scenario your plan is slightly better. Worst case it’s much, much worse. And we have no way of enforcing or even influencing for the best case. (You say to appeal to his love of energy – that’ll work until his first fight, when he powers up and can go basically generate energy at will.) I’ll avoid the lives lost, the property destruction, PR nightmare, the probable shutting down of ARCHON, and the quite possible wars started when he goes rogue from working with us, thank you. I’d rather fight him again.
So, your solution basically entails execution, because nothing else is going to work
Or life in prison. Or whatever the jury decides to give him.
Even if he’s paroled and released, he’ll be released at low power – meaning he’s no stronger than a strong human. Keep an eye on him and you’ll be able to catch him in the act before he powers up very far. Still better then intentionally powering him up in the hopes he won’t use it.
Yeah, I think I’m gonna have to side with DStaal on this one. Kevin (lol) started that entire superfight just to try out the team, spent most of the fight just watching from the sidelines & powering up, was willing to kill Max because she actually was a threat to him, and was ONLY defeated when they first tried drowning him (which only worked slowly) then offered him either a nice long nap or have his head blown off.
He’s already proven too intelligent & cunning to trust. You let him on the team, 1st operation (or even training session enhanced by agro-aura), he’ll be powered up again & potentially waiting to do a runner first chance. Or now he knows they outwitted him, face the team again only better prepared for their tactics…
Okay, hear me out on this one, but I’ve put a lot of thought into this.
First, I’ll give you, he’s proven he’s not a very trustworthy fellow… towards untrustworthy fellows. Remember, Vektor was not known to be a very good person; there had to be a reason he picked Vektor and Opal to trick into thinking that the whole thing was their idea. In the meantime, though, he was trying to get Maxima on board with his “I’ll kill you, but I won’t harm the others” plan, which required her to trust him. Further, once the targets were out, he even demonstrated concern for the health of the “scrubs” he had rounded up, wanting Arc-SWAT to check and stabilize them before beginning the fight.
The irony here is, while he is WILLING to kill for his own self-preservation (Maxima), he doesn’t WANT to kill anybody, or have others die. He’s a villain, and too confident in his own powers and prowess, but he’s not a monster, if that makes sense. He can be trusted to work in his own self-interest, but this means he can also be trusted to work in his own PROLONGED self-interest.
This all being said, I don’t think we can expect him to be signing up, but I strongly expect him to start acting like Magneto in prison; social, cordial, willing to advise and work with others, but also waiting for the opportunity to leave once he feels it is fully worth his while to exert the effort. In the meantime, I expect that, once they’ve worked out how to best contain him, we can expect members of Arc-SWAT to seek his counsel, his knowledge (which has proven to be VAST, comparable or exceeding Dabbler’s), and perhaps even his limited friendship and/or companionship.
I have this mental idea in my head of, say, Anvil talking as if to a therapist about her body issues, and someone off-screen telling her that she should have more confidence, and expressing that she’s both lovely and gifted in her own ways, and eventually it showing that she’s talking therapist-style to Vehemence through a video camera, or finding him playing Smash Brothers with Sydney and some Harems, and with him making witty quips while playing as Jigglypuff or Kirby.
Which of course brings to mind the inevitable double-, triple-, and even quadruple-cross when Harem arranges Vehemence’s break-out for Deus, and Vehemence stabs them both in the back (metaphorically speaking) and then Harem betraying Deus and Vehemence back again… But that’s really something we can ALL see coming.
Maybe we need a backstory on how, and why, Math joined Archon, seeing how his goal is to test his abilities in a fight (it’s why he get boob-trapped and lost, rather than simply finding some mook for a quick and easy win)
@Longnight83 – I can see that, easily. He’s a nice guy when he’s not trying to cause death and destruction.
So wait, showing that the system works and can rehabilitate even super-powered criminals you think is a PR nightmare rather than a PR bonanza? Most of the second line-up for the Avengers (everyone but Captain America) was a criminal at one point before switching to the side of the angels (two of them well known mutant terrorists). Yes they had issues but seriously showing you can turn someone like Vehemence into a hero is going to make you look great with the public, who’d certainly prefer someone like Vehemence be a hero fighting to protect them than a villain inciting riots to threaten them.
No, having your ‘rehabilitated’ criminal kill part of your team, cause a riot, and go on to other destructive things causes a PR nightmare.
inevitably, it will happen. As long as weed gets legalized for his off-days, and steroids get legalized for his on days!
Change of topic. Those neck bands that the Arc-SWAT Heroes wear. I know I hate wearing anything snug around my neck, makes me feel like I’m being choked, it’s very uncomfortable.
I wonder what if they had a new recruit with the same issues? Would there be an alternative to wearing a band around one’s neck?
Im sure they could come up with something. An arm band or whatever would probably work just as well.
There’s an integrated throat mic, so not just as well. Some of the men have been spotted wearing torcs though.
I’m sure they are open to options if someone complains.
If a new recruit complains about the collar, say they can have an EyePhone instead, and then describe the installation procedure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJyMEkb_8to
Do you mean the full band like the girls (and Math) wear? Or also the half-choker the other guys wear?
Not sure about the half-choker, didn’t know if it was Issued equipment or something else. Might be nice to have a run-down and description of some of the issued equipment.
Anyway, that brings up another question regarding why most of the men don’t wear the neck bands.
DaveB doesn’t like the look of the neckbands on the men because they’re neck are too beefy. So far only Math and Achilles have worn them.
Another change of topic. Once Sydney realizes that the team she is on is called ‘Arc-Swat’ how long will it take her to get the idea to configure her light hook into a giant fly swatter to be used against the next bad guy. With, of course, the verbal taunt “You are no match against the power of Arc-Swat” (Thwack).
Would love to see that! :D
Hmm, but can she configure the molestorb like the Lantern Corps and their Hard Light Constructs?
She’s already proven to be able to reshape it into complex shapes, just gotta remember it’s still a single solid line. She’s made writing before, a giant fly-swat would be easy, line starts handle, goes up a bit then makes a horizontal line, up a bit more, line the other way until height wanted is reached, do the same vertically, weaving the vertical lines through the horizontal ones, quick frame around the outside, finish the handle & bob’s your Uncle (or Aunty, never know these days), you got a fly swat. Or tennis racket, if you reshape it right…
Quite correct! Depends on how thin she can make it though
Did Daphne deliberately dress up like Arianna? Because the only difference I can see between them is Daphne’s choker. They look IDENTICAL otherwise.
Don’t forget Ari’s ‘Superman hair curl’
But yes, Blondini probably did deliberately style her hair like Ari, because with long hair like she has, how else is she going to wear it for ‘on-duty’ mode?
Behold the power of Weed.
yeah, that might actually be what those vapours are, though probably not the smoked kind. It’s likely some sort of extract they vaporize, and it would work perfectly against him, since its got a highly calming effect, and people that use it want the opposite of fighting.
As to covertly depressurizing the room, it probably wouldn’t work for the simple fact that it IS going to have a pressure sensor on it so they can monitor and regulate it properly. That’s standard design of all pressurized chambers, and since this one is holding a possible super powered criminal, I’ll bet it’s also been wired up to a very loud alarm if something goes out of wack in either direction. :)
No need to guess what they are using on Kevin, sheesh the smoke is so thick. I am hoping that isn’t pot but something else.
It is pot. Thus DaveB’s joke about the security being “baked” in.
Friendship is Magic, Kevin! Embrace your inner brony…
Not if he removes his pants again!!!!!
A lot of comments are about pointing out which crimes Opal may or may not have committed but so far no one has pointed out the fact her attempt at porting her team out could be considered aiding and abetting.
Yes, at first glance, that would make her effectively the getaway driver. But I’d expect her lawyer to claim that she was only trying to remove them from the influence of
VehemenceKevin. ^_^But I’ll bet there aren’t any lawyers on Earth-Scoville who are as experienced in meta-human law as Angela is. https://www.atomiclaundromat.com/comic/it-is-all-semantics/
Actually, attempting to port her team out is resisting arrest–and doing so in a non-violent way, which kills her chances of arguing that Vehemence made her do it.
Clever point.
Well noted.
Come to the ARC side, we have Doritos.
Oddly, the Arclight is where I’m planning on seeing a certain movie in a bit over eight weeks…
Ahh, given the clue in the comic, I can guess which one!
The cell does not need to be pressurized. The threat of it being pressurized is enough to keep Opal guessing.
Sorry for posting twice. I should have written this before. By not pressurizing her cell, and only claiming to, they have a way to keep her captive without putting her in danger. Its a rotten thing to do to anyone, though.
Dunno if anyone else asked this, but is Kevin/Vehemence surrounded in a room of laughing gas?
Not hung around with many potheads, have you?
Heh. Nope. Allergies. All my friends know that pot smoke can, literally, kill me in under an hour if I’m particularly unlucky. :-P
Aww, that is awful! You are welcome to have a transfusion of my blood, if it is possible to pass on my apparent immunity to marijuana, to overcome your allergies.
Although I doubt it would work, I am not aware of any studies which have actually tested such things. Clearly compatible blood types would be needed, in any event. Then, of course there is the issue that smoke allergy is probably unconnected to resistance to the psychotropic effects.
So tongue firmly in cheek on that point. But… it may be possible. Many a true word said in jest, after all. Therefore, given that both of us are actually in very rare minorities, I would genuinely be willing to honour that, if medical opinion indicated that it really was viable.
Eh, I’ll just stick with my allergy medications for now.
I’m honestly something of a medical anomaly, really. Basically, smokes of different kinds can cause me to develop a swollen, painful, puss-generating rash that is similar to hives. I know that doesn’t SOUND fatal, but I can develop it anywhere I have skin. This, I have learned the hard way, includes the inside of my mouth, including down my throat, and the rash can of course get infected, just like any open-and-unpleasant area of the skin can.
Result is, I’ve found myself nearly drowning on my own mucus with my throat and mouth rendered nearly swollen shut due to exposure to some smokes.
This also has ended ANY ambitions I ever had regarding joining the fire squads, because almost nothing makes as much junk in smoke as a house fire. :(
Ironically, the only effect I otherwise have to pot (found through trying oils and direct ingestion for legitimate medical reasons) was an increased tendency to have nightmares. I’m actually glad to hear I’m not the only person on the planet to have huge resistances and immunity to various drugs and the like, though!
I do have one other immunity, which tends to wind people up, when I tell them. I never get a hangover! Fortunately it is just limited to that side of the equation. Booze works just fine for me.
It is entirely possible that he is. There are various clues meant to hint towards marijuana, but they can just be red-herrings there for the gag. Especially given the only canonical indicators are dialogue by Vehemence. Which could be taken as him making a joke, about his situation.
“I fought ARC-SWAT and all I got was this shirt” LOL brilliant. Weed and video games, perfect way to mellow him out. I love it.
That bunny making a shadow puppet of a hand!
AWwwwwwwwww♪☺♥
+1
They better have some VERY good back-ups on that cell for Opal, since a system breakdown would be a death sentence for her.
Agreed.
I’ve posted on many other comments on how she could escape that, if done properly, no, she could not. Thank you for bringing up the opposite problem: given the equipment and possibly gas mix necessary for that cell, a breach of any kind would be lethal. There has to be a pipe into the room that pumped it full of pressurized gas. What if something breaches that? Does the system require power to maintain pressure (it shouldn’t)? The airlock looks manual, that’s a plus. Her cell has to be strong enough to not explode from the internal pressure, so the walls shouldn’t be easy to breach.
But they have to be able to de-pressurize the room when it’s not in use. If that sequence gets started, she’s dead. If the gas pipe is breached, she’s dead. If the pressure sensor malfunctions and registers a lower-than-actual pressure, and they over pressurize, the gas mix could kill her and the airlock won’t equalize properly. If the pressure sensor malfunctions and registers a higher-than-actual pressure, same problem. If the inner and outer airlock doors are somehow open at the same time, she’s dead; maybe she had a visitor and they didn’t close the inner airlock door properly? But then, depressurizing the airlock would depressurize the room. An incoming visitor who didn’t close the outer door properly would never pressurize. If you trust pressure monitoring to a person, there’s a chance for human error, if you use a computer, it can glitch. A large enough inequality between the pressure in the airlock and the room could kill Opal when the inner door opened. I hope that door opens into the room to help prevent that problem. She has to have a full bathroom off-camera, which introduces plumbing problems. All of these problems are extremely unlikely, but every sensor needs to be tripled so if one goes wrong, you know it went wrong and which one, and each of them needs a backup. Multiple redundancies on the airlock, human double-checking the computer…the weakness is the gas line. Bury it in concrete and pray there isn’t an earthquake.
Such has been used for long-term occupancy in reality. So the lessons learnt from that (and a notorious critical failure in one decompression chamber) will have informed their design. It is no more intrinsically dangerous than living in space, probably less so, and we have astronauts doing just that.
But it is certainly correct to point out the importance of ensuring that suitable safeties and redundancies are built into the system. The state has a duty of care to its prisoners. Doubly so as she is only on remand, and has a reasonable chance of being found ‘not guilty’, due to the undue influence of the aggro aura.
There is also the issue of uncontrolled/subconscious power manipulation on Opal’s part, depending on how her power actually works the slightest surprise could lead to immediate execution. Not to mention that if my primary/only ability was making portals, my immediate response to waking up in an unknown location (especially after a fight) would be to get to a known safe location. The ease of suicide is another glaring flaw in this design, and given the level of government this facility is operating at, a potential disaster.
How good are you at spotting the symptoms of anti-depressants and other drugs which could minimise such risks? Because we can already see one guy who has been doped up on happy drugs. Opal may well already have been administered drugs, suited to her needs.
Only if a psychologist deemed it necessary mind. They could have gotten a reasonable impression of her likely state of mind, by interviewing people who know her, whilst she was still sedated. If they felt they did not have enough information to make an informed call, they could err on the side of caution, and drug her enough to reduce suicide risk, but not so much that they cannot hold a conversation and clinically assess her.
Obviously this would interfere with her lawyer being able to speak to her. Likewise it would delay any police interview. So judicial oversight would be even more important, to ensure that a fair balance was maintained between protecting the public and respecting Opal’s rights.
I’m not talking about suicide because of depression, I’m talking about prisoners using it as a means to avoid interrogation. Not to mention the potential backlash if people found out about this type of imprisonment – it is highly unethical to keep people in line using death threats.
I had been restricting my thinking to the real world (note I am not being sarcastic), so you make a reasonable point for the genre. But I think Archon are reasonably satisfied that they know what is behind the attack (namely Vehemence). And they have no reason to believe Opal belongs to a fanatical order of something-or-other, who will kill themselves if captured.
And if she is, she can kill herself with her portals any time she wants to. No pressure trap assistance required. So there is no additional danger, in my opinion.
I think that Archon will be very open about such methods of containment. A lot of the public will be very scared, having seen that fight being broadcast live on TV. And seeing how effective the prison is, will help prevent mass panic.*
Plus open public debate (such as the ones we are having here) is vital for the public to form a consensus. Allowing society to decide where the correct balance is, between protecting their own rights to survive, versus those of the individuals who are believed to be a threat to them.
The more extreme ones almost certainly calling for the villains to be executed immediately, rather than risk them escaping! And even normally moderate people might be concerned that would be necessary, if no other means could be found to protect the public.
Which, sooner or later is likely to happen. Ok maybe not in this comic, as it does not go for the darker side. But it is realistic that, there will be a villain who’s power is so dangerous, that they cannot be safely contained, by any means available, but who also cannot be allowed to survive.
Although that would be a powerful story line, if a hero to find a means of averting that.
In which case an alternative, that is only lethal if the villain attempts to escape, is actually far better.
Now consider what would happen if your initial proposal were true. And Opal decided to take as many people with her as she could. Opening a big portal between her present location and the surface of the sun. Wouldn’t the public be glad the nuclear-like explosion, which resulted, was at the location of the prison? Rather than Opal being free to step though a portal, to the centre of Washington, or New York, before doing that?
* I have not forgotten Arianna’s comments above. But she is talking immediate response, following a big victory, by the police. Things might not be so peachy after the first major success by super villains. And fear is fickle, the situation could change overnight, for all too many other reasons.
The fact that there are no nullifiers is extremely problematic to containment. Archon hasn’t neutralized a potential threat – they’ve backed someone into a corner. With Opal this might not blow up in their faces, but if they were attempting to contain a legitimate threat with similar abilities this approach is too flawed to be a viable solution.
I’m not suggesting they throw their prisoners in a normal cell, but at the very least there needs to be a nonlethal deterrent to escape, some way to discourage offensive power use, and a way to track them if they does escape.
Having Vehemence stoned out of his mind is an effective solution to the first two issues, and with an organization like Archon its unlikely they aren’t going to do everything they can to make sure they know where these people are at all times. Different abilities will necessitate varying responses, but being a government organization Archon has to follow some basic regulations meant to protect prisoners and their rights.
Well said and showing good principles.
I do like the way DaveB has handled it mind. It keeps within the boundaries he has written, and that means Dabbler has not conjured up an easy solution that solves all the moral issues. Rather he has made imaginative use of real world technology to overcome super powers.
The fact that it is of debatable morals is simply a reflection of the same kind of issues that we face in the real world. Dave has not shied away from the issues. There is always a divide between what we would like to do and what we can do. What remains is trying to implement the fairest compromise.
And if the path is a bit rocky, that just makes for an interesting story!
So… Who is the person asking how the supers are held? It looks like Arianna, but she has Sydney’s neck band, and I would assume Arianna would know the answer to that question, and that Sydney would happily ask that question.
She has Harem’s neck band, actually…
I stand corrected.
And that would make it the blonde Harem. Question answered.
Thanks DStaal.
Is Opal from Brazil? Luana Carvalho REALLY sounds like a brazilian name…
Aaaand I just started re-watching the entire game grumps “kirby’s epic yarn” series courtesy of this page. Few things cheer me up more.
Tnx Dave. Wonderful page. Also, anyone else thinking the guy needs a bigger controller, ASAP?
He he. It does seem teeeny, doesn’t it?
Boiler Plate is looking pretty healthy on this page. Archon’s super powered Doc must have taken good care of him considering how Maxima took him down.
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1395
Yea, I guess while painful, that was a fairly simple injury that could be healed fast.
I don’t know if it was mentioned in some older comments, but Steven Gould described an effective method for incarcerating Teleporters in his Jumper Series (the books, not the stupid movie! )
It might be too gruesome for your comic, or at least to be adopted by the “good guys”, but you might want to look it up for reference.
In Short: the “bad guys” kidnapped the protagonist and implanted a device that would stimulate his vagal nerve if it didn’t constantly get a deactivation signal.
As long as the protagonist didn’t leave his cell, he would be fine; if he tried to escape… the effects were quite disgusting and eventually fatal..
Arc could combine this idea with their “sleeping bracelet” and a gps for localization…or an electric shocker..
Yea, those kinds of solution are fairly common in sci fi and super genres. But they do require ‘this works in theory’ or ‘some time in the future we can make this reliable’ or ‘look over that way! [There are a few unrealistic details here (for this setting)]’.
Whereas this story is set in the present day. When super powers are not understood and have not been replicated in devices. And, if we have an urgent need for a highly specific device, such as a teleporter tracker and disabler, it would take several years of R&D to get a working prototype, fit for animal testing.
Archon had a need overnight. And used off-the-shelf tried and tested technology to come up with a rough and ready solution. Which works surprisingly effectively!
Not sure Vehemence’s… er, style of incarceration would fly with the ACLU, but bonus points for creativity.
Probably not. Fortunately their opinion is has zero bearing. In an emergency situation, like this, especially given its unprecedented nature, police just have to use their best judgement. The law then decides if their actions were justifiable. The kinds of bodies which do have legal decision-making powers are:
• Police internal affairs divisions (I am dying to know what Archon have in this regard, I would be surprised if there was nothing).
• The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). A UK authority. I have no idea if the USA has anything like this.
• Public prosecutors.
• Judges (and, if need be, juries).
Lobbying bodies, and even politicians, having no more power than being able to voice an opinion. *
Barring those extremely senior individuals who may have the power to issue a pardon, if it turns out to be both illegal but (in their judgement) necessary for the public good.
* Although they can contribute to ensuring the laws are tightened up, by new legislation.
Actually, in my example, the protagonist was the FIRST teleporter ever…. or the first and only one with any kind of super power.
It took a few years for the bad guys to develop the technology, but only because they had to experiment to understand how not to kill people with it (they needed a strong negative feedback to brainwash him into submission)…if you used a shocker or a sleeping device like the one already showed in the comic, you could build it overnight: you just need a receiver that activates when it doesn’t receive a specific radio signal! and a “teleporter-tracker” is simply a GPS device!
and it would be a lot simpler and less dangerous than the pressured room. it would even allow you to force the teleporter to obey you, as it happen in the book…
A shock collar might work in Opal’s case since she creates portals she walks though, but she might be able to create micro portals that could cut or damage the collar and since they don’t know, they have to go with the more comprehensive solution.
A collar would not work with Harem since she can opt to not bring it along with her.
I’m honored to receive a direct answer from the artist himself! I’m sure you thought about this extensively; i just wished to give a contribution suggesting a reading you might find interesting as reference.
Every solution has its pros and cons, and it all depends on how you’re going to portrait Archon and its division (like ArcDark could be experimenting on something more “invasive”)…and there are planty of villains..
I hate to be that guy to argue with the Comic artist but there are a lot of issues with high pressure environments, for a good list just look at the issues for scuba divers, nitrogen build up and oxygen toxicity are some that come to mind.
I know people can and have stayed in a high pressure environment for just over a month at a time in the past. Presumably if there is an issue, they can knock her out with gas, and keep her sedated while they depressurize and correct whatever issue there is.
If it weren’t for possible air mixture troubles, it wouldn’t have to be an actual pressure chamber, just a pressure tank. Pinhole portal to the safety tank, when the whistle stops, pressure is equal; port away. Once in the target tank, pinhole portal outside. Again: When the whistle stops, pressure is equal; port away. Yeah, you’ll be without food and water for a few days.
Ignoring that, though… there’s still the question of “Does she need to know where she IS, or just where she’s GOING?” plus probably other details about her powers.
There are sensors monitoring the air pressure. Sedatives in her air supply (which we know from Vehemence’s situation they can do) will knock her out. The portals vanish (as per previous fight). The pressure returns to it’s correct level. They let her wake up. And advise her that additional charges of attempting to escape prison have been filed.
Ponies, Doritos, Mountain Dew, video games, and weed? Shit, sign me up for some of that.
He smokes two joints in the morning, he smokes two joints at night…
I only realized now that Vehemence eyes, teeth and his arm have fully healed. I must be nearly as dense as he is now.
Looks like he had enough energy left to wreak havoc on that prison. Good thing it’s a good prison.
I would say less havoc wreaking occurred than you suspect. He was loosing his power fast at the end of the battle (when he returned to normal). Keeping him sedated, at first, and doped up presently, will have reduced the risks to manageable levels. For now.
Keviiiiiiiiin!
I had to report in to a Kevin today, the first thing that came to mind was Home Alone.
Which was also the second thing, and the third.
I will never be able to be friends with a Kevin.
I was gonna break out my room, but then I got high.
I was start a riot, but then I got high.
I’m still in this room, and I know why.
Because I got high, because I got high, because I got high~
Kevin watching My Little Pony.
Top fucking kek.
I had been thinking of that as a poster, like in Sydney’s bedroom. But, you are right, it is in the corresponding position to the TV on Opal’s cell wall.
Vehemence is a character with interestingly varied tastes and lifestyle choices.
You should look at Deadman Wonderland, they keep people with ‘superpowers’ locked up.
This is my favorite page so far. Now I wanna play Kirby’s Epic Yarn. XD
I think the name “Kevin” suits him. Also, that is quite honestly the most hilarious method I’ve ever seen for containing a superpower. If it weren’t night time I would be giggling up a storm.
i tottally know how he could get free.
since his powers are of the mystical variant. he would be playing on the console – and suddenly a small tug of violence is felt – his mind clears a little.. he feels the tiny bit of violence again.. but this time he explores it – and suddenly he is one with all the consoles on earth – feeling every players bit of anger and hate and vitriollic violence directed at other people.
and then he grows to titan size from overload of violence and stomps away to freedoom..
Hey! My name is Kevin, and I’m wondering if I should take that personally. :P
Truth is, it’s kind of a compliment to share a name with one of the most powerful guys on the planet. Although… that whole ‘villian’ thing makes it kind of backhanded – but I’m used to it. ;)
Yet you named the amputee “Peggy.”
Dave tries not to. Sometimes he can’t resist. Such is human nature.
I really hope we get to see more Vemmy in the future. He was a fun villain, and a rather good fight ^_^.
Meditation will help, both to pass the time, until we do, and to find that which you seek.
Yoish! That was an awesome pic!
But yeah. That will have to do till we see more of Best Villain.
I just realized that a some of the characters here look like… Overwatch characters…
Or that is to say, I think Overwatch eyed up the designs…
Zarya looks like Peggy
Zenyatta looks like Sydney…
I’m gonna have to look into the other characters a bit to see if there are other parallels.
Kevin is still the best villain by far. Sure Sciona is strong and evil. But Vemmy was just fun to watch. Had some great lines. As well as definitely has future arch nemesis potential … Mostly just fun to read.
Definitely look forward to seeing him some day later.