Funny / Grrl Power

The marketing team at work.

• Maxima's first interaction with Sydney's secret poster tube — namely, the facts that the orbs inside them cannot be separated more than 5 feet from Sydney, but they won't drag her along with them. Not even if you're as strong as Maxima. Epic Fail par excellence.
  Sydney: U.S.A! U.S.A.!
• The next page has Maxima making Sydney get out from under the truck by lifting it up and snapping her pointer finger and going "Out." while Sydney and the reporter behind them have hilarious faces.
• After Harem gets back at Maxima for shaking her around inside an ambulance by leaving kisses all over the patients' faces, Maxima gets back at her via a super Atomic Wedgie. It's enough to make all her clones feel it, and them banging into other things when they flinch just makes the feedback effect even more hilarious.
• A background check on Sydney reveals that she was once arrested for assault. Maxima does not find that surprising. What surprises everyone in the board room is that she was found not guilty due to acting in self-defense because somebody actually tried to mug her. The only description in the official police report is "Oh, the humanity!" Further, when her co-worker/business partner hears about the bank robbery, he's concerned about the fate of the bank robbers. Also, Maxima apparently thinks that all cops are Irish and from 1930.
• Zephan suggesting that Sydney's ADHD meds need a higher dosage. Maxima replies that the only thing stronger is meth, and that they don't write prescriptions for that.
• Dabbler's entrance into the comic, which only gets better after Sydney sees through her illusion and freaks out. By the time the interview is over they're acting like bratty siblings.
• And as the meeting wraps up, she scans General Faulk's mind for a substitute glamour, coming up with the original Green-Skinned Space Babe, which is funny enough, but the fact that everyone else is motionless while Dabbler remains oblivious makes it even funnier.
• Sydney's innocent joke at Anvil's expense isn't that funny, but one of Harem's copies laughs at it while in the bathroom.
• Sydney tries some behavioral self-modification.... via Fonzarelli Fix. Maxima's Troubled Fetal Position and Facepalm are priceless.
• A younger Maxima reacts to a paper-bag alarm clock:
  Maxima: [staring in shock at the giant, burning hole in the wall she just made] So... apparently I can do that.
• Maxima getting Sydney to behave by referencing the idea of I Let Gwen Stacy Die.
• And then she promises Math that he won't be her Gwen Stacy.
• Math to Harem: "Ooh, storytime!" Like an eager little kid.
• "Prepare the Nerve Weasel!"
• Deus is shaping up to be an... interesting villain(?).
• Hey, Sydney- open mouth, insert foot. The page's title even lampshades it.
• Try not to think about the fact that some of the most beautiful women on earth are showering, changing, and possibly having tickle fights on the other side of this wall. Please remember that this is a sign hanging in the MEN'S shower.
  Math: Whoever made that sign is an evil genius. A horrible, awful, evil genius.
  Hiro: You're not going to burn a hole in that wall no matter how hard you stare at it.
  Math: Please tell me you have that power.
• Maxima asks "What's the worst that could happen?" before laughing about how she said it with a straight face.^note And she's only know Sydney for part of a day at that point, even. When they see Sydney scare Heatwave off of answering her phone, General Faulk sympathetically pats Max and Arianna's shoulders.
• The imagine spot with a random super whose power is to make people think he knows Kevin Bacon.
• the imagine spot of a Super Olympics in 2020 with the TV tagline about there surprisingly being no Afican nations with supers that are empowered with speed-based abilities.
• Maxima explains that most of her actions in Iraq and Afganistan were classified...cut to her asking some soldiers if their party is classified while she prepares to drink a keg by flying upside-down.
  • And the author's note mentioning that no, he does not know where they got the keg.
  • Dabbler's smugness on the same page.
  • One soldier off screen comments that the party being classified is the reason they are not wearing any pants.
  • And Maxima's casual admission that she's why there's not a lot of supers left in either country she was deployed in is fine Black Comedy.
  • On the next page, the author's note analyzing Max's bun coming out so easily leading to the vote of "Dabber gave her a magic scrunchy".
• The Unmaker. All of it.
• Harem talking about her "disability."
• Ariana's method at (attempting) to control Dabbler? A dog clicker.
  • The highlight being the final panel, where she gives up all pretense of subtlety and just throws the clicker at Dabbler.
• Achilles assisting with Dabbler's demonstration. "Whee!"
  • Also the discussion of Dabbler's weapon, which she's not sure of the Earth-word for. Maxima and Sydney, on the other hand, know.
  • Dave (the author of the webcomic) getting Sidetracked by the Analogy when comparing public relations to Guitar Hero.
    "This is what Arianna gets for playing the PR game on expert difficulty. She’s not going to S rank it at this point, but if she can rally a few more times, she might still finish with an A or a B+ if she nails the whammy run… or something else that makes it sound like there’s a PR version of Guitar Hero. God, that would be a shit game though, wouldn’t it? Sydney cursed on TV! Hit Blue, Red and Green! Maxima threatened a paparazzi, Blue Blue Blue, Blue Red, Blue Red, Yellow Red! Who let a sex tape ‘slip?’ Math? Oh, no one cares about that. Well, some people do, but not in a way that generates bad PR so much. Hold down Blue."
• Sydney tries to hide behind Achilles, only to find out that the prior explosion torched the back of his clothes clean off and she just came into contact with his bare behind. She seems to take it even worse than he did.
• Sydney's sheer joy at finding out that she can level up her spheres.
  Sydney: DING Mutha Fuckas!
• The initial villain invasion is preceded with Harem opening a can of "Supervillain Blitzkrieg" soda, and commenting that it's not her fault in the bonus panel, as Peggy simply readies her Hand Cannon.
  • A bonus comic below has Peggy intervene as Harem is about to open◊ a different soda - Zombie Apocalypse Soda, with Vitamin B & Caffeine for your braaaaaaains.
• Anvil showcases her ability to take a punch without so much as flinching due to Energy Absorption - and utilizes that to give the poor sap a Nose Boop Of Doom.
  The Rant: Anvil's other fearsome martial techniques: Eskimo Kiss, Cheek Pinch, Hair Ruffle.
• It's also a Moment of Awesome, but Sydney invoking Blind Without 'Em to lower a villain's guard so she can use her spheres to take him down is hilarious.
• Gwen's cloaking spell is rendered as mantras rippling out like sound waves. The innermost one? "You can't see us you can't see us you can't see us..." The outermost layer is "Move Along, Nothing to See Here"
• "Make Maxima Say" Bingo
  • Somehow, Dabbler got "Trouser Ferret" marked off.
  • On the same page, Vehemence poking Dabbler's sword with a stick.
• When Breakpoint's power renders Jiggawatt unable to hear, Hiro gives her the order to attack the enemy in sign language. Jiggawatt uses the same to reply with "Fucking Doy.''
• Sydney's improvised solution to Death Toll's powers gets even Maxima suppressing a laugh.
• Vehemence's moment is swiftly interrupted by Sydney.
  [YOING] [SLAPSTICK]
  • "Meep meep!"
• As a side effect of growing, Vehemence's pants rip, giving everyone a show. The heroes' reactions are just the icing on the cake.
  • Also from that page: Ka-pants
    Vehemence: There, happy?
    Sydney: Only if one of these orbs lets me un-see things.
• Sydney comes up with a plan to distract Vehemence from his plan to kill Maxima by using Dabbler's hypnotic breasts. Maxima's conflicted reaction is what really sells it.
  • The idea quickly backfires when just about all of her teammates become hypnotized as well.
• After Vehemence is defeated, Hiro tries to get Maxima's attention with a "debriefing" pantomime so they can talk. She assumes he's hitting on her.
• When doing a background check on Sydney.
  Zephan: Let's see... she has an Adderall prescription for, unsurprisingly, ADHD.
  Maxima: I can confirm that I am unsurprised.
  Zephan: At the risk of sounding unprofessional, perhaps she should look into increasing the dose a little?
  Maxima: Zephan, that's called meth, they don't write prescriptions for that.
• Sydney, when you contact a succubus and are told she's right in the middle of something, don't be shocked when you get Too Much Information.
• Upon waking, Sydney has some menstrual cramps, deciding to Falcon Punch herself in the ovaries to combat this.
  Sydney: Let us hope that is the dumbest thing I do all day.
• As Strip 1707 cheerfully displays, no, it is not the dumbest thing she'll do today. Bonus points for how bemused Barack Obama seems by the whole thing.
  • Obama even gets a credit in the cast column ('The Prez').
    • Even better is Sydney's reaction.
      Sydney: I'm sorry, your Presidentfulness!
      Maxima: Don't curtsy to the President! You're not even wearing a dress!
• Ren vetos several possible superhero names for himself, including "The Blulk".
• Sydney's day doesn't improve much, as shown when she's called to attention as Lt. Col. Maxima enters the room
  Maxima: Ok, wow. Peggy, would you do something about that?
  Peggy: (With a suppressed smirk) Ma'am.
• Dabbler's Porno Sense is tingling! (Mildly NSFW)
  • Shortly after, Math asks Hiro what he thinks is happening in the women's showers. Hiro sarcastically figures "shampoo fight", before sarcastically adding that "women only do sexy stuff all the time always." One Description Cut later...
    Harem: I just farted and the shower wind blew it straight up my nose! God it smells like a ferret's butthole threw up on a Brussel sprout!
• Maxima's ringtone for Sydney is "They're Coming to Take Me Away (Ha Ha)" by Napoleon XIV.
• The method Arc-Aegis is using to hold Vehemence in containment. They're keeping him high as balls and busy playing cutesy videogames.
• During a discussion on modesty, one Arc-SPARQ engineer blurts out that all the women should be wearing Burkas, only to immediately snap a picture of Maxima's reaction with a smug grin on his face. And according to his dialogue, he's done this before!
  Omar: One of these days you'll stop falling for that, Max. Until then the Anger Album continues to grow.
• The recruits all go to Club Oontz. Sidney is confused by the name until she hears the loud dubstep playing.
  Author's Note: Better than Club Wub.
  • While at the club, Sydney realizes the Alien Among Us trope is at play, and sees that the guy Anvil's dancing with is a snapper - both his dancing and his apparent species. The Alt Text claims that he's doing The Carlton.
• After the club, Sydney has a prolonged, nerdy conversation with Leon, which is largely heartwarming... until Maxima mentions that Sydney will need to be up in five hours for boot camp.
  Sydney: Holy pink fairy armadillo dicks! I have to go to bed!
  • Maxima then shows Sydney to her room on-site, and Sydney assumes that the day going so smoothly means a Smash Cut is inevitable... nothing happens, and Maxima points out that Sydney wouldn't even know if it had anyway.
    Maxima: Anyway, you can't announce it. Smash cuts are unexpected. They usually happen right in the middle of a... ...
    Sydney: ... ??? !!! Oh my god I think it worked!
    Maxima: Goodnight, Sydney.
    Sydney: That was super mean!
• To help Sydney power through her first day of training, Peggy keeps reminding her about Batman. But when Sydney faceplants into the mud...
  Peggy: You know, Sydney, Batman wouldn't-
  Sydney: Oh my god, FUCK BATMAN! (Gasps before starting to cry)
  • The following strip is mostly Heartwarming as Peggy sympathizes with Sydney before promising not to tell anyone she'd cried.
    Sydney: Not that! Swear to Bob Kane you won't tell anyone of my terrible heresy! (Mini-comic below) Swearing to Bill Finger would be acceptable as well.
    Peggy: I don't know who either of those people are.
• Sydney trolls some construction workers that are busy catcalling her fellow heroes.
  Sydney: Hah hah hah! Hey, how sure are we that none of them have super hearing?
  Workers 1 & 2: ...
  Worker 3: Maybe I'll take that job in Ottowa after all.
• Maxima and Deus have a... History. Apparently he would constantly try and show his affection by giving her gifts like a Dimond and Ruby version of her "M" choker (which she hated), and a pair of boots with Magnesium Silicon Carbide cleats (which she thought were "alright").
  • When enticing Maxima with an endorsement deal, Deus hits on her feminist streak as a means to cajole her into accepting it. Her response of "maybe I just want an invisible jet" causes him to Spit Take 40-year-old Scotch onto his $3,000 suit.
• When asked about the wall-mounted display case full of weapons from various anime/videogames/web series, this exchange happens.
  Sydney: Woooo! Nice replicas!
  Deus: Replicas. *eyes narrow* Yessss..."
  Sydney: *Beat* Hmm.
  Deus: Hmm.
  Sydney: Hmm.
  Deus: Hmm.
  Both at once: Hmmmm.
• The mini-comic at the bottom of the above page is worth a chuckle.
  Sydney: You live well.
  Deus: I'm taking revenge on many, many people.
  Sydney: ...oh... oh! I get it! I get it.
• Two words: Muppet Maxima
• Sydney's meeting a werewolf... does not have the intended reaction.
  Sydney: I will call him Barkly!
  Gregor: You most certainly will not!
  • Taken up to eleven when she meets a were-bunny, which induces a "Grand Kawaii Seizure".
    Kat: Uh... Ms. Maxima? I think I broke your sidekick.
  • And exaggerated when Pixel reveals that she can morph into a pink-furred cheetah-woman. Sydney's reaction is literally ultrasonic.
  • An Imagine Spot after Sydney learns that lycans sometimes have drift shows a gazelle lycan doing a BBQ for a pack of lion relatives.
• Sydney tries to break the fourth wall, but doesn't know which direction it's in.
• Coupled with Awesome, as Hiro has to have the willpower of a saint to avoid looking at Maxima's Clothing Damage. At least now Maxima doesn't have to wonder about his "boudoir pictures".
  • And when Anvil smooshes them together for a hug, Hiro's willpower finally gives out as his Raging Stiffie lifts concrete in the process. Word of God says that Maxima was secretly impressed and flattered.
  • Harem, however, failed that will save hard enough to prompt a non-verbal My Eyes Are Up Here from Maxima. The ensuing conversation makes Maxima realize that Dabbler is going to hate not having seen all this first-hand.
• Cooter, Deep South personified, offends every one of the monsters he's talking to, though he's only able to see Cthillia as a non-human. He then asks to make sure she's not "one of them... Akbar types", which she dissuades by saying "Certainly not ... go Jesus?" She quietly admits "Big fan of traps, though.
• Dabbler continues to be a troll to the prudish (by her standards) Maxima by wearing a swimsuit that looks more like fetish gear and is so tight that the Artist puts censor bubbles over her groin and behind that read "This thing is really tight" and "Seriously you guys," respectively.
  • And then an exasperated Sydney asks if the suit blows up like a balloon if she farts in it.
  • Later at the pool, Sydney demonstrates the logical flaw with trying to shield before submerging, drenching her teammates in the process, including Varia's Romance Novel.
    Varia: Which is sort of ironic justice, becahs normally it gets me soaking w-
    Jiggawatt: Dude! Come on! ...but it's pretty good, huh?
    Varia: Chica, it's so dahty, as a promotional stunt it came with a change of drahs.
    • The book's title? Jack the Bodice-Ripper.
• Cooter's on Sciona's team is finally revealed. The Alt Text is especially hilarious.
  Alt Text: Dear diary, please disregard all previous entries about having "seen some shit."
• Deus portals into a vault containing a number of powerful mystical items, many qualifying for Artifact of Doom status... and brings a shopping cart.
  Alt Text: But for all his riches, Deus's shopping cart still has a wobbly wheel.
  • Sciona's method of bypassing the security system that only allows living things through, but kills said living thing in the process? Sacrifice a minion. Deus? He brings a cartload of potted plants.
    Deus: Your way is fine too, I guess. Since you obviously don't see the value in trust or loyalty.
• Sciona broke into the vault (killing Cooter in the process) and kills Wyrmil to get the epimorph which she uses rebuild her old body and then proceeds to dramatically shout about it... only to pause midway through to use it to give herself a boob-job.
• We later find out that Cooter survived being made into Ludicrous Gibs, prompting Ingsol to cast a Sleep spell... which Sydney accidentally watched him do, prompting her to go night-night.
  • The gray-skinned elf that complimented Maxima's ears is caught leering at her chest - luckily for him, Sydney was willing to distract Maxima by talking Lord of the Rings, of which Maxima is a "Level 7.5 nerd" in.
• After Cooter/Wyrmil summon a wall of tentacles to cover their escape, Sydney says this:
  Sydney: Ho boy. I've had some dreams start like this.
  Maxima: It is kind of nightmarish
  Sydney: yyyyyes. Nightmares
• After the very talkative mass of tentacles that were summoned see Dabbler and Decolette, they think that the two Succubi were the reason that they were summoned.
  Dabbler: Don't give us that look. I'm not saying "no." Just don't make assumptions.
  • Following that, Decolette responds with an indignant "I never," prompting the explanation from Dabbler and Decolette that at Succubus Finishing School, one of the assignments is to "Date" a writhing mass of tentacles. Decolette never did that assignment because she had to attend a royal wedding that week. Apparently, it's usually a group assignment.
  • Also, the tentacles get offended when Sydney calls them "gibbering."
    Tentacles: Gibbering? Well, excuse me for being excited about a change in scenery!
  • The team eventually decides to take it back to base, where Sydney promptly names him "Trent", because that sounds like "Trentacles", which sounds like "Tentacles". He spends his time watching the Cooking Channel.
• Jabberwokky still isn't fully cured.
• Dabbler uses a spell to warm Sydney up after she washes herself off in a below-freezing moon pool. Unfortunately... the spell has other side effects, and Sydney gets hot in more ways than one.
  Sydney: (to her Edward Elric Dakimura) It's just you and me tonight, Eddie!
  • The next day, Sydney punches Dabbler hard in the back in revenge.
    Dabbler: Aaah! Right in the 'ol gazorpazovum!
  • And then Maxima comes into the aftermath.
    Maxima: [upon seeing Dabbler lying on the floor, twitching] What's the story there?
    Sydney: I was thanking her for that spell she used on me last night.
    Maxima: ... Side effects?
    Sydney: Acute.
    Maxima: Fair enough.
  • Maxima then proceeds to tear into Dabbler for sandbagging.
  • The same strip reveals that as bad as Sydney's faux-pas regarding Peggy's missing foot was, Maxima told her to "Walk it off."
    Anvil: She didn't!
    Peggy: She was joking, obviously. But she still said it.
    Sydney: At least when I put my foot in my mouth, it's on accident. Like just now.
• As Maxima's showering, she tells Sydney about how Dabbler had tried seducing her early on - only to be distracted by her boobs... reflectiveness and making silly faces while looking into them.
  Maxima: Justice was swift. By which I mean I put her ass-over-hooves into the wall. (Sydney starts laughing herself to tears) It's not funny! Stop laughing! Sydney! Technically it was sexual assault! I almost kicked her off the team! Heh, Sydney, hah hah, it's not... Hah hah stop! You're making me laugh! Okay, maybe it was a LITTLE funny.
• After Maxima chewed them out for rough-housing in the showers, Varia, Heatwave, and Jiggawatt spend some time inflicting a Cool and Unusual Punishment on Math - play-acting that Maxima set up a sexy obstacle course for them while he's unable to see it.
  • And then Maxima catches them slacking off, and inflicts one of her own by making them live up to their claims.
• Dabbler, Maxima, Sydney, and Zephan are trying to figure out how exactly Cooter is traveling down the east coast of the US at 100 km/h. Zephan posits that Cooter must have either stolen a car, or he has found clothes (as he resurrected from his death-by-bloody-implosion completely naked) and is currently hitch-hiking. Sydney has this to say:
  Sydney: We're all assuming that the only clothes he could find were those red long-johns with the butt flap, right?
  Maxima: Well, I am now.
• Dabbler put a tracking spell on Cooter and is using his position, along with incredibly complex and complicated math, to predict where the Portal's origin is, assuming that's where Cooter is headed. She goes into a lengthy explanation about how brilliant the math she is using is and boasts about how she is, in all likelihood, the most intelligent being on Earth. And then Sydney laments that it was too bad that Dabbler couldn't have just put the tracking spell on a rock and kicked it through the portal.
  Dabbler: (Beat, long exhale) Don't you have a class to get to?
  Sydney: You mean that would have worked?!
  • The next strip has Dabbler repeatedly slamming her head on Zephen's desk, prompting the latter to chide her for possible horn indentations in his desk.
• Deus mocking Sciona for basically storming off in a huff and forgetting something important.
• Sciona continues to prove that Evil Is Petty.
  • Just the way Vale pushes Sciona away.
  • At which point, Harem pops in with a bowl of popcorn.
    The Rant: Almost everything that happens in this comic sponsored by The Popcorn Council.
• "Sydney gets to vent, I get to check out the ceiling. Everybody wins"
• One of Harem's bodies is having some fun with Deus while another is in a meeting at Archon. The one in the meeting is doing her best to look like she's paying attention to the meeting and is not having amazing sex at the same time. Meanwhile, at a random mall food court somewhere a third copy is screaming her brains out. And Dabbler finds this all really really interesting:
  Dabbler: You're neat. This place is neat. I think I'm going to like it here.
• Deus is negotiating with Sciona, sex for the artifact that Sciona wants. Vale is in the room, partially because she likes to watch.
  • And afterward, Deus idly wonders if Sciona's legs are still shaky. By the end of the strip, turns out he was right.
• Sciona's reaction to Deus's little black book.
  Sciona: How well-traveled are you... a Draugr? Ew!
  Deus: Not one of the gross zombie grunts, of course. An elite Draugr Lord. Lord-ette. Lordess?
  • And as she's getting her armor on, her long, flowing hair gets caught in the folding plates, prompting her to shear her hair down using her wings, and a grumpy Deus to break out the book again to alter his sketch of her.
  • The Alt Text notes that he's never going to get all the hair out of the carpet.
  • Deus' little black book of sexual conquests? It goes on a bookshelf filled with identical books.
• Sydney tells Hiro and Max to Get a Room!, and Dabbler misses the point.
  Sydney: Get a room, you two!
  Dabbler: A room? They're both so attractive, why wouldn't you want to watch?
  Sydney: [whispering] Objectively, yes, but we know them so it would be weird.
  Dabbler: That makes it way better! Weirdo.
  Sydney: You're the weirdo!
• Upon discovering Sciona's hideout, Sydney and Achilles test for traps.
  Max: We really need to have a discussion about how teams work, Sydney.
  Sydney: How is this not teamwork?
• Sciona's plan is finally revealed - and it looks like she's using a gigantic can opener.
  The Rant: The electric version draws all the nethercats in the neighborhood.
• Sciona's fight against the heroes has... not been going well for her.
  • First, she tried to Hannibal Lecture them about how they "forced her to escalate," but can't get through the lecture before Maxima slammed a vault door against her.
  • After breaking Achilles' hold on her, she used one of her newly-acquired superpowers on Maxima, some kind of face-projected energy beam, but realized that she couldn't see through it and Sydney took Max's place, allowing Maxima to deliver a "Mother Fucking PUNCH" while Sciona was distracted..
• Sydney asking if she's the only one worried about a Blood Magic user getting covered in the stuff.
  • The Funny Background Event of Dabbler absentmindedly helping pull Achilles out of the pillar that Sciona had smashed him with.
• Ashley getting a chill up his spine when Sydney decides to thank him.
• Dabbler making cookies in an outfit just barely above a Naked Apron.
  "I'm just here for the cookies."
• Sydney's moment of paralysis when she gets two skill tree points.
• Cora does not hold back when dealing with muggers. The police officer dealing with the aftermath chides her for using such a "heavy ordinance." She responds by saying "That was my regular ordinance." while another officer finds what he thinks is a rib... but turns out to be a melted femur.
  Sydney: (pale and shaking) You are so much more violent than Dabbler.
• Cora runs a very tight ship, but also a very loose one at the same time.
  • When She and Sydney first get to the ship, all of Cora's sexy male Bridge Bunnies are striking sexy, suggestive poses. While Sydney is Eating the Eye Candy, Cora scolds them, telling them that Sydney is their guest and that there are to be no shenanigans while Sydney is aboard... Unless Sydney is shenanigan-amenable, in which case, by all means.
  • As if that wasn't clear enough, she starts introducing her crew by first telling Sydney what they do on the ship... and then giving her their sexual resumes. Atlus is the Pilot, chef and Unstoppable Melee Brute when needed (great if you like it rough); Gellan is the XO, Science Officer and Comms (tender and attentive lover, in spite of his stoic expression); and Slyvyrnus, Co-Pilot and Weapons Expert (crazy flexible, to the degree that his bones can bend, and he has an amazing tongue).
    • Sydney is initially put off by her mentioning her crew's sexual talents, but perks up a bit when Cora mentions Slyv's flexibility and oral skills.
• Upon meeting Frix, Sydney immediately rushes to him and requests to brush his fur. He awkwardly accepts her offer.
  • While Frix is giving Sydney some first aid, he explains that he doesn't wear the skintight suits that other crew members wear because "'skintight' and 'fur' don't mix well," and explains that the reason he is constantly shirtless is that, as the engineer, he is always crawling through ducts and that not wearing shirts cut down on Laundry. He also mentions that he enjoys taking long, hot baths, and offers to let Sydney join him in one.
    Frix: Well, you offered to groom me. I was surprised at how forward you were, but then I remembered that you were an associate of Xuriel.
    Sydney: Uh...
    Frix: Might I offer to bathe you first? Then you can help me dry and brush as you suggested?
    Sydney: (Heart monitor starts going crazy while she develops a full-body blush, then smacks the monitor) 'kay.
• Upon first seeing Frix naked, Sydney has one hell of a Reaction Shot, lasting three panels. Word of God says that Frix is about what would be considered average for his species... but then goes on to clarify that the females of Frix's species are all about nine feet tall on average. Frix himself is fairly tall by human standards, but nowhere even close to nine feet tall.
  • Sydney clarifies that she really just wanted to brush his fur (although makes it clear that she isn't necessarily opposed to "other stuff"), and just wants to avoid any cultural misunderstandings.
    Sydney: Like... Offering to brush your fur doesn't mean we're betrothed or anything.
    Frix: (panic-stricken) But I've already sent out Save The Date notices on Slipnet! My family will be devastated!
    Sydney: WHAT?!
    Frix: (smirks playfully)
    Sydney: Heh heh. Okay, you got me. Totally walked into that.
• Sydney decides to ask what Frix's species is named, and he replied by telling her that it's "Woof." He explains that in his language, it translates to "The Noble Chosen of the Sun and Stars." He then asks Sydney the same question and starts laughing when she says "Human," explaining that it means something funny in his native language. Sydney is too busy Eating the Eye Candy to be offended.
  Sydney: S'okay. Your muscles do fun things when you laugh.
  • Also, the timestamp at the top of the page reads: "An unspecified quantity and quality of shenanigans later."
• After Sydney convinces Cora to help the Allari Refugees, she decides to let them into the Cargo Hold of her ship. Atlus informs her that they have plenty of room for them, but he first has to secure "The Fel Artifact of Unspeakable... (notices a child looking at him) Cuddles."
• While explaining how big her ship is, Cora mentions that some of the unused quarters were removed to make room for some amenities, like the pool that Sydney and Frix messed around in and an arboretum. then she starts listing... other kinds of rooms.
  Cora: ...The Zero-G Sexateria, the Orgynasium. The Tentacle Closet was Dabbler's idea.
  Sydney: Okay, I hope we've established that maybe I'm not as much of a prude as you and Dabbler seem to think, so you can stop trying to shock me with the funny-sounding, made up sex rooms.
  (Gilligan Cut to Cora showing Sydney the Very Real Tentacle Closet)
  Cora: It's super intense.
  Sydney: (hiding behind Cora) I'll take your word for it, thanks.
• Cora expresses surprise that Sydney ate Grakz. When Sydney replies that it wasn't that hot, Cora clarifies that as hot as Grakz is... it's about ten times as hot on the way out.
  Cora: Anyway, here's your quarters. There's a private bathroom. Try and get some rest. I suspect you'll be needing both in about six to eight hours.
  Sydney: (stomach gurgle) I'm scared...
  • The aftermath is tremendously funny, as the bathroom is literally glowing red as a result of the digestive process, and Sydney asks for a poet, a priest, and a medic - only for Cora to remind her that Frix is their medic.
    Sydney: No! My ass is literally radiating light! That's not the sort of afterglow I want him to remember me by.
• Sydney decides to show off her orbs to Cora's crew, hoping that they can give her some insight into how they work. When she shows them the projection that explains how they open Aetheruim Causeways both Atlus and Galen press their cheeks right up against hers and remark how amazing what they're seeing is. Sydney remarks that she appreciates their enthusiasm, but that Atlus' cheek horn is stabbing her in the ear. Two strips later, she's back in the infirmary getting the scratch tended to.
• Cora has a little hiccup when using an Earth idiom.
• Arianna tries to calm reporters, telling them that Earth isn't being invaded and that the presence of aliens has nothing to do with Halo not being seen for some time. Then an alien ship shows up right above them and reveals that Halo is one of the passengers.
• After they drop Sydney off, Cora and her crew start causing the reporters to get Distracted by the Sexy as Atlus starts flirting with a female reporter and Cora starts flirting with a male one. Sydney, of course, cracks a joke about it.
  Sydney: This invasion is going well.
• Upon reuniting with the rest of the cast, Sydney is informed that she's been gone for a long time. Harem freaks her out by informing her that she's been gone for fifty-seven years. Maxima chews out Harem for the prank, and then informs Sydney that she was gone for fifty-three days. They waited to tell her because Dabbler wanted to see her reaction.
  Sydney: Oh my god! I missed my birthday!
  Dabbler and Cora: So worth it.
  • Sydney wonders if she actually did miss her birthday, and then wonders if this means that she has two months of back pay. Maxima and Arianna inform her that they'll be splitting the difference this time.
  Arianna: Fine. This time. But if anyone gets lobbed a thousand years into the future, they can't show up expecting a payday equivalent to the GDP of Morocco.
• Sydney's and Maxima's conversations get derailed when Maxima spots Dabbler and Cora making out and scolds them.
  Dabbler: Told you they were prudes here.
  Maxima: I don't mind the kissing, but you looked like you were about two seconds away from entering each other.
  Cora: That's... bad?
  Maxima: In public it is!
  Cora: Hmm. Kooky.
  • After that, she gropes both Atlus and Frix in an attempt to get a rise out of Maxima. Both attempts fail, but she does get a rise out of Sydney.
    Sydney: (upon seeing Dabbler grab his groin.) Get your slutty paws off my Space Boyfriend!
    Maxima: What?
    Sydney: What? Who said that?
    Dabbler: Sydney! Does this mean we're Eskimo Sisters?!
    Sydney: I... Wha... OH MY GOD!!
    • This is immediately followed by Dabbler commenting about STD's before mentioning that succubi are so immune to them (and disease in general) that sleeping with her can actually cure some ailments.
      Maxima, Sydney, and Frix: Like blue-balls.
• When Sydney approaches Leon and Krona and tries to broach the possibility of a non-binary relationship, Leon immediately and confusedly asks if she means a threesome. Both women immediately retaliate despite Sydney being the one who brought up the subject and being a legitimate question.
• Dabbler hacks Cora's Hard Light Emitter to make her spend the rest of the evening in some extremely Stripperiffic "Nimbus Chic" Math fruitlessly tries to sneak a peek underneath it. Then the clouds covering her groin start thunder storming.
  Cora: Hah hah, that's a joke. It's not... indicative of anything that's going on behind the scenes. As far as you know.
• The Escalating Punchline of Sydney with a new Swear Jar, but this time offhandedly mentioning her feats while alone to an increasingly-incredulous Maxima.
• Sciona possesses a new body. Her priorities seem somewhat skewed.
  Sciona: Ah, good. This body starts off with nice tits.
  • Which turns into a brick joke when it turns out the body in question is a super... as she discovers when she accidentally gets a clerk high.
• After Sydney's welcome back party, it's revealed that Math, Cora, and Hiro had a threesome. Cora's happy about it, but Hiro and Math feel somewhat awkward. Dabbler overhears and is borderline Squeeing with delight.
  Dabbler: Tell. Me. Everything. [Math and Hiro start to walk away from her] But... But I tell you guys everything! No matter how much you beg me to stop!
• Sydney's therapy session has Sydney relate her nightmare about having to run from the illithid menace she faced off-planet. She claims that she hated it not because of the threat of demise, but because she had to run, asking if there was a pill that would make her dream about walking instead. Given that it's Sydney, it's really hard to tell if this was deflection or genuine.
• After Sydney's therapy session with Dr. Frost, Dr. Frost meets with Dr. Chevy, Maxima, and Arianna to discuss Sydney. When Dr. Chevy calls Sydney a "Flighty Menace," Dr. Frost disagrees, saying that while Sydney may be flighty, she's not a menace. Then Sydney excitedly bursts in, announcing that since she hit eleven out of twenty shots at the firing range, Peggy is going to let her use an LMG to cut a car in half! Dr. Frost slightly rephrases her earlier assessment.
  Dr. Frost: Not a menace... for a given definition of menace.
• Since the existence of aliens is now known to the public at large, Arianna has Cora give an address to humanity. It goes about as well as you would expect. She starts off by telling everyone that they're essentially Beneath Notice because they're not a spacefaring species, and that no one is going to come for humanity's air, or water, or women. Then she gets wildly off track and says that the galactic community is probably interested in humanity's entertainment, saying that she watched an episode of Archer last night and thinks that it should definitely be sold to galactic media providers.
  Cora: That and your porn. Good stuff!
  • Arianna desperately tries to get Cora to stick to the talking points that she had prepared.
• Reactions to the big worldwide alien reveal:
  • Suzy is still in the "Rah rah, fuck yeah" camp, and once again calls Maxima the "goddess of ash." And then there's the news ticker saying the stock market is affected because "humans are scared little sheep."
  • Two male newscasters (for MXNN) are looking forward to "tasting the rainbow" of alien women. The tagline - "Super Heroes vs. Alien Zeroes"
  • Two newscasters argue over ARCHON lying about Dabbler, while a third may or may not be stoned.
  • A porn actress gives a ditzy response over the idea of aliens being interested in her porn... and then gives a rather intelligent summary of how the massive increase in audience will help absolutely everyone in her industry.
  • Deus's main worry is that it's going to impact his timetable. Then he brings up his world domination PowerPoint and starts yelling at Vale that he can't figure out how to delete a slide, disrupting her reading of "Fatale-Couture" magazine.
• The conversation that follows when Sydney discovers the comic store's new location.
  Sydney: What the hell, Joel!? This is a church!
  Joel: Correction. It was a church.
• Sydney is overjoyed that Neil deGrasse Tyson showed up and had friended her on social media. To answer a question, she darts back to the alien planet - and introduces him to an alien delicacy: Grakz.
  Sydney: (walking out that evening) Aw, Neil unfriended me.
  • Just the fact that Sydney can casually open Aetherium Causeways at a whim to cross the galaxy, which apparently not even advanced alien tech can do, is both this and a Moment of Awesome.
• Sydney is talking to an Adolescent Succubus in a nightclub about what it's like to be an adolescent Succubus. Sydney briefly has a flashback to the point in her life where she started to go "boy-crazy." She was watching 300 and declared it to be "The most important movie ever made" because of all the hot, nearly-naked men in it. The title - "This. Is. PUBERTY!"
  • Shortly after, said teen - Tamantha - is directed to a couple of women about to have some fun in the bathroom, and is taken aback because they're both girls!
    Sydney: Wow. You must literally be the most sheltered succubus in history.
• When Tamantha gets nabbed, she manages to defend herself rather well, including an Impact Silhouette where she put the abductor through the wall. And taunts the abductor's extra arms, though they're not particularly great.
• After hearing about Decolette's young protege being kidnapped by a suspected Demon Hunter, Dabbler gets pissed and demands that Heatwave hold several... items... before she goes out.
  Dabbler: Hold my fucking beer.
  Heatwave: Uh, yeah. Sure.
  Dabbler: And this. (Hands Heatwave a massive sex toy)
  Heatwave: Oka— WHAT?! Ew, NO! Why do you have that in the break room?!
  • She then turns to Hiro and demands that he fly her downtown. When he asks if he can go and change his shirt, which is torn and burned, Dabbler tells him that there's "no time" and uses magic to disintegrate his shirt. When he asks why she did that, she tells him "You know why."
• After Krona uses her hacking magic to stop the Paralytic from affecting Sydney, Sydney comes out of it like all the yelling and swearing had been building up and was now unleashed in a barely-coherent stream of questions, insults, and general yelling. Krona immediately undoes her hacking, and Elsbeth decides that the best course of action is to inject Sydney with an antidote that will make the paralytic wear off... slowly.
• Archon has a punching machine set up, allowing the heroes to test their strength. Sydney steps up to the plate and delivers a punch... she ends up with by far the lowest score out of everyone, in the "bunny" category. She tries it a second time and manages to do even worse, delivering a punch so weak that the machine thinks that there's been a calibration error.
• During lunch, Sydney, Harem, and Gwen are discussing what kind of ice cream is appropriate to serve with peach cobbler. Gwen professes the belief that only vanilla is acceptable, but backs down when Sydney suggests rum raisin as an appropriate companion. Right after saying that, Sydney gets a message from Frix on her new glasses, saying he'll be back on earth soon along with a very naked selfie. Sydney's reaction prompts Gwen to decide to try rum raisin with peach cobbler for herself.
• Deus's new Alarian personal assistant, Lorlarla. She regards everything from taking phone calls to making dinner reservations as a way to amass power for her new liege lord.
• While helping Maxima get ready for a meeting with Deus, Anvil takes Maxima to her closet. Max is adamant that she and Deus are not going on a date and tells Anvil that she does not want to wear any article of clothing that contains the terms "wonder," "push-up," or "crotchless." Anvil asks Maxima if she really thinks that she would buy crotchless panties for her. Maxima admits that it was a weird question and apologizes while Anvil discreetly hides a bag labeled "Max 3rd Date Stuff."
  • Prior to this, Anvil literally womanhandles Maxima in an attempt to get her to go on a date with someone - the notes below indicate that she's literally the only person who could pull this off with Maxima, as they are Vitriolic Best Buds.
    • And the fact that when they get interrupted by Arianna, Anvil has Max over her shoulder, and Max holding onto a couch in a futile attempt to avoid going. Why futile? The couch is also over Anvil's shoulder.
    "I'm not sure what it says about my career choices that I am unfazed by this."
  • Hilarity Ensues when Dabbler joins the mix, lured in by her porno-sense, though it doesn't take long for Anvil to intervene and get her to tone it down.
  • They finally come to an arrangement, with Maxima wearing her dress uniform but very skimpy panties, but only because Anvil flashed her the Puppy-Dog Eyes. She quickly has to stop Dabbler from saying something else, but discovers that she has an Overly-Long Tongue in the process.
• At the dinner itself, Lorlara gets Maxima to crack an amused smirk just by being herself and royally embarrassing Deus in the process.
• Cora and her crew appear to have a betting pool on all the self-inflicted ways civilizations can fall before contact.
  Cora: You always root for the rampant A.I. It's a little concerning.
  Slyvyrnus: Geno-Cyber was so close until its control net blue screened!
  Maxima: Please stop death pooling the Terrans.
• Sydney starts taking selfies and posting them to Social Media as a sort of training montage. One of those is a locker room selfie with several other female Supers.
  Sandy: Well, Ariana is pleased by your Social Media efforts. This locker room pic has over 13 million likes.
  Sydney: That's awesome!
  Sandy: Conversely, H.R. wants you to know that if you post another selfie taken in the locker room, you'll be fined $10,000.
  Sydney: Oh. That's less awesome. Actually... That's fair. I'm pretty okay with that.
• After Earth is made aware of aliens existing, the aliens are quick to visit, approaching a random car with a request that the driver take them on a tour. He politely points out that he's not a cab, but one offering of Worthless Yellow Rocks later...
  Driver: [Looking at his children in the backseat] Scoot over, kids.
  • The alien who asks has imperfect English, but given the quality of her GlibGlorb to English Translator, she's doing rather well!
  • The next strip has her companion gripe about how they have perfectly good Translator Microbes, so he doesn't get why they aren't using it. She claims that she's trying to learn new languages. Fridge Logic kicks in when you realize that english is only useable when talking to about a fourth of Earth's population, which doesn't even account for a millionth of a percent of the galactic population.
• Ray Cosmos is such an overt sleazebag that Dabbler and Cora cover themselves up.
  Alt Text: Maybe reevaluate your life choices if you can skeeve out a Succubus.
  • Related, Ray Cosmos comments that Maxima looks like King Midas got handsy with her. In the mini-comic at the bottom of the page, Dabbler wonders how Cosmos knows who Midas is, and he admits that he's a bit of an idol of his, being the man who put women on pedestals. Literally.
  • Upon learning that some mercenaries snuck aboard his ship in an attempt to kidnap Maxima for money, he's disgusted that they would do so... without cutting him in.
  • Pretty much anything involving Ray becomes funnier when you take into account he sounds like Frank Nelson as mentioned here.
• Preliminary talks between Earth's politicians and the galactic diplomats reveal that some things truly are a constant in the universe.
  Alien ambassador: (thinking to himself) Every. God damned. Planet.
• The newly arrived Brüt who (more or less) tanked a shot from Maxima's gun (though it left a mark) makes the rookie mistake of taking his eyes off Maxima... until she proceeds to threaten something more tender.
  Brüt: (bantering) Whatever the muppets were made... H'yaaaa...
  Maxima: How's your knee?
  Brüt: a little sore.
  Maxima: You're under arrest
  Brüt: okay.
  • Immediately after, Hench Wench refuses to surrender (over her boss' objections) and punches Mr. Amorphous in the back of the head, causing it to turn inside-out and Squick everyone present, including his girlfriend Heatwave.
  • Hench Wench proves to be the gift that keeps on giving, as she "liberated your balls" by slamming a pillar of earth into her boss.
• Page #881: One of the mercenaries tries to sneak the stasis pod close enough to capture Maxima... which fails, since Halo's glasses lets her read the galactic basic printed on the pod. The mercenary's reaction is a deadpan "Oh." Then he vomits up acid to disable Halo, which she No Sells thanks to her shield.
  Sydney: Charming. I'm sure the females of your species are super impressed by the sheer volume of that. Well done.
• Turns out that Concretia is being Forced into Evil by a group of people that are holding her flesh-and-blood body captive. They also have her hooked up to a device that the main bad guy can trigger by pressing a button labeled "bad girl" to shock her. He also forces Concretia to say "Thank you for fixing me, Daddy" every time he punishes her. While the situation might not be funny, Sydney's reaction to it very much is.
  Sydney: Hooooooooly shit. I knew a chick who powered herself with other people's blood and she was less of a creep than you.
• Sydney has a plan to escape, but whoever or whatever she was communicating with to do so wasn't as ready as she was.
• Hench Wrench uses her Concretia-gotten powers to float out of her body when Maxima hits her, dramatically declaring that her soul was knocked out of her body and she's being Dragged Off to Hell. Which apparently includes clowns.
  • While Hench Wrench is doing her thing and constructing a new body for an ambush, Maxima can be seen giving her fists a very concerned look, presumably wondering if "punching people to hell" is part of her powerset.
• When Cora and Ray Cosmos are speculating on why Maxima doesn’t just incinerate the criminals, some of their prisoners offer their own commentary.
  • ”Actually, while the idealized theory of law enforcement is purely one of deterrence, in practice it quickly becomes more about the paramilitary industrial complex which supports it.
  • ”Don’t forget the legal industrial complex!”
  • ”And the prison industrial complex!”
  • When Cora threatens to gag the prisoners for said commentary, one of them gets curious about what kind of gag she'd use.
• Syndey gets dosed with a Truth Serum, only for it to mesh with her natural Motor Mouth tendencies to produce a Wall of Text, which the villains can't really understand.
• Sydney's backup finally arrives. It's Cora! Who shoots one of the kidnappers with a bullet that makes his entire body explode into Ludicrous Gibs... It's so horrifying that Sydney is willing to inject herself with a memory-erasing drug (even after the kidnapper said it might turn her into a vegetable) just to forget about it!
  Cora: You know, Maxima suggested that I use non-lethal ordinance, but...
  Kidnapper: But?
  Cora: Oops.
  Kidnapper: Oops? Bitch, what do you mean "oo-" *splatters all over the room*
• After Sydney's been freed, a combination of the above, a reaction to what Cora gave her to counter the Truth Serum, etc., causes to vomit in the corner, while Concretia (having made a new body that wasn't covered in body salsa from the concrete the next room over), who fully admits that she wanted bloody revenge on the guy, asks Cora what's wrong with her.
• Hench Wench's legalese and "Villainous Aside," and then the look on her face as Max punches a chunk of ReBar through her calf, which leads to this gem the following page, among others:
  Hench Wench: Nnng! Ribbed for her agony!
  • One of them is Hench Wench managing to go intangible through use of Concretia's power-set - only for Concretia's spectral form to pop up and punch her in the boob. Dave chalks it up to the spectral form not having the same level of pain resistance as Hench's meat-body.
    Hench Wench: Ah! Hah hah hnrg ow! That hurt almost as much as the rebar!
    Concretia: Teach that bitch to use my powers better than me.
• After Ariana uses her legal expertise to De-power Hench Wench, the latter nervously asks Maxima if anyone needs a "recently unemployed, but skilled, Paralegal."
  • HW subsequently tries to pull a Villain: Exit, Stage Left through a portal (she's subcontracted to a villain with them) - she's still smiling as Maxima pulls a Neck Lift on her before finally registering that it didn't work. Maxima then points out that telegraphing like that to someone with Super-Speed powers is a dumb idea.
• After the above, she still manages to get away by portaling herself and Maxima underwater and escaping while she's disoriented. Unfortunately for her, she jumped right to her apartment and flooded it, with her cat freaking out in the background.
• Upon being told that Cora used an "Unwinder Round" against the bad guy, Dabbler begins laughing hysterically... until she remembers that Maxima is right behind her, at which point she composes herself and informs Cora that ARCHON doesn't approve of that kind of ordinance being used against soft targets.
  Maxima: What sort of ordinance?
  Sydney: (with a Thousand-Yard Stare) You know how when you shoot a human-sized bag of lasagna with a bullet that waits three seconds, then violently distributes the lasagna over a fifty-foot radius?
  Maxima: (Turns to Death Glare at Cora)
  Cora: (shrugs) He was bad.
  • Cora justifies herself by saying that she and Sydney managed to take down the rest of the gang non-lethally. And she "neuro-tapped" two goons, and can record everything they see and hear. Before handing the feed over to Maxima, she asks if she's skirting any laws by tapping into someone's neural systems without permit.
• A couple conspiracy theorist bystanders end up thinking Garamm, the lizardfolk alien, and Lapha, the demonic looking alien, are part of the Illuminati (or whatever other government conspiracy). They then asks about the aliens that were apparently fighting in times square. Garamm and Lapha just go with it.
  • Garamm is also a bit of a romantic, blatantly flirting with Lapha (who's open to it) and taking a second to tell the conspiracy theorists to cherish their loved ones with blankets and roasted swamp flies before booking it.
• As Lapha had to abandon her meat-shell, she and Garamm spend their time aboard the escape pod fleeing Earth shopping for a new one. Garamm opts to spring for a tail added to her body, and when they get to the genital customization, she asks that he close his eyes before he subtly points out that she's already seen his.
  Lapha: Is the first part of the stream always akimbo like that?
  Garamm: Eh, one times out of ten? Guess you drew the short straw.
  Lapha: I definitely didn't.
  Garamm: Uh, thanks?
• Following Dabbler and Cora having sex with Ray Cosmos. Sydney finds him passed out on the couch in the lounge, naked, except for his cape. She's appropriately squicked out by this. Anvil is also there.
  Anvil: Really need to have a chat with Dabbler about her sexual jetsam.
  Sydney: Really need to burn that couch.
• Frix is hanging out in the ARCHON pool, and has stayed underwater for an hour, because he's amphibious. Dabbler gives a suggestive look and asks how Sydney knows about that. Flashback to Cora's ship, where Frix ate her out underwater. Sydney claims she just asked.
• One of the Twilight Council's engineers flirts with Frix right in front of Sydney. Frix gently lets her down, since he knows Sydney isn't all that used to polyamorous relationships, and might not be comfortable with her partner talking about sleeping with someone else in front of her. And also reminds her that Sydney can cut tanks in two.
• The whole crew organizes a birthday party for Sydney and Maxima... And one of the clothing ninjas, Glen, who's touched that they remembered him.
• Maxima's gift is a choker that allows her to alter her skin color to make her look less conspicuous. She's initially apprehensive about the choker, mentioning that she only agreed to them as an alternative to full-blown Superhero Costumes and that she didn't want her team looking like "a bunch of golden-age spandex jockeys."
  Anvil: Are you just barely holding back a rant about chokers being an analog for collars and how historically women were functionally the property of their husbands and fathers?
  Maxima: ... No.
  Anvil: Wow, there's just... so much to unpack there.
  • After they get Maxima's choker functioning properly, they remind her that while she no longer has the shiny golden skin or the purple hair, all that the choker can do is alter her skin and hair color, and it can't hide her ears, or change the fact that she's 6'1" and "built like a heavy metal magazine cover girl." They also make the comparison to a "action barbie" and a "14-year-old boys Weird Science experiment blueprint." When Cora responds that a 14-year-old wouldn't know what to do with "that much woman," Anvil responds by saying that Cora "would be surprised." and then responds to their horrified looks by reminding them that she was once 14 herself. (And The Rant points out that even Cora, with all of her experience, can be surprised.)
• After the party, Sydney pulls Dabbler aside to ask for something, but will only do so by showing her a series of pictures and requests that she does not comment on it. The pictures are a series of very large things trying to fit into very small places. Dabbler picks up on it, and hands Sydney a potion.^{Get it?}Sydney's dating a very large Woof, while she herself is quite small.
  • Dabbler mentions that she started brewing the potion immediately after she learned that Sydney and Frix were dating, and informs her that Frix is, by necessity, very familiar with the potion.
  • Dabbler later asks for details, which Sydney refuses to give (though she does admit that it was nice). Sydney's also worried about how long the potion lasts, since her organs might fall out. Dabbler just says that's one effect she doesn't have to worry about.
• ARCHON has been letting Vehemence out of his cell and letting him fight their recruits as a form of combat training, as well as a way to allow him to gain the Vehemic energy necessary for him to survive. He and Hiro end up getting into a grappling match and Maxima calls it off because it's "boring".
  Maxima: You're both muscular, sweaty men, and Dabbler was getting bored watching you roll around in the dirt.
  Hiro: Oh, damn.
• While Vehemence is being convinced to stop sparring, Max points out that if he doesn't, she'll sic Sydney on him again. Sydney, meanwhile... is showboating with her lighthook: "Congratulations on being served by the mighty Halo!"
  Vehemence: [sigh] Yes, fine. I'll be good.
• A magazine for A-cup enthusiasts has apparently named Halo the sexiest heroine.
• Thothogoth (a seeming ex-boyfriend) gives us some information about Dabbler when she was younger. Apparently, she used to wear extremely thick glasses, and she was a "pigeon-toed dork" in high school. Her mind also hadn't caught up to her Succubus soul yet so she would constantly be doing lewd and suggestive things without realizing it. That's right, Dabbler used to be an Innocent Fanservice Girl!
  • After Dabbler goes off to... catch up with Thothogoth, the echo means that the others can hear everything. Vehemence admits that he didn't think his day would end up like this, while Harem makes a suggestive comment and asks for a high five... which Sydney gives her after short hesitation.
  • Sydney has some questions about Thothogoth's stated goal to bring order to the material plane, since she thought demons were all about being chaotic. Thothogoth takes great offense to that (despite self-identifying as a fiend, not a demon), leading to Dabbler giving an extended history lesson about Demonic culture and how they have mostly moved on from Chaotic Evil, but there are still factions that insist it's an important part of their cultural heritage. This is accompanied by footage from a newscast about peace accidentally breaking out during a Demonic pro-violence protest.
  • Even after the history lesson, Sydney argues that arriving at a new world and introducing yourself as a "Fiend" is hardly a good first impression, even if you have genuinly good intentions. It'd be like she'd introduced herself to Fracture station as "Sydney Scoville, Baby-Eater".
  Thothogoth: "FIEND" IS NOT THE EQUIVALENT OF "BABY-EATER"!
  • After their fun, Dabbler pulls a Sexy Shirt Switch (with a shirt that could in no way be Tom's), and Tom tries to intimidate her by referring to her as "slave"... in front of Maxima, who angrily grips his face-plate. Dabbler tries to defuse the situation by stating she actually is his slave, but that only makes Maxima grip his face harder, causing it to start cracking.
• Dabbler explains how archmages in the olden days used to rip out peasant souls to use as fuel or to "drive" their construct servants. This is illustrated with a page of examples, including a Construct being asked to go shopping but complaining that it never had a formal education before having its soul ripped out and placed in the construct, and thus can't read the shopping list; a flesh construct annoyed that their archmage doesn't allow "screaming in existential horror at your glorious fate" and a Cthulhumanoid archmage telling its servant to keep their magical pillow fluffer fueled with peasant souls.
  Servant: Couldn't I just fluff the pillows myself?
  Archmage: Then what would be the point of having a magical. pillow. fluffer?
• In strip 1000, we find out that Sydney's middle name is literally "Trouble". Her parents knew exactly what they were getting into. And it's probably genetic. "Will. You. Sit. Down!"
• On page #1009, Leon points out that the location Sydney found her orbs is near the Chicxulub Crater, theorized to have caused the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs. Cue everyone looking at Sydney.
  Sydney: Wha... Don't look at me! I didn't have anything to do with that!
• Sydney asks the other members of Archon what the worst thing that they ever did with their powers was. Harem reveals that she used her teleportation powers to make her friends think that they were NPCs in a VR simulation. She ended up having to pay both for the damage that they caused as well as for therapy.
  • When hearing the question, Jazza has a flashback to herself laughing maniacally while holding bags of money in front of a burning building.
• Upon arriving in Africa to confront Deus and the Alari, Dabbler tells Lorlara that she's here to "Give Thothogoth a chewing out. And also to admonish him."
  Sydney: Oh my god, ew.
• Upon finally meeting with Deus, he's working out. Maxima tries to snark at him for it, but Deus pulls off a magnificent Uno Reverse.
  Deus: I'm flattered that you're so enamored with my physique that you immediately assumed I'm trying to seduce you.
  Maxima: That's not—!
  Deus: But I just concluded a long negotiation with the leadership of Mozambique, and a little exercise is just what I needed after all that politicking.
  • Meanwhile, Dabbler is looking at Maxima with the biggest smile on her face.
• "You can have a serious discussion with someone while you wash his front with your front!"
  Maxima: If you can, then you're doing something wrong.
• We finally get The Reveal that Deus is actually a Super as well, with his gift being Super-Intelligence... but it's counterbalanced by "a middling comedy stat", as he can't suppress an absurd smile while prepping the Dramatic Thunder, his first successful usage of the device.
  • The subsequent page has him point out the array of Required Secondary Powers, and the Super-Strength example has the Super turn into Ludicrous Gibs from inhaling for a sneeze.
• Tom returns, this time bringing Dabbler's sister with him, as he recently became her master. Dabbler is furious, since she's much younger than him, prompting Tom to remark that she's clearly been around humans too long and call her a puritan. Dabbler is so offended that she stabs him with her soul-eating sword.
  • The fact that Tom knows what a puritan is shows that he either did a lot of research before attempting to conquer Earth, or Hell somehow have a concept of puritanism.
• #1084: Sydney meets a Galatean super with the power to telekinetically move large amounts of objects/people; she guesses his name is Flotilla. He says it's Carrier. She points out that sounds like he's a vector for infectious diseases.
  Carrier: No! Like an aircraft carrier!
  Sydney: Oh! I guess that makes more sense. Hm... no, I like Flotilla better.
  Carrier: ...well now I do too.
• 1091: Deus gives Sydney a medal for her work saving Galatyn. Sydney is just thankful that, since Maxima has to approve any foreign medals, she doesn't have to give a speech. Deus gleefully says she will have to give a speech.
  Sydney: I knew it! You are a supervillain!
  Deus: [grinning evilly] You. Get. Me.
• 1124: Maxima fights a supervillain who performs a Battle Strip. Maxima, stunned and annoyed, takes a moment to ask him if he really ordered a breakaway suit in anticipation of the two of them fighting. He takes a moment to explain that it's a nice suit and he didn't want it ruined by Clothing Damage, only for Maxima to angrily respond.
  Maxima: Nothing that breaks away is nice! I'm downgrading you from Gravity Goombah to Suck Hole!
• 1152: Maxima begrudgingly admits that part of the reason they have a chance to get a good deal on Deus' tech is because he wants to date her. After an awkward pause, a general suggests she do her duty for her country—General Faulk politely interrupts him, and a female general much less politely snaps at him.
  Female General: The hell is wrong with you, Steven?
  General Briggs: Hrmph! For that shield technology, I'd go on a date with him!
  Maxima: For what it's worth, I haven't given Deus a definitive "no." Also, sir, you're very much not his type.
  General Briggs: [offended] Well, there's certainly no accounting for taste.
• 1155: Maxima decides to take advantage of her new disguise to go out for a night on the town as a normal woman. Unfortunately, things don't get off to a good start.
  • First, she decides to drive instead of fly, a decision she quickly regrets because once you get used to flying around at super-sonic speeds, driving in a car feels interminably slow. Then she gets pulled over for speeding, and the cop who takes a look at her lisence, she realizes that her chosen alias of "Harper Lux" has been tampered with, and is now "Harper Dee Lux," which the cop immidiately points out sounds like a pornstar name.
    • A flashback panel shows Harem and Leon considering other names for Max's Alias, including "Bambi Staxxx," "Mckenzie Canyons," "Buffy Ryder," "Brandi Sinz," "Destiny Diamond," "Cherry Poppins," "Flexi Bendz," "Kitty Fist," and "Jean LaQueefa." At that point, Max bursts into the room and demands "No stripper or porn names!"
    • The Rant also reveals that Max was a victim of her own specificity, as her requirements for her alias were that the first name had to be gender-neutral, and that the "first and last name combination cannot sound like a stripper or pornstar name." "Harper Lux" abides by those requirements perfectly; however, Max never said anything about a middle name.
• 1161: Dabbler reveals to the audience that she put a little spell on Maxima's choker that would help make people around its wearer more confident in approaching the wearer. It's only as she's saying this that she realizes that the spell might end up getting enhanced to something stronger than intended if Maxima's the one wearing it and asks that we not reveal it to Maxima.
  "Oh dear. Please don't tell her!"
  • Karma bites her in the ass when Max gets back. Max knows something is up by Dabbler's weird actions, but lets her off the hook if she modifies the choker so it hides the inhuman smoothness of Max's skin and Dabbler makes no lewd comments about why she needs to do that. Dabbler nearly has an aneurysm agreeing if it means Maxima won't find out about the mind control spell.
• 1192: Sydney interrupts Parfait's lust aura by licking her eyeball.
• While the overall situation of Lapha possessing Sydney is pretty scary overall, it has its hilarious moments as Lapha essentially goes through a Humiliation Conga:
  • Lapha still can't use the orbs, even in Sydney's body. The orbs know whose conciousness is whose and Sydney is in control.
  • Lapha quickly agrees to a "no calling out sexual history truce" while she and Sydney argue out loud in front of everyone.
  • Archon had a cell to specifically to contain Sydney on standby. How? Strap her into a chair with her hands in secured mittens inside a clear box and have the orbs trapped away from her at maximum distance in a box bolted to the wall to keep her from escaping the chair, like Concretia did previously.
  • It takes literally one page of Lapha's Tragic Backstory to have Syndey willing to share her body with the hijacker. Max, watching through a window, is not amused.
  • Then tension drops out of the next page like a lead balloon when Syndey and Max start arguing over how long it would have resonably taken Hannibal Lecter to pull off his escape in the movie.
  • Sydney figures out Lapha can only read her memories, not her thoughts, and comes up with an Epic Plan: order the spiciest takeout imaginable so she gets a nice meal while Lapha essentially gets tortured. Lapha quickly leaves her after that and is captured by Dabbler.
• 1246: Dabbler has Laphra secured and is having her watch The Curse of Oak Island while explaining to her why she watches it.
  Laphra: I don't get it. There are over a hundred-eighty hour-long episodes and they've barely found anything?
  Dabbler: Yep. And before you suggest it. Earth doesn't have a consumer-grade method to either create or scan for subsurface gold. Anyway, it's long since become a self-perpetuating reality show, and finding any gold is a distant secondary objective. In the meantime, their ability to overestimate any and all landmark features and overlay meaningless geometry onto them is a masterclass in logical fallacies and I hate it and I can't stop watching it.
  Laphra: Yeah I'm... I'm going to watch cartoons instead.
• 1247: After being gone for about a week, Sydney returns home to find that she accidentally "reverse-autopiloted" her milk into her cereal cupboard a week ago and now has to transport a gallon of hideously spoiled milk carefully to the dumpster of her apartment building.
  "DEFCON 1 cheese bomb protocols."

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