Line #29 Awesome/Empowered


1	* There's usually a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome at the end of each volume. Emp rescuing [=ThugBoy=], Emp rescuing Ninjette, Emp defeating [=dWARf!=] and Emp defeating Deathmonger, and single-handedly rescuing everyone else he had captured.
2	* Emp ''finally'' manages to take down a super-villain on her own... ''using nothing but a torn-off scrap of her ultra-clingy super-suit.''
3	* Not to mention in Volume 3, when Emp saves Ninjette- ''Ninjette'' people, the woman who had just single-handedly dropped several powerful ninja while dosed up with sleeping poison- by dropping out of nowhere and blasting them to kingdom come with an insanely powerful blast.
4	** Speaking of said sleeping poison, let's not forget Ninjette slaughtering a small army of ninja assassins after being dosed with it ''and'' in steadily increasing states of tied up.
5	** And, to top Emp's rescue off, [=ThugBoy=] shows up and [[BoomHeadshot headshots]] the last one still alive and attempting to attack the two.
6	* And in Volume 4, she gets not one, but ''three'' such moments in the last story. First, she rallies the few people there still capable of fighting to defend the depowered supers. Then, she beats down the [[FaceHeelTurn traitorous dWARF/Fleshmaster]] - using a glorious bit of IAmNotLeftHanded in the process, asserting her nature with a ShutUpHannibal/[[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech You Suck speech]] in the process, and finally says that when and if she wins an award, it's going to be a genuine one. All of this despite knowing that she'd been set up for a Carrie-at-the-prom prank.
7	-->'''Empowered:''' I do this '''stupid job''' because I'm fucking '''Driven''' to do it!\
8	'''Empowered:''' Unlike '''You''', I do this stupid, '''Stupid''' job because--\
9	'''Empowered: Because... This... Is... What... I... AM!!!'''
10	* Volume 6. Deathmonger. ''"Mong this, motherfucker."''
11	** "''Fehh'' yourself, asshole," was a perfect send-off for that monster.
12	** This particular achievement needs to be enshrined in its proper context: when one of the most feared heavy-hitter supervillains in the ''world'' raids the Superhomies' crib and kidnaps a bunch of the superdead, Emp rallies the survivors (Maidman and Rubbernecker), and shakes Sistah Spooky out of her BSOD to track down Deathmonger's hideout, while she single-handedly deduces how Deathmonger found out about Phallik's revival so quickly and threatens his mole into helping lure Deathmonger out of his hideout. She formulates the plan to have Ninjette distract Deathmonger and she leads the assault into his base to rescue the superdead. When Deathmonger returns too early she fights well in the ensuing battle and eventually deals the decisive blow to him herself, before escaping with not only her friends and the superdead she came to rescue, but several other superdead (we at least see her rescuing Strapping Buck and Gooey Samaritan), leaving Deathmonger to be HoistByHisOwnPetard. Planning and carrying out the operation to rescue not only the kidnap victims but also a number of other prisoners while taking out one of the biggest villains in the business at the same time? That'd be a good day's work for ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}!''
13	*** How about the fact that Deathmonger actually ''admits'' - albeit to himself, not to Emp - that he should have taken her more seriously? That coming from a guy we know to have been previously taken down only by ''all'' the Superhomeys at once is pretty impressive.
14	* In Vol 7 Ninjette and Oyuki taking on the rest of the Ayakami clan, starting with counter-ambushing their ambush using Yuki-chan as a decoy-Ninjette (complete with a wig stapled to her head!) along with a bomb to blow the majority of them up. After narrowing it down to just a handful, Oyuki bows out stating she offered to kill [[ExactWords "three"]] of the Ayakami clan, leaving Ninjette to face Yuki, her boyfriend and his best friend alone. After getting stabbed in the hand, shoulder and tied up in chains Ninjette reveals that Yuki's been cheating on her boyfriend with his best friend for months now, having gotten her drunk and interrogated her. She then uses the confusion to use a jutsu to make Yuki-chan [[KillItWithFire spontaneously combust]] and then finishes off her boyfriend and his buddy while they're trying to put out the fire.
15	** Ninjette getting Oyuki to call her "hime-sama".
16	** The Super Dead all get one when the Homies return to find the place trashed from the fight with Deathmonger. After Emp explains the situation and Major Havoc goes on another one of his rants saying how useless she is, both Ninjette and Maidman jump to her defense, but Havoc forces them to admit that they were either unconscious or BoundAndGagged. Then all of the Super Dead chime in saying they witnessed the whole thing and [[WhatTheHellHero call out]] the Homies for ignoring their needs and leaving Emp alone in the first place to go to a meeting. They also demand that Emp be their representative for Super Dead issues. After so many of Emp's victories coming back to bite her the next volume, it's great to see a situation where she comes out on top.
17	*** Thugboy gets one from his [[CombatPragmatist Cape]][[MugglePower Killer]] days as he goes into exact detail about just how [[KillItWithFire effective]] fire is against the caped community, specifically when you're using thermite grenades to do it. [[BadassBoast "Even gods can die motherfucker!"]] indeed.
18	* Emp versus the titular supervillains of the special ''Animal Style''. She not only provided the ultimate [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]] of the superpowered version of CarFu (throwing the car) as wasteful (throwing just the engine block does much more damage due to the density of it, and the rest of the car can be used in other ways), but utterly trashed ''six'' villains in PowerArmor [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking in ways that were not covered by their warranties]], and sent their boss in a full blown VillainousBreakdown over losing to ''her''.
19	* Also a CMOF: [[BedTrick Ninjette once consummated another ninja's marriage disguised as the]] ''[[GenderBender groom]]''. Oyuki mentions this earned her a status as MemeticBadass: ''no one'' has yet figured out how she was able to pull it off.
20	* In volume 8, Emp has literally [[ToHellAndBack gone to hell and back with Spooky to try and save Mindf██k;]], [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu kicking the crap out of Spooky's demonic service provider]] and successfully defying Spooky's SenselessSacrifice in the process. According to Spooky, this was impossible... And yet, she did it.
21	** It's preceded by Emp's quiet badassery beforehand. Spooky is about to do some career-ending, certain-death shit but can't open the portal without Emp's help. When Spooky explains her reason for going on this insane mission, instead of answering, Emp strides over without hesitation and opens it. She then invites herself along.
22	** During all of this in volume 8, Spooky reveals (to the readers but not Emp) that the constant bondage and humiliation Emp suffers every day is because Spooky jealously cast spells driving supervillains to tie up Emp every chance they got. But then [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone the guilt of what she did]] drove Spooky to try and reverse that spell, only to find out that the bondage urge couldn't go away. Even Spooky can't understand why or how Emp is able to even get up in the morning and do what she does. Essentially meaning that Emp's continued persistence to be a superhero is out of ''sheer willpower'' that even magic can't overcome.
23	* Volume 9 brings about the culmination of several long-brewing plot points, including Manny's reappearance following the Capeys debacle and his abduction of dWarf!/Fleshmaster and Emp's long-standing issues with her teammates and the incidents making a black mark on her reputation, such as her connections with the Supradead and Deathmonger and the last volume's finale. Threatened with being put on ice because of her problematic status, Emp is instead abducted and put through a day from hell facing off against a veritable horde of supervillains, including a revitalised Fleshmaster and a returned-from-the-dead Deathmonger. The latter actively enacts a ''truce'' with Emp, of all things, because Deathmonger's actively friendly with Manny. And once she isn't actively being ambushed, Emp rips through Fleshmaster like he was nothing more than wet tissue paper, with the assistance of ''alien hardware''. With this all recorded, she then takes it back to the ''same committee'' who sentenced her to cryogenic imprisonment and uses it to actively prove her innocence in ''everything'' going back to the Capeys night, and then ''demands'' that she is either made a full member of the team or she quits. This leaves the other bigwigs on the committee suitably impressed that it really looks like Emp's reputation might have reached a turning point. While short and featuring a heartbreaking BittersweetEnding, Volume 9 has things looking up for Emp, in the end.
24	** Also the [=SuperHomeys=] find out that they've become one of the top-ranked hero groups on the planet due to incredibly accurate and up-to-date intel on villain activity, something they weren't even aware of. Turns out Emp has eidetic memory and good hearing, so that every time she'd been captured and tied up, she overheard every EvilGloating tirade by her captors and returned to the Homeys' database to plug in what she learned. Emp even uses her incredible memory and attention to detail to consistently undermine and freak out the supervillains' fighting each other over using Emp's access to high-grade alien tech. Including pretending to be possessed by the "ghost" of a supervillain who had died in an abandoned villain lair that Emp recognized to scare one team of captors into fleeing for their lives. Volume 10 adds that Thugboy, having resumed Witless Minioning, feeds the tips hotline on Emp's behalf.
25	** TheReveal of the above, complete with Emp ''finally'' getting a chance to indulge herself in some LargeHam EvilGloating over her beaten opponents (complete with EvilLaugh,) is actually made ''more'' awesome by the fact that her big speech is an ImagineSpot and she ''doesn't'' let her enemy know how badly he and so many other villains have been utterly outmaneouvred. It emphasises the difference between Emp and [[AttentionWhore so many of her enemies and so-called allies]] that she does not have some pathological need to be feared/admired, and won't waste time or sacrifice an advantage just for the sake of showing off.
26	*** Just the fact that, of all the Vills, the only one who actually has any idea of what's happening is Free Floating Fury, who remembers getting blackout drunk while she was his prisoner and was even grateful for her not spilling the tea about whatever he said - thus when she suddenly used the override code for his drone to activate spray-and-pray mode he understood exactly ''how'' she knew it. [[OhCrap And to dive for cover]].
27	** The ''build up'', starting in ''volume 1'':
28	*** In "Blimey" Emp is overpowered by Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash, when the villain sees they've ended in a fabric store... And ends in a trauma flashback, before telling Emp he'll call it a draw and leaving. As he does that, we see that Empowered is wondering how many villains may have some weird weaknesses...
29	*** In volume 6 we see Empowered is working on a file about a villain when Spooky shows up to "kidnap" her.
30	*** And finally, in this volume she suddenly starts doing exactly what she needs to take down the villains trying to kidnap her with their own weaknesses... Such as revealing to a supervillain that [[FelonyMisdemeanor his partner once voted Republican, immediately breaking their partnership]], or activating the self-destruction code of a sentient missile.
31	** During their respective hearings before the executive council, both Emp and Sistah Spooky had some awesome moments: as jerks as they were, the members of the council couldn't help but admire how she dealt with the Vorpal Sword in the previous volume, and Spooky... Well, she finally admitted to the world that she and Mindf██k were lovers, finally denounced her superjerk peers as the asses they are, reminded that, having resigned, she's not contractually subject to their authority, and then teleported out.
32	** Emp's TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Ghost Writer.
33	* The seventh special "Pew! Pew! Pew!" has supervillain Tentakle go on a rampage against the bank that gave him a service fee too many... And Emp ''one-shotting him with a streetlight to the head''.
34	** The special had multiple supervillains go berserk thanks to their Teknofetish-brand superguns, and at the end one of them literally ''jumped into Emp's hand'' (ironically right after she told it to the owner of the gun, that she had just defeated). Of course she became pissed at being a punchline without respect... And then obliterated ''the gun'': she was even more furious at it thinking it could manipulate her...
35	* Upon being granted her demanded full-membership status in the Superhomies, Emp's confidence is at an all time high and she goes on an utter spree of badassery around town.
36	* Similar to Emp's TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Ghost Writer, Volume 10 gives her another one against [[StrawFeminist le Chevalier Blanc]], calling him out for his particular type of misogyny and providing some additional meta commentary on the BoundAndGagged DamselInDistress tropes in general.
37	* At the end of Volume 10, Emp finds out that Thugboy has resumed Witless Minioning and their ensuing argument is strikingly calm and well-reasoned compared to the mess in Volume 1 when Emp found out that Thugboy had slept with Spooky before he met her, or the AngerBornOfWorry after the Willy Pete debacle. It shows how much they have matured as a couple that they can justify their own points of view while acknowledging the other's position.
38	* Volume 11.
39	** All of Emp’s fights, especially since she’s facing off against her so-called more competent colleagues. While she does need to be rescued several times, it’s made very clear that it isn’t incompetence on her fault. It’s the fact that there’s A LOT OF THEM.
40	** Emp saving the civilians, even taking a moment to try and reassure them.
41	** Emp’s second fight against Major Havoc, whereupon she pretty much pays him back for every mean thing he ever said to her. She blasts him through walls, knees him in the face and physically reminds him that when push comes to shove, she actually ''IS'' [[ActionGirl a competent superheroine.]]
42	** Capitan Rivet’s fight against Willy Pete. WorfEffect or no, he’s the only Super who’s managed to get close enough to get into a FIST FIGHT with Willy Pete. Why does he do this? Because he knows as terrifying as WP is, Neurospear is STILL more dangerous. [[HeroicSacrifice While he knows he CAN’T stop WP, he can distract him well enough]] that Emp manages to get a few minutes’ safety.
43	** Emp is the only Super to survive two attacks from Willy Pete. Rivet sadly is nuked when Neurospear forces WP to focus on Emp again. Neurospear is killed by Spooky shortly after destroying WP.
44	** Credit where credit is due: [[VillainousValor Willy Pete manages to fully resist Neurospear’s, his CREATOR, puppetry enough to fight back,]] forcing Neurospear to kill him directly.
45	** MVP of this volume goes to Mindf██k. Even while preparing to die several volumes previous, she takes time to make some type of mental defense for Emp on the ''off'' chance Emp meets her brother. When this finally happens, the defense activates and [[LivingEmotionalCrutch supports Emp nearly every step of the way.]] The exceptions to this support is when Emp is directly attacked by the controlled Supers (in which the construct would be more hindrance than help) and around Rivet. On their way to Neurospear, Mindf██k lays out her BatmanGambit to Emp: endure his attempts to take her out long enough that he loses his patience and (stupidly) tries to kill her directly. At which point, construct!Mindf██k AMBUSHES HIM. Despite knowing this isn’t a fight she could hope to win even living, the construct unleashes every bit of fury she has in a attempt to give Emp the opening she needs to take Neurospear down. And when [[NearVillainVictory that just]] ''[[NearVillainVictory BARELY]]'' [[NearVillainVictory manages to fail]] (Emp will NOT willfully hurt her loved ones), in comes Spooky flying like a BigDamnHero. Attacking Spooky causes Neurospear to finally realize he’s been OutGambitted. See, Mindf██k may have only had minutes to figure out how to protect Emp but Spooky? [[LongGame She’s had YEARS to make that mental shield.]] As a result, Spooky effortlessly stops Neurospear’s attacks and ends his reign of terror by over-spelling him into oblivion. Construct!Mindf██k leaves the scene knowing that if she couldn’t save her brother, she at least saw him stopped and the two people she cares about the most survived his efforts. Not bad for a hastily made not-ghost of a dead lady.
46	** Spooky somehow twigging that something is wrong and [[TheCavalry saving Emp, ThugBoy and Ninjette at the last minute.]]

Context Awesome / Empowered