Grrl Power

FYI, the game they are playing in the opening strips of this comic is "MEGS" or "Mayfair Exponential Game System." It was first used in DC Heroes, back when it was published by Mayfair in the 80s (with a third ed. in 1993), and then the license for the game mechanics was purchased by Pulsar Games who published it as "Blood of Heroes."

It's actually a pretty good system for doing a high-end supers campaign. You can do things like make a high-powered super like Supe-Maxima without having numbers that are unreasonably high. I wouldn't do it for something gritty like X-Men, but I have used it for Justice League-esque games. Takes a little getting used to, but once you know it, it's pretty easy.

Thank you, Adjammemnon. That's informative.

If Force Fails, Use More Force! We get an Offscreen Moment of Awesome where they fired all of their attacks at For Whom Death Tolls, but the aftermath was probably funnier than the attack itself, particularly the knife proctology attempt. Also, we learn that Sydney's shield is airtight for purposes of balance in the notes.

Mo' Portals, Mo' Problems

The sequence of action confused me at first, as I assumed that Opal swapped the positions of herself and Maxima, which didn't gibe with the portal being around Stalwart. Reading the commentary resolved things for me. The author continues to note that Maxima could readily end this combat at any time, but she's using it as a teaching moment.

Well, she thinks she could, and so far we haven't seen much that could stop her. But things would depend a bit on how fast Opal is with those portals. Sending Max into a few solid walls and making her blast her own teammates a few times might inconvenience her a little.

The Plot Thickens, Much Like Multiple Metaphors.

So, apparently the big guy that Sydney was talking to is named Vehemence. And he doesn't seem to be on the bad guys' side at the moment.

Hadn't it already been strongly hinted that he represented a third faction?

Well, he was standing around not attacking anyone, chatting pleasantly with Sydney, and even pointing Death Toll's odd behaviour out to her. So he didn't look like a very convincing member of the opposing team.

It’s only overconfidence if he loses

Yup... apparently really a bad guy, just one who doesn't care about the other bad guys.

Though one suspects that he has some kind of complex personal agenda. If he just wanted to take the heroes down after the others had weakened them, he could have let the last two bug out as they intended. Maybe he wants to thin out or eliminate the entire supers field?

edited 18th Sep '14 6:52:01 AM by Spindriver

I'd probably lay odds on a Blood Knight who couldn't hold back any longer on joining the fight.

Circuitous Motive Man. Yup, Blood Knight. I am amused at him trying to suggest that this is all part of his ploy to justify the existence of Archon by providing a credible threat.

Wait, check on the guy he kicked?

Woulda sworn he straight killed that guy.

A Mighty Blow... to the Ego

Oof... Sydney's gonna get her shield good and well tested. Although, if it can stand up to Maxima's blasts, I'm thinking she's good for pure impact. Thing is, Vehemence comes off as pretty smart. Odds that we're going to see Sydney rolled or tossed out of combat before she can muster her flight?

Did Maxima's attacks produce that pattern that's on Sydney's hamsterball? I dearly hope those aren't cracks.

Yes.

Vehemence unleashes his mane attack!

Good advice on Vehemence's part, both in terms of not revealing your combat capabilities unintentionally and in long hair being a combat liability.

And things get a little Loony...

I don't feel like we're moving forward very fast, but it is a quick look at the capabilities of the team, what a beast Vehemence is, and how Sydney is a good team player. Oh, and a panty shot from Anvil.

I like the Looney Tunes ref, especially since Sydney droped an Anvil

edited 2nd Oct '14 5:10:53 AM by tryrar

^_^ It's fun to read the comment section and to see how long it took for people to pick up on that.

The author's note mentions that Harem would know about Loony Toons despite only being 19 due to parallel existences. I recently heard on NPR that the Saturday Morning Cartoon lineup has gone away for good with the last remaining network, the CW, dropping their lineup. As described in the article, it kind of makes sense. These days, kids will go to Cartoon Network or stream cartoons from Netflix or other such services. Still, sad to see the end of an era...

The ARC Wrestling Federation Vehemence loses more ground in the fight and Anvil's chest needs military-grade support.

I may be in a cynical mode, but this is getting a little boring. The heroes have yet to be seriously tested. At best, this is a really long way to show that the heroes are well-trained, and at worst it's a self-gratification exercise in just how impressive his heroes are.

Part of what makes heroes interesting and impressive is the level of who they defeat. Sherlock Holmes isn't all that impressive if he's only taking down Cletus the Slack-Jawed Crime Boss.

I certainly hope that Vehemence stands up from the rubble next strip and says "Okay, now it's my turn ... if your intern will pardon the cliche". So far, he's actually given them less trouble than Death Toll.

edited 6th Oct '14 8:42:01 AM by Spindriver

I'm with you on that. My still involves this ending with Maxima and maybe the rest of the team waking up in the midst of a demolished orphanage for baby harp seal amputees, having been tricked into fighting illusory villains and actually trashing the town.

Meh, it's still the first real fight scene of the comic, so I wouldn't expect it to be a major challenge itself.

With that said, the team has already revealed that they have a glaring weakness. Have you spotted it yet?

Martial arts etiquette. They really don't like attacking more than two at a time.