Girl Genius

I was kinda wondering whether the actual lantern is that sphere thing floating in the glass cage, rather than the very obvious lanter-shaped object Madwa tried to make off with and Vi smashed.

Hm, quite possible actually.

So who's the Sealed Evil in a Can, and more importantly, why does he recognize Madwa? The Storm King is a likely guess considering what Prende's been saying, but it's still a bit weird - is Madwa *that* old? That would make her the original Smoke Knight?

There could be a link with the fact that the wall in the back looks newer than the rest, so maybe the room was built in Van Rijn's days, but then afterwards, not recently enough for Madwa to have been around, the wall was added and something was locked behind it. That doesn't fit with Prende not seeming to know what happened since Van Rijn's days though. Another possibility is time travel shenanigans, maybe the Sealed Evil in a Can met Madwa and then was sent back in time to Van Rijn's time. Or maybe it doesn't even know Madwa and I'm misreading that "You!".

I could say this in the idea of Not a Morning Person. Madwa is the proverbial alarm clock and we know what happens to those...

edited 3rd Jun '16 2:39:44 PM by Mauri

Perhaps we are about to get a replay of "waking Mama Gkika"?

Madwa is so helpful, triggering all the unpleasant surprises so our team doesn't have to.

I'm leaning towards the idea that that's Andronicus? It would explain why Prende refuses to entertain the idea of another Storm King.

But I'm prepared to be surprised. ;)

Also, I took the "You!" to be less "I recognize you!" and more "hey you, I demand your attention!"

"You" moved the lantern, and I suspect that we are about to find why you shouldn't do that.

Don't assume that this is a setback for Madwa. Its just as likely that this is a new antagonist.

I agree with Written Ember.

It would also explain why the lamp can't be moved; it's keeping him alive/not-totally-dead.

Bloody data cap problems... My daughter got in biiiiig trouble....

I swear, if Vi makes one more comment about not being a 'real' Smoke Knight, I'm going to send one of my other-universe characters over (one of the three that might actually be able to beat her) to kick her arse six ways from Sunday.

I was wondering if Prende thought that the Baron was the claimed candidate, assuming she has a Mechanicsburg connection. Agatha and all can't know Tarvek's been removed. But later panels...

When Master Payne is discussing the Muses, he says 'some' were examined and damaged in the process, but the pics only show one.

I would also like to state that I am of the firm opinion by now that for a Muse, 'dismantled' and 'defunct' are nowhere near the same thing. If one was taken apart, it would only limit mobility as long as the mind was undamaged.

The Storm King, and apparently Van Rjinn, seemed to have really gotten around. How far east did those kids and grandkids get? Would DK have been able to read their bloodline?

I would be very surprised if Prende has even heard about Klaus.

EDIT: No new strip, but I see they re-did Friday's and made Prende's eyes consistent with her first appearence.

edited 5th Jun '16 9:02:36 PM by Geoduck

I wonder how much Agatha resembles Euphrosynia? This could get awkward if it is Andronicus and he thinks he's finally found Euphrosynia. I do like how Vi looks so determined and Zeetha is grinning. And the lamp is broken. Somehow, I would have thought something so important would have been sturdier.

I also note that the hand on Madwa's arm looks much less skeletal, so I think that, whether or not it's Andronicus, it's sucking the life from tissue. I hope our heroes recognize that and keep their distance.

edited 5th Jun '16 9:42:42 PM by Lightningnettle

New strip.

Sunday.

Seriously, it's dated for Sunday, not Monday.

edited 5th Jun '16 9:42:13 PM by Daremo

Oh boy, it's gonna get fun in here! And kudos to those who posited that Prende wouldn't accept a new Storm King because the old one was still around. I had a feeling that was the case. And it seems the lantern acted as a ward or seal of sorts, so now that it's broken, he's about to break free. Or heck, maybe the Storm King has lightning powers, and the lantern acted as a constant drain on him to keep him in a dormant state.

edited 5th Jun '16 10:09:26 PM by danime91

Since it has some kind of time-altering power, it's more likely it kept him in stasis.

And what the heck.. Euphrosynia's betrayal is what caused him to end up like this, whatever "this" turns out to be.

They invited the Heterodyne vampire to the wedding and he bit Andy.

I want Agatha to bring the King to the masked ball.

Ooh, that can be fun, especially now that Tarvek is on his way. They can have a masked ball with three storm kings revealing themselves one after the other.

I wonder if whatever that was :absorbed Madwa's life energy or something, that would explain the change in it's hand - and hers. The way it seems immortal, time-related and can rebuild itself from a skeletal base indicates it may have a link with that weird Muse of Time thing.

This sequence reminds me of Skyrim, where everytime you read about some hero/king/wizard of ancient times, more often than not you end up fighting his animated corpse at some point in the game. Is there a trope for that? Chekhov's Gunman in universes where The Dead Walk The Earth? Ah, The Legend of Chekhov is pretty close.

edited 6th Jun '16 12:40:07 AM by Nomophilos

The Lantern is altering time for the comic update schedule. :O

Huh... just what would ol' Andronicus' reappearance do to the order? Among other things, I can't imagine Tweedle being all that happy. Tarvek, though, I could see him learning to deal.

Depend on how this Andronicus acts. Who knows if he's the same as history portrays him? If he's a mad monster that sucks the life out of everyone around him, then no.

A released Andronicus might decide that Agatha is his Ephrosynia.

Some thoughts:

What if van Rijn's great quest was driven by Andronicus, who went mad over Euphroynia? And van Rijn might be trying to find a way to get her back, to pluck her out of time.

Andronicus: We haven't looked hard enough at that name. Diaz—dies. Merlot—ends up getting squashed ('pressed'). With Hristo Tiktoffen, the wristwatch clue went three ways: He was on someone's, the castle was on his, and his control of the castle was worn on his wrist. van Rijn links to the great from-life painter Rembrandt van Rijn.

What might Andro-nicus mean? Manly,mannish, man-like? If he has descendents, he can't be a muse—unless van Rijn became a meat-spark as well as a clank-spark.

We're liable to have a multi-day, multi-week reveal here, so place your bets, mesdames and messieurs!

edited 6th Jun '16 1:09:00 PM by GreybeardFan

Well, if nothing else, I suspected that Andronicus Valois was named in part from Titus Andronicus. Which, uh... not exactly a pleasant day at the park. If that's supposed to be indicative of anything, it would be that the Sturmvoraus family has been brutal and messed up from the beginning.

edited 6th Jun '16 1:12:59 PM by 32_Footsteps

This. I will accept no explanation but this one.