Girl Genius

Best Othar strip in a long time.

"And, your point is?" <tries not to laugh too much>

Go, go gadget Philosopher Vi!

edited 20th Nov '12 11:48:29 PM by Euodiachloris

She's looking more beleaguered than usual.

edited 21st Nov '12 4:13:02 AM by adam850

So ... Othar makes an apparently suicidal attack, survives a devestating counter-attack, responds with an act that cannot work (but does), survives the enemy's death throes, and then seizes the prize.

Is this his standard MO? He is the Hero, after all.

Well Tarvek is evil to a degree Violetta is rightly annoyed, tired and alive just by assisting Othar. Just wondering how the hell does Othar lose his pluck girl assistants? I know that the beleaguered assistant is a good option to mention as a trope and all but how the hell does Othar loses them? Suicide, they finally make some believable excuse to run away very very fast or what?

I would guess so. The implication is that he's actually a rather powerful Spark, it's just that most of his sparkage goes into simply keeping him alive. And physical attributes, he did after all just rip the arm off a giant robot with his bare hands.

And I quote "certain death to be around.

edited 21st Nov '12 6:44:41 AM by tricksterson

I imagine what happens to Othar's assistants is what happens to any heroic sidekick. They die tragically, defect to the villain's side, graduate to full-fledged hero status, or come to a wrenching realization that they just don't have what it takes and retire to a quiet life somewhere far from the action. Although I'm not sure Othar would let them get away with D.

Well option B means they will have a merciful death since they won't have any more Othar.

Also just shivered myself thought that in Hell I would have to stand a full set of Othars.

Does Grievous Harm with a Body count when fighting robots?

Oooh! I think I get my first Moxana points for my comment #23894 on p.956. Maybe not, Violetta isn't actually in the fight.

Othar's frustration in panel two is one I'm familiar with.

Yes, it is easy to forget that Othar's a Spark, and a powerful one at that. Plus he has about twenty more years of experience than Agatha or Tarvek. His tearing apart of the clank reminds me of Gil tossing around Professor Merlot and the clank he was riding in. Those two may have more in common than either would like. Othar's gift is Sparky courting, we mustn't forget that he thinks Agatha is his to win, and bringing your Lady the perfect piece for her new creation is about the best thing ever to win a Sparky heart.

Tsk, Violetta, your Lady is a Spark too, don't forget that.

That's a tricky one. I'd err on the side of "yes", myself. After all, being whacked by your own mechanical arm does kind of count.

Tip of the tongue stuff. Sometimes, it can make you that frustrated, you feel as if what he does to get the thing-the-name-of-which-escapes-me-but-it-looks-like-this is the easy bit.

edited 21st Nov '12 9:14:18 AM by Euodiachloris

You know, I just thought of something. What if the reason Agatha runs from Mechanicsburg is *because* DK gets fixed and insists that she do something she doesn't want to? Sure, everyone's safe from the Wulfenbach forces if DK gets up to power, but DK and Agatha may not have the same goals, and she may need to go searching for a way to be in control of her own life again. Say, if it wanted to kill Gil because he presented too much of a danger to her (not saying that's the precise scenario) and she needed to prevent that, and therefore had to go get knowledge/gadgets from somewhere else? Or that she has to stay safe from the Other by being protected deep within DK rather than take the battle to the Lu's? I can't see Agatha putting up with that for a second. We know that a healthy DK has quite a reach, so getting far away may be needed.

We've all been assuming she will continue to control DK, but we've seen in the past that he can override that under certain conditions. We have precedent. When whole, he won't be as easy to trick either.

edited 21st Nov '12 9:50:27 AM by Lightningnettle

DK is more than capable of twisting the words of what he heard into what he'd prefer to do. And, throwing semantic loopholes in even the most seemingly straightforward of responses and suggestions.

But, I'm not sure what pass would get the two of them at true loggerheads (as opposed to constant, family-grade bickers). DK has reservations about this Heterodyne (but, maybe not quite as many as he had with her father: she does have a known, dangerous, Evil Insider... that's a step-up in the nutty-stakes), but it's not like he's got much choice. <shrugs>

That, and that particular Genus Loci does seem to have a twisted sense of honour to those who matter to it. I get the impression that's very, very Heterodyne.

edited 21st Nov '12 10:00:04 AM by Euodiachloris

How about "You have to stay here and stay safe until you have an heir!" DK doesn't like being without a Heterodyne, and Agatha isn't ready to make babies, whether test tube or not.

You know, Othar is kind of like Spaceman Spiff on chocolate frosted sugar bombs.

Also I got this stupid thought but picked a time off earlier and decided to pop some duck dodgers and I think that the magazine might be a slightly modified shout out towards the 24 1/2 century in specific towards episode 36 where the final part deals with the after dinner mint that lasts for the whole life.

Yay, Violetta's back! Now we just need Zeetha and Higgs to show up.

Right! And the dingbots.

^ Well, with Othar back, we have a dingbat...

Well, he certainly dinged the chassis of that poor clank... <bada-boom>

Incidentally, it's been more than 6 years, but did we ever hear what came of the little cannonball-copter dingbot who was sent out from Sturmhalten?

No, we haven't, on Agatha's Minion's it's been pointed out as a Chekhov's Gun.

I like!

edited 22nd Nov '12 5:44:26 PM by Lightningnettle

More like a Checkov's Helicopter Gunship (small).

edited 22nd Nov '12 11:49:02 AM by Euodiachloris

Toy Gunship perhaps?

Well time to prepare for cliffhanger friday. Any ideas on how we will get it this time?

BTW, I'm a little disappointed in y'all for apparently not noticing Dimo's magically regrown arm before.

edited 22nd Nov '12 6:05:29 PM by EdwardsGrizzly