Annotated 49-43
(No FB.)
As we supply the last of our Chapter One callbacks, Syr’Nj goes in a different direction for her power-up. Rather than a twist on an old motif (like Best’s constantly shifting glamours turning into different selves) or doing something the series generally cited as impossible (controlling one’s own berserker-self), she’s just bringing back the “bag of holding” that was a key part of her toolset early on and then was all but forgotten for most of our run.
That, and the TNT we saw her breaking out in the story’s first few pages, multiplied by a still-to-be-determined factor.
This isn’t the first time Gravedust’s expression has given me the exact vibe of Opus from Bloom County – is that an intentional choice, or just coincidence?
Also, really loved the direction you went for Syr’nj’s unique powerup mode. It seems to say a lot about her as a character that her ultimate expression of strength takes this shape!
I think that’s just a stylistic coincidence. The “wide open eye with raised eye-brow” is going to look pretty much the same on just about all cartoon characters.
But now I can’t un-see it!
Regarding the subject of controlling one’s own berserker-self, I supect there’s a certain element of being able to “aim” it. This might also help explain why the Tarozerker acted abnormally but not out of character (if that makes any sense) for a berserker spirit.
The Purplezerkers seem to be part berserker virus, part corruption beast. The berserkers want to “kill kill kill,” but the corruption beast seems driven by hunger instead. I suspect the purplezerkers are a mix…without HR, they mindlessly kill anything else and consume everything they can…and in that they would have found not an opponent, but a kindred spirit in Taro. The kid who loves to hurt and wants it all for himself was “on their side” once they had infected him, so perhaps his personality fit in his new body just fine.
As for Byron, could see a truce being worked out. He’s always wanted to keep a total lid on the berserker, but perhaps now he’s saying “hey, you want out? You wanna do your ‘kill kill kill’ thing for a bit? We’ll aim it at that guy, and I won’t have to put you back in your cage right away.” The berserker side of him gets to slake its “blood” lust and spread its wings for a bit, as long as it doesn’t turn its attention elsewhere…and the at side of Byron knows by now that human-Byron can restrict its freedom if it starts doing something that all of Byron doesn’t want to do.
My fear at this point in the first run was that directing the berzerker rage is likely a lot easier than getting the berzerker to stop afterwards. Once you get going, it’s much harder to stop than to not get going in the first place. So really, Byron only has this fight in order to learn to turn the berzerk levels up/down as needed. Granted, he knows his berzerker side better than he ever did, but it still looks like a crazy risk.
Of course, now is the time to take that sort of risk…
I have a hard time describing how happy Frigg’s line makes me here. It’s kind of a throw away, but also so…unusual(?) for her. It’s not shit talking, it’s her usual bravado, it’s not her newish philosophic voice, it’s just…exasperation from someone who isn’t ever really invested enough to be legitimately exasperated.